Reptile-associated ticks from Dominica and the Bahamas with notes on hyperparasitic erythraeid mites.

PubMed

Durden, Lance A; Knapp, Charles R; Beati, Lorenza; Dold, Stephanie

2015-02-01

Ticks were collected or recorded from 522 individual reptiles on Dominica and from 658 reptiles from the Bahamas. Two species of ticks were collected on Dominica: Amblyomma antillorum and Amblyomma rotundatum. Similarly, 2 species were collected in the Bahamas: Amblyomma albopictum and Amblyomma torrei. On Dominica, A. antillorum was recorded from 517 Lesser Antillean iguanas (Iguana delicatissima), 2 boa constrictors (Boa nebulosa), 1 Antilles snake (Alsophis sibonius), and 1 Dominican ground lizard (Ameiva fuscata), whereas A. rotundatum was recorded from 1 Lesser Antillean skink (Mabuya mabouya). In the Bahamas, A. albopictum was recorded from 131 Andros iguanas (Cyclura cychlura cychlura), 271 Exuma Island iguanas (Cyclura cychlura figginsi), and 1 Andros curlytail lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus coryi), whereas A. torrei was recorded from 255 Exuma Island iguanas. In the Bahamas, A. albopictum parasitized iguanas on Andros Island and the central Exuma Islands, and A. torrei parasitized iguanas in the southern Exumas. An exception to this trend was that A. torrei was collected from iguanas on Pasture Cay in the central Exumas, an anomaly that is explained by the fact that iguanas (with attached ticks) on Pasture Cay were introduced by humans in the past from islands further south. External hyperparasitic larval erythraeid mites ( Leptus sp.) were recorded from A. torrei in the Bahamas.

Leaf wax records of late Holocene hydrologic changes on Abaco Island, Northern Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamalavage, A.; Feakins, S. J.; van Hengstum, P. J.; Louchouarn, P.; Fall, P. L.; Albury, N. A.; Donnelly, J. P.

2016-12-01

Previous pollen-based evidence from Abaco Island (Little Bahama Bank, Northern Bahamas) indicates that the terrestrial forest changed in dominance over the last 1500 years from palms to pines, and that this change is potentially driven by climate and/or anthropogenic factors. Geochemical markers (δ13Corg, δ15Norg,, C/N, and lignin phenols) measured from bulk sedimentary matter that has accumulated in Blackwood Sinkhole on Abaco Island also support the pollen-based evidence that vegetation has not been constant throughout the late Holocene (last 3000 years). More specifically, these geochemical markers document three intervals where sedimentary deposition was dominated by a different source of organic matter. These changes are likely driven by the combination of the ecological response to shoreline migration from Holocene sea-level rise, and a southward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) at 1000 Cal yrs BP. However, the specific impact of a southward ITCZ displacement at 1000 Cal yrs BP on Abaco rainfall variability remains uncertain (e.g., quantity, seasonality). This research will explore hydrologic variability associated with regional vegetation changes by measuring precipitation isotopic composition based upon plant leaf wax n-alkanoic acid and n-alkane biomarkers. We find C29 and C31 n-alkanes and C24, C26, C28, and C30 n-alkanoic acids record the same hydrogen isotopic values within uncertainties indicating a uniform terrestrial vegetation source. We find a negative shift (-50‰) towards present in our initial analyses; the results of ongoing work will be presented at the meeting. This multi-proxy approach will allow us to resolve the nature of the leaf wax biomarker hydrogen isotope evidence for past precipitation, including testing for the impacts of vegetation on the hydrological proxy, and testing predictions of a shift in precipitation on Abaco Island over the late Holocene coincident with a southward displacement of the ITCZ.

Late Holocene paleoecology of Andros Island, Bahamas: Evidence of climate change and human disturbance

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

Kjellmark, E.W.

Pollen and charcoal data from a transect of three sediment cores taken from deep, water-filled karst sinkholes on Andros Island, Bahamas have yielded a detailed record of late Holocene climate change and human disturbance. The pollen record reveals that a long-term, late Holocene dry period in the Caribbean, which extended from 3000 to 1500 years bp had a variable effect on the vegetation of Andros depending on its proximity to the water table. A site at 10 m elevation above the water table shows evidence of major changes in vegetation, while a low-lying site shows little effect. Both the charcoalmore » and pollen records reveal possible evidence of human disturbance beginning after the dry period ends. A site 1 km from the east coast of Andros shows a peak in charcoal content in sediments that are 900-1000 years old. This post-dates human colonization of the Bahamas, which occurred 1000-1200 years bp and may be evidence of increased burning brought about by humans. A site 7 km inland shows a large peak in charcoal content and a distinct shift in the pollen spectrum from tropical hardwoods pollen to pinewoods pollen in sediments that are 700-800 years old. Charcoal content is low at this site in 450-500 year old sediments, then peaks again in 200-250 year old sediments. This may reflect the removal of humans from the Bahamas shortly after the arrival of Columbus, followed by re-colonization 250 years later. Although the changes in charcoal and pollen over the past 1000 years could have been climatically induced, the timing of the changes correlates closely with known events in the human history of the Bahamas.« less

Parasitism in Pterois volitans (Scorpaenidae) from coastal waters of Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, and the Bahamas.

PubMed

Ramos-Ascherl, Zullaylee; Williams, Ernest H; Bunkley-Williams, Lucy; Tuttle, Lillian J; Sikkel, Paul C; Hixon, Mark A

2015-02-01

Recently, Pterois volitans, a Pacific species of lionfish, invaded the Atlantic Ocean, likely via the aquarium trade. We examined for internal and external parasites 188 individuals from 8 municipalities of Puerto Rico collected during 2009-2012, 91 individuals from Little Cayman, Cayman Islands, collected during the summers of 2010 and 2011, and 47 individuals from Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas, collected during the summer of 2009. In total, 27 parasite taxa were found, including 3 previously reported species from lionfish, the digenean Lecithochirium floridense, the leech Trachelobdella lubrica, and an Excorallana sp. isopod. We also report another 24 previously unreported parasite taxa from lionfish, including digeneans, monogeneans, cestodes, nematodes, isopods, a copepod, and an acanthocephalan. Among these parasites, several were previously unreported at their respective geographic origins: We report 5 new locality records from Puerto Rico, 9 from Cayman Islands, 5 from the Bahamas, 5 from the Caribbean, and 3 from the subtropical western Atlantic region. Three parasites are reported to associate with a fish host for the first time. The parasite faunas of P. volitans among our 3 study sites were quite different; most of the species infecting lionfish were generalists and/or species that infect carnivorous fishes. Although our study did not assess the impact of parasites on the fitness of invasive lionfish, it provides an important early step. Our results provide valuable comparative data for future studies at these and other sites throughout the lionfish's invaded range.

Emergency Management of Tension Pneumothorax for Health Professionals on Remote Cat Island Bahamas

PubMed Central

Parsons, Michael; Francis, Leathe; Senoro, Cristian; Chriswell, Caroline; Saunders, Rose; Hollander, Charles

2017-01-01

Patients living in remote areas have higher rates of injury-related death than those living in cities. Rural and remote health professionals working in sparsely populated places, such as Cat Island Bahamas, may have scant resources for treating emergency conditions. Local health professionals must be prepared to rely solely upon clinical judgment to perform emergency “high-stakes low-frequency” procedures while also accurately and effectively communicating with distantly located receiving specialists. However, these health providers may not recently have performed or had the opportunity to practice such emergency procedures. Telesimulation may be a useful way to teach remote practitioners both emergency procedures and communication skills. This technical report describes a simulation exercise for teaching these skills. PMID:28775930

Florida and the Bahamas as seen from STS-58

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-10-30

STS058-107-046 (18 Oct-1 Nov 1993) --- Clouds streak across central Florida in this striking photograph which includes the Florida Peninsula, Andros Island of the northern Bahamas and Cuba (lower left). The light blue, shallow bank of the Bahamas contrast with the deeper blue waters of the Florida strait. The city of Miami is obscured by clouds, but one can see the Florida Keys stretching off to the left. Much of the rest of the southeast coast is barely visible under haze.

STS-65 Earth observation of Bahama Islands with dust pall, taken from OV-102

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1994-01-01

During STS-65 a significant dust pall that originated in western Africa was recorded by a series of low oblique color photographs as it continued its westward trek across the Atlantic Ocean and then the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico area. This particular view captures the northern edge of the dust, positioned just slightly north of the Bahama Islands. This major transport of African dust to the western hemisphere has been recorded periodically by other Shuttle astronauts and earlier Shuttle missions. Scientifically, there is evidence that some of this African dust even reaches the Amazon rainforest and serves as a source of airborne nutrients for rainforest vegetation. This photograph was taken aboard Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102.

H2O2 levels in rainwater collected in south Florida and the Bahama Islands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zika, R.; Saltzman, E.; Chameides, W. L.; Davis, D. D.

1982-01-01

Measurements of H2O2 in rainwater collected in Miami, Florida, and the Bahama Islands area indicate the presence of H2O2 concentration levels ranging from 100,000 to 700,000 M. No systematic trends in H2O2 concentration were observed during an individual storm, in marked contrast to the behavior of other anions for example, NO3(-), SO4(-2), and Cl(-). The data suggest that a substantial fraction of the H2O2 found in precipitation is generated by aqueous-phase reactions within the cloudwater rather than via rainout and washout of gaseous H2O2.

A sedimentary record of middle Holocene precipitation and terrestrial vertebrates from Great Cistern Blue Hole (Abaco Island), The Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan, R.; van Hengstum, P. J.; Winkler, T. S.; Donnelly, J. P.; Albury, N. A.; Steadman, D. W.

2016-12-01

Sinkholes and blueholes provide sheltered basins on carbonate landscapes for sediments and fossils to accumulate and remain protected from reworking by coastal processes. These sedimentary archives can span hundreds to thousands of years and may contain detailed records of environmental change and landscape evolution. Great Cistern Blue Hole on Great Abaco Island in the northern Bahamas provides such an archive. Today situated a few meters above sea level in the coastal zone, Great Cistern was likely located further inland prior to a geometric change to the local coastline and during lower sea-level. To explore the long-term record of environmental change in this region, sediment cores were collected between 2014 and 2015 that yielded an 8,000-year record of continuous sedimentation. Visual inspection of the core revealed multiple intervals dominated by coarse-grained sediment that subsequent microscopic examination identified as fragments of calcite rafts. Calcite rafts (common in caves) precipitate at an air-groundwater interface in quiescent environments from the offgassing of calcium carbonate saturated groundwater. The recurrent precipitation of calcite rafts in a sinkhole potentially reflects intervals of increased discharge of the local coastal aquifer in response to increased precipitation. The onset, peak, and decline of the calcite raft deposits are consistent with other precipitation proxy records from the Caribbean region, suggesting that the deposition is providing direct evidence for middle Holocene precipitation patterns in the northern Bahamas. In addition, numerous vertebrate bones have accumulated in Great Cistern including those of a Bahamian Boa (age: 7ka yBP), a species of crocodile no longer present on Abaco Island (age: 2ka yBP), and pre-European contact human remains (age: 600 yBP). As the project continues, other bones will be identified that may serve to enhance our knowledge of human and animal activity on the island.

Hurricane Joaquin on 9/29/15

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of Joaquin near the Bahamas on Sept. 29 at 18:10 UTC (2:10 p.m. EDT). Credit: NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 the center of Hurricane Joaquin was located near latitude 24.7 North, longitude 72.6 West. That puts the center of Joaquin about 215 miles (345 km) east-northeast of the Central Bahamas. Joaquin became a tropical storm Monday evening (EDT), September 29 when it was midway between the Bahamas and Bermuda. By 8 a.m. EDT on September 30, it strengthened into a hurricane and has become the third hurricane of the Atlantic Hurricane season. On September 30, the National Hurricane Center issued a Hurricane Warning for the central Bahamas including Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the northwestern Bahamas including the Abacos, Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island, and New Providence, but excluding Andros Island. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Hurricane Joaquin 9/30/15

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured this visible image of Hurricane Joaquin east of the Bahamas on Sept. 30 at 1745 UTC (1:45 p.m. EDT). Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 the center of Hurricane Joaquin was located near latitude 24.7 North, longitude 72.6 West. That puts the center of Joaquin about 215 miles (345 km) east-northeast of the Central Bahamas. Joaquin became a tropical storm Monday evening (EDT), September 29 when it was midway between the Bahamas and Bermuda. By 8 a.m. EDT on September 30, it strengthened into a hurricane and has become the third hurricane of the Atlantic Hurricane season. On September 30, the National Hurricane Center issued a Hurricane Warning for the central Bahamas including Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the northwestern Bahamas including the Abacos, Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island, and New Providence, but excluding Andros Island. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Tarpum Bay, Bahamas

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-10-22

In this ASTER image the features that look like folded material are carbonate sand dunes in the shallow waters of Tarpum Bay, southwest of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. The sand making up the dunes comes from the erosion of limestone coral reefs, and has been shaped into dunes by ocean currents. This image was acquired on May 12, 2002 by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03877

The Bahamas.

PubMed

1984-12-01

The Commonwealth of the Bahamas had a population of 228.000 in 1984, with an annual growth rate of 2%. The infant mortality rate is 20.2/1000, and life expectancy stands at 64 years for men and 70 years for women. The literacy rate is 93%, and 14 years of education is compulsory. Since independence in 1973, the Bahamas has been an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Its chief of state is the British monarch, represented in the Bahamas by an appointed governor general. The Progressive Liberal Party controls the majority of the parliamentary seats. Over 75% of the population lives on either New Providence or Grand Bahama. Of the work force of 82,000, 6% is engaged in agriculture, 10% in finance and business services, 25% in the hotel and restaurant sector, and 30% is employed by government. Tourism accounts for 75% of the gross national product, which was US$1083 billion in 1979, and employs 2/3 of the labor force. The per capita income in 1982 was US$5756, and the inflation rate averages 4.1%. The goverment has been attempting to diversify the economy and attract new industries, but without much success.

Hurricane Joaquin 9/30/15

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

The MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite captured Hurricane Joaquin off the Bahamas at 15:45 UTC (11:45 a.m. EDT) on September 30, 2015. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 the center of Hurricane Joaquin was located near latitude 24.7 North, longitude 72.6 West. That puts the center of Joaquin about 215 miles (345 km) east-northeast of the Central Bahamas. Joaquin became a tropical storm Monday evening (EDT), September 29 when it was midway between the Bahamas and Bermuda. By 8 a.m. EDT on September 30, it strengthened into a hurricane and has become the third hurricane of the Atlantic Hurricane season. On September 30, the National Hurricane Center issued a Hurricane Warning for the central Bahamas including Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay, and San Salvador. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the northwestern Bahamas including the Abacos, Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island, and New Providence, but excluding Andros Island. NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Hurricanes accelerated the Florida-Bahamas lionfish invasion.

PubMed

Johnston, Matthew W; Purkis, Sam J

2015-06-01

In this study, we demonstrate how perturbations to the Florida Current caused by hurricanes are relevant to the spread of invasive lionfish from Florida to the Bahamas. Without such perturbations, this current represents a potential barrier to the transport of planktonic lionfish eggs and larvae across the Straits of Florida. We further show that once lionfish became established in the Bahamas, hurricanes significantly hastened their spread through the island chain. We gain these insights through: (1) an analysis of the direction and velocity of simulated ocean currents during the passage of hurricanes through the Florida Straits and (2) the development of a biophysical model that incorporates the tolerances of lionfish to ocean climate, their reproductive strategy, and duration that the larvae remain viable in the water column. On the basis of this work, we identify 23 occasions between the years 1992 and 2006 in which lionfish were provided the opportunity to breach the Florida Current. We also find that hurricanes during this period increased the rate of spread of lionfish through the Bahamas by more than 45% and magnified its population by at least 15%. Beyond invasive lionfish, we suggest that extreme weather events such as hurricanes likely help to homogenize the gene pool for all Caribbean marine species susceptible to transport. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Drought in the northern Bahamas from 3300 to 2500 years ago

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Hengstum, Peter J.; Maale, Gerhard; Donnelly, Jeffrey P.; Albury, Nancy A.; Onac, Bogdan P.; Sullivan, Richard M.; Winkler, Tyler S.; Tamalavage, Anne E.; MacDonald, Dana

2018-04-01

Intensification and western displacement of the North Atlantic Subtropical High (NASH) is projected for this century, which can decrease Caribbean and southeastern American rainfall on seasonal and annual timescales. However, additional hydroclimate records are needed from the northern Caribbean to understand the long-term behavior of the NASH, and better forecast its future behavior. Here we present a multi-proxy sinkhole lake reconstruction from a carbonate island that is proximal to the NASH (Abaco Island, The Bahamas). The reconstruction indicates the northern Bahamas experienced a drought from ∼3300 to ∼2500 Cal yrs BP, which coincides with evidence from other hydroclimate and oceanographic records (e.g., Africa, Caribbean, and South America) for a synchronous southern displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and North Atlantic Hadley Cell. The specific cause of the hydroclimate change in the northeastern Caribbean region from ∼3300 to 2500 Cal yrs BP was probably coeval southern or western displacement of the NASH, which would have increased northeastern Caribbean exposure to subsiding air from higher altitudes.

Geographic variation and genetic structure in the Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi), a critically endangered synanthropic species

PubMed Central

Person, Carl; Hayes, William K.

2015-01-01

Bird species may exhibit unexpected population structuring over small distances, with gene flow restricted by geographic features such as water or mountains. The Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi) is a critically endangered, synanthropic island endemic with a declining population of fewer than 300 individuals. It now remains only on Andros Island (The Bahamas), which is riddled with waterways that past studies assumed did not hinder gene flow. We examined 1,858 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA sequenced from four gene regions in 14 birds (roughly 5% of the remaining population) found on the largest land masses of Andros Island (North Andros and Mangrove Cay/South Andros). We sought to discern genetic structuring between the remaining subpopulations and its relationship to current conservation concerns. Four unique haplotypes were identified, with only one shared between the two subpopulations. Nucleotide and haplotype diversity were higher for the North Andros subpopulation than for the Mangrove Cay/South Andros subpopulation. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) yielded a Wright’s fixation index (Fst) of 0.60 (PFst = 0.016), with 40.2% of the molecular variation explained by within-population differences and 59.8% by among-population differences. Based on the mitochondrial regions examined in this study, we suggest the extant subpopulations of Bahama Oriole exhibit significant population structuring over short distances, consistent with some other non-migratory tropical songbird species. PMID:26644974

Clouds and Open Ocean near the Bahamas

NASA Image and Video Library

1982-07-04

STS004-41-1206 (27 June-4July 1982) --- Sunglint reflects off the water of the North Atlantic Ocean in an area to the east of the Bahamas Islands sometimes called the Sargasso Sea. The area has also been referred to as the ?Bermuda Triangle.? Astronauts Thomas K. Mattingly II, STS-4 commander, and Henry W. Hartsfield Jr., pilot, spent seven days and one hour aboard the Earth-orbiting space shuttle Columbia and performed a variety of duties in addition to those of recording 70mm and 35mm imagery. Photo credit: NASA

Mineralogy and Microbial Diversity of the Microbialites in the Hypersaline Storr's Lake, the Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Varun G.; Wronkiewicz, David J.; Mormile, Melanie R.; Foster, Jamie S.

2016-04-01

Microbialites found in the low-light-intensity, hypersaline waters of Storr's Lake (SL), San Salvador Island, the Bahamas, were investigated with respect to their morphology, mineralogy, and microbial diversity. Previously described microbialite morphologies, as well as a newly identified "multi-cuspate" morphology, were observed at various depths. Electron microscopy analysis revealed the presence of angular, blocky, and needle-shaped crystals with mineralized cyanobacterial filaments and remains of exopolymeric substances. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the presence of both Mg-calcite and aragonite in the plateau-mushroom and pinnacle mound microbialites, whereas only Mg-calcite was identified in the other microbialite morphotypes. A comprehensive molecular analysis using barcoded pyrosequencing of five different microbial mat communities identified at least 12 dominant bacterial phyla. Cyanobacteria were generally low in abundance and ranged from ˜0.01% in the deeper pinnacle mounds to ˜3.2% in the shallow calcareous knobs. Other photosynthetic members included green nonsulfur bacteria of the phylum Chloroflexi and purple sulfur bacteria of the class Gammaproteobacteria. All mat types contained significant amounts of sulfate-reducing and dehalogenating bacteria. The low light intensity reaching the deeper microbialites, the lack of dominant cyanobacteria, and the abundance of sulfate reducers and Chloroflexi collectively suggest that sulfate reduction and anoxygenic photosynthetic processes influence the carbonate biomineralization process in these systems.

Hubble Space Telescope Deploy, Cuba, Bahamas and Gulf of Mexico

NASA Image and Video Library

1990-04-29

STS031-151-010 (25 April 1990) --- The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), still in the grasp of Discovery's Remote Manipulator System (RMS), is backdropped over Cuba and the Bahama Islands. In this scene, it has yet to have deployment of its solar array panels and its high gain antennae. This scene was captured with a large format Aero Linhof camera used by several previous flight crews to record Earth scenes.

Sedimentological and Micropaleontological Characteristics of the 2015 Hurricane Joaquin Deposit and their Implications for Long-Term Records of Storms and Tsunamis Impacting the Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosciuch, T. J.; Pilarczyk, J.; Reinhardt, E. G.; Mauviel, A.; Aucoin, C. D.

2017-12-01

The uncertainty of extreme wave events in the Caribbean was highlighted in October 2015 when Hurricane Joaquin tracked through, or near, several islands (e.g., Bahamas, Haiti, Turks and Caicos) as a Category 4 storm. The short observational record of landfalling hurricanes is insufficient in preparing many of these islands for such a rare, intense storm. Examining the sediments deposited by recent landfalling hurricanes assists the understanding of the long-term spatial and temporal variations in storm frequency and intensity. However, the interpretation of prehistoric hurricane deposits in the Caribbean is complicated by the possibility of tsunami deposits (e.g., Puerto Rico Trench, 1755 Lisbon Tsunami), which are similar in composition and difficult to differentiate from storm sediments. To circumvent this problem, we describe the microfossil and sedimentary characteristics of a modern storm analogue, the Hurricane Joaquin deposit, from San Salvador Island in the Bahamas and use it as a basis for interpreting a series of 10 anomalous sand deposits found in a coastal pond. San Salvador is a small (160 km2) island in the Bahamas with a history of landfalling hurricanes and tsunamis. On 4 October 2015, Hurricane Joaquin came within 7 km of San Salvador, inundating most of its coastline and depositing two distinct layers: a sand layer and a boulder layer. The sand layer was 12 to 104 cm thick, extended 135 m inland, and consisted of fine to medium sand. The sand layer contained high abundances of foraminifera, including Homotrema rubra, a foraminifer that lives on the reef and is detached by large waves. The presence of well-preserved fragments of Homotrema within the Joaquin deposit suggests transport from the reef and rapid burial. The boulder layer included large clasts (30 to 200 cm in length) that were imbricated perpendicular to the shoreline and extended 135 m inland. The boulder layer was more laterally extensive (1020 m) than the sand layer (110 m). The

Searching for the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) in south Sudan, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde Islands, Iran, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Columbia.

PubMed

Arbesser, C; Sixl, W

1988-01-01

In the spring of 1986, 3.473 human blood samples were serologically screened for HIV-antibodies. The methods used were ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), immunoblotting (Western Blot) and the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). The blood samples were collected from males and females of all age groups in: South Sudan (Melut District in 1981 and 1983), Guinea Bissau (1983), on the Cape Verde Islands (1983/84), in Iran (1985), Nicaragua (1984), El Salvador (1984) and Columbia (1984). 18 out of 1.614 sera from South Sudan, 5 out of 93 sera from Guinea Bissau, 1 out of 289 tested sera from El Salvador were confirmed to be positive. None of the sera from Iran and Nicaragua were HIV-antibody positive.

Habitat Distribution of Birds Wintering in Central Andros, The Bahamas: Implications for Management

Treesearch

DAVE CURRIE; JOSEPH M. WUNDERLE JR.; DAVID N. EWERT; MATTHEW R. ANDERSON; ANCILLENO DAVIS; JASMINE TURNER

2005-01-01

We studied winter avian distribution in three representative pine-dominated habitats and three broadleaf habitats in an area recently designated as a National Park on Andros Island, The Bahamas, 1-23 February 2002. During 180 five-minute point counts, 1731 individuals were detected (1427 permanent residents and 304 winter residents) representing 51 species (29...

A qualitative, phenomenological study on the lived experiences of science teachers in The Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Micklewhite, Thalia Vionne

This phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences and perceptions of secondary science teachers in the archipelagic country of The Bahamas and how these teachers make meaning of the secondary science program in The Bahamas through the lens of life in a democratic society. The study's purpose was to answer the question: What are the lived experiences of secondary science teachers in The Bahamas in terms of their working conditions'? Using principles of phenomenological research to approach meaning, in-depth interviewing was conducted with six secondary science teachers on four islands of The Bahamas, including the capital of New Providence. The participants and the selected islands are representative of the diversity of teachers, the population, and school climates and structures throughout the country. Narratives were obtained via three ninety-minute interviews with each participant; and thematic analysis was the instrument by which three central themes emerged. Analysis of narratives reveals that lived experience of secondary science teachers revolve around themes of: (1) The Professional Self, (2) Curriculum Leadership, and (3) Curriculum. Most participants are in the career of secondary science education as second choice but are still committed to the profession. Participants overwhelmingly commented that there was a lack of supportive frameworks for critical elements of their daily work, and a need for clear, visionary and decisive curriculum leadership by The Ministry of Education and private School Boards. Participants also desired more appropriate and alternative science curricula that would meet the need of non-academically inclined Bahamian students. Antecedent to their calls was a pressing recognition that they lacked participatory democratic voice in national secondary science education evidenced by years of unrecognized and unattended suggestions sent to those in authority. As a result of these findings, the researcher was propelled towards

Winter Avian Distribution and Relative Abundance in Six Terrestrial Habitats on Southern Eleuthera, The Bahamas

Treesearch

DAVE CURRIE; JOSEPH M. WUNDERLE JR.; DAVID N. EWERT; ANCILLENO DAVIS; ZEKO MCKENZIE

2005-01-01

We studied winter avian distribution and relative abundance in six common terrestrial broadleaf habitats, selected on a continuum of disturbance from recently disturbed (abandoned plantation) to mature vegetation (tall coppice), on the island of Eleuthera, The Bahamas. During 158-point counts conducted 22 January—10 March 2003, 1357 individuals were detected,...

Distribution, Abundance and Population Structuring of Beaked Wales in the Great Bahama Canyon, Northern Bahamas

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-02

Lennard and M.M. Krahn (2005) Feeding ecology of North Pacific killer whales Orcinus orca from fatty acid, stable isotope, and organochlorine...Center 3333 N. Torrey Pines Court La Jolla, CA 92037 Award Number: N0001409IP20051 Gina Ylitalo David Herman, Ph.D. Northwest Fisheries Science...Atlantic Ocean \\ Figure 1. The Great Bahama Canyon (a) is a large submarine canyon located in the northern Bahamas (b). From the northwest Atlantic

Sand incursion into temperate (Lithuania) and tropical (the Bahamas) maritime vegetation: Georadar visualization of target-rich aeolian lithosomes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buynevich, Ilya V.; Savarese, Michael; Curran, H. Allen; Bitinas, Albertas; Glumac, Bosiljka; Pupienis, Donatas; Kopcznski, Karen; Dobrotin, Nikita; Gnivecki, Perry; Boush, Lisa Park; Damušytė, Aldona

2017-08-01

Interaction of windblown sand with maritime vegetation, either as dune migration or episodic grain transport is a common phenomenon along many sandy coasts. Vegetation introduces antecedent surface roughness, especially when scaled to the landform height, but its role may be concealed if overwhelmed by aeolian incursion and burial. Where field observations and cores lack detail for characterizing this complex process, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) offers continuous visualization of aeolian sequences. Along the Curonian Spit, Lithuania, dune reactivation phases resulted in massive invasion of siliciclastic sand triggered by natural perturbations and land clearance. Massive (>30 m high) dunes entombed mature pine, oak, and alder stands and this process is ongoing. Mid-frequency (200 MHz) georadar surveys reveal landward-dipping lateral accretion surfaces interrupted by high-amplitude point-source anomalies produced by recently buried trees. In tropical regions, dense vegetation and potential for rapid lithification of carbonate sand results in more complex internal structures. Along the windward coast of San Salvador Island, the Bahamas, a massive dune has buried several generations of maritime scrubland, resulting in highly chaotic reflection pattern and high target density. On a nearby Little Exuma Island, numerous reentrants in aeolianites promoted formation of blowouts and incursion of windblown sand 10-25 m into a silver thatch palm forest. High-frequency (800 MHz) GPR images resolve diffractions from trunks and roots buried by > 2 m of oolitic sand. Basal refection morphology helps differentiate the irregular dune/beachrock surface from a smooth palm-frond mat. Aside from detecting and mapping buried vegetation, geophysical images capture its effect on sediment accumulation. This has the potential for differentiating its effect from other discordant structures within dunes (clasts, dissolution voids, trunk molds, burrows, and cultural remains).

Modern Microbial Fossilization Processes as Signatures for Interpreting Ancient Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Microbial Forms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Penny A.; Wentworth, Susan J.; Nelman, Mayra; Byrne, Monica; Longazo, Teresa; Galindo, Charles; McKay, David S.; Sams, Clarence

2003-01-01

Terrestrial biotas from microbially dominated hypersaline environments will help us understand microbial fossilization processes. Hypersaline tolerant biota from Storr's Lake, San Salvador Island (Bahamas), Mono Lake (California), and the Dead Sea (Israel) represent marine and nonmarine sites for comparative studies of potential analogs for interpreting some Mars meteorites and Mars sample return rocks [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The purpose of this study is to compare microbial fossilization processes, the dominant associated minerals, and potential diagenic implications.

Latest View of Hurricane Joaquin

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Hurricane Joaquin continued to intensify in the Bahamas on October 1 and NASA and NOAA satellites have been providing valuable data on the storm. NASA's GPM and Terra satellites and NOAA's GOES-East satellite provided rainfall, cloud extent, cloud height and other data to forecasters. Joaquin became a major hurricane today, October 1, reaching Category 3 status on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. On October 1 at 1330 UTC (9:30 a.m. EDT) NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured this visible image of Hurricane Joaquin covering the southern Bahamas and extending over southeastern Cuba, and the island of Hispaniola (which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Joaquin's eye had become completely visible now that the storm had reached Category 3 status. On October 1, a Hurricane Warning was in effect for the Central Bahamas, Northwestern Bahamas including the Abacos, Berry Islands, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island, and New Providence, The Acklins, Crooked Island, and Mayaguana in the southeastern Bahamas. A Hurricane Watch was in effect for Bimini and Andros Island, and a Tropical Storm Warning was in effect for the remainder of the southeastern Bahamas excluding the Turks and Caicos Islands and Andros Island. According to NHC, at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC), the center of Hurricane Joaquin was located near latitude 23.2 North, longitude 73.7 West. That's just 10 miles (15 km) north of Samana Cays, Bahamas and about 75 miles (120 km) southeast of San Salvador, Bahamas. Joaquin was moving toward the west-southwest near 5 mph (7 kph), and this motion is expected to continue today. NHC noted that a turn toward the west- northwest is forecast tonight (Oct. 1), followed by a turn toward the north and an increase in forward speed on Friday, Oct. 2. On the forecast track, the center of Joaquin will move near or over portions of the central Bahamas today and tonight and pass near or over portions of the northwestern Bahamas on Friday. Maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph (195 km

Ocean Sand, Bahamas

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-04-20

NASA image acquired January 17, 2001 Though the above image may resemble a new age painting straight out of an art gallery in Venice Beach, California, it is in fact a satellite image of the sands and seaweed in the Bahamas. The image was taken by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) instrument aboard the Landsat 7 satellite. Tides and ocean currents in the Bahamas sculpted the sand and seaweed beds into these multicolored, fluted patterns in much the same way that winds sculpted the vast sand dunes in the Sahara Desert. Image courtesy Serge Andrefouet, University of South Florida Instrument: Landsat 7 - ETM+ Credit: NASA/GSFC/Landsat NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

Redescription of Cletocamptus albuquerquensis and C. dominicanus (Harpacticoida: Canthocamptidae incertae sedis), and description of two new species from the US Virgin Islands and Bonaire.

PubMed

Gómez, Samuel; Gerber, Ray; Fuentes-Reinés, Juan Manuel

2017-05-30

The history surrounding the identity of Cletocamptus albuquerquensis (Herrick, 1894) and C. dominicanus Kiefer, 1934 is very complex. This complexity has been exacerbated by incomplete, and in some cases erroneous, original descriptions of these two species. Also, new records from other locations did not describe the significant characters needed to clearly delineate them. This led several authors to consider C. dominicanus as a synonym of C. albuquerquensis, among other taxonomical considerations regarding, for example, the status of Marshia brevicaudata Herrick, 1894. Inspection of biological material from Saskatchewan (southern Canada), Wyoming (central US), Trinidad and Tobago, and the British Virgin Islands, identified by other researchers as C. albuquerquensis, as well as of newly collected material from Great Salt Lake (Utah, central US), Puerto Rico, Culebra Island, Vieques Island, St. John Island (US Virgin Islands), San Salvador (Bahamas), and Santa Marta (Colombia), revealed that C. albuquerquensis and C. dominicanus are distinct and identifiable species, distributed in a more restricted area than previously thought. Additionally, we describe a new species, C. tainoi sp. nov., from St. John Island (US Virgin Islands), and we propose another new species, C. chappuisi sp. nov., for two males from Bonaire previously identified as C. albuquerquensis. Finally, we give some observations on tube-pore-like structures, previously overlooked, on the endopod of the male leg three.

Sedimentary Records of the Paleohurricane Activity in the Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, E. J.; Donnelly, J. P.; Wiman, C.; Cashman, M.

2015-12-01

Hurricanes pose a threat to human lives and can cause significant destruction of coastal areas. This threat has become more pronounced with recent rises in sea level and coastal populations. Currently, there is a large degree of uncertainty surrounding future changes in tropical cyclone activity. This is due to the limitations of climate models as well as the scarcity and unreliability of the current observational record. With so much uncertainty surrounding the current projections of hurricane activity, it is crucial to establish a longer and more accurate historical record. This study uses sediment cores extracted from blueholes in the Bahamas to develop a record of intense hurricane landfalls in the region dating back more than a millennia. The collected cores were sectioned, split, and scanned on an X-ray fluorescence scanner to obtain a high resolution core profile of the sediments' elemental composition and to identify potential sedimentary structures. Age control of the samples was determined using radiocarbon dating, coarse fraction was measured every centimeter, and hurricane event bed frequency was established for each core. We assess the statistical significance of the patterns observed in the sedimentary record using a coupled ocean-atmosphere hurricane model to simulate storms representative of modern climatology. Cores extracted from two blue holes near South Andros Island provide approximately a 1600 year and a 600 year record respectively, with sedimentation rates exceeding 1 cm/year. Both records contain coarse grained event deposits that correlate with known historical intense hurricane strikes in the Bahamas within age uncertainties. The 1600 year record confirms previous hurricane reconstructions from the Caribbean indicating higher tropical cyclone activity from 500 to 1400 CE. In addition, these new high-resolution records indicate elevated intense hurricane activity in the 17th and 18th centuries CE, when activity is also elevated in lower

Effects of prescribed fire on conditions inside a Cuban parrot (Amazona Leucocephala) surrogate nesting cavity on Great Abaco, Bahamas

Treesearch

Joseph O' Brien; Caroline Stahala; Gina P. Mori; Mac Callaham; Chris M. Bergh

2006-01-01

Cuban Parrots (Amazona leucocephala) on the island of Great Abaco in the Bahamas forage and nest in native pine forests. The population is unique in that the birds nest in limestone solution holes on the forest floor. Bahamian pine forests are fire-dependent with a frequent surface fire regime. The effects of fire on the parrots, especially while nesting, are not well...

Isabela Island, Galapagos Islands

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-01-20

STS072-732-072 (11-20 Jan. 1996) --- Three of the nineteen Galapagos Islands are visible in this image, photographed from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Endeavour. The Galapagos Islands are located 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) to the west of Ecuador. The largest of the islands, Isabela, is at center (north is toward the upper right corner). The numerous circular features on the island, highlighted by clouds, are volcanoes. The Galapagos Islands owe their existence to a hot spot, or persistent heat source in the mantle, which also is located over a rift, or place where plates are separating and new crust is being created. The rift is located between the Cocos and Nazca Plates. The dark linear features on the islands are lava flows from past eruptions. The island to the left of Isabela is Fernandina, while the island to the right is San Salvador. The Galapagos Islands were visited by the English naturalist Charles Darwin in 1835.

Florida manatee now resident in the Bahamas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Reid, James P.

2000-01-01

In January 2000, both the Bahamas National Trust and the Save the Manatee Club received reports of a manatee at Bullocks Harbor, Great Harbour Cay, Bahamas. Under permit with the Bahamas’ Department of Fisheries, I visited Great Harbour Cay from 25 to 27 February 2000 to make a field assessment of the manatee, interview local residents, and provide management recommendations. Detailed below are findings from this trip and a review of this individual’s interesting history.

Characterization of the stromatolite microbiome from Little Darby Island, The Bahamas using predictive and whole shotgun metagenomic analysis.

PubMed

Casaburi, Giorgio; Duscher, Alexandrea A; Reid, R Pamela; Foster, Jamie S

2016-05-01

Modern stromatolites represent ideal ecosystems to understand the biological processes required for the precipitation of carbonate due to their long evolutionary history and occurrence in a wide range of habitats. However, most of the prior molecular work on stromatolites has focused on understanding the taxonomic complexity and not fully elucidating the functional capabilities of these systems. Here, we begin to characterize the microbiome associated with stromatolites of Little Darby Island, The Bahamas using predictive metagenomics of the 16S rRNA gene coupled with direct whole shotgun sequencing. The metagenomic analysis of the Little Darby stromatolites revealed many shared taxa and core pathways associated with biologically induced carbonate precipitation, suggesting functional convergence within Bahamian stromatolites. A comparison of the Little Darby stromatolites with other lithifying microbial ecosystems also revealed that although factors, such as geographic location and salinity, do drive some differences within the population, there are extensive similarities within the microbial populations. These results suggest that for stromatolite formation, 'who' is in the community is not as critical as metabolic activities and environmental interactions. Together, these analyses help improve our understanding of the similarities among lithifying ecosystems and provide an important first step in characterizing the shared microbiome of modern stromatolites. © 2015 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Characterization of the stromatolite microbiome from Little Darby Island, The Bahamas using predictive and whole shotgun metagenomic analysis

PubMed Central

Casaburi, Giorgio; Duscher, Alexandrea A.; Reid, R. Pamela; Foster, Jamie S.

2018-01-01

Summary Modern stromatolites represent ideal ecosystems to understand the biological processes required for the precipitation of carbonate due to their long evolutionary history and occurrence in a wide range of habitats. However, most of the prior molecular work on stromatolites has focused on understanding the taxonomic complexity and not fully elucidating the functional capabilities of these systems. Here, we begin to characterize the microbiome associated with stromatolites of Little Darby Island, The Bahamas using predictive metagenomics of the 16S rRNA gene coupled with direct whole shotgun sequencing. The metagenomic analysis of the Little Darby stromatolites revealed many shared taxa and core pathways associated with biologically induced carbonate precipitation, suggesting functional convergence within Bahamian stromatolites. A comparison of the Little Darby stromatolites with other lithifying microbial ecosystems also revealed that although factors, such as geographic location and salinity, do drive some differences within the population, there are extensive similarities within the microbial populations. These results suggest that for stromatolite formation, ‘who’ is in the community is not as critical as metabolic activities and environmental interactions. Together, these analyses help improve our understanding of the similarities among lithifying ecosystems and provide an important first step in characterizing the shared microbiome of modern stromatolites. PMID:26471001

Late Holocene stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic variation of bulk organic matter deposited in Blackwood Sinkhole, Abaco, The Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamalavage, A.; van Hengstum, P. J.; Louchouarn, P.; Fall, P. L.; Donnelly, J. P.

2015-12-01

In the modern climate of the Bahamas, a latitudinal precipitation gradient only allows Pine (Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis) dominated forests to exist on the more mesic (humid) northern islands (Abaco, Andros, New Providence, Grand Bahamas). Previous research suggests that the northern Bahamas underwent dramatic environmental changes in the late Holocene (e.g., waves of human arrival, shifts in terrestrial vegetation and animal extinctions). However, disentangling the timing and relative forcing (climatic vs. anthropogenic) of these changes has proven challenging without high-resolution terrestrial climate records. Recently, a late Holocene decadal to multi-decadal laminated sedimentary record was recovered from Blackwood Sinkhole, on Abaco Island. The bottom of the sinkhole is characterized by anoxic, saline groundwater, while the upper, brackish meteoric lens provides a habitat to fish, algae and other organisms. Here, we present δ13Corg and δ15Norg values of bulk organic matter (OM) taken every cm of the 110 cm core to help elucidate changes in the chemical composition of the source of OM reaching the anoxic sediments of the sinkhole. δ13Corg values change at 812 Cal yrs BP (2s: 931-681 Cal yrs BP, 31.7 cm depth) from -30.5 ± 1.6‰ in the lower 80 cm of the core to -27.6 ± 1.2‰ in the upper 30 cm. There is a synchronous change from more enriched δ15N values, 3.7 ± 1.1‰, in the lower portion of the core, to lower δ15N values (1.9 ± .5‰), in the upper portion of the core. A pollen-based reconstruction of terrestrial vegetation from the same core indicates that these isotopic shifts are concomitant with a shift from a dominance of Arecaceae (Palms) and tropical dry hardwoods below 30 cm, to Pinus and Conocarpus predominance above 30 cm. These results indicate that the source of sedimentary OM deposited into the sinkhole changed coherently with regional landscape change. Biomarker analyses will be used to further identify the role of autochthonous

Depositional History of a Saline Blue Hole on Eleuthera Island, Bahamas: Implications for Sea Level History and Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brady, K.; Bernard, M.; Bender, S.; Roy, Z.; Boush, L. E.; Myrbo, A.; Brown, E. T.; Buynevich, I. V.; Berman, M.; Gnivecki, P.

2013-12-01

Physical, chemical and biological properties of Duck Pond Blue Hole (DPBH), located on the southern portion of Eleuthera Island, Bahamas, were examined to analyze its depositional history and the record of climate and anthropogenic changes on the island. DPBH is a small (.001 km2), circular inland blue hole with average salinity ranging from 20-28 ppt and a maximum depth of ~8 m. Sediment cores were recovered using standard piston coring techniques along a transect consisting of three sites yielding cores of varying lengths--170, 155 and 151 cm, respectively. Radiocarbon dating, x-ray fluorescence (XRF), grain size analysis, loss on ignition (LOI), smear slide and mollusk processing and identification were performed on the cores. The sediment recovered is dominated by brown, tan and white carbonate sand with varying amounts of organic matter. Sedimentation rates vary between 0.1-0.5 mm/year. Mollusks are found throughout the cores but gastropods dominate in the upper portions, which date from 2000 years BP to present day. Bivalves are abundant in intervals dating between 5000 and 2500 years BP. The most common bivalve species were Polymesoda maritima, Anomalocardis auberiana and Ervilia concentrica. The most common gastropods were Cerithidea costata and Cerithium lutosum. Drill holes made by predaceous gastropods occur on some of the gastropods, but on most of the bivalves. Drilling frequency is highest between 5000 and 2500 years BP even though gastropods are rarely preserved in that interval. Through smear slide analysis, diatoms, forams and ostracodes were also found to occur throughout the core record. Peaks in Fe and Sr from XRF scans at 0.5 cm intervals may represent records of high atmospheric dust concentrations and sea level fluctuations, respectively. Plotting mollusk bed depths versus calibrated age reveals a sea level rise over the last 6000 years that includes a rapid rise and subsequent fall at ~2500 year BP.

Lower Cretaceous-Upper Jurassic carbonate complex of southern margin of Florida-Bahama platform in northern Cuba

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

Winston, G.O.

Examination of core samples and cuttings from seven wells in northern Cuba has shown that the southern margin of the Florida-Bahama platform is composed largely of dolomitized carbonate mound and talus material. Dolomitization is possibly due to reflux of the highly saline waters from the South Florida evaporite basin to the north. At least four separate episodes of mound construction are present, accompanied by seaward talus material. South of the dolomitized carbonate complex, three wells penetrated a deeper water continental slope facies consisting principally of light-colored limestone with uncommon beds of shale and radiolarian limestone. Zones of shallower facies appearmore » to be intercalated. Farther to the south beyond the scope of this study, volcanics and serpentine are reported in the literature. The northernmost wells on the island are cut by one or more high-angle thrust faults. Intense crumpling and faulting are present in the deeper water facies between the continental margin complex and the oceanic volcanic-serpentine province. The intense crumpling was probably caused as the deep-water sediments were scraped off by the subduction of an oceanic plate from the south beneath the continental crust of the Florida-Bahama platform. Certain beds in the northern Cuba carbonate complex can be correlated with the standard section in Florida, as exhibited in the Cay Sal well to the north. Three anhydrite beds in the Cayo Coco well appear to correlate with thick anhydrites in the Punto Gorda, Pumpkin Bay, and Bone Island formations. In the Collazo well to the south, a limestone-anhydrite section appears to correlate with the Pumpkin Bay. Three limestone intervals in the Blanquizal well seem to correlate with portions of the Rattlesnake Hammock, Pumpkin Bay, and Bone Island formations in the Cay Sal well.« less

Exceptionally well preserved late Quaternary plant and vertebrate fossils from a blue hole on Abaco, The Bahamas.

PubMed

Steadman, David W; Franz, Richard; Morgan, Gary S; Albury, Nancy A; Kakuk, Brian; Broad, Kenneth; Franz, Shelley E; Tinker, Keith; Pateman, Michael P; Lott, Terry A; Jarzen, David M; Dilcher, David L

2007-12-11

We report Quaternary vertebrate and plant fossils from Sawmill Sink, a "blue hole" (a water-filled sinkhole) on Great Abaco Island, The Bahamas. The fossils are well preserved because of deposition in anoxic salt water. Vertebrate fossils from peat on the talus cone are radiocarbon-dated from approximately 4,200 to 1,000 cal BP (Late Holocene). The peat produced skeletons of two extinct species (tortoise Chelonoidis undescribed sp. and Caracara Caracara creightoni) and two extant species no longer in The Bahamas (Cuban crocodile, Crocodylus rhombifer; and Cooper's or Gundlach's Hawk, Accipiter cooperii or Accipiter gundlachii). A different, inorganic bone deposit on a limestone ledge in Sawmill Sink is a Late Pleistocene owl roost that features lizards (one species), snakes (three species), birds (25 species), and bats (four species). The owl roost fauna includes Rallus undescribed sp. (extinct; the first Bahamian flightless rail) and four other locally extinct species of birds (Cooper's/Gundlach's Hawk, A. cooperii/gundlachii; flicker Colaptes sp.; Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva; and Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna) and mammals (Bahamian hutia, Geocapromys ingrahami; and a bat, Myotis sp.). The exquisitely preserved fossils from Sawmill Sink suggest a grassy pineland as the dominant plant community on Abaco in the Late Pleistocene, with a heavier component of coppice (tropical dry evergreen forest) in the Late Holocene. Important in its own right, this information also will help biologists and government planners to develop conservation programs in The Bahamas that consider long-term ecological and cultural processes.

Late Pleistocene stratigraphy of a carbonate platform margin, Exumas, Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aalto, K. R.; Dill, Robert F.

1996-05-01

Detailed field studies of the southern Exuma Cays on the eastern margin of the Great Bahama Bank show a complex history of late Pleistocene island construction. Pleistocene rocks include island core eolianites, overlain at island margins by fossil patch reefs and reef sands, which in turn are overlain by, and/or grade laterally into, talus breccia cones derived from the erosion of island core eolianite at paleo-seacliffs situated at approximately 5-6 m above present mean high tide. Laminated pedogenic calcrete widely caps Pleistocene rocks. Minor zones of penetrative subsurface calcretization, developed in association with root growth, occur along permeable horizons, including: contacts between talus units or crossbed sets, along tension joints, and (possibly) at the Pleistocene reef-eolianite contact. Among Pleistocene eolianite samples studied in thin-section, the relative proportions of ooids-intraclasts+grapestones-skeletal grains-peloids are approximately 48:39:6:7. Marginal to the Exuma Sound and on the Brigantine Cays, a greater proportion of ooids have peloidal nuclei and cortices with numerous laminae, which may reflect ooid derivation from shelf margin and broad platform interior regions that were characterized by high wave energy during ooid formation. Between these two areas, ooids are more commonly superficial and have cortices with few laminae and nuclei composed of subrounded micrite or pelmicrite intraclasts. Such ooid nuclei are most likely derived from storm erosion of partially cemented seafloor muds. Some skeletal-rich eolianite in this region may reflect local sediment input from platform margin reefs, or may be part of an older(?) stratigraphic unit.

Volcano hazards in the San Salvador region, El Salvador

USGS Publications Warehouse

Major, J.J.; Schilling, S.P.; Sofield, D.J.; Escobar, C.D.; Pullinger, C.R.

2001-01-01

San Salvador volcano is one of many volcanoes along the volcanic arc in El Salvador (figure 1). This volcano, having a volume of about 110 cubic kilometers, towers above San Salvador, the country’s capital and largest city. The city has a population of approximately 2 million, and a population density of about 2100 people per square kilometer. The city of San Salvador and other communities have gradually encroached onto the lower flanks of the volcano, increasing the risk that even small events may have serious societal consequences. San Salvador volcano has not erupted for more than 80 years, but it has a long history of repeated, and sometimes violent, eruptions. The volcano is composed of remnants of multiple eruptive centers, and these remnants are commonly referred to by several names. The central part of the volcano, which contains a large circular crater, is known as El Boquerón, and it rises to an altitude of about 1890 meters. El Picacho, the prominent peak of highest elevation (1960 meters altitude) to the northeast of the crater, and El Jabali, the peak to the northwest of the crater, represent remnants of an older, larger edifice. The volcano has erupted several times during the past 70,000 years from vents central to the volcano as well as from smaller vents and fissures on its flanks [1] (numerals in brackets refer to end notes in the report). In addition, several small cinder cones and explosion craters are located within 10 kilometers of the volcano. Since about 1200 A.D., eruptions have occurred almost exclusively along, or a few kilometers beyond, the northwest flank of the volcano, and have consisted primarily of small explosions and emplacement of lava flows. However, San Salvador volcano has erupted violently and explosively in the past, even as recently as 800 years ago. When such eruptions occur again, substantial population and infrastructure will be at risk. Volcanic eruptions are not the only events that present a risk to local

Into the deep: A coarse-grained carbonate turbidite thalweg generated by gigantic submarine chutes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulder, Thierry; Gillet, Hervé; Reijmer, John; Droxler, André; cavailhes, Thibault; Hanquiez, Vincent; Fauquembergue, Kelly; Bujan, Stéphane; Blanck, David; bashah, Sara; Guiastrennec, Léa; Fabregas, Natacha; Recouvreur, Audrey; Seibert, Chloé

2017-04-01

New high-resolution multibeam mapping, in the Southeastern Bahamas, images in exquisite details the southern part of Exuma Sound, and its unchartered transition area to the deep abyssal plain of the Western North Atlantic bounded by the Bahama Escarpment (BE) between San Salvador Island and Samana Cay, referred here to the San Salvador abyssal plain. The transition area is locally referred to as Crooked Island Passage, loosely delineated by Crooked, Long, and Conception Islands, Rum and Samana Cays. Surprisingly in such a pure carbonate landscape, the newly established map reveals the detailed and complex morphology of a giant valley formed by numerous gravity flows originated in Exuma Sound itself, in addition to many secondary slope gullies and smaller tributaries draining the surrounding upper slopes. The valley referred here as the Exuma canyon system starts with a perched valley with low sinuosity, characterized by several flow restrictions and knickpoints initiated by the presence of drowned isolated platforms and merging tributaries. The valley abruptly transforms itself into a deep incised canyon, rivaling the depth of the Colorado Grand Canyon, through two major knickpoints with outsized chutes exceeding several hundred of meters in height, a total of 1600-1800 m. The sudden transformation of the wide valley into a deep narrow canyon, occurring when the flows incised deep into an underlying lower Cretaceous drowned carbonate platform, generates a huge hydraulic jump and creates an enormous plunge pool and related deposits with mechanisms comparable to the ones operating along giant subaerial waterfalls. The high kinetic flow energy, constrained by this narrow and deeply incised canyon, formed, when it is released at its mouth in the abyssal plain, a wide deep-sea channel with well-developed levees and fan, made of coarse-grained carbonate defined layers separated by fine carbonate sediments mixed with fine siliciclastics transported along the BE by the

Remote monitoring of chlorophyll fluorescence in two reef corals during the 2005 bleaching event at Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manzello, D.; Warner, M.; Stabenau, E.; Hendee, J.; Lesser, M.; Jankulak, M.

2009-03-01

Zooxanthellae fluorescence was measured in situ, remotely, and in near real-time with a pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometer for a colony of Siderastrea siderea and Agaricia tenuifolia at Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas during the Caribbean-wide 2005 bleaching event. These colonies displayed evidence of photosystem II (PS II) inactivation coincident with thermal stress and seasonally high doses of solar radiation. Hurricane-associated declines in temperature and light appear to have facilitated the recovery of maximum quantum yield of PS II within these two colonies, although both corals responded differently to individual storms. PAM fluorometry, coupled with long-term measurement of in situ light and temperature, provides much more detail of coral photobiology on a seasonal time scale and during possible bleaching conditions than sporadic, subjective, and qualitative observations. S. siderea displayed evidence of PS II inactivation over a month prior to the issuing of a satellite-based, sea surface temperature (SST) bleaching alert by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In fact, recovery had already begun in S. siderea when the bleaching alert was issued. Fluorescence data for A. tenuifolia were difficult to interpret because the shaded parts of a colony were monitored and thus did not perfectly coincide with thermal stress and seasonally high doses of solar radiation as in S. siderea. These results further emphasize the limitations of solely monitoring SST (satellite or in situ) as a bleaching indicator without considering the physiological status of coral-zooxanthellae symbioses.

Millennial Scale Rapid Climate Change Events of the last 60kya as Observed in Multiple Stalagmites from The Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mehterian, S.; Arienzo, M. M.; Pourmand, A.; Broad, K.; Kakuk, B.; Swart, P. K.

2016-12-01

Nine stalagmites collected from various depths of a submerged cave system on the island of Abaco, Bahamas comprise a continuous record of oxygen isotopic variation between 7.3 to 63kyr. The depths from which the speleothems were collected range from 12m to 37m. The youngest age of the speleothems reflect the inundation of the cave system by rising sea level. Millennial scale rapid climate change events can be seen in the δ18O record of the Bahamian stalagmites as Heinrich Stadials H0 to H6 and Dansgaard Oeschger Events. This collection of stalagmites represents different depths in a cave in Abaco, and their collective geochemical record reflects the global climatic effects as experienced locally in the subtropical islands of the Bahamas. Separately, various stalagmites that grew during the same time periods reflect similar patterns in the δ18O values of their calcite mineralogy despite having been located at vastly different depth elevations relative to each other. In general, the average δ18O value for the stalagmites collected from this cave is -2.5‰ VPDB with a maximum and minimum δ18O value between 0.5 ‰ and -5.5‰ VPDB respectively during Heinrich stadials and D/O events. In addition to δ18O values measured in these stalagmites, ratios of Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca, and Ba/Ca are also compared with one another. This study attempts to elucidate differences, if any, that locations in a cave relative to sea level would have on recording the true climate signals of a region. Finally, results from this study are compared with stalagmites collected from Eleuthera, another Bahamian island with speleothems younger than those from Abaco in order to create a mostly continuous record of rapid climate change events dating back from present day to 63,000 years.

The prostate cancer screening clinic in the Bahamas: a model for low- and middle-income countries.

PubMed

Roberts, Robin; Mitchell, Corydon; Tancawan, Ana Lourdes; Pedican, Mandi; Jones, Glenn Wayne

2017-11-01

Grand Bahama (pop. 51,000) is an island within the Bahamas archipelago. A local chapter of International Us TOO Prostate Cancer Support Group (UTGB) has led an annual community-based prostate cancer screening clinic in Grand Bahama each September since 2009. Features of this initiative, characteristics of attendees, and a description of found cancers were summarized to determine the clinic's value and to guide improvements. We analyzed the established clinic from 2012 to 2015, wherein UTGB attracted corporate funding, volunteers managed clinics, and health professionals provided healthcare services. An explicit algorithm was used to sort clients by age, comorbidities, and findings from digital rectal examinations, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values, to determine which clients would undergo secondary assessment and prostate biopsy. Overall, 1,844 males were registered (mean age 57.6 years), and only 149 men attended on more than one occasion for a total of 1,993 clinic visit. The urologist reviewed 315 men in secondary follow-up, for elevated PSA and/or an abnormal digital rectal examination. Of these, 45 men fulfilled criteria for trans-rectal ultrasound biopsy, and there were 40 found cases of prostate cancer, for a positive-predictive value of 89%. By D'Amico risk-stratification, these 40 cases were low (10%), intermediate (40%), and high risk (50%). The urologist counseled all 40 cases and facilitated access to standard care. This study suggests that low-resource countries can advance cost-effective screening clinics, apply policy guidelines, and provide services within acceptable standards of care. It is the expectation, with a sustained effort and community participation over the ensuing years, that earlier disease presentation will occur and, consequently, a concomitant decrease in the disease-specific mortality.

Distribution, Abundance and Population Structuring of Beaked Whales in the Great Bahama Canyon, Northern Bahamas

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

Torrey Pines Court La Jolla, CA 92037 Award Number: N0001409IP20051 Gina Ylitalo & David Herman, Ph.D. NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center...located in the northern Bahamas (b). From the northwest Atlantic Ocean, the canyon has two branches; northwards into Northwest Providence Channel where...conducted by Dr. David Herman and his colleagues at the Environmental Assessment Program at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center (under guidance

Distribution, Abundance and Population Structuring of Beaked Whales in the Great Bahama Canyon, Northern Bahamas

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-30

LeDuc, L.G. Barrett- Lennard, and M.M. Krahn. (2005) Feeding ecology of North Pacific killer whales Orcinus orca from fatty acid, stable isotope...Figure 1. The Great Bahama Canyon branches into Northwest Providence Channel and from Northeast Providence Channel south into Tongue of the...at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries. Nitrogen and carbon stable isotope ratios (SI) in skin and blubber fatty acids (FA) were

El Salvador: The Prospects for a Successful Revolution

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-12-01

sources including an uneven impact of technology, modernization, or growth of a new religion or ideology. 12 5,m € .’ 2I...salvadoreho en el presente siglo (San Salvador, El Salvador: Impreso en El Salvador, Centroamerica, 1984). Things did not improve from 1944-61, as there were...World. Boston: Beacon Press, 1966. Moran, Mariano Castro. Funci6n polftica del ej~cito salvadoreio en el presete siglo . San Salvador, El Salvador

El Salvador: Conflict and Change: A Secondary Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkens, Craig, Ed.

This curriculum emphasizes El Salvador's physical and human geography and involves students in active learning situations using critical and creative thinking skills. The seven lessons include: (1) "Why Study El Salvador?"; (2) "Where in the World Is El Salvador?"; (3) "Picturing El Salvador: Looking Beyond the…

Plant Conservation Challenges in the Bahama Archipelago

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Technical Abstract The Bahamian archipelago has a rich flora with 89 endemic species. An international symposium held at Nassau in October 2012 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of the “Flora of the Bahama Archipelago” provided a forum to discuss plant conservation issues on these...

AIDS in El Salvador.

PubMed

Martinez De Quintanilla, A B

1992-01-01

The 1st case of AIDS in El Salvador was diagnosed at Rosales Hospital in San Salvador in October 1985, in a bisexual man who had recently returned from the US. Since that time there have been 110 cases at Rosales Hospital, 81% in men. Of these patients, 54% report exclusively heterosexual histories; 42% report no travel outside El Salvador, 33% report travel to the US, 12% to Honduras, and 7% to Mexico. Risk factors include multiple sexual partners in 61%, prostitution in 7%, and injected drug use in 5%. To date, 52% are known to have died, 18% are alive, and the fate of the remainder is unknown. 5 children with symptomatic HIV infection have been seen at the Benjamin Bloom National Children's Hospital. As of September 1991, 504 persons nationwide were known to be HIV-seropositive, 63% of whom lived in San Salvador. Seropositivity among blood donors at Rosales Hospital has increased from 0% in 1988, when screening began, to 0.265 in 1991. full text

Shifting Quaternary migration patterns in the Bahamian archipelago: Evidence from the Zamia pumila complex at the northern limits of the Caribbean island biodiversity hotspot.

PubMed

Salas-Leiva, Dayana E; Meerow, Alan W; Calonje, Michael; Francisco-Ortega, Javier; Griffith, M Patrick; Nakamura, Kyoko; Sánchez, Vanessa; Knowles, Lindy; Knowles, David

2017-05-01

The Bahamas archipelago is formed by young, tectonically stable carbonate banks that harbor direct geological evidence of global ice-volume changes. We sought to detect signatures of major changes on gene flow patterns and reconstruct the phylogeographic history of the monophyletic Zamia pumila complex across the Bahamas. Nuclear molecular markers with both high and low mutation rates were used to capture two different time scale signatures and test several gene flow and demographic hypotheses. Single-copy nuclear genes unveiled apparent ancestral admixture on Andros, suggesting a significant role of this island as main hub of diversity of the archipelago. We detected demographic and spatial expansion of the Zamia pumila complex on both paleo-provinces around the Piacenzian (Pliocene)/Gelasian (Pleistocene). Populations evidenced signatures of different migration models that have occurred at two different times. Populations on Long Island ( Z. lucayana ) may either represent a secondary colonization of the Bahamas by Zamia or a rapid and early-divergence event of at least one population on the Bahamas. Despite changes in migration patterns with global climate, expected heterozygosity with both marker systems remains within the range reported for cycads, but with significant levels of increased inbreeding detected by the microsatellites. This finding is likely associated with reduced gene flow between and within paleo-provinces, accompanied by genetic drift, as rising seas enforced isolation. Our study highlights the importance of the maintenance of the predominant direction of genetic exchange and the role of overseas dispersion among the islands during climate oscillations. © 2017 Botanical Society of America.

Women and Science in El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Maria Mendez Martınez, Luz; Portillo, Mercy; Elías, José Héctor

2009-04-01

Physics is rarely pursued by El Salvadoran students. As in most Latin-American countries, there exists the false idea in El Salvador that some careers should be exclusively for men, such as engineering and hard sciences like physics. Because El Salvador is a natural laboratory for geophysical phenomena, due to the existence of more than 20 volcanoes, prevalent seismic activity, and large production of geothermic energy, geophysics is the most common branch of physics studied in El Salvador. The numbers and gender breakdown of physics and geophysics students at the University of El Salvador in the years since the last IUPAP Women in Physics Conference in 2005 are presented, and the numbers are encouraging.

Bahamas connection: residence areas selected by breeding female loggerheads tagged in Dry Tortugas National Park, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hart, Kristen M.; Sartain-Iverson, Autumn R.; Fujisaki, Ikuko

2015-01-01

We demonstrate a previously unknown link between Dry Tortugas nesting beaches and Bahamas residence areas; 17/39 (43.6%) of nesting loggerheads tagged in and tracked from the Dry Tortugas take up residence at sites in the Bahamas. Residence area estimates for these turtles were similar in size to previous foraging area estimates for two turtles tracked to the Bahamas in other studies. We show inter-annual residence area repeatability, and that residence areas of different individuals generally did not overlap. We suggest that these loggerheads possibly establish territories.

Ecology of mangroves in the Jewfish Chain, Exuma, Bahamas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilcox, L. V.; Yocom, Thomas G.; Forbes, A. M.

1976-01-01

The structure and function of mangrove communities in the Jewfish Chain, Exumas, Bahamas, were investigated for 3-1/2 years. Mangrove vegetation in the Jewfish Chain is similar to that in all the Caribbean-Florida area; Rhizophora mangle L. dominates and is interspersed with Avicennia germinans (L.) Lamk. and Laguncularia racemosa (L.) Gaertn. There is no apparent zonation of these three species. The mangrove communities in the Jewfish Chain occur only where they are protected from prevailing winds, storms, and tides, although all are periodically devastated by hurricanes. We found little or no evidence of coast building within these protected locations. The importance of the mangroves appears to be in providing protection and food for other flora and fauna within this unique ecosystem. Twenty-four species of algae were found in the mangroves, 9 of which had not previously been reported from the Bahamas. Distribution of these algae appears to be correlated to incident solar radiation, desiccation, and tide level. A total of 56 species of fish were found in the mangroves, 2 of which were not previously known from the Bahamas. Many fish taken were juveniles, suggesting that mangroves are a nursery ground for numerous species. Nine species of molluscs were found. Each species had a distinct distribution pattern relative to distance from the seaward edge of the mangroves, as well as a distinct vertical distribution pattern. Seventeen species of decapod crustaceans were recorded. Though several species of birds were noted in the mangroves, three species were most abundant: the white-crowned pigeon (Columba leucocephala) uses the mangrove for nesting but feeds in nearby shrub-thorn communities; the gray kingbird (Tyrannus dominicensis) and green heron (Butorides virescens) nest and feed in the mangroves. Our data do not completely describe a stereotyped mangrove community in the Bahamas, but they do give an indication of community structure and suggest several

Gangs in El Salvador

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

job.6 3 In cities the familiarity with the handling of arms and armed combat were the only tools. Some of them were incorporated into...April 17, 2012. 40 Douglas Moreno, “Buscan apoyo para prevención de violencia en El Salvador,” June 22, 2012, http://hoylosangeles.com/news/2012/jun/22...buscan-apoyo-para-prevencion-de- violencia - en-el-sa/, (accessed December 10, 2012). 41 Cámara de Comercio e Industria de El Salvador “Propuesta

Groundwater circulation and geochemistry of a karstified bank marginal fracture system, South Andros Island, Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitaker, Fiona F.; Smart, Peter L.

1997-10-01

On the east coast of South Andros Island, Bahamas, a major bank-marginal fracture system characterised by vertically extensive cavern systems (blue holes) is developed sub-parallel to the steep-sided deep-water re-entrant of the Tongue of the Ocean. In addition to providing a discharge route for meteoric, mixed and geochemically evolved saline groundwaters, a strong local circulation occurs along the fracture system. This generates enhanced vertical mixing within voids of the fracture system, evidenced by the increasing mixing zone thickness, and the thinning and increasing salinity of brackish lens waters from north to south along the fracture system. Furthermore, tidally driven pumping of groundwaters occurs between the fracture and adjacent carbonate aquifer affecting a zone up to 200 m either side of the fracture. The resultant mixing of groundwaters of contrasting salinity and PCO 2 within and along the fracture system and with the surrounding aquifer waters, together with bacterial oxidation of organic matter, generates significant potential for locally enhanced diagenesis. Undersaturation with respect to calcite within the fresh (or brackish)-salt water mixing zone is observed in the fracture system and predicted in the adjacent aquifer, while mixing between the brackish fracture lens and surrounding high PCO 2 fresh waters causes dissolution of aragonite but not calcite. The latter gives rise to considerable secondary porosity development, because active tidal pumping ensures continued renewal of dissolutional potential. This is evidenced by calcium and strontium enrichment in the brackish lens which indicates porosity generation by aragonite dissolution at a maximum rate of 0.35% ka -1, up to twice the average estimated for the fresh water lens. In contrast saline groundwaters are depleted in calcium relative to open ocean waters suggesting the formation of calcite cements. The development of a major laterally continuous cavernous fracture zone along the

Tarpum Bay, Bahamas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

In this ASTER image the features that look like folded material are carbonate sand dunes in the shallow waters of Tarpum Bay, southwest of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas. The sand making up the dunes comes from the erosion of limestone coral reefs, and has been shaped into dunes by ocean currents.

This image was acquired on May 12, 2002 by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite. With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet.

ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products.

The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER will provide scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils and geology; and measuring surface heat balance. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is the U.S. Science team leader; Bjorn Eng of JPL is the project manager. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, a long- term research effort to understand and protect our home planet. Through the study of Earth, NASA will help to provide sound science to policy and economic decision-makers so as to better life here, while developing the

Triggering of destructive earthquakes in El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martínez-Díaz, José J.; Álvarez-Gómez, José A.; Benito, Belén; Hernández, Douglas

2004-01-01

We investigate the existence of a mechanism of static stress triggering driven by the interaction of normal faults in the Middle American subduction zone and strike-slip faults in the El Salvador volcanic arc. The local geology points to a large strike-slip fault zone, the El Salvador fault zone, as the source of several destructive earthquakes in El Salvador along the volcanic arc. We modeled the Coulomb failure stress (CFS) change produced by the June 1982 and January 2001 subduction events on planes parallel to the El Salvador fault zone. The results have broad implications for future risk management in the region, as they suggest a causative relationship between the position of the normal-slip events in the subduction zone and the strike-slip events in the volcanic arc. After the February 2001 event, an important area of the El Salvador fault zone was loaded with a positive change in Coulomb failure stress (>0.15 MPa). This scenario must be considered in the seismic hazard assessment studies that will be carried out in this area.

Situation Reports--Bahamas, Brasil, Guatemala, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao), Uruguay.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in four foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are Bahamas, Guatemala, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao), and Uruguay. Information is provided under two topics, general background and family planning situation, where appropriate and if it is available. General…

Has El Salvador Fault Zone produced M ≥ 7.0 earthquakes? The 1719 El Salvador earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canora, C.; Martínez-Díaz, J.; Álvarez-Gómez, J.; Villamor, P.; Ínsua-Arévalo, J.; Alonso-Henar, J.; Capote, R.

2013-05-01

Historically, large earthquakes, Mw ≥ 7.0, in the Εl Salvador area have been attributed to activity in the Cocos-Caribbean subduction zone. Τhis is correct for most of the earthquakes of magnitude greater than 6.5. However, recent paleoseismic evidence points to the existence of large earthquakes associated with rupture of the Εl Salvador Fault Ζone, an Ε-W oriented strike slip fault system that extends for 150 km through central Εl Salvador. Τo calibrate our results from paleoseismic studies, we have analyzed the historical seismicity of the area. In particular, we suggest that the 1719 earthquake can be associated with paleoseismic activity evidenced in the Εl Salvador Fault Ζone. Α reinterpreted isoseismal map for this event suggests that the damage reported could have been a consequence of the rupture of Εl Salvador Fault Ζone, rather than rupture of the subduction zone. Τhe isoseismal is not different to other upper crustal earthquakes in similar tectonovolcanic environments. We thus challenge the traditional assumption that only the subduction zone is capable of generating earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7.0 in this region. Τhis result has broad implications for future risk management in the region. Τhe potential occurrence of strong ground motion, significantly higher and closer to the Salvadorian populations that those assumed to date, must be considered in seismic hazard assessment studies in this area.

Breeding sites and winter site fidelity of Piping Plovers wintering in The Bahamas, a previously unknown major wintering area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gratto-Trevor, Cheri; Haig, Susan M.; Miller, Mark P.; Mullins, Thomas D.; Maddock, Sidney; Roche, Erin A.; Moore, Predensa

2016-01-01

Most of the known wintering areas of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) are along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States and into Mexico, and in the Caribbean. However, 1066 threatened/endangered Piping Plovers were recently found wintering in The Bahamas, an area not previously known to be important for the species. Although representing about 27% of the birds counted during the 2011 International Piping Plover Winter Census, the location of their breeding site(s) was unknown. Thus, our objectives were to determine the location(s) of their breeding site(s) using molecular markers and by tracking banded individuals, identify spring and fall staging sites, and examine site fidelity and survival. We captured and color-banded 57 birds in January and February 2010 in The Bahamas. Blood samples were also collected for genetic evaluation of the likely subspecies wintering in The Bahamas. Band re-sightings and DNA analysis revealed that at least 95% of the Piping Plovers wintering in The Bahamas originated on the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. Re-sightings of birds banded in The Bahamas spanned the breeding distribution of the species along the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to North Carolina. Site fidelity to breeding and wintering sites was high (88–100%). Spring and fall staging sites were located along the Atlantic coast of the United States, with marked birds concentrating in the Carolinas. Our estimate of true survival for the marked birds was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.61–0.80). Our results indicate that more than one third of the Piping Plover population that breeds along the Atlantic coast winters in The Bahamas. By determining the importance of The Bahamas to the Atlantic subspecies of Piping Plovers, future conservation efforts for these populations can be better focused on where they are most needed.

Is the lionfish invasion waning? Evidence from The Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benkwitt, Cassandra E.; Albins, Mark A.; Buch, Kevin L.; Ingeman, Kurt E.; Kindinger, Tye L.; Pusack, Timothy J.; Stallings, Christopher D.; Hixon, Mark A.

2017-12-01

Indo-Pacific lionfishes ( Pterois volitans/ miles) have undergone rapid population growth and reached extremely high densities in parts of the invaded Atlantic. However, their long-term population trends in areas without active management programs are unknown. Since 2005, we have monitored lionfish abundance in the Exuma Cays of the central Bahamas on 64 reefs ranging in size from 1 to 4000 m2. Lionfish densities increased from the first sighting in 2005 through 2009, leveled off between 2010 and 2011, and then began to decrease. By 2015, densities had noticeably declined on most of these reefs, despite a lack of culling or fishing efforts in this part of The Bahamas. There was no consistent change in lionfish size structure through time. We discuss possible causes of the decline, including reductions in larval supply or survival, hurricanes, interactions with native species, and intraspecific interactions. Further studies are required to determine whether the declines will persist. In the meantime, we recommend that managers continue efforts to control invasive lionfish abundances locally.

[Earthquakes in El Salvador].

PubMed

de Ville de Goyet, C

2001-02-01

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has 25 years of experience dealing with major natural disasters. This piece provides a preliminary review of the events taking place in the weeks following the major earthquakes in El Salvador on 13 January and 13 February 2001. It also describes the lessons that have been learned over the last 25 years and the impact that the El Salvador earthquakes and other disasters have had on the health of the affected populations. Topics covered include mass-casualties management, communicable diseases, water supply, managing donations and international assistance, damages to the health-facilities infrastructure, mental health, and PAHO's role in disasters.

The El Salvador and Philippines Tsunamis of August 2012: Insights from Sea Level Data Analysis and Numerical Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heidarzadeh, Mohammad; Satake, Kenji

2014-12-01

We studied two tsunamis from 2012, one generated by the El Salvador earthquake of 27 August ( Mw 7.3) and the other generated by the Philippines earthquake of 31 August ( Mw 7.6), using sea level data analysis and numerical modeling. For the El Salvador tsunami, the largest wave height was observed in Baltra, Galapagos Islands (71.1 cm) located about 1,400 km away from the source. The tsunami governing periods were around 9 and 19 min. Numerical modeling indicated that most of the tsunami energy was directed towards the Galapagos Islands, explaining the relatively large wave height there. For the Philippines tsunami, the maximum wave height of 30.5 cm was observed at Kushimoto in Japan located about 2,700 km away from the source. The tsunami governing periods were around 8, 12 and 29 min. Numerical modeling showed that a significant part of the far-field tsunami energy was directed towards the southern coast of Japan. Fourier and wavelet analyses as well as numerical modeling suggested that the dominant period of the first wave at stations normal to the fault strike is related to the fault width, while the period of the first wave at stations in the direction of fault strike is representative of the fault length.

Florida, Bahamas, Cuba and Gulf Stream, USA

NASA Image and Video Library

1992-08-08

This unique photo offers a view of the Florida peninsula, western Bahamas, north central Cuba and the deep blue waters of the Gulf Stream, that hugs the east coast of Florida (27.0N, 82.0W). In addition to being an excellent photograph for showing the geographical relationships between the variety of landforms in this scene, the typical effect of the land-sea breeze is very much in evidence as few clouds over water, cumulus build up over landmass.

Shifting migration patterns without genetic erosion: evidence from the Zamia pumila complex (Cycadales: Zamiaceae) at the northern of the Caribbean island biodiversity hotspot

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Bahamas archipelago is the northernmost land area of the Caribbean island biodiversity hotspot (CIBH). It is defined by several banks composed of quaternary carbonates that are tectonically stable. Such stability has provided direct geological evidence of global ice-volume changes that is valuab...

Religious Coping, Spirituality, and Substance Use and Abuse Among Youth in High-Risk Communities in San Salvador, El Salvador

PubMed Central

Salas-Wright, Christopher P.; Olate, Rene; Vaughn, Michael G.

2014-01-01

Little is known about the relationship between religious coping, spirituality, and substance use in developing nations such as El Salvador. Collected in 2011, the sample consists of 290 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents (11–17 years) and young adults (18–25 years) in San Salvador, El Salvador. Structural equation modeling and logistic regression are employed to examine the associations between the Measure of Religious Coping (RCOPE), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and substance use and abuse. Results suggest that spirituality and, to a far lesser degree, religious coping may serve to protect for substance use and abuse among this high-risk population of Salvadoran youth. PMID:23647129

Religious coping, spirituality, and substance use and abuse among youth in high-risk communities in San Salvador, El Salvador.

PubMed

Salas-Wright, Christopher P; Olate, Rene; Vaughn, Michael G

2013-06-01

Little is known about the relationship between religious coping, spirituality, and substance use in developing nations such as El Salvador. Collected in 2011, the sample consists of 290 high-risk and gang-involved adolescents (11-17 years) and young adults (18-25 years) in San Salvador, El Salvador. Structural equation modeling and logistic regression are employed to examine the associations between the Measure of Religious Coping (RCOPE), the Intrinsic Spirituality Scale, and substance use and abuse. Results suggest that spirituality and, to a far lesser degree, religious coping may serve to protect for substance use and abuse among this high-risk population of Salvadoran youth.

Salvador has an extended SARAH domain that mediates binding to Hippo kinase.

PubMed

Cairns, Leah; Tran, Thao; Fowl, Brendan H; Patterson, Angela; Kim, Yoo Jin; Bothner, Brian; Kavran, Jennifer M

2018-04-13

The Hippo pathway controls cell proliferation and differentiation through the precisely tuned activity of a core kinase cassette. The activity of Hippo kinase is modulated by interactions between its C-terminal coiled-coil, termed the SARAH domain, and the SARAH domains of either dRassF or Salvador. Here, we wanted to understand the molecular basis of SARAH domain-mediated interactions and their influence on Hippo kinase activity. We focused on Salvador, a positive effector of Hippo activity and the least well-characterized SARAH domain-containing protein. We determined the crystal structure of a complex between Salvador and Hippo SARAH domains from Drosophila This structure provided insight into the organization of the Salvador SARAH domain including a folded N-terminal extension that expands the binding interface with Hippo SARAH domain. We also found that this extension improves the solubility of the Salvador SARAH domain, enhances binding to Hippo, and is unique to Salvador. We therefore suggest expanding the definition of the Salvador SARAH domain to include this extended region. The heterodimeric assembly observed in the crystal was confirmed by cross-linked MS and provided a structural basis for the mutually exclusive interactions of Hippo with either dRassF or Salvador. Of note, Salvador influenced the kinase activity of Mst2, the mammalian Hippo homolog. In co-transfected HEK293T cells, human Salvador increased the levels of Mst2 autophosphorylation and Mst2-mediated phosphorylation of select substrates, whereas Salvador SARAH domain inhibited Mst2 autophosphorylation in vitro These results suggest Salvador enhances the effects of Hippo kinase activity at multiple points in the Hippo pathway. © 2018 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

El Salvador.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solberg, Mary

1982-01-01

Many El Salvador refugees who have sought asylum in the United States have been sent back, only to succumb to violence. Justice demands that the United States deal with the unfortunate consequences of violence by exercising such policy options as providing extended voluntary departure status to refugees or suspending military aid to the junta.…

El Salvador.

PubMed

1987-11-01

The Central American republic of El Salvador lies on the Pacific with a south coast between Guatemala and Honduras. The climate rises from tropical maritime along the coast to subtropical hill and valley strip to a mountainous interior. The population consists of 98% Mestizo and 10% Indian, totaling 5.1 million, growing at 2.4 annually. Literacy varies from 40-60%; the infant mortality rate is 71/1000, and the life expectancy is 63-66 years. The economy is based on agricultural products as coffee, sugar and cotton and light industry such as textiles and petroleum refining, but due to political unrest, the 1986 earthquake, and fluctuating commodity prices, inflation runs about 36% and the per capita income is $700. El Salvador takes pride in its independence since 1821, but its history is marked by revolutions and control of government, military and ecclesiastical power by "the fourteen families." The current democratic government, considered to be the result of a fair election, is undertaking land reform and participates in the Central American peace process.

Diverse habitat use during two life stages of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi): community structure, foraging, and social interactions

PubMed Central

Hayes, William K.

2017-01-01

Our ability to prevent extinction in declining populations often depends on effective management of habitats that are disturbed through wildfire, logging, agriculture, or development. In these disturbed landscapes, the juxtaposition of multiple habitat types can be especially important to fledglings and young birds, which may leave breeding grounds in human-altered habitat for different habitats nearby that provide increased foraging opportunities, reduced competition, and higher protection from predators. In this study, we evaluated the importance of three habitat types to two life stages of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi), a synanthropic songbird endemic to Andros, The Bahamas. First, we determined the avian species composition and relative abundance of I. northropi among three major vegetation types on Andros: Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) forest, coppice (broadleaf dry forest), and anthropogenic areas, dominated by nonnative vegetation (farmland and developed land). We then compared the foraging strategies and social interactions of two age classes of adult Bahama Orioles in relation to differential habitat use. Bird surveys late in the Bahama Oriole’s breeding season indicated the number of avian species and Bahama Oriole density were highest in coppice. Some bird species occurring in the coppice and pine forest were never observed in agricultural or residential areas, and may be at risk if human disturbance of pine forest and coppice increases, as is occurring at a rapid pace on Andros. During the breeding season, second-year (SY) adult Bahama Orioles foraged in all vegetation types, whereas after-second-year (ASY) adults were observed foraging only in anthropogenic areas, where the species nested largely in introduced coconut palms (Cocos nucifera). Additionally, SY adults foraging in anthropogenic areas were often observed with an ASY adult, suggesting divergent habitat use for younger, unpaired birds. Other aspects of

Educational Reform with Television: The El Salvador Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, John K.; And Others

A detailed report describes the planning, development, operation, results, and problems of an experiment in instructional television in El Salvador. Unlike other developing countries, El Salvador conceived of educational television as an integral component of national educational reform, embracing curriculum revision, teacher training, and new…

The Science of Inaccurate Temperatures: Explaining How the Bahamas Did Not Form in a Jacuzzi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murray, S.; Swart, P. K.; McNeill, D. F.

2016-12-01

The Bahamas archipelago is a carbonate platform that formed in the warm waters of the Gulf Stream current. Using clumped isotope paleothermometry, it has been shown that carbonates extending back through the Miocene taken from cores throughout the Bahamas have all precipitated from fluids at temperatures similar to what is found in the Bahamas in the present day (15 to 35°C). However, in a single core, (Clino), collected off the western edge of Great Bahama Bank, Δ47 values have been measured which suggest formation at significantly warmer temperatures (42 to 53°C). These values are present in spite of the fact that the sediments have never been deeply buried. In a parallel study, these same cores were measured for their carbonate associated sulfate (CAS). The only core that presented evidence of elevated CAS, indicative of bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR), was the Clino core. In this core the clumped isotope temperatures are correlated with changes in the δ34S of the CAS. This finding suggests that BSR can have a significant effect on the Δ47 value producing erroneous temperatures. This is further supported by examining a carbonate concretion with extreme negative δ13C values (-30‰) taken as evidence of BSR. The clumped isotope temperatures in this nodule are elevated relative to its burial history with an increase of 15 °C from the outer edge of the concretion to the center. The increase in temperature correlates well with the decreasing δ13C suggesting increasing fractionation associated with BSR is directly impacting the clumped isotope measurements.

Behavioral Ecology of Deep Diving Odontocetes in The Bahamas

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-19

was prepared under contract to the Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). The publication of this...stratum SD – standard deviation SERDP – Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program SGBA – South Grand Bahama stratum SIs – Stable... Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and we are grateful to Dr. John Hall, Program Manager for the Resource Conservation and Climate

Digital shaded relief image of a carbonate platform (northern Great Bahama Bank): Scenery seen and unseen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boss, Stephen K.

1996-11-01

A mosaic image of the northern Great Bahama Bank was created from separate gray-scale Landsat images using photo-editing and image analysis software that is commercially available for desktop computers. Measurements of pixel gray levels (relative scale from 0 to 255 referred to as digital number, DN) on the mosaic image were compared to bank-top bathymetry (determined from a network of single-channel, high-resolution seismic profiles), bottom type (coarse sand, sandy mud, barren rock, or reef determined from seismic profiles and diver observations), and vegetative cover (presence and/or absence and relative density of the marine angiosperm Thalassia testudinum determined from diver observations). Results of these analyses indicate that bank-top bathymetry is a primary control on observed pixel DN, bottom type is a secondary control on pixel DN, and vegetative cover is a tertiary influence on pixel DN. Consequently, processing of the gray-scale Landsat mosaic with a directional gradient edge-detection filter generated a physiographic shaded relief image resembling bank-top bathymetric patterns related to submerged physiographic features across the platform. The visibility of submerged karst landforms, Pleistocene eolianite ridges, islands, and possible paleo-drainage patterns created during sea-level lowstands is significantly enhanced on processed images relative to the original mosaic. Bank-margin ooid shoals, platform interior sand bodies, reef edifices, and bidirectional sand waves are features resulting from Holocene carbonate deposition that are also more clearly visible on the new physiographic images. Combined with observational data (single-channel, high-resolution seismic profiles, bottom observations by SCUBA divers, sediment and rock cores) across the northern Great Bahama Bank, these physiographic images facilitate comprehension of areal relations among antecedent platform topography, physical processes, and ensuing depositional patterns during sea

Women in physics in El Salvador: Historical perspectives and current challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiménez, Telma; Jiménez, Diana; Larios, Gloria

2015-12-01

Physics as a discipline in El Salvador's higher education system has struggled historically; however, since 1991, it has enjoyed a growth-friendly environment. While there are few female physicists in El Salvador, they are employed in various organizations and educational institutions, demonstrating that physics is a viable career path. El Salvador currently offers a range of opportunities for women in physics. With the support of the 5th IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics, we will both meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that face female physicists in El Salvador.

Lake Ilopango, El Salvador

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-03-10

Lake Ilopango is a crater lake which fills a volcanic caldera in central El Salvador, immediately east of the capital city San Salvador. The caldera collapsed most recently in about 500 AD, producing 20 times as much ash as the Mount St. Helens eruption, and blanketing an area of at least 10,000 square kilometers waist-deep in ash. The only historical eruption occurred in 1879, forming lava domes, now islets in the lake. Quetzaltepec is the stratovolcano just west of the city. Its last eruption in 1917 produced lavas flowing down the northwest flank, and evaporated the crater lake. The image was acquired March 5, 2006, covers an area of 27 by 42 km, and is located at 13.7 degrees north, 89.1 degrees west. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19237

Children's Voices from El Salvador: War and Peace.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sunal, Cynthia Szymanski; And Others

1994-01-01

Provides an overview of the decade-long civil war in El Salvador and discusses its historical and cultural roots. Presents 14 letters, 2 poems, and 3 drawings by fourth-grade students in El Salvador that relate to the impact of war on their lives. Provides suggestions for using these letters in social studies classes. (CFR)

Checklist of the inland fishes of El Salvador.

PubMed

McMahan, Caleb D; Matamoros, Wilfredo A; Álvarez Calderón, Francisco S; Henríquez, Wendy Yamileth; Recinos, H Michelle; Chakrabarty, Prosanta; Barraza, Enrique; Herrera, Néstor

2013-01-23

The inland fish fauna of El Salvador and its distribution was originally described in 1925 by Samuel Hildebrand. That work has been the main source of information for freshwater fishes of El Salvador up to today. Based on the combination of an intensive literature review, electronic database searches, re-identification of museum specimens, and fieldwork, we hereby provide an updated checklist of the inland fishes of El Salvador. This checklist provides distributional data at the Salvadoran hydrographical and political (by department) levels. The checklist is systematically arranged at the ordinal and familial level and then alphabetically therein. The freshwater fish fauna of El Salvador includes 101 species divided into 64 genera, 29 families, and 14 orders. According to their supposed tolerance to salinity, 73% of these species are peripheral, 23% secondary, and only 4% are primary freshwater fishes. One species is endemic to the country, Amatitlania coatepeque. The low number of primary freshwater fishes and endemics is comparable to the Central American Pacific slope in particular, as well as northern Central America in general.

A new vision of carbonate slopes: the Little Bahama Bank

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulder, Thierry; Gillet, Hervé; Hanquiez, Vincent; Reijmer, John J.; Tournadour, Elsa; Chabaud, Ludivine; Principaud, Mélanie; Schnyder, Jara; Borgomano, Jean

2015-04-01

Recent data collected in November 2014 (RV Walton Smith) on the upper slope of the Little Bahama Bank (LBB) between 30 and 400 m water depth allowed to characterize the uppermost slope (Rankey et al., 2012) over a surface of 170 km2. The new data set includes multibeam bathymetry and acoustic imagery, 3.5 kHz very-high resolution (VHR) seismic reflection lines, 21 gravity cores and 11 Van Veen grabs. The upper slope of the LBB does not show a steep submarine cliff as known from western Great Bahama Bank. The carbonate bank progressively deepens towards the basin through a slighty inclined plateau. The slope value is < 6° down to a water depth of about 70 m. The plateau is incised by decameter-wide gullies that covered with indurated sediment. Some of the gullies like Roberts Cuts show a larger size and may play an important role in sediment transfer from the shallow-water carbonate bank down to the canyon heads at 400-500 m water depth (Mulder et al., 2012). In the gully area, the actual reef rests on paleo-reefs that outcrop at a water depth of about 40 m. These paleo-reef structures could represent reefs that established themselves during past periods of sea-level stagnation. Below this water depth, the slope steepens up to 30° to form the marginal escarpment (Rankey et al., 2012), which is succeeded by the open margin realm (Rankey et al., 2012). The slope inclination value decreases at about 180-200 m water depth. Between 20 and 200 m of water depth, the VHR seismic shows no seafloor sub-bottom reflector. Between 180 and 320 m water depth, the seafloor smoothens. The VHR seismic shows an onlapping sediment wedge, which starts in this water depth and shows a blind or very crudely stratified echo facies. The sediment thickness of this Holocene unit may exceed 20 m. It fills small depressions in the substratum and thickens in front of gullies that cut the carbonate platform edge. Sediment samples show the abundancy of carbonate mud on the present Bahamian

Civil-Military Relations and Militarization in El Salvador

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

6  C.  DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................7  II.  HISTORY OF THE...explains the metrics by which militarization in El Salvador is to be assessed. Chapter II presents the history of civil-military relations and...militarization in El Salvador up to 2009. Salvadoran history , not unlike other histories , is a clash of perspectives of the peasantry, military, guerrillas

Mapping Depositional Facies on Great Bahama Bank: An Integration of Groundtruthing and Remote Sensing Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hariss, M.; Purkis, S.; Ellis, J. M.; Swart, P. K.; Reijmer, J.

2013-12-01

Great Bahama Bank (GBB) has been used in many models to illustrate depositional facies variation across flat-topped, isolated carbonate platforms. Such models have served as subsurface analogs at a variety of scales. In this presentation we have integrated Landsat TM imagery, a refined bathymetric digital elevation model, and seafloor sample data compiled into ArcGIS and analyzed with eCognition to develop a depositional facies map that is more robust than previous versions. For the portion of the GBB lying to the west of Andros Island, the facies map was generated by pairing an extensive set of GPS-constrained field observations and samples (n=275) (Reijmer et al., 2009, IAS Spec Pub 41) with computer and manual interpretation of the Landsat imagery. For the remainder of the platform, which lacked such rigorous ground-control, the Landsat imagery was segmented into lithotopes - interpreted to be distinct bodies of uniform sediment - using a combination of edge detection, spectral and textural analysis, and manual editing. A map was then developed by assigning lithotopes to facies classes on the basis of lessons derived from the portion of the platform for which we had rigorous conditioning. The new analysis reveals that GBB is essentially a very grainy platform with muddier accumulations only in the lee of substantial island barriers; in this regard Andros Island, which is the largest island on GBB, exerts a direct control over the muddiest portion of GBB. Mudstones, wackestones, and mud-rich packstones cover 7%, 6%, and 15%, respectively, of the GBB platform top. By contrast, mud-poor packstones, grainstones, and rudstones account for 19%, 44%, and 3%, respectively. Of the 44% of the platform-top classified as grainstone, only 4% is composed of 'high-energy' deposits characterized by the development of sandbar complexes. The diversity and size of facies bodies is broadly the same on the eastern and western limb of the GBB platform, though the narrower eastern

Spatial variation in climate mediates gene flow across an island archipelago.

PubMed

Logan, Michael L; Duryea, M C; Molnar, Orsolya R; Kessler, Benji J; Calsbeek, Ryan

2016-10-01

High levels of gene flow among partially isolated populations can overwhelm selection and limit local adaptation. This process, known as "gene swamping," can homogenize genetic diversity among populations and reduce the capacity of a species to withstand rapid environmental change. We studied brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) distributed across seven islands in The Bahamas. We used microsatellite markers to estimate gene flow among islands and then examined the correlation between thermal performance and island temperature. The thermal optimum for sprint performance was correlated with both mean and maximum island temperature, whereas performance breadth was not correlated with any measure of temperature variation. Gene flow between islands decreased as the difference between mean island temperatures increased, even when those islands were adjacent to one another. These data suggest that phenotypic variation is the result of either (1) local genetic adaptation with selection against immigrants maintaining variation in the thermal optimum, (2) irreversible forms of adaptive plasticity such that immigrants have reduced fitness, or (3) an interaction between fixed genetic differences and plasticity. In general, the patterns of gene flow we observed suggest that local thermal environments represent important ecological filters that can mediate gene flow on relatively fine geographic scales. © 2016 The Author(s). Evolution © 2016 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

An Examination of High School Students' Disparate Academic Performance in the Bahamas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCartney, Donald M.

2013-01-01

The qualitative, historical, ethnographic study explored the perceived disparity between the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examination and The Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) and the disparity in the academic achievement of high school students who took the GCE examination and those who took the BGCSE…

Area Handbook Series: El Salvador: A Country Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-01

military attache, Carlos Ibiiez de Campo, who later became president of Chile , personally led a legendary charge of the Salvadoran cavalry in one of...Instituto Salvadorefio de Administraci6n Municipal. Primer Seminario de Coordinacidn Interinstitucional del Saneamiento Ambiental en El Salvador...Latina y Ei Caribe. La Participa- cidn Comunal en el Proceso de Construcciones Educativas. San Salvador: 1975. __ . Ministerio de Planificaci6n y

El Salvador.

PubMed

1993-02-01

Background notes on El Salvador capsulizes specific statistical and descriptive information on geography, demography, government. and economic conditions. The man text describes the people, their history and the nature of the peace process, principal government officials, political conditions, human rights, the state of the economy, foreign relations, and relations with the US. In 1992, the estimated population was about 5 million of which 89% are mestizo (Spanish-Indian), 10% Indian, and 1% Caucasian. 58% live in rural areas. It is largely Roman Catholic. Literacy is about 65% among adults. 6 years of education are compulsory. 40% are engaged in agriculture, 27% in services, and 16% in industry. The gross domestic product was $5.1 billion; per capita income was $1160. El Salvador's history has been marked by frequent revolutions. Almost every present since 1932 has been a military officer. In the more recent past (1969-80), Honduras and El Salvador fought over borders; a peace treaty was signed in 1980, but it was not until 1992 that the land in dispute was awarded by the International Court of Justice to Honduras. During the 1970, efforts by Duarte were made toward democratic reform, but fraud and corruption contributed to the rise of armed guerrilla warfare as a means to bring about change. There were rightist and leftists groups accelerating violence; event he Salvadoran armed forces engaged in lawlessness. The judicial system failed. Nicaragua after 1979 supplied arms and munitions to 5 guerrilla groups. Duarte returned to power and his junta initiated land reform and nationalized banks and marketing of coffee and sugar. The elections in 1982 led to the transfer of power to Alvaro Magana. The new constitution in 1983 appeased some, but land reforms still did not satisfy guerrillas. Duarte was elected again in 1984 and Alfredo Christiani in 1989 in a peaceful transfer of power. In 1991 and 1992 peace accords were signed with the guerrillas. During this 12-year

El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-08

Mauricio Funes, “Discurso Toma de Posesión,” June 1, 2009. 7 Presidente electo El Salvador propone pacto social ante crisis,” Reuters, March 16...April 2, 2009. 33 “ Presidente de El Salvador anuncia retiro de tropas de Irak,” Reuters, December 23, 2008. 34 “200 Soldiers of last El Salvador...CRS Report R40135, Mérida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: Funding and Policy Issues, by Clare Ribando Seelke and June S. Beittel; and CRS

Earth observations taken from Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-80 mission

NASA Image and Video Library

1996-12-03

STS080-742-070 (19 Nov.-7 Dec. 1996) --- A view of the Tongue of the Ocean in the Bahama Islands east of Florida. The lines leading from the flat bottom of the Great Bahama Bank, leading into the Tongue, are caused by rapid transfer of ocean water caused by both temperature changes in the water and hurricanes that periodically cross the area. The water is about 30 feet deep on the Great Bahama Bank, and nearly a mile deep in the tongue. To the left is the Exuma Sound, over a mile deep, and a series of islands along its edge with Great Exuma Island the easiest to see. Green Cay, the small dot lower left, leaving a wake to the southeast of light colored coral. The deep blue area to the top right center is the southeastern edge of the Great Bahama Bank.

75 FR 39556 - Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-09

... Docket No. USCIS 2010-0032] RIN 1615-ZA95 Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary... designation of El Salvador for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months from its current expiration date... nationals of El Salvador (or aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in El Salvador) with...

77 FR 2990 - Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-20

... Docket No. USCIS 2007-0028] RIN 1615-ZB06 Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary... the TPS designation of El Salvador is effective March 10, 2012 and will remain in effect through... Salvador by selecting ``TPS Designated Country--El Salvador'' from the menu on the left of the TPS Web page...

Jesuit Education for Justice: The Colegio in El Salvador, 1968-1984.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beirne, Charles J.

1985-01-01

Describes the transformation of a Jesuit colegio in El Salvador from a school for sons of wealthy landowners into a school open to all people. Also examines the history of the Jesuit order in El Salvador from 1914 to the present. (Author/CT)

Keeping It Better in the Bahamas: A Nation's Socioeconomic Response to Juvenile Crime.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nowak, Barbara J.

2001-01-01

Examines how the Bahamas, a nation that is over 85 percent of African descent, is dealing with juvenile crime, discussing: the historical and economic context of crime; the socioeconomics of juvenile crime; and the nation's socioeconomic response to delinquency. An important objective in this effort is to empower the next generation to become…

The genetic architecture of novel trophic specialists: larger effect sizes are associated with exceptional oral jaw diversification in a pupfish adaptive radiation.

PubMed

Martin, Christopher H; Erickson, Priscilla A; Miller, Craig T

2017-01-01

The genetic architecture of adaptation is fundamental to understanding the mechanisms and constraints governing diversification. However, most case studies focus on loss of complex traits or parallel speciation in similar environments. It is still unclear how the genetic architecture of these local adaptive processes compares to the architecture of evolutionary transitions contributing to morphological and ecological novelty. Here, we identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) between two trophic specialists in an excellent case study for examining the origins of ecological novelty: a sympatric radiation of pupfishes endemic to San Salvador Island, Bahamas, containing a large-jawed scale-eater and a short-jawed molluscivore with a skeletal nasal protrusion. These specialized niches and trophic traits are unique among over 2000 related species. Measurements of the fitness landscape on San Salvador demonstrate multiple fitness peaks and a larger fitness valley isolating the scale-eater from the putative ancestral intermediate phenotype of the generalist, suggesting that more large-effect QTL should contribute to its unique phenotype. We evaluated this prediction using an F2 intercross between these specialists. We present the first linkage map for pupfishes and detect significant QTL for sex and eight skeletal traits. Large-effect QTL contributed more to enlarged scale-eater jaws than the molluscivore nasal protrusion, consistent with predictions from the adaptive landscape. The microevolutionary genetic architecture of large-effect QTL for oral jaws parallels the exceptional diversification rates of oral jaws within the San Salvador radiation observed over macroevolutionary timescales and may have facilitated exceptional trophic novelty in this system. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Bathyal sea urchins of the Bahamas, with notes on covering behavior in deep sea echinoids (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawson, David L.; Pawson, Doris J.

2013-08-01

In a survey of the bathyal echinoderms of the Bahama Islands region using manned submersibles, approximately 200 species of echinoderms were encountered and documented; 33 species were echinoids, most of them widespread in the general Caribbean area. Three species were found to exhibit covering behavior, the piling of debris on the upper surface of the body. Active covering is common in at least 20 species of shallow-water echinoids, but it has been reliably documented previously only once in deep-sea habitats. Images of covered deep-sea species, and other species of related interest, are provided. Some of the reasons adduced in the past for covering in shallow-water species, such as reduction of incident light intensity, physical camouflage, ballast in turbulent water, protection from desiccation, presumably do not apply in bathyal species. The main reasons for covering in deep, dark, environments are as yet unknown. Some covering behavior in the deep sea may be related to protection of the genital pores, ocular plates, or madreporite. Covering in some deep-sea species may also be merely a tactile reflex action, as some authors have suggested for shallow-water species.

Establishment of a Comprehensive Military Medical System during Wartime in El Salvador: A Retrospective View

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-09-01

U.S. Agency for International Development (ADSS AID/DSPE-C-0053), (April- May 1983). Books Didion , Joan . Salvador. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983...54 Ibid, p.81. 55Joan Didion , Salvador (New York, Simon and Schuster, 1983), p.82. 56 NBC, "Whatever Happened to El Salvador?" (Circa August 1982

A Lesson Plan on El Salvador.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Interracial Books for Children Bulletin, 1982

1982-01-01

Presents background information on Salvadoran history, politics, and religion. Provides a model lesson plan designed to help high school students to understand events leading to the current conflict in El Salvador and the rest of Central America. (Author/GC)

Mitochondrial Echoes of First Settlement and Genetic Continuity in El Salvador

PubMed Central

Salas, Antonio; Lovo-Gómez, José; Álvarez-Iglesias, Vanesa; Cerezo, María; Lareu, María Victoria; Macaulay, Vincent; Richards, Martin B.; Carracedo, Ángel

2009-01-01

Background From Paleo-Indian times to recent historical episodes, the Mesoamerican isthmus played an important role in the distribution and patterns of variability all around the double American continent. However, the amount of genetic information currently available on Central American continental populations is very scarce. In order to shed light on the role of Mesoamerica in the peopling of the New World, the present study focuses on the analysis of the mtDNA variation in a population sample from El Salvador. Methodology/Principal Findings We have carried out DNA sequencing of the entire control region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome in 90 individuals from El Salvador. We have also compiled more than 3,985 control region profiles from the public domain and the literature in order to carry out inter-population comparisons. The results reveal a predominant Native American component in this region: by far, the most prevalent mtDNA haplogroup in this country (at ∼90%) is A2, in contrast with other North, Meso- and South American populations. Haplogroup A2 shows a star-like phylogeny and is very diverse with a substantial proportion of mtDNAs (45%; sequence range 16090–16365) still unobserved in other American populations. Two different Bayesian approaches used to estimate admixture proportions in El Salvador shows that the majority of the mtDNAs observed come from North America. A preliminary founder analysis indicates that the settlement of El Salvador occurred about 13,400±5,200 Y.B.P.. The founder age of A2 in El Salvador is close to the overall age of A2 in America, which suggests that the colonization of this region occurred within a few thousand years of the initial expansion into the Americas. Conclusions/Significance As a whole, the results are compatible with the hypothesis that today's A2 variability in El Salvador represents to a large extent the indigenous component of the region. Concordant with this hypothesis is also the observation of a

Situation Report--Bahamas, Bermuda, Bolivia, China, Costa Rica, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Hong Kong, Liberia, Mexico, Panama.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in 11 foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are Bahamas, Bermuda, Boliva, China, Costa Rica, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Hong Kong, Liberia, Mexico, and Panama. Information is provided under two topics, general background and family planning situation, where…

Earth Observation

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-04-20

ISS047e069406 (04/20/2016) ---Earth observation image taken by the Expedition 47 crew aboard the International Space Station. This is an oblique south-looking view of the main Bahama island chain. Cuba is across the entire top of the image, the Florida Peninsula on the right margin. In the Bahamas, the main Andros island is just distinguishable under cloud upper left of center. Under less cloud is the Abaco Islands in the foreground (middle of pic nearest camera left of center.)

Observations and relocation of a West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) off Bimini, The Bahamas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Melillo-Sweeting, Kelly; Reid, James P.; Gittens, Lester; Adimey, Nicole; Dillet, Jared Z.

2011-01-01

West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) are listed as vulnerable (IUCN Red List, 7 March 2009; Deutsch et al., 2008), with the subspecies Trichechus manatus latirostris and T. m. manatus (Florida and Antillean, respectively) considered endangered (IUCN Red List, 21 January 2011; Deutsch, 2008; Self-Sullivan & Mignucci-Giannoni, 2008). Manatees are not native to The Bahamas; however, sightings have been recorded periodically since 1904, with an increase in sightings documented in the 1990s (Lefebvre et al., 2001). In the area of Bimini, The Bahamas, the first recorded manatee sighting was in 1904 of a single individual that was apparently killed (Allen, 1942). The second was not until 1996, which was poorly documented. The small adult remained for approximately 6 wks before disappearing (Lefebvre et al., 2001). In 1998, a third sighting was reported off Bimini of a single individual. Although the animal was seen for several weeks and was relatively habituated to human presence (Al Sweeting, Jr., pers. comm., 28 November 2008), no data were collected on this individual nor any photographs suitable for identification purposes.

Kirtland’s warblers in anthropogenically disturbed early-successional habitats on Eleuthera, The Bahamas

Treesearch

Joseph Wunderle; Dave Currie; Eileen H. Helmer; David N. Ewert; Jennifer D. White; Thomas S. Ruzycki; Bernard Parresol; Charles Kwit

2010-01-01

To characterize the nonbreeding habitat of Kirtland’s Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) on Eleuthera, The Bahamas, we quantified the habitat at sites where we captured the warblers and compared these traits with those of random sites and sites of tall coppice. On the basis of a chronosequence of satellite imagery, 153 capture sites ranged in age from 3 to 28 years after...

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 26 crewmember

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-11-27

ISS026-E-005121 (27 Nov. 2010) --- Tidal flats and channels on Long Island, Bahamas are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 26 crew member on the International Space Station. The islands of the Bahamas in the Caribbean Sea are situated on large depositional platforms (the Great and Little Bahama Banks) composed mainly of carbonate sediments ringed by fringing reefs – the islands themselves are only the parts of the platform currently exposed above sea level. The sediments are formed mostly from the skeletal remains of organisms settling to the sea floor; over geologic time, these sediments will consolidate to form carbonate sedimentary rocks such as limestone. This detailed photograph provides a view of tidal flats and tidal channels near Sandy Cay on the western side of Long Island, located along the eastern margin of the Great Bahama Bank. The continually exposed parts of the island have a brown coloration in the image, a result of soil formation and vegetation growth (left). To the north of Sandy Cay an off-white tidal flat composed of carbonate sediments is visible; light blue-green regions indicate shallow water on the tidal flat. Tidal flow of seawater is concentrated through gaps in the anchored land surface, leading to formation of relatively deep tidal channels that cut into the sediments of the tidal flat. The channels, and areas to the south of the island, have a vivid blue coloration that provides a clear indication of deeper water (center).

77 FR 1710 - Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary Protected Status and Automatic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-11

... Docket No. USCIS 2007-0028] RIN 1615-ZB06 Extension of the Designation of El Salvador for Temporary... designation of El Salvador for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months from its current expiration date... warranted because the conditions in El Salvador that prompted the TPS designation continue to be met. There...

The relationship between community structural characteristics, the context of crack use and HIV risk behaviors in San Salvador, El Salvador1

PubMed Central

Dickson-Gomez, Julia; McAuliffe, Timothy; de Mendoza, Lorena Rivas; Glasman, Laura; Gaborit, Mauricio

2012-01-01

This paper explores community structural factors in different low-income communities in the San Salvador, El Salvador that account for differences in the social context in which crack is used and in the HIV risk behaviors among crack users. Results suggest that both more distal (type of low-income community, level of violent crime and poverty) and proximate structural factors (type of site where drugs are used, and whether drugs are used within or outside of community of residence) influence HIV risk behaviors among drug users. Additionally, our results suggest that community structural factors influence the historical and geographic variation in drug use sites. PMID:22217125

Teaching Democratic Theories of Education in El Salvador: Is the Laboratory Open?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roth, Jeffrey

A philosophy of education course focused on concepts of democratic education was taught to primary and secondary school teachers working in a private bilingual school in San Salvador (El Salvador). The teachers' school was an "International School" serving children of the wealthy and the educated who lived nearby. The course was designed…

Earth Observation taken by the STS-129 Crew

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-11-21

S129-E-007324 (21 Nov. 2009) --- One of the crew members onboard the space shuttle Atlantis recorded this still image of the Bahamas' lengthy narrow Eleuthra Island. Like most of the Bahama Islands, Eleuthra is composed mainly of limestone and coral, and rises from a vast submarine plateau. The island, 80 miles (133 kilometers) long, about two miles (three kilometers) wide and covering an area of 164 square miles (425 square kilometers), is generally low and flat, has many mangrove swamps, brackish lakes, coral reefs and shoals, and many miles of sandy beaches.

Active strike-slip faulting in El Salvador, Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corti, Giacomo; Carminati, Eugenio; Mazzarini, Francesco; Oziel Garcia, Marvyn

2005-12-01

Several major earthquakes have affected El Salvador, Central America, during the Past 100 yr as a consequence of oblique subduction of the Cocos plate under the Caribbean plate, which is partitioned between trench-orthogonal compression and strike-slip deformation parallel to the volcanic arc. Focal mechanisms and the distribution of the most destructive earthquakes, together with geomorphologic evidence, suggest that this transcurrent component of motion may be accommodated by a major strike-slip fault (El Salvador fault zone). We present field geological, structural, and geomorphological data collected in central El Salvador that allow the constraint of the kinematics and the Quaternary activity of this major seismogenic strike-slip fault system. Data suggest that the El Salvador fault zone consists of at least two main ˜E-W fault segments (San Vicente and Berlin segments), with associated secondary synthetic (WNW-ESE) and antithetic (NNW-SSE) Riedel shears and NW-SE tensional structures. The two main fault segments overlap in a dextral en echelon style with the formation of an intervening pull-apart basin. Our original geological and geomorphologic data suggest a late Pleistocene Holocene slip rate of ˜11 mm/yr along the Berlin segment, in contrast with low historical seismicity. The kinematics and rates of deformation suggested by our new data are consistent with models involving slip partitioning during oblique subduction, and support the notion that a trench-parallel component of motion between the Caribbean and Cocos plates is concentrated along E-W dextral strike-slip faults parallel to the volcanic arc.

Frank from El Salvador: A Teacher's Story.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pasquier, Binnie

1994-01-01

Describes the experiences of a young man from El Salvador and his eighth-grade second-language teacher as they watched other young El Salvadorans either drop out of school or accumulate insufficient credits to graduate. (RS)

El Salvador and Guatemala: Security Sector Reform and Political Party System Effects on Organized Crime

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

violence_injury_prevention/violence/national_activities/gtm/ en /index.html (accessed December 03, 2008). 2 Overseas Security Advisory Council, "San Salvador, El Salvador... deportation as key causes of crime in both countries. 11 It is commonly noted that, “Guatemala and El Salvador are internationally among the most...activity in both countries provide evidence that U.S. deportation policy may indeed be a major contributor to the increase in gang activity in both El

75 FR 42689 - Marine Mammals; File Nos. 15498 and 15500

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-22

...): Permits, Conservation and Education Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway... female captive born bottlenose dolphin from Dolphin Quest Bermuda, Hamilton, Bermuda, to the Brookfield... dolphins from Dolphin Experience, Ltd., Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas, and three female...

Earth observations taken during STS-83 mission

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-08-12

STS083-712-063 (4-8 April 1997) --- Northern half of Long Island, Bahamas. The vivid blues of the Bahamas stand out from space. Long Island and Great Exuma Island, which extends from the west north west into the photo, is on the eastern side of the Great Bahama Bank and form the borders of Exuma Sound. This photograph provides a rare opportunity to observe a natural chemical laboratory at work. Limestone of quite a different sort from that forming the Great Barrier Reef is actually in the process of formation. Long Island itself is little more than a sandbar rising just a few meters (about 30 to 50 meters) above sea level but it separates the deep, dark blue waters of the Atlantic on the right from the 10-meter (33 feet) shallows of the Great Bahama Bank (left). Details of the topography of the bank are visible through the clear waters. The shallow waters are warm and become extremely salty. Crystals of aragonite, a calcium carbonate mineral, are precipitated and formed into spherical sand-sized oolites as the tidal currents swirl back and forth. Lithification of the carbonate sands produces an oolithic limestone. Although the water is warm and clear, corals do not live in the shallows, probably because of the elevated salt content. Although chemically similar, the oolithic limestone forming Long Island is very different from coral reef limestone. An airfield is visible at the northern and central (bottom of photo) part of the island.

El Salvador: Aid Compensates for Economic Losses but Achieves Little Growth

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-02-15

earthquake. Aid Helped Achieve Almost half of U.S. economic assistance to El Salvador has supported its Economic Stability but economy by providing cash to the...Economic Growth 15 Economic Stability but Conclusions 21 Little Growth Chapter 3 22 Maintaining Social Funds for Health and Education Are Limited 22...comments as appropriate. Page I I GAO/NSIAD-91-97 El Salvador Chapter 2 U.S. and Salvadoran Efforts Bring Economic Stability but Little Growth AID’S

El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-11-18

Ever,” Latin American Weekly Report, February 7, 2008; United Nations Development Program (UNDP), “Maras y Pandillas: Comunidad y Policia en ...to 60% of homicides, but CRS-4 6 “2,576 Homicidios en el 2004 en El Salvador,” Agence France Presse, January 5, 2004; United Nations Office on Drugs...El Salvador, along with Ecuador , Aruba, and the Netherlands Antilles, serves as a Forward Operating Location (FOL) for U.S. anti- drug forces. In 2007

Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP), 2012

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-04

reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, nor the U. S. Government . Approved for public release...157 Bahamas, The 159 Barbados 161 Belize 163 Bolivia 166 Colombia 168 Dominican Republic 171 Ecuador 174 El Salvador 176 Guatemala 179... Government USMHRP – US Military HIV Research Program USPACOM – US Pacific Command USSOUTHCOM – US Southern Command VMMC - voluntary medical male

Obituary -- Salvador González Bedolla

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peña, H. José

1997-04-01

It is with great sadness that I must communicate the passing of our colleague Salvador Félix González Bedolla. The observational astronomers of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional owe much to his pioneering effort at San Pedro Mártir, work that formed him as an astronomer, and helped him become one of the best photometric observers in México and, at the Instituto de Astronomóa of the UNAM, the academic technician with the highest productivity of articles derived from observations at the OAN. Salvador was an excellent student. He obtained the highest achievement award (Gabino Barreda) in high school, studied physics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and also finished the credits for his Master's degree in Physics with only his thesis separating him from his degree, an act which was constantly put off until his death. He began his career in Astronomy in 1973 under Dr. Eugenio Mendoza. Later he worked with Josef Warman in the observation of short period stars in the Observatorio `José Arbol y Bonilla'' in Zacatecas, México. I then began working continuously with him in this field of research which, thanks to his great work capacity, produced very good results. He continued in these fields of research not only within the Institute of Astronomy, but also in other research facilities, especially two: With the variable group from the Observatory at Nice, France, beginning in 1985, specializing in the pulsation of early stars. His main interest was in the β Cep stars and in the possibility of relating these stars to the new types of variables (such as the OB stars, the `53 Per' variables, the `ultrashort' period and the ``slow'' and Be variables) discovered near this zone. Hence, in view of this, his efforts were aimed at monitoring the stars that belong to these new groups in order to discover if they are really different from the classical β Cep stars. Moreover, beginning in 1984, Salvador began working with a group of astronomers from

Implications for stress changes along the Motagua fault and other nearby faults using GPS and seismic constraints on the M=7.3 2009 Swan Islands earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, S. E.; Rodriguez, M.; Rogers, R. D.; Strauch, W.; Hernandez, D.; Demets, C.

2010-12-01

The May 28, 2009 M=7.3 Swan Islands earthquake off the north coast of Honduras caused significant damage in the northern part of the country, including seven deaths. This event, the largest in the region for several decades, ruptured the offshore continuation of the Motagua-Polochic fault system, whose 1976 earthquake (located several hundred kilometers to the southwest of the 2009 epicenter) caused more than 23,000 deaths in Central America and left homeless 20% of Guatemala’s population. We use elastic half-space modeling of coseismic offsets measured at 39 GPS stations in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala to better understand the slip source of the recent Swan Islands earthquake. Measured offsets range from .32 meters at a campaign site near the Motagua fault in northern Honduras to 4 millimeters at five continuous sites in El Salvador. Coulomb stress calculations based on the estimated distribution of coseismic slip will be presented and compared to earthquake focal mechanisms and aftershock locations determined from a portable seismic network that was installed in northern Honduras after the main shock. Implications of the Swan Islands rupture for the seismically hazardous Motagua-Polochic fault system will be described.

Rise and demise of the Bahama-Grand Banks gigaplatform, northern margin of the Jurassic proto-Atlantic seaway

USGS Publications Warehouse

Poag, C. Wylie

1991-01-01

An extinct, > 5000-km-long Jurassic carbonate platform and barrier reef system lies buried beneath the Atlantic continental shelf and slope of the United States. A revised stratigraphic framework, a series of regional isopach maps, and paleogeographic reconstructions are used to illustrate the 42-m.y. history of this Bahama-Grand Banks gigaplatform from its inception in Aalenian(?) (early Middle Jurassic) time to its demise and burial in Berriasian-Valanginian time (early Early Cretaceous). Aggradation-progradation rates for the gigaplatform are comparable to those of the familiar Capitan shelf margin (Permian) and are closely correlated with volumetric rates of siliciclastic sediment accumulation and depocenter migration. Siliciclastic encroachment behind the carbonate tracts appears to have been an important impetus for shelf-edge progradation. During the Early Cretaceous, sea-level changes combined with eutrophication (due to landward soil development and seaward upwelling) and the presence of cooler upwelled waters along the outer shelf appear to have decimated the carbonate producers from the Carolina Trough to the Grand Banks. This allowed advancing siliciclastic deltas to overrun the shelf edge despite a notable reduction in siliciclastic accumulation rates. However, upwelling did not extend southward to the Blake-Bahama megabank, so platform carbonate production proceeded there well into the Cretaceous. Subsequent stepwise carbonate abatement characterized the Blake Plateau Basin, whereas the Bahamas have maintained production to the present. The demise of carbonate production on the northern segments of the gigaplatform helped to escalate deep-water carbonate deposition in the Early Cretaceous, but the sudden augmentation of deep-water carbonate reservoirs in the Late Jurassic was triggered by other agents, such as global expansion of nannoplankton communities. ?? 1991.

75 FR 38589 - Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: “Salvador Dali: The Late...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-02

... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice: 7073] Culturally Significant Objects Imported for Exhibition Determinations: ``Salvador Dali: The Late Work'' SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of the following determinations... exhibition ``Salvador Dali: The Late Work,'' imported from abroad for temporary exhibition within the United...

Periplatform carbonate flux in the northern Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilskaln, Cynthia H.; Neumann, A. Conrad; Bane, John M.

1989-09-01

In a preliminary effort to quantify the off-bank transport and vertical flux of shallow-water carbonates, a sediment trap was moored at 500 m in Northwest Providence Channel, northern, Bahamas. Two months of particulate flux data collected during a fair-weather, storm-free period revealed that the flux components differed significantly from that of the underlying sediments. Planktonic foraminifera tests, pteropod shells, fragments and coccoliths contributed 61% to the total flux of carbonate material, whereas bank-derived carbonates constituted 39%. Coccolith calcite represented half of the carbonate mass flux in the fine size fraction (< 63 μm) of the trap material. In contrast, the underlying periplatform ooze sediments consist of 80% bank-derived and 20% planktonic carbonate components. The results suggest that the flux and deposition of bank-derived carbonates in the periplatform environment are variable on a temporal scale, where a relatively minor proportion of bank-derived components is deposited during calm, storm-free periods, with the balance delivered during the passage of frequent, low-amplitude seasonal storms and occasional hurricanes.

Microbial Mat Compositional and Functional Sensitivity to Environmental Disturbance

PubMed Central

Preisner, Eva C.; Fichot, Erin B.; Norman, Robert S.

2016-01-01

The ability of ecosystems to adapt to environmental perturbations depends on the duration and intensity of change and the overall biological diversity of the system. While studies have indicated that rare microbial taxa may provide a biological reservoir that supports long-term ecosystem stability, how this dynamic population is influenced by environmental parameters remains unclear. In this study, a microbial mat ecosystem located on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas was used as a model to examine how environmental disturbance affects the protein synthesis potential (PSP) of rare and abundant archaeal and bacterial communities and how these changes impact potential biogeochemical processes. This ecosystem experienced a large shift in salinity (230 to 65 g kg-1) during 2011–2012 following the landfall of Hurricane Irene on San Salvador Island. High throughput sequencing and analysis of 16S rRNA and rRNA genes from samples before and after the pulse disturbance showed significant changes in the diversity and PSP of abundant and rare taxa, suggesting overall compositional and functional sensitivity to environmental change. In both archaeal and bacterial communities, while the majority of taxa showed low PSP across conditions, the overall community PSP increased post-disturbance, with significant shifts occurring among abundant and rare taxa across and within phyla. Broadly, following the post-disturbance reduction in salinity, taxa within Halobacteria decreased while those within Crenarchaeota, Thaumarchaeota, Thermoplasmata, Cyanobacteria, and Proteobacteria, increased in abundance and PSP. Quantitative PCR of genes and transcripts involved in nitrogen and sulfur cycling showed concomitant shifts in biogeochemical cycling potential. Post-disturbance conditions increased the expression of genes involved in N-fixation, nitrification, denitrification, and sulfate reduction. Together, our findings show complex community adaptation to environmental change and help

[The echinoderms (Echinodermata) from El Salvador].

PubMed

Enrique Barraza, José; Roberto Hasbún, Carlos

2005-12-01

A list of echinoderms from El Salvador (tropical eastern Pacific) is presented. The results were obtained from field surveys (between the years 2000 and 2004), the scarce literature sources, and Internet information. A total of 37 species and six genera are reported. The most abundant echinoderms in rocky shores were: Phataria unifascialis, Echinometra vanbrunti, Holothuria kefersteini, as well as Astropecten armatus in soft bottoms.

[Demand for cigarettes and tax increases in El Salvador].

PubMed

Ramos-Carbajales, Alejandro; González-Rozada, Martín; Vallarino, Hugo

2016-10-01

Analyze short- and long-term elasticities of demand for cigarettes in El Salvador as a tool for supporting recommendations on tax increases to reduce prevalence and consumption through price increases. Demand for cigarettes in El Salvador was analyzed through an econometric time-series model using a database from El Salvador's General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII) and the General Directorate of Statistics and Census (DIGESTYC). The analysis period was quarterly: 2000Q1-2012Q4. The usual tests were done to prevent a spurious econometric estimation. It was found that the variables volume sales, actual sale prices, and actual per capita income exhibited first-order cointegration; this result makes it possible to use an error correction model with short- and long-term elasticity estimates. Only long-term elasticities were found to be statistically significant to 5%. Results show long-term price elasticity (5 quarters) of -0.9287 and income price elasticity of 0.9978. Absolute price elasticity is somewhat high, although it is within the levels estimated in other studies in low per-capita income countries. A tax increase from a base amount of US$1.04 per pack of 20 cigarettes to US$1.66 within three years would reduce demand by 20% to 31% and would increase tax revenues by 9% to 22%.

Determinate growth and modularity in a gorgonian octocoral.

PubMed

Lasker, Howard R; Boller, Michael L; Castanaro, John; Sánchez, Juan Armando

2003-12-01

Growth rates of branches of colonies of the gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae were monitored for 2 years on a reef at San Salvador Island, Bahamas. Images of 261 colonies were made at 6-month intervals and colony and branch growth analyzed. Branch growth rates differed between colonies and between the time intervals in which the measurements were made. Colonies developed a plumelike morphology through a pattern of branch origination and determinate growth in which branch growth rates were greatest at the time the branch originated and branches seldom grew beyond a length of 8 cm. A small number of branches had greater growth rates, did not stop growing, and were sites for the origination of subsequent "generations" of branches. The rate of branch origination decreased with each generation of branching, and branch growth rates were lower on larger colonies, leading to determinate colony growth. Although colonial invertebrates like P. elisabethae grow through the addition of polyps, branches behave as modules with determinate growth. Colony form and size is generated by the iterative addition of branches.

Epidemiological situation of leprosy in Salvador from 2001 to 2009*

PubMed Central

Moreira, Shirlei Cristina; Batos, Claudilson José de Carvalho; Tawil, Lara

2014-01-01

Mycobacterium leprae was first described as the bacillus that causes leprosy, a chronic granulomatous infectious disease, in 1873 by Amauer Hansen. Leprosy is part of a group of 10 neglected diseases and Bahia has endemic levels of this illness, varying between high and very high. The detection of 52 new cases of leprosy in children under 15 years old in Salvador in 2006 is alarming, and suggests an early contact with the disease. The aim of this review is to analyze the epidemiological situation, the detection rate and evaluate the clinical and epidemiological profile of leprosy in Salvador, in the period 2001-2009. A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed using secondary data collected at Notifiable Diseases Information System Database (SINAN) through the notification of patients with leprosy. Over these nine years 3,226 patients were reported, with a predominance of: females (51.5%), and clinical multibacillary forms in the general population (51.7%), but when we analyze those under 15 years old, paucibacillary forms (tuberculoid + indeterminate) prevailed. The tuberculoid form was the most diagnosed type of presentation. The annual detection rate in Salvador remained at a very high level of endemicity during the studied period and for those under 15 years old it ranged between high and very high. Grade 2 disabilities both at the time of diagnosis and at discharge after cure, varied between low and medium. Based on these data we conclude that the high levels of leprosy detection rates in the general population, plus the variation between high and very high levels in those under 15 years old, associated with the medium level of grade 2 disabilities at the time of diagnosis and discharge, demonstrate the need for improvement on the existing services, investment in active case finding and training of the healthcare professionals in Salvador. PMID:24626655

[Is female sterilization voluntary in El Salvador]?].

PubMed

Bertrand, J T; Landry, E G; Araya Zelaya, J D

1986-01-01

Sexual sterilization has become an increasingly important family planning method in developing countries, and notably so in Latin America, but some controversy has surrounded the practice because of the suggestion that individuals are coerced into undergoing sterilization. With the goal of examining allegations that low-income women in El Salvador are sterilized without their full knowledge or consent in family planning programs financed by the US, researchers interviewed 648 women who had received the operation in one of 7 facilities in El Salvador. In general, women were interviewed 1 month after their operation, by 6 trained female interviewers, with the assurance that the follow-up effort was not in any way connected with the facility performing the operation. An effort to sample approximately the same number of women from each facility was not entirely successful because of access difficulties. Most interviewees had been sterilized at below 30 years of age (average age at sterilization was 28 years), had begun having children in adolescence, and had not received more than a primary education. They had an average of 3.4 children and 1/3 had experienced the death of at least 1 child. The response to the survey indicated that female sterilization in El Salvador is voluntary. Women were shown to be aware of other contraception options. They had found out about sterilization and had become further informed about the method through providers and through communications with other women who had known about the operation at least 3 years before making a decision to submit to it, and many had waited between 1 month and 1 year before/between the decision and the actual operation. Only 1 women claimed to have felt pressured to be sterilized, identifying her mother as the source of the pressure.

Factors Associated with the Rapid and Durable Decline in Malaria Incidence in El Salvador, 1980-2017.

PubMed

Burton, Robert A; Chévez, José Eduardo Romero; Sauerbrey, Mauricio; Guinovart, Caterina; Hartley, Angela; Kirkwood, Geoffrey; Boslego, Matthew; Gavidia, Mirna Elizabeth; Alemán Escobar, Jaime Enrique; Turkel, Rachel; Steketee, Richard W; Slutsker, Laurence; Schneider, Kammerle; Kent Campbell, Carlos C

2018-05-14

A decade after the Global Malaria Eradication Program, El Salvador had the highest burden of malaria in Mesoamerica, with approximately 20% due to Plasmodium falciparum . A resurgence of malaria in the 1970s led El Salvador to alter its national malaria control strategy. By 1995, El Salvador recorded its last autochthonous P. falciparum case with fewer than 20 Plasmodium vivax cases annually since 2011. By contrast, its immediate neighbors continue to have the highest incidences of malaria in the region. We reviewed and evaluated the policies and interventions implemented by the Salvadoran National Malaria Program that likely contributed to this progress toward malaria elimination. Decentralization of the malaria program, early regional stratification by risk, and data-driven stratum-specific actions resulted in the timely and targeted allocation of resources for vector control, surveillance, case detection, and treatment. Weekly reporting by health workers and volunteer collaborators-distributed throughout the country by strata and informed via the national surveillance system-enabled local malaria teams to provide rapid, adaptive, and focalized program actions. Sustained investments in surveillance and response have led to a dramatic reduction in local transmission, with most current malaria cases in El Salvador due to importation from neighboring countries. Additional support for systematic elimination efforts in neighboring countries would benefit the region and may be needed for El Salvador to achieve and maintain malaria elimination. El Salvador's experience provides a relevant case study that can guide the application of similar strategies in other countries committed to malaria elimination.

Geochemical evidence of Saharan dust parent material for soils developed on Quaternary limestones of Caribbean and western Atlantic islands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Muhs, D.R.; Bush, C.A.; Stewart, K.C.; Rowland, T.R.; Crittenden, R.C.

1990-01-01

Most previous workers have regarded the insoluble residues of high-purity Quaternary limestones (coral reefs and oolites) as the most important parent material for well-developed, clay-rich soils on Caribbean and western Atlantic islands, but this genetic mechanism requires unreasonable amounts of limestone solution in Quaternary time. Other possible parent materials from external sources are volcanic ash from the Lesser Antilles island arc and Saharan dust carried across the Atlantic Ocean on the northeast trade winds. Soils on Quaternary coral terraces and carbonate eolianites on Barbados, Jamaica, the Florida Keys (United States), and New Providence Island (Bahamas) were studied to determine which, if either, external source was important. Caribbean volcanic ashes and Saharan dust can be clearly distinguished using ratios of relatively immobile elements ( Al2O3 TiO2, Ti Y, Ti Zr, and Ti Th). Comparison of these ratios in 25 soils, where estimated ages range from 125,000 to about 870,000 yr, shows that Saharan dust is the most important parent material for soils on all islands. These results indicate that the northeast trade winds have been an important component of the regional climatology for much of the Quaterary. Saharan dust may also be an important parent material for Caribbean island bauxites of much greater age. ?? 1990.

Accumulation of bank-top sediment on the western slope of Great Bahama Bank: rapid progradation of a carbonate megabank

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilber, R. Jude; Milliman, John D.; Halley, Robert B.

1990-01-01

High-resolution seismic profiles and submersible observations along the leeward slope of western Great Bahama Bank show large-scale export of bank-top sediment and rapid progradation of the slope during the Holocene. A wedge-shaped sequence, up to 90 m thick, is present along most of the slope and consists of predominantly aragonite mud derived from the bank since flooding of the platform 6-8 ka. Total sediment volume of the slope sequence is 40%-80% that of Holocene sediment currently retained on the bank. Maximum rates of vertical accumulation and lateral progradation are 11-15 m/ka and 80-110 m/ka, respectively: 10 to 100 times greater than previously known for periplatform muds. Slope deposition of exported mud during sea-level highs appears to have been a major mechanism for the westward progradation of Great Bahama Bank throughout the Quaternary; this may provide a critical modern analogue for ancient progradational margins.

Incidence of leukemias in children from El Salvador and Mexico City between 1996 and 2000: Population-based data

PubMed Central

Mejía-Aranguré, Juan Manuel; Bonilla, Miguel; Lorenzana, Rodolpho; Juárez-Ocaña, Servando; de Reyes, Gladys; Pérez-Saldivar, María Luisa; González-Miranda, Guadalupe; Bernáldez-Ríos, Roberto; Ortiz-Fernández, Antonio; Ortega-Alvarez, Manuel; Martínez-García, María del Carmen; Fajardo-Gutiérrez, Arturo

2005-01-01

Background There are very few studies that report the incidence of acute leukemias in children in Latin America. This work assesses the incidence of acute leukemias, between 1996 and 2000, in children from 0–14 years old who were attended at the Mexican Social Security Institute in Mexico City and in children from 0–11 years old in El Salvador. Methods Design: Population-based data. Hospitals: In San Salvador, El Salvador, Hospital Nacional de Niños "Benjamín Bloom", the only center in El Salvador which attends all children, younger than 12 years, with oncologic disease. The Pediatric Hospital and the General Hospital of the Mexican Social Security Institute in Mexico City, the only centers in Mexico City which attend all those children with acute leukemia who have a right to this service. Diagnosis: All patients were diagnosed by bone marrow smear and were divided into acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and unspecified leukemias (UL). The annual incidence rate (AIR) and average annual incidence rate (AAIR) were calculated per million children. Cases were stratified by age and assigned to one of four age strata: 1) <1 year; 2) 1–4 years; 3) 5–9 years, or 4) 10–14 or 10–11 years, for Mexico City and El Salvador, respectively. Results The number of cases was 375 and 238 in El Salvador and Mexico City, respectively. AAIRs in Mexico City were 44.9, 10.6, 2.5, 0.5, and 58.4 per million children for ALL, AML, CML, UL, and total leukemias, respectively. The AAIRs in El Salvador could not be calculated because the fourth age stratum in El Salvador included children only from 0–11 years old. The incidence rates for the Salvadoran group of 0–11 year olds were 34.2, 7.1, 0.6, 0.2, and 43.2 per million children for ALL, AML, CML, UL, and total leukemias, respectively. Conclusion Reported AIRs for each age group in El Salvador were similar to those from other American countries. The AAIR of ALL in

Channeling Remittances to Education: A Field Experiment Among Migrants from El Salvador*

PubMed Central

Ambler, Kate; Aycinena, Diego

2014-01-01

We implement a randomized experiment offering Salvadoran migrants matching funds for educational remittances, which are channeled directly to a beneficiary student in El Salvador chosen by the migrant. The matches lead to increased educational expenditures, higher private school attendance, and lower labor supply of youths in El Salvador households connected to migrant study participants. We find substantial “crowd-in” of educational investments: for each $1 received by beneficiaries, educational expenditures increase by $3.72. We find no shifting of expenditures away from other students, and no effect on remittances. PMID:26000091

Channeling Remittances to Education: A Field Experiment Among Migrants from El Salvador.

PubMed

Ambler, Kate; Aycinena, Diego; Yang, Dean

2015-04-01

We implement a randomized experiment offering Salvadoran migrants matching funds for educational remittances, which are channeled directly to a beneficiary student in El Salvador chosen by the migrant. The matches lead to increased educational expenditures, higher private school attendance, and lower labor supply of youths in El Salvador households connected to migrant study participants. We find substantial "crowd-in" of educational investments: for each $1 received by beneficiaries, educational expenditures increase by $3.72. We find no shifting of expenditures away from other students, and no effect on remittances.

Evaluation of family planning communications in El Salvador.

PubMed

Bertrand, J T; Zelaya, J D; Cisneros, R J; Morris, L

1982-01-01

During the 1970s, El Salvador had one of the most active communication programmes for family planning (FP) of any Latin American country. The current study, carried out nationwide among women of reproductive age in El Salvador, indicates that over 90% of women have been reached FP messages via mass or interpersonal channels. Levels of exposure were found to be relatively lower among women who live in rural areas, who work at home or not at all, who have little education, who are not married or live in union, and who are under 19 or over 40. The study was completed at a time of political stability in the country, and these data were to be used as a guideline for designing future communication programmes with respect to content, target population, and channels. With regard to communication research, this study yielded findings which usefully supplement those already recorded through a number of investigations of the subject.

The Perceived Consequences of Gold Mining in Postwar El Salvador: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Zakrison, Tanya L; Cabezas, Pedro; Valle, Evan; Kornfeld, Julie; Muntaner, Carles; Soklaridis, Sophie

2015-11-01

We investigated themes related to the health and environmental impacts of gold mining in El Salvador. Over a 1-month period in 2013, we conducted focus groups (n = 32 participants in total) and individual semistructured interviews (n = 11) with community leaders until we achieved thematic saturation. Data collection took place in 4 departments throughout the country. We used a combination of criterion-purposive and snowballing sampling techniques to identify participants. Multiple themes emerged: (1) the fallacy of economic development; (2) critique of mining activities; (3) the creation of mining-related violence, with parallels to El Salvador's civil war; and (4) solutions and alternatives to mining activity. Solutions involved the creation of cooperative microenterprises for sustainable economic growth, political empowerment within communities, and development of local participatory democracies. Gold mining in El Salvador is perceived as a significant environmental and public health threat. Local solutions may be applicable broadly.

Risk to Water Security on Small Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holding, S. T.; Allen, D. M.

2013-12-01

The majority of fresh water available on small islands is shallow groundwater that forms a freshwater lens. Freshwater lenses are generally limited in extent and as such are vulnerable to many stressors that impact water security. These include stressors related to climate change, such as sea level rise, as well as those related to human impacts, such as contamination. Traditionally, water security assessments have focussed on indicators that provide a snapshot of the current condition. However, recent work suggests that in order to effectively manage the water system, it is also important to consider uncertain future impacts to the system by evaluating how different stressors might impact water security. In this study, a framework for assessing risk to water security was developed and tested on Andros Island in The Bahamas. The assessment comprises two main components that characterise the water system: numerical modelling studies and a hazard survey. A baseline numerical model of the freshwater lens throughout Andros Island was developed to simulate the morphology of the freshwater lens and estimate the freshwater resources currently available. The model was prepared using SEAWAT, a density-dependent flow and solute transport code. Various stressors were simulated in the model to evaluate the response of the freshwater lens to predicted future shifts in climate patterns, sea level rise, and changes in water use. A hazard survey was also conducted on the island to collect information related to the storage of contaminants, sanitation infrastructure, waste disposal practices and groundwater abstraction rates. The results of the survey form a geo-spatial database of the location and associated hazards to the freshwater lens. The resulting risk framework provides a ranking of overall risk to water security based on information from the numerical modelling and hazard survey. The risk framework is implemented in a Geographic Information System (GIS) and provides a map

Zika Travel Information

MedlinePlus

... The Pacific Islands: Fiji , Papua New Guinea , Samoa , Solomon Islands , Tonga South America: Argentina , Bolivia , Brazil , Colombia , ... travel plans. Area Date of interruption American Samoa 4/13/2017 The Bahamas 2/2/2018 Cayman ...

El Salvador: Background and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-08

money laundering ; and drug, auto, and weapons smuggling. Gangs earn millions of dollars by extorting residents, bus drivers, and business owners...allegedly laundered the gang’s money through motels, brothels, and other businesses.20 Drug-trafficking organizations, including Mexican groups such as...the Sinaloa criminal organization, have increased their illicit activities in El Salvador, including money laundering , albeit to a lesser extent than

The Perceived Consequences of Gold Mining in Postwar El Salvador: A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

Cabezas, Pedro; Valle, Evan; Kornfeld, Julie; Muntaner, Carles; Soklaridis, Sophie

2015-01-01

Objectives. We investigated themes related to the health and environmental impacts of gold mining in El Salvador. Methods. Over a 1-month period in 2013, we conducted focus groups (n = 32 participants in total) and individual semistructured interviews (n = 11) with community leaders until we achieved thematic saturation. Data collection took place in 4 departments throughout the country. We used a combination of criterion-purposive and snowballing sampling techniques to identify participants. Results. Multiple themes emerged: (1) the fallacy of economic development; (2) critique of mining activities; (3) the creation of mining-related violence, with parallels to El Salvador's civil war; and (4) solutions and alternatives to mining activity. Solutions involved the creation of cooperative microenterprises for sustainable economic growth, political empowerment within communities, and development of local participatory democracies. Conclusions. Gold mining in El Salvador is perceived as a significant environmental and public health threat. Local solutions may be applicable broadly. PMID:26378845

BaHaMAS A Bash Handler to Monitor and Administrate Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sciarra, Alessandro

2018-03-01

Numerical QCD is often extremely resource demanding and it is not rare to run hundreds of simulations at the same time. Each of these can last for days or even months and it typically requires a job-script file as well as an input file with the physical parameters for the application to be run. Moreover, some monitoring operations (i.e. copying, moving, deleting or modifying files, resume crashed jobs, etc.) are often required to guarantee that the final statistics is correctly accumulated. Proceeding manually in handling simulations is probably the most error-prone way and it is deadly uncomfortable and inefficient! BaHaMAS was developed and successfully used in the last years as a tool to automatically monitor and administrate simulations.

The modern calcifying sponge Spheciospongia vesparium (Lamarck, 1815), Great Bahama Bank: Implications for ancient sponge mud-mounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuweiler, Fritz; Burdige, David J.

2005-04-01

Modern calcified siliceous sponges from the Great Bahama Bank, living at water depth ranges of 2 to 5 m, have been proposed as likely analogues for calcified sponges in Upper Jurassic sponge "reefs" (e.g., southern Germany), or Lower Jurassic bioherms that consist of reddish, spiculiferous limestones (e.g., Broccatello Formation of the Southern Alps). Indeed, sponge-related calcification or siliceous sponge diagenesis, in general, is widely considered a key feature for the mechanisms of accretion and textural maturation in Phanerozoic sponge mounds or spiculiferous carbonate mud-mounds. Based on a revisit of the original sites on the Great Bahama Bank (NW of Andros Island) the biostratonomy of the calcifying sponge Spheciospongia vesparium (Lamarck, 1815) was explored using the patterns of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) as revealed by the application of three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy. Geochemical sampling distinguished between FDOM that was extracted from sponge tissue and FDOM that was intimately associated with CaCO 3 (from particles due to sediment agglutination and authigenic CaCO 3), both obtained from the living sponge at the sediment surface and from the calcified sponge at the shallow subsurface (from 5 to 10 cm of depth). As expected, the sponge tissue shows highest intensities for protein-like fluorescence. However, from the surface to the subsurface, there is a loss of such relatively pristine fluorescent material in the range of 70%. Humic-like fluorescence that occurs associated with sponge tissue is relatively mature or aged, thus it most probably represents seawater FDOM taken up through active filter feeding. Relative to the sponge tissue material, the FDOM patterns associated with Ca-carbonates show much lower total fluorescence intensities, by up to two orders of magnitude. The agglutinated sedimentary carbonate particles from the surface (pellets, ooids, grapestones) exclusively show a

Why Choose Peace? The El Salvador Experience

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

this monograph identifies some general principles that one can apply to future case studies. 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF...government forces. During the time of the civil war, the ESAF consisted of the regular army with the National Guard acting in rural internal security ...democracy between the warring factions of El Salvador and defense providing “ security against those who use violence against democratization

Dissemination of the ST-103 clonal complex serogroup C meningococci in Salvador, Brazil.

PubMed

Cordeiro, Soraia Machado; Cardoso, Cristiane Wanderley; de Araújo, Lorena Galvão; Ribeiro, Luis Eduardo; Azevedo, Jailton; Silva, Rita de Cassia Vilasboas; Dos Reis, Mitermayer Galvão; Ko, Albert Icksang; Reis, Joice Neves

2018-01-01

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a major public health problem worldwide. An epidemic of serogroup C (NmC) IMD occurred in 2010 in the city of Salvador. In this study, we describe the antigenic and genetic characterization of meningococcal isolates collected from meningitis cases in Salvador from 2001 to 2012. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were performed for the analysis of IMD isolates. A total of 733 cases were identified, and the serogroup was determined for 391 (53.0%) of these. Most cases were caused by NmC (53%) or B (47%). The most prevalent strains were B:4,7:P1.19,15 (32.9%; 129/391) and C:23:P1.14-6 (28.6%; 112/391). Based on PFGE/MLST analysis, 71.3% (77/108 PFGE-tested isolates) clustered as two clones of sequence type ST-3779 and ST-3780, both belonging to the ST-103 clonal complex. ST-3779 has been detected in Salvador since 1996 and together with ST-3780 became predominant after 2005. There was a predominance of C:23:P1.14-6, ST-3779/3780 in Salvador during the period of 2007-2012, establishing a major clonal lineage, which remained in the community for a long time; this has serious implications for public health, particularly in terms of prevention and control strategies of IMD. Copyright © 2017 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Dimensions of child punishment in two Central American countries: Guatemala and El Salvador.

PubMed

Speizer, Ilene S; Goodwin, Mary M; Samandari, Ghazaleh; Kim, Shin Y; Clyde, Maureen

2008-04-01

Severe physical punishment of children is an important issue in international child health and welfare. This study examines such punishment in Guatemala and El Salvador. Data came from nationally representative surveys of women aged 15-49 and men aged 15-59 residing in Guatemala (2002) and El Salvador (2002-2003). The surveys included questions about punishment experienced during childhood, with response options ranging from verbal scolding to beating. In Guatemala, parents were asked how they disciplined their children; questions allowed them to compare how they were punished in their childhood with how they punished their own children. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are presented. In Guatemala, 35% of women and 46% of men reported being beaten as punishment in childhood; in El Salvador, the figures were 42% and 62%, respectively. In both countries, older participants were relatively more likely than younger participants to have been beaten as children. Witnessing familial violence was associated with an increased risk of being beaten in childhood. In Guatemala, having experienced physical punishment as a child increased the chance that parents would use physical punishment on their own children. Multivariate analyses revealed that women who were beaten in childhood were significantly more likely in both countries to be in a violent relationship. The use of beating to physically punish children is a common problem in Guatemala and El Salvador, with generational and intergenerational effects. Its negative and lingering effects necessitate the introduction of policies and programs to decrease this behavior.

Distinct Zika Virus Lineage in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

PubMed Central

Naccache, Samia N.; Thézé, Julien; Sardi, Silvia I.; Somasekar, Sneha; Greninger, Alexander L.; Bandeira, Antonio C.; Campos, Gubio S.; Tauro, Laura B.; Faria, Nuno R.; Pybus, Oliver G.

2016-01-01

Sequencing of isolates from patients in Bahia, Brazil, where most Zika virus cases in Brazil have been reported, resulted in 11 whole and partial Zika virus genomes. Phylogenetic analyses revealed a well-supported Bahia-specific Zika virus lineage, which indicates sustained Zika virus circulation in Salvador, Bahia’s capital city, since mid-2014. PMID:27448188

New seismic sources parameterization in El Salvador. Implications to seismic hazard.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso-Henar, Jorge; Staller, Alejandra; Jesús Martínez-Díaz, José; Benito, Belén; Álvarez-Gómez, José Antonio; Canora, Carolina

2014-05-01

El Salvador is located at the pacific active margin of Central America, here, the subduction of the Cocos Plate under the Caribbean Plate at a rate of ~80 mm/yr is the main seismic source. Although the seismic sources located in the Central American Volcanic Arc have been responsible for some of the most damaging earthquakes in El Salvador. The El Salvador Fault Zone is the main geological structure in El Salvador and accommodates 14 mm/yr of horizontal displacement between the Caribbean Plate and the forearc sliver. The ESFZ is a right lateral strike-slip fault zone c. 150 km long and 20 km wide .This shear band distributes the deformation among strike-slip faults trending N90º-100ºE and secondary normal faults trending N120º- N170º. The ESFZ is relieved westward by the Jalpatagua Fault and becomes less clear eastward disappearing at Golfo de Fonseca. Five sections have been proposed for the whole fault zone. These fault sections are (from west to east): ESFZ Western Section, San Vicente Section, Lempa Section, Berlin Section and San Miguel Section. Paleoseismic studies carried out in the Berlin and San Vicente Segments reveal an important amount of quaternary deformation and paleoearthquakes up to Mw 7.6. In this study we present 45 capable seismic sources in El Salvador and their preliminary slip-rate from geological and GPS data. The GPS data detailled results are presented by Staller et al., 2014 in a complimentary communication. The calculated preliminary slip-rates range from 0.5 to 8 mm/yr for individualized faults within the ESFZ. We calculated maximum magnitudes from the mapped lengths and paleoseismic observations.We propose different earthquakes scenario including the potential combined rupture of different fault sections of the ESFZ, resulting in maximum earthquake magnitudes of Mw 7.6. We used deterministic models to calculate acceleration distribution related with maximum earthquakes of the different proposed scenario. The spatial distribution of

An Introduction to the Psychedelic Psychotherapy of Salvador Roquet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villoldo, Alberto

1977-01-01

Psychosynthesis as developed by Salvador Roquet presents a new method combining Freudian, Frommian, and transpersonal therapies. Its immediate result is to obtain results expected from long-term psychoanalysis in an abbreviated period of time. It also helps the individual take responsibility for his own development. (Author/RK)

"Contra Viento y Marea" (Against Wind and Tide): Building Civic Identity among Children of Emigration in El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyrness, Andrea

2012-01-01

This article examines contrasting approaches to citizenship education in two schools in San Salvador, El Salvador, in the face of highly visible transnational migration. I argue that while transnational realities challenge education for democratic citizenship, educational processes that enable students to interrogate their own transnational…

"Out of My Comfort Zone": Understanding the Impact of a Service-Learning Experience in Rural El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beckman, Paula J.; Christenson, Lea Ann

2016-01-01

This qualitative case study was designed to explore student's perceptions of the impact of a two-week service-learning experience in rural El Salvador. Students stayed in an economically impoverished village in rural El Salvador and worked on projects that promoted education for children in the village. Participants included 15 graduate and…

Infection control in El Salvador: the Hospital Rosales experience.

PubMed

Marinero Cáceres, J A; de Sotello, Y

1987-12-01

We describe circumstances at the Hospital Rosales, located in San Salvador, El Salvador, and some salient observations from an infection control program begun in 1978. Findings include overuse of antibiotics, especially of penicillin and chloramphenicol; a predominance of gram-negative rod infections, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa; a relative infrequency of Staphylococcus aureus infections; an apparent doubling of the mean duration of hospitalization for patients with nosocomial infections compared with other patients (22.1 days versus 11.0 days); documentation and partial correction of deficiencies in aseptic and antiseptic practices; an outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa endophthalmitis traced to the hospital's factory for the manufacturing of intravenous fluids; and attitudinal problems such as the care of patients with rabies on open wards. Prevalence surveys conducted during 1981 and 1986 suggest a dramatic increase in the recent incidence of surgical wound infection (44% upsilon 28%, P less than 0.001). This latter observation suggests a direct relationship between infection rates and the hardships imposed by poverty and civil war.

Genetic structure in the coral, Montastraea cavernosa: assessing genetic differentiation among and within Mesophotic reefs.

PubMed

Brazeau, Daniel A; Lesser, Michael P; Slattery, Marc

2013-01-01

Mesophotic coral reefs (30-150 m) have recently received increased attention as a potential source of larvae (e.g., the refugia hypothesis) to repopulate a select subset of the shallow water (<30 m) coral fauna. To test the refugia hypothesis we used highly polymorphic Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers as a means to assess small-scale genetic heterogeneity between geographic locations and across depth clines in the Caribbean coral, Montastraea cavernosa. Zooxanthellae-free DNA extracts of coral samples (N = 105) were analyzed from four depths, shallow (3-10 m), medium (15-25 m), deep (30-50 m) and very deep (60-90 m) from Little Cayman Island (LCI), Lee Stocking Island (LSI), Bahamas and San Salvador (SS), Bahamas which range in distance from 170 to 1,600 km apart. Using AMOVA analysis there were significant differences in ΦST values in pair wise comparisons between LCI and LSI. Among depths at LCI, there was significant genetic differentiation between shallow and medium versus deep and very deep depths in contrast there were no significant differences in ΦST values among depths at LSI. The assignment program AFLPOP, however, correctly assigned 95.7% of the LCI and LSI samples to the depths from which they were collected, differentiating among populations as little as 10 to 20 m in depth from one another. Discriminant function analysis of the data showed significant differentiation among samples when categorized by collection site as well as collection depth. FST outlier analyses identified 2 loci under positive selection and 3 under balancing selection at LCI. At LSI 2 loci were identified, both showing balancing selection. This data shows that adult populations of M. cavernosa separated by depths of tens of meters exhibits significant genetic structure, indicative of low population connectivity among and within sites and are not supplying successful recruits to adjacent coral reefs less than 30 m in depth.

The red tide event in El Salvador, August 2001-January 2002.

PubMed

Enrique Barraza, José; Armero-Guardado, Julio; Valencia de Toledo, Zobeyda Marisol

2004-09-01

A red tide event occurred in El Salvador from August 2001 to January 2002. National health authorities usually measured toxin levels in Ostrea iridescens, however other species were analyzed during this microalgae bloom: Anadara similis, Anadara tuberculosa and Modiolus sp. El Salvador authorities consider 400 mouse units/100 g the highest value that is safe for human health. During this period toxin levels in 0. iridescens and Modiolus sp. increased from values under 400 to 3977 and 15,468 mouse units/100 g, respectively. Persistent and higher levels were recorded in oyster and mussel banks on the west part of the country. The Ministry of Health and Social Assistance treated 41 slight to moderate intoxications associated to bivalve mollusks consumption.

Risk and the neoliberal state: why post-Mitch lessons didn't reduce El Salvador's earthquake losses.

PubMed

Wisner, B

2001-09-01

Although El Salvador suffered light losses from Hurricane Mitch in 1998, it benefited from the increased international aid and encouragement for advance planning, especially mitigation and prevention interventions. Thus, one would have supposed, El Salvador would have been in a very advantageous position, able more easily than its economically crippled neighbours, Honduras and Nicaragua, to implement the 'lessons of Mitch'. A review of the recovery plan tabled by the El Salvador government following the earthquakes of early 2001 shows that despite the rhetoric in favour of 'learning the lessons of Mitch', very little mitigation and prevention had actually been put in place between the hurricane (1998) and the earthquakes (2001). The recovery plan is analysed in terms of the degree to which it deals with root causes of disaster vulnerability, namely, the economic and political marginality of much of the population and environmental degradation. An explanation for the failure to implement mitigation and preventive actions is traced to the adherence by the government of El Salvador to an extreme form of neoliberal, free market ideology, and the deep fissures and mistrust in a country that follow a long and bloody civil war.

Educational Opportunity: El Salvador's Barriers to Achieving Equality Persist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosekrans, Kristin

This paper analyzes barriers to educational equality in El Salvador, using a multi-layered framework of educational opportunity. To improve educational opportunity and give the most marginalized sectors of society the possibility of changing their life circumstances requires policies that go beyond mere access to formal schooling. The model…

HIV and STI control in El Salvador: results from an integrated behavioural survey among men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Creswell, Jacob; Guardado, Maria Elena; Lee, Janet; Nieto, Ana Isabel; Kim, Andrea A; Monterroso, Edgar; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela

2012-12-01

This cross-sectional study investigates HIV, other sexually transmitted infections (STI), and risk behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM) in two cities in El Salvador. Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was used to recruit MSM in the cities of San Salvador and San Miguel, El Salvador. Participants responded to questions about HIV risk behaviours; and blood, urine and anal swabs were collected. Blood samples were tested for herpes simplex type 2, syphilis and HIV infection. Urine and anal samples were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Mycoplasma genitalium. HIV-positive samples were tested with the BED capture enzyme immunoassay to distinguish recent from longstanding HIV infection. We estimated population-adjusted prevalence of behavioural variables, STI and HIV, and identified risk factors for HIV. The final sample included 596 and 195 MSM in San Salvador and San Miguel, respectively. Consistent condom use was low across all partner types as was recent HIV testing. RDS-adjusted HIV prevalence was 10.8% (95% CI 7.4% to 14.7%) in San Salvador, and 8.8% (95% CI 4.2% to 14.5%) in San Miguel. The proportion of recent testing among HIV-positive samples was 20%. Prevalence of any bacterial STI by PRC testing was 12.7% (95% CI 8.2% to 17.5%) in San Salvador, and 9.6% (95% CI 4.9% to 15.4%) in San Miguel. We found a high prevalence of HIV, high levels of recent infection, and low condom usage. In El Salvador, targeted interventions towards MSM are needed to promote condom use, as well as to diagnose, treat and prevent HIV and other STIs.

The Road from LaPalma. Analysis of the Potential for a Negotiated Solution in El Salvador.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE (When Data gntered) UNCLASSIFIED SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF TNIS PAG hm "M. ft". and cultural bases of bargaining powers in El Salvador...potential gains and costs of continued conflict. This thesis is a study of the historical and cultural bases of bargaining powers in El Salvador, and...of government intervention. Several contending candidates, including two fellow officers, had been disqualified. Government influence over the media

Teacher Observation in El Salvador. Research Report Number Five.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, Judith A.

An instrument to help teacher supervisors in El Salvador to identify and measure good teaching was developed and tested. Because the supervisors were not trained as researchers, they needed an instrument that was simple to use as well as reliable. Several indicators were defined to distinguish between modern and traditional teaching methods, for…

78 FR 70092 - 2013 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of El Salvador: Identification of Countries Under Section...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-22

...-of-Cycle Review of El Salvador: Identification of Countries Under Section 182 of the Trade Act of... announced that, in order to monitor progress on specific IPR issues, Out-of-Cycle Reviews would be conducted.... Submissions should contain the term ``2013 Special 301 Out-of-Cycle Review of El Salvador'' in the ``Type...

Diarrhea Outbreak During U.S. Military Training In El Salvador

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-07-01

Brigade (MEB) were detached to the Base Poligono in San Vicente, El Salvador as part of a military training and humanitarian assistance mission. The... Poligono included tent city (living quarters), latrines, hygiene facilities, the potable water distribution system, dining facility (DFAC), on-base vendor

The Foreign Disclosure and Technical Information System (FORDTIS) User Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-01

INDIA 10 BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY IP CLIPPERTON ISLAND IQ UNITED STATES MISCELLANEOUS PACIFIC ISLANDS (obsolete) IR , IRAN IS ISRAEL IT...CARTIER ISLANDS AU AUSTRIA AV ANGUILLA AY ANTARCTICA BA BAHRAIN BB BARBADOS ’ - ’ BC BOTSWANA BD BERMUDA BE BELGIUM BP...BAHAMAS, THE BG BANGLADESH BH BELIZE BL BOLIVIA BM BURMA BN BENIN (formerly DM) BP SOLOMON ISLANDS BQ NAVASSA ISLAND BR BRAZIL BS BASSAS DA INDIA

Epidemiology as discourse: the politics of development institutions in the Epidemiological Profile of El Salvador

PubMed Central

Aviles, L

2001-01-01

STUDY OBJECTIVE—To determine the ways in which institutions devoted to international development influence epidemiological studies.
DESIGN—This article takes a descriptive epidemiological study of El Salvador, Epidemiological Profile, conducted in 1994 by the US Agency for International Development, as a case study. The methods include discourse analysis in order to uncover the ideological basis of the report and its characteristics as a discourse of development.
SETTING—El Salvador.
RESULTS—The Epidemiological Profile theoretical basis, the epidemiological transition theory, embodies the ethnocentrism of a "colonizer's model of the world." This report follows the logic of a discourse of development by depoliticising development, creating abnormalities, and relying on the development consulting industry. The epidemiological transition theory serves as an ideology that legitimises and dissimulates the international order.
CONCLUSIONS—Even descriptive epidemiological assessments or epidemiological profiles are imbued with theoretical assumptions shaped by the institutional setting under which epidemiological investigations are conducted.


Keywords: El Salvador; politics PMID:11160170

Vertebrate community on an ice-age Caribbean island

PubMed Central

Steadman, David W.; Albury, Nancy A.; Kakuk, Brian; Mead, Jim I.; Soto-Centeno, J. Angel; Singleton, Hayley M.; Franklin, Janet

2015-01-01

We report 95 vertebrate taxa (13 fishes, 11 reptiles, 63 birds, 8 mammals) from late Pleistocene bone deposits in Sawmill Sink, Abaco, The Bahamas. The >5,000 fossils were recovered by scuba divers on ledges at depths of 27–35 m below sea level. Of the 95 species, 39 (41%) no longer occur on Abaco (4 reptiles, 31 birds, 4 mammals). We estimate that 17 of the 39 losses (all of them birds) are linked to changes during the Pleistocene–Holocene Transition (PHT) (∼15–9 ka) in climate (becoming more warm and moist), habitat (expansion of broadleaf forest at the expense of pine woodland), sea level (rising from −80 m to nearly modern levels), and island area (receding from ∼17,000 km2 to 1,214 km2). The remaining 22 losses likely are related to the presence of humans on Abaco for the past 1,000 y. Thus, the late Holocene arrival of people probably depleted more populations than the dramatic physical and biological changes associated with the PHT. PMID:26483484

Holocene millennial to centennial scale carbonate cycles (leeward margin, Great Bahama Bank)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roth, S.; Reijmer, J. J. G.

2003-04-01

The main research topic of this project is the evaluation of Holocene to Recent climatic variability and the impact on shallow-water sediment production of carbonate platforms. A 38m long sediment core (MD992201) was analyzed, obtained from 290m water depth on the leeward margin of Great Bahama Bank. Fourteen Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) dates determined a core bottom age of 7,230 years BP and permitted the construction of a precise time frame. With a sampling interval of 5cm, a decadal time resolution could be achieved. Sedimentation rates varied between 3 to 14m/kyr. Carbonate content ranges from 96 to almost 100wt%, most of which is aragonite (83-92wt%). High Magnesium Calcite (HMC) makes up the second major fraction with 2-9wt%, while Low Magnesium Calcite occurs with minor percentages (0.5-4wt%). Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) of the aragonitic carbonate phase showed two different trends and two primary oscillatory signals. Aragonite production on Great Bahama Bank started at 7,230yr BP when the Holocene sea-level rise flooded the shallow platform top. The first eigenvector captures this long-term trend extending over the entire Mid to Late Holocene succession displaying the Holocene sea-level fluctuations. The second trend indicates millennial scale variations, which can be attributed to a combination of geomagnetic shielding and solar parameters. The two quasi-periodic signals show wavelengths of 400-600 years and approx. 210 years. These oscillations are interpreted in terms of instabilities of the thermohaline circulation and solar parameters, respectively. The oscillatory aragonite signals and oxygen isotope derived temperatures (planktonic foraminifers) agree with northern hemisphere temperature changes (e.g. Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age) and the delta-14C record of tree rings (e.g. Oort to Dalton solar minima). This study shows that carbonate platform systems not only respond to sea-level variations but also are precise recorders of

How a science methods course may influence the curriculum decisions of preservice teachers in the Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wisdom, Sonya L.

The purpose of this study was to examine how a science methods course in primary education might influence the curriculum decisions of preservice teachers in The Bahamas related to unit plan development on environmental science topics. Grounded in a social constructivist theoretical framework for teaching and learning science, this study explored the development of the confidence and competence of six preservice teachers to teach environmental science topics at the primary school level. A qualitative case study using action research methodologies was conducted. The perspectives of preservice teachers about the relevancy of methods used in a science methods course were examined as I became more reflective about my practice. Using constant comparative analysis, data from student-written documents and interviews as well as my field notes from class observations and reflective journaling were analyzed for emerging patterns and themes. Findings of the study indicated that while preservice teachers showed a slight increase in interest regarding learning and teaching environmental science, their primary focus during the course was learning effective teaching strategies in science on topics with which they already had familiarity. Simultaneously, I gained a deeper understanding of the usefulness of reflection in my practice. As a contribution to the complexity of learning to teach science at the primary school level, this study suggests some issues for consideration as preservice teachers are supported to utilize more of the national primary science curriculum in The Bahamas.

Observations and Modeling of the August 27, 2012 Earthquake and Tsunami affecting El Salvador and Nicaragua

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borrero, Jose C.; Kalligeris, Nikos; Lynett, Patrick J.; Fritz, Hermann M.; Newman, Andrew V.; Convers, Jaime A.

2014-12-01

On 27 August 2012 (04:37 UTC, 26 August 10:37 p.m. local time) a magnitude M w = 7.3 earthquake occurred off the coast of El Salvador and generated surprisingly large local tsunami. Following the event, local and international tsunami teams surveyed the tsunami effects in El Salvador and northern Nicaragua. The tsunami reached a maximum height of ~6 m with inundation of up to 340 m inland along a 25 km section of coastline in eastern El Salvador. Less severe inundation was reported in northern Nicaragua. In the far-field, the tsunami was recorded by a DART buoy and tide gauges in several locations of the eastern Pacific Ocean but did not cause any damage. The field measurements and recordings are compared to numerical modeling results using initial conditions of tsunami generation based on finite-fault earthquake and tsunami inversions and a uniform slip model.

The comparative and cost-effectiveness of HPV-based cervical cancer screening algorithms in El Salvador.

PubMed

Campos, Nicole G; Maza, Mauricio; Alfaro, Karla; Gage, Julia C; Castle, Philip E; Felix, Juan C; Cremer, Miriam L; Kim, Jane J

2015-08-15

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in El Salvador. Utilizing data from the Cervical Cancer Prevention in El Salvador (CAPE) demonstration project, we assessed the health and economic impact of HPV-based screening and two different algorithms for the management of women who test HPV-positive, relative to existing Pap-based screening. We calibrated a mathematical model of cervical cancer to epidemiologic data from El Salvador and compared three screening algorithms for women aged 30-65 years: (i) HPV screening every 5 years followed by referral to colposcopy for HPV-positive women (Colposcopy Management [CM]); (ii) HPV screening every 5 years followed by treatment with cryotherapy for eligible HPV-positive women (Screen and Treat [ST]); and (iii) Pap screening every 2 years followed by referral to colposcopy for Pap-positive women (Pap). Potential harms and complications associated with overtreatment were not assessed. Under base case assumptions of 65% screening coverage, HPV-based screening was more effective than Pap, reducing cancer risk by ∼ 60% (Pap: 50%). ST was the least costly strategy, and cost $2,040 per year of life saved. ST remained the most attractive strategy as visit compliance, costs, coverage, and test performance were varied. We conclude that a screen-and-treat algorithm within an HPV-based screening program is very cost-effective in El Salvador, with a cost-effectiveness ratio below per capita GDP. © 2015 UICC.

Resources and obstacles to developing and implementing a structural intervention to prevent HIV in San Salvador, El Salvador

PubMed Central

Corbett, A. Michelle; Bodnar, Gloria; Rodriguez, Karla; Guevara, Carmen E

2009-01-01

HIV prevention researchers have increasingly advocated structural interventions that address factors in the social, political and economic context to reduce disparities of HIV/AIDS among disadvantaged populations. This paper draws on data collected in three different types of low-income communities (n=6) in the San Salvador metropolitan area in El Salvador. Nine focus group discussions were conducted between January 2006 - July 2007, six with community leaders, and three with crack cocaine users, as well as in-depth interviews with 20 crack users and crack dealers. We explore opportunities and barriers to the implementation of a community-level, structural intervention. We first analyze the different forms of leadership, and other community resources including existing HIV prevention activities that could potentially be used to address the related problems of crack use and HIV in the communities, and the structural factors that may act as barriers to capitalizing on communities’ strengths in interventions. Each of the communities studied demonstrated different resources that stem from each community's unique history and geographic location. HIV testing and prevention resources varied widely among the communities, with resources concentrated in one Older Central community despite a strong need in all communities. In many communities, fear of gang violence and non-responsiveness by government agencies to communities’ needs have discouraged community organizing. In the discussion, we offer concrete suggestions for developing and implementing structural interventions to reduce HIV risks that use communities’ different but complementary resources. PMID:19910099

[The health system of El Salvador].

PubMed

Acosta, Mónica; Sáenz, María del Rocío; Gutiérrez, Blanca; Bermúdez, Juan Luis

2011-01-01

This paper describes the health conditions in El Salvador and the main característics of the Salvadoran health system, including its structure and coverage, its financial sources, the physical, material and human resources available, the stewardship functions developed by the Ministry of Public Health, and the participation of health care users in the evaluation of the system. It also discusses the most recent policy innovations including the approval of the Law for the Creation of the National Health System, which intends to expand coverage, reduce health inequalities and improve the coordination of public health institutions.

Southeastern United States and Caribbean Sea from Apollo 8 spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1968-01-01

Most of the southeastern United States and Caribbean Sea, the U.S. coastline from Chesapeake Bay to the Florida peninsula can be seen from the Apollo 8 spacecraft in orbit above the Earth. The Bahamas and the Islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispiniola and Puerto Rico extend across the Caribbean. The light blue of the shallow Bahama banks contrasts with the darker hue of the deeper water especially in the Tongue of the Ocean area.

Situation Report - El Salvador, Republic of Korea, and South Africa.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in three foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are El Salvador, Republic of Korea, and South Africa. Information is provided under two topics, general background and family planning situation, where appropriate and if it is available. General background covers…

New allocyclic dimensions in a prograding carbonate bank: Evidence for eustatic, tectonic, and paleoceanographic control (late Neogene, Bahamas)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lidz, B.H.; McNeill, D.F.

1997-01-01

The deep-sea record, examined recently for the first time in a shallow-depocenter setting, has unveiled remarkable evidence for new sedimentary components and allocyclic complexity in a large, well-studied carbonate bank, the western Great Bahama Bank. The evidence is a composite foraminiferal signature - Paleocene to early Miocene (allogenic or reworked) and late Miocene to late Pliocene (host) planktic taxa, and redeposited middle Miocene shallow benthic faunas. Ages of the oldest and youngest planktic groups range from ??? 66 to ??? 2 Ma. The reworked and redeposited taxa are a proxy for significant sediment components that otherwise have no lithofacies or seismic resolution. The composite signature, reinforced by a distinctive distribution of the reworked and redeposited faunas, documents a much more complex late Neogene depositional system than previously known. The system is more than progradational. The source sequences that supplied the constituent bank-margin grains formed at different water depths and over hundreds of kilometers and tens of millions of years apart. New evidence from the literature and from data obtained during Ocean Drilling Program (OOP) Leg 166 in the Santaren Channel (Bahamas) support early interpretations based on the composite fossil record and provide valuable new dimensions to regional allocyclicity. The middle Miocene taxa were confined to the lower part of the section by the latest Miocene-earliest Pliocene(?) lowstand of sea level. An orderly occurrence of the allogenic taxa is unique to the global reworked geologic record and appears to have been controlled by a combination of Paleogene-early Neogene tectonics at the source, eustatic changes, and late Neogene current activity at the source and across the bank. The allogenic taxa expand the spatial and temporal range of information in the northern Bahamas by nearly an order of magnitude. In essence, some of the major processes active in the region during ??? 64 m.y. of the

Disparities in HIV Screening among Pregnant Women – El Salvador, 2011

PubMed Central

El Bcheraoui, Charbel; Nieto Gómez, Ana I.; Dubón Abrego, María A.; Gagnier, Marielle C.; Sutton, Madeline Y.; Mokdad, Ali H.

2013-01-01

Objectives To provide an accurate estimate of antenatal HIV screening and its determinants among pregnant women in El Salvador and help local authorities make informed decisions for targeted interventions around mother-to-child transmission (MTCT). Methods A total sample of 4,730 women aged 15-49 years were interviewed from a random sample of 3,625 households. We collected data on antenatal care services, including HIV screening, during last pregnancy through a pre-established questionnaire. We used a backward elimination multivariate logistic regression model to examine the association between HIV screening and sociodemographic and health care-related factors. Results A total of 2,929 women were included in this analysis. About 98% of participants reported receiving antenatal care, but only 83% of these reported being screened for HIV. Screening was lower in geographic areas with higher HIV incidence and ranged from 69.1% among women who were not seen by a physician during antenatal care, to 93.7% among those who attended or completed college. Odds for screening varied also by age, employment status, household economic expenditure, possession of health care coverage, health care settings, and number of antenatal care visits. Conclusions We found disparities in HIV screening during antenatal care at the environmental, social, demographic, and structural levels despite a high uptake of antenatal care in El Salvador. Our findings should urge health authorities to tailor and enhance current strategies implemented to eliminate MTCT and reduce inequities and HIV morbidity among women in El Salvador. PMID:24349356

Decentralization and Privatization of Education in El Salvador: Assessing the Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuellar-Marchelli, Helga

2003-01-01

Describes decentralization and privatization policies in El Salvador's education reform plan and assesses their potential success and limitations. The EDUCO program, in which nonprofit parents' associations in poor rural communities administer community schools, has expanded rural access to education. However, EDUCO also has potential to…

Geodetically resolved slip distribution of the 27 August 2012 Mw=7.3 El Salvador earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geirsson, H.; La Femina, P. C.; DeMets, C.; Hernandez, D. A.; Mattioli, G. S.; Rogers, R.; Rodriguez, M.

2013-12-01

On 27 August 2012 a Mw=7.3 earthquake occurred offshore of Central America causing a small tsunami in El Salvador and Nicaragua but little damage otherwise. This is the largest magnitude earthquake in this area since 2001. We use co-seismic displacements estimated from episodic and continuous GPS station time series to model the magnitude and spatial variability of slip for this event. The estimated surface displacements are small (<2 cm) due to the distance and low magnitude of the earthquake. We use TDEFNODE to model the displacements using two different modeling approaches. In the first model, we solve for homogeneous slip on free rectangular fault(s), and in the second model we solve for distributed slip on the main thrust, realized using different slab models. The results indicate that we can match the seismic moment release, with models indicating rupture of a large area, with a low magnitude of slip. The slip is at shallow-to-intermediate depths on the main thrust off the coast of El Salvador. Additionally, we observe a deeper region of slip to the east, that reaches towards the Gulf of Fonseca between El Salvador and Nicaragua. The observed tsunami additionally indicates near-trench rupture off the coast of El Salvador. The duration of the rupturing is estimated from seismic data to be 70 s, which indicates a slow rupture process. Since the geodetic moment we obtain agrees with the seismic moment, this indicates that the earthquake was not associated with aseismic slip.

Distribution and abundance of snowy plovers in eastern North America, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gorman, Leah; Haig, Susan M.

2002-01-01

Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) are small, partially migrant shorebirds that are broadly distributed across North America. Snowy Plover distribution west of the Rocky Mountains has been well described. However, distribution and abundance east of the Rocky Mountains has not received much attention despite current status and ESA listing concerns for Snowy Plovers in the southeastern United States and the Caribbean. Thus, a first step in developing a monitoring program for Snowy Plovers is to understand the species' distribution. We summarize information on distribution and abundance of Snowy Plovers in the eastern United States, Caribbean, and Bahamas. Breeding and winter distribution maps for the continental United States were generated from a database of 3563 records from 388 sites in continental North America constructed from International Shorebird Survey (ISS), Christmas Bird Count (CBC), unpublished field data, and published accounts. Comparison of maximum counts per site (1980–present) indicated the number of breeding Snowy Plovers was greatest in Kansas and Oklahoma, while the greatest number of wintering birds occurred in the Laguna Madre of Texas and Mexico. Snowy Plovers concentrate at sites in Oklahoma and Texas during migration, with higher concentrations on the upper Texas coast in spring compared to fall migration. Data regarding historic abundance and trends are limited but suggest that Snowy Plovers in the eastern United States may have experienced regional population declines and may have suffered a range contraction in Texas. Serious concerns about the conservation status of Snowy Plovers in the eastern United States, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas indicate an immediate need for systematic surveys and up-to-date population estimates.

Press Pelease Image - STS-1 - Earth View

NASA Image and Video Library

1981-04-12

S81-30396 (12-14 April 1981) --- A vertical view of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas and part of the great Bahama Bank, as photographed with a 70mm handheld camera from the space shuttle Columbia in Earth orbit. The light blue of the Bahama Bank contrasts sharply with the darker blue of the deep ocean waters. Astronauts John W. Young, commander, and Robert L. Crippen, pilot, took a series of Earth photos from inside the flight deck of the Columbia, which has windows on its top side, convenient for shooting photographs as the spacecraft flew ?upside down? above Earth. The mission frame ID number is STS001-12-322. Photo credit: NASA

Environmental and biotic correlates to lionfish invasion success in Bahamian coral reefs.

PubMed

Anton, Andrea; Simpson, Michael S; Vu, Ivana

2014-01-01

Lionfish (Pterois volitans), venomous predators from the Indo-Pacific, are recent invaders of the Caribbean Basin and southeastern coast of North America. Quantification of invasive lionfish abundances, along with potentially important physical and biological environmental characteristics, permitted inferences about the invasion process of reefs on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. Environmental wave-exposure had a large influence on lionfish abundance, which was more than 20 and 120 times greater for density and biomass respectively at sheltered sites as compared with wave-exposed environments. Our measurements of topographic complexity of the reefs revealed that lionfish abundance was not driven by habitat rugosity. Lionfish abundance was not negatively affected by the abundance of large native predators (or large native groupers) and was also unrelated to the abundance of medium prey fishes (total length of 5-10 cm). These relationships suggest that (1) higher-energy environments may impose intrinsic resistance against lionfish invasion, (2) habitat complexity may not facilitate the lionfish invasion process, (3) predation or competition by native fishes may not provide biotic resistance against lionfish invasion, and (4) abundant prey fish might not facilitate lionfish invasion success. The relatively low biomass of large grouper on this island could explain our failure to detect suppression of lionfish abundance and we encourage continuing the preservation and restoration of potential lionfish predators in the Caribbean. In addition, energetic environments might exert direct or indirect resistance to the lionfish proliferation, providing native fish populations with essential refuges.

Scarcity and Survival in El Salvador. Grades Six to Twelve.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanford Univ., CA. Stanford Program on International and Cross Cultural Education.

This unit, designed for use with students in grades 6-12, has two purposes: (1) to inform teachers and students about social and economic conditions in rural El Salvador; and (2) to teach students how to analyze the indicators of such social and economic conditions. The six included lessons incorporate reading, graphing, and critical thinking…

Education and the Production of Diasporic Citizens in El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dyrness, Andrea; Sepúlveda, Enrique, III

2015-01-01

In this article, Dyrness and Sepúlveda argue that in El Salvador, young people are participants in a diasporic social imaginary that connects them with Salvadorans and other Latinos in the United States--before they have ever left the country. The authors explore how this transnational relationship manifests in two school communities in San…

Television, Background Characteristics and Learning in El Salvador's Educational Reform.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hornik, Robert C.

The use of instructional television (ITV) as part of an educational reform in grades 7, 8 and 9 El Salvador had a positive effect upon learning. This was achieved despite inequities in cognitive skills related to student background factors and inequities in resource distribution. In selected schools, 75% of the variance in cognitive skills in…

State of Florida as seen from Skylab

NASA Image and Video Library

1974-01-10

SL4-139-4029 (10 Jan. 1974) --- An oblique view of the State of Florida, looking northward up the peninsula, as photographed from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit by one of the Skylab 4 crewman. The camera used was a hand-held 70mm Hasselblad, with SO-368 medium-speed Ektachrome. This view shows almost the entire state, except the panhandle region. The Bahama Banks area appears in the southeast part of the picture as the light blue water. Andros Island in the Bahamas group is the island in the lower right corner. The Gulfstream flows between Florida and the Bahama Banks. This fast-moving, warm-water current transports energy from the tropics to the northern latitudes. The effect of the warmer Gulfstream waters on the atmosphere is seen as increased convection (caused by the warmer water heating the air from below) resulting in the fair weather cumulus seen confined primarily over the Gulfstream. A portion of Cuba is seen in the lower left corner of the picture. Photo credit: NASA

Identification of Focal Mechanisms of Seisms Occurring in the San Salvador Volcano-Ilopango Lake Area Between 1994 and March 2005

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

Maria Mendez Martinez, Luz de; Portillo, Mercy

2009-04-19

We studied the geographic area located in the central part of El Salvador, between the San Salvador Volcano (Quezaltepec) and Ilopango Lake. Its latitude is between 13 deg. 36' and 13 deg. 54', and longitude is between -89 deg. 18' and -88 deg. 57'. This area is directly affected by the WNW axis, the most prominent weak tectonic system in the region. Our research aimed to determine the focal mechanisms of seisms occurring in the studied area between 1994 and March 2005. Our analysis provided information about displacement types of the geological faults, using the wave impulse P method andmore » computer applications ARCGIS and SEISAN, with the subroutine FOCMEC. Information of the studied seisms was obtained from the National Service of Territorial Studies (SNET) database. Geographic models used in the preparation of maps are from the geographic information system of the School of Physics at the University of El Salvador. The 37 focal mechanisms on the map of faults were identified in digital seismographs to determinate the arrival polarity of the wave P for each seism station. Data from the focal mechanisms were analyzed and correlated with their replications. The analysis allowed us to identify evidences to consider the fault continuity not reported by the last geological mission in El Salvador conducted in the 1970s. The fault continuity is located northwest of the studied geographical area, between San Salvador City and the San Salvador Volcano. The compression and strain axes for this area are two main horizontal force axes. The average orientation for the strain axis is NNE-SSW, and WNW-SEE for the compression axis. There is also important seismic activity in the Ilopango Lake and surrounding area. However, data did not allow us to make any inference. The tensors distribution resulted in a high dispersion corresponding to typical fauces models.« less

[Professional Burnout Syndrome of intensive care physicians from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil].

PubMed

Tironi, Márcia Oliveira Staffa; Nascimento Sobrinho, Carlito Lopes; Barros, Dalton de Souza; Reis, Eduardo José Farias Borges; Marques Filho, Edson Silva; Almeida, Alessandro; Bitencourt, Almir; Feitosa, Ana Isabela Ramos; Neves, Flávia Serra; Mota, Igor Carlos Cunha; França, Juliana; Borges, Lorena Guimarães; Lordão, Manuela Barreto de Jesus; Trindade, Maria Valverde; Teles, Marcelo Santos; Almeida, Mônica Bastos T; Souza, Ygor Gomes de

2009-01-01

Describe prevalence of the Burnout syndrome in intensive care physicians of Salvador, associated to demographic data and aspects of the work environment (psychological demand and job control). This cross sectional study has investigated the association between work conditions and Burnout Syndrome in a population of 297 Intensive Care Physicians from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. An individual, self-report questionnaire evaluated the physicians' psychological aspects of work, using the demand-control model (Job Content Questionnaire) and their mental health, using the Maslash Burnout Inventory (MBI). The study found work overload,a high proportion of on duty physicians and low income for the hours worked. Prevalence of the Burnout Syndrome was 7.4% and it was more closely associated with aspects of the job's psychological demand than with its control. Physicians under great stress (high demand and low control) presented prevalence of the Bornout Syndrome 10.2 times higher than those under low stress (low demand and high control) jobs.

HTLV-I in the general population of Salvador, Brazil: a city with African ethnic and sociodemographic characteristics.

PubMed

Dourado, Inês; Alcantara, Luiz C J; Barreto, Maurício L; da Gloria Teixeira, Maria; Galvão-Castro, Bernardo

2003-12-15

The city of Salvador has the highest prevalence of HTLV-I among blood donors in Brazil. To study the prevalence of HTLV-I among the general population of Salvador, 30 "sentinel surveillance areas" were selected for the investigation of various infectious diseases, and 1385 individuals within these areas were surveyed according to a simple random sample procedure. ELISA was used to screen plasma samples for antibodies to HTLV-I, and the positive samples were tested by a confirmatory assay (Western blotting). The overall prevalence of HTLV-I was 1.76% (23/1385). Infection rates were 1.2% for males and 2.0% for females. Specific prevalence demonstrated an increasing linear trend with age. No one younger than 13 years of age was infected. Multivariate analysis estimated adjusted odds ratios for the association of HTLV-I with age of 9.7 (3.3; 30.4) for females and 12.3 (1.47; 103.1) for males. Less education and income might be associated with HTLV-I infection in females. Phylogenetic analysis of the long terminal repeat fragments showed that most of the samples belonged to the Latin American cluster of the Transcontinental subgroup (Cosmopolitan subtype). For the entire city of Salvador, it is estimated that approximately 40000 individuals are infected with HTLV-I. Our results suggest multiple post-Colombian introductions of African HTLV-Ia strains in Salvador.

Interactions among overstory structure, seedling life-history traits and fire in frequently burned neotropical pine forests

Treesearch

J.J. O’Brien; J.K. Hiers; M.A. Callaham; R.J. Mitchell; S. Jack

2008-01-01

Fire-dependent pine forests in the Caribbean Basin cover extensive areas in the coastal plain of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico and on several islands in the Bahamas Archipelago, Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Honduran Bay islands. These forests are high in conservation value but, unfortunately, remain mostly unprotected. Moreover, even...

Jurassic and Cretaceous Hagiastridae from the Blake-Bahama Basin /Site 5A, JOIDES Leg I/ and the Great Valley Sequence, California Coast Ranges.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pessagno, E. A., Jr.

1971-01-01

Description of a total of 24 new species and four genuses of Jurassic and Cretaceous Hagiastridae found in the Great Valley Sequence of the California Coast Ranges. Also described are four new species from the late Jurassic strata of the Blake-Bahama Basin. Spumellariina with a spongy meshwork is included in the superfamily Spongodiscacea Haeckel.

Chaparrastique (San Mighel) Volcano Eruptions since Dec. 29th, 2013, El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Hackert, B.; Bajo, J. V.; Escobar, D.; Gutierrez, E.

2015-12-01

The December 29th, 2013 eruption of Chaparrastique (San Miguel) volcano in El Salvador came as a surprise and was the first of several small eruptions in the past two years. They came after many years of preceeding earthquake swarms and significant degassing. Being the second volcano to erupt in El Salvador in less than ten years, it caused grave concern for the population of the country. Although they were not large eruptions (VEI 2), the materials were widespread and caused deposits of volcanic tephra as far at the capital San Salvador and closed the airports in the vecinity for a couple of days. This is a summary of the research, mitigation and services that were done days after the first eruption on December 29, 2013 and the follwing months. In conjunction with the team of the Direccion General del Observatorio Ambiental from the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales possible first response strategies were discussed and decided to obtain results that could be quickly put in place to mitigate and decide on actions such as evacuations or relocations of people living in volcano related high-risk hazard areas. Collection of samples, mapping and measurements of the volcanic tephra in the field together with Digital Globe and areal photography after the event, allowed identification of four different volcanic products that can be correlated to the opening of the vent and ending in the eruption of juvenile materials of basaltic to trachybasaltic composition, and the production of a lahar hazard map based on LaharZ.

Urban population genetics of slum-dwelling rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Salvador, Brazil

PubMed Central

Kajdacsi, Brittney; Costa, Federico; Hyseni, Chaz; Porter, Fleur; Brown, Julia; Rodrigues, Gorete; Farias, Helena; Reis, Mitermeyer G.; Childs, James E.; Ko, Albert I.; Caccone, Adalgisa

2013-01-01

Throughout the developing world, urban centers with sprawling slum settlements are rapidly expanding and invading previously forested ecosystems. Slum communities are characterized by untended refuse, open sewers, and overgrown vegetation, which promote rodent infestation. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), are reservoirs for epidemic transmission of many zoonotic pathogens of public health importance. Understanding the population ecology of R. norvegicus is essential to formulate effective rodent control strategies, as this knowledge aids estimation of the temporal stability and spatial connectivity of populations. We screened for genetic variation, characterized the population genetic structure, and evaluated the extent and patterns of gene flow in the urban landscape using 17 microsatellite loci in 146 rats from 9 sites in the city of Salvador, Brazil. These sites were divided between three neighborhoods within the city spaced an average of 2.7 km apart. Surprisingly, we detected very little relatedness among animals trapped at the same site and found high levels of genetic diversity, as well as structuring across small geographic distances. Most FST comparisons among sites were statistically significant, including sites <400 m apart. Bayesian analyses grouped the samples in three genetic clusters, each associated with distinct sampling sites from different neighborhoods or valleys within neighborhoods. These data indicate the existence of complex genetic structure in R. norvegicus in Salvador, linked to the heterogeneous urban landscape. Future rodent control measures need to take into account the spatial and temporal linkage of rat populations in Salvador, as revealed by genetic data, to develop informed eradication strategies. PMID:24118116

Urban population genetics of slum-dwelling rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Salvador, Brazil.

PubMed

Kajdacsi, Brittney; Costa, Federico; Hyseni, Chaz; Porter, Fleur; Brown, Julia; Rodrigues, Gorete; Farias, Helena; Reis, Mitermayer G; Childs, James E; Ko, Albert I; Caccone, Adalgisa

2013-10-01

Throughout the developing world, urban centres with sprawling slum settlements are rapidly expanding and invading previously forested ecosystems. Slum communities are characterized by untended refuse, open sewers and overgrown vegetation, which promote rodent infestation. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) are reservoirs for epidemic transmission of many zoonotic pathogens of public health importance. Understanding the population ecology of R. norvegicus is essential to formulate effective rodent control strategies, as this knowledge aids estimation of the temporal stability and spatial connectivity of populations. We screened for genetic variation, characterized the population genetic structure and evaluated the extent and patterns of gene flow in the urban landscape using 17 microsatellite loci in 146 rats from nine sites in the city of Salvador, Brazil. These sites were divided between three neighbourhoods within the city spaced an average of 2.7 km apart. Surprisingly, we detected very little relatedness among animals trapped at the same site and found high levels of genetic diversity, as well as structuring across small geographical distances. Most F(ST) comparisons among sites were statistically significant, including sites <400 m apart. Bayesian analyses grouped the samples in three genetic clusters, each associated with distinct sampling sites from different neighbourhoods or valleys within neighbourhoods. These data indicate the existence of complex genetic structure in R. norvegicus in Salvador, linked to the heterogeneous urban landscape. Future rodent control measures need to take into account the spatial and temporal linkage of rat populations in Salvador, as revealed by genetic data, to develop informed eradication strategies. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Burden of group A streptococcal meningitis in Salvador, Brazil: report of 11 years of population-based surveillance

PubMed Central

Santos, Milena Soares; de Sousa Ribeiro, Guilherme; Oliveira, Tainara Queiroz; Santos, Renan Cardoso Nery; Gouveia, Edilane; Salgado, Kátia; Takahashi, Daniele; Fontes, Cleuber; Campos, Leila Carvalho; Reis, Mitermayer Galvão; Ko, Albert Icksang; Reis, Joice Neves

2009-01-01

1.2 Summary Background Over recent decades, a resurgence of invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) infections has been observed; GAS remains a rare cause of pyogenic meningitis. We report herein population-based findings of long-term surveillance for GAS meningitis in Salvador, Brazil, and estimate the overall burden of invasive GAS infections. Methods From February 1996 to January 2006 we conducted active surveillance for GAS meningitis in the state reference hospital for infectious diseases in Salvador, Brazil. Data on clinical presentation, laboratory records, and outcome were collected through interviews and chart review. GAS isolates were evaluated for antimicrobial susceptibility and emm type. Results We identified 20 cases of GAS meningitis, which accounted for 0.9% of all culture-proven bacterial meningitis in the study period. The mean annual incidence of GAS meningitis was 0.03 cases per 100 000 population in metropolitan Salvador and peaked in children <1 year of age (0.67 cases per 100 000 population). Among 17 cases with clinical information available, 41% required intensive care unit support and 25% died. Tested isolates were susceptible to penicillin and exhibited large emm type diversity. Based on the incidence of GAS meningitis, we estimate that the annual incidence of GAS infection is 3 cases per 100 000 population in metropolitan Salvador. Conclusions Although rare, GAS is a life-threatening cause of bacterial meningitis. Knowledge of the incidence and emm type variability of the disease is necessary for planning immunization strategies. PMID:19019714

[Vagotonía. The medical thesis of Salvador Zubirán].

PubMed

Delgado, Guillermo; Estañol-Vidal, Bruno

2012-01-01

Salvador Zubirán submitted his thesis for his MD degree in 1923. This thesis falls within the context of the new Mexican physiological medicine and denotes the visionary character of its author. Zubirán appears here as the introducer in Mexico of the physiopharmacological approach in autonomic nervous system disorders.

Deep-sea biostratigraphy of prograding platform margins (Neogene, Bahamas): key evidence linked to depositional rhythm

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lidz, B.H.; McNeill, D.F.

1995-01-01

New foraminiferal evidence from two boreholes on the paleoshelf and slope of western Great Bahama Bank has wide-ranging implications for understanding formation and evolution of carbonate-platform margins. The new data, abundant well-preserved planktic foraminifera, were obtained by disaggregating samples from intercalated pelagic layers and selected parts of thick hemipelagic limestone. The new data define six units in one hole and seven in the other, bracket the biozones present and their ages, indicate different sedimentation rates, and show that within the limits of biostratigraphic resolution the biozones are correlative between the holes. Most importantly, the revised ages show that the paleoshelf borehole probably penetrated the late Miocene rather than middle Miocene. -from Authors

Community-based assessment and intervention for early childhood caries in rural El Salvador.

PubMed

Dabiri, Darya; Fontana, Margherita; Kapila, Yvonne; Eckert, George; Sokal-Gutierrez, Karen

2016-08-01

The objectives were to assess early childhood caries (ECC) in rural areas of El Salvador and to investigate the changes in caries and mouth pain in the presence of community-based interventions. This study was a retrospective analysis of de-identified and anonymous data obtained from baseline and four annual follow-up visits that focused on the preventive oral health intervention and nutrition in a convenience sample of children 0-6 years of age. The decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) index for primary teeth was used as the survey tool. Caries was defined as a cavitated lesion. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the prevalence of ECC in the sample in relation to age and dmft score. Linear mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) and generalised linear mixed effects models were used to compare the pre-intervention and post-intervention outcomes. The prevalence of caries was 58%. Incorporation of a community oral health education and fluoride supplementation programme contributed to significant reductions in caries experience (from 74% to 61%) and mouth pain (from 58% to 39%), in children 3-6 years of age. ECC is a common public health problem in rural El Salvador. In an established community-based maternal-child health programme in El Salvador, there appears to be an association between the incorporation of preventive oral health intervention and improvement in children's oral health and quality of life over time. © 2016 FDI World Dental Federation.

Diffusive Soil Degassing of Radon and Carbon Dioxide at Ilopango Caldera, El Salvador, Central America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ransom, L.; Lopez, D. L.; Hernandez, P.

2001-12-01

Ilopango Caldera lies 10 Km east of San Salvador, El Salvador and holds Ilopango Lake, the largest body of fresh water in El Salvador. There is currently no observed fumarolic activity within the caldera system. However, the last eruption occurred in 1880. In November - December, 1999, radon gas concentrations (pCi/l) were measured using a Pylon AB5 radon monitor, and flux of CO2 (g/m2/day) was determined using the accumulation chamber method at 106 sampling stations around the lake, along and across the caldera walls. Gas samples were also collected to determine the isotopic composition of C in CO2. CO2 fluxes did not show high values characteristic of other volcanic systems, values ranged from 0.7 to 9.2 g/m2/day with an average value of 3.9. These values are similar to the low values of the background population observed in nearby San Salvador volcano. Highest values are observed to the east and west of the lake. Isotopic values for C in soil gases do not show an important magmatic component. Radon concentrations present three distinct populations with the highest values occurring to the southwest. Thoron concentrations are higher close to the caldera walls than inside the caldera due to the possible higher rock fracturing in that region. Measurements taken in March 2001, after the January 13 and February 13, 2001 earthquakes did not show significant variations in CO2 fluxes. However, radon concentrations varied due to the high seismicity that lasted several months after these earthquakes. These results suggest that the magmatic system of Ilopango Caldera is not emitting high fluxes of CO2 to the atmosphere throughout the caldera soils. Subaquatic emissions of CO2 have not been evaluated. However, subaquatic hydrothermal discharges have not been identified at this calderic lake.

Evolving Hazard Monitoring and Communication at San Vicente Volcano, El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, L. J.; Gierke, J. S.

2014-12-01

El Salvador has 20 potentially active volcanoes, four of which have erupted in the last 100 years. Since San Vicente Volcano has had no historic eruptions, monitoring is not a high priority; especially given the current eruptive crisis at San Miguel Volcano. Though probability of eruptive hazards remains low at San Vicente, it is arguably one of the most hazardous volcanoes in the country due to rainfall-induced landslides and debris-flow risk. At least 250 deaths occurred in November 2009 from landslides and debris flows triggered by Hurricane Ida. This disaster caused the Universidad de El Salvador - Facultad Multidisciplinaria Paracentral (UES-FMP, San Vicente, El Salvador) to partner with governmental and nongovernmental organizations (including the U.S. Peace Corps, U.S. Fulbright Program, Korean International Cooperation Agency, Protección Civil and the Centro de Protección para Desastres (CEPRODE)) to focus its faculty and student research toward hazard monitoring and risk studies. Newly established monitoring efforts include: measurement of surface cracks and localized rainfall by Protección Civil and local residents using crude extensometers and rain gauges; installation of six weather stations that operate within the most at-risk municipalities; seismic refraction surveys to better characterize stratigraphy and seasonal water table changes; and most recently, a USAID/NSF-funded initiative partnered with the UES-FMP to monitor seasonal hydrologic conditions related to flooding and groundwater recharge. The information from these initiatives is now used to communicate current conditions and warnings through a network of two-way radios established by CEPRODE and Protección Civil. Representatives from the multi-institutional team also communicate the data to authorities who make better-informed decisions regarding warnings and evacuations, as well as determine suitable areas for population relocation in the event of a crisis. Data will eventually be used

Wounds caused by firearms in El Salvador, 2003-2004: epidemiological issues.

PubMed

Paniagua, Ignacio; Crespin, Emperatriz; Guardado, Ademar; Mauricio, Ana

2005-01-01

This study presents data from hospital records in El Salvador describing the features of 100 patients admitted to a public hospital with firearm wounds. Wounds caused by Firearms (WFA) account for 70 per cent of homicides; 30 per cent of WFA homicides died in hospital. For every death in hospital there are five admissions who need treatment and survive. The typical victim is a young man with reasonable education but poor earning capacities and some family responsibilities, who lives in an urban setting where drugs, alcohol and firearms are commonplace. Extrapolating from this study, an estimated 2,580 people were treated in El Salvador hospitals during 2003; and of these 2,400 were treated in public hospitals at a cost to the state of 7.4 million USD, just over seven per cent of the health budget. Using further extrapolations, the total social costs for WFA morbidity would amount to around 34 million USD. There needs to be greater controls on firearms, public education on their risks and a more unified surveillance system.

Observations and recommendations regarding landslide hazards related to the January 13, 2001 M-7.6 El Salvador earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jibson, Randall W.; Crone, Anthony J.

2001-01-01

The January 13, 2001 earthquake (M-7.6) off the coast of El Salvador triggered widespread damaging landslides in many parts of the El Salvador. In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Salvadoran government requested technical assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); USAID, in turn, requested help from technical experts in landslide hazards from the U.S. Geological Survey. In response to that request, we arrived in El Salvador on January 31, 2001 and worked with USAID personnel and Salvadoran agency counterparts in visiting landslide sites and evaluating present and potential hazards. A preliminary, unofficial report was prepared at the end of our trip (February 9) to provide immediate information and assistance to interested agencies and parties. The current report is an updated and somewhat expanded version of that unofficial report. Because of the brief nature of this report, conclusions and recommendations contained herein should be considered tentative and may be revised in the future.

Synthetic Minor NSR Permit: BP America Production Company - Salvador I/II Central Delivery Point

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page contains the final synthetic minor NSR permit for the BP America Production Company, Salvador I/II Central Delivery Point, located on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in La Plata County, CO.

Assessment of earthquake-induced landslides hazard in El Salvador after the 2001 earthquakes using macroseismic analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esposito, Eliana; Violante, Crescenzo; Giunta, Giuseppe; Ángel Hernández, Miguel

2016-04-01

Two strong earthquakes and a number of smaller aftershocks struck El Salvador in the year 2001. The January 13 2001 earthquake, Mw 7.7, occurred along the Cocos plate, 40 km off El Salvador southern coast. It resulted in about 1300 deaths and widespread damage, mainly due to massive landsliding. Two of the largest earthquake-induced landslides, Las Barioleras and Las Colinas (about 2x105 m3) produced major damage to buildings and infrastructures and 500 fatalities. A neighborhood in Santa Tecla, west of San Salvador, was destroyed. The February 13 2001 earthquake, Mw 6.5, occurred 40 km east-southeast of San Salvador. This earthquake caused over 300 fatalities and triggered several landslides over an area of 2,500 km2 mostly in poorly consolidated volcaniclastic deposits. The La Leona landslide (5-7x105 m3) caused 12 fatalities and extensive damage to the Panamerican Highway. Two very large landslides of 1.5 km3 and 12 km3 produced hazardous barrier lakes at Rio El Desague and Rio Jiboa, respectively. More than 16.000 landslides occurred throughout the country after both quakes; most of them occurred in pyroclastic deposits, with a volume less than 1x103m3. The present work aims to define the relationship between the above described earthquake intensity, size and areal distribution of induced landslides, as well as to refine the earthquake intensity in sparsely populated zones by using landslide effects. Landslides triggered by the 2001 seismic sequences provided useful indication for a realistic seismic hazard assessment, providing a basis for understanding, evaluating, and mapping the hazard and risk associated with earthquake-induced landslides.

Tsunamis caused by submarine slope failures along western Great Bahama Bank

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schnyder, Jara S. D.; Eberli, Gregor P.; Kirby, James T.; Shi, Fengyan; Tehranirad, Babak; Mulder, Thierry; Ducassou, Emmanuelle; Hebbeln, Dierk; Wintersteller, Paul

2016-11-01

Submarine slope failures are a likely cause for tsunami generation along the East Coast of the United States. Among potential source areas for such tsunamis are submarine landslides and margin collapses of Bahamian platforms. Numerical models of past events, which have been identified using high-resolution multibeam bathymetric data, reveal possible tsunami impact on Bimini, the Florida Keys, and northern Cuba. Tsunamis caused by slope failures with terminal landslide velocity of 20 ms-1 will either dissipate while traveling through the Straits of Florida, or generate a maximum wave of 1.5 m at the Florida coast. Modeling a worst-case scenario with a calculated terminal landslide velocity generates a wave of 4.5 m height. The modeled margin collapse in southwestern Great Bahama Bank potentially has a high impact on northern Cuba, with wave heights between 3.3 to 9.5 m depending on the collapse velocity. The short distance and travel time from the source areas to densely populated coastal areas would make the Florida Keys and Miami vulnerable to such low-probability but high-impact events.

Tsunamis caused by submarine slope failures along western Great Bahama Bank.

PubMed

Schnyder, Jara S D; Eberli, Gregor P; Kirby, James T; Shi, Fengyan; Tehranirad, Babak; Mulder, Thierry; Ducassou, Emmanuelle; Hebbeln, Dierk; Wintersteller, Paul

2016-11-04

Submarine slope failures are a likely cause for tsunami generation along the East Coast of the United States. Among potential source areas for such tsunamis are submarine landslides and margin collapses of Bahamian platforms. Numerical models of past events, which have been identified using high-resolution multibeam bathymetric data, reveal possible tsunami impact on Bimini, the Florida Keys, and northern Cuba. Tsunamis caused by slope failures with terminal landslide velocity of 20 ms -1 will either dissipate while traveling through the Straits of Florida, or generate a maximum wave of 1.5 m at the Florida coast. Modeling a worst-case scenario with a calculated terminal landslide velocity generates a wave of 4.5 m height. The modeled margin collapse in southwestern Great Bahama Bank potentially has a high impact on northern Cuba, with wave heights between 3.3 to 9.5 m depending on the collapse velocity. The short distance and travel time from the source areas to densely populated coastal areas would make the Florida Keys and Miami vulnerable to such low-probability but high-impact events.

Earth observations taken by the STS-112 crew

NASA Image and Video Library

2002-10-10

STS112-705-011 (7-18 October 2002) --- The light-blue region in the middle of this view, photographed from the Space Shuttle Atlantis, is the shallow flat platform known as the Great Bahama Bank. The platform is covered by less than 100 feet of water. Andros Island, the biggest island in the Bahamas chain, is the highest part of this platform and appears partly under cloud cover in the center of the view. The edges of the platform are steep, dropping off thousands of feet into the ocean depths, the deepest water indicated by deep blues. The 50-mile-wide Strait of Florida is the deep water along the left and lower sides of the view. The Key Largo part of the Florida Peninsula appears in the extreme lower left.

On the Measurement of Ecological Novelty: Scale-Eating Pupfish Are Separated by 168 my from Other Scale-Eating Fishes

PubMed Central

Martin, Christopher H.; Wainwright, Peter C.

2013-01-01

The colonization of new adaptive zones is widely recognized as one of the hallmarks of adaptive radiation. However, the adoption of novel resources during this process is rarely distinguished from phenotypic change because morphology is a common proxy for ecology. How can we quantify ecological novelty independent of phenotype? Our study is split into two parts: we first document a remarkable example of ecological novelty, scale-eating (lepidophagy), within a rapidly-evolving adaptive radiation of Cyprinodon pupfishes on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. This specialized predatory niche is known in several other fish groups, but is not found elsewhere among the 1,500 species of atherinomorphs. Second, we quantify this ecological novelty by measuring the time-calibrated phylogenetic distance in years to the most closely-related species with convergent ecology. We find that scale-eating pupfish are separated by 168 million years of evolution from the nearest scale-eating fish. We apply this approach to a variety of examples and highlight the frequent decoupling of ecological novelty from phenotypic divergence. We observe that novel ecology is not always tightly correlated with rates of phenotypic or species diversification, particularly within recent adaptive radiations, necessitating the use of additional measures of ecological novelty independent of phenotype. PMID:23976994

With God's Help I Can Do It: Crack Users' Formal and Informal Recovery Experiences in El Salvador

PubMed Central

Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Bodnar, Gloria; Guevara, Carmen Eugenia; Rodriguez, Karla; De Mendoza, Lorena Rivas; Corbett, A. Michelle

2013-01-01

Crack use has increased dramatically in El Salvador in the last few decades. As with other developing countries with sudden onsets of drug problems, El Salvador has few medical staff trained in addictions treatment. Little research has examined drug users' attempts to reduce or abstain from drug use in countries where government-regulated formal medical treatment for drug addiction is scarce. This paper uses qualitative and quantitative data gathered from active crack users to explore their formal and informal strategies to reduce or abstain from drugs, and compares these with components of informal and formal treatment in developed countries. PMID:20735191

Impact of U.S. Foreign Policy and Assistance in El Salvador

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-03

forestry and environmental education, community organization and economic development, rural health and sanitation and youth development. USAID’s...The compact includes $88 million for technical assistance and financial services to farmers and rural businesses, $100 million to strengthen...Report, February 27, 2009. 31FUSADES (Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo Económico y Social). 2003. Oportunidad, seguridad, legitimidad

View of the extended SSRMS or Canadarm2 with cloudy view in the background

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-01-09

ISS006-E-16947 (9 January 2003) --- The Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) or Canadarm2 is pictured over the Bahama Islands in this digital still camera's view taken from the International Space Station (ISS).

Southeastern United States and Caribbean Sea from Apollo 8 spacecraft

NASA Image and Video Library

1968-12-22

AS08-16-2581 (21-27 Dec. 1968) --- This photograph of Earth was taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft while it was in Earth orbit. Most of the southeastern United States and the Caribbean Sea area, the U.S. coastline from Chesapeake Bay to the Florida Peninsula can be seen. The Bahamas and the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico extend across the Caribbean, the light blue of the shallow Bahama banks contrasting sharply with the darker hue of the deeper water, especially in the Tongue of the Ocean area.

EDUCO Schools in El Salvador: A Democratic Tree in a Globalized Forest?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Desmond, Cheryl T.

2009-01-01

This research on the Educacion con Participacion de Communidad (EDUCO) rural schools in El Salvador examined the nature of the reform and its impact on parent involvement and engagement for the local community; the underlying economic and political ideologies of EDUCO; and interpreted these findings to uncover the implications of the reform for…

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

Environmental and Biotic Correlates to Lionfish Invasion Success in Bahamian Coral Reefs

PubMed Central

Anton, Andrea; Simpson, Michael S.; Vu, Ivana

2014-01-01

Lionfish (Pterois volitans), venomous predators from the Indo-Pacific, are recent invaders of the Caribbean Basin and southeastern coast of North America. Quantification of invasive lionfish abundances, along with potentially important physical and biological environmental characteristics, permitted inferences about the invasion process of reefs on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. Environmental wave-exposure had a large influence on lionfish abundance, which was more than 20 and 120 times greater for density and biomass respectively at sheltered sites as compared with wave-exposed environments. Our measurements of topographic complexity of the reefs revealed that lionfish abundance was not driven by habitat rugosity. Lionfish abundance was not negatively affected by the abundance of large native predators (or large native groupers) and was also unrelated to the abundance of medium prey fishes (total length of 5–10 cm). These relationships suggest that (1) higher-energy environments may impose intrinsic resistance against lionfish invasion, (2) habitat complexity may not facilitate the lionfish invasion process, (3) predation or competition by native fishes may not provide biotic resistance against lionfish invasion, and (4) abundant prey fish might not facilitate lionfish invasion success. The relatively low biomass of large grouper on this island could explain our failure to detect suppression of lionfish abundance and we encourage continuing the preservation and restoration of potential lionfish predators in the Caribbean. In addition, energetic environments might exert direct or indirect resistance to the lionfish proliferation, providing native fish populations with essential refuges. PMID:25184250

Synthetic Minor NSR Permit: BP America Production Company - Salvador I/II Central Delivery Point

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page contains the response to public comments, the final synthetic minor NSR permit, and the administrative record for the BP America Production Company, Salvador I/II CDP, located on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in La Plata County, CO.

Attributes of patient-centered primary care associated with the public perception of good healthcare quality in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and El Salvador.

PubMed

Doubova, Svetlana V; Guanais, Frederico C; Pérez-Cuevas, Ricardo; Canning, David; Macinko, James; Reich, Michael R

2016-09-01

This study evaluated primary care attributes of patient-centered care associated with the public perception of good quality in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and El Salvador. We conducted a secondary data analysis of a Latin American survey on public perceptions and experiences with healthcare systems. The primary care attributes examined were access, coordination, provider-patient communication, provision of health-related information and emotional support. A double-weighted multiple Poisson regression with robust variance model was performed. The study included between 1500 and 1503 adults in each country. The results identified four significant gaps in the provision of primary care: not all respondents had a regular place of care or a regular primary care doctor (Brazil 35.7%, Colombia 28.4%, Mexico 22% and El Salvador 45.4%). The communication with the primary care clinic was difficult (Brazil 44.2%, Colombia 41.3%, Mexico 45.1% and El Salvador 56.7%). There was a lack of coordination of care (Brazil 78.4%, Colombia 52.3%, Mexico 48% and El Salvador 55.9%). Also, there was a lack of information about healthy diet (Brazil 21.7%, Colombia 32.9%, Mexico 16.9% and El Salvador 20.8%). The public's perception of good quality was variable (Brazil 67%, Colombia 71.1%, Mexico 79.6% and El Salvador 79.5%). The primary care attributes associated with the perception of good quality were a primary care provider 'who knows relevant information about a patient's medical history', 'solves most of the health problems', 'spends enough time with the patient', 'coordinates healthcare' and a 'primary care clinic that is easy to communicate with'. In conclusion, the public has a positive perception of the quality of primary care, although it has unfulfilled expectations; further efforts are necessary to improve the provision of patient-centered primary care services in these four Latin American countries. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For

Fighting Narcotraffic in Latin America: Mexico and El Salvador - A Comparative Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

Cartel’s Territories and Routes. .......................................................................21 Figure 2. Overpopulated Prisons in Latin...organizations took advantage of. El Salvador is currently one of the most violent countries in the world , with a rate of approximately 69 murders per...Francisco Flores in 2003, brought unintended results. Prisons were overpopulated , and only a small percentage of prisoners were sentenced

Lahar-hazard zonation for San Miguel volcano, El Salvador

USGS Publications Warehouse

Major, J.J.; Schilling, S.P.; Pullinger, C.R.; Escobar, C.D.; Chesner, C.A.; Howell, M.M.

2001-01-01

San Miguel volcano, also known as Chaparrastique, is one of many volcanoes along the volcanic arc in El Salvador. The volcano, located in the eastern part of the country, rises to an altitude of about 2130 meters and towers above the communities of San Miguel, El Transito, San Rafael Oriente, and San Jorge. In addition to the larger communities that surround the volcano, several smaller communities and coffee plantations are located on or around the flanks of the volcano, and the PanAmerican and coastal highways cross the lowermost northern and southern flanks of the volcano. The population density around San Miguel volcano coupled with the proximity of major transportation routes increases the risk that even small volcano-related events, like landslides or eruptions, may have significant impact on people and infrastructure. San Miguel volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in El Salvador; it has erupted at least 29 times since 1699. Historical eruptions of the volcano consisted mainly of relatively quiescent emplacement of lava flows or minor explosions that generated modest tephra falls (erupted fragments of microscopic ash to meter sized blocks that are dispersed into the atmosphere and fall to the ground). Little is known, however, about prehistoric eruptions of the volcano. Chemical analyses of prehistoric lava flows and thin tephra falls from San Miguel volcano indicate that the volcano is composed dominantly of basalt (rock having silica content

The Role of Temperature and Humidity on Seasonal Influenza in Tropical Areas: Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama, 2008-2013

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soebiyanto, Radina P.; Clara, Wilfrido; Jara, Jorge; Castillo, Leticia; Sorto, Oscar Rene; Marinero, Sidia; Antinori, Maria E. Barnett de; McCracken, John P.; Widdowson, Marc-Alain; Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo;

The role of temperature and humidity on seasonal influenza in tropical areas: Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama, 2008-2013.

PubMed

Soebiyanto, Radina P; Clara, Wilfrido; Jara, Jorge; Castillo, Leticia; Sorto, Oscar Rene; Marinero, Sidia; de Antinori, María E Barnett; McCracken, John P; Widdowson, Marc-Alain; Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo; Kiang, Richard K

2014-01-01

The role of meteorological factors on influenza transmission in the tropics is less defined than in the temperate regions. We assessed the association between influenza activity and temperature, specific humidity and rainfall in 6 study areas that included 11 departments or provinces within 3 tropical Central American countries: Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama. Logistic regression was used to model the weekly proportion of laboratory-confirmed influenza positive samples during 2008 to 2013 (excluding pandemic year 2009). Meteorological data was obtained from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite and the Global Land Data Assimilation System. We found that specific humidity was positively associated with influenza activity in El Salvador (Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% Confidence Interval of 1.18 (1.07-1.31) and 1.32 (1.08-1.63)) and Panama (OR = 1.44 (1.08-1.93) and 1.97 (1.34-2.93)), but negatively associated with influenza activity in Guatemala (OR = 0.72 (0.6-0.86) and 0.79 (0.69-0.91)). Temperature was negatively associated with influenza in El Salvador's west-central departments (OR = 0.80 (0.7-0.91)) whilst rainfall was positively associated with influenza in Guatemala's central departments (OR = 1.05 (1.01-1.09)) and Panama province (OR = 1.10 (1.05-1.14)). In 4 out of the 6 locations, specific humidity had the highest contribution to the model as compared to temperature and rainfall. The model performed best in estimating 2013 influenza activity in Panama and west-central El Salvador departments (correlation coefficients: 0.5-0.9). The findings highlighted the association between influenza activity and specific humidity in these 3 tropical countries. Positive association with humidity was found in El Salvador and Panama. Negative association was found in the more subtropical Guatemala, similar to temperate regions. Of all the study locations, Guatemala had annual mean temperature and specific humidity that were lower than the

Do Community-Managed Schools Work? An Evaluation of El Salvador's EDUCO Program. Working Paper Series on Impact Evaluation of Education Reforms. Paper No. 8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jimenez, Emmanuel; Sawada, Yasuyuki

This paper measures the effects on student outcomes of decentralizing educational responsibility to communities and schools. In El Salvador, community-managed schools emerged during the 1980s when public schools could not be extended to rural areas because of the country's civil war. In 1991, El Salvador's Ministry of Education decided to draw on…

Tsunamis caused by submarine slope failures along western Great Bahama Bank

PubMed Central

Schnyder, Jara S.D.; Eberli, Gregor P.; Kirby, James T.; Shi, Fengyan; Tehranirad, Babak; Mulder, Thierry; Ducassou, Emmanuelle; Hebbeln, Dierk; Wintersteller, Paul

2016-01-01

Submarine slope failures are a likely cause for tsunami generation along the East Coast of the United States. Among potential source areas for such tsunamis are submarine landslides and margin collapses of Bahamian platforms. Numerical models of past events, which have been identified using high-resolution multibeam bathymetric data, reveal possible tsunami impact on Bimini, the Florida Keys, and northern Cuba. Tsunamis caused by slope failures with terminal landslide velocity of 20 ms−1 will either dissipate while traveling through the Straits of Florida, or generate a maximum wave of 1.5 m at the Florida coast. Modeling a worst-case scenario with a calculated terminal landslide velocity generates a wave of 4.5 m height. The modeled margin collapse in southwestern Great Bahama Bank potentially has a high impact on northern Cuba, with wave heights between 3.3 to 9.5 m depending on the collapse velocity. The short distance and travel time from the source areas to densely populated coastal areas would make the Florida Keys and Miami vulnerable to such low-probability but high-impact events. PMID:27811961

The El Salvador Educational Reform: Some Effects of the First Teacher Retraining Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McAnany, Emile G.; And Others

Teachers in El Salvador who participated in a three-month retraining course were given comparable questionnaires during the first and last week of the course, to examine their concepts about instructional television (ITV), professional roles and responsibilities in ITV-aided classrooms, and teachers' problems. Of the 92 teachers who completed the…

Exodus! Large-scale displacement and social adjustments of resident Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) in the Bahamas

PubMed Central

Herzing, Denise L.; Augliere, Bethany N.; Elliser, Cindy R.; Green, Michelle L.; Pack, Adam A.

2017-01-01

Over the last 20 years, significant habitat shifts have been documented in some populations of cetaceans. On Little Bahama Bank (LBB) there are sympatric communities of resident Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), monitored since 1985. The size and social structure (three clusters: Northern, Central, Southern) have been stable among the spotted dolphin community with little immigration/emigration, even after large demographic losses (36%) following two major hurricanes in 2004. In 2013 an unprecedented exodus of over 50% (52 individuals) of the spotted dolphin community was documented. The entire Central cluster and a few Northern and Southern individuals relocated 161 km south to Great Bahama Bank (GBB), also home to two sympatric resident communities of spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. During the late summer of 2013 and the summers of 2014 and 2015 both sites were regularly monitored but no former LBB dolphins returned to LBB. Uncharacteristic matriline splits were observed. Social analyses revealed random associations for those spotted dolphins and very little integration between spotted dolphins that moved to GBB (MGBB) and those dolphin resident to GBB (RGBB). Male alliances among spotted dolphins were present, with some altered patterns. On LBB, the operational sex ratio (OSR) was reduced (.40 to .25). OSR for MGBB and RGBB dolphins were similar (.45 and .43). A significant steady decrease in sea surface temperature and chlorophyll a (a proxy for plankton production) occurred on LBB leading up to this exodus. Similar trends were not present over the same period on GBB. The sudden large-scale shift of spotted dolphins from LBB to GBB in association with the gradual decline in certain environmental factors suggests that a possible “tipping point” was reached in prey availability. This study provides a unique view into social and genetic implications of large-scale displacement of stable

Exodus! Large-scale displacement and social adjustments of resident Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) in the Bahamas.

PubMed

Herzing, Denise L; Augliere, Bethany N; Elliser, Cindy R; Green, Michelle L; Pack, Adam A

2017-01-01

Over the last 20 years, significant habitat shifts have been documented in some populations of cetaceans. On Little Bahama Bank (LBB) there are sympatric communities of resident Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), monitored since 1985. The size and social structure (three clusters: Northern, Central, Southern) have been stable among the spotted dolphin community with little immigration/emigration, even after large demographic losses (36%) following two major hurricanes in 2004. In 2013 an unprecedented exodus of over 50% (52 individuals) of the spotted dolphin community was documented. The entire Central cluster and a few Northern and Southern individuals relocated 161 km south to Great Bahama Bank (GBB), also home to two sympatric resident communities of spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. During the late summer of 2013 and the summers of 2014 and 2015 both sites were regularly monitored but no former LBB dolphins returned to LBB. Uncharacteristic matriline splits were observed. Social analyses revealed random associations for those spotted dolphins and very little integration between spotted dolphins that moved to GBB (MGBB) and those dolphin resident to GBB (RGBB). Male alliances among spotted dolphins were present, with some altered patterns. On LBB, the operational sex ratio (OSR) was reduced (.40 to .25). OSR for MGBB and RGBB dolphins were similar (.45 and .43). A significant steady decrease in sea surface temperature and chlorophyll a (a proxy for plankton production) occurred on LBB leading up to this exodus. Similar trends were not present over the same period on GBB. The sudden large-scale shift of spotted dolphins from LBB to GBB in association with the gradual decline in certain environmental factors suggests that a possible "tipping point" was reached in prey availability. This study provides a unique view into social and genetic implications of large-scale displacement of stable dolphin

Prevalence and predictors of abandonment of therapy among children with cancer in El Salvador.

PubMed

Bonilla, Miguel; Rossell, Nuria; Salaverria, Carmen; Gupta, Sumit; Barr, Ronald; Sala, Alessandra; Metzger, Monika L; Sung, Lillian

2009-11-01

Abandonment of therapy is one of the most common causes of treatment failure among children with cancer in low-income countries. Our objectives were to describe the prevalence and predictors of abandonment among such children with cancer in El Salvador. We analyzed data on patients younger than 16 years, diagnosed with any malignancy between January 2001 and December 2003 at the Benjamin Bloom National Children's Hospital, San Salvador. Among 612 patients, 353 were male (58%); the median age at diagnosis was 5.1 years; 59% of patients were diagnosed with leukemia/lymphoma, 28% with solid tumors and 13% with brain tumors. The prevalence of abandonment was 13%. Median time to abandonment was 2.0 (range 0-36) months. In univariate analyses, paternal illiteracy [odds ratio (OR) 3.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.0-7.2; p = 0.001]; maternal illiteracy (OR = 5.1, 95% CI 2.5-10; p < 0.0001); increasing number of household members (OR = 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.3; p = 0.004); and low monthly household income (OR per $100 = 0.59, 95% CI 0.45-0.75; p < 0.0001) all significantly increased the risk of abandonment, whereas travel time to hospital did not. In multiple regression analyses, low monthly income and increased number of people in the household were independently predictive of abandonment. In conclusion, in El Salvador, despite the provision of free treatment, socioeconomic variables significantly predict increased risk of abandonment of therapy. Understanding the pathways through which socioeconomic status affects abandonment may allow the design of effective interventions. (c) 2009 UICC.

Seismic sources in El Salvador. A geological and geodetic contribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso-Henar, J.; Martínez-Díaz, J. J.; Benito, B.; Alvarez-Gomez, J. A.; Canora, C.; Capote, R.; Staller, A.; Tectónica Activa, Paleosismicidad y. Riesgos Asociados UCM-910368

2013-05-01

El Salvador Fault Zone is a deformation band of 150 km long and 20 km wide within the Salvadorian volcanic arc. This shear band distributes the deformation between main strike-slip faults trending N90°-100°E and around 30 km long, and secondary normal faults trending between N120°E and N170°E. The ESFZ continues westward and is relieved by the Jalpatagua Fault. Eastward ESFZ becomes less clear disappearing at Golfo de Fonseca. The ESFZ deforms and offsets quaternary deposits with a right lateral movement in its main segments. Five segments have been proposed for the whole fault zone, from the Jalpatagua Fault to the Golfo de Fonseca. Paleoseismic studies in the Berlin and San Vicente Segments reveal an important amount of quaternary deformation. In fact, the San Vicente Segment was the source of the February 13, 2001 destructive earthquake. In this work we propose 18 capable seismic sources within El Salvador. The slip rate of each source has been obtained through out the combination of GPS data and paleoseismic data when it has been possible. We also have calculated maximum theoretical intensities produced by the maximum earthquakes related with each fault. We have taken into account several scenarios considering different possible surface rupture lengths up to 50 km and Mw 7.6 in some of the strike slip faults within ESFZ.

North America Mosaic

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2014-05-15

... models from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and other sources. An astonishing diversity of geological features, ecological ... to the lonely Bermuda Islands and southward to the Bahamas, Cuba and Mexico. Draped in green, the eastern and central United States and ...

Small States and Big Institutions: USAID and Education Policy Formation in El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, D. Brent, Jr.

2012-01-01

This article analyses the institutional power of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the process of education policy formation in El Salvador during 2003-2005. The results show how bi- and multi-lateral institutions are able to leverage financial and intellectual capital to guide the policymaking process and sway…

Poverty-associated risk factors for wheezing in the first year of life in Honduras and El Salvador.

PubMed

Bueso, A; Figueroa, M; Cousin, L; Hoyos, W; Martínez-Torres, A E; Mallol, J; Garcia-Marcos, L

2010-01-01

Risk factors for wheezing specifically during the first year of life have been studied in well-developed countries, but the information from developing countries is very scarce. There are no such studies focusing on factors derived from poverty. The aim of the present study was to determine if risk factors related to poverty are associated to wheezing during the first year of life in infants from Honduras and El Salvador. A survey, using a validated questionnaire, was carried out in the metropolitan area of San Pedro Sula (Honduras) and in La Libertad (El Salvador) in centres where infants attended for a scheduled vaccination shot or a healthy child visit at 12 months of age. Fieldworkers offered questionnaires to parents and helped the illiterate when necessary. The main outcome variable was wheezing during the first year of life, as reported by parents. A total of 1047 infants in El Salvador and 780 in Honduras were included in the analysis. The prevalence of wheeze in the first year was higher in El Salvador (41.2%) than in Honduras (27.7%), as was recurrent wheezing defined as three or more episodes (18.4% vs. 11.7%). Wheezing and recurrent wheezing was associated to unpaved floor in the household (summary odds ratios for both countries 1.55, p=0.036 and 1.72, p=0.054 for any wheeze and recurrent wheezing, respectively); dust entering from streets (1.30, p=0.052 and 1.67, p=0.008); living in a heavily polluted area (1.33, p=0.037 and 1.52, p=0.033); and having mould stains on the household walls (1.36, p=0.072 and 1.76, p=0.007). Furthermore, marginal associations were found for additional person at home and use of kerosene as cooking fuel. University studies in the mother (0.34, p=0.046 and 0.32, p=0.022) and a professional occupation in the father (0.34, p=0.046 and 0.26, p=0.047) were associated to a lower risk. The prevalence of wheezing and recurrent wheezing is notoriously high in El Salvador and Honduras. In those populations factors related to poverty

El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-18

Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, February 27, 2009. 29 “ Presidente de El Salvador anuncia retiro de tropas de ...America- United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), by J. F. Hornbeck, CRS Report R40135, Mérida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: Funding and...conservative ARENA party, was elected in March 2004, along with Ana Vilma de Escobar, El Salvador’s first female vice president. Saca, a well-known

First person: a mental health mission to post-earthquake El Salvador.

PubMed

Katz, Craig L

2013-09-01

In this article the author excerpts and discusses salient quotes or moments from the journal he compiled while visiting El Salvador in February 2001 as head of Disaster Psychiatry Outreach (DPO) to assist survivors of a major earthquake. This case discussion of a single disaster mental health response exemplifies key issues related to both short and long term mental health service delivery to disaster affected communities. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Volcano-hazard zonation for San Vicente volcano, El Salvador

USGS Publications Warehouse

Major, J.J.; Schilling, S.P.; Pullinger, C.R.; Escobar, C.D.; Howell, M.M.

2001-01-01

San Vicente volcano, also known as Chichontepec, is one of many volcanoes along the volcanic arc in El Salvador. This composite volcano, located about 50 kilometers east of the capital city San Salvador, has a volume of about 130 cubic kilometers, rises to an altitude of about 2180 meters, and towers above major communities such as San Vicente, Tepetitan, Guadalupe, Zacatecoluca, and Tecoluca. In addition to the larger communities that surround the volcano, several smaller communities and coffee plantations are located on or around the flanks of the volcano, and major transportation routes are located near the lowermost southern and eastern flanks of the volcano. The population density and proximity around San Vicente volcano, as well as the proximity of major transportation routes, increase the risk that even small landslides or eruptions, likely to occur again, can have serious societal consequences. The eruptive history of San Vicente volcano is not well known, and there is no definitive record of historical eruptive activity. The last significant eruption occurred more than 1700 years ago, and perhaps long before permanent human habitation of the area. Nevertheless, this volcano has a very long history of repeated, and sometimes violent, eruptions, and at least once a large section of the volcano collapsed in a massive landslide. The oldest rocks associated with a volcanic center at San Vicente are more than 2 million years old. The volcano is composed of remnants of multiple eruptive centers that have migrated roughly eastward with time. Future eruptions of this volcano will pose substantial risk to surrounding communities.

Future prospects for Nearctic migrants wintering in Carribbean forest

Treesearch

Joseph M. Wunderler JR.; Robert B. Waide

1994-01-01

Wintering nearctic migrants constitute a high proportion of the birds present in many terrestrial habitats in the Bahamas and greater Antilles, But their proportions decline southward through the Lesser Antilles. many migrants winter on densely populate islands which have been extensively deforested.

Benefits and Costs of LORAN-C Expansion into the Eastern Caribbean.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-01-01

exported by Caribbean islands are sugar, citrus, rice, bananas , avocados, green coffee, and papaya. However, despite the fact that the Caribbean...Capt. Leon Flowers , Nassau, Bahamas 5. MARITIME ORGANIZATIONS o Maritime Transportation Research Board, Mr. Dave Mellor, Washington, D.C. o National

Earth Observations taken by the STS-135 Crew

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-07-09

S135-E-006400 (9 July 2011) --- A window on space shuttle Atlantis' aft flight deck frames this scene featuring the Atlantic Ocean/Tropic of Cancer area south of Florida, including some of the 2700 islands that constitute the Bahamas. Photo credit: NASA

Impact of the slab dip change onto the deformation partitioning in the northern Lesser Antilles oblique subduction zone (Antigua-Virgin Islands)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laurencin, Muriel; Marcaillou, Boris; Klingelhoefer, Frauke; Graindorge, David; Lebrun, Jean-Frédéric; Laigle, Mireille; Lallemand, Serge

2017-04-01

Marine geophysical cruises Antithesis (2013-2016) investigate the impact of the variations in interplate geometry onto margin tectonic deformation along the strongly oblique Lesser Antilles subduction zone. A striking features of this margin is the drastic increase in earthquake number from the quiet Barbuda-St Martin segment to the Virgin Islands platform. Wide-angle seismic data highlight a northward shallowing of the downgoing plate: in a 150 km distance from the deformation front, the slab dipping angle in the convergence direction decreases from 12° offshore of Antigua Island to 7° offshore of Virgin Islands. North-South wide-angle seismic line substantiates a drastic slab-dip change that likely causes this northward shallowing. This dip change is located beneath the southern tip of the Virgin Islands platform where the Anegada Passage entails the upper plate. Based on deep seismic lines and bathymetric data, the Anegada Passage is a 450 km long W-E trending set of pull-apart basins and strike-slip faults that extends from the Lesser Antilles accretionary prism to Puerto Rico. The newly observed sedimentary architecture within pull-apart Sombrero and Malliwana basins indicates a polyphased tectonic history. A past prominent NW-SE extensive to transtensive phase, possibly related to the Bahamas Bank collision, opened the Anegada Passage as previously published. Transpressive tectonic evidences indicate that these structures have been recently reactivated in an en-echelon sinistral strike-slip system. The interpreted strain ellipsoid is consistent with deformation partitioning. We propose that the slab northward shallowing increases the interplate coupling and the seismic activity beneath the Virgin Islands platform comparatively to the quiet Barbuda-St Martin segment. It is noteworthy that the major tectonic partitioning structure in the Lesser Antilles forearc is located above the slab dip change where the interplate seismic coupling increases.

Role of Temperature, Humidity and Rainfall on Influenza Transmission in Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Soebiyanto, Radina P.; Bonilla, Luis; Jara, Jorge; McCracken, John; Azziz?-Baumgartner, Eduardo; Widdowson, Marc-Alain; Kiang, Richard

2012-01-01

Worldwide, seasonal influenza causes about 500,000 deaths and 5 million severe illnesses per year. The environmental drivers of influenza transmission are poorly understood especially in the tropics. We aimed to identify meteorological factors for influenza transmission in tropical Central America. We gathered laboratory-confirmed influenza case-counts by week from Guatemala City, San Salvador Department (El Salvador) and Panama Province from 2006 to 2010. The average total cases per year were: 390 (Guatemala), 99 (San Salvador) and 129 (Panama). Meteorological factors including daily air temperature, rainfall, relative and absolute humidity (RH, AH) were obtained from ground stations, NASA satellites and land models. For these factors, we computed weekly averages and their deviation from the 5-yr means. We assessed the relationship between the number of influenza case-counts and the meteorological factors, including effects lagged by 1 to 4 weeks, using Poisson regression for each site. Our results showed influenza in San Salvador would increase by 1 case within a week of every 1 day with RH>75% (Relative Risk (RR)= 1.32, p=.001) and every 1C increase in minimum temperature (RR=1.29, p=.007) but it would decrease by 1 case for every 1mm-above mean weekly rainfall (RR=0.93,p<.001) (model pseudo-R2=0.55). Within 2 weeks, influenza in Panama was increased by 1 case for every 1% increase in RH (RR=1.04, p=.003), and it was increased by 2 cases for every 1C increase of minimum temperature (RR=2.01, p<.001) (model pseudo-R2=0.4). Influenza counts in Guatemala had 1 case increase for every 1C increase in minimum temperature in the previous week (RR=1.21, p<.001), and for every 1mm/day-above normal increase of rainfall rate (RR=1.03, p=.03) (model pseudo-R2=0.54). Our findings that cases increase with temperature and humidity differ from some temperate-zone studies. But they indicate that climate parameters such as humidity and temperature could be predictive of influenza

Teaching Disaster Preparedness to Rural Communities in El Salvador.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barton, T.

2014-12-01

Natural disasters are becoming more common around the world, and it is widely accepted that developing nations show the highest rates of vulnerability. It makes sense to focus preparedness and mitigation efforts in these countries. However, it is important to realize that different teaching styles are required for different cultures with varying education systems and classroom atmospheres. The pedagogical models we use in the US can't be directly exported. A realistic assessment of the situation seen during two years living and working in rural El Salvador is presented, along with methods used and lessons learned.

Basic Education in El Salvador: Consolidating the Foundations for Quality and Equal Opportunities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rincon, Hernan, Ed.; Sala, Mariella, Ed.; Sala, Fiorella, Ed.; Tarnapol Whitacre, Paula, Ed.; Lee, Thomas, Ed.

2005-01-01

This study of basic education in El Salvador was carried out between September and December of 2003 by a team of researchers. This publication has two parts: (1) The introduction which addresses the main findings of the study and proposes education policy priorities for the next reform effort; and (2) A summary of the original study of basic…

El Salvador: Political, Economic, and Social Conditions and U.S. Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-17

Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) insurgency during a 12-year civil war. A peace accord negotiated in 1992 brought the war to an end...Mauricio Funes of the leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a party that was formerly an anti-government revolutionary movement, was...Salvador in 1959, Funes earned a liberal arts degree from the Central American University (UCA) José Simeón Cañas. He then spent more than 20 years

Glacial versus interglacial sedimentation rates and turbidite frequency in the Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Droxler, Andre W.; Schlager, Wolfgang

1985-11-01

The southern Tongue of the Ocean is a 1300-m-deep, flat-floored basin in the Bahamas that receives large amounts of sediment from the carbonate platforms surrounding it on three sides. We have examined five 8 13-m-long piston cores and determined bulk sedimentation rates, turbidite frequency, and turbidite accumulation rates for the past two glacial and interglacial periods. The mean of bulk sedimentation rates is four to six times higher in interglacial periods; average accumulation rates of recognizable turbidites are higher by a factor of 21 to 45, and interglacial turbidite frequency is higher by a factor of 6 to 14. Sediment composition indicates that increased interglacial rates are due to higher accumulation of platform-derived material. Additional data from other Bahamian basins as well as published material from the Caribbean strongly suggest that highstand shedding is a general trend in pure carbonate depositional systems. Carbonate platforms without a siliciclastic component export more material during highstands of sea level when the platform tops are flooded and produce sediment. The response of carbonate platforms to Quaternary sea-level cycles is opposed to that of siliciclastic ocean margins, where sediment is stored on the inner shelf during highstands and passed on to continental rises and abyssal plains during lowstands of sea level.

The influence of paleo currents upon the Santaren Channel and the adjacent carbonate platforms, Bahamas.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paulat, Marco; Lüdmann, Thomas; Betzler, Christian; Eberli, Gregor; Lindhorst, Sebastian

2015-04-01

The closure of the Central American Seaway and the reorganization of the ocean currents had a global impact on earth's climate. The sedimentation of the Great Bahama Bank (GBB) and the smaller Cay Sal Bank (CSB) are influenced by the Atlantic North Equatorial Current and the Florida Current. New high-resolution multichannel seismic data sets tied to the IODP leg 166 wells document that the shape of Bahama Banks and the sedimentation processes in the Santaren Channel (SC) between GBB and CSB are strongly related to changes in the strength of these currents. Since the Upper Miocene, the SC is filled up by a huge package of drift sediments, namely the Santaren Drift (SD). The buildup of the SD causes a local high in the recent bathymetry perpendicular to the surrounding steep platform slopes. The SD shows a typical mounded morphology and progrades northwards in direction of the Florida Channel. The SD was established during the late Miocene. Seismic facies and internal configuration indicate an environment of a stable north flowing current with a major depocenter related to the center of the SC. Additionally, a second depocenter at the central eastern flank of CSB established and preserved till early Pleistocene when the slope sedimentation starts to dominate. This depocenter points to a strengthened countercurrent component in the eastern SC. From the lower Pliocene to the upper Pleistocene the volume of the SD expanded, associated with an intensification of the current in the SC along its eastern flank, indicated by deep erosional channels parallel to the margin of GBB in the northern part of the survey area. This trend probably was initiated as a consequence of current reorganization due to the final closure of the Central American Seaway. Lower slope sediments from GBB are eroded or only minor parts are preserved from lower Pliocene to upper Pleistocene. With late Pliocene falling sea-level, gravitational slope sedimentation from GBB into the SC increased with

Retrieval of tropospheric HCHO in El Salvador using ground based DOAS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abarca, W.; Gamez, K.; Rudamas, C.

2017-12-01

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is the most abundant carbonyl in the atmosphere, being an intermediate product in the oxidation of most volatile organic compounds (VOCs). HCHO is carcinogenic, and highly water soluble [1]. HCHO can originate from biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion and has been observed from satellite and ground-based sensors by using the Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) technique [2].DOAS products can be used for air quality monitoring, validation of chemical transport models, validation of satellite tropospheric column density retrievals, among others [3]. In this study, we report on column density levels of HCHO measured by ground based Multi-Axis -DOAS in different locations of El Salvador in March, 2015. We have not observed large differences of the HCHO column density values at different viewing directions. This result points out a reasonably polluted and hazy atmosphere in the measuring sites, as reported by other authors [4]. Average values ranging from 1016 to 1017 molecules / cm2 has been obtained. The contribution of vehicular traffic and biomass burning to the column density levels in these sites of El Salvador will be discussed. [1] A. R. Garcia et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys. 6, 4545 (2006) [2] E. Peters et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys. 12, 11179 (2012) [3] T. Vlemmix, et al. Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 941-963, 2015 [4] A. Heckel et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys. 5, (2005)

Globin haplotypes of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I-infected individuals in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, suggest a post-Columbian African origin of this virus.

PubMed

Alcantara, Luiz Carlos; Van Dooren, Sonia; Gonçalves, Marilda Souza; Kashima, Simone; Costa, Maria Cristina Ramos; Santos, Fred Luciano Neves; Bittencourt, Achilea Lisboa; Dourado, Inês; Filho, Antonio Andrade; Covas, Dimas Tadeu; Vandamme, Anne-Mieke; Galvão-Castro, Bernardo

2003-08-01

The city of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, has sociodemographic characteristics similar to some African cities. Up to now, it has had the highest prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection (1.74%) in the country. To investigate which strains of HTLV-I are circulating in Salvador, we studied isolates from 82 patients infected with HTLV-I: 19 from the general population, 21 from pregnant women, 16 from intravenous drug users, and 26 from patients and their family attending a neurologic clinic. Phylogenetic analysis from part of the LTR fragments showed that most of these isolates belonged to the Transcontinental subgroup of the Cosmopolitan subtype (HTLV-Ia). Only one sample from a pregnant woman was closely related to the Japanese subgroup, suggesting recent introduction of a Japanese HTLV-I lineage into Salvador. betaA-Globin haplotypes were examined in 34 infected individuals and found to be atypical, confirming the racial heterogeneity of this population. A total of 20 chromosomes were characterized as Central African Republic (CAR) haplotype (29.4%), 31 (45.6%) were characterized as Benin (BEN) haplotype, and 17 (25%) were characterized as Senegal (SEN) haplotype. Five patients' genotypes (14.7%) were CAR/CAR; 10 (29,4%), BEN/BEN; 9 (26.5%), CAR/BEN; 2 (5.9%), BEN/SEN; and 7 (20.6%), SEN/SEN. One patient's genotype (2.9%) was CAR/SEN. The betaA-globin haplotype distribution in Salvador is unusual compared with other Brazilian states. Our data support the hypothesis of multiple post-Columbian introductions of African HTLV-Ia strains in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Co-seismic deformation of the August 27, 2012 Mw 7.3 El Salvador and September 5, 2012 Mw 7.6 Costa Rica earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geirsson, H.; La Femina, P. C.; DeMets, C.; Mattioli, G. S.; Hernández, D.

2013-05-01

We investigate the co-seismic deformation of two significant earthquakes that occurred along the Middle America trench in 2012. The August 27 Mw 7.3 El Salvador and September 5 Mw 7.6 Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica earthquakes, were examined using a combination of episodic and continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) data. USGS finite fault models based on seismic data predict fundamentally different characteristics for the two ruptures. The El Salvador event occurred in a historical seismic gap and on the shallow segment of the Middle America Trench main thrust, rupturing a large area, but with a low magnitude of slip. A small tsunami was observed along the coast in Nicaragua and El Salvador, additionally indicating near-trench rupture. Conversely, the Nicoya, Costa Rica earthquake was predicted to have an order of magnitude higher slip on a spatially smaller patch deeper on the main thrust. We present results from episodic and continuous geodetic GPS measurements made in conjunction with the two earthquakes, including data from newly installed COCONet (Continuously Operating Caribbean GPS Observational Network) sites. Episodic GPS measurements made in El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua following the earthquakes, allow us to estimate the co-seismic deformation field from both earthquakes. Because of the small magnitude of the El Salvador earthquake and its shallow rupture the observed co-seismic deformation is small (<2 cm). Conversely, the Costa Rica earthquake occurred directly beneath a seismic and geodetic network specifically designed to capture such events. The observed displacements exceeded 0.5 m and there is a significant post-seismic transient following the earthquake. We use our estimated co-seismic offsets for both earthquakes to model the magnitude and spatial variability of slip for these two events.

[An information system for injuries from external causes (SILEX): a successful project in El Salvador].

PubMed

Salinas, Oscar; de Cosío, Gerardo; Clavel-Arcas, Carme; Montoya, Jeannette; Serpas, Mario; Morán de García, Silvia; Concha-Eastman, Alberto

2008-12-01

This article examines the stages in developing an information system for injuries from external causes (Sistema de Información de Lesiones de Causa Externa-SILEX), as well as its limitations and achievements. SILEX is a Web-based application for collection, quality control, presentation, and analysis of data available from the hospital system for surveillance of injuries from external causes created by Ministry of Health of El Salvador with data from the hospital emergency services. This system maintains comprehensive information on the injured person-type of injury, intention, injury site, activity being performed at the time of injury, risk factors, etc.-in the form of tables, graphs, and maps, which streamlines the development of intervention plans and prevention initiatives for these types of injuries in El Salvador. This experience is an example of what can be done to close the information gap on injuries by external causes in the Region of the Americas.

Tsunami hazard and risk assessment in El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González, M.; González-Riancho, P.; Gutiérrez, O. Q.; García-Aguilar, O.; Aniel-Quiroga, I.; Aguirre, I.; Alvarez, J. A.; Gavidia, F.; Jaimes, I.; Larreynaga, J. A.

2012-04-01

Tsunamis are relatively infrequent phenomena representing a greater threat than earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, causing the loss of thousands of human lives and extensive damage to coastal infrastructure around the world. Several works have attempted to study these phenomena in order to understand their origin, causes, evolution, consequences, and magnitude of their damages, to finally propose mechanisms to protect coastal societies. Advances in the understanding and prediction of tsunami impacts allow the development of adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce risk on coastal areas. This work -Tsunami Hazard and Risk Assessment in El Salvador-, funded by AECID during the period 2009-12, examines the state of the art and presents a comprehensive methodology for assessing the risk of tsunamis at any coastal area worldwide and applying it to the coast of El Salvador. The conceptual framework is based on the definition of Risk as the probability of harmful consequences or expected losses resulting from a given hazard to a given element at danger or peril, over a specified time period (European Commission, Schneiderbauer et al., 2004). The HAZARD assessment (Phase I of the project) is based on propagation models for earthquake-generated tsunamis, developed through the characterization of tsunamigenic sources -sismotectonic faults- and other dynamics under study -tsunami waves, sea level, etc.-. The study area is located in a high seismic activity area and has been hit by 11 tsunamis between 1859 and 1997, nine of them recorded in the twentieth century and all generated by earthquakes. Simulations of historical and potential tsunamis with greater or lesser affection to the country's coast have been performed, including distant sources, intermediate and close. Deterministic analyses of the threats under study -coastal flooding- have been carried out, resulting in different hazard maps (maximum wave height elevation, maximum water depth, minimum tsunami

Complex movements, philopatry and expanded depth range of a severely threatened pelagic shark, the oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus) in the western North Atlantic.

PubMed

Howey-Jordan, Lucy A; Brooks, Edward J; Abercrombie, Debra L; Jordan, Lance K B; Brooks, Annabelle; Williams, Sean; Gospodarczyk, Emily; Chapman, Demian D

2013-01-01

Oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) have recently been targeted for conservation in the western North Atlantic following severe declines in abundance. Pop-up satellite archival tags were applied to 11 mature oceanic whitetips (10 females, 1 male) near Cat Island in the central Bahamas 1-8 May 2011 to provide information about the horizontal and vertical movements of this species. Another large female was opportunistically tagged in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Data from 1,563 total tracking days and 1,142,598 combined depth and temperature readings were obtained. Sharks tagged at Cat Island stayed within 500 km of the tagging site for ~30 days before dispersing across 16,422 km(2) of the western North Atlantic. Maximum individual displacement from the tagging site ranged from 290-1940 km after times at liberty from 30-245 days, with individuals moving to several different destinations (the northern Lesser Antilles, the northern Bahamas, and north of the Windward Passage). Many sharks returned to The Bahamas after ~150 days. Estimated residency times within The Bahamas EEZ, where longlining and commercial trade of sharks is illegal, were generally high (mean = 68.2% of time). Sharks spent 99.7% of their time shallower than 200 m and did not exhibit differences in day and night mean depths. There was a positive correlation between daily sea surface temperature and mean depth occupied, suggesting possible behavioral thermoregulation. All individuals made short duration (mean = 13.06 minutes) dives into the mesopelagic zone (down to 1082 m and 7.75°C), which occurred significantly more often at night. Ascent rates during these dives were significantly slower than descent rates, suggesting that these dives are for foraging. The sharks tracked appear to be most vulnerable to pelagic fishing gear deployed from 0-125 m depths, which they may encounter from June to October after leaving the protected waters of The Bahamas EEZ.

Complex Movements, Philopatry and Expanded Depth Range of a Severely Threatened Pelagic Shark, the Oceanic Whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus) in the Western North Atlantic

PubMed Central

Howey-Jordan, Lucy A.; Brooks, Edward J.; Abercrombie, Debra L.; Jordan, Lance K. B.; Brooks, Annabelle; Williams, Sean; Gospodarczyk, Emily; Chapman, Demian D.

2013-01-01

Oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) have recently been targeted for conservation in the western North Atlantic following severe declines in abundance. Pop-up satellite archival tags were applied to 11 mature oceanic whitetips (10 females, 1 male) near Cat Island in the central Bahamas 1–8 May 2011 to provide information about the horizontal and vertical movements of this species. Another large female was opportunistically tagged in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Data from 1,563 total tracking days and 1,142,598 combined depth and temperature readings were obtained. Sharks tagged at Cat Island stayed within 500 km of the tagging site for ∼30 days before dispersing across 16,422 km2 of the western North Atlantic. Maximum individual displacement from the tagging site ranged from 290–1940 km after times at liberty from 30–245 days, with individuals moving to several different destinations (the northern Lesser Antilles, the northern Bahamas, and north of the Windward Passage). Many sharks returned to The Bahamas after ∼150 days. Estimated residency times within The Bahamas EEZ, where longlining and commercial trade of sharks is illegal, were generally high (mean = 68.2% of time). Sharks spent 99.7% of their time shallower than 200 m and did not exhibit differences in day and night mean depths. There was a positive correlation between daily sea surface temperature and mean depth occupied, suggesting possible behavioral thermoregulation. All individuals made short duration (mean = 13.06 minutes) dives into the mesopelagic zone (down to 1082 m and 7.75°C), which occurred significantly more often at night. Ascent rates during these dives were significantly slower than descent rates, suggesting that these dives are for foraging. The sharks tracked appear to be most vulnerable to pelagic fishing gear deployed from 0–125 m depths, which they may encounter from June to October after leaving the protected waters of The Bahamas EEZ

Situation Report--China, El Salvador, Hong Kong, Japan, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

Data relating to population and family planning in eight foreign countries are presented in these situation reports. Countries included are China, El Salvador, Hong Kong, Japan, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Information is provided where appropriate and available, under two topics, general background and family planning…

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 38 crewmember

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-12-26

ISS038-E-021401 (24 Dec. 2013) --- The Caribbean country of Cuba is pictured in this high oblique image, photographed by one of the Expedition 38 crew members aboard the International Space Station. Andros ISland, part of the Bahamas, is Cuba is an archipelago of islands in the northern Caribbean Sea at the confluence with the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft is docked to the station.

Microbiology and mortality of pediatric febrile neutropenia in El Salvador.

PubMed

Gupta, Sumit; Bonilla, Miguel; Gamero, Mario; Fuentes, Soad L; Caniza, Miguela; Sung, Lillian

2011-05-01

Febrile neutropenia (FN) and infection-related mortality are major problems for children with cancer in low-income countries. Identifying predictors for adverse outcome of FN in low-income countries permits targeted interventions. We describe the nature and predictors of microbiologically documented infection (MDI) and mortality of FN in children with cancer in El Salvador. We examined Salvadoran pediatric oncology patients admitted with FN over a 1-year period. Data were collected prospectively. Demographic, treatment, and admission-related variables were examined as predictors of outcomes. Hundred six FN episodes among 85 patients were included. Twenty-three of 106 episodes (22%) were microbiologically documented; 13 of 106 episodes (12%) resulted in death. Gram-positive and gram-negative organisms were isolated in 14 of 23 and 11 of 23 specimens; polymicrobial infections were common (11 of 23 episodes of MDI). Older age decreased the MDI risk [odds ratio (OR) per year=0.87, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.75-0.99; P=0.04] while increasing number of days since the last chemotherapy increased the risk (OR=1.03 per day, 95% CI, 1.01-1.04; P=0.002). Pneumonia diagnosed either clinically (OR=6.6, 95% CI, 1.8-30.0; P=0.005) or radiographically (OR=5.5, 95% CI, 1.7-18.1; P=0.005) was the only predictor of mortality. In El Salvador, polymicrobial infections were common. Pneumonia at admission identified children with FN at high risk of death; these children may benefit from targeted interventions.

Television and Educational Reform in El Salvador. Summary Report of the First Year of Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schramm, Wilbur; And Others

The impact of instructional television and educational reform in El Salvador was apparent in the 1969 school year. Large gains in learning were recorded for each of the three televised seventh-grade courses--science, mathematics and social studies. Baseline tests administered in four grades of school revealed that urban students developed…

Subregional precipitation climate of the Caribbean and relationships with ENSO and NAO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jury, Mark; Malmgren, BjöRn A.; Winter, Amos

2007-08-01

Thirty-five meteorological stations encompassing the Caribbean region (Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and Barbados) were analyzed over the time interval 1951-1981 to assess regional precipitation patterns and their relationships with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Application of factor analysis to these series revealed the existence of four geographically distinct precipitation regions, (C1) western Cuba and northwestern Bahamas, (C2) Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and southeastern Bahamas, (C3) Dominican Republic and northwestern Puerto Rico, and (C4) eastern Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and Barbados. This regionalization is related to different annual cycles and interannual fluctuations of rainfall. The annual cycle is more unimodal and largest in the northwest Caribbean (C1) and becomes increasingly bimodal toward lower latitudes (C4) as expected. Year-to-year variations of precipitation are compared with two well-known climatic indices. The ENSO relationship, represented by Niño 3.4 sea surface temperatures (SST), is positive and stable at all lags, but tends to reverse over the SE Caribbean (C4) in late summer. The NAO influence is weak and seasonally dependent. Early summer rainfall in the northwest Caribbean (C1) increases under El Niño conditions. Clusters 2 and 3 are less influenced by the global predictors and more regional in character.

Catholic Education: Our Story, Our Heritage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curtin, Daniel

1999-01-01

Provides a skeletal account of the complex, rich, controversial, struggling, upward mobile, fascinating journey of Catholic education. Outlines 500 years of Catholic educational development in America in a historical timeline, beginning with Columbus's discovery of Watling Island in the Bahamas in 1492 and continuing through the celebration of the…

The northern Lesser Antilles oblique subduction zone: new insight about the upper plate deformation, 3D slab geometry and interplate coupling.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcaillou, B.; Laurencin, M.; Graindorge, D.; Klingelhoefer, F.

2017-12-01

In subduction zones, the 3D geometry of the plate interface is thought to be a key parameter for the control of margin tectonic deformation, interplate coupling and seismogenic behavior. In the northern Caribbean subduction, precisely between the Virgin Islands and northern Lesser Antilles, these subjects remain controversial or unresolved. During the ANTITHESIS cruises (2013-2016), we recorded wide-angle seismic, multichannel reflection seismic and bathymetric data along this zone in order to constrain the nature and the geometry of the subducting and upper plate. This experiment results in the following conclusions: 1) The Anegada Passage is a 450-km long structure accross the forearc related to the extension due to the collision with the Bahamas platform. 2) More recently, the tectonic partitioning due to the plate convergence obliquity re-activated the Anegada Passage in the left-lateral strike-slip system. The partitioning also generated the left-lateral strike-slip Bunce Fault, separating the accretionary prism from the forearc. 3) Offshore of the Virgin Islands margin, the subducting plate shows normal faults parallel to the ancient spreading center that correspond to the primary fabric of the oceanic crust. In contrast, offshore of Barbuda Island, the oceanic crust fabric is unresolved (fracture zone?, exhumed mantle? ). 4) In the direction of the plate convergence vector, the slab deepening angle decreases northward. It results in a shallower slab beneath the Virgin Islands Platform compared to the St Martin-Barbuda forearc. In the past, the collision of the Bahamas platform likely changed the geodynamic settings of the northeastern corner of the Caribbean subduction zone and we present a revised geodynamic history of the region. Currently, various features are likely to control the 3D geometry of the slab: the margin convexity, the convergence obliquity, the heterogeneity of the primary fabric of the oceanic crust and the Bahamas docking. We suggest that

Simulation of a Dispersive Tsunami due to the 2016 El Salvador-Nicaragua Outer-Rise Earthquake (M w 6.9)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanioka, Yuichiro; Ramirez, Amilcar Geovanny Cabrera; Yamanaka, Yusuke

2018-01-01

The 2016 El Salvador-Nicaragua outer-rise earthquake (M w 6.9) generated a small tsunami observed at the ocean bottom pressure sensor, DART 32411, in the Pacific Ocean off Central America. The dispersive observed tsunami is well simulated using the linear Boussinesq equations. From the dispersive character of tsunami waveform, the fault length and width of the outer-rise event is estimated to be 30 and 15 km, respectively. The estimated seismic moment of 3.16 × 1019 Nm is the same as the estimation in the Global CMT catalog. The dispersive character of the tsunami in the deep ocean caused by the 2016 outer-rise El Salvador-Nicaragua earthquake could constrain the fault size and the slip amount or the seismic moment of the event.

Simulation of a Dispersive Tsunami due to the 2016 El Salvador-Nicaragua Outer-Rise Earthquake ( M w 6.9)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanioka, Yuichiro; Ramirez, Amilcar Geovanny Cabrera; Yamanaka, Yusuke

2018-04-01

The 2016 El Salvador-Nicaragua outer-rise earthquake ( M w 6.9) generated a small tsunami observed at the ocean bottom pressure sensor, DART 32411, in the Pacific Ocean off Central America. The dispersive observed tsunami is well simulated using the linear Boussinesq equations. From the dispersive character of tsunami waveform, the fault length and width of the outer-rise event is estimated to be 30 and 15 km, respectively. The estimated seismic moment of 3.16 × 1019 Nm is the same as the estimation in the Global CMT catalog. The dispersive character of the tsunami in the deep ocean caused by the 2016 outer-rise El Salvador-Nicaragua earthquake could constrain the fault size and the slip amount or the seismic moment of the event.

Quality, not just quantity: Lessons learned from HIV testing in Salvador, Brazil

PubMed Central

MacCarthy, Sarah; Rasanathan, Jennifer J. K.; Dourado, Ines; Gruskin, Sofia

2015-01-01

Studies have demonstrated that an early HIV diagnosis is a critical first step toward continued engagement in care. We examined HIV testing experiences in Salvador, Brazil, to understand how a focus on quality services can inform service provision more generally in the post–2015 global health agenda. Seventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted with HIV-positive pregnant women in Salvador, a large urban centre of northeast Brazil. Interviews were transcribed, translated, and coded for analysis. Deductive codes confirmed factors identified in the literature review. Inductive codes highlighted new factors emerging from the initial coding. ‘Quality’ was defined according to global and national guidelines as HIV testing with informed and voluntary consent, counselling, and confidentiality (3Cs). No pregnant woman experienced all elements of the 3Cs. Three women did not experience any informed and voluntary consent, counselling, or confidentiality. Few women provided consent overall and none received pre-test counselling. Post-test counselling and confidentiality of services were more consistently provided. This study suggests that testing in Salvador—the third-largest city in the country—is not of the quality called for by global and national guidelines, despite the fact that HIV testing is being routinely provided for HIV-positive pregnant women in Brazil. Going forward, additional clarity around the 3Cs is necessary to improve how the quality, not just the quantity, of HIV services is measured. PMID:24881693

Unrecognized Emergence of Chikungunya Virus during a Zika Virus Outbreak in Salvador, Brazil

PubMed Central

Prates, Ana Paula P. B.; Paploski, Igor A. D.; Tauro, Laura B.; Silva, Monaise M. O.; Santana, Perla; Rego, Marta F. S.; Reis, Mitermayer G.; Kitron, Uriel

2017-01-01

Background Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) entered Brazil in 2014, causing a large outbreak in Feira de Santana, state of Bahia. Although cases have been recorded in Salvador, the capital of Bahia, located ~100 km of Feira de Santana, CHIKV transmission has not been perceived to occur epidemically, largely contrasting with the Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak and ensuing complications reaching the city in 2015. Methodology/Principal Findings This study aimed to determine the intensity of CHIKV transmission in Salvador between November 2014 and April 2016. Results of all the CHIKV laboratory tests performed in the public sector were obtained and the frequency of positivity was analyzed by epidemiological week. Of the 2,736 tests analyzed, 456 (16.7%) were positive. An increasing in the positivity rate was observed, starting in January/2015, and peaking at 68% in August, shortly after the exanthematous illness outbreak attributed to ZIKV. Conclusions/Significance Public health authorities and health professionals did not immediately detect the increase in CHIKV cases, likely because all the attention was directed to the ZIKV outbreak and ensuing complications. It is important that regions in the world that harbor arbovirus vectors and did not experience intense ZIKV and CHIKV transmission be prepared for the potential co-emergence of these two viruses. PMID:28114414

Neighbourhood Factors and Depression among Adolescents in Four Caribbean Countries

PubMed Central

Gibson, Roger C.; Halliday, Sharon; Morris, Amrie; Clarke, Nelson; Wilson, Rosemarie N.

2014-01-01

Background Past research suggests that perceived neighbourhood conditions may influence adolescents' emotional health. Relatively little research has been conducted examining the association of perceived neighbourhood conditions with depressive symptoms among Caribbean adolescents. This project examines the association of perceived neighbourhood conditions with levels of depressive symptoms among adolescents in Jamaica, the Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent. Methods Adolescents attending grade ten of the academic year 2006/2007 in Jamaica, the Bahamas, St. Vincent, and St. Kitts and Nevis were administered the Neighbourhood Characteristics Questionnaire along with the BDI-II. Social cohesion, attachment to the neighbourhood, neighbourhood quality, neighbourhood crime, and neighbourhood disorder scales were created by summing the relevant subscales of the Neighbourhood Characteristics Questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships of perceived neighbourhood conditions to depressive symptoms. Results A wide cross-section of tenth grade students in each nation was sampled (n = 1955; 278 from Jamaica, 217 from the Bahamas, 737 St. Kitts and Nevis, 716 from St. Vincent; 52.1% females, 45.6% males and 2.3% no gender reported; 12 to 19 years, mean = 15.3 yrs, sd = .95 yr). Nearly half (52.1%) of all adolescents reported mild to severe symptoms of depression with 29.1% reporting moderate to severe symptoms of depression. Overall, Jamaican adolescents perceived their neighbourhoods in a more positive manner than those in the Bahamas, St. Vincent and St. Kitts and Nevis. Results of a series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses suggested that a different pattern of neighbourhood factors for each island were associated with depressive symptoms. However, neighbourhood factors were more highly associated with depressive symptoms for Jamaican students than for students in the other three islands. Conclusions

GPS-derived coupling estimates for the Central America subduction zone and volcanic arc faults: El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Correa-Mora, F.; DeMets, C.; Alvarado, D.; Turner, H. L.; Mattioli, G.; Hernandez, D.; Pullinger, C.; Rodriguez, M.; Tenorio, C.

2009-12-01

We invert GPS velocities from 32 sites in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to estimate the rate of long-term forearc motion and distributions of interseismic coupling across the Middle America subduction zone offshore from these countries and faults in the Salvadoran and Nicaraguan volcanic arcs. A 3-D finite element model is used to approximate the geometries of the subduction interface and strike-slip faults in the volcanic arc and determine the elastic response to coupling across these faults. The GPS velocities are best fit by a model in which the forearc moves 14-16 mmyr-1 and has coupling of 85-100 per cent across faults in the volcanic arc, in agreement with the high level of historic and recent earthquake activity in the volcanic arc. Our velocity inversion indicates that coupling across the potentially seismogenic areas of the subduction interface is remarkably weak, averaging no more than 3 per cent of the plate convergence rate and with only two poorly resolved patches where coupling might be higher along the 550-km-long segment we modelled. Our geodetic evidence for weak subduction coupling disagrees with a seismically derived coupling estimate of 60 +/- 10 per cent from a published analysis of earthquake damage back to 1690, but agrees with three other seismologic studies that infer weak subduction coupling from 20th century earthquakes. Most large historical earthquakes offshore from El Salvador and western Nicaragua may therefore have been intraslab normal faulting events similar to the Mw 7.3 1982 and Mw 7.7 2001 earthquakes offshore from El Salvador. Alternatively, the degree of coupling might vary with time. The evidence for weak coupling indirectly supports a recently published hypothesis that much of the Middle American forearc is escaping to the west or northwest away from the Cocos Ridge collision zone in Costa Rica. Such a hypothesis is particularly attractive for El Salvador, where there is little or no convergence obliquity to drive the

Microfossil biostratigraphy of prograding Neogene platform-margin carbonates, Bahamas: Age constraints and alternatives

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lidz, B.H.; Bralower, T.J.

1994-01-01

Benthic and planktic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils were recovered in shallow-water carbonate rock cores from two continuous boreholes drilled 7.5 km apart on the west platform margin of the Great Bahama Bank. The microfossils define six biostratigraphic units in each hole. One unit in each hole represents a correlative condensed section. Seven foraminiferal biozones are recognized in 11 of the units between the holes: middle Miocene Globorotalia fohsi robusta Zone N12, late Miocene G. acostaensis Zone N16 and G. humerosa Zone N17, early Pliocene G. margaritae evoluta Subzone N19, late Pliocene G. exilis Subzone N21 and, tentatively, G. tosaensis tosaensis Zone N21, and early Pleistocene G. crassaformis viola Subzone N22. The twelfth unit is inferred to be of G. crassaformis viola Subzone N22 age. The oldest unit is onshore, the youngest is offshore. As presently interpreted, the nannofossil and foraminiferal zonations are partially correlative. Although the microfossils unequivocally constrain the series ages of the sediments, the incompleteness of the fossil record allows for alternative biozonal age models within the series. The Miocene and Pliocene biozones are common to both holes, but the greatest similarities between the holes are the significant mixing of middle and late Miocene, and late Miocene-early Pliocene faunas, the greatly condensed intervals at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, and the early Pliocene influx of deep-water benthic and pelagic foraminifera. Of particular importance is the tentative recognition of late Pliocene G. tosaensis tosaensis Zone N21 in one borehole. Subsequent data not available to this phase of the study indicate that much of the zone is likely missing. Its absence will lend support to speculations of a regional unconformity in the Bahamas. The microfossils indicate that (1) several transgressions occurred from the middle Miocene to at least the earliest Pleistocene (> 11.5-> 0.46 Ma), during which banktop

Positive emotions in earthquake survivors in El Salvador (2001).

PubMed

Vázquez, Carmelo; Cervellón, Priscilla; Pérez-Sales, Pau; Vidales, Diana; Gaborit, Mauricio

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze, within a more extensive intervention program, the existence of positive emotions and positive coping in the refugees at the two largest shelters created after the earthquakes of El Salvador in January, 2001. One hundred and fifteen survivors were interviewed in the shelters about different aspects related to positive cognitions and emotions experienced during their sojourn at the camps, as well as their perception of aspects of posttraumatic growth. The results show that most of the people affected by the earthquake revealed a consistent pattern of positive reactions and emotions. The potential implications of these results in the individual sphere, as buffering elements to protect people from the effects of a traumatic experience receive comment.

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 28 crew

NASA Image and Video Library

2011-08-23

ISS028-E-030243 (23 Aug. 2011) --- A digital photo from the International Space Station from Aug. 23, 2011, allows the viewer to look toward the southwest at part of Hurricane Irene churning near the northern Bahamas, including Great Abaco Island (lower right), Andros Island under a thunderstorm (center right) and a ?fair? Cuba from left to right (upper center). The outflow and some of the banding of the northwest side of Irene are visible on the lower left. Meteorologists say Irene probably was centered over Acklins Island packing 120 mile per hour winds when the photo was taken.

Hole punch clouds over the Bahamas

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

aircraft—including jets and propeller planes—can trigger hole-punch and canal clouds. The nearest major airports in the images above include Miami International, Fort Lauderdale International, Grand Bahama International, and Palm Beach International. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

The 2001 January 13th M {W}7.7 and February 13th M {W}6.6 El Salvador Earthquakes: Deformation and Stress Triggering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hreinsdóttir, S.; Freymueller, J. T.

2001-12-01

On the 13th of January 2001, an M {W} 7.7 normal fault earthquake occurred offshore El Salvador. The earthquake occurred in the subducting Cocos plate and was followed by high seismic activity and several earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5. On the 13th of February, an M {W} 6.6 strike slip earthquake occurred in the overriding Caribbean plate, about 75 km NNW from the epicenter of the large January earthquake. Deformation due to these earthquakes was observed at six continuous CORS GPS stations in Central America. In the M {W} 7.7 earthquake about 10 mm displacement was measured at GPS stations in El Salvador and Honduras. A smaller but significant dispacement was also observed at GPS stations in Nicaragua, more then 200 km from the earthquake's epicenter. In the M {W} 6.6 earthquake 41+/- 1 mm displacement in direction N111oE was measured at the GPS station in San Salvador, El Salvador. Other CORS GPS stations were not affected by that earthquake. A postsesmic signal is detectable at the San Salvador GPS station, strongest right after the earthquake and then decays. On average we see 0.3 +/- 0.1 mm/day of SSW motion of the station in the first twenty days following the earthquake. Using seismic and geodetic data, we calculated Coulomb stress changes following the January 13th, M {W} 7.7 earthquake. Of special interest were six 5.4 <= {M} {W}<=5.8 thrust events that presumably occurred on the interface between the Caribean and Cocos plate, and the M {W} 6.6 strike slip earthquake that occurred in the overriding Caribean plate. The location and focal mechanism of these earthquakes correlate with areas of calculated increase in static stress thus indicating stress triggering. The thrust events occurred 2 to 20 days after the M {W} 7.7 earthquake, in increasing distance from the M {W} 7.7 event with time.

Cross-sectional data on alcohol and marijuana use and sexual behavior among male and female secondary school students in New Providence, The Bahamas.

PubMed

Kaljee, Linda; Wang, Bo; Deveaux, Lynette; Lunn, Sonja; Rolle, Glenda; Villar, Maria Elena; Stanton, Bonita

2016-05-01

While The Bahamas have significantly reduced poor reproductive health outcomes among adolescents and emerging adults, data indicate that youth are engaged in sexual risk behaviors. Substance use has been linked to increased risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections in other contexts. There are limited data on Bahamian youth in relation to consumption of alcohol and marijuana use and engagement in sexual behaviors. This study aimed to assess potential relationships between alcohol and marijuana use and engagement in sexual behavior among government secondary school students in New Providence, The Bahamas. Total sample size was 2572, and about 56% of respondents were female. Mean age was 14.2 (SD 2.7 years). Cross-sectional data came from a baseline survey conducted as part of a longitudinal randomized controlled evaluation of a school-based HIV prevention and reproductive health program in New Providence. Overall, 46.5% (519) males and 44.8% (652) females reported alcohol consumption; 7.3% (82) males and 1.7% (25) females reported use of marijuana in the last 6 months. About 43% (477) male respondents and 16% (231) female respondents reported ever having vaginal sex. Logistic regression analysis indicates that increased likelihood of engaging in sex during the past 6 months is associated with being older, male, and consuming alcohol and marijuana. These data provide a 'global correlation' between substance use and engagement in sexual behaviors among Bahamian adolescents. Longitudinal research is needed to assess event specific risks and identify mediating and moderating factors. These findings indicate the importance of integrating reproductive health and substance use education.

Integration of foreign and local medical staff in a disaster area: the Honduras and El Salvador experiences.

PubMed

Waisman, Yehezkel

2003-06-01

International medical aid after natural disasters may take various forms, ranging from self-sufficient military forces to single experts or specialists who function primarily as advisers. A model integrating foreign and local medical staff has not previously been reported. In response to the call for international aid by the Honduran and El Salvadorian governments in the wake of Hurricane Mitch in November 1998 and the San Salvador earthquake in January 2001, Israel sent medical supplies and 10 member teams of medical professionals to each country. The aim of the present paper is to describe the unique Israeli approach to providing healthcare in disaster areas by integrating foreign and local medical staff, and to discuss its advantages and disadvantages. The paper focuses on the experience of the two emergency medicine physicians on the team who were assigned to the Atlantida General Hospital in La Ceiba, Honduras. The same team in San Salvador subsequently applied the same approach.

EVA

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-08-23

ISS032-E-024171 (30 Aug. 2012) --- Backdropped over Andros Island and other parts of the Bahamas, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Aki Hoshide (out of frame), both Expedition 32 flight engineers, participate in a session of extravehicular activity (EVA) to continue outfitting the International Space Station.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 38 crewmember

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-12-23

ISS038-E-019899 (23 Dec. 2013) --- The Caribbean country of Cuba appears at the top of this high oblique image, photographed by one of the Expedition 38 crew members aboard the International Space Station. Andros Island, part of the Bahamas, is in the bottom of the frame. Cuba is an archipelago of islands in the northern Caribbean Sea at the confluence with the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft is docked to the station.

Urban slum structure: integrating socioeconomic and land cover data to model slum evolution in Salvador, Brazil.

PubMed

Hacker, Kathryn P; Seto, Karen C; Costa, Federico; Corburn, Jason; Reis, Mitermayer G; Ko, Albert I; Diuk-Wasser, Maria A

2013-10-20

The expansion of urban slums is a key challenge for public and social policy in the 21st century. The heterogeneous and dynamic nature of slum communities limits the use of rigid slum definitions. A systematic and flexible approach to characterize, delineate and model urban slum structure at an operational resolution is essential to plan, deploy, and monitor interventions at the local and national level. We modeled the multi-dimensional structure of urban slums in the city of Salvador, a city of 3 million inhabitants in Brazil, by integrating census-derived socioeconomic variables and remotely-sensed land cover variables. We assessed the correlation between the two sets of variables using canonical correlation analysis, identified land cover proxies for the socioeconomic variables, and produced an integrated map of deprivation in Salvador at 30 m × 30 m resolution. The canonical analysis identified three significant ordination axes that described the structure of Salvador census tracts according to land cover and socioeconomic features. The first canonical axis captured a gradient from crowded, low-income communities with corrugated roof housing to higher-income communities. The second canonical axis discriminated among socioeconomic variables characterizing the most marginalized census tracts, those without access to sanitation or piped water. The third canonical axis accounted for the least amount of variation, but discriminated between high-income areas with white-painted or tiled roofs from lower-income areas. Our approach captures the socioeconomic and land cover heterogeneity within and between slum settlements and identifies the most marginalized communities in a large, complex urban setting. These findings indicate that changes in the canonical scores for slum areas can be used to track their evolution and to monitor the impact of development programs such as slum upgrading.

Urban slum structure: integrating socioeconomic and land cover data to model slum evolution in Salvador, Brazil

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The expansion of urban slums is a key challenge for public and social policy in the 21st century. The heterogeneous and dynamic nature of slum communities limits the use of rigid slum definitions. A systematic and flexible approach to characterize, delineate and model urban slum structure at an operational resolution is essential to plan, deploy, and monitor interventions at the local and national level. Methods We modeled the multi-dimensional structure of urban slums in the city of Salvador, a city of 3 million inhabitants in Brazil, by integrating census-derived socioeconomic variables and remotely-sensed land cover variables. We assessed the correlation between the two sets of variables using canonical correlation analysis, identified land cover proxies for the socioeconomic variables, and produced an integrated map of deprivation in Salvador at 30 m × 30 m resolution. Results The canonical analysis identified three significant ordination axes that described the structure of Salvador census tracts according to land cover and socioeconomic features. The first canonical axis captured a gradient from crowded, low-income communities with corrugated roof housing to higher-income communities. The second canonical axis discriminated among socioeconomic variables characterizing the most marginalized census tracts, those without access to sanitation or piped water. The third canonical axis accounted for the least amount of variation, but discriminated between high-income areas with white-painted or tiled roofs from lower-income areas. Conclusions Our approach captures the socioeconomic and land cover heterogeneity within and between slum settlements and identifies the most marginalized communities in a large, complex urban setting. These findings indicate that changes in the canonical scores for slum areas can be used to track their evolution and to monitor the impact of development programs such as slum upgrading. PMID:24138776

Extreme Weather Risk Assessment: The Case of Jiquilisco, El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melendez, Karla; Ceppi, Claudia; Molero, Juanjo; Rios Insua, David

2014-05-01

All major climate models predict increases in both global and regional mean temperatures throughout this century, under different scenarios concerning future trends in population growth or economic and technological development. This consistency of results across models has strengthened the evidence about global warming. Despite the convincing facts and findings of climate researchers, there is still a great deal of skepticism around climate change. There is somewhat less consensus about some of the consequences of climate change, for example in reference to extreme weather changes, in particular as regards more local scales. However, such changes seem to have already considerable impact in many regions across the world in terms of lives, economic losses, and required changes in lifestyles. This may demand appropriate policy responses both at national and local levels. Our work provides a framework for extreme weather multithreat risk management, based on probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). This may be useful in comparing the effectiveness of different actions to manage risks and inform judgment concerning the appropriate resource allocation to mitigate the risks. The methodology has been applied to the case study of the "El Marillo II" community, located in the municipality of Jiquilisco in El Salvador. There, the main problem related with extreme weather conditions are the frequent floods caused by rainfall, hurricanes , and water increases in the Lempa river nearby located. However, droughts are also very relevant. Based on several sources like SNET, newspapers, field visits to the region and interviews, we have built a detailed database that comprises extreme weather daily data from January 1971 until December 2011. Forecasting models for floods and droughts were built suggesting the need to properly manage the risks. We subsequently obtained the optimal portfolio of countermeasures, given the budget constraints. KEYWORDS: CLIMATE CHANGE, EXTREME WEATHER, RISK

[Stigma and resistance among travestis and transsexual women in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil].

PubMed

Magno, Laio; Dourado, Inês; Silva, Luis Augusto Vasconcelos da

2018-01-01

This was a qualitative study based on an analysis of narratives produced by travestis and transsexual women in Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil, with the aim of analyzing their experiences with stigmatization by describing events, actors, and contexts that have marked their life stories, as well as elucidating the relationship between stigma and their female performances. The narratives came from 19 in-depth interviews during an epidemiological survey, based on a prior script that explored the production of narratives on lifestyles and experiences of travestis and transsexual women in the city of Salvador. The life stories that emerged in the field were transcribed and analyzed from a theoretical and narrative perspective. The narratives of many travestis and transsexual women described an "effeminate" gender performance that had been identified since their childhood by family and community members. This performance was presented as insubordination to the power established by heteronormative society's legal system. The process of stigmatization begins to operate when social expectations concerning the coherence between "biological sex" and "gender performance" are frustrated in social interactions, submitting the individuals to discrimination and violence. Thus, stigmatization is operated through the power exercised over bodies by the laws of compulsory heterosexuality. However, during the life stories of travestis and transsexual women, strategies of resistance to stigma are produced, with the potential to transform this situation.

Shifting the Narrative: Child-Led Responses to Climate Change and Disasters in El Salvador and the Philippines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tanner, Thomas

2010-01-01

Children and young people are commonly treated in the climate change and disasters literature as victims of natural events requiring protection by adults. This article critiques that narrative, drawing on examples from the Philippines and El Salvador that explore how children's groups have responded to such issues through child-centred…

Trench curvature initiation: Upper plate strain pattern and volcanism Insights from the Lesser Antilles arc, St Barthélemy Island, FWI.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Philippon, M. M.; Legendre, L.; Münch, P.; Léticée, J. L.; Lebrun, J. F.; Maincent, G.; Mazabraud, Y.

2017-12-01

Upper plate deformation pattern reflect the mechanical behavior of subduction zones. In this study, we focus on the consequence of the entrance of a buoyant plateau within the Caribbean subduction zone during Eocene by studying the oldest cropping out rocks of the Lesser Antilles volcanic arc. Based on novel geochronological ages and available bio-stratigraphic data we show that St Barthélemy Island was built during three successive volcanic events over the Mid- Eocene to Oligo-Miocene time span. We show that magmatism is mainly Oligocene, not Eocene. Moreover, we demonstrate that tholeitic and calc-alkaline magmatism co-existed all along the arc activity. And ultimately we evidence a westward migration of the volcanism at the island scale. Furthermore, We demonstrate that during 21 Ma, the built of theses volcanoes, the stress regime evolves from pure to radial extension with a sub-horizontal σ3 showing N30° mean trend. To conclude, our novel results invalidate the chronological, geochemical and spatial evolution of the island arc magmatism formerly proposed in the early eighties. Indeed, arc magmatism in St Barthélemy was mainly related to the West-dipping Lesser Antilles subduction zone and not to the South-dipping Greater Antilles subduction and upper plate deformation evolution observed at local scale reflects large scale mechanical behavior of the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. A two steps restoration of the regional deformation shows that the switch from pure parallel to the trench extension to radial extension within the Caribbean upper plate reflects trench curvature that followed the entrance of the Bahamas bank in the Greater Antilles subduction zone and its collision.

Geological control of earthquake induced landslide in El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsige Aga, Meaza

2010-05-01

Geological control of earthquake induced landslides in El Salvador. M., Tsige(1), I., Garcia-Flórez(1), R., Mateos(2) (1)Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Geología, Madrid, Spain, (meaza@geo.ucm.es) (2)IGME, Mallorca El Salvador is located at one of the most seismically active areas en Central America, and suffered severe damage and loss of life in historical and recent earthquakes, as a consequence of earthquake induced landslides. The most common landslides were shallow disrupted soil-slides on steep slopes and were particularly dense in the central part of the country. Most of them are cited in the recent mechanically weak volcanic pyroclastic deposits known as "Tierra Blanca" and "Tierra Color Café" which are prone to seismic wave amplification and are supposed to have contributed to the triggering of some of the hundreds of landslides related to the 2001 (Mw = 7.6 and Mw = 6.7), seismic events. The earthquakes also triggered numerous deep large scale landslides responsible for the enormous devastation of villages and towns and are the source for the current high seismic hazard as well. Many of these landslides are located at distances more than 50 and 100 km from the focal distance, although some of them occurred at near field. Until now there has been little effort to explain the causes and concentration of the deep large-scale landslides especially their distribution, failure mechanism and post-rapture behavior of the landslide mass (long run-out). It has been done a field investigation of landslides, geological materiales and interpretation of aerial photographs taken before and after the two 2001 (Mw= 7.6 and Mw= 6.7) El Salvador earthquakes. The result of the study showed that most of the large-scale landslides occured as coherent block slides with the sliding surface parallel to a pre-existing fractures and fault planes (La Leona, Barriolera, El Desague, Jiboa landslides). Besides that the pre-existing fractures are weak zones controlling

Textural and Carbon Isotopic Analyses of Modern Carbonate Microbialites: Possible Ancient and Martian Analogs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thompson, Joel B.

1998-01-01

Many modem and ancient carbonate deposits around the world have been recognized as microbial buildups or microbialites. Ancient microbialite structures have been divided into two basic categories based on their internal fabric or texture. They include stromatolites which have a predominantly laminated internal fabric and thrombolites which have an open-porous clotted fabric, that lacks laminae. The origin of these two basic microbial fabrics is still being debated in the literature. Understanding the origin and the various microorganisms involved in forming these modem fabrics is the key to the interpretation of similar fabrics in ancient and possibly Martian rocks. Therefore, detailed studies are needed on the microbiological makeup and origin of the fabrics in modem microbialites. Such studies may serve as analogs for ancient and Martian microbialites in the future. The purpose of this study is to examine the textures and carbon isotopic signatures of the following modem microbialites from the Bahamas: 1) a modem subtidal microbialite from Iguana Cay, Bahamas and 2) a modem microbial mat (stromatolite) from a hypersaline pond on Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas.

Rapid transition in the structure of a coral reef community: the effects of coral bleaching and physical disturbance.

PubMed

Ostrander, G K; Armstrong, K M; Knobbe, E T; Gerace, D; Scully, E P

2000-05-09

Coral reef communities are in a state of change throughout their geographical range. Factors contributing to this change include bleaching (the loss of algal symbionts), storm damage, disease, and increasing abundance of macroalgae. An additional factor for Caribbean reefs is the aftereffects of the epizootic that reduced the abundance of the herbivorous sea urchin, Diadema antillarum. Although coral reef communities have undergone phase shifts, there are few studies that document the details of such transitions. We report the results of a 40-month study that documents changes in a Caribbean reef community affected by bleaching, hurricane damage, and an increasing abundance of macroalgae. The study site was in a relatively pristine area of the reef surrounding the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. Ten transects were sampled every 3-9 months from November 1994 to February 1998. During this period, the corals experienced a massive bleaching event resulting in a significant decline in coral abundance. Algae, especially macroalgae, increased in abundance until they effectively dominated the substrate. The direct impact of Hurricane Lili in October 1996 did not alter the developing community structure and may have facilitated increasing algal abundance. The results of this study document the rapid transition of this reef community from one in which corals and algae were codominant to a community dominated by macroalgae. The relatively brief time period required for this transition illustrates the dynamic nature of reef communities.

Social network characteristics and HIV vulnerability among transgender persons in San Salvador: identifying opportunities for HIV prevention strategies.

PubMed

Barrington, Clare; Wejnert, Cyprian; Guardado, Maria Elena; Nieto, Ana Isabel; Bailey, Gabriela Paz

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of HIV vulnerability and opportunities for HIV prevention within the social networks of male-to-female transgender persons in San Salvador, El Salvador. We compare HIV prevalence and behavioral data from a sample of gay-identified men who have sex with men (MSM) (n = 279), heterosexual or bisexual identified MSM (n = 229) and transgender persons (n = 67) recruited using Respondent Driven Sampling. Transgender persons consistently reported higher rates of HIV risk behavior than the rest of the study population and were significantly more likely to be involved in sex work. While transgender persons reported the highest rates of exposure to HIV educational activities they had the lowest levels of HIV-related knowledge. Transgender respondents' social networks were homophilous and efficient at recruiting other transgender persons. Findings suggest that transgender social networks could provide an effective and culturally relevant opportunity for HIV prevention efforts in this vulnerable population.

Social Network Characteristics and HIV Vulnerability Among Transgender Persons in San Salvador: Identifying Opportunities for HIV Prevention Strategies

PubMed Central

Barrington, Clare; Wejnert, Cyprian; Guardado, Maria Elena; Nieto, Ana Isabel; Bailey, Gabriela Paz

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study is to improve understanding of HIV vulnerability and opportunities for HIV prevention within the social networks of male-to-female transgender persons in San Salvador, El Salvador. We compare HIV prevalence and behavioral data from a sample of gay-identified men who have sex with men (MSM) (n = 279), heterosexual or bisexual identified MSM (n = 229) and transgender persons (n = 67) recruited using Respondent Driven Sampling. Transgender persons consistently reported higher rates of HIV risk behavior than the rest of the study population and were significantly more likely to be involved in sex work. While transgender persons reported the highest rates of exposure to HIV educational activities they had the lowest levels of HIV-related knowledge. Transgender respondents’ social networks were homophilous and efficient at recruiting other transgender persons. Findings suggest that transgender social networks could provide an effective and culturally relevant opportunity for HIV prevention efforts in this vulnerable population. PMID:21538082

Cross-sectional data on alcohol and marijuana use and sexual behavior among male and female secondary school students in New Providence, The Bahamas

PubMed Central

Kaljee, Linda; Wang, Bo; Deveaux, Lynette; Lunn, Sonja; Rolle, Glenda; Villar, Maria Elena; Stanton, Bonita

2015-01-01

Background While The Bahamas have significantly reduced poor reproductive health outcomes among adolescents and emerging adults, data indicate that youth are engaged in sexual risk behaviors. Substance use has been linked to increased risk for HIV and STIs in other contexts. There is limited data on Bahamian youth in relation to consumption of alcohol and use marijuana and engagement in sexual behaviors. Objective To assess potential relationships between alcohol and marijuana use and engagement in sexual behavior among government secondary school students in New Providence, The Bahamas. Subjects Total sample size was 2,572. Fifty-six percent of respondents were female. Mean age was 14.2 (SD 2.7 years). Methods Cross-sectional data are from a baseline survey conducted as part of a longitudinal randomized controlled evaluation of a school-based HIV prevention and reproductive health program in New Providence. Results Overall, 46.5% (519) males and 44.8% (652) females reported alcohol consumption; 7.3% (82) males and 1.7% (25) females reported use of marijuana in the last six months. Forty-three percent (477) male respondents and 16% (231) female respondents reported ever having vaginal sex. Logistic regression analysis indicates increased likelihood of engaging in sex during the past six months is associated with being older, male, and consuming alcohol and marijuana. Conclusion These data provide a ‘global correlation’ between substance use and engagement in sexual behaviors among Bahamian adolescents. Longitudinal research is needed to assess event specific risks and identify mediating and moderating factors. These findings indicate the importance of integrating reproductive health and substance use education. PMID:25781669

Astronauts Newman and Walz evaluate tools for use on HST servicing mission

NASA Image and Video Library

1993-09-16

With the Caribbean Sea and part of the Bahama Islands chain as a backdrop, two STS-51 crewmembers evaluate procedures and gear to be used on the upcoming Hubble Space Telescope (HST)-servicing mission. Sharing the lengthy extravehicular activity in and around Discovery's cargo bay were astronauts James H. Newman (left), and Carl E. Walz, mission specialists.

47 CFR 73.25 - Clear channels; Class A, Class B and Class D stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., 770, 780, 820, 830, 840, 870, 880, 890, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1100, 1120, 1160, 1180, 1200, and 1210 kHz..., 1530, 1540, 1550, and 1560 kHz. Note: Until superseded by a new agreement, protection of the Bahama Islands shall be in accordance with NARBA. Accordingly, a Class A, Class B or Class D station on 1540 kHz...

47 CFR 73.25 - Clear channels; Class A, Class B and Class D stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., 770, 780, 820, 830, 840, 870, 880, 890, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1100, 1120, 1160, 1180, 1200, and 1210 kHz..., 1530, 1540, 1550, and 1560 kHz. Note: Until superseded by a new agreement, protection of the Bahama Islands shall be in accordance with NARBA. Accordingly, a Class A, Class B or Class D station on 1540 kHz...

47 CFR 73.25 - Clear channels; Class A, Class B and Class D stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., 770, 780, 820, 830, 840, 870, 880, 890, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1100, 1120, 1160, 1180, 1200, and 1210 kHz..., 1530, 1540, 1550, and 1560 kHz. Note: Until superseded by a new agreement, protection of the Bahama Islands shall be in accordance with NARBA. Accordingly, a Class A, Class B or Class D station on 1540 kHz...

47 CFR 73.25 - Clear channels; Class A, Class B and Class D stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., 770, 780, 820, 830, 840, 870, 880, 890, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1100, 1120, 1160, 1180, 1200, and 1210 kHz..., 1530, 1540, 1550, and 1560 kHz. Note: Until superseded by a new agreement, protection of the Bahama Islands shall be in accordance with NARBA. Accordingly, a Class A, Class B or Class D station on 1540 kHz...

47 CFR 73.25 - Clear channels; Class A, Class B and Class D stations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., 770, 780, 820, 830, 840, 870, 880, 890, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1100, 1120, 1160, 1180, 1200, and 1210 kHz..., 1530, 1540, 1550, and 1560 kHz. Note: Until superseded by a new agreement, protection of the Bahama Islands shall be in accordance with NARBA. Accordingly, a Class A, Class B or Class D station on 1540 kHz...

[Salvador Armendares: second generation Spanish refugee and pioneer of human genetics in Mexico].

PubMed

Villanueva Lozano, Marcia

2014-01-01

This paper gives an analysis of Dr. Salvador Armendares' exile and professional career, with the aim of exploring the relation between the intellectual contributions of the second generation of Spanish refugees in Mexico and the origins of medical genetics in that country. The thesis is that the emigration of European refugees due to political issues, where eugenic values were exalted, paradoxically facilitated the establishment of medical genetics in Mexico. Interpretation of cultural, political, and social factors contributes to the analysis, avoiding Eurocentric and expansionist narratives.

Stability analysis and hazard assessment of the northern slopes of San Vicente Volcano in central El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Daniel M.

Geologic hazards affect the lives of millions of people worldwide every year. El Salvador is a country that is regularly affected by natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tropical storms. Additionally, rainfall-induced landslides and debris flows are a major threat to the livelihood of thousands. The San Vicente Volcano in central El Salvador has a recurring and destructive pattern of landslides and debris flows occurring on the northern slopes of the volcano. In recent memory there have been at least seven major destructive debris flows on San Vicente volcano. Despite this problem, there has been no known attempt to study the inherent stability of these volcanic slopes and to determine the thresholds of rainfall that might lead to slope instability. This thesis explores this issue and outlines a suggested method for predicting the likelihood of slope instability during intense rainfall events. The material properties obtained from a field campaign and laboratory testing were used for a 2-D slope stability analysis on a recent landslide on San Vicente volcano. This analysis confirmed that the surface materials of the volcano are highly permeable and have very low shear strength and provided insight into the groundwater table behavior during a rainstorm. The biggest factors on the stability of the slopes were found to be slope geometry, rainfall totals and initial groundwater table location. Using the results from this analysis a stability chart was created that took into account these main factors and provided an estimate of the stability of a slope in various rainfall scenarios. This chart could be used by local authorities in the event of a known extreme rainfall event to help make decisions regarding possible evacuation. Recommendations are given to improve the methodology for future application in other areas as well as in central El Salvador.

International Processes of Education Policy Formation: An Analytic Framework and the Case of Plan 2021 in El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, D. Brent, Jr.

2013-01-01

This article uses multiple perspectives to frame international processes of education policy formation and then applies the framework to El Salvador's Plan 2021 between 2003 and 2005. These perspectives are policy attraction, policy negotiation, policy imposition, and policy hybridization. Research reveals that the formation of Plan 2021 was the…

Risk, Prophecy, Truth and Inspiration: A Picture of Archbishop Romero in the Education System of El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hopper, Joanne M.

2014-01-01

Born in El Salvador, at the heart of the Americas, Archbishop Oscar Romero came to have a profound impact, both nationally and internationally. Speaking out fearlessly against injustice and oppression, Archbishop Romero's poignant and powerful homilies were heard throughout the world and made him one of the greatest prophets. In the 30-year period…

El Salvador, Chile porphyry copper deposit revisited: Geologic and geochronologic framework

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cornejo, P.; Tosdal, R.M.; Mpodozis, C.; Tomlinson, A.J.; Rivera, O.; Fanning, C.M.

1997-01-01

The Eocene (42 to 41 Ma) El Salvador porphyry copper deposit in the Indio Muerto district, northern Chile (26?? 15??? S Lat.), formerly thought to have formed at the culmination of a 9-m.y. period of episodic magmatism, is shown by new mapping, U-Pb and K-Ar geochronology, and petrologic data to have formed during the younger of two distinct but superposed magmatic events - a Paleocene (???63 to 58 Ma) and an Eocene (44 to 41 Ma) event. In the district, high-K Paleocene volcano-plutonic activity was characterized by a variety of eruptive styles and magmatic compositions, including a collapse caldera associated with explosive rhyolitic magmatism (El Salvador trap-door caldera), a post-collapse rhyolite dome field (Cerro Indio Muerto), and andesitic-trachyandesitic stratovolcanos (Kilo??metro Catorce-Los Amarillos sequence). Precaldera basement faults were reactivated during Paleocene volcanism as part of the collapse margin of the caldera. Beneath Cerro Indio Muerto, where the porphyry Cu deposit subsequently formed, the intersection of two major basement faults and the NNE-striking rotational axis of tilted ignimbrites of the Paleocene El Salvador caldera localized emplacement of post-collapse rhyolite domes and peripheral dikes and sills. Subsequent Eocene rhyolitic and granodioritic-dacitic porphyries intruded ???14 m.y. after cessation of Paleocene magmatism along the same NNE-striking structural belt through Cerro Indio Muerto as did the post-collapse Paleocene rhyolite domes. Eocene plutonism over a 3-m.y. period was contemporaneous with NW-SE-directed shortening associated with regional sinistral transpression along the Sierra Castillo fault, lying ???10 km to the east. Older Eocene rhyolitic porphyries in the Indio Muerto district were emplaced between 44 and 43 Ma, and have a small uneconomic Cu center associated with a porphyry at Old Camp. The oldest granodioritic-dacitic porphyries also were emplaced at ???44 to 43 Ma, but their petrogenetic relation to

Women's Theologies, Women's Pedagogies: Liberating Praxes of Latin American Women Educators in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Argentina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Lauren Ila

2009-01-01

In this dissertation, through semi-structured interviews with 36 female social movement participants and 3 male participants in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Argentina, I ask, "How do women in Latin American social movements perceive the influence of theology on these movements' pedagogies?" I argue that through this work, the…

Dimensions of Child Sexual Abuse before Age 15 in Three Central American Countries: Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Speizer, Ilene S.; Goodwin, Mary; Whittle, Lisa; Clyde, Maureen; Rogers, Jennifer

2008-01-01

Objective: The prevalence of sexual abuse during childhood or adolescence varies depending on the definitions and age categories used. This study examines the first national, population-based data available on child sexual abuse that occurs before age 15 in three countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. This study uses comparable…

rSalvador: An R Package for the Fluctuation Experiment

PubMed Central

Zheng, Qi

2017-01-01

The past few years have seen a surge of novel applications of the Luria-Delbrück fluctuation assay protocol in bacterial research. Appropriate analysis of fluctuation assay data often requires computational methods that are unavailable in the popular web tool FALCOR. This paper introduces an R package named rSalvador to bring improvements to the field. The paper focuses on rSalvador’s capabilities to alleviate three kinds of problems found in recent investigations: (i) resorting to partial plating without properly accounting for the effects of partial plating; (ii) conducting attendant fitness assays without incorporating mutants’ relative fitness in subsequent data analysis; and (iii) comparing mutation rates using methods that are in general inapplicable to fluctuation assay data. In addition, the paper touches on rSalvador’s capabilities to estimate sample size and the difficulties related to parameter nonidentifiability. PMID:29084818

Children's knowledge of sexual abuse prevention in El Salvador.

PubMed

Hurtado, Alicia; Katz, Craig L; Ciro, Dianne; Guttfreund, Daniel; Nosike, Digna

2014-01-01

Child sexual abuse (CSA) remains a global health problem that must be addressed. In a country with limited resources such as El Salvador, we sought an alternative way to disseminate CSA prevention information to elementary school children. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention exhibit at a children's museum. We asked 189 children to answer a questionnaire about CSA prevention before entering a museum exhibit on the subject and then asked 59 different children to answer the questionnaire after visiting the exhibit. Children's knowledge scores on CSA prevention significantly improved after visiting the exhibit (P < .012). A museum exhibit that addresses CSA prevention is an effective way of communicating CSA prevention to children. Copyright © 2014 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lessons learned from a successful MEDRETE in El Salvador.

PubMed

Post, James C; Melendez, Manuel E; Hershey, Donna N; Hakim, Abdul

2003-04-01

Medical readiness education and training exercises are short-term exercises designed to provide health care and preventive medicine education to underserved civilian populations overseas. These high profile missions provide superb training opportunities, build democracies, and can be a powerful incentive to retain soldiers in the Reserves. Despite this, the literature offers little guidance in terms of how to best conduct a MEDRETE, particularly with a unit that has not been recently deployed. A U.S. Army Reserve unit was deployed to El Salvador following two devastating earthquakes and treated 20,890 patients in 10 days. This patient volume was achieved by a close cooperative effort among an experienced Mission Coordinator and Reservists and superb host nation support. Lessons learned regarding predeployment, deployment, patient management, and safety issues are presented to assist future units in conducting successful medical readiness education and training exercises.

Late Pennsylvanian and early permian chondrichthyan microremains from San Salvador Patlanoaya (Puebla, Mexico)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Derycke-Khatir, C.; Vachard, D.; Degardin, J.-M.; Flores de Dios, A.; Buitron, B.; Hansen, M.

2005-01-01

The San Salvador Patlanoaya section (Puebla State, Mexico) is known for its richness of many fossil groups. Among them, the calcareous shells have been principally investigated. This paper deals with Missourian-Virgilian (Late Pennsylvanian) and Leonardian (late Early Permian) Mexican fish remains. A discussion about Helicoprion and related genera, is followed by the systematic description of the revised or discovered taxa: Cooperella typicalis, Moreyella cf. M. typicalis, M. (?) sp., "Sturgeonella" quinqueloba, Hybodontidae gen. sp. 1 and 2, scale indet. Palaeobiogeographic implications are suggested. ?? 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Impacts of a high-discharge submarine sewage outfall on water quality in the coastal zone of Salvador (Bahia, Brazil).

PubMed

Roth, F; Lessa, G C; Wild, C; Kikuchi, R K P; Naumann, M S

2016-05-15

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic signatures of suspended particulate organic matter and seawater biological oxygen demand (BOD) were measured along a coastal transect during summer 2015 to investigate pollution impacts of a high-discharge submarine sewage outfall close to Salvador, Brazil. Impacts of untreated sewage discharge were evident at the outfall site by depleted δ(13)Corg and δ(15)N signatures and 4-fold increased BOD rates. Pollution effects of a sewage plume were detectable for more than 6km downstream from the outfall site, as seasonal wind- and tide-driven shelf hydrodynamics facilitated its advective transport into near-shore waters. There, sewage pollution was detectable at recreational beaches by depleted stable isotope signatures and elevated BOD rates at high tides, suggesting high bacterial activity and increased infection risk by human pathogens. These findings indicate the urgent necessity for appropriate wastewater treatment in Salvador to achieve acceptable standards for released effluents and coastal zone water quality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evolution of male coloration during a post-Pleistocene radiation of Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi).

PubMed

Martin, Ryan A; Riesch, Rüdiger; Heinen-Kay, Justa L; Langerhans, R Brian

2014-02-01

Sexual signal evolution can be complex because multiple factors influence the production, transmission, and reception of sexual signals, as well as receivers' responses to them. To grasp the relative importance of these factors in generating signal diversity, we must simultaneously investigate multiple selective agents and signaling traits within a natural system. We use the model system of the radiation of Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) inhabiting blue holes to test the effects of resource availability, male body size and other life-history traits, key aspects of the transmission environment, sex ratio, and predation risk on variation in multiple male color traits. Consistent with previous work examining other traits in this system, several color traits have repeatedly diverged between predation regimes, exhibiting greater elaboration in the absence of predators. However, other factors proved influential as well, with variation in resource levels, body size, relative testes size, and background water color being especially important for several color traits. For one prominent signaling trait, orange dorsal fins, we further confirmed a genetic basis underlying population differences using a laboratory common-garden experiment. We illustrate a promising approach for gaining a detailed understanding of the many contributing factors in the evolution of multivariate sexual signals. © 2013 The Author(s). Evolution © 2013 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Sub-regional Precipitation Climate of the Caribbean and Relationships With ENSO and NAO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winter, A.; Jury, M.; Malmgren, B.

2006-12-01

Thirty-five meteorological stations encompassing the Caribbean region (Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, and Barbados) were analyzed over the time interval 1951-1981 to assess regional precipitation patterns and their relationships with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Application of factor analysis to these series revealed the existence of four geographically distinct precipitation regions: (1) western Cuba and northwestern Bahamas, (2) Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and southeastern Bahamas, (3) Dominican Republic and northwestern Puerto Rico, and (4) eastern Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, St. Marteen, and Barbados. This regionalization is related to different annual cycles and interannual fluctuations of rainfall. The annual cycle is unimodal and largest in the northwest Caribbean (1), and becomes increasingly bimodal toward lower latitudes (4) as expected. Year-to-year variations of precipitation are compared with two well known climatic indices. The ENSO relationship, represented by Niño3.4 SST, is positive and stable at all lags, but tends to reverse over the SE Caribbean (4) in late summer. The NAO influence is weak and seasonally dependent. Early summer rainfall in the northwest Caribbean (1) increases under El Niño conditions. Clusters 2 and 3 are less influenced by the global predictors and more regional in character. Previous related work sub-divided the Caribbean into two to three regions. Our work also shows that the main Caribbean basin should be divided into two clusters and not one homogeneous region as has previously been reported.

Active crustal deformation of the El Salvador Fault Zone (ESFZ) using GPS data: Implications in seismic hazard assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staller, Alejandra; Benito, Belen; Jesús Martínez-Díaz, José; Hernández, Douglas; Hernández-Rey, Román; Alonso-Henar, Jorge

2014-05-01

El Salvador, Central America, is part of the Chortis block in the northwestern boundary of the Caribbean plate. This block is interacting with a diffuse triple junction point with the Cocos and North American plates. Among the structures that cut the Miocene to Pleistocene volcanic deposits stands out the El Salvador Fault Zone (ESFZ): It is oriented in N90º-100ºE direction, and it is composed of several structural segments that deform Quaternary deposits with right-lateral and oblique slip motions. The ESFZ is seismically active and capable of producing earthquakes such as the February 13, 2001 with Mw 6.6 (Martínez-Díaz et al., 2004), that seriously affected the population, leaving many casualties. This structure plays an important role in the tectonics of the Chortis block, since its motion is directly related to the drift of the Caribbean plate to the east and not with the partitioning of the deformation of the Cocos subduction (here not coupled) (Álvarez-Gómez et al., 2008). Together with the volcanic arc of El Salvador, this zone constitutes a weakness area that allows the motion of forearc block toward the NW. The geometry and the degree of activity of the ESFZ are not studied enough. However their knowledge is essential to understand the seismic hazard associated to this important seismogenic structure. For this reason, since 2007 a GPS dense network was established along the ESFZ (ZFESNet) in order to obtain GPS velocity measurements which are later used to explain the nature of strain accumulation on major faults along the ESFZ. The current work aims at understanding active crustal deformation of the ESFZ through kinematic model. The results provide significant information to be included in a new estimation of seismic hazard taking into account the major structures in ESFZ.

A spatio-temporal analysis of suicide in El Salvador.

PubMed

Carcach, Carlos

2017-04-20

In 2012, international statistics showed El Salvador's suicide rate as 40th in the world and the highest in Latin America. Over the last 15 years, national statistics show the suicide death rate declining as opposed to an increasing rate of homicide. Though completed suicide is an important social and health issue, little is known about its prevalence, incidence, etiology and spatio-temporal behavior. The primary objective of this study was to examine completed suicide and homicide using the stream analogy to lethal violence within a spatio-temporal framework. A Bayesian model was applied to examine the spatio-temporal evolution of the tendency of completed suicide over homicide in El Salvador. Data on numbers of suicides and homicides at the municipal level were obtained from the Instituto de Medicina Legal (IML) and population counts, from the Dirección General de Estadística y Censos (DIGESTYC), for the period of 2002 to 2012. Data on migration were derived from the 2007 Population Census, and inequality data were obtained from a study by Damianović, Valenzuela and Vera. The data reveal a stable standardized rate of total lethal violence (completed suicide plus homicide) across municipalities over time; a decline in suicide; and a standardized suicide rate decreasing with income inequality but increasing with social isolation. Municipalities clustered in terms of both total lethal violence and suicide standardized rates. Spatial effects for suicide were stronger among municipalities located in the north-east and center-south sides of the country. New clusters of municipalities with large suicide standardized rates were detected in the north-west, south-west and center-south regions, all of which are part of time-stable clusters of homicide. Prevention efforts to reduce income inequality and mitigate the negative effects of weak relational systems should focus upon municipalities forming time-persistent clusters with a large rate of death by suicide. In

The University as Agent of Social Transformation: The Case of the University of Central America in El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valiente, Orfilio Ernesto

2015-01-01

In 1965, the Jesuit-run Central American University (UCA) was launched in El Salvador as the wealthy family's educational alternative to the increasingly leftist National University. But within a decade, the UCA would shift its focus to the inequalities and injustice experienced by the country's popular majorities and to its own role as society's…

Perspectives for Expanded Ocean Observing on the Southeast Florida Shelf and between Cuba and the Bahamas and the US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soloviev, A.; Dodge, R. E.; Proni, J.

2012-12-01

A long term ocean observing system was established on the Southeast Florida shelf near Ft. Lauderdale by the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center (NSUOC) in late 1990s as a cooperative agreement between the NSU Oceanographic Center and USF College of Marine Science. The system has been supported and upgraded during a number of projects funded by the US federal government and private industries. Currently it consists of two ADCP moorings deployed at 240 m and 11 m isobath and coastal meteorological station and primarily serves to support the Office of Naval Research and other Federal agencies projects. During active observational phases, the area is monitored using the new generation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites (TerraSAR-X, Cosmo SkyMed, ALOS PALSAR, RADARSAT 2). The NSUOC Ocean observing system is a component of SECOORA, which has been integrating coastal and ocean observing data in the Southeast United States as a part of IOOS. In this paper we overview the results obtained during more than a decade of observations and discuss perspectives for expanded ocean observing on the Southeast Florida Shelf and between Cuba, Bahamas and US. Increased ocean observations are needed of the major western boundary current, known as the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Current in the Straits Florida. This ocean current occurs to the west and north of Cuba and along the southeast US. Observations will provide better understanding of the processes that maintain, and account for, the current variability and will be useful in myriad practical applications. A major application is the need to monitor the occurrence of, and to forecast entrainment, trajectories, and detrainment of, potential oil spills that may propagate from Cuban drilling sites located along the north coast of Cuba as well as from proposed drilling in the Bahamas. Such ocean observation information can be used as input for operational response models and result in best

Hurricane Impacts on Small Island Communities: Case study of Hurricane Matthew on Great Exuma, The Bahamas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan Sealey, Kathleen; Bowleg, John

2017-04-01

Great Exuma has been a UNESCO Eco-hydrology Project Site with a focus on coastal restoration and flood management. Great Exuma and its largest settlement, George Town, support a population of just over 8.000 people on an island dominated by extensive coastal wetlands. The Victoria Pond Eco-Hydrology project restored flow and drainage to highly-altered coastal wetlands to reduce flooding of the built environment as well as regain ecological function. The project was designed to show the value of a protected wetland and coastal environment within a populated settlement; demonstrating that people can live alongside mangroves and value "green" infrastructure for flood protection. The restoration project was initiated after severe storm flooding in 2007 with Tropical Storm Noel. In 2016, the passing of Hurricane Matthew had unprecedented impacts on the coastal communities of Great Exuma, challenging past practices in restoration and flood prevention. This talk reviews the loss of natural capital (for example, fish populations, mangroves, salt water inundation) from Hurricane Matthew based on a rapid response survey of Great Exuma. The surprisingly find was the impact of storm surge on low-lying areas used primarily for personal farms and small-scale agriculture. Although women made up the overwhelming majority of people who attended Coastal Restoration workshops, women were most adversely impacted by the recent hurricane flooding with the loss of their small low-lying farms and gardens. Although increasing culverts in mangrove creeks in two areas did reduce building flood damage, the low-lying areas adjacent to mangroves, mostly ephemeral freshwater wetlands, were inundated with saltwater, and seasonal crops in these areas were destroyed. These ephemeral wetlands were designed as part of the wetland flooding system, it was not known how important these small areas were to artisanal farming on Great Exuma. The size and scope of Hurricane Matthew passing through the

Effects through 24 months of an HIV/AIDS prevention intervention program based on protection motivation theory among preadolescents in the Bahamas.

PubMed

Gong, Jie; Stanton, Bonita; Lunn, Sonja; Deveaux, Lynette; Li, Xiaoming; Marshall, Sharon; Brathwaite, Nanika V; Cottrell, Leslie; Harris, Carole; Chen, Xinguang

2009-05-01

The purpose of this work was to report the intervention effects of Focus on Youth in the Caribbean (youth HIV intervention), an HIV prevention intervention based on protection motivation theory, through 24 months of follow-up on sexual risk and protection knowledge, perceptions, intentions, and behavior among Bahamian sixth-grade youth. We randomly assigned 1360 sixth-grade youth (and their parents) attending 15 government elementary schools in the Bahamas to 1 of 3 conditions: (1) youth HIV intervention plus a parental monitoring/communication/HIV education intervention; (2) youth HIV intervention plus a parental goal-setting intervention; or (3) an environmental protection intervention plus the parental goal-setting intervention. Baseline and 4 follow-up surveys at 6-month intervals were conducted. Intervention effects were assessed using the mixed model for continuous outcome variables and the generalized linear mixed model for dichotomous outcome variables. Through 24 months of follow-up, youth HIV intervention, in combination with the parent interventions, significantly increased youths' HIV/AIDS knowledge, perceptions of their ability to use condoms, perception of the effectiveness of condoms and abstinence, and condom use intention and significantly lowered perceived costs to remaining abstinent. There was a trend for higher condom use among youth in the Focus on Youth in the Caribbean groups at each follow-up interval. Focus on Youth in the Caribbean, in combination with 1 of 2 parent interventions administered to preadolescents and their parents in the Bahamas, resulted in and sustained protective changes on HIV/AIDS knowledge, sexual perceptions, and condom use intention. Although rates of sexual experience remained low, the consistent trend at all of the follow-up periods for higher condom use among youth who received youth intervention reached marginal significance at 24 months. Additional follow-up is necessary to determine whether the apparent

Effects Through 24 Months of an HIV/AIDS Prevention Intervention Program Based on Protection Motivation Theory Among Preadolescents in the Bahamas

PubMed Central

Gong, Jie; Stanton, Bonita; Lunn, Sonja; Deveaux, Lynette; Li, Xiaoming; Marshall, Sharon; Brathwaite, Nanika V.; Cottrell, Leslie; Harris, Carole; Chen, Xinguang

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this work was to report the intervention effects of Focus on Youth in the Caribbean (youth HIV intervention), an HIV prevention intervention based on protection motivation theory, through 24 months of follow-up on sexual risk and protection knowledge, perceptions, intentions, and behavior among Bahamian sixth-grade youth. METHODS We randomly assigned 1360 sixth-grade youth (and their parents) attending 15 government elementary schools in the Bahamas to 1 of 3 conditions: (1) youth HIV intervention plus a parental monitoring/communication/HIV education intervention; (2) youth HIV intervention plus a parental goal-setting intervention; or (3) an environmental protection intervention plus the parental goal-setting intervention. Baseline and 4 follow-up surveys at 6-month intervals were conducted. Intervention effects were assessed using the mixed model for continuous outcome variables and the generalized linear mixed model for dichotomous outcome variables. RESULTS Through 24 months of follow-up, youth HIV intervention, in combination with the parent interventions, significantly increased youths’ HIV/AIDS knowledge, perceptions of their ability to use condoms, perception of the effectiveness of condoms and abstinence, and condom use intention and significantly lowered perceived costs to remaining abstinent. There was a trend for higher condom use among youth in the Focus on Youth in the Caribbean groups at each follow-up interval. CONCLUSIONS Focus on Youth in the Caribbean, in combination with 1 of 2 parent interventions administered to preadolescents and their parents in the Bahamas, resulted in and sustained protective changes on HIV/AIDS knowledge, sexual perceptions, and condom use intention. Although rates of sexual experience remained low, the consistent trend at all of the follow-up periods for higher condom use among youth who received youth intervention reached marginal significance at 24 months. Additional follow-up is necessary

Influenza Illness among Case-Patients Hospitalized for Suspected Dengue, El Salvador, 2012.

PubMed

Chacon, Rafael; Clara, Alexey Wilfrido; Jara, Jorge; Armero, Julio; Lozano, Celina; El Omeiri, Nathalie; Widdowson, Marc-Alain; Azziz-Baumgartner, Eduardo

2015-01-01

We estimate the proportion of patients hospitalized for suspected dengue that tested positive for influenza virus in El Salvador during the 2012 influenza season. We tested specimens from 321 hospitalized patients: 198 patients with SARI and 123 patients with suspected dengue. Among 121 hospitalized suspected dengue (two co-infected excluded) patients, 28% tested positive for dengue and 19% positive for influenza; among 35 with suspected dengue and respiratory symptoms, 14% were positive for dengue and 39% positive for influenza. One percent presented co-infection between influenza and dengue. Clinicians should consider the diagnosis of influenza among patients with suspected dengue during the influenza season.

The Durability of Cultural Influences: How American Foreign Policy Reinforced Historical Biases in El Salvador

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

America Since 1920,” Journal of Latin American Studies, 1983: 276. 11 Kevin Sullivan, “El Salvador: On Unfinished Road to Reform; Despite Being...different than those of President Carter. In fact, a substantial part of his party plank cited key differences between his and the ex-president’s Central...true: Castro himself was influential with FMLN leadership ; in fact, the FMLN formed at his urging.42 The full extent to which Castro, the Soviets or

[The Nobel Prize for nitric oxide. The unjust exclusion of Dr. Salvador Moncada].

PubMed

de Berrazueta, J R

1999-04-01

The 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine has been awarded jointly to North-American scientists, Dr Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad, for their discoveries in relation to "nitric oxide as a signalling molecule in the cardiovascular system". This has raised an important polemic because of the exclusion the South-American scientist, now nationalized British, Dr. Salvador Moncada. This short historical review examines some of the fundamental contributions to the knowledge in this field. It shows the sequence of the discoveries and the communication of them to the scientific community by the rewarded scientists and by Dr. Moncada. It is based on some fundamental publications in order to better understand this story, which does not coincide with the writing in 1996 by the Lasker Prize Committee, and which in 1998 was re-written again by the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy. More than 90 universities, academies and societies have acknowledged Dr. Moncada up to now with priority in the discovery of the fact that nitric oxide is released by endothelial cells, and the revealing of its metabolic way. More than 20,000 citations of their fundamental papers endorse in the scientific community his primacy in this field. Even Robert Furchgott, author of the brilliant discovery of the endothelium derived relaxing factor, that opened this field to the science, declared about the award of the 1998 Nobel Prize: "I feel that the Nobel Prize Committee could have made an exception this year and chosen a fourth person, Salvador Moncada (to share the prize)".

An analysis of new techniqes for radiometric correction of LANDSAT-4 Thematic Mapper images. [Terrebonne Bay, Louisiana and Grand Bahamas scenes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kogut, J.; Larduinat, E.; Fitzgerald, M.

1983-01-01

The utility of methods for generating TM RLUTS which can improve the quality of the resultant images was investigated. The TM-CCT-ADDS tape was changed to account for a different collection window for the calibration data. Several scenes of Terrebonne Bay, Louisiana and the Grand Bahamas were analyzed to evaluate the radiometric corrections operationally applied to the image data and to investigate several techniques for reducing striping in the images. Printer plots for the TM shutter data were produced and detector statistics were compiled and plotted. These statistics included various combinations of the average shutter counts for each scan before and after DC restore for forward and reverse scans. Results show that striping is caused by the detectors becoming saturated when they view a bright cloud and depress the DC restore level.

Sedimentary Reconstructions of Tropical Cyclone Activity over the Past 1500 Years from Blue Holes in the Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, E. J.; Donnelly, J. P.; van Hengstum, P. J.; Wiman, C.; McKeon, K.; LaBella, A.; Sullivan, R.; Winkler, T. S.; Woodruff, J. D.; Hawkes, A.; Maio, C. V.

2017-12-01

Given the devastating socioeconomic impacts of tropical cyclones, it is of critical importance to quantify the risk of such storms to local human populations. However, this is difficult to accomplish given that historical tropical cyclone records are short and incomplete. A new array of sedimentary reconstructions from coastal basins record significant temporal variability in intense hurricane landfalls over the last several thousands of years. Unfortunately, these reconstructions are often limited to documenting changes in hurricane landfalls at one location. Here we present a larger spatial analysis of the changing frequency of hurricanes in the tropical Atlantic using near annually resolved records of intense hurricane events in blue holes from three islands in the Caribbean. The first record is a 1500-year record from South Andros Island on the Great Bahama Bank. This record is corroborated by cores collected from an adjacent blue hole. The second record is an 1100-year record from Long Island situated approximately 265 km southeast of South Andros. The final record is a 1000-year record from Caicos Island. All three carbonate islands are positioned in the western North Atlantic Ocean along the trackway of many storms originating in the Caribbean and Atlantic basins. All records contain coarse grained event deposits that correlate with known historical intense hurricane strikes in the Bahamas, within age uncertainties, including Hurricane Joaquin in 2015 at Long Island and the 1945 category 4 storm at South Andros. Over the past 1500 years, all three sedimentary archives show evidence of active and quiescent periods of hurricane activity. In particular, these records suggest that the Caribbean has experienced a higher frequency of hurricane events in intervals over of the past 1500 years than in the historical interval. However, the differences in hurricane frequency among the three records suggest regional controls on hurricane activity in the Atlantic.

Pre-Columbian estucado pottery from El Salvador: A multi-technique investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sodo, A.

2016-03-01

Pottery is one of the main productions of the pre-Columbian cultures in the Mesoamerican area. Among the others, the estucado pottery represents a very particular type of ceramic, widespread in Maya territory but still never investigated systematically. The peculiarity of this ceramic lies in the unusual application of the color decoration and in the excellent conservation conditions. Seventeen ceramic fragments from El Salvador have been analysed by Raman spectroscopy, SEM/EDS and XRPD, both as fragments and in cross-sections, in order to investigate the manufacturing technique and to understand the good and unexpected conservation state. In both cases, the presence and the chemical nature of a thin white layer (engobe) between the ceramic bulk and the colored decorations seems to be determinant.

Heavy metals, arsenic, and pesticide contamination in an area with high incidence of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes in El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez, D. A.; Ribó, A.; Quinteros, E.; Mejia, R.; Jovel, R.; VanDervort, D.; Orantes, C. M.

2013-12-01

Chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes is epidemic in Central America, Southern Mexico and other regions of the world such as Sri Lanka, where the origin of the illness is attributed to exposure to agrochemicals and arsenic in soils and groundwater. In Central America, several causes have been suggested for this illness including: high ambient temperatures and chronic dehydration, and toxic effects of agrochemicals. Previous research using step-wise multivariate regression in El Salvador found statistically significant correlation between the spatial distribution of the number of sick people per thousand inhabitants and the percent area cultivated with sugar cane, cotton, and beans, and maximum ambient temperature, with sugar cane cultivation as the most significant factor. This study aims to investigate the possible effects of agricultural activities in the occurrence of this illness looking at heavy metal, arsenic and pesticide contamination in soil, water and sediments of a community located in Bajo Lempa region (Ciudad Romero, El Salvador) and heavily affected by this illness. The Bajo Lempa region is close to Lempa River delta, in the Pacific coast. Ground and surface water, sediment and soil samples were collected in the village where the patients live and in the agricultural areas where they work. With respect to the heavy metals, lead and cadmium where detected in the soils but below the standards for cultivated soils, however, they were not detected in the majority of surface and groundwater. Of the inorganic contaminants, arsenic was present in most soil, sediments, and water samples with some concentrations considerable higher than the standards for cultivated lands and drinking water. Statistically different concentrations in soils were found for the village soils and the cultivated soils, with arsenic higher in the cultivated soils. For the pesticides, results show a significant pollution of soil and groundwater of organochlorine pesticides

Patterns and predictors of current cigarette smoking in women and men of reproductive age-Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

PubMed

Tong, Van T; Turcios-Ruiz, Reina M; Dietz, Patricia M; England, Lucinda J

2011-09-01

To estimate smoking prevalence by gender, describe patterns of cigarette use, and identify predictors of current smoking in reproductive-age adults in four Latin American countries. Self-reported smoking was examined using data from Reproductive Health Surveys of women aged 15-49 years in Ecuador (2004), El Salvador (2002-2003), Guatemala (2002), and Honduras (2001), and of men aged 15-59 years in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras for the same years. Current smoking was assessed by demographic characteristics, and independent associations were examined using logistic regression. Data were weighted to be nationally representative of households with reproductive-age women and men. Current smoking prevalence ranged from 2.6% (Guatemala) to 13.1% (Ecuador) for women and from 23.1% (Guatemala) to 34.9% (El Salvador) for men. In Ecuador, 67.6% of female smokers were non-daily users; in other countries, daily use was more prevalent than non-daily use for both men and women. In daily users, the median number of cigarettes smoked per day ranged from 1.9 (Ecuador, Honduras) to 2.3 (Guatemala) for women and from 2.1 (Guatemala) to 3.6 (Honduras) for men. In bivariate analysis, smoking prevalence in all countries was highest in women who lived in urban areas, were previously married, and/or had high socioeconomic status. Risk factors for smoking varied by country and gender. National tobacco control programs in these countries should aggressively target high-risk populations (reproductive-age men) and maintain low prevalence in low-risk populations (reproductive-age women). More research is needed to understand addiction patterns in non-daily smokers.

Unearthing The Eruptive Personality Of El Salvador's Santa Ana (Ilamatepec) Volcano Though In-depth Stratigraphic Analysis Of Pre-1904 Deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gallant, E.; Martinez-Hackert, B.

2011-12-01

The Santa Ana (Ilamatepec) volcano (2384 m) in densely populated El Salvador Central America presents serious volcanic hazard potential. The volcano is a prevalent part of every day life in El Salvador; the sugarcane and coffee belt of the country are to its Southern and Western flanks, recreational areas lies to its East, and second and third largest cities of El Salvador exist within its 25 km radius. Understanding the eruptive characteristics and history is imperative due to the volcano's relative size (the highest in the country) and it's explosive, composite nature. Historical records indicate at least 9 potential VEI 3 eruptions since 1521 AD. The volcano's relative inaccessibility and potential hazards do not promote a vast reservoir of research activity, as can be seen in the scarcity of published papers on topics prior to the 1904 eruption. This research represents the first steps towards creating a comprehensive stratigraphic record of the crater and characterizing its eruptive history, with an eventual goal of recreating the volcanic structure prior to its collapse. Samples of pre-1904 eruptive material were taken from the southern wall of an E-W oriented fluvial gully located within the SSW of the tertiary crater. These were analyzed using thin sections and optical microscopy, grain size distribution techniques, and scanning electron microscopy. The 15-layer sequence indicates an explosive history characterized by intense phreatomagmatic phases, plinian, sub-plinian and basaltic/andesitic composition strombolian activity. Another poster within the session will discuss an older sequence within the walls of the secondary crater. Further detailed studies will be required to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of Santa Ana Volcano.

Scale-Up of an Human Papillomavirus Testing Implementation Program in El Salvador.

PubMed

Cremer, Miriam; Maza, Mauricio; Alfaro, Karla; Morales Velado, Mario; Felix, Juan; Castle, Philip E; Kim, Jane; Gage, Julia C

2017-01-01

The Cervical Cancer Prevention in El Salvador is a demonstration project to introduce a lower-cost human papillomavirus (HPV)-DNA test into a public sector project. Started in October 2012, The Cervical Cancer Prevention in El Salvador consists of 3 phases and will ultimately screen 30,000 women. Results of phase 2 of the project are presented. The objective of this project was to compare colposcopy and noncolposcopy-based management for HPV-positive women. In phase 2, a total of 8,050 women, aged 30 to 49 years, were screened; 6,761 provided both self- and provider-collected specimens and 1,289 provided only provider-testing specimens. HPV results from self-collected specimens were not used in clinical management decisions. Women with provider-collected HPV-positive results were treated based on the strategy assigned to their community; the strategy was colposcopy management (CM) or screen-and-treat (ST) management if they were cryotherapy eligible or colposcopy if not eligible. Outcomes were assessed 6 months after screening. Overall, 489 (12.3%) of 3,963 women receiving CM and 465 (11.4%) of 4,087 women receiving ST tested HPV positive. In the CM cohort, 216 (44.2%) of 489 completed their intervention (203 treated, 11 diagnosed negative, 2 pregnant). In the ST cohort, 411 (88.4%) of 465 completed their intervention (407 treated, 2 diagnosed negative, 1 pregnant). Overall agreement between HPV test results from self-collected and provider-collected specimens was 93.7%, with a κ value of 0.70 (95% CI = 0.68-0.73). Human papillomavirus testing with ST management resulted in an approximately twice completion rate compared with CM management. Agreement between self- and provider-based sampling was good and might be used to extend screening to women in areas that are more difficult to reach.

Scale-Up of an Human Papillomavirus Testing Implementation Program in El Salvador

PubMed Central

Cremer, Miriam; Maza, Mauricio; Alfaro, Karla; Morales Velado, Mario; Felix, Juan; Castle, Philip E.; Kim, Jane; Gage, Julia C.

2017-01-01

Objective The Cervical Cancer Prevention in El Salvador is a demonstration project to introduce a lower-cost human papillomavirus (HPV)-DNA test into a public sector project. Started in October 2012, The Cervical Cancer Prevention in El Salvador consists of 3 phases and will ultimately screen 30,000 women. Results of phase 2 of the project are presented. The objective of this project was to compare colposcopy and noncolposcopy-based management for HPV-positive women. Material and Methods In phase 2, a total of 8,050 women, aged 30 to 49 years, were screened; 6,761 provided both self- and provider-collected specimens and 1,289 provided only provider-testing specimens. HPV results from self-collected specimens were not used in clinical management decisions. Women with provider-collected HPV-positive results were treated based on the strategy assigned to their community; the strategy was colposcopy management (CM) or screen-and-treat (ST) management if they were cryotherapy eligible or colposcopy if not eligible. Outcomes were assessed 6 months after screening. Results Overall, 489 (12.3%) of 3,963 women receiving CM and 465 (11.4%) of 4,087 women receiving ST tested HPV positive. In the CM cohort, 216 (44.2%) of 489 completed their intervention (203 treated, 11 diagnosed negative, 2 pregnant). In the ST cohort, 411 (88.4%) of 465 completed their intervention (407 treated, 2 diagnosed negative, 1 pregnant). Overall agreement between HPV test results from self-collected and provider-collected specimens was 93.7%, with a κ value of 0.70 (95% CI = 0.68–0.73). Conclusions Human papillomavirus testing with ST management resulted in an approximately twice completion rate compared with CM management. Agreement between self- and provider-based sampling was good and might be used to extend screening to women in areas that are more difficult to reach. PMID:27922905

Proliferation Control Regimes: Background and Status

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-25

States has signed such agreements with Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Croatia, Cyprus, Liberia, Malta, the Marshall Islands , Mongolia...Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC), and the Australia Group. The informal Australia Group...biological agents or toxins “of types and in quantities that have no justification for peaceful purposes.” The missile nonproliferation regime is founded not

Arms Control and Nonproliferation: A Catalog of Treaties and Agreements

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-07

and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Croatia, Cyprus, Liberia, Malta, the Marshall Islands , Mongolia, Panama, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines... toxin weapons, mandates the destruction of all chemical weapons production facilities, and seeks to control the production and international transfer...and transfer of biological weapons, as well as biological agents and toxins . It also bans “equipment or means of delivery designed to use such

Stratigraphic and microfossil evidence for hydroclimate changes over the middle to late Holocene in the northern Bahamas from an inland saline lake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Hengstum, P. J.; Maale, G. E.; Donnelly, J. P.; Onac, B. P.; Sullivan, R.; Winkler, T. S.; Albury, N. A.

2016-12-01

No Man's Land is one of the largest inland lakes on the Little Bahama Bank in the northern Bahamas, so its paleoenvironmental history may provide insight into how the regional hydroclimate developed over the Holocene. In its modern state, the site is shallow (<3 m), brackish (20.6 psu), 170 m in diameter, and located 700 m from the coastline. Prior to 6400 Cal yrs BP, the accumulation of peat deposits and no aquatic invertebrates (e.g., ostracodes, foraminifera, aquatic mollusks) indicate that the site was a terrestrial ecosystem. However, the site transitioned into a subaqueous freshwater environment at 6400 Cal yrs BP, and the site became a palustrine-lacustrine setting thereafter until 4200 Cal yrs BP. During this time, widespread palustrine-lacustrine carbonate deposition and the appearance of freshwater to low mesohaline microfossils indicates that the lake's salinity was likely oligohaline (charophytes, ostracodes: Candona annae, Cypridopsis vidua, foraminifera: Helenina davescottensis, mollusks: Planorbis, Hydrobia). A salinity increase at 4200 Cal yrs BP is inferred from the appearance of the ostracode Cyprideis americana that typically prefers salinities exceeding 10 psu, and deposition of laminated microbial mats. Thereafter, an organic- rich, algal sapropel unit accumulated that was devoid of any microfossils or mollusks. This unit suggests that the lake hosted a stratified water column, where surface waters supported phytoplankton primary productivity and corrosive or anoxic bottom water conditions either hampered microfossil growth or precluded their preservation. The transition to the modern environment ( 20 psu) at 2600 cal yrs BP is characterized by diversification of brackish ostracodes (Aurila floridana, Dolerocypria inopinata, and Hemicyprideis setipunctata), foraminifera (Elphidium spp., Ammonia beccarii, Triloculina oblonga) and mollusks (Anomalocardia, Cerithidea). Over the middle to late Holocene, it appears that the stratigraphic development

Marvels of illusion: illusion and perception in the art of Salvador Dali.

PubMed

Martinez-Conde, Susana; Conley, Dave; Hine, Hank; Kropf, Joan; Tush, Peter; Ayala, Andrea; Macknik, Stephen L

2015-01-01

The surrealist movement aimed to blur the distinction between the real and the imagined. Such lack of a border between demonstrable truth and fantasy is perhaps most apparent in the art of Spanish painter Salvador Dali (1904-1989). Dali included numerous illusions in his artworks, with the intent to challenge the viewers' perceptions of reality and to enable them to see beyond the surface. The "Marvels of Illusion" exhibit, shown at The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL., from June 14 to October 12, 2014, showcased Dali paintings, prints and sculptures centered on illusory themes. Here, we review the significance of illusions in Dali's art, focusing on the pieces displayed at the "Marvels of Illusion" exhibit.

Susceptibility assessment of earthquake-triggered landslides in El Salvador using logistic regression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García-Rodríguez, M. J.; Malpica, J. A.; Benito, B.; Díaz, M.

2008-03-01

This work has evaluated the probability of earthquake-triggered landslide occurrence in the whole of El Salvador, with a Geographic Information System (GIS) and a logistic regression model. Slope gradient, elevation, aspect, mean annual precipitation, lithology, land use, and terrain roughness are the predictor variables used to determine the dependent variable of occurrence or non-occurrence of landslides within an individual grid cell. The results illustrate the importance of terrain roughness and soil type as key factors within the model — using only these two variables the analysis returned a significance level of 89.4%. The results obtained from the model within the GIS were then used to produce a map of relative landslide susceptibility.

Coseismic deformation of the 2001 El Salvador and 2002 Denali fault earthquakes from GPS geodetic measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hreinsdottir, Sigrun

2005-07-01

GPS geodetic measurements are used to study two major earthquakes, the 2001 MW 7.7 El Salvador and 2002 MW 7.9 Denali Fault earthquakes. The 2001 MW 7.7 earthquake was a normal fault event in the subducting Cocos plate offshore El Salvador. Coseismic displacements of up to 15 mm were measured at permanent GPS stations in Central America. The GPS data were used to constrain the location of and slip on the normal fault. One month later a MW 6.6 strike-slip earthquake occurred in the overriding Caribbean plate. Coulomb stress changes estimated from the M W 7.7 earthquake suggest that it triggered the MW 6.6 earthquake. Coseismic displacement from the MW 6.6 earthquake, about 40 mm at a GPS station in El Salvador, indicates that the earthquake triggered additional slip on a fault close to the GPS station. The MW 6.6 earthquake further changed the stress field in the overriding Caribbean plate, with triggered seismic activity occurring west and possibly also to the east of the rupture in the days to months following the earthquake. The MW 7.9 Denali Fault earthquake ruptured three faults in the interior of Alaska. It initiated with a thrust motion on the Susitna Glacier fault but then ruptured the Denali and Totschunda faults with predominantly right-lateral strike-slip motion unilaterally from west to east. GPS data measured in the two weeks following the earthquake suggest a complex coseismic rupture along the faults with two main regions of moment release along the Denali fault. A large amount of additional data were collected in the year following the earthquake which greatly improved the resolution on the fault, revealing more details of the slip distribution. We estimate a total moment release of 6.81 x 1020 Nm in the earthquake with a M W 7.2 thrust subevent on Susitna Glacier fault. The slip on the Denali fault is highly variable, with 4 main pulses of moment release. The largest moment pulse corresponds to a MW 7.5 subevent, about 40 km west of the Denali

Identification of a consistent polyene component of purple pigment in diseased sclerites of Caribbean corals across region, species, and insult agent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fetterolf, Monty L.; Leverette, Chad L.; Perez, Christopher; Smith, Garriet W.

2017-10-01

Gorgonians respond to insult (damage and disease) by producing sclerites containing a purple pigment as opposed to the normal white sclerites. Raman microscopy is used to study the purple areas of three species of diseased coral, Gorgonia ventalina, Pseudoplexaura porosa, and Eunicea laciniata obtained from Puerto Rico. These spectra were compared to Gorgonia ventalina samples previously reported that were obtained from San Salvador, Bahamas. Spectra from two samples of G. ventalina that had been infected by different agents, Aspergillus sydowii and a slime mold, were also obtained. The results indicate that the purple compounds (polyenes) generated by the coral in response to infection are similar regardless of region from which the coral were harvested, of species of coral, and of the infective agent. A discussion of the Raman spectra of G. ventalina and the other coral species is presented.

Rising from the Ashes: How the Global Education Policy of Community-Based Management Was Born from El Salvador's Civil War

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, D. Brent, Jr.

2015-01-01

This paper explores the relationship between the emergence of global education policies and conflict-affected contexts by analysing the trajectory of community-level education decentralization within and beyond El Salvador from the 1980s, during the country's civil war, to the 2000s, by which point this approach to education governance was being…

GPS detection of ionospheric perturbation before the 13 February 2001, El Salvador earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plotkin, V. V.

A large earthquake of M6.6 occurred on 13 February 2001 at 14:22:05 UT in El Salvador. We detected ionospheric perturbation before this earthquake using GPS data received from CORS network. Systematic decreases of ionospheric total electron content during two days before the earthquake onset were observed at set of stations near the earthquake location and probably in region of about 1000 km from epicenter. This result is consistent with that of investigators, which studied these phenomena with several observational techniques. However it is possible, that such TEC changes are simultaneously accompanied by changes due to solar wind parameters and Kp -index.

Direct and mediated associations between religious coping, spirituality, and youth violence in El Salvador.

PubMed

Salas-Wrigh, Christopher P; Olate, Rene; Vaughn, Michael G; Tran, Thanh V

2013-09-01

To examine the direct and mediated relationships between religious coping, spirituality, social developmental factors, and violence among high-risk and gang-involved youth in a high-crime, Latin American country. Using a community sample of 290 high-risk and gang-involved youth in San Salvador, El Salvador, structural equation modeling was employed to examine the relationships between religious coping, spirituality, social developmental factors (e.g., antisocial bond and antisocial beliefs), and violence. Religious coping (β = - 0.14, P < 0.05) and spirituality (β = - 0.20, P < 0.01) were both significantly associated with antisocial bond. Antisocial bond, in turn, was directly associated with violence (β = 0.70, P < 0.001) and was associated with antisocial beliefs (β = 0.54, P < 0.001); however, the path from antisocial beliefs to violence was not statistically significant. No direct paths were identified from religiosity and spirituality to violence. The goodness-of-fit statistics (root mean square error of approximation, 0.034; comparative fit index, 0.974; and Tucker-Lewis index, 0.966) suggest that the final model had acceptable fit. This study is among the first to shed light on the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and youth violence in the Latin American context. Elevated levels of religious coping and spirituality are associated with less antisocial bonding, which, in turn, is associated with lower levels of violent behavior among high-risk and gang-involved Salvadoran youth. Study findings suggest that religious coping and spirituality are indirectly protective for youth violence among this high-risk population.

Tsunami hazard assessment in El Salvador, Central America, from seismic sources through flooding numerical models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Álvarez-Gómez, J. A.; Aniel-Quiroga, Í.; Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, O. Q.; Larreynaga, J.; González, M.; Castro, M.; Gavidia, F.; Aguirre-Ayerbe, I.; González-Riancho, P.; Carreño, E.

2013-05-01

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America; its coast has approximately a length of 320 km, 29 municipalities and more than 700 000 inhabitants. In El Salvador there have been 15 recorded tsunamis between 1859 and 2012, 3 of them causing damages and hundreds of victims. The hazard assessment is commonly based on propagation numerical models for earthquake-generated tsunamis and can be approached from both Probabilistic and Deterministic Methods. A deterministic approximation has been applied in this study as it provides essential information for coastal planning and management. The objective of the research was twofold, on the one hand the characterization of the threat over the entire coast of El Salvador, and on the other the computation of flooding maps for the three main localities of the Salvadorian coast. For the latter we developed high resolution flooding models. For the former, due to the extension of the coastal area, we computed maximum elevation maps and from the elevation in the near-shore we computed an estimation of the run-up and the flooded area using empirical relations. We have considered local sources located in the Middle America Trench, characterized seismotectonically, and distant sources in the rest of Pacific basin, using historical and recent earthquakes and tsunamis. We used a hybrid finite differences - finite volumes numerical model in this work, based on the Linear and Non-linear Shallow Water Equations, to simulate a total of 24 earthquake generated tsunami scenarios. In the western Salvadorian coast, run-up values higher than 5 m are common, while in the eastern area, approximately from La Libertad to the Gulf of Fonseca, the run-up values are lower. The more exposed areas to flooding are the lowlands in the Lempa River delta and the Barra de Santiago Western Plains. The results of the empirical approximation used for the whole country are similar to the results obtained with the high resolution

Tsunami hazard assessment in El Salvador, Central America, from seismic sources through flooding numerical models.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Álvarez-Gómez, J. A.; Aniel-Quiroga, Í.; Gutiérrez-Gutiérrez, O. Q.; Larreynaga, J.; González, M.; Castro, M.; Gavidia, F.; Aguirre-Ayerbe, I.; González-Riancho, P.; Carreño, E.

2013-11-01

El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America; its coast has an approximate length of 320 km, 29 municipalities and more than 700 000 inhabitants. In El Salvador there were 15 recorded tsunamis between 1859 and 2012, 3 of them causing damages and resulting in hundreds of victims. Hazard assessment is commonly based on propagation numerical models for earthquake-generated tsunamis and can be approached through both probabilistic and deterministic methods. A deterministic approximation has been applied in this study as it provides essential information for coastal planning and management. The objective of the research was twofold: on the one hand the characterization of the threat over the entire coast of El Salvador, and on the other the computation of flooding maps for the three main localities of the Salvadorian coast. For the latter we developed high-resolution flooding models. For the former, due to the extension of the coastal area, we computed maximum elevation maps, and from the elevation in the near shore we computed an estimation of the run-up and the flooded area using empirical relations. We have considered local sources located in the Middle America Trench, characterized seismotectonically, and distant sources in the rest of Pacific Basin, using historical and recent earthquakes and tsunamis. We used a hybrid finite differences-finite volumes numerical model in this work, based on the linear and non-linear shallow water equations, to simulate a total of 24 earthquake-generated tsunami scenarios. Our results show that at the western Salvadorian coast, run-up values higher than 5 m are common, while in the eastern area, approximately from La Libertad to the Gulf of Fonseca, the run-up values are lower. The more exposed areas to flooding are the lowlands in the Lempa River delta and the Barra de Santiago Western Plains. The results of the empirical approximation used for the whole country are similar to the results

Ober's Island: The Mallard Ober's Island, One of the ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Ober's Island: The Mallard - Ober's Island, One of the Review Islands on Rainy Lake, bounded on the south by The Hawk Island and on the north by The Crow Island. These islands are located seven miles east of Ranier, Minnesota, three miles west of Voyageur National Park, and one mile south of the international border of the United States of America and Canada. The legal description of Mallard Island is Lot 6, Section 19, T-17-N, R-22-W, Koochiching County, Minnesota, Ranier, Koochiching County, MN

Storm drains as larval development and adult resting sites for Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Salvador, Brazil.

PubMed

Paploski, Igor Adolfo Dexheimer; Rodrigues, Moreno S; Mugabe, Vánio André; Kikuti, Mariana; Tavares, Aline S; Reis, Mitermayer Galvão; Kitron, Uriel; Ribeiro, Guilherme Sousa

2016-07-27

Dengue (DENV), Chikungunya (CHIKV), Zika (ZIKV), as well as yellow fever (YFV) viruses are transmitted to humans by Aedes spp. females. In Salvador, the largest urban center in north-eastern Brazil, the four DENV types have been circulating, and more recently, CHIKV and ZIKV have also become common. We studied the role of storm drains as Aedes larval development and adult resting sites in four neighbourhoods of Salvador, representing different socioeconomic, infrastructure and topographic conditions. A sample of 122 storm drains in the four study sites were surveyed twice during a 4-month period in 2015; in 49.0 % of the visits, the storm drains contained water. Adults and immatures of Aedes aegypti were captured in two of the four sites, and adults and immatures of Aedes albopictus were captured in one of these two sites. A total of 468 specimens were collected: 148 Ae. aegypti (38 adults and 110 immatures), 79 Ae. albopictus (48 adults and 31 immatures), and 241 non-Aedes (mainly Culex spp.) mosquitoes (42 adults and 199 immatures). The presence of adults or immatures of Ae. aegypti in storm drains was independently associated with the presence of non-Aedes mosquitoes and with rainfall of ≤ 50 mm during the preceding week. We found that in Salvador, one of the epicentres of the 2015 ZIKV outbreak, storm drains often accumulate water and serve as larval development sites and adult resting areas for both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Vector control campaigns usually overlook storm drains, as most of the effort to prevent Ae. agypti reproduction is directed towards containers in the domicile environment. While further studies are needed to determine the added contribution of storm drains for the maintenance of Aedes spp. populations, we advocate that vector control programs incorporate actions directed at storm drains, including regular inspections and use of larvicides, and that human and capital resources are mobilized to modify storm drains, so that

Island Formation: Constructing a Coral Island

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Heather; Edd, Amelia

2009-01-01

The process of coral island formation is often difficult for middle school students to comprehend. Coral island formation is a dynamic process, and students should have the opportunity to experience this process in a synergistic context. The authors provide instructional guidelines for constructing a coral island. Students play an interactive role…

Drug resistance prevalence in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infected pediatric populations in Honduras and El Salvador during 1989-2009.

PubMed

Holguín, Africa; Erazo, Karen; Escobar, Gustavo; de Mulder, Miguel; Yebra, Gonzalo; Martín, Leticia; Jovel, Luis Enrique; Castaneda, Luis; Pérez, Elsy

2011-05-01

Emergence of viral resistance is a major obstacle for antiretroviral treatment (ART) effectiveness. Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) variants and drug-resistance mutations were identified in naive and antiretroviral drug-experienced children with virologic failure, in Honduras and El Salvador. Dried blood spots (DBS) from 80 individuals (54 from Honduras, 26 from El Salvador) infected during their childhood between 1989 and 2009 were collected in 2009. The HIV pol region was amplified and sequenced to identify antiretroviral-resistant mutations according to the 2009 International AIDS Society. The genotypic drug resistance interpretation was performed using the Stanford algorithm. HIV-1 variants were characterized by phylogenetic analysis and subtyping tools. HIV-1 protease and reverse transcription sequences were obtained from DBS specimens in 71 and 66 patients, respectively, of the 80 patients. All children were native Central Americans carrying subtype B, with a mean age of 9 years, most were male (65%), perinatally infected (96%), with moderate/severe AIDS symptoms (70%), and receiving first line ART at the time of sequencing (65%). Diagnostic delay was frequently observed. Infected children from Honduras presented longer ART experience and clinical outcomes, and more frequent severe symptoms. Resistant variants infected 1 of 11 naive children from El Salvador but none of the perinatally infected naive children from Honduras. Resistance was higher among ART-exposed individuals in both countries and similar for protease inhibitors (16%), nucleoside reverse transcription inhibitors (44%-52%), and nonnucleoside reverse-transcription inhibitors (66.7%). One in 10 pretreated children in each country was infected with resistant viruses to the 3 drug families. Our data support the need for continued surveillance of resistance patterns using DBS at national levels among naive and pretreated children to optimize the ART regimens.

Habitat and environment of islands: primary and supplemental island sets

USGS Publications Warehouse

Matalas, Nicholas C.; Grossling, Bernardo F.

2002-01-01

The original intent of the study was to develop a first-order synopsis of island hydrology with an integrated geologic basis on a global scale. As the study progressed, the aim was broadened to provide a framework for subsequent assessments on large regional or global scales of island resources and impacts on those resources that are derived from global changes. Fundamental to the study was the development of a comprehensive framework?a wide range of parameters that describe a set of 'saltwater' islands sufficiently large to Characterize the spatial distribution of the world?s islands; Account for all major archipelagos; Account for almost all oceanically isolated islands, and Account collectively for a very large proportion of the total area of the world?s islands whereby additional islands would only marginally contribute to the representativeness and accountability of the island set. The comprehensive framework, which is referred to as the ?Primary Island Set,? is built on 122 parameters that describe 1,000 islands. To complement the investigations based on the Primary Island Set, two supplemental island sets, Set A?Other Islands (not in the Primary Island Set) and Set B?Lagoonal Atolls, are included in the study. The Primary Island Set, together with the Supplemental Island Sets A and B, provides a framework that can be used in various scientific disciplines for their island-based studies on broad regional or global scales. The study uses an informal, coherent, geophysical organization of the islands that belong to the three island sets. The organization is in the form of a global island chain, which is a particular sequential ordering of the islands referred to as the 'Alisida.' The Alisida was developed through a trial-and-error procedure by seeking to strike a balance between 'minimizing the length of the global chain' and 'maximizing the chain?s geophysical coherence.' The fact that an objective function cannot be minimized and maximized simultaneously

Heat Islands

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA's Heat Island Effect Site provides information on heat islands, their impacts, mitigation strategies, related research, a directory of heat island reduction initiatives in U.S. communities, and EPA's Heat Island Reduction Program.

Migration transition in small Northern and Eastern Caribbean states.

PubMed

Mcelroy, J L; De Albuquerque, K

1988-01-01

1 area of intra-Caribbean migration that has been overlooked is the "migration transition"--the transformation of rapidly modernizing societies from net labor exporters to net labor importers. This article assembles 8 case studies to 1) briefly present a spectrum of migration experiences in the Caribbean, 2) uncover some transitions under way, 3) pinpoint the forces that underlie the migration transition, and 4) point out some of the more important policy implications of labor migration reversals. The 8 island societies sampled for illustration purposes include 1) the Bahamas and the US Virgin Islands as post-migration transition societies (Zelinsky's advanced society), 2) the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands as undergoing transition (Zelinsky's late transitional society), and 3) Anguilla, St. Kitts-Nevis, Turks and Caicos, and Montserrat as premigration transition societies (Zelinsky's early transitional society). Population data for the islands were derived primarily from the West Indian censuses and government statistics. These 8 historical sketches reveal certain commonalities. All are at various stages in a long-term economic restructuring to displace traditional staple crops with more income elastic, high value export services. In such societies, population growth and progress along the migration transition is an increasing function of this kind of successful export substitution. In addition, along the migration and economic transitions, such insular economies exhibit a relatively large public sector (20-30% of all activity), declining unemployment, increasing fiscal autonomy, and are committed to a development strategy remarkably similar to the "successful" model of the Bahamas and the US Virgin Islands. Cursory evidence suggests that, because of intersectoral competition for land and labor, there is an inverse relationship between farm effort/manufacturing employment and tourism intensity. This review suggests that small islands undergoing

Spatial distribution of unspecified chronic kidney disease in El Salvador by crop area cultivated and ambient temperature.

PubMed

VanDervort, Darcy R; López, Dina L; Orantes, Carlos M; Rodríguez, David S

2014-04-01

Chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology is occurring in various geographic areas worldwide. Cases lack typical risk factors associated with chronic kidney disease, such as diabetes and hypertension. It is epidemic in El Salvador, Central America, where it is diagnosed with increasing frequency in young, otherwise-healthy male farmworkers. Suspected causes include agrochemical use (especially in sugarcane fields), physical heat stress, and heavy metal exposure. To evaluate the geographic relationship between unspecified chronic kidney disease (unCKD) and nondiabetic chronic renal failure (ndESRD) hospital admissions in El Salvador with the proximity to cultivated crops and ambient temperatures. Data on unCKD and ndESRD were compared with environmental variables, crop area cultivated (indicator of agrochemical use) and high ambient temperatures. Using geographically weighted regression analysis, two model sets were created using reported municipal hospital admission rates are per thousand population for unCKD 2006-2010 and rates of ndESRD 2005-2010 [corrected]. These were assessed against local percent of land cultivated by crop (sugarcane, coffee, corn, cotton, sorghum, and beans) and mean maximum ambient temperature, with Moran's indices determining data clustering. Two-dimensional geographic models illustrated parameter spatial distribution. Bivariate geographically weighted regressions showed statistically significant correlations between percent area of sugarcane, corn, cotton, coffee, and bean cultivation, as well as mean maximum ambient temperature with both unCKD and ndESRD hospital admission rates. Percent area of sugarcane cultivation had greatest statistical weight (p ≤ 0.001; Rp2 = 0.77 for unCKD). The most statistically significant multivariate geographically weighted regression model for unCKD included percent area of sugarcane, cotton and corn cultivation (p ≤ 0.001; Rp2 = 0.80), while, for ndESRD, it included the percent area of sugarcane, corn

Marvels of illusion: illusion and perception in the art of Salvador Dali

PubMed Central

Martinez-Conde, Susana; Conley, Dave; Hine, Hank; Kropf, Joan; Tush, Peter; Ayala, Andrea; Macknik, Stephen L.

2015-01-01

The surrealist movement aimed to blur the distinction between the real and the imagined. Such lack of a border between demonstrable truth and fantasy is perhaps most apparent in the art of Spanish painter Salvador Dali (1904–1989). Dali included numerous illusions in his artworks, with the intent to challenge the viewers' perceptions of reality and to enable them to see beyond the surface. The “Marvels of Illusion” exhibit, shown at The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL., from June 14 to October 12, 2014, showcased Dali paintings, prints and sculptures centered on illusory themes. Here, we review the significance of illusions in Dali's art, focusing on the pieces displayed at the “Marvels of Illusion” exhibit. PMID:26483651

Mapping tropical dry forest height, foliage height profiles and disturbance type and age with a time series of cloud-cleared Landsat and ALI image mosaics to characterize avian habitat

Treesearch

E.H. Helmer; Thomas S. Ruzycki; Jr. Joseph M. Wunderle; Shannon Vogesser; Bonnie Ruefenacht; Charles Kwit; Thomas J. Brandeis; David N. Ewert

2010-01-01

Remote sensing of forest vertical structure is possible with lidar data, but lidar is not widely available. Here we map tropical dry forest height (RMSE=0.9 m, R2=0.84, range 0.6–7 m), and we map foliage height profiles, with a time series of Landsat and Advanced Land Imager (ALI) imagery on the island of Eleuthera, The Bahamas, substituting time for vertical canopy...

Aleutian Islands

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-05-21

Remote, rugged and extraordinarily beautiful, Alaska’s Aleutian Islands are best known for wildlife reserves, military bases, fishing, furs and fog. The sprawling volcanic archipelago was brought into the spotlight by the Russian-supported expedition of Alexey Chirikov and Vitus Bering in 1741, and soon became controlled by the Russian-American Fur Company. In 1867 the United States purchased Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands, from Russia. By 1900 the port in Unalaska was well established as a shipping port for Alaska gold. The archipelago sweeps about 1,200 miles (1,800 km) from the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula to Attu, the most westward island. Four major island groups hold 14 large islands, about 55 smaller islands, and a large number of islets, adding up to roughly 150 islands/islets in total. This chain separates the Bering Sea (north) from the Pacific Ocean (south) and the islands are connected by the Marine Highway Ferry – at least as far as Unalaska. For the most remote islands, such as birding paradise of Attu, the western-most Aleutian Island, travel becomes trickier and relies primarily on custom charter. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flew over the region and captured this spectacular true-color image of the eastern Aleutian Islands on May 15, 2014. In this image, the Alaskan Peninsula protrudes from the mainland and sweeps to the southwest. The first set of islands are called the Fox Island group. Unalaska Island is part of this group and can be identified, with some imagination, as an island formed in the shape of a flying cherub, with two arms (peninsulas) outstretched towards the northeast, seemingly reaching for the round “balls” of Akutan and Akun Islands. The smallest islands in the west of the image belong to the group known as the Islands of Four Mountains. The Aleutians continue far to the west of this image. Fog surrounds the Aleutians, stretching from just off the southwestern Alaska mainland to the

Tenarife Island, Canary Island Archipelago, Atlantic Ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

Tenarife Island is one of the most volcanically active of the Canary Island archipelago, Atlantic Ocean, just off the NW coast of Africa, (28.5N, 16.5W). The old central caldera, nearly filled in by successive volcanic activity culminating in two stratocones. From those two peaks, a line of smaller cinder cones extend to the point of the island. Extensive gullies dissect the west side of the island and some forests still remain on the east side.

Tenarife Island, Canary Island Archipelago, Atlantic Ocean

NASA Image and Video Library

1991-08-11

Tenarife Island is one of the most volcanically active of the Canary Island archipelago, Atlantic Ocean, just off the NW coast of Africa, (28.5N, 16.5W). The old central caldera, nearly filled in by successive volcanic activity culminating in two stratocones. From those two peaks, a line of smaller cinder cones extend to the point of the island. Extensive gullies dissect the west side of the island and some forests still remain on the east side.

Localized massive halo properties in BAHAMAS and MACSIS simulations: scalings, log-normality, and covariance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farahi, Arya; Evrard, August E.; McCarthy, Ian; Barnes, David J.; Kay, Scott T.

2018-05-01

Using tens of thousands of halos realized in the BAHAMAS and MACSIS simulations produced with a consistent astrophysics treatment that includes AGN feedback, we validate a multi-property statistical model for the stellar and hot gas mass behavior in halos hosting groups and clusters of galaxies. The large sample size allows us to extract fine-scale mass-property relations (MPRs) by performing local linear regression (LLR) on individual halo stellar mass (Mstar) and hot gas mass (Mgas) as a function of total halo mass (Mhalo). We find that: 1) both the local slope and variance of the MPRs run with mass (primarily) and redshift (secondarily); 2) the conditional likelihood, p(Mstar, Mgas| Mhalo, z) is accurately described by a multivariate, log-normal distribution, and; 3) the covariance of Mstar and Mgas at fixed Mhalo is generally negative, reflecting a partially closed baryon box model for high mass halos. We validate the analytical population model of Evrard et al. (2014), finding sub-percent accuracy in the log-mean halo mass selected at fixed property, ⟨ln Mhalo|Mgas⟩ or ⟨ln Mhalo|Mstar⟩, when scale-dependent MPR parameters are employed. This work highlights the potential importance of allowing for running in the slope and scatter of MPRs when modeling cluster counts for cosmological studies. We tabulate LLR fit parameters as a function of halo mass at z = 0, 0.5 and 1 for two popular mass conventions.

Canary Islands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

This easterly looking view shows the seven major volcanic islands of the Canary Island chain (28.0N, 16.5W) and offers a unique view of the islands that have become a frequent vacation spot for Europeans. The northwest coastline of Africa, (Morocco and Western Sahara), is visible in the background. Frequently, these islands create an impact on local weather (cloud formations) and ocean currents (island wakes) as seen in this photo.

Subsurface architecture of a strike-slip collapse structure: insights from Ilopango caldera, El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saxby, Jennifer; Gottsmann, Joachim; Cashman, Katherine; Gutierrez, Eduardo

2016-04-01

While most calderas are created by roof collapse along ring-like faults into an emptying magma reservoir during a large and violent explosive eruption, an additional condition for caldera formation may be tectonically induced extensional stresses. Here we provide geophysical insights into the shallow sub-volcanic plumbing system of a collapse caldera in a major strike-slip tectonic setting by inverting Bouguer gravity data from the Ilopango caldera in El Salvador. Despite a long history of catastrophic eruptions with the most recent in 500 A.D., the internal architecture of the caldera has not been investigated, although studies of the most recent eruption have not identified the ring faults commonly associated with caldera collapse. The gravity data show that low-density material aligned along the principal stress orientations of the El Salvador Fault Zone (ESFZ) forms a pronounced gravity low beneath the caldera. Extending to around 6 km depth, the low density structure likely maps a complex stacked shallow plumbing system composed of magmatic and fractured hydrothermal reservoirs. A substantial volume of the plumbing system must be composed of a vapour phase to explain the modeled negative density contrasts. We use these constraints to map the possible multi-phase parameter space contributing to the subsurface architecture of the caldera and propose that the local extension along the complex ESFZ controls accumulation, ascent and eruption of magma at Ilopango. The data further suggest that future eruptions at Ilopango could be facilitated by rapid rise of magma along conjugate fault damage zones through a mechanically weak crust under tension. This may explain the absence of clear ring fault structures at the caldera.

Active crustal deformation of the El Salvador Fault Zone by integrating geodetic, seismological and geological data: application in seismic hazard assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staller, A.; Benito, B.; Martínez-Díaz, J.; Hernández, D.; Hernández-Rey, R.

2013-05-01

El Salvador, Central America, is part of the Chortis block in the northwestern boundary of the Caribbean plate. This block is interacting with a diffuse triple junction point with the Cocos and North American plates. Among the structures that cut the Miocene to Pleistocene volcanic deposits stands out the El Salvador Fault Zone (ESFZ): It is oriented in N90-100E direction, and it is composed of several structural segments that deform Quaternary deposits with right-lateral and oblique slip motions. The ESFZ is seismically active and capable of producing earthquakes such as the February 13, 2001 with Mw 6.6 (Martínez-Díaz et al., 2004), that seriously affected the population, leaving many casualties. This structure plays an important role in the tectonics of the Chortis block, since its motion is directly related to the drift of the Caribbean plate to the east and not with the partitioning of the deformation of the Cocos subduction (here not coupled) (Álvarez-Gómez et al., 2008). Together with the volcanic arc of El Salvador, this zone constitutes a weakness area that allows the motion of forearc block toward the NW. The geometry and the degree of activity of the ESFZ are not studied enough. However their knowledge is essential to understand the seismic hazard associated to this important seismogenic structure. For this reason, since 2007 a GPS dense network was established along the ESFZ (ZFESNet) in order to obtain GPS velocity measurements which are later used to explain the nature of strain accumulation on major faults along the ESFZ. The current work aims at understanding active crustal deformation of the ESFZ through kinematic model. The results provide significant information to be included in a new estimation of seismic hazard taking into account the major structures in ESFZ.

Island-Trapped Waves, Internal Waves, and Island Circulation

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-30

from the government of Palau to allow us to deliver some water and food to the officers. Governor Patris of Hatohobei State and the Coral Reef ...Island-trapped waves , internal waves , and island circulation T. M. Shaun Johnston Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California...large islands (Godfrey, 1989; Firing et al., 1999); • Westward propagating eddies and/or Rossby waves encounter large islands and produce boundary

Eco-geomorphic processes that maintain a small coral reef island: Ballast Island in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kayanne, Hajime; Aoki, Kenji; Suzuki, Takuya; Hongo, Chuki; Yamano, Hiroya; Ide, Yoichi; Iwatsuka, Yuudai; Takahashi, Kenya; Katayama, Hiroyuki; Sekimoto, Tsunehiro; Isobe, Masahiko

2016-10-01

Landform changes in Ballast Island, a small coral reef island in the Ryukyu Islands, were investigated by remote sensing analysis and a field survey. The area of the island almost doubled after a mass coral bleaching event in 1998. Coral branches generated by the mass mortality and broken by waves were delivered and stocked on a reef flat and accumulated to expand the area of the island. In 2012 high waves generated by typhoons also changed the island's topography. Overall, the island moved in the downdrift direction of the higher waves. Waves impacting both sides of the island piled up a large volume of coral gravels above the high-tide level. Eco-geomorphic processes, including a supply of calcareous materials from the corals on the same reef especially during stormy wave conditions, were key factors in maintaining the dynamic topographic features of this small coral reef island.

Galapagos Islands

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

This true-color image of the Galapagos Islands was acquired on March 12, 2002, by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASA's Terra satellite. The Galapagos Islands, which are part of Ecuador, sit in the Pacific Ocean about 1000 km (620 miles) west of South America. As the three craters on the largest island (Isabela Island) suggest, the archipelago was created by volcanic eruptions, which took place millions of years ago. Unlike most remote islands in the Pacific, the Galapagos have gone relatively untouched by humans over the past few millennia. As a result, many unique species have continued to thrive on the islands. Over 95 percent of the islands' reptile species and nearly three quarters of its land bird species cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Two of the more well known are the Galapagos giant tortoise and marine iguanas. The unhindered evolutionary development of the islands' species inspired Charles Darwin to begin The Origin of Species eight years after his visit there. To preserve the unique wildlife on the islands, the Ecuadorian government made the entire archipelago a national park in 1959. Each year roughly 60,000 tourists visit these islands to experience what Darwin did over a century and a half ago. Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC

Targeting U. S. Technologies: A Trend Analysis of Cleared Industry Reporting

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

conducted a scientic analysis that traced a particular disease outbreak to one specic London well, and demonstrated that cholera befell only those...Islands Chile Colombia Costa Rica Cuba Curacao Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico

Monitoring and behavior of unsaturated volcanic pyroclastic in the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, El Salvador.

PubMed

Chávez, José Alexander; Landaverde, José; Landaverde, Reynaldo López; Tejnecký, Václav

2016-01-01

Field monitoring and laboratory results are presented for an unsaturated volcanic pyroclastic. The pyroclastic belongs to the latest plinian eruption of the Ilopango Caldera in the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, and is constantly affected by intense erosion, collapse, slab failure, sand/silt/debris flowslide and debris avalanche during the rainy season or earthquakes. Being the flowslides more common but with smaller volume. During the research, preliminary results of rain threshold were obtained of flowslides, this was recorded with the TMS3 (a moisture sensor device using time domain transmission) installed in some slopes. TMS3 has been used before in biology, ecology and soil sciences, and for the first time was used for engineering geology in this research. This device uses electromagnetic waves to obtain moisture content of the soil and a calibration curve is necessary. With the behavior observed during this project is possible to conclude that not only climatic factors as rain quantity, temperature and evaporation are important into landslide susceptibility but also information of suction-moisture content, seepage, topography, weathering, ground deformation, vibrations, cracks, vegetation/roots and the presence of crust covering the surface are necessary to research in each site. Results of the field monitoring indicates that the presence of biological soil crusts a complex mosaic of soil, green algae, lichens, mosses, micro-fungi, cyanobacteria and other bacteria covering the slopes surface can protect somehow the steep slopes reducing the runoff process and mass wasting processes. The results obtained during the assessment will help explaining the mass wasting problems occurring in some pyroclastic soils and its possible use in mitigation works and early warning system.

Identification of a consistent polyene component of purple pigment in diseased sclerites of Caribbean corals across region, species, and insult agent.

PubMed

Fetterolf, Monty L; Leverette, Chad L; Perez, Christopher; Smith, Garriet W

2017-10-05

Gorgonians respond to insult (damage and disease) by producing sclerites containing a purple pigment as opposed to the normal white sclerites. Raman microscopy is used to study the purple areas of three species of diseased coral, Gorgonia ventalina, Pseudoplexaura porosa, and Eunicea laciniata obtained from Puerto Rico. These spectra were compared to Gorgonia ventalina samples previously reported that were obtained from San Salvador, Bahamas. Spectra from two samples of G. ventalina that had been infected by different agents, Aspergillus sydowii and a slime mold, were also obtained. The results indicate that the purple compounds (polyenes) generated by the coral in response to infection are similar regardless of region from which the coral were harvested, of species of coral, and of the infective agent. A discussion of the Raman spectra of G. ventalina and the other coral species is presented. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Early meteorological records from Latin-America and the Caribbean during the 18th and 19th centuries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domínguez-Castro, Fernando; Vaquero, José Manuel; Gallego, María Cruz; Farrona, Ana María Marín; Antuña-Marrero, Juan Carlos; Cevallos, Erika Elizabeth; Herrera, Ricardo García; de La Guía, Cristina; Mejía, Raúl David; Naranjo, José Manuel; Del Rosario Prieto, María; Ramos Guadalupe, Luis Enrique; Seiner, Lizardo; Trigo, Ricardo Machado; Villacís, Marcos

2017-11-01

This paper provides early instrumental data recovered for 20 countries of Latin-America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, British Guiana, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France (Martinique and Guadalupe), Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Suriname) during the 18th and 19th centuries. The main meteorological variables retrieved were air temperature, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation, but other variables, such as humidity, wind direction, and state of the sky were retrieved when possible. In total, more than 300,000 early instrumental data were rescued (96% with daily resolution). Especial effort was made to document all the available metadata in order to allow further post-processing. The compilation is far from being exhaustive, but the dataset will contribute to a better understanding of climate variability in the region, and to enlarging the period of overlap between instrumental data and natural/documentary proxies.

Early meteorological records from Latin-America and the Caribbean during the 18th and 19th centuries

PubMed Central

Domínguez-Castro, Fernando; Vaquero, José Manuel; Gallego, María Cruz; Farrona, Ana María Marín; Antuña-Marrero, Juan Carlos; Cevallos, Erika Elizabeth; Herrera, Ricardo García; de la Guía, Cristina; Mejía, Raúl David; Naranjo, José Manuel; del Rosario Prieto, María; Ramos Guadalupe, Luis Enrique; Seiner, Lizardo; Trigo, Ricardo Machado; Villacís, Marcos

2017-01-01

This paper provides early instrumental data recovered for 20 countries of Latin-America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, British Guiana, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France (Martinique and Guadalupe), Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Suriname) during the 18th and 19th centuries. The main meteorological variables retrieved were air temperature, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation, but other variables, such as humidity, wind direction, and state of the sky were retrieved when possible. In total, more than 300,000 early instrumental data were rescued (96% with daily resolution). Especial effort was made to document all the available metadata in order to allow further post-processing. The compilation is far from being exhaustive, but the dataset will contribute to a better understanding of climate variability in the region, and to enlarging the period of overlap between instrumental data and natural/documentary proxies. PMID:29135974

Early meteorological records from Latin-America and the Caribbean during the 18th and 19th centuries.

PubMed

Domínguez-Castro, Fernando; Vaquero, José Manuel; Gallego, María Cruz; Farrona, Ana María Marín; Antuña-Marrero, Juan Carlos; Cevallos, Erika Elizabeth; Herrera, Ricardo García; de la Guía, Cristina; Mejía, Raúl David; Naranjo, José Manuel; Del Rosario Prieto, María; Ramos Guadalupe, Luis Enrique; Seiner, Lizardo; Trigo, Ricardo Machado; Villacís, Marcos

2017-11-14

This paper provides early instrumental data recovered for 20 countries of Latin-America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, British Guiana, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France (Martinique and Guadalupe), Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, El Salvador and Suriname) during the 18th and 19th centuries. The main meteorological variables retrieved were air temperature, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation, but other variables, such as humidity, wind direction, and state of the sky were retrieved when possible. In total, more than 300,000 early instrumental data were rescued (96% with daily resolution). Especial effort was made to document all the available metadata in order to allow further post-processing. The compilation is far from being exhaustive, but the dataset will contribute to a better understanding of climate variability in the region, and to enlarging the period of overlap between instrumental data and natural/documentary proxies.

Ober's Island, One of the Review Islands on Rainy Lake, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Ober's Island, One of the Review Islands on Rainy Lake, bounded on the south by The Hawk Island and on the north by The Crow Island. These islands are located seven miles east of Ranier, Minnesota, three miles west of Voyageur National Park, and one mile south of the international border of the United States of America and Canada. The legal description of Mallard Island is Lot 6, Section 19, T-17-N, R-22-W, Koochiching County, Minnesota, Ranier, Koochiching County, MN

Bahamian Pleistocene model for some Mississippian oolites

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

Bain, R.J.

1989-08-01

San Salvador Island, unlike most Bahamian islands, is a narrow isolated platform surrounded by deep ocean. Therefore, sedimentary deposits on San Salvador must be explained in terms of processes and settings on this narrow, isolated shelf. Pleistocene oolite occurs between Illinoian and Wisconsinan paleosols. Dune ridges of up to 120 ft are composed of Pleistocene cross-bedded oolitic grainstone, whereas interdunal deposits are bioclastic packstone and wackestone containing abundant Chione cancellata. In lower dunal deposits, bioclastic content increases and the degree of sorting decreases. A fenestral porosity zone occurs approximately 5 ft above present-day sea level. In several ridges, oolite drapesmore » over older paleosol-capped bioclastic ridges. During the Sangamonian, sea water flooded the platform, however some remnant Aftonian ridges remained above sea level. As cold water from the surrounding deep ocean warmed on the shelf, ooids were generated and were washed onto beaches and blown into dunes. Remnant ridges restricted water movement and acted as nucleii for eolian ooid dunes. As sea level continued to rise, ooids were replaced by lagoonal bioclastic deposits. Ooid production was restricted to the swash zone along beaches resulting in the mixture of ooids and bioclastic sand in later Sangamonian deposits. Numerous Mississippian oolites display features similar to the Pleistocene oolite of San Salvador Island. Possible comparisons include thick lenses of Ste. Genevieve and Bangor limestones, paleosols in the Ste. Genevieve halo-shaped bodies of Greenbrier oolite, and the relationship of nearly all olites with bioclastic facies.« less

High Zika Virus Seroprevalence in Salvador, Northeastern Brazil Limits the Potential for Further Outbreaks.

PubMed

Netto, Eduardo Martins; Moreira-Soto, Andres; Pedroso, Celia; Höser, Christoph; Funk, Sebastian; Kucharski, Adam J; Rockstroh, Alexandra; Kümmerer, Beate M; Sampaio, Gilmara Souza; Luz, Estela; Vaz, Sara Nunes; Dias, Juarez Pereira; Bastos, Fernanda Anjos; Cabral, Renata; Kistemann, Thomas; Ulbert, Sebastian; de Lamballerie, Xavier; Jaenisch, Thomas; Brady, Oliver J; Drosten, Christian; Sarno, Manoel; Brites, Carlos; Drexler, Jan Felix

2017-11-14

During 2015 to 2016, Brazil reported more Zika virus (ZIKV) cases than any other country, yet population exposure remains unknown. Serological studies of ZIKV are hampered by cross-reactive immune responses against heterologous viruses. We conducted serosurveys for ZIKV, dengue virus (DENV), and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in 633 individuals prospectively sampled during 2015 to 2016, including microcephaly and non-microcephaly pregnancies, HIV-infected patients, tuberculosis patients, and university staff in Salvador in northeastern Brazil using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and plaque reduction neutralization tests. Sera sampled retrospectively during 2013 to 2015 from 277 HIV-infected patients were used to assess the spread of ZIKV over time. Individuals were georeferenced, and sociodemographic indicators were compared between ZIKV-positive and -negative areas and areas with and without microcephaly cases. Epidemiological key parameters were modeled in a Bayesian framework. ZIKV seroprevalence increased rapidly during 2015 to 2016, reaching 63.3% by 2016 (95% confidence interval [CI], 59.4 to 66.8%), comparable to the seroprevalence of DENV (75.7%; CI, 69.4 to 81.1%) and higher than that of CHIKV (7.4%; CI, 5.6 to 9.8%). Of 19 microcephaly pregnancies, 94.7% showed ZIKV IgG antibodies, compared to 69.3% of 257 non-microcephaly pregnancies ( P = 0.017). Analyses of sociodemographic data revealed a higher ZIKV burden in low socioeconomic status (SES) areas. High seroprevalence, combined with case data dynamics allowed estimates of the basic reproduction number R 0 of 2.1 (CI, 1.8 to 2.5) at the onset of the outbreak and an effective reproductive number R eff of <1 in subsequent years. Our data corroborate ZIKV-associated congenital disease and an association of low SES and ZIKV infection and suggest that population immunity caused cessation of the outbreak. Similar studies from other areas will be required to determine the fate of the American ZIKV

Television and Educational Reform in El Salvador. Follow-Up Study On the First Group of Ninth Grade Graduates. Research Report Number 12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingle, Henry T.; And Others

A follow-up study of the first students to finish the Third Cycle (grades 8, 9, and 10) under El Salvador's Educational Reform Program interviewed 400 students. It assessed their educational and career plans, examined the Reform's influence on them, and measured their attitudes toward their experience. Results showed that 90 percent were…

The 2012 August 27 Mw7.3 El Salvador earthquake: expression of weak coupling on the Middle America subduction zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geirsson, Halldor; LaFemina, Peter C.; DeMets, Charles; Hernandez, Douglas Antonio; Mattioli, Glen S.; Rogers, Robert; Rodriguez, Manuel; Marroquin, Griselda; Tenorio, Virginia

2015-09-01

Subduction zones exhibit variable degrees of interseismic coupling as resolved by inversions of geodetic data and analyses of seismic energy release. The degree to which a plate boundary fault is coupled can have profound effects on its seismogenic behaviour. Here we use GPS measurements to estimate co- and post-seismic deformation from the 2012 August 27, Mw7.3 megathrust earthquake offshore El Salvador, which was a tsunami earthquake. Inversions of estimated coseismic displacements are in agreement with published seismically derived source models, which indicate shallow (<20 km depth) rupture of the plate interface. Measured post-seismic deformation in the first year following the earthquake exceeds the coseismic deformation. Our analysis indicates that the post-seismic deformation is dominated by afterslip, as opposed to viscous relaxation, and we estimate a post-seismic moment release one to eight times greater than the coseismic moment during the first 500 d, depending on the relative location of coseismic versus post-seismic slip on the plate interface. We suggest that the excessive post-seismic motion is characteristic for the El Salvador-Nicaragua segment of the Central American margin and may be a characteristic of margins hosting tsunami earthquakes.

Multidecadal shoreline changes of atoll islands in the Marshall Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ford, M.

2012-12-01

Atoll islands are considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of continued sea level rise. One of the most commonly predicted outcomes of continued sea level rise is widespread and chronic shoreline erosion. Despite the widespread implications of predicted erosion, the decadal scale changes of atoll island shorelines are poorly resolved. The Marshall Islands is one of only four countries where the majority of inhabited land is comprised of reef and atoll islands. Consisting of 29 atolls and 5 mid-ocean reef islands, the Marshall Islands are considered highly vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise. A detailed analysis of shoreline change on over 300 islands on 10 atolls was undertaken using historic aerial photos (1945-1978) and modern high resolution satellite imagery (2004-2012). Results highlight the complex and dynamic nature of atoll islands, with significant shifts in shoreline position observed over the period of analysis. Results suggest shoreline accretion is the dominant mode of change on the islands studied, often associated with a net increase in vegetated island area. However, considerable inter- and intra-atoll variability exists with regards to shoreline stability. Findings are discussed with respect to island morphodynamics and potential hazard mitigation and planning responses within atoll settings.

Epidemiological characteristics of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes in women of agricultural communities of El Salvador.

PubMed

Orantes Navarro, Carlos M; Herrera Valdés, Raúl; López, Miguel Almaguer; Calero, Denis J; Fuentes de Morales, Jackeline; Alvarado Ascencio, Nelly P; Vela Parada, Xavier F; Zelaya Quezada, Susana M; Granados Castro, Delmy V; Orellana de Figueroa, Patricia

2015-01-01

In El Salvador end-stage renal disease (ESRD) was the first cause of hospital mortality overall, the first cause of hospital deaths in men, and the fifth cause of hospital mortality in women in 2013. In agricultural communities, chronic kidney disease (CKD) occurs predominantly in male agricultural workers, but it also affects women to a lesser degree, even those who are not involved in agricultural work. Internationally, most epidemiological CKD studies emphasize men and no epidemiological studies focused exclusively on women. To describe the epidemiological characteristics of CKD in females in agricultural communities of El Salvador. A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in 2009 - 2011 based on active screening for CKD and risk factors in women aged ≥ 18 years in 3 disadvantaged populations of El Salvador: Bajo Lempa (Usulután Department), Guayapa Abajo (Ahuachapán Department), and Las Brisas (San Miguel Department). Epidemiological and clinical data were gathered through personal history, as well as urinalysis for renal damage markers, determinations of serum creatinine and glucose, and estimation of glomerular filtration rates. CKD cases were confirmed at 3 months. Prevalence of CKD was 13.9% in 1,412 women from 1,306 families studied. Chronic kidney disease of nontraditional causes (CKDu), not attributed to diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or proteinuric primary glomerulopathy (proteinuria > 1 g/L) was 6.6%. Prevalence of chronic renal failure was 6.8%. Prevalence of renal damage markers was 9.8% (microalbuminuria (30 - 300 mg/L) 5.7%; macroalbuminuria (> 300 mg/L) 2%; and hematuria, 2.1%. Prevalence of chronic kidney disease risk factors was: diabetes mellitus, 9.3%; hypertension, 23%; family history of CKD, 16%; family history of diabetes mellitus (DM), 18.7%; family history of hypertension (HT), 31.9%; obesity, 21%; central obesity, 30.7%; NSAID use, 84.3%; agricultural occupation, 15.2%; and contact with agrochemicals, 33.1%. CKD in

Drug use and treatment success among gang and non-gang members in El Salvador: a prospective cohort study

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background This article focuses on examining drug abuse treatment (DAT) in El Salvador highlighting gang vs. non-gang membership differences in drug use and treatment outcomes. Methods Cross-sectional and prospective cohort designs were employed to examine the study aims. The 19 centers that met the study’s inclusion criteria of one year or less in planned treatment offered varying treatment services: individual, group, family, and vocational therapy, dual diagnosis treatment, psychological testing, 12-step program, and outreach and re-entry aftercare. Most directors describe their treatment approach as “spiritual.” Data were collected from 625 patients, directors, and staff from the 19 centers at baseline, of which 34 patients were former gang members. Seventy-two percent (72%) of the former patients (448) were re-interviewed six-months after leaving treatment and 48% were randomly tested for drug use. Results Eighty-nine percent (89%) of the DAT patients at baseline were classified as heavy alcohol users and 40% were using illegal drugs, i.e., crack, marijuana, cocaine, tranquilizers, opiates, and amphetamines. There were large decreases after treatment in heavy alcohol and illegal drug use, crime, and gang related risk activities. Gang members reported illegal drug use, crime, and gang related risk activity more than non-gang members, yet only 5% of the study participants were gang members; further, positive change in treatment outcomes among gang members were the same or larger as compared to non-gang members. Conclusions Alcohol use is the drug of choice among DAT patients in El Salvador with gang member patients having used illegal drugs more than non-gang members. The study shows that DAT centers successfully reduced the use of illegal drugs and alcohol among gang and non-gang members. Although our study could not include a control group, we believe that the DAT treatment centers in El Salvador contributed to producing this treatment success among

Substance Abuse Disorders Treatment in El Salvador: Analysis of Policy-Making-Related Failure

PubMed Central

Dickson-Gómez, Julia

2016-01-01

Illicit drug use and substance abuse disorders have increased dramatically in developing countries during recent decades. Sadly, treatment for people diagnosed as manifesting and/or attributed with substance abuse disorders in developing countries is usually inadequate to meet demand, not evidence based, and of poor quality. In response, international health organizations have developed best-practice guidelines for substance user treatment in developing countries, although little research has evaluated their implementation. This opinion piece will examine one such effort to improve substance user treatment in El Salvador. It will be argued that the program failed (2007–2008) because of a lack of political will by the Salvadoran government through their Ministry of Health to effectively supervise, monitor, and subsidize substance user treatment. PMID:23186469

[The expression of sadness in a working class bairro in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil].

PubMed

Costa, L A; Pereira, A M

1995-01-01

This paper examines the peculiarities of the expression of emotion in a poor neighborhood from Northeastern Brazil, the bairro of Nordeste de Amaralina, in Salvador, Bahia. Focusing on the expression of sadness, we built a scheme in which to understand how the informants perceive, identify, and deal with this emotion in the course of their daily lives. We attempted to reach an understanding of the wavs people in the bairro interpret sadness. In order to accomplish this goal. we built a semantic network which revealed three main clusters of emotional expression: the inner set, the bodily set, and the interactional set. We came to realize the various superpositions benween the universe of emotional expression and the local concept of person.

Foundation Investigation for Ground Based Radar Project-Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-04-01

iL_ COPY MISCELLANEOUS PAPER GL-90-5 i iFOUNDATION INVESTIGATION FOR GROUND BASED RADAR PROJECT--KWAJALEIN ISLAND, MARSHALL ISLANDS by Donald E...C!assification) Foundatioa Investigation for Ground Based Radar Project -- Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) Yule, Donald E...investigation for the Ground Based Radar Project -- Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands , are presented.- eophysical tests comprised of surface refrac- tion

Analyzing the Learning of the Taking Personal and Social Responsibility Model within a New Physical Education Undergraduate Degree Program in El Salvador

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andre, Mauro H.; Mandigo, James L.

2013-01-01

El Salvador has an unfortunate history that includes a military regime and a civil war that together created a legacy of violence in which the country still struggles nowadays. Salud Escolar Integral (SEI) was created in 2005 by universities, federal governments, a corporate sponsor, and sport associations as a program to combat youth violence…

Earth observations taken from shuttle orbiter Columbia

NASA Image and Video Library

1995-10-27

STS073-702-051 (27 October 1995) --- Photographed by the crew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, this detailed scene of East Caicos Island highlights the shallow tropical waters typical of the Bahamas region. The contrast between the light blue shallow water and dark blue deep water marks a sharp difference (hundreds of meters) in water depth. The shallow marine regions include sandbars and tidal channels (just right of center). The coastline of the island is low and swampy, and is also greatly influenced by the tides. Further offshore, the darker regions in the slightly deeper watermark sea grass and algae beds. This sensitive submarine environment can be mapped from space because the waters are so clear. Chains of clouds forming off islands and headlands, mark the downwind direction.

Kerguelen Islands

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-05-27

This image from NASA Terra spacecraft shows the Kerguelen Islands also known as the Desolation Islands, which are part of the French Southern and Antarctic lands. The islands are among the most isolated places on Earth.

Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schumann, R. Randall; Minor, Scott A.; Muhs, Daniel R.; Pigati, Jeffery S.

2014-01-01

Santa Rosa Island (SRI) is the second-largest of the California Channel Islands. It is one of 4 east–west aligned islands forming the northern Channel Islands chain, and one of the 5 islands in Channel Islands National Park. The landforms, and collections of landforms called landscapes, of Santa Rosa Island have been created by tectonic uplift and faulting, rising and falling sea level, landslides, erosion and deposition, floods, and droughts. Landscape features, and areas delineating groups of related features on Santa Rosa Island, are mapped, classified, and described in this paper. Notable landscapes on the island include beaches, coastal plains formed on marine terraces, sand dunes, and sand sheets. In this study, the inland physiography has been classified into 4 areas based on relief and degree of fluvial dissection. Most of the larger streams on the island occupy broad valleys that have been filled with alluvium and later incised to form steep- to vertical-walled arroyos, or barrancas, leaving a relict floodplain above the present channel. A better understanding of the processes and mechanisms that created these landscapes enhances visitors’ enjoyment of their surroundings and contributes to improving land and resource management strategies in order to optimize and balance the multiple goals of conservation, preservation, restoration, and visitor experience.

Numerical modelling of rapid, flow-like landslides across 3-D terrains: a Tsunami Squares approach to El Picacho landslide, El Salvador, September 19, 1982

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jiajia; Ward, Steven N.; Xiao, Lili

2015-06-01

Flow-like landslides are rapidly moving fluid-solid mixtures that can cause significant destruction along paths that run far from their original sources. Existing models for run out prediction and motion simulation of flow-like landslides have many limitations. In this paper, we develop a new method named `Tsunami Squares' to simulate the generation, propagation and stoppage of flow-like landslides based on conservation of volume and momentum. Landslide materials in the new method form divisible squares that are displaced, then further fractured. The squares move under the influence of gravity-driven acceleration and suffer decelerations due to basal and dynamic frictions. Distinctively, this method takes into account solid and fluid mechanics, particle interactions and flow regime transitions. We apply this approach to simulate the 1982 El Picacho landslide in San Salvador, capital city of El Salvador. Landslide products from Tsunami Squares such as run out distance, velocities, erosion and deposition depths and impacted area agree well with field investigated and eyewitness data.

[Strategic planning models at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán].

PubMed

Velázquez-Pastrana, Ruth

2013-01-01

The Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (Spanish acronym INCMNSZ) is a third tier healthcare facility operated by the Mexican Ministry of Health, ando ver the years various strategic planning models have been used in its development. This paper present a brief overview of some of those strategic planning models and their application and concludes with a discussion of the lessons learned and challenges than remain.

The growth and erosion of cinder cones in Guatemala and El Salvador: Models and statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bemis, Karen; Walker, Jim; Borgia, Andrea; Turrin, Brent; Neri, Marco; Swisher, Carl, III

2011-04-01

Morphologic data for 147 cinder cones in southern Guatemala and western El Salvador are compared with data from the San Francisco volcanic field, Arizona (USA), Cima volcanic field, California (USA), Michoácan-Guanajuato volcanic field, Mexico, and the Lamongan volcanic field, East Java. The Guatemala cones have an average height of 110 +/- 50 m, an average basal diameter of 660 +/- 230 m and an average top diameter of 180 +/- 150 m. The general morphology of these cones can be described by their average cone angle of slope (24 +/- 7), average height-to-radius ratio (0.33 +/- 0.09) and their flatness (0.24 +/- 0.18). Although the mean values for the Guatemalan cones are similar to those for other volcanic fields (e.g., San Francisco volcanic field, Arizona; Cima volcanic field, California; Michoácan-Guanajuato volcanic field, Mexico; and Lamongan volcanic field, East Java), the range of morphologies encompasses almost all of those observed worldwide for cinder cones. Three new 40Ar/ 39Ar age dates are combined with 19 previously published dates for cones in Guatemala and El Salvador. There is no indication that the morphologies of these cones have changed over the last 500-1000 ka. Furthermore, a re-analysis of published data for other volcanic fields suggests that only in the Cima volcanic field (of those studied) is there clear evidence of degradation with age. Preliminary results of a numerical model of cinder cone growth are used to show that the range of morphologies observed in the Guatemalan cinder cones could all be primary, that is, due to processes occurring at the time of eruption.

Arctic ice islands

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

Sackinger, W.M.; Jeffries, M.O.; Lu, M.C.

1988-01-01

The development of offshore oil and gas resources in the Arctic waters of Alaska requires offshore structures which successfully resist the lateral forces due to moving, drifting ice. Ice islands are floating, a tabular icebergs, up to 60 meters thick, of solid ice throughout their thickness. The ice islands are thus regarded as the strongest ice features in the Arctic; fixed offshore structures which can directly withstand the impact of ice islands are possible but in some locations may be so expensive as to make oilfield development uneconomic. The resolution of the ice island problem requires two research steps: (1)more » calculation of the probability of interaction between an ice island and an offshore structure in a given region; and (2) if the probability if sufficiently large, then the study of possible interactions between ice island and structure, to discover mitigative measures to deal with the moving ice island. The ice island research conducted during the 1983-1988 interval, which is summarized in this report, was concerned with the first step. Monte Carlo simulations of ice island generation and movement suggest that ice island lifetimes range from 0 to 70 years, and that 85% of the lifetimes are less then 35 years. The simulation shows a mean value of 18 ice islands present at any time in the Arctic Ocean, with a 90% probability of less than 30 ice islands. At this time, approximately 34 ice islands are known, from observations, to exist in the Arctic Ocean, not including the 10-meter thick class of ice islands. Return interval plots from the simulation show that coastal zones of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, already leased for oil development, have ice island recurrences of 10 to 100 years. This implies that the ice island hazard must be considered thoroughly, and appropriate safety measures adopted, when offshore oil production plans are formulated for the Alaskan Arctic offshore. 132 refs., 161 figs., 17 tabs.« less

[Scorpion stings in an area of Nordeste de Amaralina, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil].

PubMed

de Amorim, Andréa Monteiro; Carvalho, Fernando Martins; Lira-da-Silva, Rejâne Maria; Brazil, Tania Kobler

2003-01-01

An epidemiological study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of individuals who referred scorpion sting accidents in a population sample from Areal, a neighborhood northeast of Amaralina, Salvador City, State of Bahia, Brazil. A random, systematic sample of 1,367 individuals was taken, corresponding to 44.4% of the total population. Eighty-two residents referred scorpion sting since they were resident in Areal, giving a prevalence coefficient of 6% (95% CI 4.7 - 7.3). The prevalence of persons stung by scorpions increased according to greater time spent in the domicile and more advanced age. It was remarkable that 92.7% of the scorpions stings occurred within the home. The incidence coefficient estimated for the most recent period of time (January to July, 2000) was 1.15 cases/1,000 inhabitants per month, comparable to the highest ever reported for an epidemic area.

Perspective View of Umnak Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska #2

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-11-04

This image is a perspective view acquired by NASA Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar AIRSAR in 2001, is of Umnak Island, one of Alaska Aleutian Islands. The active Okmok volcano appears in the center of the island.

Perspective View of Umnak Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska #1

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-11-04

This image is a perspective view acquired by NASA Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar AIRSAR in 2001, is of Umnak Island, one of Alaska Aleutian Islands. The active Okmok volcano appears in the center of the island.

Perceived parental monitoring and health risk behavior among public secondary school students in El Salvador.

PubMed

Springer, Andrew E; Sharma, Shreela; de Guardado, Alba Margarita; Nava, Francisco Vázquez; Kelder, Steven H

2006-12-28

Although parental monitoring has received considerable attention in studies of U.S. adolescents, few published studies have examined how parents' knowledge of their children's whereabouts may influence health risk behaviors in adolescents living in Latin America. We investigated the association between perceived parental monitoring and substance use, fighting, and sexual behaviors in rural and urban Salvadoran adolescents (n = 982). After adjusting for several sociodemographic covariates, multilevel regression analyses indicated that students reporting low parental monitoring were between 2 to 3.5 times more likely to report risk behaviors examined. The promotion of specific parenting practices such as parental monitoring may hold promise for reducing adolescent risk behaviors in El Salvador.

Decline and unevenness of infant mortality in Salvador, Brazil, 1980-1988.

PubMed

Paim, J S; Costa, M da C

1993-01-01

Data relating to infant mortality in Salvador, Brazil, were analyzed in order to determine how infant mortality evolved in various parts of the city during the period 1980-1988. This analysis showed sharp drops in the numbers of infant deaths, proportional infant mortality (infant deaths as a percentage of total deaths), and the infant mortality coefficient (infant deaths per thousand live births) during the study period despite deteriorating economic conditions. It also suggested that while these declines occurred throughout the city, the overall distribution of infant mortality in different reporting zones remained uneven. Among other things, these findings call attention to a need for further investigation of the roles played by various health measures (including immunization, control of respiratory and diarrheal diseases, encouragement of breast-feeding, and monitoring of growth and development) and of reduced fertility (resulting from birth spacing, use of contraceptives, and female sterilization) in bringing about declines in infant mortality during hard economic times.

75 FR 51098 - Protection Island and San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuges, Jefferson, Island, San Juan...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-18

..., Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 715 Holgerson Drive, Sequim, WA 98382. FOR FURTHER...] Protection Island and San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuges, Jefferson, Island, San Juan, Skagit, and Whatcom Counties, WA AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability: draft...

Barrier island vulnerability to breaching: a case study on Dauphin Island, Alabama

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hansen, Mark; Sallenger, Asbury H.

2007-01-01

Breaching of barrier islands can adversely impact society by severing infrastructure, destroying private properties, and altering water quality in back bays and estuaries. This study provides a scheme that assesses the relative vulnerability of a barrier island to breach during storms. Dauphin Island, Alabama was selected for this study because it has a well documented history of island breaches and extensive geological and geomorphic data. To assess the vulnerability of the island, we defined several variables contributing to the risk of breaching: island geology, breaching history, and island topography and geomorphology. These variables were combined to form a breaching index (BI) value for cross island computational bins, each bin every 50 m in the alongshore direction. Results suggest the eastern section of Dauphin Island has the lowest risk of breaching with the remaining portion of the island having a moderate to high risk of breaching. Two reaches in the western section of the island were found to be particularly vulnerable due primarily to their minimal cross-sectional dimensions.

78 FR 48668 - PSEG Long Island LLC, Long Island Electric Utility Servco LLC, Long Island Power Authority, Long...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-09

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [ Docket No. EL13-81-000] PSEG Long Island LLC, Long Island Electric Utility Servco LLC, Long Island Power Authority, Long Island Lighting Company; Notice of Petition for Declaratory Order Take notice that on August 1, 2013, pursuant to Rule 207 of the Federal Energy Regulatory...

Christmas Island, Line Island Group, Pacific Ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

Christmas Island (2.0N,158.0W), mid central Pacific Ocean, is considered to be the largest atoll in the world, about 25 km in diameter, and is part of the Line Island Group, a northwest-southeast trending chain of volcanic islands on some of the oldest ocean crust in the Pacific. The lagoon is nearly filled with reef growth leaving only a narrow entrance from the sea and large cocoanut groves are found along the fringes of the lagoon.

Akpatok Island

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

January 1st, 2001: Description: Akpatok Island lies in Ungava Bay in northern Quebec, Canada. Accessible only by air, Akpatok Island rises out of the water as sheer cliffs that soar 500 to 800 feet (150 to 243m) above the sea surface. The island is an important sanctuary for cliff-nesting seabirds. Numerous ice floes around the island attract walrus and whales, making Akpatok a traditional hunting ground for native Inuit people. Source: Landsat 7 To learn more about the Landsat satellite go to: landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Hawaiian Island Archipelago

NASA Image and Video Library

1985-06-24

The entire Hawaiian Island Archipelago (21.5N, 158.0W) is seen in this single view. The islands are a favorite international resort and tourist attraction drawing visitors from all over the world to enjoy the tropical climate, year round beaches and lush island flora. Being volcanic in origin, the islands' offer a rugged landscape and on the big island of Hawaii, there is still an occasional volcanic eruption of lava flows and steam vents.

33 CFR 80.712 - Morris Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Island. (d) A line drawn from the microwave antenna tower on Edisto Beach charted in approximate position..., SC to Hilton Head Island, SC. (a) A line drawn from the easternmost tip of Folley Island to the... Island. (b) A straight line drawn from the seaward tangent of Folly Island through Folly River Daybeacon...

33 CFR 80.712 - Morris Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Island. (d) A line drawn from the microwave antenna tower on Edisto Beach charted in approximate position..., SC to Hilton Head Island, SC. (a) A line drawn from the easternmost tip of Folley Island to the... Island. (b) A straight line drawn from the seaward tangent of Folly Island through Folly River Daybeacon...

Public hospital resource allocations in El Salvador: accounting for the case mix of patients.

PubMed

Fiedler, J L; Schmidt, R M; Wight, J B

1998-09-01

National hospitals in developing countries command a disproportionate share of medical care budgets, justified on the grounds that they have a more difficult patient case mix and higher occupancy rates than decentralized district hospitals or clinics. This paper empirically tests the hypothesis by developing direct measures of the severity of patient illness, hospital case-mix and a resource intensity index for each of El Salvador's public hospitals. Based on an analysis of inpatient care staffing requirements, national hospitals are found to receive funding far in excess of what case-mix and case-load considerations would warrant. The findings suggest that significant system-wide efficiency gains can be realized by allocating hospital budgets on the bases of performance-related criteria which incorporate the case-mix approach developed here.

Immunological inquiry for the epidemiology of leptospirosis in Canis familiaris in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

PubMed

Caldas, E M; Doria, J D; Martins, M A

1977-12-01

A total of 430 dogs were immunologically examined in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and 21.6% of them were positive. The animals were selected through an aleatory pattern, according to the division of the City in 18 residential zones a division which had been established by the vaccination campaign against canis hydrophobia. The serotypes icterohemorrhagiae and canicola were the most frequently registered. Between the sexes, the male presented the highest index of positivity, though the difference wasn't statistically significant. The period of age ranging from 12 to 48 months comprised 67.7% of the investigations. Mestizo dogs presented a higher frequency of positivity than any other race and the areas of Nordeste de Amaralina, Liberdade and Quintas showed the greatest percentages of positive dogs.

Predictors of outcome and methodological issues in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in El Salvador.

PubMed

Bonilla, Miguel; Gupta, Sumit; Vasquez, Roberto; Fuentes, Soad L; deReyes, Gladis; Ribeiro, Raul; Sung, Lillian

2010-12-01

Most children with cancer live in low-income countries (LICs) where risk factors in paediatric acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) developed in high-income countries may not apply. We describe predictors of survival for children in El Salvador with ALL. We included patients <16 years diagnosed with ALL between January 2001 and July 2007 treated with the El Salvador-Guatemala-Honduras II protocol. Demographic, disease-related, socioeconomic and nutritional variables were examined as potential predictors of event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS). 260/443 patients (58.7%) were classified as standard risk. Standard- and high-risk 5-year EFS were 56.3 ± 4.5% and 48.6 ± 5.5%; 5-year OS were 77.7 ± 3.8% and 61.9 ± 5.8%, respectively. Among standard-risk children, socioeconomic variables such as higher monthly income (hazard ratio [HR] per $100 = 0.84 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.70-0.99; P=0.04]) and parental secondary education (HR = 0.49, 95% CI 0.29-0.84; P = 0.01) were associated with better EFS. Among high-risk children, higher initial white blood cell (HR per 10×10(9)/L = 1.03, 95% CI 1.02-1.05; P<0.001) predicted worse EFS; socioeconomic variables were not predictive. The difference in EFS and OS appeared related to overestimating OS secondary to poor follow-up after abandonment/relapse. Socioeconomic variables predicted worse EFS in standard-risk children while disease-related variables were predictive in high-risk patients. Further studies should delineate pathways through which socioeconomic status affects EFS in order to design effective interventions. EFS should be the primary outcome in LIC studies. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors associated with body image dissatisfaction among adolescents in public schools students in Salvador, Brazil.

PubMed

Santana, Mônica L P; Silva, Rita de Cássia R; Assis, Ana M O; Raich, Rosa M; Machado, Maria Ester P C; de J Pinto, Elizabete; de Moraes, Lia T L P; Ribeiro Júnior, Hugo da C

2013-01-01

To identify the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction and associated factors among students in Salvador, Brazil. A cross-sectional study involving a random sample of 1,494 (852 girls and 642 boys) adolescents between 11 and 17 years of age who were students in the public schools in Salvador, Brazil. Participants completed the Body Shape Questionnaire and the Eating Attitudes Test-26. Body image was characterized as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. We obtained demographic, anthropometric and economic information and information regarding the stage of maturation, self-perception of body weight, and consumption of sweetened beverages and diet soft drinks. To identify associated factors we used Poisson regression analysis. Body image dissatisfaction was present in 19.5% of the adolescents, with a prevalence of 26.6% among the girls and 10% among the boys. Independent of sex, the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction was higher among adolescents who were overweight or obese (girls, PR: 1.38, CI: 1.09-1.73 and boys, PR: 2.26, CI: 1.08-4.75), higher among those who perceived themselves as fat (girls, PR: 2.85, CI: 2.07-3.93 and boys, PR: 3.17, CI: 1.39-7.23), and higher among those who had negative attitudes toward eating (girls, PR: 2.42, CI: 1.91-3.08 and boys, PR: 4.67, CI: 2.85-7.63).. A reduction in body image dissatisfaction was only identified among underweight girls (PR: 0.12, CI: 0.03-0.49). A high occurrence of body image dissatisfaction was observed among the adolescents, and biological and behavioral factors were associated with this dissatisfaction. Copyright © AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Layered stigma among health-care and social service providers toward key affected populations in Jamaica and The Bahamas.

PubMed

Rogers, S J; Tureski, K; Cushnie, A; Brown, A; Bailey, A; Palmer, Q

2014-01-01

While considerable research has documented stigma toward key populations affected by HIV and AIDS - men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers (SWs) - it provided limited empirical evidence on the presence of layered stigma among health-care professionals providing services for these populations. C-Change conducted a survey among 332 staff of health-care and social service agencies in Jamaica and The Bahamas to understand the levels of stigma toward people living with HIV (PLHIV), including MSM and SWs and factors associated with stigma. While most health-care professionals responding to the survey said that PLHIV, MSM, and SWs deserved quality care, they expressed high levels of blame and negative judgments, especially toward MSM and SWs. Across a stigma assessment involving eight vignette characters, the highest levels of stigma were expressed toward PLHIV who were also MSM or SWs, followed by PLHIV, MSM, and SWs. Differences were assessed by gender, country, type of staff, type of agency, and exposure to relevant training. Findings indicate higher reported stigma among nonclinical vs. clinical staff, staff who worked in general vs. MSM/SW-friendly health facilities, and among untrained vs. training staff. This implies the need for targeted staff capacity strengthening as well as improved facility environments that are MSM/SW-friendly.

33 CFR 80.717 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Tybee Island 255° true across Tybee Inlet to the shore of Little Tybee Island south of the entrance to... Island to the seaward tangent of Bradley Point on Ossabaw Island. (d) A north-south line (longitude 81°8...-south line (longitude 81°10.6′ W.) drawn from the southernmost extremity of St. Catherines Island to...

33 CFR 80.717 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Tybee Island 255° true across Tybee Inlet to the shore of Little Tybee Island south of the entrance to... Island to the seaward tangent of Bradley Point on Ossabaw Island. (d) A north-south line (longitude 81°8...-south line (longitude 81°10.6′ W.) drawn from the southernmost extremity of St. Catherines Island to...

46 CFR 7.80 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Tybee Island south of the entrance to Buck Hammock Creek. (b) A line drawn from the southernmost... 46 Shipping 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. 7.80 Section... BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.80 Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. (a) A line drawn from the...

33 CFR 80.717 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Tybee Island 255° true across Tybee Inlet to the shore of Little Tybee Island south of the entrance to... Island to the seaward tangent of Bradley Point on Ossabaw Island. (d) A north-south line (longitude 81°08...-south line (longitude 81°10.6′ W.) drawn from the southernmost extremity of St. Catherines Island to...

46 CFR 7.80 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Tybee Island south of the entrance to Buck Hammock Creek. (b) A line drawn from the southernmost... 46 Shipping 1 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. 7.80 Section... BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.80 Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. (a) A line drawn from the...

46 CFR 7.80 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... Tybee Island south of the entrance to Buck Hammock Creek. (b) A line drawn from the southernmost... 46 Shipping 1 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. 7.80 Section... BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.80 Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. (a) A line drawn from the...

46 CFR 7.80 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Tybee Island south of the entrance to Buck Hammock Creek. (b) A line drawn from the southernmost... 46 Shipping 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. 7.80 Section... BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.80 Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. (a) A line drawn from the...

33 CFR 80.717 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Tybee Island 255° true across Tybee Inlet to the shore of Little Tybee Island south of the entrance to... Island to the seaward tangent of Bradley Point on Ossabaw Island. (d) A north-south line (longitude 81°08...-south line (longitude 81°10.6′ W.) drawn from the southernmost extremity of St. Catherines Island to...

Tectonic interpretation of the 13 february 2001, mw 6.6, El Salvador Earthquake: New evidences of coseismic surface rupture and paleoseismic activity.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez-Diaz, J. J.; Canora, C.; Villamor, P.; Capote, R.; Alvarez-Gomez, J. A.; Berryman, K.; Bejar, M.; Tsige, M.

2009-04-01

In February 2001 a major strike slip earthquake stroke the central part of El Salvador causing hundreds of people killed, thousands injured and extensive damage. After this event the scientific effort was mainly focused on the study of the enormous and catastrophic landslides triggered by this event and no evidences of surface faulting were detected. This earthquake was produced by the reactivation of the Ilopango-San Vicente segment of the El Salvador Fault Zone. Recently, a surface rupture displacement on the ground was identified. The analysis of aerial and field photographs taken few hours after the event and the mapping of the conserved ground structures shows a pure strike-slip displacement ranging from 20 to 50 cm, with secondary features indicating dextral shearing. The paleoseismic analysis made through the excavation of six trenches and Radiocarbon dating indicate a minimum slip rate of 2.0 mm/yr and a recurrence of major ruptures (Mw > 6.5) lower than 500 yr. These evidences give interesting local data to increase our understanding about the tectonic behavior and the way how active deformation develops along the northern limit of the forearc sliver related to the Centroamerican subduction area.

Hawaiian Island Archipelago

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

In this view of the entire Hawaiian Island Archipelago (21.0N, 157.0W), the islands perturb the prevailing northeastewrly winds producing extensive cloud wakes in the lee of the islands. The atmospheric haze within the wake is a result of the near continuous eruptions of Kilauea volcano on the southeast coast of the big island of Hawaii.

Akpatok Island

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Akpatok Island lies in Ungava Bay in northern Quebec, Canada. Accessible only by air, Akpatok Island rises out of the water as sheer cliffs that soar 500 to 800 feet (150 to 243 m) above the sea surface. The island is an important sanctuary for cliff-nesting seabirds. Numerous ice floes around the island attract walrus and whales, making Akpatok a traditional hunting ground for native Inuit people. This image was acquired by Landsat 7's Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) sensor on January 22, 2001. Image provided by the USGS EROS Data Center Satellite Systems Branch

Clinical impact of sepsis at admission to the ICU of a private hospital in Salvador, Brazil.

PubMed

Juncal, Verena Ribeiro; Britto Neto, Lelivaldo Antonio de; Camelier, Aquiles Assunção; Messeder, Octavio Henrique Coelho; Farias, Augusto Manoel de Carvalho

2011-01-01

To describe the clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and clinical outcomes of patients with and without sepsis admitted to the ICU of a private hospital in the city of Salvador, Brazil, and to identify clinical variables related to a worse prognosis in those with sepsis. This was a longitudinal study including all patients admitted to the general ICU of the Hospital Português, in the city of Salvador, Brazil, between June of 2008 and March of 2009. At ICU admission, two groups of patients were identified: with sepsis and without sepsis. Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory data were collected, and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score was calculated. Of the 144 patients in the study, 29 (20.1%) had sepsis. Among the patients with sepsis, males accounted for 55.2%, the mean age was 73.1 ± 14.6 years, and the mean APACHE II score was 23.8 ± 9.1, compared with 36.3%, 68.7 ± 17.7 years, and 18.4 ± 9.5, respectively, among those without sepsis. There were significant associations between a diagnosis of sepsis and the following variables: APACHE II score; in-hospital mortality; ICU mortality; HR; mean arterial pressure; hematocrit level; white blood cell count; and antibiotic use. The use of life support measures and lower hematocrit levels were associated with a worse prognosis in the patients with sepsis. The patients diagnosed with sepsis presented worse clinical outcomes, probably due to their greater severity. Hematocrit level was the only variable that was a predictor of mortality risk in the patients with sepsis.

Winter habitat of Kirtland's warbler: an endangered nearctic/neotropical migrant

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sykes, P.W.; Clench, M.H.

1998-01-01

Habitats of Kirtland?s Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) on the wintering grounds in the Bahama Archipelago are presented based upon data from 29 specimens, two bandings, and 67 sightings of at least 61 individuals on 13 islands scattered through the region. Major emphasis is placed on a study site in central Eleuthera, with additional information on sites on Grand Turk, North Caicos, and Crooked Island. The warblers used upland habitats that have a low shrub/scrub component with a patchiness of small openings and openings within the vegetation at the ground level. Six broad habitats were identified as being used: Natural Shrub/Scrub, Secondary Shrub/Scrub, Low Coppice, Pineland Understory, Saline/Upland Ecotone, and Suburban; High Coppice is not used. The structure and floristic composition of the habitats are described. Observations (N=451) of a Kirtland?s Warbler male (uniquely color banded) and female over three months indicated the birds generally stayed on or near the ground, generally < 3 m (98% of observations), and used a territory of 8.3 ha. A crude estimate of potential winter habitat suggests that there is more than an adequate amount in the Bahama Archipelago for the currently small warbler population (733 singing males in 1997) and allows for a considerable population increase. No serious future threat to the amount of that habitat is foreseen.

The He-CO 2 isotope and relative abundance characteristics of geothermal fluids in El Salvador and Honduras: New constraints on volatile mass balance of the Central American Volcanic Arc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Leeuw, G. A. M.; Hilton, D. R.; Fischer, T. P.; Walker, J. A.

2007-06-01

We report helium and carbon isotope and relative abundance data of fumaroles, hot springs, water springs, mud-pots and geothermal wells from El Salvador and Honduras to investigate both along and across-arc controls on the release of CO 2 from the subducted slab. El Salvador localities show typical volcanic front volcanic gas signatures, with 3He/ 4He ratios of 5.2-7.6 RA, δ13C values of - 3.6‰ to - 1.3‰ and CO 2/ 3He ratios of 8-25 × 10 9. In Honduras, we find similar values only for volatiles collected in the Sula Graben region located ˜ 200 km behind the volcanic front. All other areas in Honduras show significantly lower 3He/ 4He ratios (0.7-3.5 RA), lower δ13C values (< - 7.3‰) and more variable CO 2/ 3He ratios (6.2 × 10 7-2.0 × 10 11): characteristics consistent with degassing-induced fractionation of CO 2 and He and/or interaction with crustal rocks. The provenance of CO 2 released along the volcanic front is dominated by subducted marine carbonates (L = 76 ± 4%) and organic sediments (S = 14 ± 3%), with the mantle wedge (M) contributing 10 ± 3% to the total carbon flux. The L/S ratio of the El Salvador volatiles (average = 5.6) is comparable to volcanic front localities in Costa Rica and Nicaragua [A.M. Shaw, D.R. Hilton, T.P. Fischer, L.A. Walker, G.E. Alvarado, Contrasting He-C relationships in Nicaragua and Costa Rica: insights into C cycling through subduction zones. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 214 (2003) 499-513] but is approximately one-half the input value of sediments at the trench (L. Li, G.E. Bebout, Carbon and nitrogen geochemistry of sediments in the Central American convergent margin: Insights regarding subduction input fluxes, diagenesis, and paleoproductivity, J. Geophys. Res. 110 (2005), doi: 10.1029/2004JB003276). We use the L/S ratio of El Salvador geothermal fluids, together with estimates of the CO 2 output flux from the arc, to constrain the amount and composition of subducted sediments involved in the supply of CO 2 to the

Social network-based recruitment successfully reveals HIV-1 transmission networks among high-risk individuals in El Salvador.

PubMed

Dennis, Ann M; Murillo, Wendy; de Maria Hernandez, Flor; Guardado, Maria Elena; Nieto, Ana Isabel; Lorenzana de Rivera, Ivette; Eron, Joseph J; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela

2013-05-01

HIV in Central America is concentrated among certain groups such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSWs). We compared social recruitment chains and HIV transmission clusters from 699 MSM and 787 FSWs to better understand factors contributing to ongoing HIV transmission in El Salvador. Phylogenies were reconstructed using pol sequences from 119 HIV-positive individuals recruited by respondent-driven sampling (RDS) and compared with RDS chains in 3 cities in El Salvador. Transmission clusters with a mean pairwise genetic distance ≤ 0.015 and Bayesian posterior probabilities =1 were identified. Factors associated with cluster membership were evaluated among MSM. Sequences from 34 (43%) MSM and 4 (10%) FSW grouped in 14 transmission clusters. Clusters were defined by risk group (12 MSM clusters) and geographic residence (only 1 spanned separate cities). In 4 MSM clusters (all n = 2), individuals were also members of the same RDS chain, but only 2 had members directly linked through recruitment. All large clusters (n ≥ 3) spanned >1 RDS chain. Among MSM, factors independently associated with cluster membership included recent infection by BED assay (P = 0.02), sex with stable male partners (P = 0.02), and sex with ≥ 3 male partners in the past year (P = 0.04). We found few HIV transmissions corresponding directly with the social recruitment. However, we identified clustering in nearly one-half of MSM suggesting that RDS recruitment was indirectly but successfully uncovering transmission networks, particularly among recent infections. Interrogating RDS chains with phylogenetic analyses may help refine methods for identifying transmission clusters.

Sedimentary dynamics and high-frequency sequence stratigraphy of the southwestern slope of Great Bahama Bank

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wunsch, Marco; Betzler, Christian; Eberli, Gregor P.; Lindhorst, Sebastian; Lüdmann, Thomas; Reijmer, John J. G.

2018-01-01

New geophysical data from the leeward slope of Great Bahama Bank show how contour currents shape the slope and induce re-sedimentation processes. Along slope segments with high current control, drift migration and current winnowing at the toe of slope form a deep moat. Here, the slope progradation is inhibited by large channel incisions and the accumulation of large mass transport complexes, triggered by current winnowing. In areas where the slope is bathed by weaker currents, the accumulation of mass transport complexes and channel incision is rather controlled by the position of the sea level. Large slope failures were triggered during the Mid-Pleistocene transition and Mid-Brunhes event, both periods characterized by changes in the cyclicity or the amplitude of sea-level fluctuations. Within the seismic stratigraphic framework of third order sequences, four sequences of higher order were identified in the succession of the upper Pleistocene. These higher order sequences also show clear differences in function of the slope exposure to contour currents. Two stochastic models emphasize the role of the contour currents and slope morphology in the facies distribution in the upper Pleistocene sequences. In areas of high current influence the interplay of erosional and depositional processes form a complex facies pattern with downslope and along strike facies alterations. In zones with lower current influence, major facies alternations occur predominately in downslope direction, and a layer-cake pattern characterizes the along strike direction. Therefore, this study highlights that contour currents are an underestimated driver for the sediment distribution and architecture of carbonate slopes.

Visiting the Republic of Cuba: An Experience to Remember.

PubMed

Brown, Geraldine

2015-01-01

A few years ago, I was privileged to visit the Republic of Cuba as a summer vacation. Officially, this Spanish island is the largest island in the Caribbean, with more than 12 million people. It is only second as being most populous after Hispaniola with its people, culture and customs. Havana is the capital and Cuba's largest city. The United States lies to the immediate north only about 95 miles away, and the Bahamas and Mexico to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are on the southern end, and Haiti and the Dominion Republic are in the southeastern area. The history of this island is truly amazing. I was able to vist a hospital, and ride public transportation (bus). The trip was made at the time when Cuba was not open to travelers coming direct from the United States. I traveled to Montreal, Canada to board Cabana Arlines to Havana, Cuba.

Earthquakes, September-October 1986

USGS Publications Warehouse

Person, W.J.

1987-01-01

There was one great earthquake (8.0 and above) during this reporting period in the South Pacific in the Kermadec Islands. There were no major earthquakes (7.0-7.9) but earthquake-related deaths were reported in Greece and in El Salvador. There were no destrcutive earthquakes in the United States.

Diomede Islands, Bering Straight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

The Diomede Islands consisting of the western island Big Diomede (also known as Imaqliq, Nunarbuk or Ratmanov Island), and the eastern island Little Diomede (also known as Krusenstern Island or Inaliq), are two rocky islands located in the middle of the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska. The islands are separated by an international border and the International Date Line which is approximately 1.5 km from each island; you can look from Alaska into tomorrow in Russia. At the closest land approach between the United States, which controls Little Diomede, and Russia, which controls Big Diomede, they are 3 km apart. Little Diomede Island constitutes the Alaskan City of Diomede, while Big Diomede Island is Russia's easternmost point. The first European to reach the islands was the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648. The text of the 1867 treaty finalizing the sale of Alaska uses the islands to designate the border between the two nations.

The image was acquired July 8, 2000, covers an area of 13.5 x 10.8 km, and is located at 65.8 degrees north latitude, 169 degrees west longitude.

The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

Developing and Transitioning Numerical Air Quality Models to Improve Air Quality and Public Health Decision-Making in El Salvador and Costa Rica As Part of the Servir Applied Sciences Team

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, A.; Huff, A. K.; Gomori, S. G.; Sadoff, N.

2014-12-01

In order to enhance the capacity for air quality modeling and improve air quality monitoring and management in the SERVIR Mesoamerica region, members of SERVIR's Applied Sciences Team (AST) are developing national numerical air quality models for El Salvador and Costa Rica. We are working with stakeholders from the El Salvador Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN); National University of Costa Rica (UNA); the Costa Rica Ministry of the Environment, Energy, and Telecommunications (MINAET); and Costa Rica National Meteorological Institute (IMN), who are leaders in air quality monitoring and management in the Mesoamerica region. Focusing initially on these institutions will build sustainability in regional modeling activities by developing air quality modeling capability that can be shared with other countries in Mesoamerica. The air quality models are based on the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model and incorporate meteorological inputs from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, as well as national emissions inventories from El Salvador and Costa Rica. The models are being optimized for urban air quality, which is a priority of decision-makers in Mesoamerica. Once experimental versions of the modeling systems are complete, they will be transitioned to servers run by stakeholders in El Salvador and Costa Rica. The numerical air quality models will provide decision support for stakeholders to identify 1) high-priority areas for expanding national ambient air monitoring networks, 2) needed revisions to national air quality regulations, and 3) gaps in national emissions inventories. This project illustrates SERVIR's goal of the transition of science to support decision-making through capacity building in Mesoamerica, and it aligns with the Group on Earth Observations' health societal benefit theme. This presentation will describe technical aspects of the development of the models and outline key steps in our successful

Air-to-air view of STS-26 Discovery, OV-103, launch from KSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Air-to-air view of STS-26 Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, launch taken by T. Haydee Laguna, an airline passenger bound for Paradise Island in the Bahamas. She sent the photo of what she called 'the most beautiful sight this side of Heaven' to NASA along with a congratulatory letter. OV-103 is a small dot as it rises through the clouds from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex (LC) pad 39B with a exhaust plume trailing behind it.

Norfolk Island, Australia

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-05-13

Situated 1670 km northeast of Sydney, Norfolk Island is an Australian Territory. It was permanently settled in 1856 by Pitcairn Islanders who were descendants of Tahitians and HMS Bounty mutineers. In 1979 Norfolk was granted limited self-government: the island elects a government that runs most of the island's affairs. In March, a local council replaced the local government, and the island was given closer financial ties to Australia. The image was acquired November 12, 2009, covers an area of 9 x 11 km, and is located at 29 degrees south, 168 degrees east. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19463

Hydrologic data for Block Island, Rhode Island

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burns, Emily

1993-01-01

This report was compiled as part of a study to assess the hydrogeology and the quality and quantity of fresh ground water on Block Island, Rhode Island. Hydrologic data were collected on Block Island during 1988-91. The data are pre- sented in illustrations and tables. Data collec- ted include precipitation, surfae-water, ground- water, lithologic, and well-construction and dis- charge information. Precipitation data include total monthly precipitation values from 11 rain gages and water-quality analyses of 14 precipi- tation samples from one station. Surface-water data include water-level measurements at 12 ponds, water-quality data for five ponds, and field specific-conductance measurements at 56 surface- water sites (streams, ponds, and springs). Ground- water data include water-level measurements at 159 wells, water-quality data at 150 wells, and field specific-conductance data at 52 wells. Lithologic logs for 375 wells and test borings, and construc- tion and location data for 570 wells, springs, and test borings are included. In addition, the data set contains data on water quality of water samples, collected by the Rhode Island Department of Health during 1976-91, from Fresh and Sands Ponds and from wells at the Block Island Water Company well field north of Sands Pond.

Inverter Anti-Islanding with Advanced Grid Support in Single- and Multi-Inverter Islands

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

Hoke, Andy

As PV and other DER systems are connected to the grid at increased penetration levels, island detection may become more challenging for two reasons: 1. In islands containing many DERs, active inverter-based anti-islanding methods may have more difficulty detecting islands because each individual inverter's efforts to detect the island may be interfered with by the other inverters in the island. 2. The increasing numbers of DERs are leading to new requirements that DERs ride through grid disturbances and even actively try to regulate grid voltage and frequency back towards nominal operating conditions. These new grid support requirements may directly ormore » indirectly interfere with anti-islanding controls. This report describes a series of tests designed to examine the impacts of both grid support functions and multi-inverter islands on anti-islanding effectiveness.« less

Prevalence of visual impairment in El Salvador: inequalities in educational level and occupational status.

PubMed

Rius, Anna; Guisasola, Laura; Sabidó, Meritxell; Leasher, Janet L; Moriña, David; Villalobos, Astrid; Lansingh, Van C; Mujica, Oscar J; Rivera-Handal, José Eduardo; Silva, Juan Casrlos

2014-11-01

To examine the prevalence of blindness, visual impairment, and related eye diseases and conditions among adults in El Salvador, and to explore socioeconomic inequalities in their prevalence by education level and occupational status, stratified by sex. Based upon the Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) methodology, this nationwide sample comprised 3 800 participants (3 399 examined) ≥ 50 years old from 76 randomly selected clusters of 50 persons each. The prevalence of blindness, visual impairment and related eye diseases and conditions, including uncorrected refractive error (URE), was calculated for categories of education level and occupational status. Multiple logistic regression models were fitted to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and stratified by sex. Age-adjusted prevalence was 2.4% (95% CI: 2.2-2.6) for blindness (men: 2.8% (95% CI: 2.5-3.1); women: 2.2% (95% CI: 1.9-2.5)) and 11.8% (95% CI: 11.6-12.0) for moderate visual impairment (men: 10.8% (95% CI: 10.5-11.1); women: 12.6% (95% CI: 12.4-12.8)). The proportion of visual impairment due to cataract was 43.8% in men and 33.5% in women. Inverse gradients of socioeconomic inequalities were observed in the prevalence of visual impairment. For example, the age-adjusted OR (AOR) was 3.4 (95% CI: 2.0-6.4) for visual impairment and 4.3 (95% CI: 2.1-10.4) for related URE in illiterate women compared to those with secondary education, and 1.9 (95% CI: 1.1-3.1) in cataract in unemployed men. Blindness and visual impairment prevalence is high in the El Salvador adult population. The main associated conditions are cataract and URE, two treatable conditions. As socioeconomic and gender inequalities in ocular health may herald discrimination and important barriers to accessing affordable, good-quality, and timely health care services, prioritization of public eye health care and disability policies should be put in place, particularly among women, the unemployed, and

Tsunami evacuation analysis, modelling and planning: application to the coastal area of El Salvador

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez-Riancho, Pino; Aguirre-Ayerbe, Ignacio; Aniel-Quiroga, Iñigo; Abad Herrero, Sheila; González Rodriguez, Mauricio; Larreynaga, Jeniffer; Gavidia, Francisco; Quetzalcoalt Gutiérrez, Omar; Álvarez-Gómez, Jose Antonio; Medina Santamaría, Raúl

2014-05-01

for the classification and prioritization of the gathered information, in order to formulate an optimal evacuation plan. The framework has been applied to the El Salvador case study through the project "Tsunami Hazard and Risk Assessment in El Salvador", funded by AECID during the period 2009-12, demonstrating its applicability to site-specific response times and population characteristics.

Island wake produced by Antipodes Islands south of New Zealand

NASA Image and Video Library

1973-12-16

SL4-137-3655 (16 Dec. 1973) --- An island wake produced by the Antipodes Islands in the ocean current south of New Zealand is seen in this photograph taken from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit. A Skylab 4 crewmen took the picture with a hand-held 70mm Hasselblad camera. The bow wave pattern is quite evident and can be used to determine the current speed from the angle of the bow wave if the propagation speed of the surface wave is known. Also, evident is the darker band extending downstream from the island tens of miles. This is the actual wake of the island. The existence of water color differences from within to outside a turbulent island wake may indicate a temperature difference, with cooler water being stirred to the surface in the wake. This temperature difference could be used to drive a thermo-electric type generator to reduce small islands' dependence on imported oil for power generation. Photo credit: NASA

The Politics of Privatization and Decentralization in Global School Reform: The Value of Equity Claims for Neoliberalism at the World Bank and in El Salvador.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Desmond, Cheryl

This paper focuses on the role of the World Bank and its subsidiaries in promoting the neoliberal educational reforms of privatization and decentralization globally and in El Salvador. Neoliberalism is first defined as a sociopolitical philosophy that supports concepts such as the free market, market-driven education, and the use of a voucher…

Community resources support adherence to treatment for childhood cancer in El Salvador.

PubMed

Rossell, Nuria; Salaverria, Carmen; Hernandez, Angelica; Alabi, Soad; Vasquez, Roberto; Bonilla, Miguel; Lam, Catherine G; Ribeiro, Raul; Reis, Ria

2018-01-01

In order to reduce nonadherence and treatment abandonment of children with cancer in El Salvador, institutions located nearby the patients' homes were involved to provide support. Methodological approach: Health clinics and municipality offices in the patients' communities were asked to assist families who were not promptly located after missing hospital appointments, or those whose financial limitations were likely to impede continuation of treatment. Data was collected about the number of contacted institutions, the nature of help provided, staff's time investments, and parents' perceptions about the intervention. Local institutions (133 from 206 contacts) conducted home visits (83), and/or provided parents with money (55) or transportation (60). Parents found this support essential for continuing the treatment but they also encountered challenges regarding local institutions' inconsistencies. Nonadherence and abandonment decreased. Economic burden was reduced on both the families and the hospital. Involvement of external institutions might become regular practice to support families of children with cancer.

A review of the Paectes arcigera species complex (Guenée) (Lepidoptera, Euteliidae)

PubMed Central

Pogue, Michael G.

2013-01-01

Abstract Five new species of Paectes Hübner [1818] related to Paectes arcigera (Guenée) (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad) and Paectes longiformis Pogue (Brazil) are described: Paectes asper sp. n. (Florida, Bahamas, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dominica, Colombia), Paectes medialba sp. n. (Argentina), Paectes similis sp. n. (Brazil), Paectes sinuosa sp. n. (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay), and Paectes tumida sp. n. (Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana). Adults and genitalia are illustrated for all species. Taxonomic changes include the rev. stat. of Paectes nana (Walker) (Florida, Greater Antilles, Mexico, Guatemala, Galapagos) as a valid species and revised synonyms Paectes indefatigabilis Schaus and Paectes isabel Schaus as junior synonyms of Paectes nana instead of Paectes arcigera. New host records for Paectes sinuosa and Paectes nana reared on Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, Anacardiaceae) are presented. The holotype and female genitalia of Paectes obrotunda (Guenée) are illustrated. PMID:23730180

Ogasawara Islands, Japan

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-11-12

This image, acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft, is of the volcanic Ogasawara Islands. The islands were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, in recognition of an outstanding example of ongoing evolutionary processes in oceanic island ecosystems.

High-resolution record of the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion at the Blake-Bahama Outer Ridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bourne, Mark D.; Mac Niocaill, Conall; Thomas, Alex L.; Henderson, Gideon M.

2013-12-01

Geomagnetic excursions are brief deviations of the geomagnetic field from behaviour expected during `normal secular' variation. The Laschamp excursion at ˜41 ka was one such deviation. Previously published records suggest rapid changes in field direction and a concurrent substantial decrease in field intensity associated with this excursion. Accurate dating of excursions, and determination of their durations from multiple locations, is vital to our understanding of global field behaviour during these deviations. We present here high-resolution palaeomagnetic records of the Laschamp excursion obtained from two Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites, 1061 and 1062 on the Blake-Bahama Outer Ridge (ODP Leg 172). High sedimentation rates (˜30-40 cm kyr-1) at these locations allow determination of transitional field behaviour during the excursion. Palaeomagnetic measurements of discrete samples from four cores reveal a single excursional feature, across an interval of 30 cm, associated with a broader palaeointensity low. We determine the age and duration of the Laschamp excursion using a stratigraphy linked to the δ18O record from the Greenland ice cores. This chronology dates the Laschamp excursion at the Blake Ridge to 41.3 ka. The excursion is characterized by rapid transitions (less than 200 yr) between stable normal polarity and a partially reversed polarity state. The palaeointensity record is in good agreement between the two sites, revealing two prominent minima. The first minimum is associated with the Laschamp excursion at 41 ka and the second corresponds to the Mono Lake excursion at ˜35.5 ka. We determine that the directional excursion during the Laschamp at this location was no longer than ˜400 yr, occurring within a palaeointensity minimum that lasted 2000 yr. The Laschamp excursion at this location is much shorter in duration than the Blake and Iceland Basin excursions.

78 FR 63860 - Amendment of Class D Airspace; Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands, RMI

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-25

...This action amends the Kwajalein Island Class D airspace description by amending the geographic coordinates for Bucholz Army Airfield (AAF), Kwajalein Island, Marshall Islands, RMI. The Bucholz AAF geographic coordinates information was updated in the Kwajalein Island Class E airspace descriptions in 2011, but was inadvertently overlooked in the Kwajalein Island Class D airspace description. This action ensures the safety of aircraft operating in the Kwajalein Island airspace area. This is an administrative action and does not affect the operating requirements of the airspace.

Canary Island Archipelago

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

This nearly vertical view of the Canary Archipelago (28.5N, 16.5W) shows five of the seven islands: Grand Canary, Tenerife, Gomera, Hierro and La Palma. The largest island in view is Tenerife. Island cloud wakes evident in this photo are the result of southerly winds giving rise to cloud banks on the lee side especially on Tenerife which has the highest volcanic peaks. Island water wakes and internal waves are also evident but not as apparent.

Falkland Islands, UK

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

This view of the Falkland Islands (52.0S, 58.5W) was taken with a dual camera mount. Compare this scene with STS048-109-043 to analyze the unique properties of each film type. Seldom seen cloud free, the Falkland Islands lie off the southern coast of Argentina. The cold Falklands Ocean Current keeps the islands chilly, ideal for sheep herding and fishing, the two main industries. Colonies of seals and penguins also thrive on the islands.

Patient privacy and conflicting legal and ethical obligations in El Salvador: reporting of unlawful abortions.

PubMed

McNaughton, Heathe Luz; Mitchell, Ellen M H; Hernandez, Emilia G; Padilla, Karen; Blandon, Marta Maria

2006-11-01

Postabortion care providers who breach patient confidentiality endanger women's health and violate ethics. A 1998 abortion ban in El Salvador likely spurred an increase in the number of women investigated, because many women were reported to legal authorities by health care providers. Having analyzed safeguards of confidentiality in laws and ethical guidelines, we obtained information from legal records on women prosecuted from 1998 to 2003 and identified factors that may lead to reporting through a survey of obstetrician-gynecologists (n=110). Although ethical and human rights standards oblige providers to respect patients' privacy, 80% of obstetrician-gynecologists mistakenly believed reporting was required. Most respondents (86%) knew that women delay seeking care because of fear of prosecution, yet a majority (56%) participated in notification of legal authorities.

33 CFR 80.717 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons..., GA to St. Simons Island, GA. (a) A line drawn from the southernmost extremity of Savannah Beach on....4′ W.) drawn from the southernmost extremity of Ossabaw Island to St. Catherines Island. (e) A north...

Clinical characteristics of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes in women of agricultural communities in El Salvador.

PubMed

Herrera Valdés, Raúl; Orantes, Carlos M; Almaguer López, Miguel; López Marín, Laura; Arévalo, Pedro Alfonso; Smith González, Magaly J; Morales, Fabrizio E; Bacallao, Raymed; Bayarre, Héctor D; Vela Parada, Xavier F

2015-01-01

A chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes (CKDu) has emerged in Central America and elsewhere, predominantly affecting male farmworkers. In El Salvador (2009), it was the second cause of death in men > 18 years old. Causality has not been determined. Most available research focused on men and there is scarce data on women. Describe the clinical and histopathologic characteristics of CKDu in women of agricultural communities in El Salvador. A descriptive study was carried out in 10 women with CKDu stages 2, 3a, and 3b. Researchers studied demographics, clinical examination; hematological and biochemical analyses, urine sediment, renal injury markers, and assessed renal, cardiac, and peripheral arteries, liver, pancreas, and lung anatomy and functions. Kidney biopsy was performed in all. Data was collected on the Lime Survey platform and exported to SPSS 19.0. Patient distribution by stages: 2 (70%), 3a (10%), 3b (20%). Occupation: agricultural 7; non-agricultural 3. agrochemical exposure 100%; farmworkers 70%; incidental malaria 50%, NSAIDs use 40%; hypertension 40%. nocturia 50%; dysuria 50%; arthralgia 70%; asthenia 50%; cramps 30%, profuse sweating 20%. Renal markers: albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) > 300 mg/g 90%; β microglobulin and neutrophil gelatinase- associated lipocalin (NGAL) presence in 40%. Kidney function: hypermagnesuria 100%; hyperphosphaturia 50%, hypercalciuria 40%; hypernatriuria 30%; hyponatremia 60%, hypocalcemia 50%. Doppler: tibial artery damage 40%. Neurological: reflex abnormalities 30%; Babinski and myoclonus 20%. Neurosensorial hypoacusis 70%. Histopathology: damage restricted mostly to the tubulo-interstitium, urine was essentially bland. CKDu in women is a chronic tubulointerstitial nephropathy with varied extrarenal symptoms.

Energy Transition Initiative: Island Energy Snapshot - U.S. Virgin Islands (Fact Sheet)

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

Not Available

2015-03-01

This profile provides a snapshot of the energy landscape of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) - St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. The Virgin Islands archipelago makes up the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles and the western island group of the Leeward Islands, forming the border between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Contextual view of Treasure Island from Yerba Buena Island, showing ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Contextual view of Treasure Island from Yerba Buena Island, showing Palace of Fine and Decorative Arts (Building 3), far right, Hall of Transportation (Building 2), middle, and The Administration Building (Building 1), far left, Port of Trade Winds is in foreground, camera facing northwest - Golden Gate International Exposition, Treasure Island, San Francisco, San Francisco County, CA

Vegetation Monitoring by Remote Sensing Technology for Uninhabited Islands of the Xisha Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, L.; Guo, Y.; Wu, X.

2018-04-01

The Xisha islands are tropical coral islands in the south sea of China, with special ecological environment. As far away from the inland, they are more sensitive to climate change than inland, and are looked as the window to reflect global environment changes. Since Sansha city established, some of islands were developed. The uninhabited islands are decreasing. To discover the changes of uninhabited islands become more impending. In order to find out the natural status of uninhabited islands, monitoring four years vegetation change of 2002, 2010, 2013 and 2016. In addition, monitoring the typical uninhabited island and sandbar vegetation by making the most of existed high resolution remote sensing data, nine years from 2002 to 2013 and six months in 2012. The results show that the sandbars are in stable growth stage, especially after 2010, the vegetation start appeared. Meanwhile, analysis the vegetation variation of the uninhabited islands and sandbars.

The status of island scrub oak (Quercus pacifica on Catalina Island, California

Treesearch

Denise A. Knapp

2002-01-01

The island scrub oak is characterized by a shrubby (to 2 meters) or arborescent (to 5 meters or taller) growth form. It is the dominant species of the scrub oak chaparral community on Catalina Island, which occupies approximately 25 percent of the 76 square-mile island, primarily on north-facing slopes. The Santa Catalina Island Conservancy, which owns and manages 88...

46 CFR 7.70 - Folly Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Folly Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC. 7.70 Section... BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.70 Folly Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC. (a) A line drawn from the...′ W. (Port Royal Sound Lighted Whistle Buoy “2PR”); thence to the easternmost extremity of Hilton Head...

Habitat islands and the equilibrium theory of island biogeography: testing some predictions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, M.; Dinsmore, J.J.

1988-01-01

Species-area data from a study of marsh birds are used to test five predictions generated by the equilibrium theory of island biogeography. Three predictions are supported: we found a significant species-area relationship, a non-zero level of turnover, and a variance-mean ratio of 0.5. One prediction is rejected: the extinction rates were not greater on small islands. The results of one test are equivocal: the number of species on each island was not always the same. As Gilbert (1980) suggests, a strong species-area relationship alone does not validate the theory. The avian communities we studied were on habitat islands, not true islands, and underwent complete extinction annually. Thus caution must be used before applying the theory to these and other habitat islands.

Impact of the 'Providing Access to Continued Education' Programme on Repeat Teenage Pregnancy in the Bahamas.

PubMed

Sakharkar, V P; Frankson, M A; Sakharkar, P R

2015-05-15

To determine the relationship of determinants such as age, ethnicity, education and sexual behaviour with repeat teenage pregnancy and to determine the impact of 'Providing Access to Continued Education' (PACE) programme in reducing repeat teenage pregnancy amongst its participants in The Bahamas. This retrospective cohort study included 397 attendees of the Adolescent Health Centre (AHC). Eighty-eight out of 139 registered participants completed the PACE programme. Data on age, ethnicity, education, sexual behaviour and repeat pregnancy in two years were analysed for descriptive statistics, and association of demographic characteristics and participation in the PACE programme with repeat pregnancy using the Chi-squared test. Mean age of participants was 16.4 ± 1.1 years; median school grade and mean grade point average (GPA) was 11 and 1.97 ± 0.7, respectively. The mean age at the first sexual activity was 14.9 ± 1.2 years. The mean age and number of sexual partners were 21 ± 4.3 years and 2 ± 1, respectively. Overall, repeat pregnancy rate was 39%: 37.4% amongst PACE registered and 31.8% amongst PACE completed mothers. No significant difference was observed in repeat pregnancy between registered and non-registered as well as those who completed the programme and those who did not. The odds ratio of 0.525 suggested that completion of the PACE programme had a moderate protective effect on reducing repeat pregnancy. Age, ethnicity, education and sexual behaviour showed no association with repeat pregnancy. The PACE programme did not reduce repeat pregnancy rate significantly. However, completion of the programme offered a moderate protection.

50 CFR Appendix E to Part 622 - Caribbean Island/Island Group Management Areas

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., AND SOUTH ATLANTIC Pt. 622, App. E Appendix E to Part 622—Caribbean Island/Island Group Management... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 12 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Caribbean Island/Island Group Management... St. Thomas/St. John island group to Point C C 18°13′59.0606″ 65°05′33.058″ D 18°01′16.9636″ 64°57′38...

Calibration, characterization, and first results with the Ocean PHILLS hyperspectral imager

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Curtiss O.; Kappus, Mary E.; Bowles, Jeffrey H.; Fisher, John; Antoniades, John A.; Carney, Megan

1999-10-01

The Ocean Portable Hyperspectral Imager for Low-Light spectroscopy (Ocean PHILLS), is a new hyperspectral imager specifically designed for imaging the coastal ocean. It uses a thinned, backside illuminated CCD for high sensitivity, and an all-reflective spectrograph with a convex grating in an Offner configuration to produce a distortion free image. Here we describe the instrument design and present the results of laboratory calibration and characterization and example results from a two week field experiment imaging the coastal waters off Lee Stocking, Island, Bahamas.

Florida, USA

NASA Image and Video Library

1991-06-14

STS040-613-049 (5-14 June 1991) --- This oblique scene from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia shows southern Florida, several of the Bahama Islands and parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The nine-day STS-40/Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) mission started with launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), visible in lower left. Cuba can be seen at top center. The picture was photographed with a handheld Rolleiflex camera, aimed through Columbia's aft flight deck windows.

Soyuz spacecraft taken by the Expedition 25 crew

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-11-09

ISS025-E-013634 (9 Nov. 2010) --- The Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft dominates the foreground of this image exposed by one of the Expedition 25 crew members as the International Space Station and the docked Russian spacecraft were 220 miles above the Caribbean Sea. The island of Andros, in the Bahamas chain, can be seen in the background. Three members of the current six-person staffing aboard the orbital complex are expected to return to Earth in the Soyuz in about two and half weeks.

Soyuz spacecraft taken by the Expedition 25 crew

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-11-09

ISS025-E-013635 (9 Nov. 2010) --- The Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft dominates the foreground of this image exposed by one of the Expedition 25 crew members as the International Space Station and the docked Russian spacecraft were 220 miles above the Caribbean Sea. The island of Andros, in the Bahamas chain, can be seen in the background. Three members of the current six-person staffing aboard the orbital complex are expected to return to Earth in the Soyuz in about two and half weeks.

Maintenance of biodiversity on islands.

PubMed

Chisholm, Ryan A; Fung, Tak; Chimalakonda, Deepthi; O'Dwyer, James P

2016-04-27

MacArthur and Wilson's theory of island biogeography predicts that island species richness should increase with island area. This prediction generally holds among large islands, but among small islands species richness often varies independently of island area, producing the so-called 'small-island effect' and an overall biphasic species-area relationship (SAR). Here, we develop a unified theory that explains the biphasic island SAR. Our theory's key postulate is that as island area increases, the total number of immigrants increases faster than niche diversity. A parsimonious mechanistic model approximating these processes reproduces a biphasic SAR and provides excellent fits to 100 archipelago datasets. In the light of our theory, the biphasic island SAR can be interpreted as arising from a transition from a niche-structured regime on small islands to a colonization-extinction balance regime on large islands. The first regime is characteristic of classic deterministic niche theories; the second regime is characteristic of stochastic theories including the theory of island biogeography and neutral theory. The data furthermore confirm our theory's key prediction that the transition between the two SAR regimes should occur at smaller areas, where immigration is stronger (i.e. for taxa that are better dispersers and for archipelagos that are less isolated). © 2016 The Author(s).

Using Peer-Referral Chains with Incentives to Promote HIV Testing and Identify Undiagnosed HIV Infections Among Crack Users in San Salvador

PubMed Central

Glasman, Laura R.; Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Lechuga, Julia; Tarima, Sergey; Bodnar, Gloria; de Mendoza, Lorena Rivas

2016-01-01

In El Salvador, crack users are at high risk for HIV but they are not targeted by efforts to promote early HIV diagnosis. We evaluated the promise of peer-referral chains with incentives to increase HIV testing and identify undiagnosed HIV infections among networks of crack users in San Salvador. For 14 months, we offered HIV testing in communities with a high prevalence of crack use. For the following 14 months, we promoted chains in which crack users from these communities referred their peers to HIV testing and received a small monetary incentive. We recorded the monthly numbers of HIV testers, and their crack use, sexual risk behaviors and test results. After launching the referral chains, the monthly numbers of HIV testers increased significantly (Z = 6.90, p < .001) and decayed more slowly (Z = 5.93, p < .001), and the total number of crack-using testers increased nearly fourfold. Testers in the peer-referral period reported fewer HIV risk behaviors, but a similar percentage (~5 %) tested HIV positive in both periods. More women than men received an HIV-positive diagnosis throughout the study (χ2(1, N = 799) = 4.23, p = .040). Peer-referral chains with incentives can potentially increase HIV testing among networks of crack users while retaining a focus on high-risk individuals. PMID:26687093

Using Peer-Referral Chains with Incentives to Promote HIV Testing and Identify Undiagnosed HIV Infections Among Crack Users in San Salvador.

PubMed

Glasman, Laura R; Dickson-Gomez, Julia; Lechuga, Julia; Tarima, Sergey; Bodnar, Gloria; de Mendoza, Lorena Rivas

2016-06-01

In El Salvador, crack users are at high risk for HIV but they are not targeted by efforts to promote early HIV diagnosis. We evaluated the promise of peer-referral chains with incentives to increase HIV testing and identify undiagnosed HIV infections among networks of crack users in San Salvador. For 14 months, we offered HIV testing in communities with a high prevalence of crack use. For the following 14 months, we promoted chains in which crack users from these communities referred their peers to HIV testing and received a small monetary incentive. We recorded the monthly numbers of HIV testers, and their crack use, sexual risk behaviors and test results. After launching the referral chains, the monthly numbers of HIV testers increased significantly (Z = 6.90, p < .001) and decayed more slowly (Z = 5.93, p < .001), and the total number of crack-using testers increased nearly fourfold. Testers in the peer-referral period reported fewer HIV risk behaviors, but a similar percentage (~5 %) tested HIV positive in both periods. More women than men received an HIV-positive diagnosis throughout the study (χ(2)(1, N = 799) = 4.23, p = .040). Peer-referral chains with incentives can potentially increase HIV testing among networks of crack users while retaining a focus on high-risk individuals.

Modeling Catastrophic Barrier Island Dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitley, J. W.; McNamara, D.

2012-12-01

Barrier islands, thin strips of sand lying parallel to the mainland coastline, along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts appear to have maintained their form for thousands of years in the face of rising sea level. The mechanisms that allow barrier islands to remain robust are transport of sediment from the ocean side of barriers to the top and backside during storms, termed island overwash, and the growth and alongshore propagation of tidal deltas near barrier island inlets. Dynamically these processes provide the necessary feedbacks to maintain a barrier island in an attractor that withstands rising sea level within a phase space of barrier island geometrical characteristics. Current barrier island configurations along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts exist among a wide range of storm climate and underlying geologic conditions and therefore the environment that forces overwash and tidal delta dynamics varies considerably. It has been suggested that barrier islands in certain locations such as those between Avon and Buxton (losing 76% of island width since 1852) and Chandeleur islands (losing 85% of its surface area since 2005) along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, respectively, may be subject to a catastrophic shift in barrier island attractor states - more numerous inlets cutting barriers in some locations and the complete disappearance of barrier islands in other locations. In contrast to common models for barrier islands that neglect storm dynamics and often only consider cross-shore response, we use an alongshore extended model for barrier island dynamics including beach erosion, island overwash and inlet cutting during storms, and beach accretion, tidal delta growth and dune and vegetation growth between storms to explore the response of barrier islands to a wide range of environmental forcing. Results will be presented that show how barrier island attractor states are altered with variations in the rate of sea level rise, storminess, and underlying geology. We will

46 CFR 7.80 - Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. 7.80 Section... BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.80 Tybee Island, GA to St. Simons Island, GA. (a) A line drawn from the...′ N. longitude 81°02.3′ W. (St. Catherines Sound Buoy “St. C.”); thence to latitude 31°31.2′ N...

Probable flood predictions in ungauged coastal basins of El Salvador

USGS Publications Warehouse

Friedel, M.J.; Smith, M.E.; Chica, A.M.E.; Litke, D.

2008-01-01

A regionalization procedure is presented and used to predict probable flooding in four ungauged coastal river basins of El Salvador: Paz, Jiboa, Grande de San Miguel, and Goascoran. The flood-prediction problem is sequentially solved for two regions: upstream mountains and downstream alluvial plains. In the upstream mountains, a set of rainfall-runoff parameter values and recurrent peak-flow discharge hydrographs are simultaneously estimated for 20 tributary-basin models. Application of dissimilarity equations among tributary basins (soft prior information) permitted development of a parsimonious parameter structure subject to information content in the recurrent peak-flow discharge values derived using regression equations based on measurements recorded outside the ungauged study basins. The estimated joint set of parameter values formed the basis from which probable minimum and maximum peak-flow discharge limits were then estimated revealing that prediction uncertainty increases with basin size. In the downstream alluvial plain, model application of the estimated minimum and maximum peak-flow hydrographs facilitated simulation of probable 100-year flood-flow depths in confined canyons and across unconfined coastal alluvial plains. The regionalization procedure provides a tool for hydrologic risk assessment and flood protection planning that is not restricted to the case presented herein. ?? 2008 ASCE.

[The knowledge of pediatricians in Salvador, Brazil about measles vaccine].

PubMed

Moreira, L A; Carvalho, F M; Silvany-Neto, A M; Peres, M F

1997-12-01

The success of international initiatives for the eradication of measles depends in large part on knowledge about vaccination. In 1992, a cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate knowledge about measles vaccine among pediatricians in the Brazilian city of Salvador, Bahia. Of the 506 pediatricians residing in the city, 299 (59%) could be located and responded to a questionnaire containing 15 questions that posed hypothetical situations regarding indications and contraindications for this vaccine. The average number of correct responses was 9.3 out of 15, which illustrates the pediatricians' poor knowledge of measles vaccine. Conditions commonly seen in pediatric practice in Brazil--malnutrition, upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhea, and prematurity--were often erroneously considered contraindications for immunization. More than half (62%) of the pediatricians did not know the correct way to administer the vaccine. Knowledge about the vaccine did not differ according to the length of time that had elapsed since the physicians' university training in pediatrics or as a result of working in health centers operated by the State Health Secretariat. University professors, pediatricians with a postgraduate degree, and those pursuing postgraduate studies scored slightly higher than the rest. These results point to the need to strengthen training on measles vaccination in medical schools and programs of continuing education for pediatricians.

GPS and seismic constraints on the M = 7.3 2009 Swan Islands earthquake: implications for stress changes along the Motagua fault and other nearby faults

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Graham, Shannon E.; DeMets, Charles; DeShon, Heather R.; Rogers, Robert; Maradiaga, Manuel Rodriguez; Strauch, Wilfried; Wiese, Klaus; Hernandez, Douglas

2012-09-01

We use measurements at 35 GPS stations in northern Central America and 25 seismometers at teleseismic distances to estimate the distribution of slip, source time function and Coulomb stress changes of the Mw = 7.3 2009 May 28, Swan Islands fault earthquake. This event, the largest in the region for several decades, ruptured the offshore continuation of the seismically hazardous Motagua fault of Guatemala, the site of the destructive Ms = 7.5 earthquake in 1976. Measured GPS offsets range from 308 millimetres at a campaign site in northern Honduras to 6 millimetres at five continuous sites in El Salvador. Separate inversions of geodetic and seismic data both indicate that up to ˜1 m of coseismic slip occurred along a ˜250-km-long rupture zone between the island of Roatan and the eastern limit of the 1976 M = 7.5 Motagua fault earthquake in Guatemala. Evidence for slip ˜250 km west of the epicentre is corroborated independently by aftershocks recorded by a local seismic network and by the high concentration of damage to structures in areas of northern Honduras adjacent to the western limit of the rupture zone. Coulomb stresses determined from the coseismic slip distribution resolve a maximum of 1 bar of stress transferred to the seismically hazardous Motagua fault and further indicate unclamping of normal faults along the northern shore of Honduras, where two M > 5 normal-faulting earthquakes and numerous small earthquakes were triggered by the main shock.

From Columbus to Columbia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morain, Stanley A.

On the eve of Christopher Columbus's historic voyage to the New World, the international community of remote sensing and mapping sciences is poised to lead a new, environmentally conscious world into the 21st century. Developments in remote sensing and GIS technology during the past 25 years have paved the way for a modern round of earth exploration that could well equal in lasting importance the geographic achievement of Columbus, 500 years ago. Human experience has evolved from land-lubbing to sea-faring, air-faring and now space-faring so that in future all four modes will be used to enhacce our understanding of earth systems. Columbus "dead reckoned" his place into history by sailing the southern arm of the Atlantic Gyre westward to the Bahamas. For reasons beyond his knowledge, he was "lost" almost from the moment he departed; and to this day, his landfall is placed at several islands between Grand Turk at latitude 21.5°N and San Salvador at 24°N. His headings, nautical speeds, and drift are all subjects of controversy. Today, with global positioning systems, scientists and entrepreneurs can triangulate with considerable accuracy almost any point on the earth's surface, day or night; and, with a fourth satellite, can determine elevation. The same satellite constellation can monitor the speeds and headings of land, sea, and air transportation carriers for the benefit of all international commerce - a knowledge that would have been the envy of Spain's Admiral of the Ocean Seas throughout his search for spices, souls, and gold. We can only imagine what he and his captains might have given for a nightly satellite weather report, let alone images by which to navigate.

Bardsey Island, Wales

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-12-01

Lying 3 km off the Llyn peninsula of Wales, the Bardsey Island is known as the Island of 20,000 saints. While today's permanent population numbers only four, the island was once an important religious site, with a 6th century monastery. It is the legendary burial site of King Arthur. Another legend holds that anyone who died on the island would not go to hell. The image was acquired April 4, 2006, covers an area of 6 by 10 km, and is located at 52.7 degrees north, 4.8 degrees west. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21182

Patient Privacy and Conflicting Legal and Ethical Obligations in El Salvador: Reporting of Unlawful Abortions

PubMed Central

McNaughton, Heathe Luz; Mitchell, Ellen M.H.; Hernandez, Emilia G.; Padilla, Karen; Blandon, Marta Maria

2006-01-01

Postabortion care providers who breach patient confidentiality endanger women’s health and violate ethics. A 1998 abortion ban in El Salvador likely spurred an increase in the number of women investigated, because many women were reported to legal authorities by health care providers. Having analyzed safeguards of confidentiality in laws and ethical guidelines, we obtained information from legal records on women prosecuted from 1998 to 2003 and identified factors that may lead to reporting through a survey of obstetrician-gynecologists (n=110). Although ethical and human rights standards oblige providers to respect patients’ privacy, 80% of obstetrician-gynecologists mistakenly believed reporting was required. Most respondents (86%) knew that women delay seeking care because of fear of prosecution, yet a majority (56%) participated in notification of legal authorities. PMID:16571690

[Hygiene practices in a street market in the city of Salvador, Bahia State].

PubMed

Minnaert, Ana Cláudia de Sá Teles; Freitas, Maria do Carmo Soares

2010-06-01

The main objective of this research is to understand the meaning of the practices concerning food hygiene in a street market in Salvador, the capital of Bahia State in Brazil. The ethnographic study presents two main categories for symbolic production related to hygiene practices: cleanliness as order and dirtiness as disorder. These cultural codes make correspondence with the studies of Mary Douglas and Nobert Elias. The codes present particularities to decode everyday life, in which concept and hygiene practices are aspects normalized, in daily activity, for persons who share the space of street market: vendors, consumers, street cleaners and official inspectors. The techno-scientific knowledge and sanitary legislation are strange to the symbolic system of street market vendors. The laws are ineffective and their influence is of little importance in the creation of hygiene practices. Official inspectors' attitudes are coercive and punitive and do not take into account any cultural values when enforcing new hygiene practices.

A comparison of pectoral fin contact between two different wild dolphin populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dudzinski, K.M.; Gregg, J.D.; Ribic, C.A.; Kuczaj, S.A.

2009-01-01

Contact behaviour involving the pectoral fin has been documented in a number of dolphin species, and various explanations about its function have been offered. Pectoral fin contact can take a variety of forms, and involves a number of body parts and movements, likely differing depending upon social or ecological context. For this study, we compare the pectoral fin contact behaviour of two species of wild dolphins: Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) from around Mikura Island, Japan, and Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) from The Bahamas. The two study populations exhibit surprising similarity in the ways in which pectoral fin contacts are used, despite differences in species and environmental conditions at the two sites. Differences in contact rates for calves between the two sites suggest that calf-focused aggression from adult dolphins is more prevalent at Mikura than in The Bahamas. Our results suggest that pectoral fin contact behaviour seems to be driven primarily by social pressures, and may be similar in function to allogrooming described in primates. ?? 2008 Elsevier B.V.

[Family, friends, and other sources of information associated with the initiation of sexual relations by adolescents in El Salvador].

PubMed

Ruiz-Canela, Miguel; López-Del Burgo, Cristina; Carlos, Silvia; Calatrava, María; Osorio, Alfonso; Irala, Jokin de

2012-01-01

The objective of this study is to verify the influence of messages Salvadorian youth receive about sexuality, affection, and leisure from family, friends, and the media on the initiation of sexual activity. Cross-sectional study based on a representative sample of 2 615 students (from 13 to 19 years of age) in El Salvador. A random systematic sampling was used to select 30 schools. Sociodemographic aspects, lifestyles, and sources of information on sexuality and love used by the young people were collected. The average age of the young people studied was 15 (SD = 1.8). In all, 638 (24.4%) of the young people stated that they had had sexual relations. The following factors are associated with a greater probability of having had sexual relations: a perception that siblings (OR = 1.8, CI 95%: 1.2-2.7) or friends (OR = 1.7, CI 95%: 1.3-2.2) encourage them to have sex. Protective factors were found to be the supervision of parents (OR = 0.5, CI 95%: 0.4-0.7); messages received from friends that encourage abstinence (OR = 0.7, CI 95%: 0.6-1.0) or from siblings (OR = 0.7, CI 95%: 0.5-0.8); and favorable messages related to marriage received from parents (OR = 0.4, CI 95%: 0.3-0.6). Messages from family and friends are factors that seem to influence the initiation of sexual activity by young people. Sexual health promotion programs in El Salvador should take these factors into account.

Coastal management strategy for small island: ecotourism potency development in Karimata Island, West Kalimantan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudiastuti, A. W.; Munawaroh; Setyawan, I. E.; Pramono, G. H.

2018-04-01

Sustainable coastal management is playing an important role in coastal resources conservation, particularly on small islands. Karimata archipelago has unique characteristics and great potential to be developed as a tourism object, one of which is Karimata Island as the largest island and also reserve area. The concept of ecotourism focuses on the ecology conservation, economic benefits, and social life. Ecotourism aims to build sustainable tourism that provides economically viable and social benefits to the community. This study aims to develop coastal management strategy based on ecotourism at Karimata Island. Spatial approaching through coastal type was done. Qualitative descriptive analysis and SWOT are used to develop sustainable management strategies for the coast of Karimata Island, where the opportunities and challenges to the development of coastal ecotourism Karimata Island also included. If this potential is optimally utilized, it can be relied as an economic opportunity for local communities. Structurally shaped coast, marine depositional coast and coast build by organism are several of coastal types found at Karimata Island. Coastal ecosystems inhabited Karimata Island are mangroves, coral reefs, and macro-algae. Karimata Island have not been optimally utilized for tourist destinations. The biggest obstacle encountered is the accessibility from Kalimantan or other island at Karimata islands. Several problems related to the utilization of coastal resources were found such as mangrove and coral reef damage, also regulation that less supportive. The results of this study are expected to provide an overview of solutions for the development of coastal tourism potentials in Karimata Island.

Earthquakes in El Salvador: a descriptive study of health concerns in a rural community and the clinical implications--part II.

PubMed

Woersching, Joanna C; Snyder, Audrey E

2004-01-01

Results reported in Part I of the Earthquakes in El Salvador series (see Disaster Management & Response 2003;1:105-9) indicated clinically relevant findings. The findings indicated a need for greater public health action within all five categories reviewed: healthcare, access to healthcare, housing, food, water and sanitation. Significant results between urban and rural communities indicated a need for broader community aid, public health and sanitation services to rural areas. Faster and more efficient disaster management and care services throughout the San Sebastian community were also necessary modifications.

Canary Islands

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-01-03

NASA image acquired December 21, 2011 The rugged landscape of the Canary Islands stood out in sharp contrast to the smooth blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the flat tan land of northwestern Africa on December 21, 2011, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite captured this true-color image. The Canary Islands are a group of seven large islands and several smaller islets, all volcanic in origin. The eastern edge of the chain lies only 100 kilometers from the coasts of Morocco and Western Sahara, and the chain stretches for about 500 kilometers across the Atlantic. All the islands are mountainous, and Tenerife, the central island in this image is home to Pico de Teinde, the highest peak, which rises 12,198 feet (3,718 meters) above sea level. From east to west, the islands are named Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palmera and El Hierro. A bright swirl of peacock blue marks the ocean south of El Hierro, a stain on the sea from an ongoing eruption of a volcano under the waters. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

Leadership in nonprofit organizations of Nicaragua and El Salvador: a study from the social identity theory.

PubMed

Moriano León, Juan Antonio; Topa Cantisano, Gabriela; Lévy Mangin, Jean-Pierre

2009-11-01

This study follows the social identity model of leadership proposed by van Knippenberg and Hogg (2003), in order to examine empirically the mediator effect of leadership prototypicality between social identity, extra effort, and perceived effectiveness of group members. The sample consisted of 109 participants who worked in 22 different work-teams of non-profit organizations (NPO) from Nicaragua and El Salvador. The data analysis was performed through structural equation modeling (SEM). The results show that NPO membership is related to a high level of social identity. In addition, the results confirmed that leadership prototypicality has a significant and positive mediator effect in the relationship between the group identification and the group members' extra effort and the perceived effectiveness of leadership.

Disturbed island ecology.

PubMed

Whittaker, R J

1995-10-01

The natural occurrence of significant disturbances to the operation of insular ecosystems has tended to be downplayed in the development of island ecological theory. Despite the importance of events such as Hurricane Hugo, which in 1989 affected islands in the Caribbean, islands that are disturbed tend to be viewed as deviants from the `true path' described by equilibrium models. However, particularly with organisms of long generation times, it is questionable whether such models are applicable. This may be as important for wildlife managers to take account of as for theorists. Disturbance regime should be incorporated into island ecological models alongside other ecological factors structuring colonization patterns and turnover.

Islander: A database of precisely mapped genomic islands in tRNA and tmRNA genes

DOE PAGES

Hudson, Corey M.; Lau, Britney Y.; Williams, Kelly P.

2014-11-05

Genomic islands are mobile DNAs that are major agents of bacterial and archaeal evolution. Integration into prokaryotic chromosomes usually occurs site-specifically at tRNA or tmRNA gene (together, tDNA) targets, catalyzed by tyrosine integrases. This splits the target gene, yet sequences within the island restore the disrupted gene; the regenerated target and its displaced fragment precisely mark the endpoints of the island. We applied this principle to search for islands in genomic DNA sequences. Our algorithm identifies tDNAs, finds fragments of those tDNAs in the same replicon and removes unlikely candidate islands through a series of filters. A search for islandsmore » in 2168 whole prokaryotic genomes produced 3919 candidates. The website Islander (recently moved to http://bioinformatics.sandia.gov/islander/) presents these precisely mapped candidate islands, the gene content and the island sequence. The algorithm further insists that each island encode an integrase, and attachment site sequence identity is carefully noted; therefore, the database also serves in the study of integrase site-specificity and its evolution.« less

Metagenomic and metabolic profiling of nonlithifying and lithifying stromatolitic mats of Highborne Cay, The Bahamas.

PubMed

Khodadad, Christina L M; Foster, Jamie S

2012-01-01

Stromatolites are laminated carbonate build-ups formed by the metabolic activity of microbial mats and represent one of the oldest known ecosystems on Earth. In this study, we examined a living stromatolite located within the Exuma Sound, The Bahamas and profiled the metagenome and metabolic potential underlying these complex microbial communities. The metagenomes of the two dominant stromatolitic mat types, a nonlithifying (Type 1) and lithifying (Type 3) microbial mat, were partially sequenced and compared. This deep-sequencing approach was complemented by profiling the substrate utilization patterns of the mats using metabolic microarrays. Taxonomic assessment of the protein-encoding genes confirmed previous SSU rRNA analyses that bacteria dominate the metagenome of both mat types. Eukaryotes comprised less than 13% of the metagenomes and were rich in sequences associated with nematodes and heterotrophic protists. Comparative genomic analyses of the functional genes revealed extensive similarities in most of the subsystems between the nonlithifying and lithifying mat types. The one exception was an increase in the relative abundance of certain genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism in the lithifying Type 3 mats. Specifically, genes associated with the degradation of carbohydrates commonly found in exopolymeric substances, such as hexoses, deoxy- and acidic sugars were found. The genetic differences in carbohydrate metabolisms between the two mat types were confirmed using metabolic microarrays. Lithifying mats had a significant increase in diversity and utilization of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur substrates. The two stromatolitic mat types retained similar microbial communities, functional diversity and many genetic components within their metagenomes. However, there were major differences detected in the activity and genetic pathways of organic carbon utilization. These differences provide a strong link between the metagenome and the

Highlights from the Ninth International Symposium of Thrombosis and Anticoagulation (ISTA IX), October 15, 2016, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

PubMed

Lopes, Renato D; Guimarães, Patricia O; Hylek, Elaine; Feitosa-Filho, Gilson S; Ritt, Luiz; Filgueiras, Nivaldo; Darzé, Eduardo; Rocha, Mario S; Magalhães, Luis P; Sousa, Antonio Carlos Sobral; Correia, Luis Claudio; Oliveira, Lucas Hollanda; Garcia, David A

2017-11-01

To discuss and share knowledge about advances in the care of patients with thrombotic disorders, the Ninth International Symposium of Thrombosis and Anticoagulation was held in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, on October 15, 2016. This scientific program was developed by clinicians for clinicians and was promoted by two major clinical research institutes-the Brazilian Clinical Research Institute and the Duke Clinical Research Institute of the Duke University School of Medicine. Comprising academic presentations and open discussion, the symposium had as its primary goal to educate, motivate, and inspire internists, cardiologists, hematologists, and other physicians by convening national and international visionaries, thought-leaders, and dedicated clinician-scientists. This paper summarizes the symposium proceedings.

46 CFR 7.85 - St. Simons Island, GA to Little Talbot Island, FL.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false St. Simons Island, GA to Little Talbot Island, FL. 7.85... BOUNDARY LINES Atlantic Coast § 7.85 St. Simons Island, GA to Little Talbot Island, FL. (a) A line drawn from latitude 31°04.1′ N. longitude 81°16.7′ W. (St. Simons Lighted Whistle Buoy “ST S”) to latitude 30...

Frequent epigenetic inactivation of KIBRA, an upstream member of the Salvador/Warts/Hippo (SWH) tumor suppressor network, is associated with specific genetic event in B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia

PubMed Central

Hill, Victoria K; Dunwell, Thomas; Catchpoole, Daniel; Krex, Dietmar; Brini, Anna T; Griffiths, Mike; Craddock, Charles; Maher, Eamonn R

2011-01-01

The WW-domain containing protein KIBRA has recently been identified as a new member of the Salvador/Warts/Hippo (SWH) pathway in Drosophila and is shown to act as a tumor suppressor gene in Drosophila. This pathway is conserved in humans and members of the pathway have been shown to act as tumor suppressor genes in mammalian systems. We determined the methylation status of the 5′ CpG island associated with the KIBRA gene in human cancers. In a large panel of cancer cell lines representing common epithelial cancers KIBRA was unmethylated. But in pediatric acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) cell lines KIBRA showed frequent hypermethylation and silencing of gene expression, which could be reversed by treatment with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine. In ALL patient samples KIBRA was methylated in 70% B-ALL but was methylated in <20% T-ALL leukemia (p = 0.0019). In B-ALL KIBRA methylation was associated with ETV6/RUNX1 [t(12;21) (p13;q22)] chromosomal translocation (p = 0.0082) phenotype, suggesting that KIBRA may play an important role in t(12;21) leukemogenesis. In ALL paired samples at diagnosis and remission KIBRA methylation was seen in diagnostic but not in any of the remission samples accompanied by loss of KIBRA expression in disease state compared to patients in remission. Hence KIBRA methylation occurs frequently in B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia but not in epithelial cancers and is linked to specific genetic event in B-ALL. PMID:21173572

Heron Island, Australia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

Heron Island is located at the sourthern end of Australia's 2,050 km-long Great Barrier Reef. Surrounded by coral reef and home to over 1000 species of fish, scuba divers and scientists alike are drawn to the island's resort and research station. The true-color image above was taken by Space Imaging's Ikonos satellite with a resolution of 4 meters per pixel-high enough to see individual boats tied up at the small marina. The narrow channel leading from the marina to the ocean was blasted and dredged decades ago, before the island became a national park. Since then the Australian government has implemented conservation measures, such as limiting the number of tourists and removing or recycling, instead of incinerating, all trash. One of the applications of remote sensing data from Ikonos is environmental monitoring, including studies of coral reef health. For more information about the island, read Heron Island. Image by Robert Simmon, based on data copyright Space Imaging

Belcher Islands, Canada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

The Belcher Islands are an archipelago in Hudson Bay in Canada, belonging to the territory of Nunavit. The hamlet of Sanikiluaq is on the north coast of Flaherty Island. Over 1500 islands make up the archipelago. The folded sedimentary and volcanic rocks making up the islands are Proterozoic in age between 0.5 and 2.5 billion years old.

The image mosaic was acquired 18 September 2006, covers an area of 45.7 x 113.3 km, and is located near 56.1 degrees north latitude, 79.4 degrees west longitude.

The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

Formation and adjustment of typhoon-impacted reef islands interpreted from remote imagery: Nadikdik Atoll, Marshall Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ford, Murray R.; Kench, Paul S.

2014-06-01

In 1905, a devastating typhoon hit Nadikdik Atoll (5°54‧ N and 172°09‧ E) in the southern Marshall Islands. Evidence suggests that large sections of reef islands on Nadikdik were overwashed and destroyed. Comparison of aerial photographs taken in 1945 and modern satellite imagery provides a unique record of the geomorphic adjustment of islands after the typhoon. Between 1945 and 2010 the vegetated area of islands on Nadikdik grew from 0.74 to 0.90 km2. Observed changes to Nadikdik reef islands manifested through a range of styles and were largely accretionary. Of note, the formation of a new island was tracked from an embryonic deposit to a fully vegetated and stable island over a 61 year period. Similarly, a number of previously discrete islands have agglomerated and formed a single larger island. These changes were rapid and indicate that reef island formation can occur quickly. Evidence suggests that despite the typhoon occurring over a century ago the geomorphic adjustment of islands is still on-going.

A 5000km2 data set along western Great Bahama Bank illustrates the dynamics of carbonate slope deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schnyder, Jara S. D.; Jo, Andrew; Eberli, Gregor P.; Betzler, Christian; Lindhorst, Sebastian; Schiebel, Linda; Hebbeln, Dierk; Wintersteller, Paul; Mulder, Thierry; Principaud, Melanie

2014-05-01

An approximately 5000km2 hydroacoustic and seismic data set provides the high-resolution bathymetry map of along the western slope of Great Bahama Bank, the world's largest isolated carbonate platform. This large data set in combination with core and sediment samples, provides and unprecedented insight into the variability of carbonate slope morphology and the processes affecting the platform margin and the slope. This complete dataset documents how the interplay of platform derived sedimentation, distribution by ocean currents, and local slope and margin failure produce a slope-parallel facies distribution that is not governed by downslope gradients. Platform-derived sediments produce a basinward thinning sediment wedge that is modified by currents that change directions and strength depending on water depth and location. As a result, winnowing and deposition change with water depth and distance from the margin. Morphological features like the plunge pool and migrating antidunes are the result of currents flowing from the banktop, while the ocean currents produce contourites and drifts. These continuous processes are punctuated by submarine slope failures of various sizes. The largest of these slope failures produce several hundred of km2 of mass transport complexes and could generate tsunamis. Closer to the Cuban fold and thrust belt, large margin collapses pose an equal threat for tsunami generation. However, the debris from margin and slope failure is the foundation for a teeming community of cold-water corals.

33 CFR 80.720 - St. Simons Island, GA to Amelia Island, FL.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false St. Simons Island, GA to Amelia... SECURITY INTERNATIONAL NAVIGATION RULES COLREGS DEMARCATION LINES Seventh District § 80.720 St. Simons Island, GA to Amelia Island, FL. (a) A line drawn from St. Simons Light to the northernmost tank on...

Island of Timor, Indonesia

NASA Image and Video Library

1989-11-27

This almost totally cloud free, photo of the island of Timor, Indonesia (9.0S, 125.0E) illustrates the volcanic origin of the over 1500 islands of Indonesia. Close examination of the photo reveals several eroded volcanoes on the Island of Timor and several of the adjacent islands. The linear alignment of the volcanoes, as seen from space, indicates the edges of the tectonic plates of the Earth's crust where volcanic activity is most common.

11. VIEW NORTH, WOODLYNNE AVENUE ISLAND FROM 130 SOUTH ISLAND ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

11. VIEW NORTH, WOODLYNNE AVENUE ISLAND FROM 130 SOUTH ISLAND - White Horse Pike Rond Point, Intersection of Crescent Boulevard (U.S. Route 130), White Horse Pike (U.S. Route 30), & Clay Avenue, Collingswood, Camden County, NJ

33 CFR 80.712 - Morris Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Edisto River Entrance to the shore of Botany Bay Island. (d) A line drawn from the microwave antenna..., SC to Hilton Head Island, SC. (a) A straight line drawn from the seaward tangent of Folly Island through across Stono River to the shoreline of Sandy Point. (b) A straight line drawn from the seaward...

33 CFR 80.712 - Morris Island, SC to Hilton Head Island, SC.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Edisto River Entrance to the shore of Botany Bay Island. (d) A line drawn from the microwave antenna..., SC to Hilton Head Island, SC. (a) A straight line drawn from the seaward tangent of Folly Island through across Stono River to the shoreline of Sandy Point. (b) A straight line drawn from the seaward...

Overweight, asthma symptoms, atopy and pulmonary function in children of 4-12 years of age: findings from the SCAALA cohort in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

PubMed

Matos, Sheila M A; Jesus, Sandra R; Saldiva, Silvia R D M; Prado, Matildes S; D'Innocenzo, Silvana; Assis, Ana M O; Rodrigues, Laura C; Alcantara-Neves, Neuza M; Cruz, Álvaro A; Simões, Silvia de Magalhães; Barreto, Maurício L

2011-07-01

To evaluate the association between overweight and the occurrence of asthma and atopy in a cohort of children of 4-12 years of age living in the city of Salvador in 2005. Cross-sectional study nested in a cohort. The metropolitan region of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The study included 1129 children of 4-12 years age who presented complete information on the variables used here. Skin tests for allergy, spirometry, faecal parasitology, serum IgE and anthropometric surveys were conducted. Poisson's multivariate regression was adopted. Wheezing was found in 29·1% and asthma in 22·8% of children, both conditions being more common in those under 6 years of age and 34% more common in overweight children (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1·34; 95% CI 1·07, 1·67) following adjustment. The ratio between forced expiratory volume in 1s and forced vital capacity was associated with overweight (PR = 1·35; 95% CI 1·11, 1·61). No statistically significant association was found between overweight and allergen-specific IgE or with wheezing. These results are in agreement with the hypothesis that overweight is associated with asthma and pulmonary function, even following adjustment for intervening variables known to be associated with the pathogeny of asthma.

77 FR 51473 - Safety Zone; Bostock 50th Anniversary Fireworks, Long Island Sound; Manursing Island, NY

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-24

... 1625-AA00 Safety Zone; Bostock 50th Anniversary Fireworks, Long Island Sound; Manursing Island, NY... zone on the navigable waters of Long Island Sound in the vicinity of Manursing Island, NY for a... of Long Island Sound before, during, and immediately after the fireworks event. DATES: This rule is...