Water Flow in the High Plains Aquifer in Northwestern Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Luckey, Richard R.; Osborn, Noel I.; Becker, Mark F.; Andrews, William J.

2000-01-01

The High Plains is a major agricultural area, supported primarily by water from the High Plains aquifer, which is used to irrigate wheat and corn and to raise cattle and swine. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) began a study of the High Plains aquifer in 1996. One purpose of the study was to develop a ground-water flow model that the OWRB could use to allocate the amount of water withdrawn from the a aquifer. The study area in Oklahoma covers all or parts of Beaver, Cimarron, Dewey, Ellis, Harper, Texas, and Woodward Counties. To provide appropriate hydrologic boundaries for the ground-water flow model, the study area was expanded to include parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, and Texas.

Content Area Teacher Candidates' Self-Efficacy Beliefs of Teaching Writing Online

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saine, Paula; West, Jessica A.

2017-01-01

This article focuses on a research study of social studies candidates' self-efficacy beliefs in teaching writing. They coached high school writers online during their content-area literacy course in an effort to assist the high school students in revising their multigenre papers. Over a period of 6 weeks the candidates and the high school students…

Impact of agriculture and land use on nitrate contamination in groundwater and running waters in central-west Poland.

PubMed

Lawniczak, Agnieszka Ewa; Zbierska, Janina; Nowak, Bogumił; Achtenberg, Krzysztof; Grześkowiak, Artur; Kanas, Krzysztof

2016-03-01

Protected areas due to their long-term protection are expected to be characterized by good water quality. However, in catchments where arable fields dominate, the impact of agriculture on water pollution is still problematic. In Poland, recently, the fertilization level has decreased, mostly for economic reasons. However, this applies primarily to phosphorus and potassium. In order to evaluate the impact of agriculture on water quality in a protected area with a high proportion of arable fields in the aspect of level and type of fertilization, complex monitoring has been applied. The present study was carried out in Wielkopolska National Park and its buffer zone, which are protected under Natura 2000 as Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas. The aim of the study were (1) to assess the impact of agriculture, with special attention on fertilization, on groundwater, and running water quality and (2) to designate priority areas for implementing nitrogen reduction measures in special attention on protected areas. In our study, high nitrogen concentrations in groundwater and surface waters were detected in the agricultural catchments. The results demonstrate that in the watersheds dominated by arable fields, high nitrogen concentrations in groundwater were measured in comparison to forestry catchments, where high ammonium concentrations were observed. The highest nitrogen concentrations were noted in spring after winter freezing, with a small cover of vegetation, and in the areas with a high level of nitrogen application. In the studied areas, both in the park and its buffer zone, unfavorable N:P and N:K ratios in supplied nutrients were detected. Severe shortage of phosphorus and potassium in applied fertilizers is one of the major factors causing leaching of nitrogen due to limited possibilities of its consumption by plants.

Geographical information system (GIS) modeling territory receptivity to strengthen entomological surveillance: Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) case study in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil.

PubMed

Albuquerque, Hermano Gomes; Peiter, Paulo Cesar; Toledo, Luciano M; Alencar, Jeronimo A F; Sabroza, Paulo C; Dias, Cristina G; Santos, Jefferson P C; Suárez-Mutis, Martha C

2018-04-19

Extra-Amazonian malaria mortality is 60 times higher than the Amazon malaria mortality. Imported cases correspond to approximately 90% of extra-Amazonian cases. Imported malaria could be a major problem if it occurs in areas with receptivity, because it can favor the occurrence of outbreaks or reintroductions of malaria in those areas. This study aimed to model territorial receptivity for malaria to serve as an entomological surveillance tool in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Geomorphology, rainfall, temperature, and vegetation layers were used in the AHP process for the receptivity stratification of Rio de Janeiro State territory. The model predicted five receptivity classes: very low, low, medium, high and very high. The 'very high' class is the most important in the receptivity model, corresponding to areas with optimal environmental and climatological conditions to provide suitable larval habitats for Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) vectors. This receptivity class covered 497.14 km 2 or 1.18% of the state's area. The 'high' class covered the largest area, 17,557.98 km 2 , or 41.62% of the area of Rio de Janeiro State. We used freely available databases for modeling the distribution of receptive areas for malaria transmission in the State of Rio de Janeiro. This was a new and low-cost approach to support entomological surveillance efforts. Health workers in 'very high' and 'high' receptivity areas should be prepared to diagnose all febrile individuals and determine the cause of the fever, including malaria. Each malaria case must be treated and epidemiological studies must be conducted to prevent the reintroduction of the disease.

Mineral resources of the Adobe Town Wilderness Study Area, Sweetwater County, Wyoming

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

Van Loenen, R.E.; Hill, R.H.; Bankey, V.

1989-01-01

The Adobe Town Wilderness Study Area is in Southwest Wyoming about 60 miles southeast of Rock Springs. This study area consists of flat-lying sedimentary rock of Eocene age located near the center of the Washakie Basin. There are no identified resources. This study area has a high resource potential for undiscovered oil and gas, in over pressured Cretaceous and Tertiary sandstone reservoirs. This study area has a low resource potential for undiscovered oil shale, zeolites, uranium, coal, and metallic minerals.

Characterization of three commercial Y-TZP ceramics produced for their high-translucency, high-strength and high-surface area.

PubMed

Tong, Hui; Tanaka, Carina B; Kaizer, Marina R; Zhang, Yu

2016-01-01

Developing yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) with high strength and translucency could significantly widen the clinical indications of monolithic zirconia restorations. This study investigates the mechanical and optical properties of three Y-TZP ceramics: High-Translucency, High-Strength and High-Surface Area. The four-point bending strengths (mean ± standard error) for the three Y-TZP ceramics ( n = 10) were 990 ± 39, 1416 ± 33 and 1076 ± 32 MPa for High-Translucency, High-Strength and High-Surface Area, respectively. The fracture toughness values (mean ± standard error) for the three zirconias ( n = 10) were 3.24 ± 0.10, 3.63 ± 0.12 and 3.21 ± 0.14 MPa m 1/2 for High-Translucency, High-Strength and High-Surface Area, respectively. Both strength and toughness values of High-Strength zirconia were significantly higher than High-Surface Area and High-Translucency zirconias. Translucency parameter values of High-Translucency zirconia were considerably higher than High-Strength and High-Surface Area zirconias. However, all three zirconias became essentially opaque when their thickness reached 1 mm or greater. Our findings suggest that there exists a delicate balance between mechanical and optical properties of the current commercial Y-TZP ceramics.

HIGH REACTIVITY SORBENTS FOR SO2 CONTROL

EPA Science Inventory

The paper discusses studies, relating to air pollution control from coal-fired utility boilers, that show that the primary variable affecting sorbent reactivity at high temperature or at low temperature with water droplets is surface area. For the development of high surface area...

Determination of fluoride source in ground water using petrographic studies in Dashtestan area, south of Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battaleb-Looie, Sedigheh; Moore, Farid, ,, Dr.

2010-05-01

The groundwater occurs in Dashtestan area, contains a high level of fluoride. Since groundwater is vastly used for drinking and irrigation purposes, the local residents are at high risk of fluoride toxicity, as already evidenced by the occurrence of dental Fluorosis in many residents. 35 surface and groundwater samples were collected in September, 2009. The results show that in 23 samples the fluoride concentration is above the permissible level (1.5ppm). Petrographic study of lithological units in the catchment area indicates that mica minerals are the most probable source of fluoride content in the study area.

High Plains Regional Ground-water Study web site

USGS Publications Warehouse

Qi, Sharon L.

2000-01-01

Now available on the Internet is a web site for the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program-High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study. The purpose of the web site is to provide public access to a wide variety of information on the USGS investigation of the ground-water resources within the High Plains aquifer system. Typical pages on the web site include the following: descriptions of the High Plains NAWQA, the National NAWQA Program, the study-area setting, current and past activities, significant findings, chemical and ancillary data (which can be downloaded), listing and access to publications, links to other sites about the High Plains area, and links to other web sites studying High Plains ground-water resources. The High Plains aquifer is a regional aquifer system that underlies 174,000 square miles in parts of eight States (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming). Because the study area is so large, the Internet is an ideal way to provide project data and information on a near real-time basis. The web site will be a collection of living documents where project data and information are updated as it becomes available throughout the life of the project. If you have an interest in the High Plains area, you can check this site periodically to learn how the High Plains NAWQA activities are progressing over time and access new data and publications as they become available.

Prevalence of dental fluorosis & dental caries in association with high levels of drinking water fluoride content in a district of Gujarat, India

PubMed Central

Kotecha, P.V.; Patel, S.V.; Bhalani, K.D.; Shah, D.; Shah, V.S.; Mehta, K.G.

2012-01-01

Background & objectives: Endemic fluorosis resulting from high fluoride concentration in groundwater is a major public health problem in India. This study was carried out to measure and compare the prevalence of dental fluorosis and dental caries in the population residing in high and normal level of fluoride in their drinking water in Vadodara district, Gujarat, India. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Vadodara district, six of the 261 villages with high fluoride level and five of 1490 with normal fluoride level in drinking water were selected. The data collection was made by house-to-house visits twice during the study period. Results: The dental fluorosis prevalence in high fluoride area was 59.31 per cent while in normal fluoride area it was 39.21 per cent. The prevalence of dental caries in high fluoride area was 39.53 per cent and in normal fluoride area was 48.21 per cent with CI 6.16 to 11.18. Dental fluorosis prevalence was more among males as compared to females. Highest prevalence of dental fluorosis was seen in 12-24 yr age group. Interpretation & conclusions: The risk of dental fluorosis was higher in the areas showing more fluoride content in drinking water and to a lesser degree of dental caries in the same area. High fluoride content is a risk factor for dental fluorosis and problem of dental fluorosis increased with passage of time suggesting that the fluoride content in the water has perhaps increased over time. Longitudinal studies should be conducted to confirm the findings. PMID:22825606

Assessment of groundwater potential zones using multi-influencing factor (MIF) and GIS: a case study from Birbhum district, West Bengal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thapa, Raju; Gupta, Srimanta; Guin, Shirshendu; Kaur, Harjeet

2017-11-01

Remote sensing and GIS play a vital role in exploration and assessment of groundwater and has wide application in detection, monitoring, assessment, conservation and various other fields of groundwater-related studies. In this research work, delineation of groundwater potential zone in Birbhum district has been carried out. Various thematic layers viz. geology, geomorphology, soil type, elevation, lineament and fault density, slope, drainage density, land use/land cover, soil texture, and rainfall are digitized and transformed into raster data in ArcGIS 10.3 environment as input factors. Thereafter, multi-influencing factor (MIF) technique is employed where ranks and weights, assigned to each factor are computed statistically. Finally, groundwater potential zones are classified into four categories namely low, medium, high and very high zone. It is observed that 18.41% (836.86 km2) and 34.41% (1563.98 km2) of the study area falls under `low' and `medium' groundwater potential zone, respectively. Approximately 1601.19 km2 area accounting for 35.23% of the study area falls under `high' category and `very high' groundwater potential zone encompasses an area of 542.98 km2 accounting for 11.95% of the total study area. Finally, the model generated groundwater potential zones are validated with reported potential yield data of various wells in the study area. Success and prediction rate curve reveals an accuracy achievement of 83.03 and 78%, respectively. The outcome of the present research work will help the local authorities, researchers, decision makers and planners in formulating better planning and management of groundwater resources in the study area in future perspectives.

Frequency of CDH1 germline mutations in gastric carcinoma coming from high- and low-risk areas: metanalysis and systematic review of the literature

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The frequency of E-cadherin germline mutations in countries with different incidence rates for gastric carcinoma has not been well established. The goal of this study was to assess the worldwide frequency of CDH1 germline mutations in gastric cancers coming from low- and high-risk areas. Methods English articles using MEDLINE access (from 1998 to 2011). Search terms included CDH1, E-cadherin, germline mutation, gastric cancer, hereditary, familial and diffuse histotype. The study included all E-cadherin germline mutations identified in gastric cancer patients; somatic mutations and germline mutations reported in other tumors were excluded. The method of this study was scheduled in accordance with the "PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses". Countries were classified as low- or middle/high risk-areas for gastric carcinoma incidence. Statistical analysis was performed to correlate the CDH1 mutation frequency with gastric cancer incidence areas. Results A total of 122 E-cadherin germline mutations have been identified; the majority (87.5%) occurred in gastric cancers coming from low-risk areas. In high-risk areas, we identified 16 mutations in which missense mutations were predominant. (68.8%). We verified a significant association between the mutation frequency and the gastric cancer risk area (p < 0.001: overall identified mutations in low- vs. middle/high-risk areas). Conclusions E-cadherin genetic screenings performed in low-risk areas for gastric cancer identified a higher frequency of CDH1 germline mutations. This data could open new approaches in the gastric cancer prevention test; before proposing a proband candidate for the CDH1 genetic screening, geographic variability, alongside the family history should be considered. PMID:22225527

High school and college introductory science education experiences: A study regarding perceptions of university students persisting in science as a major area of study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fredrick, L. Denise

The focus of this study was to investigate college students' perception of high school and college introductory science learning experiences related to persistence in science as a major area of study in college. The study included students' perceptions of the following areas of science education: (1) teacher interpersonal relationship with students, (2) teacher personality styles, (3) teacher knowledge of the content, (4) instructional methods, and (5) science course content. A survey research design was employed in the investigative study to collect and analyze data. One hundred ninety two students participated in the research study. A survey instrument entitled Science Education Perception Survey was used to collect data. The researcher sought to reject or support three null hypotheses as related to participants' perceptions of high school and college introductory science education experiences. Using binomial regression analysis, this study analyzed differences between students persisting in science and students not persisting in science as a major. The quantitative research indicated that significant differences exist between persistence in science as a major and high school science teacher traits and college introductory science instructional methods. Although these variables were found to be significant predictors, the percent variance was low and should be considered closely before concluded these as strong predictors of persistence. Major findings of the qualitative component indicated that students perceived that: (a) interest in high school science course content and high school science teacher personality and interpersonal relationships had the greatest effect on students' choice of major area of study; (b) interest in college introductory science course content had the greatest effect on students' choice of major area of study; (c) students recalled laboratory activities and overall good teaching as most meaningful to their high school science educational experiences and (d) students recalled laboratory activities and lectures linking practical application of science knowledge as meaningful to their college introductory science education experiences.

Accuracy of a high-resolution lidar terrain model under a conifer forest canopy

Treesearch

S.E. Reutebuch; R.J. McGaughey; H.-E. Andersen; W.W. Carson

2003-01-01

Airborne laser scanning systems can provide terrain elevation data for open areas with a vertical accuracy of 15 cm. In this study, a high-resolution digital terrain model (DTM) was produced from high-density lidar data. Vegetation in the 500-ha mountainous study area varied from bare ground to dense 70-year-old conifer forest. Conventional ground survey methods were...

HIGH UINTAS PRIMITIVE AREA, UTAH.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crittenden, Max D.; Sheridan, Michael J.

1984-01-01

Mineral surveys in the High Uintas Primitive Area, Utah and the additions subsequently proposed concluded that the area has little promise for mineral resources. Of the areas around the fringes, a strip along the north flank fault can be classed as having probable energy-resource potential for oil and gas. The oil and gas potential could be tested by additional seismic studies followed by drilling. Much of the necessary information probably could be obtained without drilling within the primitive area itself.

Non-encapsulation approach for high-performance Li–S batteries through controlled nucleation and growth

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

Pan, Huilin; Chen, Junzheng; Cao, Ruiguo

Sulfur encapsulation in high surface area, nanoporous carbon is currently the most widely studied approach to improve the cycling stability of Li-S batteries. However, the relatively large amount of high surface area carbon decreases the overall volumetric energy density in the system and makes it difficult to compete with other battery chemistries. In this paper, we report a new approach that does not depend on sulfur encapsulation and high surface area carbon. We investigate the nucleation and deposition of sulfur using low surface area carbon in the cathode (surface area 17 m2 g-1). Optimization of the solvent properties and themore » deposition condition produce large spherical porous agglomerated particles rather than thin films. A solution mediated nucleation and growth mechanism is identified to form the large porous polysulfide particles. This new mechanism leads to close to 100% sulfur utilization, almost no capacity fading, over 99% coulombic efficacy, and high energy density (2350 Wh kg-1 and 2600 Wh L-1 based on overall mass/volume of cathode). This study may open a fundamentally new approach of using a low surface area carbon host for designing high energy Li-S battery by controlling the nucleation/growth pathway and morphology of sulfur species.« less

The role of social support and social networks in smoking behavior among middle and older aged people in rural areas of South Korea: A cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Although the number of studies on anti-smoking interventions has increased, studies focused on identifying social contextual factors in rural areas are scarce. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of social support and social networks in smoking behavior among middle and older aged people living in rural areas of South Korea. Methods The study employed a cross-sectional design. Participants included 1,057 adults, with a mean age of 60.7 years, residing in rural areas. Information on participants' tobacco use, stress, social support, and social networks was collected using structured questionnaires. The chi-square test, the t-test, ANOVA, and logistic regression were used for data analysis. Results The overall smoking prevalence in the study was 17.4% (men, 38.8%; women, 5.1%). Overall, stress was high among women, and social support was high among men. Smokers had high levels of social support (t = -2.90, p = .0038) and social networks (t = -2.22, p = .0271), as compared to non- and former smokers. Those in the high social support group were likely to be smokers (AOR = 2.21, 95% CI 1.15-4.26). Women with moderate social ties were less likely to smoke (AOR = 0.18, 95% CI 0.05-0.61). Conclusion There was a protective role of a moderate social network level among women, and a high level of social support was associated with smoking behaviors in rural areas. Findings suggest the need for a comprehensive understanding of the functions and characteristics of social contextual factors including social support and social networks in order to conduct more effective anti-smoking interventions in rural areas. PMID:20167103

The distribution of outcomes research papers across clinical journals.

PubMed

Goldsack, Jennifer; McLaughlin, Chris; Bristol, Mirar N; Loeb, Alex; Bergey, Meredith; Sonnad, Seema S

2011-06-01

This study examines the distribution of health outcomes research (HOR) studies in the clinical literature by clinical areas and journal impact factor. The authors reviewed 535 journals and divided the sample into higher and lower impact journals across four clinical area. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to examine differences across four categories of outcomes research articles published, specifically the incidence of articles in higher versus lower impact journals and differences across clinical areas. All high-impact journals published more safety and quality articles than process assessment, quality of life, or cost analysis studies. The number of each type of outcomes research study published was highly variable across all clinical areas. Only arthritis and outcomes research journals showed statistically significant differences between higher versus lower impact journals. Authors may benefit from considering these differences in their clinical specialty area when deciding where to submit HOR studies.

Colorado River campsite monitoring, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1998-2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kaplinski, Matt; Hazel, Joe; Parnell, Rod; Hadley, Daniel R.; Grams, Paul

2014-01-01

River rafting trips and hikers use sandbars along the Colorado River in Marble and Grand Canyons as campsites. The U.S. Geological Survey evaluated the effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations on campsite areas on sandbars along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. Campsite area was measured annually from 1998 to 2012 at 37 study sites between Lees Ferry and Diamond Creek, Arizona. The primary purpose of this report is to present the methods and results of the project. Campsite area surveys were conducted using total station survey methods to outline the perimeter of camping area at each study site. Campsite area is defined as any region of smooth substrate (most commonly sand) with no more than an 8 degree slope and little or no vegetation. We used this definition, but relaxed the slope criteria to include steeper areas near boat mooring locations where campers typically establish their kitchens. The results show that campsite area decreased over the course of the study period, but at a rate that varied by elevation zone and by survey period. Time-series plots show that from 1998 to 2012, high stage-elevation (greater than the 25,000 ft3/s stage-elevation) campsite area decreased significantly, although there was no significant trend in low stage-elevation (15,000–20,000 ft3/s) campsite area. High stage-elevation campsite area increased after the 2004 and 2008 high flows, but decreased in the intervals between high flows. Although no overall trend was detected for low stage-elevation campsite areas, they did increase after high-volume dam releases equal to or greater than about 20,000 ft3/s. We conclude that dam operations have not met the management objectives of the Glen Canyon Adaptive Management program to increase the size of camping beaches in critical and non-critical reaches of the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead.

Evaluation of Eco-economy Harmony and Spatial Evolution of the Urban Agglomeration Area in The Great Pearl River Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiuming; Xu, Min; Zhang, Yong; Xu, Naizhong; Zhang, Yuhuan

2018-05-01

Based on the land use data of the study area during 1990 to 2016, the coordination between ecological environment and economy was estimated according to the ESV (ecosystem services value) and EEH (eco-economy harmony) index. The results showed that large amount of farmland and forests were changed to construction land in the study area, due to the rapid urbanization and industrialization. The ESV showed an overall downward trend, the ESV in per hectare was decreased from 1554,000Yuan to 14513,000Yuan. The economic development speed was decreased from 1990 to 2016, the area with high GDP growth rate is changed from the core area of the pearl river delta to the periphery area. The ecology-economy relation in the study area experienced a transformation of “low grade coordination-low grade conflict -further conflict”. Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen, the central city of Foshan and Guangzhou became the most high-grade conflict areas.

Identification and delineation of areas flood hazard using high accuracy of DEM data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riadi, B.; Barus, B.; Widiatmaka; Yanuar, M. J. P.; Pramudya, B.

2018-05-01

Flood incidents that often occur in Karawang regency need to be mitigated. These expectations exist on technologies that can predict, anticipate and reduce disaster risks. Flood modeling techniques using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data can be applied in mitigation activities. High accuracy DEM data used in modeling, will result in better flooding flood models. The result of high accuracy DEM data processing will yield information about surface morphology which can be used to identify indication of flood hazard area. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe flood hazard areas by identifying wetland areas using DEM data and Landsat-8 images. TerraSAR-X high-resolution data is used to detect wetlands from landscapes, while land cover is identified by Landsat image data. The Topography Wetness Index (TWI) method is used to detect and identify wetland areas with basic DEM data, while for land cover analysis using Tasseled Cap Transformation (TCT) method. The result of TWI modeling yields information about potential land of flood. Overlay TWI map with land cover map that produces information that in Karawang regency the most vulnerable areas occur flooding in rice fields. The spatial accuracy of the flood hazard area in this study was 87%.

Cortical theta wanes for language.

PubMed

Hermes, Dora; Miller, Kai J; Vansteensel, Mariska J; Edwards, Erik; Ferrier, Cyrille H; Bleichner, Martin G; van Rijen, Peter C; Aarnoutse, Erik J; Ramsey, Nick F

2014-01-15

The role of low frequency oscillations in language areas is not yet understood. Using ECoG in six human subjects, we studied whether different language regions show prominent power changes in a specific rhythm, in similar manner as the alpha rhythm shows the most prominent power changes in visual areas. Broca's area and temporal language areas were localized in individual subjects using fMRI. In these areas, the theta rhythm showed the most pronounced power changes and theta power decreased significantly during verb generation. To better understand the role of this language-related theta decrease, we then studied the interaction between low frequencies and local neuronal activity reflected in high frequencies. Amplitude-amplitude correlations showed that theta power correlated negatively with high frequency activity, specifically across verb generation trials. Phase-amplitude coupling showed that during control trials, high frequency power was coupled to theta phase, but this coupling decreased significantly during verb generation trials. These results suggest a dynamic interaction between the neuronal mechanisms underlying the theta rhythm and local neuronal activity in language areas. As visual areas show a pronounced alpha rhythm that may reflect pulsed inhibition, language regions show a pronounced theta rhythm with highly similar features. © 2013.

Study of the Application of Separation Control by Unsteady Excitation to Civil Transport Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McLean, J. D.; Crouch, J. D.; Stoner, R. C.; Sakurai, S.; Seidel, G. E.; Feifel, W. M.; Rush, H. M.

1999-01-01

This study provides a preliminary assessment of the potential benefits of applying unsteady separation control to transport aircraft. Estimates are given for some of the costs associated with a specific application to high-lift systems. High-leverage areas for future research were identified during the course of the study. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 consisted of a coarse screening of potential applications within the aerodynamics discipline. Potential benefits were identified and in some cases quantified in a preliminary way. Phase 2 concentrated on the application to the wing high-lift system, deemed to have the greatest potential benefit for commercial transports. A team of experts, including other disciplines (i.e. hydraulic, mechanical, and electrical systems, structures, configurations, manufacturing, and finance), assessed the feasibility, benefits, and costs to arrive at estimates of net benefits. In both phases of the study, areas of concern and areas for future research were identified. In phase 3 of this study, the high-leverage areas for future research were prioritized as a guide for future efforts aimed at the application of active flow control to commercial transport aircraft.

Urban poverty and infant mortality rate disparities.

PubMed

Sims, Mario; Sims, Tammy L; Bruce, Marino A

2007-04-01

This study examined whether the relationship between high poverty and infant mortality rates (IMRs) varied across race- and ethnic-specific populations in large urban areas. Data were drawn from 1990 Census and 1992-1994 Vital Statistics for selected U.S. metropolitan areas. High-poverty areas were defined as neighborhoods in which > or = 40% of the families had incomes below the federal poverty threshold. Bivariate models showed that high poverty was a significant predictor of IMR for each group; however, multivariate analyses demonstrate that maternal health and regional factors explained most of the variance in the group-specific models of IMR. Additional analysis revealed that high poverty was significantly associated with minority-white IMR disparities, and country of origin is an important consideration for ethnic birth outcomes. Findings from this study provide a glimpse into the complexity associated with infant mortality in metropolitan areas because they suggest that the factors associated with infant mortality in urban areas vary by race and ethnicity.

A community survey of the pattern and determinants of household sources of energy for cooking in rural and urban south western, Nigeria.

PubMed

Desalu, Olufemi Olumuyiwa; Ojo, Ololade Olusola; Ariyibi, Ebenezer Kayode; Kolawole, Tolutope Fasanmi; Ogunleye, Ayodele Idowu

2012-01-01

The use of solid fuels for cooking is associated with indoor pollution and lung diseases. The objective of the study was to determine the pattern and determinants of household sources of energy for cooking in rural and urban South Western, Nigeria. We conducted a cross sectional study of households in urban (Ado-Ekiti) and rural (Ido-Ekiti) local council areas from April to July 2010. Female respondents in the households were interviewed by trained interviewers using a semi-structured questionnaire. A total of 670 households participated in the study. Majority of rural dwellers used single source of energy for cooking (55.6%) and urban dwellers used multiple source of energy (57.8%). Solid fuel use (SFU) was higher in rural (29.6%) than in urban areas (21.7%). Kerosene was the most common primary source of energy for cooking in both urban and rural areas (59.0% vs.66.6%) followed by gas (17.8%) and charcoal (6.6%) in the urban areas, and firewood (21.6%) and charcoal (7.1%) in the rural areas. The use of solid fuel was strongly associated with lack of ownership of dwellings and larger household size in urban areas, and lower level of education and lower level of wealth in the rural areas. Kerosene was associated with higher level of husband education and modern housing in urban areas and younger age and indoor cooking in rural areas. Gas was associated with high income and modern housing in the urban areas and high level of wealth in rural areas. Electricity was associated with high level of education, availability of electricity and old age in urban and rural areas respectively. The use of solid fuel is high in rural areas, there is a need to reduce poverty and improve the use of cleaner source of cooking energy particularly in rural areas and improve lung health.

A community survey of the pattern and determinants of household sources of energy for cooking in rural and urban south western, Nigeria

PubMed Central

Desalu, Olufemi Olumuyiwa; Ojo, Ololade Olusola; Ariyibi, Ebenezer Kayode; Kolawole, Tolutope Fasanmi; Ogunleye, Ayodele Idowu

2012-01-01

Introduction The use of solid fuels for cooking is associated with indoor pollution and lung diseases. The objective of the study was to determine the pattern and determinants of household sources of energy for cooking in rural and urban South Western, Nigeria. Methods We conducted a cross sectional study of households in urban (Ado-Ekiti) and rural (Ido-Ekiti) local council areas from April to July 2010. Female respondents in the households were interviewed by trained interviewers using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results A total of 670 households participated in the study. Majority of rural dwellers used single source of energy for cooking (55.6%) and urban dwellers used multiple source of energy (57.8%). Solid fuel use (SFU) was higher in rural (29.6%) than in urban areas (21.7%). Kerosene was the most common primary source of energy for cooking in both urban and rural areas (59.0% vs.66.6%) followed by gas (17.8%) and charcoal (6.6%) in the urban areas, and firewood (21.6%) and charcoal (7.1%) in the rural areas. The use of solid fuel was strongly associated with lack of ownership of dwellings and larger household size in urban areas, and lower level of education and lower level of wealth in the rural areas. Kerosene was associated with higher level of husband education and modern housing in urban areas and younger age and indoor cooking in rural areas. Gas was associated with high income and modern housing in the urban areas and high level of wealth in rural areas. Electricity was associated with high level of education, availability of electricity and old age in urban and rural areas respectively. Conclusion The use of solid fuel is high in rural areas, there is a need to reduce poverty and improve the use of cleaner source of cooking energy particularly in rural areas and improve lung health. PMID:22826727

Cross-sectional Serologic Assessment of Immunity to Poliovirus in Differential Risk Areas of India: India Seroprevalence Survey - 2014.

PubMed

Ahmad, Mohammad; Bahl, Sunil; Kunwar, Abhishek

2016-08-07

To assess the seroprevalence against all three poliovirus serotypes in traditional high risk areas in Bihar, lowest routine immunization coverage areas in Madhya Pradesh and migrant population living in Mumbai urban slums. Cross-sectional Survey. Subjects selected by house to house visit (community based) and transported to government health facilities for further study procedures. 1137 randomly selected healthy infants 6-11 months of age residing in the selected high-risk areas. Serum samples from the study site were shipped to Enterovirus Research Centre (ERC), Mumbai to determine the neutralizing antibodies against all three poliovirus serotypes. Children with a reciprocal antibody titer ≥1:8 were considered seropositive to the specific poliovirus. Overall, seroprevalence in all the three study areas was 98%, 98% and 91% against poliovirus type-1, type-2 and type-3, respectively. Bihar had a seroprevalence of 99%, 99% and 92% against type-1, type-2 and type-3 respectively. Corresponding figures for Madhya Pradesh and Mumbai were 98%, 99% and 88% and 98%, 97% and 94%, respectively. The study found high seroprevalence against all three poliovirus types not only in the traditional high-risk areas for polio in India, but even in the areas known to have low routine immunization coverage and among the migratory clusters living in Mumbai urban slums. Type-2 seroprevalence was found to be high. These findings are reassuring against the threat of emergence of circulating vaccine derived polioviruses (cVDPVs) in the country subsequent to switch from trivalent oral polio vaccine to bivalent oral polio vaccine in the routine immunization schedule from April 2016.

Lack of an Apparent Association between Mycotoxin Concentrations in Red Chili Peppers and Incidence of Gallbladder Cancer in India : an Ecological Study.

PubMed

Ikoma, Toshikazu; Kapoor, Vinay Kumar; Behari, Anu; Mishra, Kumudesh; Tsuchiya, Yasuo; Asai, Takao; Endoh, Kazuo; Okano, Kiyoshi; Nakamura, Kazutoshi

2016-01-01

Our recent studies conducted in South America have shown that mycotoxin contamination of red chili peppers (RCPs) may be associated with an increased risk of gallbladder cancer (GBC). Whether this relationship exists in India, a country with a high incidence of GBC and high consumption of RCPs, is unclear. We therefore measured concentrations of aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in RCPs from areas of low, medium, and high incidence of GBC in India, and compared these concentrations with GBC incidence in each area. Twentyone RCP samples were collected from nine cities (eight from a lowincidence area, five from a mediumincidence area, and eight from a highincidence area). Concentrations of AFs and OTA were measured using highperformance liquid chromatography. No significant differences in mean concentrations of AFs and OTA were found in the three areas. AFB1 levels in the lowincidence area (10.81 ?g/kg) and highincidence area (12.00 ?g/kg) were more than 2.2 and 2.4 times higher compared with the maximum permitted level of AFB1 in spices (5.0 ?g/kg) set by the Commission of the European Communities, or that (4.4 ?g/kg) obtained in our previous study in Chile. Our results show that the mean concentrations of mycotoxins in RCPs are similar among the three areas in India with different incidences of GBC. Further studies with human subjects are needed to evaluate any association between AFB1 and GBC.

Competition between harvester ants and rodents in the cold desert

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

Landeen, D.S.; Jorgensen, C.D.; Smith, H.D.

1979-09-30

Local distribution patterns of three rodent species (Perognathus parvus, Peromyscus maniculatus, Reithrodontomys megalotis) were studied in areas of high and low densities of harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex owyheei) in Raft River Valley, Idaho. Numbers of rodents were greatest in areas of high ant-density during May, but partially reduced in August; whereas, the trend was reversed in areas of low ant-density. Seed abundance was probably not the factor limiting changes in rodent populations, because seed densities of annual plants were always greater in areas of high ant-density. Differences in seasonal population distributions of rodents between areas of high and low ant-densities weremore » probably due to interactions of seed availability, rodent energetics, and predation.« less

Base-flow data in the Arnold Air Force Base area, Tennessee, June and October 2002

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinson, John A.; Haugh, Connor J.

2004-01-01

Arnold Air Force Base (AAFB) occupies about 40,000 acres in Coffee and Franklin Counties, Tennessee. The primary mission of AAFB is to support the development of aerospace systems. This mission is accomplished through test facilities at Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), which occupies about 4,000 acres in the center of AAFB. Base-flow data including discharge, temperature, and specific conductance were collected for basins in and near AAFB during high base-flow and low base-flow conditions. Data representing high base-flow conditions from 109 sites were collected on June 3 through 5, 2002, when discharge measurements at sites with flow ranged from 0.005 to 46.4 ft3/s. Data representing low base-flow conditions from 109 sites were collected on October 22 and 23, 2002, when discharge measurements at sites with flow ranged from 0.02 to 44.6 ft3/s. Discharge from the basin was greater during high base-flow conditions than during low base-flow conditions. In general, major tributaries on the north side and southeastern side of the study area (Duck River and Bradley Creek, respectively) had the highest flows during the study. Discharge data were used to categorize stream reaches and sub-basins. Stream reaches were categorized as gaining, losing, wet, dry, or unobserved for each base-flow measurement period. Gaining stream reaches were more common during the high base-flow period than during the low base-flow period. Dry stream reaches were more common during the low base-flow period than during the high base-flow period. Losing reaches were more predominant in Bradley Creek and Crumpton Creek. Values of flow per square mile for the study area of 0.55 and 0.37 (ft3/s)/mi2 were calculated using discharge data collected on June 3 through 5, 2002, and October 22 and 23, 2002, respectively. Sub-basin areas with surplus or deficient flow were defined within the basin. Drainage areas for each stream measurement site were delineated and measured from topographic maps. Change in flow per square mile for each sub-basin was calculated using data from each base-flow measurement period. The calculated values were used to define the areas of surplus or deficient flow for high and low base-flow conditions. Many areas of deficient flow were present throughout the study area under high and low base-flow conditions. Most areas of deficient flow were in the headwater basins. Fewer areas of surplus flow were present under low base-flow conditions than during the high base-flow conditions. The flow per square mile for each major tributary basin in the study area also was calculated. The values of flow per square mile for the Dry Creek, Spring Creek, and Wiley Creek basins were greatest under both high and low base-flow conditions.

High inter-specimen variability of baseline data for the tibio-talar contact area.

PubMed

Matricali, Giovanni A; Bartels, Ward; Labey, Luc; Dereymaeker, Greta Ph E; Luyten, Frank P; Vander Sloten, Jos

2009-01-01

The tibio-talar contact area has been widely investigated to monitor biomechanical changes due to articular incongruities or an altered loading. This study aims to investigate for the first time in a systematic way the extent of the inter-specimen variability of the tibio-talar contact area, and its repercussions when analyzing data concerning this parameter. Ten specimens were loaded to record the tibio-talar contact characteristics by use of pressure sensitive film. The size of the talar dome area, the size of the (normalized) tibio-talar contact area, the position of the tibio-talar contact area, and the shape of the latter were determined and analyzed. Inter-specimen variability was expressed as the coefficient of variation and was calculated for the datasets of previous studies as well. The size of the tibio-talar contact area showed a very high inter-specimen variability, as is the case in previous studies. This high variability persisted when a normalized tibio-talar contact area was calculated. The shape of the tibio-talar contact area showed some basic characteristics, but a high variation in details could be observed. Every specimen can be considered to have its own "ankle print". By this variability, articular incongruities are expected to have a different effect on local biomechanical characteristics in every single individual. Therefore, every single case has to be evaluated and reported for significant changes. In case of modeling, this also underscores the need to use subject specific models fed by sets of parameters derived from a series of single specimens.

METRICS OF PERFORMANCE FOR THE SABRE MICROCOSM STUDY (ABSTRACT ONLY)

EPA Science Inventory

The SABRE (Source Area BioREmediation) project will evaluate accelerated anaerobic bioremediation of chlorinated solvents in areas of high concentration, such as DNAPL source areas. In preparation for a field scale pilot test, a laboratory microcosm study was conducted to provide...

CHARACTERIZING THE MICROBIAL COMMUNITY IN SABRE MICROCOSM STUDIES (ABSTRACT ONLY)

EPA Science Inventory

The SABRE (Source Area BioREmediation) project will evaluate accelerated anaerobic bioremediation of chlorinated solvents in areas of high concentration, such as DNAPL source areas. In preparation for a field scale pilot test, laboratory microcosm and column studies were conducte...

Quantifying Groundwater Quality at a Regional Scale: Establishing a Foundation for Economic and Health Assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belitz, K.

2015-12-01

What is the value of clean groundwater? Might one aquifer be considered more valuable than another? To help address these, and similar, questions, we propose that aquifers be assessed by two metrics: 1) the contaminated area of an aquifer, defined by high concentrations (km2 or proportion); and 2) equivalent-population potentially impacted by that contamination (number of people or proportion). Concentrations are considered high if they are above a human health benchmark. The two metrics provide a quantitative basis for assessment at the aquifer scale, rather than the well scale. This approach has been applied to groundwater used for public supply in California (Belitz and others, 2015). The assessment distinguishes between population (34 million, 2000 census) and equivalent-population (11 million) because public drinking water supplies can be a mix of surface water and groundwater. The assessment was conducted in 87 study areas which account for nearly 100% of the groundwater used for public supply. The area-metric, when expressed as a proportion, is useful for identifying where a particular contaminant or class of contaminants might be a cause for concern. In CA, there are 38 study where the area-metric ≥ 25% for one or more contaminants; in 7 of these, the area-metric ≥ 50%. Naturally-occurring trace elements, such as arsenic and uranium, are the most prevalent contaminant class in 72 study areas. Nitrate is most prevalent at high concentrations in 11 study areas, and organic compounds in 4. By the area-metric, 23% of the groundwater used for public supply in CA has high concentrations of one or more contaminants (20,000 of 89,000 km2 assessed). The population-metric, when expressed as a number of people, identifies the potential impact of groundwater contamination. There are 33 CA study areas where the population-metric exceeds 10,000 people (equivalent population multiplied by detection frequency of wells with high concentrations). The population-metric exceeds 50,000 people in 10 study areas. On a statewide basis, the population metric is 2 million people (18% of 11 million equivalent-people). The proposed assessment approach is independent of scale, allows for consistent comparison across regions, and provides a foundation for subsequent economic or health assessments.

Integrated study of basins in the Four Corners region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fagbola, Olamide Olawumi

2007-12-01

This dissertation is an integrated study of basins in the four corners area of the central part of the Colorado Plateau. The Colorado Plateau is a structurally unique part of the Rocky Mountain region because it has only been moderately deformed when compared to the more intensely deformed areas around it. The Colorado Plateau covers a portion of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The study area extends from latitude 34°N-40°N to longitude 106°W-111W° encompassing a series of major basins and uplifts: the San Juan, Black Mesa, Paradox, and the Blanding basins; and the Zuni, Defiance, Four Corners, Monument uplifts and the San Juan dome and volcanic field. An analysis of gravity anomalies, basement and crustal structure for basins in the four corners region was carried out. This involved using gravity, magnetic, well, outcrop, seismic estimates of crustal thickness, and geologic data in an integrated fashion. Six filtered gravity and three filtered magnetic maps were generated to aid in the interpretation of the gravity and magnetic anomalies in the study area. A detailed comparison of these maps was carried out. The results show a deep seated mafic structure in the basement acting as a crustal boundary separating the high gravity anomalies from the low. These maps also show that the sources of these anomalies are quite shallow resulting from the upper crust in the study area. The structures in the study area are characterized by northwest and northeast trends which correspond to the Precambrian and the Late Paleozoic structures, respectively. A crustal thickness map of the area was also constructed from seismic estimates of crustal thickness. A comparison was done between the crustal thickness map and the 45 km upward continuation Bouguer anomaly map. The result of this comparison shows that areas of thicker ix crust corresponded to low gravity while areas of thinner crust means mantle material is closer to the surface, thereby producing a high gravity anomaly. The thinnest crust encountered is about 32 km while the thickest crust is about 50 km. Seven gravity models were constructed and these include three crustal-scale profiles crisscrossing the study area and four local profiles. The gravity profiles were modeled using well data, structural thickness maps, cross section data, geologic maps and previous gravity models as constraints. Basement inhomogeneities beneath the basins and the uplifts were delineated by the gravity modeling. One of results from this study reveals that the basement beneath the Four Corners area is highly inhomogeneous. This study reveals that there is a high density deep seated mafic intrusion present in the basement which is responsible for the high gravity and magnetic anomaly in A. This dissertation has also shown that the Four Corners region does not possess a single crustal signature as shown by the different crustal trends in San Juan basin trending northeast and the east-west trending Uncompahgre uplift. The 45 km upward continuation gravity map was also found to correlate with seismic estimates of crustal thickness. The Precambrian basement in this region is also not homogeneous as shown by the necessity of inserting exotic bodies into the basement to compensate for high gravity anomalies and lastly an attempt was made to better define Tweto's (1980) outline of geologic features in the study area. On integrating gravity, magnetics, well and outcrop data, the relief of the Defiance uplift is not as high as delineated by Tweto's (1980) outline.

Mineral resources of the Gila Lower Box Wilderness Study Area, Grant and Hilalgo counties, New Mexico

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

Richter, D.H.; Lawrence, V.A.; Barton, H.

1988-01-01

This report presents an investigation to appraise the identified resources and to assess the potential for undiscovered resources of the Gila Lower Box Wilderness Study Area, southwestern New Mexico. Identified resources of manganese occur within 0.25 mi of the study area boundary, but none are known within the study area. The eastern part of the study area has a high mineral resource potential for manganese, and the western part has a moderate mineral resource potential for manganese. The entire study area has a low mineral and energy resource potential for other metals, gemstone, geothermal energy, oil and gas.

Efficiency of a Protected-Area Network in a Mediterranean Region: A Multispecies Assessment with Raptors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abellán, María D.; Martínez, José E.; Palazón, José A.; Esteve, Miguel Á.; Calvo, José F.

2011-05-01

Three different systems of designating protected areas in a Mediterranean region in southeastern Spain were studied, referring to their effectiveness and efficiency for protecting both the breeding territories and the suitable habitat of a set of ten raptor species. Taking into consideration the varying degrees of endangerment of these species, a map of multispecies conservation values was also drawn up and superimposed on the three protected-area systems studied. In order to compare the levels of protection afforded by the three systems, we considered two indices that measured their relative effectiveness and efficiency. The effectiveness estimated the proportion of territories or optimal habitat protected by the networks while efficiency implicitly considered the area of each system (percentage of breeding territories or optimal habitat protected per 1% of land protected). Overall, our results showed that the most efficient system was that formed by the set of regional parks and reserves (17 protected breeding territories per 100 km2), although, given its small total area, it was by far the least effective (only protecting the 21% of the breeding territories of all species and 17% of the area of high conservation value). The systems formed by the Special Protection Areas (designated under the EU "Birds Directive") and by the Special Conservation Areas (designated under the EU "Habitats Directive") notably increased the percentages of protected territories of all species (61%) and area of high conservation value (57%), but their efficiency was not as high as expected in most cases. The overall level of protection was high for all species except for the Lesser Kestrel ( Falco naumanni), an endangered falcon that inhabits pseudo-steppe and traditional agricultural habitats, which are clearly underrepresented in the protected-area network of the study region.

Space telescope phase B definition study. Volume 2A: Science instruments, high speed point/area photometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

The analysis and preliminary design of a high speed point/area photometer for the space telescope are summarized. The scientific objectives, photometer requirements, and design concepts are presented.

The Optic Nerve Head in Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Eyes With High Myopia: Characteristics and Association With Visual Field Defects.

PubMed

Chen, Li-Wei; Lan, Yu-Wen; Hsieh, Jui-Wen

2016-06-01

To evaluate the morphologic characteristics of optic neuropathy and its association with visual field (VF) defects in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) eyes with high myopia. In this cross-sectional study, we reviewed data from 375 Taiwanese patients (375 eyes) of POAG, ages 20 to 60 years. Optic disc photographs were used for planimetric measurements of morphologic variables. The myopic refraction was divided into high myopia (<-6.0 D) and nonhigh myopia (moderate myopia to hyperopia). The optic disc area was classified as moderate (1.59 to 2.85 mm), large, and small. Differences in characteristics between groups, correlations with the disc area, and factors associated with VF defects were determined. Of the 142 highly myopic eyes, 33 (23%) had a large disc, 26 (18%) had a small disc, and 55 (39%) had a tilted disc. Large discs had a higher cup-to-disc (C/D) area ratio and a higher tilt ratio; small discs had a smaller rim area and a lower tilt ratio (all P<0.05). Characteristics associated with high myopia included a smaller rim area, a higher C/D area ratio, and a lower tilt ratio (all P<0.001). In logistic regression, the refraction, the C/D area ratio, the rim area, and the tilt ratio (all P<0.05) were associated with VF defects. In Taiwanese individuals with POAG, our study found that tilted, large, or small discs were prevalent in highly myopic eyes. Of these characteristics, only the disc tilt and high myopia by itself were associated with the severity of glaucomatous optic neuropathy.

Reducing microbial contamination in storm runoff from high use areas on California coastal dairies.

PubMed

Lewis, D J; Atwill, E R; Lennox, M S; Pereira, M D G; Miller, W A; Conrad, P A; Tate, K W

2009-01-01

High use areas are a fundamental part of California coastal dairies and grazing livestock ranches as feeding areas, nurseries, and sick pens. High stocking densities and daily use in these areas lead to soil surfaces devoid of vegetation and covered in manure, with high potential for manure transport during winter rains to receiving waters regulated for shellfish harvesting and recreation. We characterized the association between California's Mediterranean climate and a series of existing and proposed management practices on fecal coliform bacteria (FCB) transport from high use areas on dairies and ranches. Results from 351 storm runoff samples collected below 35 high-use areas indicate that removal of cattle during winter, locating high use areas on level ground, application of straw and seeding, and vegetative buffer strip implementation were significantly associated with FCB concentration and load reductions. These results complement our findings for reductions of specific pathogens in runoff from these areas. These findings have practical significance because they document surface water quality benefits that the studied management practices provide in application on working farms and ranches. This direction is critical and timely for on-farm management efforts seeking to reduce microbial pollution in runoff and comply with indicator bacteria water quality criteria.

Environmental Quality Assessment of Built Areas with High Vacancy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Y.; Yuan, Y.; Neale, A. C.

2015-12-01

Around the world, many urban areas are challenged by vacant and abandoned residential and business property. High vacancy areas have often been associated with increasing public safety problems and declining property values and subsequent tax base. High vacancy can lead to visible signs of city decline and significant barriers to the revitalization of cities. Addressing the problem of vacancy requires knowledge of vacancy patterns and their possible contributing factors. In this study, we evaluated the ten year (2005-2015) urban environmental changes for some high vacancy areas. Social and economic variables derived from U.S. census data such as non-white population, employment rate, housing price, and environmental variables derived from National Land Cover Data such as land cover and impervious area, were used as the basis for analysis. Correlation analysis and principle components analysis were performed at the Census Block Group level. Three components were identified and interpreted as economic status, urbanness, and greenness. A synthetic Urban Environmental Quality (UEQ) index was developed by integrating the three principle components according to their weights. Comparisons of the UEQ indices between the 2005 and 2015 in the increasingly high vacancy area provided useful information for investigating the possible associations between social, economic, and environmental factors, and the vacancy status. This study could provide useful information for understanding the complex issues leading to vacancy and facilitating future rehabilitation of vacant urban area.

High quality InP-on-Si for solar cell applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shellenbarger, Zane A.; Goodwin, Thomas A.; Collins, Sandra R.; Dinetta, Louis C.

1994-01-01

InP on Si solar cells combine the low-cost and high-strength of Si with the high efficiency and radiation tolerance of InP. The main obstacle in the growth of single crystal InP-on-Si is the high residual strain and high dislocation density of the heteroepitaxial InP films. The dislocations result from the large differences in lattice constant and thermal expansion mismatch of InP and Si. Adjusting the size and geometry of the growth area is one possible method of addressing this problem. In this work, we conducted a material quality study of liquid phase epitaxy overgrowth layers on selective area InP grown by a proprietary vapor phase epitaxy technique on Si. The relationship between growth area and dislocation density was quantified using etch pit density measurements. Material quality of the InP on Si improved both with reduced growth area and increased aspect ratio (length/width) of the selective area. Areas with etch pit density as low as 1.6 x 10(exp 4) sq cm were obtained. Assuming dislocation density is an order of magnitude greater than etch pit density, solar cells made with this material could achieve the maximum theoretical efficiency of 23% at AMO. Etch pit density dependence on the orientation of the selective areas on the substrate was also studied.

Snowpack monitoring in North America and Eurasia using passive microwave satellite data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, J. L.; Rango, A.; Hall, D. K.; Chang, A. T. C.; Allison, L. J.; Diesen, B. C., III

1980-01-01

Areas of the Canadian high plains, the Montana and North Dakota high plains, and the steppes of central Russia have been studied in an effort to determine the utility of spaceborne microwave radiometers for monitoring snow depths in different geographic areas. Significant regression relationships between snow depth and microwave brightness temperatures were developed for each of these homogeneous areas. In each of the study areas investigated in this paper, Nimbus-6 (0.81 cm) ESMR data produced higher correlations than Nimbus-5 (1.55 cm) ESMR data in relating microwave brightness temperature to snow depth. It is difficult to extrapolate relationships between microwave brightness temperature and snow depth from one area to another because different geographic areas are likely to have different snowpack conditions.

Children's personal exposure to PM10 and associated metals in urban, rural and mining activity areas.

PubMed

Hinwood, Andrea; Callan, Anna C; Heyworth, Jane; McCafferty, Peter; Sly, Peter D

2014-08-01

There has been limited study of children's personal exposure to PM10 and associated metals in rural and iron ore mining activity areas where PM10 concentrations can be very high. We undertook a small study of 70 children where 13 children were recruited in an area of iron ore mining processing and shipping, 15 children from an area in the same region with no mining activities, and 42 children in an urban area. Each child provided a 24h personal exposure PM10 sample, a first morning void urine sample, a hair sample, time activity diary, and self administered questionnaire. Children's 24h personal PM10 concentrations were low (median of 28 μg m(-3) in the mining area; 48 μg m(-3) in the rural area and 45 μg m(-3) in the urban area) with corresponding outdoor PM10 concentrations also low. Some very high personal PM10 concentrations were recorded for individuals (>300 μg m(-3)) with the highest concentrations recorded in the mining and rural areas in the dry season. PM10 concentrations were highly variable. Hair aluminium, cadmium and manganese concentrations were higher in the iron ore activity area, while hair mercury, copper and nickel concentrations were higher in the urban area. Factors such as season and ventilation appear to be important but this study lacked power to confirm this. These results need to be confirmed by a larger study and the potential for absorption of the metals needs to be established along with the factors that increase exposures and the potential for health risks arising from exposure. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

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

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

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

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

PubMed

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

2017-08-01

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

Increasing Student Awareness of Global and Future Issues through a Secondary Level Mini-Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Decker, Dianna K.

This study examines the problem of high school students as future leaders entering the adult world unprepared in the areas of global and international issues. The study was conducted with 145 students, teachers, and administrators in a private high school with university affiliations in a large suburban area. Eventually two students became the…

Cooperative Learning in the Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry Mathematics High School Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jozsa, Alison

2017-01-01

Over the past three decades, researchers have found cooperative learning to have positive effects on student achievement in various subject areas and levels in education. However, there are limited studies on the impact of cooperative learning on student achievement in the area of high school mathematics. This study examined the impact of…

Target Surface Area Effects on Hot Electron Dynamics from High Intensity Laser-Plasma Interactions

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-19

New J. Phys. 18 (2016) 063020 doi:10.1088/1367-2630/18/6/063020 PAPER Target surface area effects on hot electron dynamics from high intensity laser ...Science, University ofMichigan, AnnArbor,MI 48109-2099, USA E-mail: czulick@umich.edu Keywords: laser -plasma,mass-limited, fast electrons, sheath...field Abstract Reduced surface area targets were studied using an ultra-high intensity femtosecond laser in order to determine the effect of electron

Geospatial association of endemicity of ataxic polyneuropathy and highly cyanogenic cassava cultivars.

PubMed

Oluwole, Olusegun Steven Ayodele; Oludiran, Adeyinka

2013-09-14

Exposure to cyanide from cassava foods is present in communities where ataxic polyneuropathy is endemic. Ataxic polyneuropathy is endemic in coastal parts of southwest and southeast Nigeria, and coastal Newala, south India, but it has been reported in epidemic or endemic forms from Africa, Asia, or Caribbean. This study was done to determine if cyanogenicity of cassava cultivars is higher in lowland than highland areas, and if areas of endemicity of ataxic polyneuropathy colocalize with areas of highest cyanogenicity of cassava. Roots of cassava cultivars were collected from 150 farmers in 32 of 37 administrative areas in Nigeria. Global positioning system was used to determine the location of the roots. Roots were assayed for concentrations of cyanogens. Thin Plate Spline regression was used to produce the contour map of cyanogenicity of the study area. Contour maps of altitude of the endemic areas were produced. Relationship of cyanogenicity of cassava cultivars and altitude, and of locations of areas of high cyanogenicity and areas of endemicity were determined. Geometrical mean (95% CI) cyanogen concentration was 182 (142-233) mg HCN eq/kg dry wt for cassava cultivars in areas ≤ 25 m above sea level, but 54 (43-66) mg HCN eq/kg dry wt for areas > 375 m. Non-spatial linear regression of altitude on logarithm transformed concentrations of cyanogens showed highly significant association, (p < 0.0001). Contour map of concentrations of cyanogens in cassava cultivars in Nigeria showed four areas with average concentrations of cassava cyanogens > 250 mg HCN eq/kg dry wt, and one area of moderately high cyanogen concentration > 150 mg HCN eq/kg dry wt. The endemic areas colocalized with areas of highest cassava cyanogenicity in lowland areas close to the Atlantic Ocean. This study shows strong geospatial association of areas of endemicity of ataxic polyneuropathy and areas of highest cyanogenicity of cassava cultivars. Finding of higher cyanogenicity of cassava in lowland than highland areas indicate strong influence of altitude on expression of cyanogens in cassava cultivars.

Geospatial association of endemicity of ataxic polyneuropathy and highly cyanogenic cassava cultivars

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Exposure to cyanide from cassava foods is present in communities where ataxic polyneuropathy is endemic. Ataxic polyneuropathy is endemic in coastal parts of southwest and southeast Nigeria, and coastal Newala, south India, but it has been reported in epidemic or endemic forms from Africa, Asia, or Caribbean. This study was done to determine if cyanogenicity of cassava cultivars is higher in lowland than highland areas, and if areas of endemicity of ataxic polyneuropathy colocalize with areas of highest cyanogenicity of cassava. Methods Roots of cassava cultivars were collected from 150 farmers in 32 of 37 administrative areas in Nigeria. Global positioning system was used to determine the location of the roots. Roots were assayed for concentrations of cyanogens. Thin Plate Spline regression was used to produce the contour map of cyanogenicity of the study area. Contour maps of altitude of the endemic areas were produced. Relationship of cyanogenicity of cassava cultivars and altitude, and of locations of areas of high cyanogenicity and areas of endemicity were determined. Results Geometrical mean (95% CI) cyanogen concentration was 182 (142–233) mg HCN eq/kg dry wt for cassava cultivars in areas ≤ 25 m above sea level, but 54 (43–66) mg HCN eq/kg dry wt for areas > 375 m. Non-spatial linear regression of altitude on logarithm transformed concentrations of cyanogens showed highly significant association, (p < 0.0001). Contour map of concentrations of cyanogens in cassava cultivars in Nigeria showed four areas with average concentrations of cassava cyanogens > 250 mg HCN eq/kg dry wt, and one area of moderately high cyanogen concentration > 150 mg HCN eq/kg dry wt. The endemic areas colocalized with areas of highest cassava cyanogenicity in lowland areas close to the Atlantic Ocean. Conclusion This study shows strong geospatial association of areas of endemicity of ataxic polyneuropathy and areas of highest cyanogenicity of cassava cultivars. Finding of higher cyanogenicity of cassava in lowland than highland areas indicate strong influence of altitude on expression of cyanogens in cassava cultivars. PMID:24034556

Esophageal cancer in high-risk areas of China: research progress and challenges.

PubMed

Lin, Yingsong; Totsuka, Yukari; Shan, Baoen; Wang, Chaochen; Wei, Wenqiang; Qiao, Youlin; Kikuchi, Shogo; Inoue, Manami; Tanaka, Hideo; He, Yutong

2017-03-01

The extremely high incidence of esophageal cancer in certain rural areas of China has prompted significant intellectual curiosity and research efforts both in China and abroad. We summarize the research progress over the past several decades in high-risk areas (Linxian, Cixian, Shexian, and Yanting) based on literature research and our field trip (2012-2013). Considerable progress in clarifying the environmental risk factors and pathogenesis of esophageal cancer in high-risk areas has been achieved over the past several decades. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that carcinogen exposure and nutritional deficiency, rather than smoking and drinking, may be the major risk factors for esophageal cancer in the Taihang Mountains region, where the incidence of esophageal cancer is among the highest in the world. Two genome-wide association studies have identified variants in PLCE1 at 10q23 that are significantly associated with esophageal cancer risk. Recent whole-exome studies have revealed a comprehensive mutation pattern, in which the C>T transition is the predominant mutation type. Despite extensive research, the main causative factors that contribute to esophageal cancer in high-risk areas have not yet been elucidated. Challenges in this research area include determining the causative role of nitrosamine, identifying other potential carcinogens, and conducting fruitful international collaborative studies based on a multidisciplinary approach. Increased international collaboration will contribute to a better understanding of the etiology of esophageal cancer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mineral resources of the Whipple Mountains and Whipple Mountains Addition Wilderness Study Areas, San Bernardino County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marsh, Sherman P.; Raines, Gary L.; Diggles, Michael F.; Howard, Keith A.; Simpson, Robert W.; Hoover, Donald B.; Ridenour, James; Moyle, Phillip R.; Willett, Spencee L.

1988-01-01

At the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, approximately 85,100 acres of the Whipple Mountains Wilderness Study Area (CDCA-312) and 1,380 acres of the Whipple Mountains Addition Wilderness Study Area (AZ-050-010) were evaluated for identified mineral resources (known) and mineral resource potential (undiscovered). In this report, the Whipple Mountains and Whipple Mountains Addition Wilderness Study Areas are referred to as simply "the study area." Most of the mines and prospects with identified resources in the Whipple Mountains Wilderness Study Area are within areas designated as having mineral resource potential. The area in and around the Turk Silver mine and the Lucky Green group and the area near the northwest boundary of the study area have high mineral resource potential for copper, lead, zinc, gold, and silver. An area along the west boundary of the study area has moderate resource potential for copper lead, zinc, gold, and silver. An area in the east adjacent to the Whipple Mountains Addition Wilderness Study Area has moderate resource potential for copper, gold, and silver resources. One area on the north boundary and one on the southeast boundary of the study area have low mineral resource potential for copper, lead, zinc, gold, and silver. Two areas, one on the north boundary and one inside the east boundary of the study area, have moderate resource potential for manganese. A small area inside the south boundary of the study area has high resource potential for decorative building stone, and the entire study area has low resource potential for sand and gravel and other rock products suitable for construction. Two areas in the eastern part of the study area have low resource potential for uranium. There is no resource potential for oil and gas or geothermal resources in the Whipple Mountains Wilderness Study Area. Sites within the Whipple Mountains Wilderness Study Area with identified resources of copper, gold, silver, manganese and (or) decorative building stone are located at the Stewart mine, New American Eagle mine, Turk Silver mine, Twin Lode mine, decorative stone property, Lucky Green group, Blue Cloud mine, Nickel Plate mine, Crescent mine, Quadrangle Copper group, and the Copper Basin mine. The Whipple Mountains Addition Wilderness Study Area has moderate resource potential for copper, gold, and silver resources and low resource potential for sand and gravel and other rock products. There is no resource potential for oil and gas or for geothermal energy in the Whipple Mountains Addition Wilderness Study Area. Although there are no identified resources in the Whipple Mountains Addition Wilderness Study Area, sites within and immediately adjacent warrant further study because of gold assays from widespread, numerous samples.

The perceptions of teachers and principals toward providing additional compensation to teachers in high-need subject areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Longing, Jeffrey Lucian

The purpose of this study was to determine possible differences in the perceptions of teachers teaching in high-need areas (i.e., math, science, special education, etc.) and teachers not teaching in high-need areas, (i.e., business education, physical education, etc.) as defined by the states of Arkansas and Louisiana, regarding higher compensation for high-need teachers. In addition, possible perception differences among principals and teachers were determined. The independent variables consisted of gender, position held, years of certified experience, and certification areas. The dependent variable was the perceptions of the participants on providing higher compensation for high-need teachers in order to attract and retain them. The data for all variables were collected using the Teacher Compensation Survey. The sample for this study was limited to teachers, grades 9 through 12, and principals of public high schools in south Arkansas and north Louisiana. Forty-four school districts in south Arkansas (Arkansas Department of Education, 2008a) and north Louisiana (Louisiana Department of Education, 2008a) met the criteria for this study. Twenty-two superintendents gave permission for their districts to participate in the research. A sample of 849 teachers and 38 principals were identified in these districts. Surveys were returned from 350 teachers, creating a 41% response rate. When the 31 principals that returned surveys were added to the total population, the response rate increased to 43% with 381 of the 887 surveyed responding. However, 42 of the teachers and two of the principals skipped some of the questions on the survey and were not included in the study. The researcher used a One-Way ANOVA and independent t-tests to determine the presence of statistical differences at the .05 level. The data showed that most math and science teachers agreed that high-need teachers should be compensated at a higher rate than teachers not teaching in high-need areas. The data also showed that teachers not teaching in high-need areas understood the overall need for varied compensation, but were less likely to agree with compensating high-need teachers more. In addition, the majority of teachers in other high-need areas, such as foreign language and special education, also understood the need for varied compensation. However, they were more likely to agree with compensating high-need teachers more when compared to non-high-need teachers. The majority of principals agreed that high-need teachers should be compensated more than teachers not considered high-need. The results of this study indicated that most teachers and principals agreed that higher compensation would attract and retain teachers in hard-to-staff schools, but fewer teachers not considered high-need agreed with compensating high-need teachers more. Even though varied compensation (i.e., salaries, bonuses, housing incentives, etc.) would help hard-to-staff schools find and retain high-need teachers, administrators should take caution to avoid possible problems associated with such actions (Goldhaber, 2006).

Groundwater quality in the Basin and Range Basin-Fill Aquifers, southwestern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Musgrove, MaryLynn; Belitz, Kenneth

2017-01-19

Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Basin and Range basin-fill aquifers constitute one of the important areas being evaluated. One or more inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high concentrations in about 20 percent of the study area and at moderate concentrations in about 49 percent. Organic constituents were not detected at high concentrations in the study area. One or more organic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at moderate concentrations in about 3 percent of the study area.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Transportation Feasibility Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-07-31

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a popular Bureau of Land Management natural area located near Las Vegas, Nevada. Red Rock Canyon experiences heavy congestion on its Scenic Drive and associated parking areas, due to high volumes of visit...

The densest terrestrial vertebrate

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rodda, G.H.; Perry, G.; Rondeau, R.J.; Lazell, J.

2001-01-01

An understanding of the abundance of organisms is central to understanding ecology, but many population density estimates are unrepresentative because they were obtained from study areas chosen for the high abundance of the target species. For example, from a pool of 1072 lizard density estimates that we compiled from the literature, we sampled 303 estimates and scored each for its assessment of the degree to which the study site was representative. Less than half (45%) indicated that the study area was chosen to be representative of the population or habitat. An additional 15% reported that individual plots or transects were chosen randomly, but this often indicated only that the sample points were located randomly within a study area chosen for its high abundance of the target species. The remainder of the studies either gave no information or specified that the study area was chosen because the focal species was locally abundant.

Characterizing The Microbial Community In A TCE DNAPL Site: SABRE Column And Field Studies

EPA Science Inventory

The SABRE (Source Area BioREmediation) project is evaluating accelerated anaerobic bioremediation of chlorinated solvents in areas of high concentration, such as DNAPL source areas. In support of a field scale pilot test, column studies were conducted to design the system and ob...

Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Microbial Communities In A TCE DNAPL Site: SABRE Field Studies

EPA Science Inventory

The SABRE (Source Area BioREmediation) project was conducted to evaluate accelerated anaerobic bioremediation of chlorinated solvents in areas of high concentration, such as DNAPL source areas. To study performance of this technology, a test cell was constructed with a longitudi...

A national study of the unmet needs of support persons of haematological cancer survivors in rural and urban areas of Australia.

PubMed

Lynagh, Marita C; Williamson, A; Bradstock, K; Campbell, S; Carey, M; Paul, C; Tzelepis, F; Sanson-Fisher, R

2018-06-01

This study aimed to compare support persons of haematological cancer survivors living in rural and urban areas in regard to the type, prevalence and factors associated with reporting unmet needs. One thousand and four (792 urban and 193 rural) support persons of adults diagnosed with haematological cancer were recruited from five Australian state population-based cancer registries. Participants completed the Support Person Unmet Needs Survey (SPUNS) that assessed the level of unmet needs experienced over the past month across six domains. Overall, 66% of support persons had at least one 'moderate, high or very high' unmet need and 24% (n = 182) reported having multiple (i.e. 6 or more) 'high/very high' unmet needs in the past month. There were no significant differences between rural and urban support persons in the prevalence of multiple unmet needs or mean total unmet needs scores. There were however significant differences in the types of 'high/very high' unmet needs with support persons living in rural areas more likely to report finance-related unmet needs. Support persons who indicated they had difficulty paying bills had significantly higher odds of reporting multiple 'high/very high' unmet needs. This is the first large, population-based study to compare the unmet needs of support persons of haematological cancer survivors living in rural and urban areas. Findings confirm previous evidence that supporting a person diagnosed with haematological cancer correlates with a high level of unmet needs and highlight the importance of developing systemic strategies for assisting support persons, especially in regard to making financial assistance and travel subsidies known and readily accessible to those living in rural areas.

Location of irrigated land classified from satellite imagery - High Plains Area, nominal date 1992

USGS Publications Warehouse

Qi, Sharon L.; Konduris, Alexandria; Litke, David W.; Dupree, Jean

2002-01-01

Satellite imagery from the Landsat Thematic Mapper (nominal date 1992) was used to classify and map the location of irrigated land overlying the High Plains aquifer. The High Plains aquifer underlies 174,000 square miles in parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a water-quality study of the High Plains aquifer as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program. To help interpret data and select sites for the study, it is helpful to know the location of irrigated land within the study area. To date, the only information available for the entire area is 20 years old. To update the data on irrigated land, 40 summer and 40 spring images (nominal date 1992) were acquired from the National Land Cover Data set and processed using a band-ratio method (Landsat Thematic Mapper band 4 divided by band 3) to enhance the vegetation signatures. The study area was divided into nine subregions with similar environmental characteristics, and a band-ratio threshold was selected from imagery in each subregion that differentiated the cutoff between irrigated and nonirrigated land. The classified images for each subregion were mosaicked to produce an irrigated-land map for the study area. The total amount of irrigated land classified from the 1992 imagery was 13.1 million acres, or about 12 percent of the total land in the High Plains. This estimate is approximately 1.5 percent greater than the amount of irrigated land reported in the 1992 Census of Agriculture (12.8 millions acres).

Inter-comparison of multiple statistically downscaled climate datasets for the Pacific Northwest, USA

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yueyang; Kim, John B.; Still, Christopher J.; Kerns, Becky K.; Kline, Jeffrey D.; Cunningham, Patrick G.

2018-01-01

Statistically downscaled climate data have been widely used to explore possible impacts of climate change in various fields of study. Although many studies have focused on characterizing differences in the downscaling methods, few studies have evaluated actual downscaled datasets being distributed publicly. Spatially focusing on the Pacific Northwest, we compare five statistically downscaled climate datasets distributed publicly in the US: ClimateNA, NASA NEX-DCP30, MACAv2-METDATA, MACAv2-LIVNEH and WorldClim. We compare the downscaled projections of climate change, and the associated observational data used as training data for downscaling. We map and quantify the variability among the datasets and characterize the spatio-temporal patterns of agreement and disagreement among the datasets. Pair-wise comparisons of datasets identify the coast and high-elevation areas as areas of disagreement for temperature. For precipitation, high-elevation areas, rainshadows and the dry, eastern portion of the study area have high dissimilarity among the datasets. By spatially aggregating the variability measures into watersheds, we develop guidance for selecting datasets within the Pacific Northwest climate change impact studies. PMID:29461513

Inter-comparison of multiple statistically downscaled climate datasets for the Pacific Northwest, USA.

PubMed

Jiang, Yueyang; Kim, John B; Still, Christopher J; Kerns, Becky K; Kline, Jeffrey D; Cunningham, Patrick G

2018-02-20

Statistically downscaled climate data have been widely used to explore possible impacts of climate change in various fields of study. Although many studies have focused on characterizing differences in the downscaling methods, few studies have evaluated actual downscaled datasets being distributed publicly. Spatially focusing on the Pacific Northwest, we compare five statistically downscaled climate datasets distributed publicly in the US: ClimateNA, NASA NEX-DCP30, MACAv2-METDATA, MACAv2-LIVNEH and WorldClim. We compare the downscaled projections of climate change, and the associated observational data used as training data for downscaling. We map and quantify the variability among the datasets and characterize the spatio-temporal patterns of agreement and disagreement among the datasets. Pair-wise comparisons of datasets identify the coast and high-elevation areas as areas of disagreement for temperature. For precipitation, high-elevation areas, rainshadows and the dry, eastern portion of the study area have high dissimilarity among the datasets. By spatially aggregating the variability measures into watersheds, we develop guidance for selecting datasets within the Pacific Northwest climate change impact studies.

Spatial variation in mortality risk for haematological malignancies near a petrochemical refinery: a population-based case-control study

PubMed Central

Di Salvo, Francesca; Meneghini, Elisabetta; Vieira, Veronica; Baili, Paolo; Mariottini, Mauro; Baldini, Marco; Micheli, Andrea; Sant, Milena

2015-01-01

Introduction The study investigated the geographic variation of mortality risk for hematological malignancies (HMs) in order to identify potential high-risk areas near an Italian petrochemical refinery. Material and methods A population-based case-control study was conducted and residential histories for 171 cases and 338 sex- and age-matched controls were collected. Confounding factors were obtained from interviews with consenting relatives for 109 HM deaths and 267 controls. To produce risk mortality maps, two different approaches were applied. We mapped (1) adptive kernel density relative risk estimation (KDE) for case-control studies which estimates a spatial relative risk function using the ratio between cases and controls’ densities, and (2) estimated odds ratios for case-control study data using generalized additive models (GAMs) to smooth the effect of location, a proxy for exposure, while adjusting for confounding variables. Results No high-risk areas for HM mortality were identified among all subjects (men and women combined), by applying both approaches. Using the adaptive KDE approach, we found a significant increase in death risk only among women in a large area 2–6 km southeast of the refinery and the application of GAMs also identified a similarly-located significant high-risk area among women only (global p-value<0.025). Potential confounding risk factors we considered in the GAM did not alter the results. Conclusion Both approaches identified a high-risk area close to the refinery among women only. Those spatial methods are useful tools for public policy management to determine priority areas for intervention. Our findings suggest several directions for further research in order to identify other potential environmental exposures that may be assessed in forthcoming studies based on detailed exposure modeling. PMID:26073202

An Investigation of Southwestern Area Principals and the Enactment of Crisis Plans in High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parker, Kerry L.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify what southwestern area high school principals reported as the enactment of school crisis plans as described in the Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA (CMHS, 2008), "Resource Aid: Responding to a Crisis at School." The conceptual framework guiding the study was an adaptation of the Crisis…

A possible association of idiopathic osteosclerosis with excessive occlusal forces.

PubMed

Misirlioglu, Melda; Nalcaci, Rana; Baran, Ilgi; Adisen, Mehmet Zahit; Yilmaz, Selmi

2014-03-01

The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between idiopathic osteosclerotic lesions and occlusal forces using the T-Scan II computerized occlusal analysis device, and to test the sensitivity of the system in occlusal analysis. The study was conducted with 21 volunteers with idiopathic osteosclerosis (IO; 14 women, 7 men) aged between 17 and 62 years (mean 29.95). For every patient, seven or eight recordings were made with the T-Scan II occlusal analysis device in maximum intercuspation, and the last two (excluding any with technical problems) were chosen for evaluation. For each lesion-related area, the distribution of high occlusal forces from two different movies was analyzed. In 18 patients (85.71%), lesions were observed in an area of high occlusal force, and in 13 patients (61.9%), the lesions were located at the first area subjected to high occlusal forces. The percentage distribution of high forces at a lesion related area ranged from 0% to 88%. On average, the high forces at an osteosclerotic lesion area accounted for 20% of the maximum total force. No statistical differences were observed between the measurements of the two selected recordings (P > .05). The findings of this study suggest a possible relationship between IO and occlusal forces and primary contacts. T-Scan II was found to be a successful diagnostic device for detecting primary contacts and excessive occlusal forces.

32 CFR 651.29 - Determining when to use a CX (screening criteria).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...; areas of critical environmental concern; or other areas of high environmental sensitivity. (4) Cultural... agricultural lands; coastal zones; designated wilderness or wilderness study areas; wild and scenic rivers...

32 CFR 651.29 - Determining when to use a CX (screening criteria).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...; areas of critical environmental concern; or other areas of high environmental sensitivity. (4) Cultural... agricultural lands; coastal zones; designated wilderness or wilderness study areas; wild and scenic rivers...

32 CFR 651.29 - Determining when to use a CX (screening criteria).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...; areas of critical environmental concern; or other areas of high environmental sensitivity. (4) Cultural... agricultural lands; coastal zones; designated wilderness or wilderness study areas; wild and scenic rivers...

[Chemical forms and ecological effect of soil Mn in liver cancer's high incidence area in Zhu-jiang River Delta, China].

PubMed

Dou, Lei; Zhou, Yong-Zhang; Li, Yong; Ma, Jin; An, Yan-Fei; Du, Hai-Yan; Li, Zhan-Qiang

2008-06-01

The samples of surface soil, deep soil, and vegetables were collected from the liver cancer's high- and low incidence areas in Zhujiang River Delta to study the relationships between soil Mn forms and vegetables' Mn enrichment. The results showed that the soil Mn in study area was mainly derived from parent materials, and rarely come from human activities. The average soil Mn content in liver cancer's high incidence area was 577.65 mg x kg(-1), being significantly lower than that of liver cancer's low incidence area (718.04 mg x kg(-1)) and whole country (710 mg x kg(-1)). The Mn forms in high incidence area were mainly of residual Mn and Fe-Mn oxide, and less of water soluble Mn and exchangeable Mn, with the sum of the latter two's distribution coefficients being not higher than 4%. In low incidence area, the distribution pattern of soil Mn forms was similar to that in high incidence area, but the absolute contents of the Mn forms were significantly higher. Soil total Mn and soil pH had significant effects on soil Mn forms. There existed significant positive correlations between soil total Mn and the Mn forms of Fe-Mn bound, humic acid bound, carbonate bound, and residual, and negative correlations between soil pH and soil water soluble and organic bound Mn forms. Among the test five kinds of vegetables, Youmai lettuce and Chinese cabbage in liver cancer' s high incidence area had a significantly lower Mn content than in low incidence area, while the other three had less difference. The Mn enrichment in test vegetables was positively correlated with to the content of soil available Mn (sum of water soluble Mn and exchangeable Mn), but had no correlations with the contents of soil total Mn and other Mn forms.

Spatial Representativeness of PM2.5 Concentrations Obtained Using Observations From Network Stations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Xiaoqin; Zhao, Chuanfeng; Jiang, Jonathan H.; Wang, Chunying; Yang, Xin; Yung, Yuk L.

2018-03-01

Haze has been a focused air pollution phenomenon in China, and its characterization is highly desired. Aerosol properties obtained from a single station are frequently used to represent the haze condition over a large domain, such as tens of kilometers, which could result in high uncertainties due to their spatial variation. Using a high-resolution network observation over an urban city in North China from November 2015 to February 2016, this study examines the spatial representativeness of ground station observations of particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5). We developed a new method to determine the representative area of PM2.5 measurements from limited stations. The key idea is to determine the PM2.5 spatial representative area using its spatial variability and temporal correlation. We also determine stations with large representative area using two grid networks with different resolutions. Based on the high spatial resolution measurements, the representative area of PM2.5 at one station can be determined from the grids with high correlations and small differences of PM2.5. The representative area for a single station in the study period ranges from 0.25 to 16.25 km2 but is less than 3 km2 for more than half of the stations. The representative area varies with locations, and observation at 10 optimal stations would have a good representativeness of those obtained from 169 stations for the 4 month time scale studied. Both evaluations with an empirical orthogonal function analysis and with independent data set corroborate the validity of the results found in this study.

[Regionalization study of Dioscorea nipponica in Jilin province based on MaxEnt and ArcGIS].

PubMed

Wang, Zhe; Li, Bo; Xiao, Jing-Lei; Jiang, Da-Cheng

2017-11-01

At the urgent practical issue of resource protection and artificial cultivation area selection of Dioscorea nipponica, the dominant environmental factors affecting the distribution of D. nipponicain Jilin province were selected by field investigation and using the maximum information entropy model and geographic information technology. MaxEnt model study found that the standard deviation of seasonal variation of temperature, precipitation in October and other six environmental factors on the growth of D. nipponica are the greatest impacting factors. The range of suitability for the growth of D. nipponica was 4.612 08×10-6-0.544 31, and the regionalization study was divided into four parts: high fitness area, middle fitness area, low fitness area and unfavorable area. The high fitness area is concentrated in the central and southern areas of Jilin Province, using ArcGIS statistical environment factors in the appropriate area of the numerical situation. The results showed that the regionalization study of D. nipponica was basically the same as the actual situation. It is clear that the natural environment suitable for the growth of D. nipponica is also the basis for the protection of the resources and the selection of cultivated area. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Aligning Career and Technical Education with High-Wage and High-Demand Occupations in Tennessee. Issues & Answers. REL 2011-No. 111

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mokher, Christine

2011-01-01

This study examines the availability of career and technical education program areas in Tennessee high schools, concentrations (a three-or-more credit sequence in a program area) completed by 2007/08 high school graduates, and how these concentrations align with jobs in the labor market. It looks at how these outcomes differ, statewide and by…

Inequalities in US Life Expectancy by Area Unemployment Level, 1990–2010

PubMed Central

Singh, Gopal K.; Siahpush, Mohammad

2016-01-01

This study examined the association between unemployment and life expectancy in the United States during 1990–2010. Census-based unemployment rates were linked to US county-level mortality data. Life expectancies were calculated by age, sex, race, and unemployment level during 1990–2010. Differences in life expectancy were decomposed by age and cause of death. Life expectancy was consistently lower in areas with higher unemployment rates. In 2006–2010, those in areas with high unemployment rates (≥9%) had a life expectancy of 76.9 years, compared with 80.7 years for those in areas with low unemployment rates (<3%). The association between unemployment and life expectancy was stronger for men than for women. Life expectancy ranged from 69.9 years among black men in high unemployment areas to 90.0 years among Asian/Pacific Islander women in low unemployment areas. Disparities persisted over time. In 1990–1992, life expectancy was 4.7 years shorter in high unemployment than in low unemployment areas. In 2006–2010, the life expectancy difference between the lowest and highest unemployment areas decreased to 3.8 years. Heart disease, cancer, homicide, unintentional injuries, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and liver cirrhosis contributed most to the lower life expectancy in high unemployment areas. High unemployment areas recorded larger gains in life expectancy than low unemployment areas, contributing to the narrowing gap during 1990–2010. PMID:27073716

Mapping Landslides Susceptibility in a Traditional Northern Nigerian City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oluwafemi, Olawale A.; Yakubu, Tahir A.; Muhammad, Mahmud U.; Shitta, Nyofo; Akinwumiju, Akinola S.

2018-05-01

As a result of dearth of relevant information about Landslides Susceptibility in Nigeria, the monitoring and assessment appears intractable. Hence, the study developed a Remote Sensing approach to mapping landslides susceptibility, landuse and landcover analysis in Jos South LGA, Plateau State, Nigeria. Field Observation, SPOT 5 2009 and 2012, ASTER DEM 2009, Geological Map 2006, Topographical Map 1966 were used to map Landslide Susceptibility and Landuse /Lancover Analysis in the study area. Geospatial Analytical Operations employed using ArcGIS 10.3 and Erdas Imagine 2014 include Spatial Modeling, Vectorization, Pre-lineament Extraction, Image Processing among others. Result showed that 72.38 % of the study area is underlain by granitic rocks. The landuse/cover types delineated for the study area include floodplain (29.27 %), farmland (23.96 %), sparsely vegetated land (15.43 %), built up area (13.65 %), vegetated outcrop (8.48 %), light vegetation (5.37 %), thick vegetation (2.39 %), water body (0.58 %), plantation (0.50 %) and mining pond (0.37 %). Landslide Susceptibility Analysis also revealed that 87 % of the study area is relatively at low to very low risk of landslide event. While only 13 % of the study area is at high to very high risk of landslide event. The study revealed that the susceptibility of landslide event is very low in the study area. However, possible landslide event in the hot spots could be pronounced and could destabilize the natural and man-made environmental systems of the study area.

The contribution of area-level walkability to geographic variation in physical activity: a spatial analysis of 95,837 participants from the 45 and Up Study living in Sydney, Australia.

PubMed

Mayne, Darren J; Morgan, Geoffrey G; Jalaludin, Bin B; Bauman, Adrian E

2017-10-03

Individual-level studies support a positive relation between walkable built environments and participation in moderate-intensity walking. However, the utility of this evidence for population-level planning is less clear as it is derived at much finer spatial scales than those used for regional programming. The aims of this study were to: evaluate if individual-level relations between walkability and walking to improve health manifest at population-level spatial scales; assess the specificity of area-level walkability for walking relative to other moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA); describe geographic variation in walking and other MVPA; and quantify the contribution of walkability to this variation. Data on sufficient walking, sufficient MVPA, and high MVPA to improve health were analyzed for 95,837 Sydney respondents to the baseline survey of the 45 and Up Study between January 2006 and April 2010. We used conditional autoregressive models to create smoothed MVPA "disease maps" and assess relations between sufficient MVPA to improve health and area-level walkability adjusted for individual-level demographic, socioeconomic, and health factors, and area-level relative socioeconomic disadvantage. Within-cohort prevalence of meeting recommendations for sufficient walking, sufficient MVPA, and high MVPA were 31.7 (95% CI 31.4-32.0), 69.4 (95% CI 69.1-69.7), and 56.1 (95% CI 55.8-56.4) percent. Prevalence of sufficient walking was increased by 1.20 (95% CrI 1.12-1.29) and 1.07 (95% CrI 1.01-1.13) for high and medium-high versus low walkability postal areas, and for sufficient MVPA by 1.05 (95% CrI 1.01-1.08) for high versus low walkability postal areas. Walkability was not related to high MVPA. Postal area walkability explained 65.8 and 47.4 percent of residual geographic variation in sufficient walking and sufficient MVPA not attributable to individual-level factors. Walkability is associated with area-level prevalence and geographic variation in sufficient walking and sufficient MVPA to improve health in Sydney, Australia. Our study supports the use of walkability indexes at multiple spatial scales for informing population-level action to increase physical activity and the utility of spatial analysis for walkability research and planning.

Has New York City fallen into the local trap?

PubMed

Libman, Kimberly

2015-04-01

Municipal policies aiming to improve equity in food access and health often rely on the assumption that neighborhoods with limited healthy food availability and high levels of diet-related illness should be the subject of targeted policy-driven change. This study explored this assumption in the context of recent food policy developments in New York City with the objective of empirically examining the geography of everyday food behavior in high- and low-income neighborhoods. This research used a multi method comparative design. Areas at the poles of income inequality in New York City were identified using census data and geographic information systems. Qualitative and geographic data were collected from individual eaters living and/or working in those areas. A review of food policies in New York City from 2005 to 2012. Qualitative and geographic data were collected using space-time food diaries and mental mapping interviews. People living in the low-income study area had more localized food geographies than residents of the high-income study area. Individual-level qualitative data revealed that eaters with the least financial resources, those with physical disabilities, and those who were unemployed reported all or nearly all of their food events taking place within their neighborhoods. Eaters from the low-income area suggested that the barriers to healthy food that policy incentives should address were the high price of food and the consumer environment within stores, not the number of supermarkets in their area. Residents of the high-income area also expressed dissatisfaction with food prices and the in-store environment of their local supermarkets. These eaters leveraged their financial, technological, and transportation resources to overcome those barriers to fresh food. The policy review found that New York City's recent nutrition and food policies are to a great extent geographically targeted to low-income areas. As such, they miss opportunities for citywide interventions that would create food environment changes welcomed by residents of both high- and low-income areas. The recent nutrition and food policies also have the potential unintended negative consequence of promoting gentrification. Copyright © 2014 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mineral resource potential map of the Fossil Ridge Wilderness Study Area, Gunnison County, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeWitt, Ed; Stoneman, R.J.; Clark, J.R.; Kluender, S.E.

1985-01-01

Areas that immediately adjoin the Fossil Ridge Wilderness Study Area have a high potential for molybdenum in large deposits, lead in medium-size deposits, and zinc -in small- to medium-size deposits. Depending on the extraction of base metals, parts of the adjoining areas could have a low resource potential for bismuth and cadmium as byproducts in medium-size deposits.

The effectiveness of drinking and driving policies for different alcohol-related fatalities: a quantile regression analysis.

PubMed

Ying, Yung-Hsiang; Wu, Chin-Chih; Chang, Koyin

2013-09-27

To understand the impact of drinking and driving laws on drinking and driving fatality rates, this study explored the different effects these laws have on areas with varying severity rates for drinking and driving. Unlike previous studies, this study employed quantile regression analysis. Empirical results showed that policies based on local conditions must be used to effectively reduce drinking and driving fatality rates; that is, different measures should be adopted to target the specific conditions in various regions. For areas with low fatality rates (low quantiles), people's habits and attitudes toward alcohol should be emphasized instead of transportation safety laws because "preemptive regulations" are more effective. For areas with high fatality rates (or high quantiles), "ex-post regulations" are more effective, and impact these areas approximately 0.01% to 0.05% more than they do areas with low fatality rates.

The Effectiveness of Drinking and Driving Policies for Different Alcohol-Related Fatalities: A Quantile Regression Analysis

PubMed Central

Ying, Yung-Hsiang; Wu, Chin-Chih; Chang, Koyin

2013-01-01

To understand the impact of drinking and driving laws on drinking and driving fatality rates, this study explored the different effects these laws have on areas with varying severity rates for drinking and driving. Unlike previous studies, this study employed quantile regression analysis. Empirical results showed that policies based on local conditions must be used to effectively reduce drinking and driving fatality rates; that is, different measures should be adopted to target the specific conditions in various regions. For areas with low fatality rates (low quantiles), people’s habits and attitudes toward alcohol should be emphasized instead of transportation safety laws because “preemptive regulations” are more effective. For areas with high fatality rates (or high quantiles), “ex-post regulations” are more effective, and impact these areas approximately 0.01% to 0.05% more than they do areas with low fatality rates. PMID:24084673

Using Reading Strategies To Reduce the Failure Rate in the Content Area. Subject: Social Studies. Grade Level: 6-7-8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dobbs, Olivett

Content area reading instruction includes two elements: the information presented in subject matter text, and the plan that teachers use to help students understand the content. According to research and interviews with social studies teachers, there is a high failure rate in the social studies content area because children have problems…

Plant and animal endemism in the eastern Andean slope: challenges to conservation.

PubMed

Swenson, Jennifer J; Young, Bruce E; Beck, Stephan; Comer, Pat; Córdova, Jesús H; Dyson, Jessica; Embert, Dirk; Encarnación, Filomeno; Ferreira, Wanderley; Franke, Irma; Grossman, Dennis; Hernandez, Pilar; Herzog, Sebastian K; Josse, Carmen; Navarro, Gonzalo; Pacheco, Víctor; Stein, Bruce A; Timaná, Martín; Tovar, Antonio; Tovar, Carolina; Vargas, Julieta; Zambrana-Torrelio, Carlos M

2012-01-27

The Andes-Amazon basin of Peru and Bolivia is one of the most data-poor, biologically rich, and rapidly changing areas of the world. Conservation scientists agree that this area hosts extremely high endemism, perhaps the highest in the world, yet we know little about the geographic distributions of these species and ecosystems within country boundaries. To address this need, we have developed conservation data on endemic biodiversity (~800 species of birds, mammals, amphibians, and plants) and terrestrial ecological systems (~90; groups of vegetation communities resulting from the action of ecological processes, substrates, and/or environmental gradients) with which we conduct a fine scale conservation prioritization across the Amazon watershed of Peru and Bolivia. We modelled the geographic distributions of 435 endemic plants and all 347 endemic vertebrate species, from existing museum and herbaria specimens at a regional conservation practitioner's scale (1:250,000-1:1,000,000), based on the best available tools and geographic data. We mapped ecological systems, endemic species concentrations, and irreplaceable areas with respect to national level protected areas. We found that sizes of endemic species distributions ranged widely (< 20 km2 to > 200,000 km2) across the study area. Bird and mammal endemic species richness was greatest within a narrow 2500-3000 m elevation band along the length of the Andes Mountains. Endemic amphibian richness was highest at 1000-1500 m elevation and concentrated in the southern half of the study area. Geographical distribution of plant endemism was highly taxon-dependent. Irreplaceable areas, defined as locations with the highest number of species with narrow ranges, overlapped slightly with areas of high endemism, yet generally exhibited unique patterns across the study area by species group. We found that many endemic species and ecological systems are lacking national-level protection; a third of endemic species have distributions completely outside of national protected areas. Protected areas cover only 20% of areas of high endemism and 20% of irreplaceable areas. Almost 40% of the 91 ecological systems are in serious need of protection (= < 2% of their ranges protected). We identify for the first time, areas of high endemic species concentrations and high irreplaceability that have only been roughly indicated in the past at the continental scale. We conclude that new complementary protected areas are needed to safeguard these endemics and ecosystems. An expansion in protected areas will be challenged by geographically isolated micro-endemics, varied endemic patterns among taxa, increasing deforestation, resource extraction, and changes in climate. Relying on pre-existing collections, publically accessible datasets and tools, this working framework is exportable to other regions plagued by incomplete conservation data.

Plant and animal endemism in the eastern Andean slope: challenges to conservation

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The Andes-Amazon basin of Peru and Bolivia is one of the most data-poor, biologically rich, and rapidly changing areas of the world. Conservation scientists agree that this area hosts extremely high endemism, perhaps the highest in the world, yet we know little about the geographic distributions of these species and ecosystems within country boundaries. To address this need, we have developed conservation data on endemic biodiversity (~800 species of birds, mammals, amphibians, and plants) and terrestrial ecological systems (~90; groups of vegetation communities resulting from the action of ecological processes, substrates, and/or environmental gradients) with which we conduct a fine scale conservation prioritization across the Amazon watershed of Peru and Bolivia. We modelled the geographic distributions of 435 endemic plants and all 347 endemic vertebrate species, from existing museum and herbaria specimens at a regional conservation practitioner's scale (1:250,000-1:1,000,000), based on the best available tools and geographic data. We mapped ecological systems, endemic species concentrations, and irreplaceable areas with respect to national level protected areas. Results We found that sizes of endemic species distributions ranged widely (< 20 km2 to > 200,000 km2) across the study area. Bird and mammal endemic species richness was greatest within a narrow 2500-3000 m elevation band along the length of the Andes Mountains. Endemic amphibian richness was highest at 1000-1500 m elevation and concentrated in the southern half of the study area. Geographical distribution of plant endemism was highly taxon-dependent. Irreplaceable areas, defined as locations with the highest number of species with narrow ranges, overlapped slightly with areas of high endemism, yet generally exhibited unique patterns across the study area by species group. We found that many endemic species and ecological systems are lacking national-level protection; a third of endemic species have distributions completely outside of national protected areas. Protected areas cover only 20% of areas of high endemism and 20% of irreplaceable areas. Almost 40% of the 91 ecological systems are in serious need of protection (= < 2% of their ranges protected). Conclusions We identify for the first time, areas of high endemic species concentrations and high irreplaceability that have only been roughly indicated in the past at the continental scale. We conclude that new complementary protected areas are needed to safeguard these endemics and ecosystems. An expansion in protected areas will be challenged by geographically isolated micro-endemics, varied endemic patterns among taxa, increasing deforestation, resource extraction, and changes in climate. Relying on pre-existing collections, publically accessible datasets and tools, this working framework is exportable to other regions plagued by incomplete conservation data. PMID:22284854

Sidewalk undermining studies : phase I, hydrology and maintenance studies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-01-01

Studies of the maintenance and hydrology considerations involved in a sidewalk undermining problem in the Fairfax area are reported. Sidewalk undermining is attributed principally to a highly erodible soil found in much of the area and to the fact th...

Snowpack monitoring in North America and Eurasia using passive microwave satellite data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Foster, J. L.; Rango, A.; Hall, D. K.

1980-01-01

Areas of the Canadian high plains, the Montana and North Dakota high plains, and the steppes of central Russia were studied in an effort to determine the utility of spaceborne electrical scanning microwave radiometers (ESMR) for monitoring snow depths in different geographic areas. Significant regression relationships between snow depth and microwave brightness temperatures were developed for each of these homogeneous areas. In the areas investigated, Nimbus 6 (.081 cm) ESMR data produced higher correlations than Nimbus 5 (1.55 cm) ESMR data in relating microwave brightness temperature and snow depth from one area to another because different geographic areas are likely to have different snowpack conditions.

Spatial and temporal resolution effects on urban catchments with different imperviousness degrees

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cristiano, Elena; ten Veldhuis, Marie-Claire; van de Giesen, Nick C.

2015-04-01

One of the main problems in urban hydrological analysis is to measure the rainfall at urban scale with high resolution and use these measurements to model urban runoff processes to predict flows and reduce flood risk. With the aim of building a semi-distribute hydrological sewer model for an urban catchment, high resolution rainfall data are required as input. In this study, the sensitivity of hydrological response to high resolution precipitation data for hydrodynamic models at urban scale is evaluated with different combinations of spatial and temporal resolutions. The aim is to study sensitivity in relation to catchment characteristics, especially drainage area size, imperviousness degree and hydraulic properties such as special structures (weirs, pumping stations). Rainfall data of nine storms are considered with 4 different spatial resolutions (3000m, 1000m, 500m and 100m) combined with 4 different temporal resolutions (10min, 5min, 3min and 1min). The dual polarimetric X-band weather radar, located in the Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research (CESAR) provided the high resolution rainfall data of these rainfall events, used to improve the sewer model. The effects of spatial-temporal rainfall input resolution on response is studied in three Districts of Rotterdam (NL): Kralingen, Spaanse Polder and Centrum district. These catchments have different average drainage area size (from 2km2 to 7km2), and different general characteristics. Centrum district and Kralingen are, indeed, more various and include residential and commercial areas, big green areas and a small industrial area, while Spaanse Polder is a industrial area, densely urbanized, and presents a high percentage of imperviousness.

Mineral resources of the Gila Lower Box Wilderness Study Area, Grant and Hidalgo counties, New Mexico

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

Richter, D.H.; Lawrence, V.A.; Barton, H.

1988-01-01

The US Bureau of Mines and the US Geological Survey conducted a joint investigate to appraise the identified resources and to assess the potential for undiscovered resources of the Gila Lower Box Wilderness Study Area, southwestern New Mexico. Identified resources of manganese occur within 0.25 mi of the study area boundary, but none are known within the study area. The eastern part of the study area has a high mineral resource potential for manganese, and the western part has a moderate mineral resource potential for manganese. The entire study area has a low mineral and energy resource potential for othermore » metals, gemstone, geothermal energy, oil and gas.« less

Geohydrology and susceptibility of major aquifers to surface contamination in Alabama, area 7

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mooty, W.S.

1987-01-01

The geohydrology and susceptibility of the seven major aquifers to surface contamination in Area 7 - Bibb, Dallas, Hale, Perry, and Wilcox Counties, are described. Aquifers in the northern part of the study area are in Paleozoic limestones and dolomite formations. Deposits in the central part of the study area are predominately of Cretaceous age and contain the Coker, Gordo, and Eutaw aquifers. Although the southern part of the study area has many deposits of Tertiary age, the Ripley Formation of Cretaceous age is the major aquifer. Contamination of any of the major aquifers is improbable because the majority of the recharge area for the primary aquifers is woodland, pasture, or farmland. Downdip from their outcrops, the major aquifers in the study area are protected from land surface contamination by relatively impermeable layers of clay and chalk. The aquifers that are highly susceptible to contamination are the ones in the limestone and dolomite formations in northern Bibb County. Sinkholes exist in the recharge area of these formations and could provide a direct link for contaminates from the land surface to the water table. An area northeast of the Selma well field is also highly susceptible to contamination. The Eutaw Formation in this area is overlain by alluvial deposits that could increase recharge to the aquifer by slowing the runoff rate of surface water. (USGS)

The effects of poaching and habitat structure on anti-predator behavioral strategies: A guanaco population in a high cold desert as case study

PubMed Central

Campos, Valeria; Giannoni, Stella; Andino, Natalia

2017-01-01

The effects of poaching on wildlife have been widely studied in conservation biology and can be heterogeneous, particularly on ungulates. These effects can be estimated through different methodologies whose use depends on several conditions such as Flight-initiation distance (FID). Our objectives were: 1- to evaluate whether poaching affects the FID and group structure of a guanaco (Lama guanicoe) population in a high cold desert in San Juan (Argentina); 2- to assess whether habitat structure (slope and vegetation cover) influences FID and group structure in this population. The study area included a site with poaching (unprotected area), and a site without poaching (protected area). We recorded 100 groups of guanacos: 70 in the protected and 30 in the unprotected area. FID and group size were greater in the unprotected than in the protected area, whereas proportions of group categories (with offspring, without offspring and solitary) were similar between areas. Besides, in relation to habitat structure, FID increased when vegetation cover decreased. On the other hand, FID and group size were not affected by slope. Our study shows that guanacos respond to poaching pressure as do other ungulate species, and that other factors such as vegetation cover also affect this behavior. Managers should be aware when interpreting FID due to its relation to habitat structure; the guanaco appears to assume greater risk (lower FID) in areas with high vegetation cover. PMID:28859147

The effects of poaching and habitat structure on anti-predator behavioral strategies: A guanaco population in a high cold desert as case study.

PubMed

Cappa, Flavio; Campos, Valeria; Giannoni, Stella; Andino, Natalia

2017-01-01

The effects of poaching on wildlife have been widely studied in conservation biology and can be heterogeneous, particularly on ungulates. These effects can be estimated through different methodologies whose use depends on several conditions such as Flight-initiation distance (FID). Our objectives were: 1- to evaluate whether poaching affects the FID and group structure of a guanaco (Lama guanicoe) population in a high cold desert in San Juan (Argentina); 2- to assess whether habitat structure (slope and vegetation cover) influences FID and group structure in this population. The study area included a site with poaching (unprotected area), and a site without poaching (protected area). We recorded 100 groups of guanacos: 70 in the protected and 30 in the unprotected area. FID and group size were greater in the unprotected than in the protected area, whereas proportions of group categories (with offspring, without offspring and solitary) were similar between areas. Besides, in relation to habitat structure, FID increased when vegetation cover decreased. On the other hand, FID and group size were not affected by slope. Our study shows that guanacos respond to poaching pressure as do other ungulate species, and that other factors such as vegetation cover also affect this behavior. Managers should be aware when interpreting FID due to its relation to habitat structure; the guanaco appears to assume greater risk (lower FID) in areas with high vegetation cover.

Spatially explicit assessment of heat health risk by using multi-sensor remote sensing images and socioeconomic data in Yangtze River Delta, China.

PubMed

Chen, Qian; Ding, Mingjun; Yang, Xuchao; Hu, Kejia; Qi, Jiaguo

2018-05-25

The increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events, which are potentially associated with climate change in the near future, highlights the importance of heat health risk assessment, a significant reference for heat-related death reduction and intervention. However, a spatiotemporal mismatch exists between gridded heat hazard and human exposure in risk assessment, which hinders the identification of high-risk areas at finer scales. A human settlement index integrated by nighttime light images, enhanced vegetation index, and digital elevation model data was utilized to assess the human exposure at high spatial resolution. Heat hazard and vulnerability index were generated by land surface temperature and demographic and socioeconomic census data, respectively. Spatially explicit assessment of heat health risk and its driving factors was conducted in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), east China at 250 m pixel level. High-risk areas were mainly distributed in the urbanized areas of YRD, which were mostly driven by high human exposure and heat hazard index. In some less-urbanized cities and suburban and rural areas of mega-cities, the heat health risks are in second priority. The risks in some less-developed areas were high despite the low human exposure index because of high heat hazard and vulnerability index. This study illustrated a methodology for identifying high-risk areas by combining freely available multi-source data. Highly urbanized areas were considered hotspots of high heat health risks, which were largely driven by the increasing urban heat island effects and population density in urban areas. Repercussions of overheating were weakened due to the low social vulnerability in some central areas benefitting from the low proportion of sensitive population or the high level of socioeconomic development. By contrast, high social vulnerability intensifies heat health risks in some less-urbanized cities and suburban areas of mega-cities.

Local level epidemiological analysis of TB in people from a high incidence country of birth.

PubMed

Massey, Peter D; Durrheim, David N; Stephens, Nicola; Christensen, Amanda

2013-01-22

The setting for this analysis is the low tuberculosis (TB) incidence state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Local level analysis of TB epidemiology in people from high incidence countries-of-birth (HIC) in a low incidence setting has not been conducted in Australia and has not been widely reported. Local level analysis could inform measures such as active case finding and targeted earlier diagnosis. The aim of this study was to use a novel approach to identify local areas in an Australian state that have higher TB rates given the local areas' country of birth profiles. TB notification data for the three year period 2006-2008 were analysed by grouping the population into those from a high-incidence country-of-birth and the remainder. During the study period there were 1401 notified TB cases in the state of NSW. Of these TB cases 76.5% were born in a high-incidence country. The annualised TB notification rate for the high-incidence country-of-birth group was 61.2/100,000 population and for the remainder of the population was 1.8/100,000. Of the 152 Local Government Areas (LGA) in NSW, nine had higher and four had lower TB notification rates in their high-incidence country-of-birth populations when compared with the high-incidence country-of-birth population for the rest of NSW. The nine areas had a higher proportion of the population with a country of birth where TB notification rates are >100/100,000. Those notified with TB in the nine areas also had a shorter length of stay in Australia than the rest of the state. The areas with higher TB notification rates were all in the capital city, Sydney. Among LGAs with higher TB notification rates, four had higher rates in both people with a high-incidence country of birth and people not born in a high-incidence country. The age distribution of the HIC population was similar across all areas, and the highest differential in TB rates across areas was in the 5-19 years age group. Analysing local area TB rates and possible explanatory variables can provide useful insights into the epidemiology of TB. TB notification rates that take country of birth in local areas into account could enable health services to strategically target TB control measures.

Assessing Chemistry-Learning Competencies of Students in Isolated Rural Senior High Schools by Using the National Examination: A Case Study of Simeulue Island, Indonesia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adlim, M-; Soewarno, S.; Ali, Hasbi; Ibrahim, Armia; Umar, Hasmunir; Ismail, Khairil; Gani, Usman A.; Hasan, Ishak; Yasin, Burhanuddin

2014-01-01

This study explored learning competency based on the Indonesian National Examination focusing especially on chemistry performance and the circumstances of senior high school students and teachers in rural areas of Simeulue Island, Indonesia. The National Examination total score and chemistry score for students in rural areas were consistently…

Evaluating a Pregnancy and STI Prevention Programme in Rural, At-Risk, Middle School Girls in the USA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Julie C.; Lynne-Landsman, Sarah D.; Graber, Julia A.; Johnson, Kelly J.

2016-01-01

Objective: Young people in urban areas are often the focus of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention programmes because of their high risk of unwanted pregnancy and contracting an STI. Young people in rural areas are far less studied but also have a high risk of similar outcomes. This study evaluates Giving Our Girls…

Study on the Distribution of Geological Hazards Based on Fractal Characteristics - a Case Study of Dachuan District

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, X.; Liu, H.; Yao, K.; Wei, Y.

2018-04-01

It is a complicated process to analyze the cause of geological hazard. Through the analysis function of GIS software, 250 landslides were randomly selected from 395 landslide hazards in the study area, superimposed with the types of landforms, annual rainfall and vegetation coverage respectively. It used box dimension method of fractal dimension theory to study the fractal characteristics of spatial distribution of landslide disasters in Dachuan district, and analyse the statistical results. Research findings showed that the The fractal dimension of the landslides in the Dachuan area is 0.9114, the correlation coefficient is 0.9627, and it has high autocorrelation. Zoning statistics according to various natural factors, the fractal dimension between landslide hazard points and deep hill, middle hill area is strong as well as the area whose average annual rainfall is 1050 mm-1250 mm and vegetation coverage is 30 %-60 %. Superposition of the potential hazard distribution map of single influence factors to get the potential hazard zoning of landslides in the area. Verifying the potential hazard zoning map of the potential landslides with 145 remaining disaster points, among them, there are 74 landslide hazard points in high risk area, accounting for 51.03 % of the total. There are 59 landslides in the middle risk area, accounting for 40.69 % of the total, and 12 in the low risk area, accounting for 8.28 % of the total. The matching degree of the verifying result and the potential hazard zoning is high. Therefore, the fractal dimension value divided the degree of geological disaster susceptibility can be described the influence degree of each influence factor to geological disaster point more intuitively, it also can divide potential disaster risk areas and provide visual data support for effective management of geological disasters.

Dental Fluorosis and Dental Caries Prevalence among 12 and 15-Year-Old School Children in Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh, India.

PubMed

Sukhabogi, J R; Parthasarathi, P; Anjum, S; Shekar, Brc; Padma, Cm; Rani, As

2014-09-01

Fluoride is a double edged sword. The assessment of dental caries and fluorosis in endemic fluoride areas will facilitate in assessing the relation between fluoride concentrations in water with dental caries, dental fluorosis simultaneously. The objective of the following study is to assess the dental caries and dental fluorosis prevalence among 12 and 15-year-old school children in Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, India. This was a cross-sectional study. Two stage cluster sampling technique was employed to select 20 schools from Nalgonda district. The oral examination of available 12 and 15-year-old children fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria was carried out to assess dental caries and fluorosis. The examination was conducted by a single trained and calibrated examiner using the mouth mirror and community periodontal index probe under natural daylight. These areas were divided into four categories, low, medium, high and very high fluoride areas based on the fluoride concentration at the time of statistical analysis. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16 (IBM, Chicago, USA). The caries prevalence was less among 12-year-old children (39.9% [369/924]) compared with 15-years-old children (46.7% [444/951]). The prevalence was more among females (50.4% [492/977]) than males (35.8% [321/898]). The prevalence was more in low fluoride area (60.5% [300/496]) followed by very high fluoride area (54.8% [201/367]), high fluoride area (32.4% [293/904]) and medium fluoride area (17.6% [19/108]) in the descending order. The fluorosis prevalence increased with increasing fluoride concentration with no difference in gender and age distribution. Low fluoride areas require fluoridation or alternate sources of fluoride, whereas high fluoride areas require defluoridation. Defluoridation of water is an immediate requirement in areas with fluoride concentration of 4 parts per million and above as dental fluorosis is a public health problem in these areas with 100% prevalence.

Aligning Career and Technical Education with High-Wage and High-Demand Occupations in Tennessee. Summary. Issues & Answers. REL 2011-No. 111

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mokher, Christine

2011-01-01

This study examines the availability of career and technical education program areas in Tennessee high schools, concentrations (a three-or-more credit sequence in a program area) completed by 2007/08 high school graduates, and how these concentrations align with jobs in the labor market. It looks at how these outcomes differ, statewide and by…

Socioeconomic area disparities in tobacco retail outlet density: a Western Australian analysis.

PubMed

Wood, Lisa J; Pereira, Gavin; Middleton, Nick; Foster, Sarah

2013-05-20

To examine the association between tobacco outlet density and area socioeconomic status (SES) in Western Australia. Ecological cross-sectional study investigating the relationship between the area SES of, and the density of tobacco retail outlets in, WA suburbs and towns for the Perth metropolitan area, and at the regional and state level. SES was determined using the 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics Index of Relative Socioeconomic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD) and classified into quartiles (very low, low, high and very high); tobacco outlet data were sourced from the WA Department of Health register of retailers licensed to sell tobacco at May 2011. Tobacco outlet density rate (per 10 000 residents). In WA overall, suburbs and towns with a very low IRSAD had more than four times the number of tobacco outlets compared with those with a very high IRSAD (P> < 0.001). This trend was similar when analyses were restricted to the Perth metropolitan area and to regional areas. Suburbs and towns in regional WA with a very low IRSAD had more than five times the number of tobacco outlets than those with a very high IRSAD (P> < 0.001). This study provides the first Australian evidence of a strong relationship between area SES and tobacco outlet density. Findings are consistent with a number of United States studies that report higher tobacco outlet densities in lower SES or minority neighbourhoods. The results underscore the importance of policy approaches to limit the number of tobacco retail licences granted, and to reduce the geographic density of outlets in more disadvantaged suburbs and towns.

Effect modification of the association between short-term meteorological factors and mortality by urban heat islands in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Goggins, William B; Chan, Emily Y Y; Ng, Edward; Ren, Chao; Chen, Liang

2012-01-01

Prior studies from around the world have indicated that very high temperatures tend to increase summertime mortality. However possible effect modification by urban micro heat islands has only been examined by a few studies in North America and Europe. This study examined whether daily mortality in micro heat island areas of Hong Kong was more sensitive to short term changes in meteorological conditions than in other areas. An urban heat island index (UHII) was calculated for each of Hong Kong's 248 geographical tertiary planning units (TPU). Daily counts of all natural deaths among Hong Kong residents were stratified according to whether the place of residence of the decedent was in a TPU with high (above the median) or low UHII. Poisson Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) were used to estimate the association between meteorological variables and mortality while adjusting for trend, seasonality, pollutants and flu epidemics. Analyses were restricted to the hot season (June-September). Mean temperatures (lags 0-4) above 29 °C and low mean wind speeds (lags 0-4) were significantly associated with higher daily mortality and these associations were stronger in areas with high UHII. A 1 °C rise above 29 °C was associated with a 4.1% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7%, 7.6%) increase in natural mortality in areas with high UHII but only a 0.7% (95% CI: -2.4%, 3.9%) increase in low UHII areas. Lower mean wind speeds (5(th) percentile vs. 95(th) percentile) were associated with a 5.7% (95% CI: 2.7, 8.9) mortality increase in high UHII areas vs. a -0.3% (95% CI: -3.2%, 2.6%) change in low UHII areas. The results suggest that urban micro heat islands exacerbate the negative health consequences of high temperatures and low wind speeds. Urban planning measures designed to mitigate heat island effects may lessen the health effects of unfavorable summertime meteorological conditions.

Study on high-resolution representation of terraces in Shanxi Loess Plateau area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Weidong; Tang, Guo'an; Ma, Lei

2008-10-01

A new elevation points sampling method, namely TIN-based Sampling Method (TSM) and a new visual method called Elevation Addition Method (EAM), are put forth for representing the typical terraces in Shanxi loess plateau area. The DEM Feature Points and Lines Classification (DEPLC) put forth by the authors in 2007 is perfected for depicting the main path in the study area. The EAM is used to visualize the terraces and the path in the study area. 406 key elevation points and 15 feature constrained lines sampled by this method are used to construct CD-TINs which can depict the terraces and path correctly and effectively. Our case study shows that the new sampling method called TSM is reasonable and feasible. The complicated micro-terrains like terraces and path can be represented with high resolution and high efficiency successfully by use of the perfected DEPLC, TSM and CD-TINs. And both the terraces and the main path are visualized very well by use of EAM even when the terrace height is not more than 1m.

Variability of nutrients intake, lipid profile and cardiovascular mortality among geographical areas in Spain: The DRECE study.

PubMed

Gómez de la Cámara, Agustín; De Andrés Esteban, Eva; Urrútia Cuchí, Gerard; Calderón Sandubete, Enrique; Rubio Herrera, Miguel Ángel; Menéndez Orenga, Miguel; Lora Pablos, David

2017-11-07

It has often been suggested that cardiovascular mortality and their geographical heterogeneity are associated with nutrients intake patterns and also lipid profile. The large Spanish study Dieta y Riesgo de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares en España (DRECE) investigated this theory from 1991 to 2010. Out of the 4,783 Spanish individuals making up the DRECE cohort, 220 subjects (148 men and 72 women) died (4.62%) during the course of the study. The mean age of patients who died from cardiovascular causes (32 in all) was 61.08 years 95% CI (57.47-64.69) and 70.91% of them were males. The consumption of nutrients and the lipid profile by geographical area, studied by geospatial models, showed that the east and southern area of the country had the highest fat intake coupled to a high rate of unhealthy lipid profile. It was concluded that the spatial geographical analysis showed a relationship between high fat intake, unhealthy lipid profile and cardiovascular mortality in the different geographical areas, with a high variability within the country.

Prior-knowledge-based spectral mixture analysis for impervious surface mapping

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

Zhang, Jinshui; He, Chunyang; Zhou, Yuyu

2014-01-03

In this study, we developed a prior-knowledge-based spectral mixture analysis (PKSMA) to map impervious surfaces by using endmembers derived separately for high- and low-density urban regions. First, an urban area was categorized into high- and low-density urban areas, using a multi-step classification method. Next, in high-density urban areas that were assumed to have only vegetation and impervious surfaces (ISs), the Vegetation-Impervious model (V-I) was used in a spectral mixture analysis (SMA) with three endmembers: vegetation, high albedo, and low albedo. In low-density urban areas, the Vegetation-Impervious-Soil model (V-I-S) was used in an SMA analysis with four endmembers: high albedo, lowmore » albedo, soil, and vegetation. The fraction of IS with high and low albedo in each pixel was combined to produce the final IS map. The root mean-square error (RMSE) of the IS map produced using PKSMA was about 11.0%, compared to 14.52% using four-endmember SMA. Particularly in high-density urban areas, PKSMA (RMSE = 6.47%) showed better performance than four-endmember (15.91%). The results indicate that PKSMA can improve IS mapping compared to traditional SMA by using appropriately selected endmembers and is particularly strong in high-density urban areas.« less

National surveillance of 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans in soil in Taiwan.

PubMed

Hsu, Yi-Chyun; Que, Danielle E; Gou, Yan-You; Tsou, Tsui-Chun; Liu, Chung-Kun; Wang, Yen-Ling; Hou, Wen-Che; Lin, Yi-Hsien; Liu, Wen-Yao; Chao, How-Ran; Lee, Wen-Jhy

2018-07-01

In this study, the polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin/furan (PCDD/F) levels in 381 soil samples coming from different background areas (n = 238) and contaminated areas (n = 143) in Taiwan were investigated from 2011 to 2015 using high resolution gas chromatograph/high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). The contaminated areas showed higher PCDD/F contamination as compared to the background areas (1230 vs 749 pg/g dry weight (dw)); 14.0 vs 6.25 pg WHO 2005 -TEQ/g dw). The lowest levels were recorded in the outlying islands (1.28 pg WHO 2005 -TEQ/g dw). PCDD/F congener distribution profiles in the background and contaminated areas as well as on the islands varied. OCDD was the dominant congener in almost all locations, including the northern background (87.7%) and central contaminated (74.2%) areas. Other dominant species included OCDF and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-HpCDD. Levels of PCDD/F-TEQs in Taiwanese soils, including the background areas, were higher than in some developing countries and regions with global background levels due to high industrialization except for the contaminated areas. Geographic differences in dioxin-contaminated soils were also shown in this study. Higher soil dioxin-TEQs were observed in locations with high populations and population densities. Despite the limitations, the economic status of Taiwan represented by the annual averaged family income (AAFI) was positively correlated to soil dioxin-TEQs. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Perceived top 10 highly effective interventions to prevent adult inpatient fall injuries by specialty area: a multihospital nurse survey.

PubMed

Tzeng, Huey-Ming; Yin, Chang-Yi

2015-02-01

This study identified the perceived top 10 highly effective interventions to prevent fall injuries of adult inpatients based on the perceptions of RN staff by specialty area in acute hospital settings. The fall prevention precautions to focus on may vary by patients' medical problems and thus by specialty area. This cross-sectional nurse survey was conducted at five U.S. health systems (July 2011-February 2012, 68 study units, 10 specialty areas). 560 staff participants completed the survey, yielding an overall response rate of 25.81%. This work is part of a larger project. Descriptive statistics were used. Each specialty area had its own top 10 effective interventions identified by RNs. The complexity and differences in the top 10 highly effective interventions by the 10 included specialty areas are apparent. For example, only one common intervention (keeping hospital bed brakes locked) appeared in the lists from the medical units and surgical units. Addressing the unique needs of the patient population by specialty area is essential. Adopting the perceived top 10 highly effective interventions for preventing injurious falls by specialty area with staff consensus might be more feasible for staff buy-in and compliance in inpatient acute care settings. Since patients' characteristics may change over time and the science in fall prevention is advancing, re-prioritizing effective interventions as needed every 2 years is recommended. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Aquatic Natural Areas Analysis and Evaluation: Oak Ridge Reservation

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

Baranski, Dr. Michael J.

This report presents an assessment of the natural area value of eight Aquatic Natural Areas (ANAs) and seven Aquatic Reference Areas (ARAs) on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in Anderson and Roane Counties in east Tennessee. It follows a previous study in 2009 that analyzed and evaluated terrestrial natural areas on the Reservation. The purpose of both studies was to evaluate and rank those specially designated areas on the Reservation that contain sensitive species, special habitats, and natural area value. Natural areas receive special protections through established statutes, regulations, and policies. The ORR contains 33,542 acres (13,574 ha) administered bymore » the Department of Energy. The surface waters of the Reservation range from 1st-order to 5th-order streams, but the majority of the streams recognized as ANAs and ARAs are 1st- and 2nd-order streams. East Fork Poplar Creek is a 4th-order stream and the largest watershed that drains Reservation lands. All the waters of the Reservation eventually reach the Clinch River on the southern and western boundaries of the ORR. All available information was collected, synthesized, and evaluated. Field observations were made to support and supplement the available information. Geographic information system mapping techniques were used to develop several quantitative attributes about the study areas. Narrative descriptions of each ANA and ARA and tables of numerical data were prepared. Criteria for assessment and evaluation were developed, and eight categories of factors were devised to produce a ranking system. The evaluation factors used in the ranking system were: (A) size of area, (B) percentage of watershed protected, (C) taxa present with protected status, (D) overall biotic diversity, (E) stream features, (F) water quality and use support ratings, (G) disturbance regime, and (H) other factors. Each factor was evaluated on a 5-point ranking scale (0-4), and each area received a composite score, where 32 was the maximum score possible. A highly ranked ANA or ARA is one that is large in size compared to other areas, includes a greater proportion of the watershed within Reservation boundaries, contains a number of status taxa at high densities, exhibits a high overall biodiversity, has very good or excellent habitat and water quality, is well protected and isolated from disturbances, and shows several other characteristics that contribute to natural area value. In this report, the term 'natural area' is loosely defined as a terrestrial or aquatic system that exhibits, or is thought to exhibit, high natural integrity and other significant natural values. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate and rank the currently recognized Aquatic Natural Areas (ANAs) and Aquatic Reference Areas (ARAs) on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) for their natural area value. A previous study (Baranski 2009) analyzed, evaluated, and ranked terrestrial areas (Natural Areas [NAs], Reference Areas [RAs], and Cooperative Management Areas [CMAs]) on the ORR for natural area value, and a precise methodology for natural area evaluation was developed. The present study is intended to be a complement and companion to the terrestrial area study and attempts to employ a similar methodology for aquatic areas so that aquatic and terrestrial areas can be compared on a similar scale. This study specifically develops criteria for assessing the ecological, biodiversity, and natural area importance and significance of aquatic systems on the Reservation in a relevant and consistent manner. The information can be integrated into the Tennessee Natural Heritage Program (http://tn.gov/environment/na/nhp.shtml) system and applied to potential new aquatic areas. Further, the information will be useful in planning, management, and protection efforts on the ORR.« less

Excess black mortality in the United States and in selected black and white high-poverty areas, 1980-2000.

PubMed

Geronimus, Arline T; Bound, John; Colen, Cynthia G

2011-04-01

Black working-aged residents of urban high-poverty areas suffered severe excess mortality in 1980 and 1990. Our goal in this study was to determine whether this trend persisted in 2000. We analyzed death certificate and census data to estimate age-standardized all-cause and cause-specific mortality among 16- to 64-year-old Blacks and Whites nationwide and in selected urban and rural high-poverty areas. Urban men's mortality rate estimates peaked in 1990 and declined between 1990 and 2000 back to or below 1980 levels. Evidence of excess mortality declines among urban or rural women and among rural men was modest, with some increases. Between 1980 and 2000, there was little decline in chronic disease mortality among men and women in most areas, and in some instances there were increases. In 2000, despite improved economic conditions, working-age residents of the study areas still died disproportionately of early onset of chronic disease, suggesting an entrenched burden of disease and unmet health care needs. The lack of consistent improvement in death rates among working-age residents of high-poverty areas since 1980 necessitates reflection and concerted action given that sustainable progress has been elusive for this age group.

A template-free solvent-mediated synthesis of high surface area boron nitride nanosheets for aerobic oxidative desulfurization

DOE PAGES

Wu, Peiwen; Zhu, Wenshuai; Chao, Yanhong; ...

2015-10-16

Hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNs) with rather high specific surface area (SSA) are important two-dimensional layer-structured materials. Here in this study, a solvent-mediated synthesis of h-BNNs revealed a template-free lattice plane control strategy that induced high SSA nanoporous structured h-BNNs with outstanding aerobic oxidative desulfurization performance.

Assessing Local Risk of Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling.

PubMed

Heidebrecht, Christine L; Podewils, Laura J; Pym, Alexander; Mthiyane, Thuli; Cohen, Ted

2016-01-01

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has the highest burden of notified multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB cases in South Africa. A better understanding of spatial heterogeneity in the risk of drug-resistance may help to prioritize local responses. Between July 2012 and June 2013, we conducted a two-way Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) study to classify the burden of rifampicin (RIF)-resistant TB among incident TB cases notified within the catchment areas of seven laboratories in two northern and one southern district of KZN. Decision rules for classification of areas as having either a high- or low-risk of RIF resistant TB (based on proportion of RIF resistance among all TB cases) were based on consultation with local policy makers. We classified five areas as high-risk and two as low-risk. High-risk areas were identified in both Southern and Northern districts, with the greatest proportion of RIF resistance observed in the northernmost area, the Manguzi community situated on the Mozambique border. Our study revealed heterogeneity in the risk of RIF resistant disease among incident TB cases in KZN. This study demonstrates the potential for LQAS to detect geographic heterogeneity in areas where access to drug susceptibility testing is limited.

Assessing Local Risk of Rifampicin-Resistant Tuberculosis in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Using Lot Quality Assurance Sampling

PubMed Central

Heidebrecht, Christine L.; Podewils, Laura J.; Pym, Alexander; Mthiyane, Thuli; Cohen, Ted

2016-01-01

Background KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has the highest burden of notified multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB cases in South Africa. A better understanding of spatial heterogeneity in the risk of drug-resistance may help to prioritize local responses. Methods Between July 2012 and June 2013, we conducted a two-way Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) study to classify the burden of rifampicin (RIF)-resistant TB among incident TB cases notified within the catchment areas of seven laboratories in two northern and one southern district of KZN. Decision rules for classification of areas as having either a high- or low-risk of RIF resistant TB (based on proportion of RIF resistance among all TB cases) were based on consultation with local policy makers. Results We classified five areas as high-risk and two as low-risk. High-risk areas were identified in both Southern and Northern districts, with the greatest proportion of RIF resistance observed in the northernmost area, the Manguzi community situated on the Mozambique border. Conclusion Our study revealed heterogeneity in the risk of RIF resistant disease among incident TB cases in KZN. This study demonstrates the potential for LQAS to detect geographic heterogeneity in areas where access to drug susceptibility testing is limited. PMID:27050561

Hydrological and hydraulic models for determination of flood-prone and flood inundation areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aksoy, Hafzullah; Sadan Ozgur Kirca, Veysel; Burgan, Halil Ibrahim; Kellecioglu, Dorukhan

2016-05-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are widely used in most studies on water resources. Especially, when the topography and geomorphology of study area are considered, GIS can ease the work load. Detailed data should be used in this kind of studies. Because of, either the complication of the models or the requirement of highly detailed data, model outputs can be obtained fast only with a good optimization. The aim in this study, firstly, is to determine flood-prone areas in a watershed by using a hydrological model considering two wetness indexes; the topographical wetness index, and the SAGA (System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses) wetness index. The wetness indexes were obtained in the Quantum GIS (QGIS) software by using the Digital Elevation Model of the study area. Flood-prone areas are determined by considering the wetness index maps of the watershed. As the second stage of this study, a hydraulic model, HEC-RAS, was executed to determine flood inundation areas under different return period-flood events. River network cross-sections required for this study were derived from highly detailed digital elevation models by QGIS. Also river hydraulic parameters were used in the hydraulic model. Modelling technology used in this study is made of freely available open source softwares. Based on case studies performed on watersheds in Turkey, it is concluded that results of such studies can be used for taking precaution measures against life and monetary losses due to floods in urban areas particularly.

Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation-Based Disaster Risk Assessment of Desertification in Horqin Sand Land, China

PubMed Central

Wang, Yongfang; Zhang, Jiquan; Guo, Enliang; Sun, Zhongyi

2015-01-01

Desertification is a typical disaster risk event in which human settlements and living environments are destroyed. Desertification Disaster Risk Assessment can control and prevent the occurrence and development of desertification disasters and reduce their adverse influence on human society. This study presents the methodology and procedure for risk assessment and zoning of desertification disasters in Horqin Sand Land. Based on natural disaster risk theory and the desertification disaster formation mechanism, the Desertification Disaster Risk Index (DDRI) combined hazard, exposure, vulnerability and restorability factors and was developed mainly by using multi-source data and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The results showed that high risk and middle risk areas account for 28% and 23% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed with an “S” type in the study area. Low risk and very low risk areas account for 21% and 10% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed in the west-central and southwestern parts. Very high risk areas account for 18% of the study area and are distributed in the northeastern parts. The results can be used to know the desertification disaster risk level. It has important theoretical and practical significance to prevention and control of desertification in Horqin Sand Land and even in Northern China. PMID:25654772

Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation-based disaster risk assessment of desertification in Horqin Sand Land, China.

PubMed

Wang, Yongfang; Zhang, Jiquan; Guo, Enliang; Sun, Zhongyi

2015-02-03

Desertification is a typical disaster risk event in which human settlements and living environments are destroyed. Desertification Disaster Risk Assessment can control and prevent the occurrence and development of desertification disasters and reduce their adverse influence on human society. This study presents the methodology and procedure for risk assessment and zoning of desertification disasters in Horqin Sand Land. Based on natural disaster risk theory and the desertification disaster formation mechanism, the Desertification Disaster Risk Index (DDRI) combined hazard, exposure, vulnerability and restorability factors and was developed mainly by using multi-source data and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The results showed that high risk and middle risk areas account for 28% and 23% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed with an "S" type in the study area. Low risk and very low risk areas account for 21% and 10% of the study area, respectively. They are distributed in the west-central and southwestern parts. Very high risk areas account for 18% of the study area and are distributed in the northeastern parts. The results can be used to know the desertification disaster risk level. It has important theoretical and practical significance to prevention and control of desertification in Horqin Sand Land and even in Northern China.

Usefulness of the convexity apparent hyperperfusion sign in 123I-iodoamphetamine brain perfusion SPECT for the diagnosis of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.

PubMed

Ohmichi, Takuma; Kondo, Masaki; Itsukage, Masahiro; Koizumi, Hidetaka; Matsushima, Shigenori; Kuriyama, Nagato; Ishii, Kazunari; Mori, Etsuro; Yamada, Kei; Mizuno, Toshiki; Tokuda, Takahiko

2018-03-16

OBJECTIVE The gold standard for the diagnosis of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is the CSF removal test. For elderly patients, however, a less invasive diagnostic method is required. On MRI, high-convexity tightness was reported to be an important finding for the diagnosis of iNPH. On SPECT, patients with iNPH often show hyperperfusion of the high-convexity area. The authors tested 2 hypotheses regarding the SPECT finding: 1) it is relative hyperperfusion reflecting the increased gray matter density of the convexity, and 2) it is useful for the diagnosis of iNPH. The authors termed the SPECT finding the convexity apparent hyperperfusion (CAPPAH) sign. METHODS Two clinical studies were conducted. In study 1, SPECT was performed for 20 patients suspected of having iNPH, and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of the high-convexity area was examined using quantitative analysis. Clinical differences between patients with the CAPPAH sign (CAP) and those without it (NCAP) were also compared. In study 2, the CAPPAH sign was retrospectively assessed in 30 patients with iNPH and 19 healthy controls using SPECT images and 3D stereotactic surface projection. RESULTS In study 1, rCBF of the high-convexity area of the CAP group was calculated as 35.2-43.7 ml/min/100 g, which is not higher than normal values of rCBF determined by SPECT. The NCAP group showed lower cognitive function and weaker responses to the removal of CSF than the CAP group. In study 2, the CAPPAH sign was positive only in patients with iNPH (24/30) and not in controls (sensitivity 80%, specificity 100%). The coincidence rate between tight high convexity on MRI and the CAPPAH sign was very high (28/30). CONCLUSIONS Patients with iNPH showed hyperperfusion of the high-convexity area on SPECT; however, the presence of the CAPPAH sign did not indicate real hyperperfusion of rCBF in the high-convexity area. The authors speculated that patients with iNPH without the CAPPAH sign, despite showing tight high convexity on MRI, might have comorbidities such as Alzheimer's disease.

Mineral Resources of the Wabayuma Peak Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Conway, Clay M.; Hassemer, Jerry R.; Knepper, Daniel H.; Pitkin, James A.; Jachens, Robert C.; Chatman, Mark L.

1990-01-01

The Wabayuma Peak Wilderness Study Area (AZ-020-037/043), for which a mineral survey was requested by the U.S. Bureau of land Management, encompasses 40,118 acres in northwestern Arizona. Fieldwork was carried out in 1986-88 by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey to appraise the identified (known) resources and assess the mineral resource potential (undiscovered) of the wilderness study area. Within the Wabayuma Peak Wilderness Study Area are 14 private parcels of land totaling 1,315 acres. The Wabayuma Peak Wilderness Study Area, including the 14 private parcels of land, is herein referred to as the 'wilderness study area' or the 'study area'. The Boriana, Antler, and Copper World mines lie near the east boundary of the study area. The Boriana mine was a major tungsten-producing mine of the United States during World War II. The Antler and Copper World mines produced relatively small amounts of copper and zinc prior to 1970. Copper and zinc were mined within 100 ft of the study area at the Antler mine. The Antler mine contains subeconomic resources of 350,000 to 400,000 short tons of copper-zinc ore; a minimum of 2,000 short tons, at grades of 1 to 4 percent copper and 1 to 2 percent zinc, lie within the study area. No other mineral resources were identified within the study area. Four small tracts in the eastern part and one in the central part of the study area have high resource potential for copper, zinc, and minor lead, silver, and gold in massive sulfide deposits. A large central tract and two eastern tracts have moderate resource potential for the same metals. An eastern and a western tract within the wilderness study area have high resource potential for tungsten, copper, and combinations of beryllium, gold, silver, arsenic, bismuth, molybdenum, tin, indium, thorium, niobium, yttrium, lanthanum, scandium, tantalum, rhenium, lead, zinc, and iron in granite-related tungsten-polymetallic vein deposits. Most of the rest of the study area has moderate resource potential for these metals. A northern tract in the study area has moderate resource potential for gold, copper, and combinations of silver, zinc, lead, tungsten, and molybdenum in polymetallic vein deposits of several types.

Debris flow study in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahrin Jaafar, Kamal

2016-04-01

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

Mineral resources of the Mormon Mountains Wilderness Study Area, Lincoln County, Nevada

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

Shawe, D.R.; Blank, H.R. Jr.; Wernicke, B.P.

1988-01-01

The U.S. Bureau of Mines and the U.S. Geological Survey conducted investigations to appraise the identified resources and to assess the potential for undiscovered resources of the Mormon Mountains Wilderness Study Area, southeastern Nevada. There are no identified resources in or near the study area; however, there are no occurrences of commercial-grade limestones and sand gravel. The study area has high mineral resource potential for copper, lead, zinc, silver, and (or) gold in its southern part and copper, lead, zinc, silver, gold, arsenic, and (or) antimony in its northern part. Part of the study area has moderate mineral resource potentialmore » for antimony. Two areas in the central part of the study area have moderate mineral resource potential for molybdenum, tungsten, and (or) tin. The study area has moderate energy resource potential for oil and gas, except for areas of low potential where significant hydrothermal activity has occurred. It has low mineral and energy resource potential for manganese, barite, vermiculite, coal, and geothermal energy.« less

Use of the 1990 census to defire wildland urban interface problems

Treesearch

James B. Davis

1991-01-01

Predicting the movement of people into rural wildlands previously has been limited to studies of population and housing growth in counties or other large geographical areas. In these studies, the areas of high fire danger that contain dispersed rural housing cannot be distinguished from the areas less vulnerable to wildfire (small towns and adjacent urban...

The Influence of Landscape Heterogeneity - Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in Fthiotida, Central Greece

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Abstract Pitfall traps were used to sample Carabidae in agricultural land of the Spercheios valley, Fthiotida, Central Greece. Four pairs of cultivated fields were sampled. One field of each pair was located in a heterogeneous area and the other in a more homogeneous area. Heterogeneous areas were composed of small fields. They had high percentages of non-cropped habitats and a high diversity of land use types. Homogeneous areas were composed of larger fields. They had lower percentages of non-cropped habitats and a lower diversity of land use types. One pair of fields had been planted with cotton, one with maize, one with olives and one with wheat. Altogether 28 carabid species were recorded. This paper describes the study areas, the sampling methods used and presents the data collected during the study. Neither heterogeneous nor homogeneous areas had consistently higher abundance levels, activity density levels, species richness levels or diversity levels. However, significant differences were seen in some of the comparisons between heterogeneous and homogeneous areas. PMID:24891833

Resilience Strategies for New Teachers in High-Needs Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castro, Antonio J.; Kelly, John; Shih, Minyi

2010-01-01

This qualitative study investigates strategies of resilience exhibited by fifteen novice teachers employed in high-needs areas, such as in urban and rural contexts and in special education. Findings indicated that teachers utilised a variety of strategies, including help-seeking, problem-solving, managing difficult relationships, and seeking…

Mineral resources of the Raymond Mountain Wilderness Study Area, Lincoln county, Wyoming

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

Lund, K.; Evans, J.P.; Hill, R.H.

1990-01-01

The paper reports on the Raymond Mountain Wilderness Study Area which encompasses most of the Sublette Range of western Lincoln County, Wyo. The study area consists of upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks that form part of the Idaho-Wyoming-Utah overthrust belt. There are no identified mineral or energy resources in the wilderness study area. The study area has moderate energy resource potential for oil and gas. Mineral resource potential for vanadium and phosphate is low because the Phosphoria Formation is deeply buried beneath the wilderness study area and contains unweathered units having low P{sub 2}O{sub 5} values. The mineral resourcemore » potential for coal, other metals, including uranium, high-purity limestone or dolostone, and geothermal energy is low.« less

A study of prediction methods for the high angle-of-attack aerodynamics of straight wings and fighter aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcmillan, O. J.; Mendenhall, M. R.; Perkins, S. C., Jr.

1984-01-01

Work is described dealing with two areas which are dominated by the nonlinear effects of vortex flows. The first area concerns the stall/spin characteristics of a general aviation wing with a modified leading edge. The second area concerns the high-angle-of-attack characteristics of high performance military aircraft. For each area, the governing phenomena are described as identified with the aid of existing experimental data. Existing analytical methods are reviewed, and the most promising method for each area used to perform some preliminary calculations. Based on these results, the strengths and weaknesses of the methods are defined, and research programs recommended to improve the methods as a result of better understanding of the flow mechanisms involved.

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

PubMed

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

2015-12-22

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

Mineral resources of the Castle Peaks Wilderness Study Area, San Bernardino County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, David A.W.; Frisken, James G.; Jachens, Robert C.; Gese, Diann D.

1986-01-01

The Castle Peaks Wilderness Study Area (CDCA266) comprises approximately 45,000 acres in the northern New York Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. At the request of the Bureau of Land Management, 39,303 acres of the wilderness study area were studied. The area was investigated during 1982-1985 using combined geologic, geochemical, and geophysical methods. are considered preliminarily suitable for wilderness deignation. There are no mineral reserves or identified resources in the study area. Fluorspar, occurring in sparse veins, has moderate resource potential, as do silver and lead in fault zones, and gold and silver in sparse, high-grade veins and fault breccia. Each area of moderate resource potential encompasses less than one square mile. These same commodities have low resource potential in similar occurrences throughout much of the study area. In addition, there is low resource potential for gold in placer deposits, uranium in altered breccia and gouge, and rare-earth elements in pegmatite dikes. There is no resource potential for oil and gas resources over most of the study area, but the potential is unknown along its western margin. In this report, the area studied is referred to"the wilderness study area", or simply "the study area."

Groundwater quality in the Valley and Ridge and Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers, eastern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindsey, Bruce; Belitz, Kenneth

2017-01-19

Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Valley and Ridge and Piedmont and Blue Ridge carbonate-rock aquifers constitute two of the important areas being evaluated. One or more inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high concentrations in about 15 percent of the study area and at moderate concentrations in about 17 percent. Organic constituents were not detected at high concentrations in the study area. One or more organic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at moderate concentrations in about 2 percent of the study area.

The Relationships between Two Different Drinking Water Fluoride Levels, Dental Fluorosis and Bone Mineral Density of Children

PubMed Central

Grobler, S.R; Louw, A.J; Chikte, U.M.E; Rossouw, R.J; van W Kotze, T.J.

2009-01-01

This field study included the whole population of children aged 10–15 years (77 from a 0.19 mg/L F area; 89 from a 3.00 mg/L F area), with similar nutritional, dietary habits and similar ethnic and socioeconomic status. The fluoride concentration in the drinking water, the bone mineral content, the bone density and the degree of dental fluorosis were determined. The left radius was measured for bone width, bone mineral content, and bone mineral density. The mean fluorosis score was 1.3 in the low fluoride area and 3,6 in the high fluoride area. More than half the children in the low fluoride area had no fluorosis (scores 0 and 1) while only 5% in the high fluoride area had none. Severe fluorosis (30%) was only observed in the high fluoride area. The Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test indicated that fluorosis levels differed significantly (p < 0.05) between the two areas. No relationships were found between dental fluorosis and bone width or between fluorosis and bone mineral density in the two areas (Spearment Rank correlations). A significant increase in bone width was found with age but no differences amongst and boys and girls. A significant positive correlation was found in the high fluoride area between bone mineral density over age. In the 12-13 and 13-14 year age groups in the high fluoride area, girls had higher bone mineral densities. However, a significant negative correlation (p<0.02) was found for the low fluoride area (0.19 mg/L F) over age. PMID:19444344

Effective regurgitant orifice area by the color Doppler flow convergence method for evaluating the severity of chronic aortic regurgitation. An animal study.

PubMed

Shiota, T; Jones, M; Yamada, I; Heinrich, R S; Ishii, M; Sinclair, B; Holcomb, S; Yoganathan, A P; Sahn, D J

1996-02-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate dynamic changes in aortic regurgitant (AR) orifice area with the use of calibrated electromagnetic (EM) flowmeters and to validate a color Doppler flow convergence (FC) method for evaluating effective AR orifice area and regurgitant volume. In 6 sheep, 8 to 20 weeks after surgically induced AR, 22 hemodynamically different states were studied. Instantaneous regurgitant flow rates were obtained by aortic and pulmonary EM flowmeters balanced against each other. Instantaneous AR orifice areas were determined by dividing these actual AR flow rates by the corresponding continuous wave velocities (over 25 to 40 points during each diastole) matched for each steady state. Echo studies were performed to obtain maximal aliasing distances of the FC in a low range (0.20 to 0.32 m/s) and a high range (0.70 to 0.89 m/s) of aliasing velocities; the corresponding maximal AR flow rates were calculated using the hemispheric flow convergence assumption for the FC isovelocity surface. AR orifice areas were derived by dividing the maximal flow rates by the maximal continuous wave Doppler velocities. AR orifice sizes obtained with the use of EM flowmeters showed little change during diastole. Maximal and time-averaged AR orifice areas during diastole obtained by EM flowmeters ranged from 0.06 to 0.44 cm2 (mean, 0.24 +/- 0.11 cm2) and from 0.05 to 0.43 cm2 (mean, 0.21 +/- 0.06 cm2), respectively. Maximal AR orifice areas by FC using low aliasing velocities overestimated reference EM orifice areas; however, at high AV, FC predicted the reference areas more reliably (0.25 +/- 0.16 cm2, r = .82, difference = 0.04 +/- 0.07 cm2). The product of the maximal orifice area obtained by the FC method using high AV and the velocity time integral of the regurgitant orifice velocity showed good agreement with regurgitant volumes per beat (r = .81, difference = 0.9 +/- 7.9 mL/beat). This study, using strictly quantified AR volume, demonstrated little change in AR orifice size during diastole. When high aliasing velocities are chosen, the FC method can be useful for determining effective AR orifice size and regurgitant volume.

MR-monitored LITT as a palliative concept in patients with high grade gliomas: preliminary clinical experience.

PubMed

Reimer, P; Bremer, C; Horch, C; Morgenroth, C; Allkemper, T; Schuierer, G

1998-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of laser-induced thermotherapy (LITT) as a palliative treatment for patients with high-grade gliomas. Four consenting patients with recurrent high grade III/IV gliomas near the primary language or motor areas were palliatively treated with LITT (2-5 W, 3-13 minutes; Neodym YAG Laser, Dornier, Friedrichshafen, Germany). Temperature monitoring was performed by T1-weighted turbo-fast low-angle shot (FLASH) imaging at 1.5 T (Siemens Magnetom SP 4000, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany). MRI studies before LITT included contrast-enhanced conventional scans and functional activation studies to localize the primary motor cortex or language areas using an echo-planar imaging (EPI) spin-echo (SE) sequence. Follow-up studies consisted of contrast-enhanced conventional scans as well as diffusion studies (contrast-enhanced Fourier-acquired steady-state technique and EPI-SE) and perfusion studies (EPI-SE with .2 mmol of gadolinium (Gd)/kg body weight) to differentiate post-therapeutic effects from residual or recurrent tumor growth. Local tumor control was achieved in areas with laser energy deposition with clinically stable conditions > or = 6 months. Conventional contrast-enhanced scans demonstrated strong enhancement surrounding ablated tumor components, which showed a reduction in CBV/CBF. Perfusion studies were useful to discriminate granulomatous tissue enhancement from residual or recurrent tumor growth. Careful application of LITT may evolve as an alternative palliative concept for patients with end-stage high-grade cerebral gliomas reducing clinical symptoms from circumscribed areas of pathology.

Strengthening Routine Immunization in Areas of Northern Nigeria at High Risk for Polio Transmission During 2012–2014

PubMed Central

Ali, Daniel; Banda, Richard; Mohammed, Abdulaziz; Adagadzu, Julie; Murele, Bolatito; Seruyange, Rachel; Makam, Jeevan; Mkanda, Pascal; Okpessen, Bassey; Tegegne, Sisay G.; Folorunsho, Adeboye S.; Erbeto, Tesfaye B.; Yehualashet, Yared G.; Vaz, Rui G.

2016-01-01

Background. Following the 2012 declaration by World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa and the WHO Executive Board to ramp up routine immunization (RI) activities, began to intensify activities to strengthen RI. This study assessed how the intensification of RI helped strengthen service delivery in local government areas (LGAs) of northern Nigeria at high risk for polio transmission. Methods. A retrospective study was performed by analyzing RI administrative data and findings from supportive supervisory visits in 107 high-risk LGAs. Results. Our study revealed that administrative coverage with 3rd dose of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine in the 107 high-risk LGAs improved from a maximum average coverage of 33% during the preintensification period of 2009–2011 to 74% during the postintensification period of 2012–2014. Conclusions. Routine immunization could be strengthened in areas where coverage is low, and RI has been identified to be weak when certain key routine activities are intensified. PMID:26917576

Health conditions in rural areas with high livestock density: Analysis of seven consecutive years.

PubMed

van Dijk, Christel E; Zock, Jan-Paul; Baliatsas, Christos; Smit, Lidwien A M; Borlée, Floor; Spreeuwenberg, Peter; Heederik, Dick; Yzermans, C Joris

2017-03-01

Previous studies investigating health conditions of individuals living near livestock farms generally assessed short time windows. We aimed to take time-specific differences into account and to compare the prevalence of various health conditions over seven consecutive years. The sample consisted of 156,690 individuals registered in 33 general practices in a (rural) area with a high livestock density and 101,015 patients from 23 practices in other (control) areas in the Netherlands. Prevalence of health conditions were assessed using 2007-2013 electronic health record (EHR) data. Two methods were employed to assess exposure: 1) Comparisons between the study and control areas in relation to health problems, 2) Use of individual estimates of livestock exposure (in the study area) based on Geographic Information System (GIS) data. A higher prevalence of chronic bronchitis/bronchiectasis, lower respiratory tract infections and vertiginous syndrome and lower prevalence of respiratory symptoms and emphysema/COPD was found in the study area compared with the control area. A shorter distance to the nearest farm was associated with a lower prevalence of upper respiratory tract infections, respiratory symptoms, asthma, COPD/emphysema, allergic rhinitis, depression, eczema, vertiginous syndrome, dizziness and gastrointestinal infections. Especially exposure to cattle was associated with less health conditions. Living within 500m of mink farms was associated with increased chronic enteritis/ulcerative colitis. Livestock-related exposures did not seem to be an environmental risk factor for the occurrence of health conditions. Nevertheless, lower respiratory tract infections, chronic bronchitis and vertiginous syndrome were more common in the area with a high livestock density. The association between exposure to minks and chronic enteritis/ulcerative colitis remains to be elucidated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Socioeconomic Determinants of Exposure to Alcohol Outlets

PubMed Central

Morrison, Christopher; Gruenewald, Paul J.; Ponicki, William R.

2015-01-01

Objective: Alcohol outlets tend to be located in lower income areas, exposing lower income populations to excess risks associated with alcohol sales through these establishments. The objective of this study was to test two hypotheses about the etiology of these differential exposures based on theories of the economic geography of retail markets: (a) outlets will locate within or near areas of high alcohol demand, and (b) outlets will be excluded from areas with high land and structure rents. Method: Data from the 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey were used to develop a surrogate for alcohol demand (i.e., market potential) at two census geographies for the city of Melbourne, Australia. Bayesian conditional autoregressive Poisson models estimated multilevel spatial relationships between counts of bars, restaurants, and off-premise outlets and market potential, income, and zoning ordinances (Level 1: n = 8,914). Results: Market potentials were greatest in areas with larger older age, male, English-speaking, high-income populations. Independent of zoning characteristics, greater numbers of outlets appeared in areas with greater market potentials and the immediately surrounding areas. Greater income excluded outlets in local and surrounding areas. Conclusions: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that alcohol outlets are located in areas with high demand and are excluded from high-income areas. These processes appear to take place at relatively small geographic scales, encourage the concentration of outlets in specific low-income areas, and represent a very general economic process likely to take place in communities throughout the world. PMID:25978830

Socioeconomic determinants of exposure to alcohol outlets.

PubMed

Morrison, Christopher; Gruenewald, Paul J; Ponicki, William R

2015-05-01

Alcohol outlets tend to be located in lower income areas, exposing lower income populations to excess risks associated with alcohol sales through these establishments. The objective of this study was to test two hypotheses about the etiology of these differential exposures based on theories of the economic geography of retail markets: (a) outlets will locate within or near areas of high alcohol demand, and (b) outlets will be excluded from areas with high land and structure rents. Data from the 2010 National Drug Strategy Household Survey were used to develop a surrogate for alcohol demand (i.e., market potential) at two census geographies for the city of Melbourne, Australia. Bayesian conditional autoregressive Poisson models estimated multilevel spatial relationships between counts of bars, restaurants, and off-premise outlets and market potential, income, and zoning ordinances (Level 1: n = 8,914). Market potentials were greatest in areas with larger older age, male, English-speaking, high-income populations. Independent of zoning characteristics, greater numbers of outlets appeared in areas with greater market potentials and the immediately surrounding areas. Greater income excluded outlets in local and surrounding areas. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that alcohol outlets are located in areas with high demand and are excluded from high-income areas. These processes appear to take place at relatively small geographic scales, encourage the concentration of outlets in specific low-income areas, and represent a very general economic process likely to take place in communities throughout the world.

Evaluation of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability to pollution: COP method for pilot area of Carrara hydrogeological system (Northern Tuscany, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldi, B.; Guastaldi, E.; Rossetto, R.

2009-04-01

During the characterization of the Apuan Alps groundwater body ( "Corpo Idrico Sotterraneo Significativo", briefly CISS) (Regione Toscana, 2007) the intrinsic vulnerability has been evaluated for Carrara hydrogeological system (Northern Tuscany, Italy) by means of COP method, developed within COST 620 European Action (Zwalhlen, 2003). This system is both characterized by large data availability and it is considered an highly risky zone since groundwater protection problems (turbidity of the tapped spring waters and hydrocarbons contamination) and anthropic activity (marble quarries). The study area, 20 Km2large, has high relief energy, with elevations ranging from 5 to 1700 m amsl in almost 5 km. Runoff is scarce except during heavy rainfall; due to the presence of carbonate rocks infiltration is high: groundwater discharge at 155-255 m amsl. The area is located in the north-western part of Apuan Alps Metamorphic Complex, characterized by carbonate and non-carbonate rocks belonging to the non-metamorphic Tuscan Units (Carnic-Oligocene), Mesozoic Succession, Middle-Triassic Succession, and metamorphic Paleozoic rocks. The main geological structure of the area is the Carrara Syncline, constituted prevalently by dolostones, marbles and cherty limestones. These carbonate formations define several moderately to highly productive hydrogeological units, characterized by fissured and karst flow. Hydrogeological system may be subdivided in two different subsets, because of both geo-structural set up and area conformation. However, these are hydrogeologically connected since anisotropy and fractures of karst groundwater. The southern boundary of Carrara hydrogeological system shows important dammed springs, defined by low productive units of Massa Unit (Cambriano?-Carnic). COP methodology for evaluating intrinsic vulnerability of karst groundwater is based on three main factors for the definition of vulnerability itself: COPIndex = C (flow Concentration) *O (Overlying layers) *P (Precipitation). In this way it is possible to estimate the natural grade of groundwater protection (O factor), determined by both soils properties and vadose zone lithology, and then evaluate how this protection could be modified by infiltration processes (diffused or concentrated, C factor) and climatic conditions (P factor). Factor elaborations have been calculated by study area discretization by means of raster grid with square cells, 100 m large, yielding the values distribution of sub-factor for each factor, and then the spatial distribution of intrinsic vulnerability, as result of geoprocessing and map analysis raster techniques in software ESRI ArcInfo® 9.1. Results shows in the study area: 1) Medium and high values of vulnerability classes; 2) Areas with high vulnerability located in zones with low O protection index and moderate protection reduction; 3) C factor contributes to the high vulnerability where superficial cover supports more the infiltration than the run-off (slope between 8 and 31%); 4) Low vulnerability grade areas are either inside unproductive hydrogeological units, or with thick superficial covers. Comparing these results with previous study, the distribution obtained by COP methodology shows larger variations between very high and high vulnerability area distribution. Most of the first areas are located in the central part of hydrogeological system, near to the main spring, and also in northern areas, where there is a swallow hole. This result yields a more precautionary scenario for particularly sensitive are characterized by high anthropogenic activity (marble quarry). Moreover, the vulnerability of such area is confirmed by both natural tracers (Lycopodium clavatum; Baldi, 2004) and environmental isotopes (2H, 3H, 18O; Doveri, 2005). This methodology allowed adding further information about intrinsic vulnerability of a hydrological contest very sensitive to anthropogenic pressures, and it is important for water resource as well. Such vulnerability map highlights higher vulnerability areas than those showed in previous studies, demonstrating that relying on just one methodology may lead to underestimation of groundwater protection level, especially in karst systems where anthropogenic contexts are developed. References Baldi, B., 2004. Studio idrogeologico dei bacini marmiferi carraresi mediante l'utilizzo di spore di Lycopodium clavatum. Rapporto Finale. Università degli studi di Pisa, Comune di Carrara (rapporto interno). Regione Toscana, 2007. Rapporto sull'attività svolta per la Convenzione tra la Regione Toscana ed il Centro di GeoTecnologie dell'Università degli Studi di Siena. "Studio idrogeologico prototipale del corpo idrico sotterraneo significativo dell'acquifero carbonatico delle Alpi Apuane, Monti d'Oltre Serchio e Santa Maria del Giudice". 10 Settembre 2007. Doveri, M., 2005. Studio idrogeologico e idrogeochimico dei sistemi acquiferi del Bacino del Torrente Carrione e dell'antistante piana costiera. Tesi di dottorato, Università degli Studi di Pisa. Zwalhlen, F., 2003. Vulnerability and risk mapping for the protection of carbonate (karst) aquifers, final report COST Action 620. European Commission, Directorate-General for Research, EUR 20912: p. 183-200.

Traffic density in area of residence is associated with health-related quality of life in women, the community-based Hordaland Health Study.

PubMed

Gundersen, Hilde; Magerøy, Nils; Moen, Bente E; Bråtveit, Magne

2013-01-01

Vehicle traffic is increasing worldwide, and this is a major concern because traffic-related air pollution and noise may influence health. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is associated with vehicle traffic density in area of residence. A total of 16,410 individuals, 40 to 45 years old, were asked to participate in this study (response rate: 55% for men, 66% for women). Using the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) questionnaire, both physical and mental HRQoL were investigated. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that women living in areas with high traffic density had significantly poorer physical HRQoL than women living in areas with moderate or low vehicle traffic density. There were no similar findings among men. Mental HRQoL was not associated with vehicle traffic density in the area of residence, neither for women nor for men. There is an association between high vehicle traffic density in residential area and reduced HRQoL in women.

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

PubMed Central

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

2017-01-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2016-01-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2017-01-01

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

Childhood diet in relation to Sámi and Norwegian ethnicity in northern and mid-Norway--the SAMINOR study.

PubMed

Brustad, M; Parr, C L; Melhus, M; Lund, E

2008-02-01

The purpose of this work was to identify dietary patterns in the past using cluster analysis of reported diet in childhood, and to assess predictors for dietary patterns in relation to ethnicity in the population in the Sámi core areas in Norway. The Sámis are an indigenous population living in the border areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Population-based, cross-sectional study, using self-administered questionnaires. A food-frequency questionnaire covering selected food items eaten in childhood was used. The questionnaire also provided data on ethnicity. This study was based on data collected from 7614 subjects participating in The Population Based Study of Health and Living Conditions in Areas with a Mixed Sámi and Norwegian Population (the SAMINOR study) who grew up in the SAMINOR geographical areas, i.e. areas with mixed Sámi and Norwegian populations in Norway. Four dietary clusters were identified: a reindeer meat cluster; a cluster with high intakes of fish, traditional fish products and mutton, in addition to food sources from the local environment; a Westernised food cluster with high intakes of meat balls and sausages; and a cluster with a high intake of fish, but not any other foods in the questionnaire. The cluster distribution differed by ethnicity, but the effect of ethnicity on diet differed by coastal and inland residence. Our study has shown that data gathered through the limited questionnaire could be used to group the study sample into different dietary clusters, which we believe will be useful for further research on relationships between diet in childhood and health in the Sámi core areas in Norway.

Applying GIS to develop a model for forest fire risk: A case study in Espírito Santo, Brazil.

PubMed

Eugenio, Fernando Coelho; dos Santos, Alexandre Rosa; Fiedler, Nilton Cesar; Ribeiro, Guido Assunção; da Silva, Aderbal Gomes; dos Santos, Áureo Banhos; Paneto, Greiciane Gaburro; Schettino, Vitor Roberto

2016-05-15

A forest fire risk map is a basic element for planning and protecting forested areas. The main goal of this study was to develop a statistical model for preparing a forest fire risk map using GIS. Such model is based on assigning weights to nine variables divided into two classes: physical factors of the site (terrain slope, land-use/occupation, proximity to roads, terrain orientation, and altitude) and climatic factors (precipitation, temperature, water deficit, and evapotranspiration). In regions where the climate is different from the conditions of this study, the model will require an adjustment of the variables weights according to the local climate. The study area, Espírito Santo State, exhibited approximately 3.81% low risk, 21.18% moderate risk, 30.10% high risk, 41.50% very high risk, and 3.40% extreme risk of forest fire. The areas classified as high risk, very high and extreme, contemplated a total of 78.92% of heat spots. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spatial assessment of Geo-environmental data by the integration of Remote Sensing and GIS techniques for Sitakund Region, Eastern foldbelt, Bangladesh.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gazi, M. Y.; Rahman, M.; Islam, M. A.; Kabir, S. M. M.

2016-12-01

Techniques of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) have been applied for the analysis and interpretation of the Geo-environmental assessment to Sitakund area, located within the administrative boundaries of the Chittagong district, Bangladesh. Landsat ETM+ image with a ground resolution of 30-meter and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) has been adopted in this study in order to produce a set of thematic maps. The diversity of the terrain characteristics had a major role in the diversity of recipes and types of soils that are based on the geological structure, also helped to diversity in land cover and use in the region. The geological situation has affected on the general landscape of the study area. The problem of research lies in the possibility of the estimating the techniques of remote sensing and geographic information systems in the evaluation of the natural data for the study area spatially as well as determine the appropriate in grades for the appearance of the ground and in line with the reality of the region. Software for remote sensing and geographic information systems were adopted in the analysis, classification and interpretation of the prepared thematic maps in order to get to the building of the Geo-environmental assessment map of the study area. Low risk geo-environmental land mostly covered area of Quaternary deposits especially with area of slope wash deposits carried by streams. Medium and high risk geo-environmental land distributed with area of other formation with the study area, mostly the high risk shows area of folds and faults. The study has assessed the suitability of lands for agricultural purpose and settlements in less vulnerable areas within this region.

Characterization of shallow groundwater quality in the Lower St. Johns River Basin: a case study.

PubMed

Ouyang, Ying; Zhang, Jia-En; Parajuli, Prem

2013-12-01

Characterization of groundwater quality allows the evaluation of groundwater pollution and provides information for better management of groundwater resources. This study characterized the shallow groundwater quality and its spatial and seasonal variations in the Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida, USA, under agricultural, forest, wastewater, and residential land uses using field measurements and two-dimensional kriging analysis. Comparison of the concentrations of groundwater quality constituents against the US EPA's water quality criteria showed that the maximum nitrate/nitrite (NO x ) and arsenic (As) concentrations exceeded the EPA's drinking water standard limits, while the maximum Cl, SO 4 (2-) , and Mn concentrations exceeded the EPA's national secondary drinking water regulations. In general, high kriging estimated groundwater NH 4 (+) concentrations were found around the agricultural areas, while high kriging estimated groundwater NO x concentrations were observed in the residential areas with a high density of septic tank distribution. Our study further revealed that more areas were found with high estimated NO x concentrations in summer than in spring. This occurred partially because of more NO x leaching into the shallow groundwater due to the wetter summer and partially because of faster nitrification rate due to the higher temperature in summer. Large extent and high kriging estimated total phosphorus concentrations were found in the residential areas. Overall, the groundwater Na and Mg concentration distributions were relatively more even in summer than in spring. Higher kriging estimated groundwater As concentrations were found around the agricultural areas, which exceeded the EPA's drinking water standard limit. Very small variations in groundwater dissolved organic carbon concentrations were observed between spring and summer. This study demonstrated that the concentrations of groundwater quality constituents varied from location to location, and impacts of land uses on groundwater quality variation were profound.

Urban remote sensing applications: TIMS observations of the City of Scottsdale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christensen, Philip R.; Melendrez, David E.; Anderson, Donald L.; Hamilton, Victoria E.; Wenrich, Melissa L.; Howard, Douglas

1995-01-01

A research program has been initiated between Arizona State University and the City of Scottsdale, Arizona to study the potential applications of TIMS (Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner) data for urban scene classification, desert environmental assessment, and change detection. This program is part of a long-term effort to integrate remote sensing observations into state and local planning activities to improve decision making and future planning. Specific test sites include a section of the downtown Scottsdale region that has been mapped in very high detail as part of a pilot program to develop an extensive GIS database. This area thus provides excellent time history of the evolution of the city infrastructure, such as the timing and composition of street repavement. A second area of study includes the McDowell intensive study by state and local agencies to assess potential sites for urban development as well as preservation. These activities are of particular relevance as the Phoenix metropolitan area undergoes major expansion into the surrounding desert areas. The objectives of this study in urban areas are aimed at determining potential applications of TIMS data for classifying and assessing land use and surface temperatures. Land use centers on surface impermeability studies for storm runoff assessment and pollution control. These studies focus on determining the areal abundance of urban vegetation and undeveloped soil. Highly experimental applications include assessment and monitoring of pavement condition. Temperature studies focus on determining swimming pool area and temperature for use in monitoring evaporating and urban water consumption. These activities are of particular relevance as the Phoenix metropolitan area undergoes major expansion into the surrounding desert area.

Coupling high-resolution hydraulic and hydrologic models for flash flood forecasting and inundation mapping in urban areas - A case study for the City of Fort Worth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nazari, B.; Seo, D.; Cannon, A.

2013-12-01

With many diverse features such as channels, pipes, culverts, buildings, etc., hydraulic modeling in urban areas for inundation mapping poses significant challenges. Identifying the practical extent of the details to be modeled in order to obtain sufficiently accurate results in a timely manner for effective emergency management is one of them. In this study we assess the tradeoffs between model complexity vs. information content for decision making in applying high-resolution hydrologic and hydraulic models for real-time flash flood forecasting and inundation mapping in urban areas. In a large urban area such as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW), there exists very large spatial variability in imperviousness depending on the area of interest. As such, one may expect significant sensitivity of hydraulic model results to the resolution and accuracy of hydrologic models. In this work, we present the initial results from coupling of high-resolution hydrologic and hydraulic models for two 'hot spots' within the City of Fort Worth for real-time inundation mapping.

Trend and recovery of the total ozone column in South America and Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toro A., Richard; Araya, Consuelo; Labra O., Felipe; Morales, Luis; Morales, Raúl G. E.; Leiva G., Manuel A.

2017-12-01

South America is one of the most vulnerable areas to stratospheric ozone depletion; consequently, an increased amount of UV radiation reaches the Earth's surface in this region. In this study, we analyzed the long-term trend in the total ozone column (TOC) over the southern part of the South American continent from 1980 to 2009. The database used was obtained by combining several satellite measurements of the TOC on a 1° (latitude) × 1.25° (longitude) grid. Analysis of the long-term trend was performed by applying the Theil-Sen estimator and the Mann-Kendall significance test to the deseasonalized time series. The long-term trend was also analyzed over several highly populated urban zones in the study area. Finally, multiple linear regression (MLR) modeling was used to identify and quantify the drivers of interannual variability in the TOC over the study area with a pixel-by-pixel approach. The results showed a decrease in the TOC ranging from -0.3 to -4% dec-1 from 1980 to 2009. On a decadal timescale, there is significant variability in this trend, and a decrease of more than -10% dec-1 was found at high latitudes (1980-1989). However, the trends obtained over much of the study area were not statistically significant. Considering the period from 1980 to 1995, we found a decrease in the TOC of -2.0 ± 0.6% dec-1 at latitudes below 40° S and -6.9 ± 2.0% dec-1 at latitudes above 40° S, for a 99.9% confidence level over most of the study area. Analysis of the period from 1996 to 2009 showed a statistically significant increase of 2.3 ± 0.1% dec-1 at high latitudes (> 60° S), confirming the initial TOC recovery in the Antarctic. Despite evidence for initial recovery of the TOC in some parts of the study area between 1996 and 2009, the long-term increase from September to November is not yet statistically significant. In addition, large parts of the study area and most of the urban areas continue to show a decreasing trend in the TOC. The MLR results show that at high latitudes, the main driver of interannual variability in the TOC is the total effective amount of halogens, followed by the eddy heat flux.

Mineral resource potential map of the Natural Area Roadless Area, Baker County, Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cathcart, James B.; Patterson, Sam H.; Crandall, Thomas M.

1983-01-01

The Natural Area Roadless Area, which is in the Osceola National Forest in Baker County, Fla., is underlain by sedimentary rocks containing phosphate deposits that are not a potential mineral resource by todays standards. The region has a low potential for oil and gas and virtually no potential for other valuable minerals. The phosphate deposits are either slightly low in tonnage and P2O5 content, high in MgO and/or Fe2O3 + Al2O3, or the ratio of CaO to P2O5 is too high for deposits that can be mined profitably at the present time. A low potential for oil and gas is indicated by the numerous dry holes in the region and the absence of the formations that contain these hydrocarbons in southern and westernmost Florida. The only mineral material that has been produced in the study area is clayey sand, used in stabilizing Forest Service roads. This type of clayey sand has no particular value because there are virtually unlimited quantities in the surrounding region. The peaty material in the area is too high in ash content to be mined. Large quantities of limestone underlie the area but are too deeply buried to be quarried. Heavy-mineral and clay deposits, which are mined elsewhere in northern peninsular Florida, are not present in the study area.

UNCOMPAHGRE PRIMITIVE AREA, COLORADO.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Luedke, R.G.; Sheridan, M.J.

1984-01-01

A mineral-resource study was made of that part of the Uncompahgre National Forest, Colorado constituting the officially designated primitive area. Because the primitive area and its southern border zone contained operating mines producing gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and minor amounts of a few other metals, and had been a part of a highly productive mining region, the area was concluded to have large segments of both probable and substantiated mineral-resource potential. No energy resources were identified in the study.

Determination of Landslide and Driftwood Potentials by Fixed-wing UAV-Borne RGB and NIR images: A Case Study of Shenmu Area in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Su-Chin; Hsiao, Yu-Shen; Chung, Ta-Hsien

2015-04-01

This study is aimed at determining the landslide and driftwood potentials at Shenmu area in Taiwan by Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). High-resolution orthomosaics and digital surface models (DSMs) are both obtained from several UAV practical surveys by using a red-green-blue(RGB) camera and a near-infrared(NIR) one, respectively. Couples of artificial aerial survey targets are used for ground control in photogrammtry. The algorithm for this study is based on Logistic regression. 8 main factors, which are elevations, terrain slopes, terrain aspects, terrain reliefs, terrain roughness, distances to roads, distances to rivers, land utilizations, are taken into consideration in our Logistic regression model. The related results from UAV are compared with those from traditional photogrammetry. Overall, the study is focusing on monitoring the distribution of the areas with high-risk landslide and driftwood potentials in Shenmu area by Fixed-wing UAV-Borne RGB and NIR images. We also further analyze the relationship between forests, landslides, disaster potentials and upper river areas.

Assessment of metal pollution associated with an alteration area: Old Gümüşhane, NE Black Sea.

PubMed

Vural, Alaaddin

2015-03-01

The objective of this study was to determine the potential environmental risks associated with the Kirkpavli (Old Gümüşhane in northern Turkey) alteration area by quantifying pollution in soil. The Kirkpavli (Old Gümüşhane) alteration area is situated at the south of the deposit with the same name of gold-silver-bearing lead, zinc, and copper in the southern part of the Black Sea Tectonic Unit (Eastern Pontides). In this study, 28 soil samples acquired from the alteration area were analyzed for contents of some main elements including lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and arsenic (As). Contents of the elements in the area were determined, and high values were obtained such as 1,171 mg/kg for As, 12.4 mg/kg for Cd, 77.3 mg/kg for Co, 341 mg/kg for Cu, 1,172 mg/kg for Mn, 51.9 mg/kg for Ni, 3,725 mg/kg for Pb, and 880 mg/kg for Zn. Soil contamination was appraised on the basis of Geoaccumulation Index (I geo), Enrichment Factor (EF), Pollution Index, and Integrated Pollution Index. The calculated results of I geo, EF, and PI of the elements can be shown in descending order of parameters as As > Pb > Cd > Zn > Cu > Co > Mn. The parameters for some of these elements indicated extremely high contamination (I geo > 5), extremely high enrichment (EF > 40), and high pollution (PI > 3). High I geo, EF, and PI values of As, Pb, and Cd in the soil samples mean that soil pollution is typically associated with alteration area. Considering its location and the results of this study, the Kirkpavli alteration area is a significant source of pollution and may have ecotoxicological effects on terrestrial, groundwater, and aquatic ecosystems in the region.

Mineral resource potential maps of the Fiddler Butte Wilderness Study Area and the Fremont Gorge Study Area, Garfield and Wayne counties, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larson, M.J.; Dubiel, R.F.; Peterson, Fred; Willson, W.R.; Briggs, J.P.

1985-01-01

Field and laboratory investigations of the Fiddler Butte WSA (Wilderness Study Area) in Garfield County, Utah, and of the Fremont Gorge study area in Wayne County, Utah, were made to determine the mineral resource potential of these lands. The investigations indicate that two areas in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the Fiddler Butte WSA have a moderate potential for uranium resources. The entire Fiddler Butte WSA has a moderate potential for petroleum resources, and the northeastern part of the WSA has a high potential for tar sand resources. The studies indicate a low potential for metallic and nonmetallic resources in the Fiddler Butte WSA. The Fremont Gorge study area has a low potential for metallic, nonmetallic, and petroleum resources.

Association between environmental exposure to pesticides and neurodegenerative diseases

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

Parron, Tesifon; Andalusian Council of Health at Almeria province, Almeria; Requena, Mar

Preliminary studies have shown associations between chronic pesticide exposure in occupational settings and neurological disorders. However, data on the effects of long-term non-occupational exposures are too sparse to allow any conclusions. This study examines the influence of environmental pesticide exposure on a number of neuropsychiatric conditions and discusses their underlying pathologic mechanisms. An ecological study was conducted using averaged prevalence rates of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral degeneration, polyneuropathies, affective psychosis and suicide attempts in selected Andalusian health districts categorized into areas of high and low environmental pesticide exposure based on the number of hectares devoted to intensivemore » agriculture and pesticide sales per capita. A total of 17,429 cases were collected from computerized hospital records (minimum dataset) between 1998 and 2005. Prevalence rates and the risk of having Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and suicide were significantly higher in districts with greater pesticide use as compared to those with lower pesticide use. The multivariate analyses showed that the population living in areas with high pesticide use had an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease and suicide attempts and that males living in these areas had increased risks for polyneuropathies, affective disorders and suicide attempts. In conclusion, this study supports and extends previous findings and provides an indication that environmental exposure to pesticides may affect the human health by increasing the incidence of certain neurological disorders at the level of the general population. -- Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Environmental exposure to pesticides and neurodegenerative-psychiatric disorders. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Increased risk for Alzheimer's disease and suicide attempts in high exposure areas. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Males from areas with high pesticide exposure had a higher risk of polyneuropathy. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Males from high exposure areas had a higher risk of affective psychosis and suicide. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nerve tissue degeneration due to oxidative damage may underlie the pathomechanism.« less

Study of storm surge trends in typhoon-prone coastal areas based on observations and surge-wave coupled simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Xingru; Li, Mingjie; Yin, Baoshu; Yang, Dezhou; Yang, Hongwei

2018-06-01

This is a study of the storm surge trends in some of the typhoon-prone coastal areas of China. An unstructured-grid, storm surge-wave-tide coupled model was established for the coastal areas of Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces. The coupled model has a high resolution in coastal areas, and the simulated results compared well with the in situ observations and satellite altimeter data. The typhoon-induced storm surges along the coast of the study areas were simulated based on the established coupled model for the past 20 years (1997-2016). The simulated results were used to analyze the trends of the storm surges in the study area. The extreme storm surge trends along the central coast of Fujian Province reached up to 0.06 m/y, significant at the 90% confidence level. The duration of the storm surges greater than 1.0 and 0.7 m had an increasing trend along the coastal area of northern Fujian Province, significant at confidence levels of 70%-91%. The simulated trends of the extreme storm surges were also validated by observations from two tide gauge stations. Further studies show that the correlation coefficient (RTE) between the duration of the storm surge greater than 1 m and the annual ENSO index can reach as high as 0.62, significant at the 99% confidence level. This occurred in a location where the storm surge trend was not significant. For the areas with significant increasing storm surge trends, RTE was small and not significant. This study identified the storm surge trends for the full complex coastline of the study area. These results are useful both for coastal management by the government and for coastal engineering design.

Long-term exposure to methylmercury and neurologic signs in Minamata and neighboring communities.

PubMed

Yorifuji, Takashi; Tsuda, Toshihide; Takao, Soshi; Harada, Masazumi

2008-01-01

It is well known that large-scale poisonings caused by methylmercury occurred in Japan (Minamata, in the 1950s) and Iraq. However, in contrast to Iraq, there have been few sound epidemiologic studies in Minamata. We evaluated the effect of methylmercury on neurologic signs using data from a 1971 population-based study. Villages in 3 areas were selected for study: the Minamata area (a high-exposure area), the Goshonoura area (a medium-exposure area), and the Ariake area (a low-exposure area). We used place of residence as the exposure indicator. We examined associations between methylmercury exposure and the following neurologic signs measured on clinical examination: paresthesia of whole body, paresthesia of extremities, paresthesia around the mouth, ataxia, dysarthria, tremors, and pathologic reflexes. Total population was 1120 in the high-exposure villages, 1845 in the medium-exposure villages, and 1165 in the low-exposure villages. In the Minamata area, 87% (n=833) of the eligible population (age 10 years and older) participated in the 1971 investigations, in the Goshonoura area, 93% (n = 1450), and in the Ariake area, 77% (n = 755). Compared with subjects in the Ariake area, the subjects in the Minamata area manifested neurologic signs more frequently. The highest prevalence odds ratio was observed for paresthesia around the mouth (110; 95% confidence interval = 16-820). Although residents in the Goshonoura area had been exposed less heavily than those in the Minamata area, Goshonoura residents also had increased prevalence of neurologic signs. Long-term exposure to methylmercury has a strong adverse impact on neurologic signs among residents in a local community.

Gis-Based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Forest Fire Risk Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akay, A. E.; Erdoğan, A.

2017-11-01

The forested areas along the coastal zone of the Mediterranean region in Turkey are classified as first-degree fire sensitive areas. Forest fires are major environmental disaster that affects the sustainability of forest ecosystems. Besides, forest fires result in important economic losses and even threaten human lives. Thus, it is critical to determine the forested areas with fire risks and thereby minimize the damages on forest resources by taking necessary precaution measures in these areas. The risk of forest fire can be assessed based on various factors such as forest vegetation structures (tree species, crown closure, tree stage), topographic features (slope and aspect), and climatic parameters (temperature, wind). In this study, GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method was used to generate forest fire risk map. The study was implemented in the forested areas within Yayla Forest Enterprise Chiefs at Dursunbey Forest Enterprise Directorate which is classified as first degree fire sensitive area. In the solution process, "extAhp 2.0" plug-in running Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method in ArcGIS 10.4.1 was used to categorize study area under five fire risk classes: extreme risk, high risk, moderate risk, and low risk. The results indicated that 23.81 % of the area was of extreme risk, while 25.81 % was of high risk. The result indicated that the most effective criterion was tree species, followed by tree stages. The aspect had the least effective criterion on forest fire risk. It was revealed that GIS techniques integrated with MCDA methods are effective tools to quickly estimate forest fire risk at low cost. The integration of these factors into GIS can be very useful to determine forested areas with high fire risk and also to plan forestry management after fire.

Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques to Detect Changes to the Prince Alfred Hamlet Conservation Area in the Western Cape, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duncan, P.; Lewarne, M.

2016-06-01

Understanding and identifying the spatial-temporal changes in the natural environment is crucial for monitoring and evaluating conservation efforts, as well as understanding the impact of human activities on natural resources, informing responsible land management, and promoting better decision-making. Conservation areas are often under pressure from expanding farming and related industry, invasive alien vegetation, and an ever-increasing human settlement footprint. This study focuses on detecting changes to the Prince Alfred Hamlet commonage, near Ceres in the Cape Floral Kingdom. It was chosen for its high conservation value and significance as a critical water source area. The study area includes a fast-growing human settlement footprint in a highly productive farming landscape. There are conflicting development needs as well as risks to agricultural production, and both of these threaten the integrity of the ecosystems which supply underlying services to both demands on the land. Using a multi-disciplinary approach and high-resolution satellite imagery, land use and land cover changes can be detected and classified, and the results used to support the conservation of biodiversity and wildlife, and protect our natural resources. The aim of this research is to study the efficacy of using remote sensing and GIS techniques to detect changes to critical conservation areas where disturbances can be understood, and therefore better managed and mitigated before these areas are degraded beyond repair.

High Plains regional ground-water study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennehy, Kevin F.

2000-01-01

Over the last 25 years, industry and government have made large financial investments aimed at improving water quality across the Nation. Significant progress has been made; however, many water-quality concerns remain. In 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began implementing a full-scale National Water-Quality Assessment Program to provide consistent and scientifically sound information for managing the Nation's water resources. The goals of the NAWQA Program are to (1) describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams and aquifers, (2) describe how water quality is changing over time, and (3) improve our understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting water quality. Assessing the quality of water in every location in the Nation would not be practical; therefore, NAWQA Program studies are conducted within a set of areas called study units (fig. 1). These study units are composed of more than 50 important river and aquifer systems that represent the diverse geography, water resources, and land and water uses of the Nation. The High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study is one such study area, designed to address issues relevant to the High Plains Aquifer system while supplementing water-quality information collected in other study units across the Nation. Implementation of the NAWQA Program for the High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study area began in 1998.

Urban renewal based wind environment at pedestrian level in high-density and high-rise urban areas in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, J. W.; Zheng, J. Y.; Zhao, Y.; Shao, Y. H.; Yuan, F.

2017-11-01

In high-density and high-rise urban areas, pedestrian level winds contribute to improve comfort, safety and diffusion of heat in urban areas. Outdoor wind study is extremely vital and a prerequisite in high-density cities considering that the immediate pedestrian level wind environment is fundamentally impacted by the presence of a series of high-rise buildings. In this paper, the research site of Sai Ying Pun in Hong Kong will be analysed in terms of geography, climate and urban morphology, while the surrounding natural ventilation has also been simulated by the wind tunnel experiment Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). It has found that, the existing problems in this district are the contradiction between planning control and commercial interests, which means some areas around tall buildings are not benefit to the residents because of the unhealthy wind environment. Therefore, some recommendation of urban renewal strategy has been provided.

In-school Snacking, Breakfast Consumption, and Sleeping Patterns of Normal and Overweight Iranian High School Girls: A Study in Urban and Rural Areas in Guilan, Iran

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maddah, Mohsen; Rashidi, Arash; Mohammadpour, Behnoush; Vafa, Reza; Karandish, Majid

2009-01-01

Objective: To investigate the relationship of snacking during school hours, sleep time, and breakfast consumption by weight status of Iranian high school girls in urban and rural areas in Guilan Province, Iran. Design: Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire and measure of body weight and height. Setting: High schools in urban and…

Widening socioeconomic inequalities in Australian suicide, despite recent declines in suicide rates.

PubMed

Too, Lay San; Law, Phillip C F; Spittal, Matthew J; Page, Andrew; Milner, Allison

2018-04-30

This study aims to investigate trends in socioeconomic inequalities of suicide from 1979 to 2013 for Australian males and females aged 15-34 years and 35-64 years. Data on suicides and population were obtained from national registries. An area-based measure of socioeconomic status (SES) was used, and categorized into low, middle, and high SES areas. Suicide rates for each SES groups were estimated using a negative binomial regression model, adjusted for confounders. Socioeconomic inequalities in suicide were assessed using absolute and relative risk of low-to-high SES areas. Secular changes in socioeconomic inequalities were assessed using trend tests for relative risk. For young males, there was an increase in socioeconomic inequality driven by a significant decrease in suicide rates in high SES areas. For older males, inequality in suicide increased by 29%, which was related to a marked increase in suicide rates in low SES areas. Inequalities in both young and older female suicides also increased. These increases occurred when corresponding suicide rates in high SES areas decreased. Recent widening socioeconomic inequalities in Australian suicide have been primarily associated with declines in suicide rates in high SES areas. However, an increasing inequality in older male suicide is linked with low SES. Efforts targeting people from poor areas, especially older males, should be considered when developing suicide prevention strategy.

Utilization of Maternal and Child Health Care Services by Primigravida Females in Urban and Rural Areas of India

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Maternal complications and poor perinatal outcome are highly associated with nonutilisation of antenatal and delivery care services and poor socioeconomic conditions of the patient. It is essential that all pregnant women have access to high quality obstetric care throughout their pregnancies. Present longitudinal study was carried out to compare utilization of maternal and child health care services by urban and rural primigravida females. A total of 240 study participants were enrolled in this study. More illiteracy and less mean age at the time of marriage were observed in rural population. Poor knowledge about prelacteal feed, colostrums, tetanus injection and iron-follic acid tablet consumption was noted in both urban and rural areas. Very few study participants from both areas were counselled for HIV testing before pregnancy. More numbers of abortions (19.2%) were noted in urban study participants compared to rural area. Thus utilization of maternal and child health care (MCH) services was poor in both urban and rural areas. A sustained and focussed IEC campaign to improve the awareness amongst community on MCH will help in improving community participation. This may improve the quality, accessibility, and utilization of maternal health care services provided by the government agencies in both rural and urban areas. PMID:24977099

Impact of long-lasting, insecticidal nets on anaemia and prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum among children under five years in areas with highly resistant malaria vectors.

PubMed

Tokponnon, Filémon T; Ogouyémi, Aurore Hounto; Sissinto, Yolande; Sovi, Arthur; Gnanguenon, Virgile; Cornélie, Sylvie; Adéothy, Adicath Adéola; Ossè, Razaki; Wakpo, Abel; Gbénou, Dina; Oke, Mariam; Kinde-Gazard, Dorothée; Kleinschmidt, Immo; Akogbeto, Martin C; Massougbodji, Achille

2014-03-01

The widespread use of insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) leads to the development of vector resistance to insecticide. This resistance can reduce the effectiveness of LLIN-based interventions and perhaps reverse progress in reducing malaria morbidity. To prevent such difficulty, it is important to know the real impact of resistance in the effectiveness of mosquito nets. Therefore, an assessment of LLIN efficacy was conducted in malaria prevention among children in high and low resistance areas. The study was conducted in four rural districts and included 32 villages categorized as low or high resistance areas in Plateau Department, south-western Benin. Larvae collection was conducted to measure vector susceptibility to deltamethrin and knockdown resistance (kdr) frequency. In each resistance area, around 500 children were selected to measure the prevalence of malaria infection as well as the prevalence of anaemia associated with the use of LLINs. Observed mortalities of Anopheles gambiae s.s population exposed to deltamethrin ranged from 19 to 96%. Knockdown resistance frequency was between 38 and 84%. The prevalence of malaria infection in children under five years was 22.4% (19.9-25.1). This prevalence was 17.3% (14.2-20.9) in areas of high resistance and 27.1% (23.5-31.1) in areas of low resistance (p=0.04). Eight on ten children that were aged six - 30 months against seven on ten of those aged 31-59 months were anaemic. The anaemia observed in the six to 30-month old children was significantly higher than in the 31-59 month old children (p=0.00) but no difference associated with resistance areas was observed (p=0.35). The net use rate was 71%. The risk of having malaria was significantly reduced (p<0.05) with LLIN use in both low and high resistance areas. The preventive effect of LLINs in high resistance areas was 60% (95% CI: 40-70), and was significantly higher than that observed in low resistance areas (p<0.05). The results of this study showed that the resistance of malaria vectors seems to date not have affected the impact of LLINs and the use of LLINs was highly associated with reduced malaria prevalence irrespective of resistance.

Landscape level analysis of disturbance regimes in protected areas of Rajasthan, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishna, P. Hari; Reddy, C. Sudhakar; Singh, Randeep; Jha, C. S.

2014-04-01

There is an urgent need to identify the human influence on landscape as disturbance regimes was realized for prioritization of the protected areas. The present study has attempted to describe the landscape level assessment of fragmentation and disturbance index in protected areas of Rajasthan using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Geospatial analysis of disturbance regimes indicates 61.75% of the total PAs are under moderate disturbance index followed by 28.64% and 9.61% under low and high respectively. Among the 28 protected areas- National Chambal WLS, Jaisamand WLS, Kumbhalgarh WLS, Sawai Man Singh WLS, Kailadevi WLS and Bandh Baratha WLS are representing high level of disturbance. The present study has emphasized the moderate to low disturbance regimes in protected areas, which infer low biotic pressure and conservation effectiveness of PA network in Rajasthan. The spatial information generated on PAs is of valuable use for forest management and developing conservation strategies.

Mediterranean banks in EBSA area: Hotspots of biodiversity under threat.

PubMed

Altobelli, Chiara; Perzia, Patrizia; Falautano, Manuela; Consoli, Pierpaolo; Canese, Simonepietro; Romeo, Teresa; Andaloro, Franco

2017-10-01

This study demonstrates that, in the Central Mediterranean Sea, the Graham, Nereo and Pantelleria Vecchia Banks of the Strait of Sicily represent, in the wide and diversified 'Sicily Channel' Ecological or Biological Significant Area, unknown hot spots of biodiversity threatened by human activities. The investigated banks show an high ecological and biological value (EBV), assessed through presence/absence of specific indicators. The ecological groups of Graham Bank show the maximum EBV; the same as Nereo and Pantelleria Vecchia, except for the benthic component. All three banks are highly threatened, mainly the benthic and benthopelagic ecological groups. However, these Banks still have wide pristine areas to protect and can be considered eligible sites for the imposition of area-based management measures of conservation. This study represent also a support for decision makers involved in protection of the Mediterranean open sea areas, to pinpoint other priority conservation banks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Assessment of malaria resurgence risk in Morocco. Study of the vectorial capacity of Anopheles labranchiae in a rice cultivation area in the north of the country].

PubMed

Faraj, C; Ouahabi, S; Adlaoui, E; Boccolini, D; Romi, R; El Aouad, R

2008-12-01

To assess the malaria reintroduction risk in Morocco, we analyzed the malariogenic potential of a rice cultivation area in the north of the country. Our results showed that the receptivity of this area is very high during all the period of the rice cultivation, from May to October, the vectorial capacity of An. labranchiae, malaria vector in Morocco, is considerably high during the summer which corresponds to the rice cultivation period. The risk of autochthonous malaria resumption is important because of the possible presence of gametocytes carriers in the last malaria focus which is bordering the study area. The risk of a tropical malaria introduction is unimportant seen the low vulnerability of the area and the uncertain competence of its vectors considered. However, this risk must be considered with a more attention.

Composition and fate of mine- and smelter-derived particulates in soils from humid subtropical and semiarid areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ettler, Vojtech; Kribek, Bohdan; Mihaljevic, Martin; Vanek, Ales; Penizek, Vit; Sracek, Ondra; Mapani, Ben; Kamona, Fred; Nyambe, Imasiku

2017-04-01

Soils in the vicinity of non-ferrous metal smelters are often highly polluted by inorganic contaminants released from particulate emissions, which undergo weathering processes and release contaminants when deposited in soils. We studied the heavy mineral fraction, separated from mining- and smelter-affected topsoils, from both a humid subtropical area in the Zambian Copperbelt and a hot semi-arid area in the northern Namibia. High concentrations of metal(loid)s were detected in the studied soils: up to 1450 ppm As, 8980 ppm Cu, 4640 ppm Pb, 2620 ppm Zn. A combination of X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDS), and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) helped to identify the phases forming individual metal(loid)-bearing particles. Whereas spherical particles originate from the smelting and flue gas cleaning processes, angular particles either have geogenic origins or they are windblown from the mining operations and mine waste disposal sites. Sulphides from ores and mine tailings often exhibit weathering rims in contrast to smelter-derived high-temperature sulphides (chalcocite [Cu2S], digenite [Cu9S5], covellite [CuS], non-stoichiometric quenched Cu-Fe-S phases). Soils from humid subtropical areas exhibit higher available concentrations of metal(loids), and higher frequencies of weathering features (especially for copper-bearing oxides such as delafossite [CuFeO2]) are observed. In contrast, metal(loid)s are efficiently retained in semi-arid soils, where a high proportion of non-weathered smelter slag particles and low-solubility Ca-Cu-Pb arsenates occur. Our results indicate that compared to semi-arid areas (where inorganic contaminants were rather immobile in soils despite their high concentrations) a higher potential risk exists for agriculture in mine- and smelter-affected humid subtropical areas (where metal(loid) contaminants can be highly available for the uptake by crops). This study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation projects (GACR 13-17501S and 16-13142S).

Dental caries in fluorine exposure areas in China.

PubMed

Binbin, Wang; Baoshan, Zheng; Hongying, Wang; Yakun, Ping; Yuehua, Tao

2005-12-01

In this study, fluorine concentrations in drinking water and in urine of residents from a fluorine exposure area in China were tested. DMFT (average number of decayed, missing and filled teeth) of local residents in four age groups were also determined. The results of the study indicate that in fluorine exposure areas, there is a strictly positive correlation between fluorine content in urine and the fluorine content in drinking water. Effect of dental caries by high fluorine content drinking water is different for the different age groups. High fluorine content drinking water is more dangerous for 15-and 18-year-old groups than 5- and 12-year-old groups.

Groundwater quality in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, eastern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindsey, Bruce; Belitz, Kenneth

2017-01-19

Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system constitutes one of the important areas being evaluated. One or more inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high concentrations in about 15 percent of the study area and at moderate concentrations in about 17 percent. Organic constituents were not detected at high concentrations in the study area.

Groundwater quality in the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system, south-central United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barlow, Jeannie R.B.; Belitz, Kenneth

2017-01-19

Groundwater provides nearly 50 percent of the Nation’s drinking water. To help protect this vital resource, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project assesses groundwater quality in aquifers that are important sources of drinking water. The Coastal Lowlands aquifer system constitutes one of the important areas being evaluated. One or more inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high concentrations in about 12 percent of the study area and at moderate concentrations in about 18 percent. Organic constituents were not detected at high or moderate concentrations in the study area.

Spatial analysis for susceptibility of second-time karst sinkholes: A case study of Jili Village in Guangxi, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Guoqing; Yan, Hongbo; Chen, Kunhua; Zhang, Rongting

2016-04-01

After a big karst sinkhole happened in Jili Village of Guangxi, China, the local government was eager to quantitatively analyze and map susceptible areas of the potential second-time karst sinkholes in order to make timely decisions whether the residents living in the first-time sinkhole areas should move. For this reason, karst sinkholes susceptibility geospatial analysis is investigated using multivariate spatial data, logistic regression model (LRM) and Geographical Information System (GIS). Ten major karst sinkholes related factors, including (1) formation lithology, (2) soil structure, (3) profile curvature, (4) groundwater depth, (5) fluctuation of groundwater level, (6) percolation rate of soil, (7) degree of karst development, (8) distance from fault, (9) distance from the traffic route, and (10) overburden thickness were selected, and then each of factors was classified and quantitated with the three or four levels. The LRM was applied to evaluate which factor makes significant contributions to sinkhole. The results demonstrated that formation lithology, soil structure, profile curvature, groundwater depth, ground water level, percolation rate of soil, and degree of karst development, the distance from fault, and overburden thickness are positive, while one factor, the distance from traffic routes is negative, which is deleted from LRM model. The susceptibility of the potential sinkholes in the study area is estimated and mapped using the solved impact factors. The susceptible degrees of the study area are classified into five levels, very high, high, moderate, low, and ignore susceptibility. It has been found that that both very high and high susceptibility areas are along Datou Hill and the foothills of the study area. This finding is verified by field observations. With the investigations conducted in this paper, it can be concluded that the susceptibility maps produced in this paper are reliable and accurate, and useful as a reference for local governments to make decisions regarding whether or not residents living within sinkhole areas should move.

Environmental risk factors associated with bovine tuberculosis among cattle in high-risk areas

PubMed Central

Winkler, B.; Mathews, F.

2015-01-01

Our research shows that environmental features are important predictors of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in British cattle herds in high-prevalence regions. Data from 503 case and 808 control farms included in the randomized badger culling trial (RBCT) were analysed. bTB risk increased in larger herds and on farms with greater areas of maize, deciduous woodland and marsh, whereas a higher percentage of boundaries composed of hedgerows decreased the risk. The model was tested on another case–control study outside RBCT areas, and here it had a much smaller predictive power. This suggests that different infection dynamics operate outside high-risk areas, although it is possible that unknown confounding factors may also have played a role. PMID:26559511

The DeKalb High Technology Needs Assessment for Gifted Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Berman E.

A study was conducted by DeKalb Area Vocational-Technical School (DAVTS) to determine the attitudes of gifted high school students toward high technology as a choice for postsecondary studies and their interest in joint enrollment in DATVS's high technology programs. A student questionnaire, information on DATVS high technology programs, and a…

Spatial distribution of soil contamination by Toxoplasma gondii in relation to cat defecation behaviour in an urban area.

PubMed

Afonso, Eve; Lemoine, Mélissa; Poulle, Marie-Lazarine; Ravat, Marie-Caroline; Romand, Stéphane; Thulliez, Philippe; Villena, Isabelle; Aubert, Dominique; Rabilloud, Muriel; Riche, Benjamin; Gilot-Fromont, Emmanuelle

2008-07-01

In urban areas, there may be a high local risk of zoonosis due to high densities of stray cat populations. In this study, soil contamination by oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii was searched for, and its spatial distribution was analysed in relation to defecation behaviour of cats living in a high-density population present in one area of Lyon (France). Sixteen defecation sites were first identified. Cats were then repeatedly fed with marked food and the marked faeces were searched for in the defecation sites. Of 260 markers, 72 were recovered from 24 different cats. Defecation sites were frequented by up to 15 individuals. Soil samples were also examined in order to detect the presence of T. gondii using real-time PCR. The entire study area was then sampled according to cat density and vegetation cover type. Only three of 55 samples were positive and all came from defecation sites. In a second series of observations, 16 defecation sites were sampled. Eight of 62 samples tested positive, originating in five defecation sites. Laboratory experiments using experimental seeding of soil showed that the inoculated dose that can be detected in 50% of assays equals 100-1000oocysts/g, depending on the strain. This study shows that high concentrations of oocysts can be detected in soil samples using molecular methods and suggests that spatial distribution of contamination areas is highly heterogeneous. Positive samples were only found in some of the defecation sites, signifying that at-risk points for human and animal infection may be very localised.

Dental Fluorosis and Dental Caries Prevalence among 12 and 15-Year-Old School Children in Nalgonda District, Andhra Pradesh, India

PubMed Central

Sukhabogi, JR; Parthasarathi, P; Anjum, S; Shekar, BRC; Padma, CM; Rani, AS

2014-01-01

Background: Fluoride is a double edged sword. The assessment of dental caries and fluorosis in endemic fluoride areas will facilitate in assessing the relation between fluoride concentrations in water with dental caries, dental fluorosis simultaneously. Aim: The objective of the following study is to assess the dental caries and dental fluorosis prevalence among 12 and 15-year-old school children in Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Subjects and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Two stage cluster sampling technique was employed to select 20 schools from Nalgonda district. The oral examination of available 12 and 15-year-old children fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria was carried out to assess dental caries and fluorosis. The examination was conducted by a single trained and calibrated examiner using the mouth mirror and community periodontal index probe under natural daylight. These areas were divided into four categories, low, medium, high and very high fluoride areas based on the fluoride concentration at the time of statistical analysis. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16 (IBM, Chicago, USA). Results: The caries prevalence was less among 12-year-old children (39.9% [369/924]) compared with 15-years-old children (46.7% [444/951]). The prevalence was more among females (50.4% [492/977]) than males (35.8% [321/898]). The prevalence was more in low fluoride area (60.5% [300/496]) followed by very high fluoride area (54.8% [201/367]), high fluoride area (32.4% [293/904]) and medium fluoride area (17.6% [19/108]) in the descending order. The fluorosis prevalence increased with increasing fluoride concentration with no difference in gender and age distribution. Conclusion: Low fluoride areas require fluoridation or alternate sources of fluoride, whereas high fluoride areas require defluoridation. Defluoridation of water is an immediate requirement in areas with fluoride concentration of 4 parts per million and above as dental fluorosis is a public health problem in these areas with 100% prevalence. PMID:25364597

Comparison of exposure to trace elements through vegetable consumption between a mining area and an agricultural area in central Chile.

PubMed

Aguilar, Marcelo; Mondaca, Pedro; Ginocchio, Rosanna; Vidal, Kooichi; Sauvé, Sébastien; Neaman, Alexander

2018-05-03

Human exposure to trace elements has been a large concern due to the potential health issues. Accordingly, this study aimed to compare the concentrations of arsenic, copper, and zinc in the edible parts of vegetables grown in a mining-agricultural area and in an exclusively agricultural area and to compare the potential human health risks of consuming vegetables from both areas. The consumption habits of the studied population were extracted from the 2010 National Alimentary Survey of Chile. In most cases, the concentrations of trace elements in the edible tissues of vegetables (lettuce, spinach, garlic, onion, carrot, potato, sweet corn, and tomato) were higher in the mining-agricultural area than those in the control area. This difference was most pronounced for leafy vegetables, with arsenic being the trace element of concern. Specifically, the arsenic concentrations in the edible tissues of lettuce and spinach were 8.2- and 5.4-fold higher, respectively, in the mining-agricultural area than in the control area. Lettuce was the vegetable of concern due to its relatively high consumption and relatively high concentration of trace elements. Nevertheless, there was no health risk associated with vegetable consumption in either the mining area or the control area because none of the HQ values surpassed 1.0.

Landscape-Level Spatial Patterns of West Nile Virus Risk in the Northern Great Plains

PubMed Central

Chuang, Ting-Wu; Hockett, Christine W.; Kightlinger, Lon; Wimberly, Michael C.

2012-01-01

Understanding the landscape-level determinants of West Nile virus (WNV) can aid in mapping high-risk areas and enhance disease control and prevention efforts. This study analyzed the spatial patterns of human WNV cases in three areas in South Dakota during 2003–2007 and investigated the influences of land cover, hydrology, soils, irrigation, and elevation by using case–control models. Land cover, hydrology, soils, and elevation all influenced WNV risk, although the main drivers were different in each study area. Risk for WNV was generally higher in areas with rural land cover than in developed areas, and higher close to wetlands or soils with a high ponding frequency. In western South Dakota, WNV risk also decreased with increasing elevation and was higher in forested areas. Our results showed that the spatial patterns of human WNV risk were associated with landscape-level features that likely reflect variability in mosquito ecology, avian host communities, and human activity. PMID:22492161

Diachronic analysis of salt-affected areas using remote sensing techniques: the case study of Biskra area, Algeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afrasinei, Gabriela M.; Melis, Maria T.; Buttau, Cristina; Bradd, John M.; Arras, Claudio; Ghiglieri, Giorgio

2015-10-01

In the Wadi Biskra arid and semi-arid area, sustainable development is limited by land degradation, such as secondary salinization of soils. As an important high quality date production region of Algeria, it needs continuous monitoring of desertification indicators, since the bio-physical setting defines it as highly exposed to climate-related risks. For this particular study, for which little ground truth data was possible to acquire, we set up an assessment of appropriate methods for the identification and change detection of salt-affected areas, involving image interpretation and processing techniques employing Landsat imagery. After a first phase consisting of a visual interpretation study of the land cover types, two automated classification approaches were proposed and applied for this specific study: decision tree classification and principal components analysis (PCA) of Knepper ratios. Five of the indices employed in the Decision Tree construction were set up within the current study, among which we propose a salinity index (SMI) for the extraction of highly saline areas. The results of the 1984 to 2014 diachronic analysis of salt - affected areas variation were supported by the interpreted land cover map for accuracy estimation. Connecting the outputs with auxiliary bio-physical and socio-economic data, comprehensive results are discussed, which were indispensable for the understanding of land degradation dynamics and vulnerability to desertification. One aspect that emerged was the fact that the expansion of agricultural land in the last three decades may have led and continue to contribute to a secondary salinization of soils. This study is part of the WADIS-MAR Demonstration Project, funded by the European Commission through the Sustainable Water Integrated Management (SWIM) Program (www.wadismar.eu).

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

DOE PAGES

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

2016-06-15

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

Enhancing the spatial coverage of a regional high-quality hydraulic conductivity dataset with estimates made from domestic water-well specific-capacity tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priebe, Elizabeth H.; Neville, C. J.; Rudolph, D. L.

2018-03-01

The spatial coverage of hydraulic conductivity ( K) values for large-scale groundwater investigations is often poor because of the high costs associated with hydraulic testing and the large areas under investigation. Domestic water wells are ubiquitous and their well logs represent an untapped resource of information that includes mandatory specific-capacity tests, from which K can be estimated. These specific-capacity tests are routinely conducted at such low pumping rates that well losses are normally insignificant. In this study, a simple and practical approach to augmenting high-quality K values with reconnaissance-level K values from water-well specific-capacity tests is assessed. The integration of lesser quality K values from specific-capacity tests with a high-quality K data set is assessed through comparisons at two different scales: study-area-wide (a 600-km2 area in Ontario, Canada) and in a single geological formation within a portion of the broader study area (200 km2). Results of the comparisons demonstrate that reconnaissance-level K estimates from specific-capacity tests approximate the ranges and distributions of the high-quality K values. Sufficient detail about the physical basis and assumptions that are invoked in the development of the approach are presented here so that it can be applied with confidence by practitioners seeking to enhance their spatial coverage of K values with specific-capacity tests.

Impact of High PV Penetration on the Inter-Area Oscillations in the U.S. Eastern Interconnection

DOE PAGES

You, Shutang; Kou, Gefei; Liu, Yong; ...

2017-03-31

Our study explores the impact of high-photovoltaic (PV) penetration on the inter-area oscillation modes of large-scale power grids. A series of dynamic models with various PV penetration levels are developed based on a detailed model representing the U.S. Eastern Interconnection (EI). Transient simulations are performed to investigate the change of inter-area oscillation modes with PV penetration. The impact of PV control strategies and parameter settings on inter-area oscillations is studied. This paper finds that as PV increases, the damping of the dominant oscillation mode decreases monotonically. We also observed that the mode shape varies with the PV control strategy andmore » new oscillation modes may emerge under inappropriate parameter settings in PV plant controls.« less

Older Adults' Outdoor Walking: Inequalities in Neighbourhood Safety, Pedestrian Infrastructure and Aesthetics.

PubMed

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

2016-11-25

Older adults living in high-deprivation areas walk less than those living in low-deprivation areas. Previous research has shown that older adults' outdoor walking levels are related to the neighbourhood built environment. This study examines inequalities in perceived built environment attributes (i.e., safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics) and their possible influences on disparities in older adults' outdoor walking levels in low- and high-deprivation areas of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It applied a mixed-method approach, included 173 participants (65 years and over), used GPS technology to measure outdoor walking levels, used questionnaires (for all participants) and conducted walking interviews (with a sub-sample) to collect data on perceived neighbourhood built environment attributes. The results show inequalities in perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics in high- versus low-deprivation areas and demonstrate that they may influence disparities in participants' outdoor walking levels. Improvements of perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetic in high-deprivation areas are encouraged.

Older Adults’ Outdoor Walking: Inequalities in Neighbourhood Safety, Pedestrian Infrastructure and Aesthetics

PubMed Central

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

2016-01-01

Older adults living in high-deprivation areas walk less than those living in low-deprivation areas. Previous research has shown that older adults’ outdoor walking levels are related to the neighbourhood built environment. This study examines inequalities in perceived built environment attributes (i.e., safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics) and their possible influences on disparities in older adults’ outdoor walking levels in low- and high-deprivation areas of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It applied a mixed-method approach, included 173 participants (65 years and over), used GPS technology to measure outdoor walking levels, used questionnaires (for all participants) and conducted walking interviews (with a sub-sample) to collect data on perceived neighbourhood built environment attributes. The results show inequalities in perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetics in high- versus low-deprivation areas and demonstrate that they may influence disparities in participants’ outdoor walking levels. Improvements of perceived neighbourhood safety, pedestrian infrastructure and aesthetic in high-deprivation areas are encouraged. PMID:27898023

Analysis on LID for highly urbanized areas' waterlogging control: demonstrated on the example of Caohejing in Shanghai.

PubMed

Liao, Z L; He, Y; Huang, F; Wang, S; Li, H Z

2013-01-01

Although a commonly applied measure across the United States and Europe for alleviating the negative impacts of urbanization on the hydrological cycle, low impact development (LID) has not been widely used in highly urbanized areas, especially in rapidly urbanizing cities in developing countries like China. In this paper, given five LID practices including Bio-Retention, Infiltration Trench, Porous Pavement, Rain Barrels, and Green Swale, an analysis on LID for highly urbanized areas' waterlogging control is demonstrated using the example of Caohejing in Shanghai, China. Design storm events and storm water management models are employed to simulate the total waterlogging volume reduction, peak flow rate reduction and runoff coefficient reduction of different scenarios. Cost-effectiveness is calculated for the five practices. The aftermath shows that LID practices can have significant effects on storm water management in a highly urbanized area, and the comparative results reveal that Rain Barrels and Infiltration Trench are the two most suitable cost-effective measures for the study area.

TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X data for natural hazards research in mountainous regions of Uzbekistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semakova, Eleonora; Bühler, Yves

2017-07-01

Accurate and up-to-date digital elevation models (DEMs) are important tools for studying mountain hazards. We considered natural hazards related to glacier retreat, debris flows, and snow avalanches in two study areas of the Western Tien-Shan mountains, Uzbekistan. High-resolution DEMs were generated using single TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X datasets. The high quality and actuality of the DEMs were proved through a comparison with Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, Advanced Spaceborne Emission and Reflection Radiometer, and Topo DEMs, using Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite data as the reference dataset. For the first study area, which had high levels of economic activity, we applied the generated TanDEM-X DEM to an avalanche dynamics simulation using RAMMS software. Verification of the output results showed good agreement with field observations. For the second study area, with a wide spatial distribution of glaciers, we applied the TanDEM-X DEM to an assessment of glacier surface elevation changes. The results can be used to calculate the local mass balance in glacier ablation zones in other areas. Models were applied to estimate the probability of moraine-dammed lake formation and the affected area of a possible debris flow resulting from glacial lake outburst. The natural hazard research methods considered here will minimize costly ground observations in poorly accessible mountains and mitigate the impacts of hazards on the environment of Uzbekistan.

Dental fluorosis in children in areas with fluoride-polluted air, high-fluoride water, and low-fluoride water as well as low-fluoride air: a study of deciduous and permanent teeth in the Shaanxi province, China.

PubMed

Ruan, Jian Ping; Bårdsen, Asgeir; Astrøm, Anne Nordrehaug; Huang, Rui Zhe; Wang, Zhi Lun; Bjorvatn, Kjell

2007-04-01

The aim of the study was to assess dental fluorosis (DF) in the deciduous and permanent teeth of children in areas with high-F coal (area A) and high-F water (area C) compared to children from area B, with low-F water and coal. 596 children were examined. DF was assessed by TF-score. F-content of indoor air, drinking water, coal, tea, rice, and maize was analyzed. F-content of air and coal ranged from 3.2 microg/m(3) and 25.8 mg/kg (area B), 3.8 microg/m(3) and 36.3 mg/kg (area C) to 56.8 microg/m(3) and 713.1 mg/kg (area A). Likewise, mean F-content of water ranged from approximately 0.50 mg/l (areas A and B) to 3.64 mg/l (area C). F-content of tea leaves was similar in all three areas. Maize and rice contained <5 mg F/kg. Prevalence of primary teeth with DF was 49.1%, 2.0%, and 66.8% in areas A, B, and C, respectively. Similarly, DF was found in 96.7% (area A), 19.6% (area B), and 94.4% (area C) of the permanent teeth. Severe fluorosis (TF > or = 5) was found in area A (47.0%) and area C (36.1%) (p<0.01). Early erupting teeth had slightly higher mean TF-scores in area A than in area C. DF was prevalent in both dentitions in areas A and C. Similarity in percentages of DF may indicate that indoor air with approximately 60 microg F/m(3) and drinking water with 3.6 mg F/L are similarly toxic to developing permanent teeth. The percentage of deciduous teeth with DF was significantly lower in area A compared to area C. Where low-F coal and low-F water were used (area B), approximately 20% of permanent teeth had DF, indicating a relatively low tolerance to fluoride in Chinese children brought up under the present living conditions.

Effect Modification of the Association between Short-term Meteorological Factors and Mortality by Urban Heat Islands in Hong Kong

PubMed Central

Goggins, William B.; Chan, Emily Y. Y.; Ng, Edward; Ren, Chao; Chen, Liang

2012-01-01

Background Prior studies from around the world have indicated that very high temperatures tend to increase summertime mortality. However possible effect modification by urban micro heat islands has only been examined by a few studies in North America and Europe. This study examined whether daily mortality in micro heat island areas of Hong Kong was more sensitive to short term changes in meteorological conditions than in other areas. Method An urban heat island index (UHII) was calculated for each of Hong Kong’s 248 geographical tertiary planning units (TPU). Daily counts of all natural deaths among Hong Kong residents were stratified according to whether the place of residence of the decedent was in a TPU with high (above the median) or low UHII. Poisson Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) were used to estimate the association between meteorological variables and mortality while adjusting for trend, seasonality, pollutants and flu epidemics. Analyses were restricted to the hot season (June-September). Results Mean temperatures (lags 0–4) above 29°C and low mean wind speeds (lags 0–4) were significantly associated with higher daily mortality and these associations were stronger in areas with high UHII. A 1°C rise above 29°C was associated with a 4.1% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.7%, 7.6%) increase in natural mortality in areas with high UHII but only a 0.7% (95% CI: −2.4%, 3.9%) increase in low UHII areas. Lower mean wind speeds (5th percentile vs. 95th percentile) were associated with a 5.7% (95% CI: 2.7, 8.9) mortality increase in high UHII areas vs. a −0.3% (95% CI: −3.2%, 2.6%) change in low UHII areas. Conclusion The results suggest that urban micro heat islands exacerbate the negative health consequences of high temperatures and low wind speeds. Urban planning measures designed to mitigate heat island effects may lessen the health effects of unfavorable summertime meteorological conditions. PMID:22761684

Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the North San Francisco Bay Shallow Aquifer study unit, 2012; California GAMA Priority Basin Project (ver. 1.1, February 2018)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bennett, George L.

2017-07-20

Groundwater quality in the North San Francisco Bay Shallow Aquifer study unit (NSF-SA) was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study unit is in Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma Counties and included two physiographic study areas: the Valleys and Plains area and the surrounding Highlands area. The NSF-SA focused on groundwater resources used for domestic drinking water supply, which generally correspond to shallower parts of aquifer systems than that of groundwater resources used for public drinking water supply in the same area. The assessments characterized the quality of untreated groundwater, not the quality of drinking water.This study included three components: (1) a status assessment, which characterized the status of the quality of the groundwater resources used for domestic supply for 2012; (2) an understanding assessment, which evaluated the natural and human factors potentially affecting water quality in those resources; and (3) a comparison between the groundwater resources used for domestic supply and those used for public supply.The status assessment was based on data collected from 71 sites sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey for the GAMA Priority Basin Project in 2012. To provide context, concentrations of constituents measured in groundwater were compared to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California State Water Resources Control Board Division of Drinking Water regulatory and non-regulatory benchmarks for drinking-water quality. The status assessment used a grid-based method to estimate the proportion of the groundwater resources that has concentrations of water-quality constituents approaching or above benchmark concentrations. This method provides statistically unbiased results at the study-area scale and permits comparisons to other GAMA Priority Basin Project study areas.In the NSF-SA study unit as a whole, inorganic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high relative concentrations (RCs) in 27 percent of the shallow aquifer system, and inorganic constituents with secondary maximum contaminant levels (SMCL) were detected at high RCs in 24 percent of the system. The inorganic constituents detected at high RCs were arsenic, boron, fluoride, manganese, nitrate, iron, sulfate, and total dissolved solids (TDS). Organic constituents with human-health benchmarks were detected at high RCs in 1 percent of the shallow aquifer system. Of the 148 organic constituents analyzed, 30 constituents were detected, although only 1, chloroform, had a detection frequency greater than 10 percent.Natural and anthropogenic factors that could affect the groundwater quality were evaluated by using results from statistical testing of associations between constituent concentrations and values of potential explanatory factors. Groundwater age class (modern, mixed, or pre-modern), redox class (oxic or anoxic), aquifer lithology class (metamorphic, sedimentary, or volcanic), and dissolved oxygen concentrations were the explanatory factors that explained distribution patterns of most of the inorganic constituents best. Groundwater classified primarily as pre-modern or mixed in age was associated with higher concentrations of arsenic and fluoride than waters classified as modern. Anoxic or mixed redox conditions were associated with higher concentrations of boron, fluoride, and manganese. Similar patterns of association with explanatory variables were seen for inorganic constituents with aesthetic-based benchmarks detected at high concentrations. Nitrate and perchlorate had higher concentrations in oxic than in the anoxic redox class and were positively correlated with urban land use.The NSF-SA water-quality results were compared to those of the GAMA North San Francisco Bay Public-Supply Aquifer study unit (NSF-PA). The NSF-PA was sampled in 2004 and covers much of the same area as the NSF-SA, but focused on the deeper public-supply aquifer system. The comparison of the NSF-PA to the NSF-SA showed that there were more differences between the Valleys and Plains study areas of the two study units than between the Highlands study areas of the two study units. As expected from the shallower depth of wells, the NSF-SA Valleys and Plains study area had a lesser proportion of pre-modern age groundwater and greater proportion of modern age groundwater than the NSF-PA Valleys and Plains study area. In contrast, well depths and groundwater ages were not significantly different between the two Highlands study areas. Arsenic, manganese, and nitrate were present at high RCs, and perchlorate was detected in greater proportions of the NSF-SA Valleys and Plains study area than the NSF-PA Valleys and Plains study area.

Simulation of ground-water flow in the Cedar River alluvium, northwest Black Hawk County and southwest Bremer County, Iowa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schaap, Bryan D.; Savoca, Mark E.; Turco, Michael J.

2003-01-01

In general, once high ground-water levels occur, either because of high Cedar River water Abstract levels or above normal local precipitation or both, ground-water in the central part of the study area along Highway 218 flows toward the south rather than following shorter flow paths to the Cedar River. Intermittent streams in the study area discharge substantial amounts of water from the ground-water flow system.

Skeletal fluorosis in relation to drinking water in rural areas of West Azerbaijan, Iran.

PubMed

Mohammadi, Ali Akbar; Yousefi, Mahmood; Yaseri, Mehdi; Jalilzadeh, Mohsen; Mahvi, Amir Hossein

2017-12-11

Skeletal fluorosis resulting from high fluoride level in drinking water is a major public health problem. The present study evaluated the association between exposures to drinking water fluoride and skeletal fluorosis in 5 villages of Poldasht County, Iran. All the data and information on the prevalence of bone diseases were obtained from the Health Record Department, Poldasht Health Centre. To obtain the odds ratio of bone disease problem in different risk factors, when considering the cluster effect of rural area, logistic regression in a multilevel model was used. Results showed that skeletal fluorosis of people who live in areas with high fluoride concentration is 18.1% higher than that of individuals who live in areas with low fluoride concentration. Skeletal fluorosis (54.5%) was observed in the age group of 71 years and above, and was more commonly found in females than males. According to Unadjusted, individuals who consume ≤3 unit milk and dairy products per week have almost the same level of bone diseases as compared to those that consume more than 3 units. This study indicated that, skeletal fluorosis is a general health problem in these rural areas because the results revealed that high percentage of the studied population had symptoms of skeletal fluorosis.

Sediment sources and their contribution along northern coast of the South China Sea: Evidence from clay minerals of surface sediments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jianguo; Yan, Wen; Chen, Zhong; Lu, Jun

2012-09-01

Clay minerals of surface sediment samples from nine bays/harbors along northern coast of the South China Sea (SCS) are used for sediment sources and contribution estimation in the study areas. Results reveal that sediments in the study bays/harbors seem to be a mixture of sediments from the Pearl, Hanjiang River and local islands/rivers, but their clay mineral assemblage is distinct from that of Luzon and Taiwan sediments, indicating that sediments are derived mainly from the neighboring sources through riverine input and partly from localized sediments. Due to input of local sediments in the northern SCS, sediments from both east of the Leizhou Peninsula (Area IV) and next to the Pearl River estuary (PRE, Area II) have high smectite percent. Affected by riverine input of the Pearl and Hanjiang Rivers, sediments in west of the PRE (Area III) and east of the PRE (Area I) have high illite (average 47%) and kaolinite (54%) percents, respectively. Sediment contributions of various major sources to the study areas are estimated as the following: (1) the Hanjiang River provide 95% and 84% sediments in Areas I and II, respectively, (2) the Pearl River supply 79% and 29% sediments in Areas III and IV, respectively and (3) local sediments contribute the rest and reach the maximum (˜71%) in Area IV.

Possible emissions of POPs in plain and hilly areas of Nepal: Implications for source apportionment and health risk assessment.

PubMed

Yadav, Ishwar Chandra; Devi, Ningombam Linthoingambi; Li, Jun; Zhang, Gan; Breivik, Knut

2017-01-01

Ambient air is a core media chosen for monitoring under the Stockholm Convention on POPs. While extensive monitoring of POPs in ambient air has been carried out in some parts of the globe, there are still regions with very limited information available, such as some developing countries as Nepal. This study therefore aims to target the occurrence of selected POPs in Nepal in suspected source areas/more densely populated regions. Four potential source regions in Nepal were furthermore targeted as it was hypothesized that urban areas at lower altitudes (Birgunj and Biratnagar located at approximately 86 and 80 m.a.s.l.) would be potentially more affected by OCPs because of more intensive agricultural activities in comparison to urban areas at higher altitudes (Kathmandu, Pokhara located 1400 and 1135 m.a.s.l). As some of these areas could also be impacted by LRAT, air mass back trajectories during the sampling period were additionally evaluated using HYSPLIT. The concentrations of overall POPs were twice as high in plain areas in comparison to hilly areas. DDTs and HCHs were most frequently detected in the air samples. The high p,p'-DDT/(pp'-DDE + pp'-DDD) ratio as well as the low o,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDT ratio observed in this study was inferred as continuing use of technical DDT. High levels of ∑ 26 PCBs were linked to proximity to highly urbanized and industrial areas, indicating the potential source of PCBs. The measured concentrations of legacy POPs in air from this study is assumed to represent a negligible health risk through inhalation of ambient air, however, other modes of human exposure could still be relevant in Nepal. The air mass backward trajectory analysis revealed that most of the air masses sampled originated from India and the Bay of Bengal. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mineral resources of the Turtle Mountains Wilderness Study Area, San Bernardino County, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howard, Keith A.; Nielson, Jane E.; Simpson, Robert W.; Hazlett, Richard W.; Alminas, Henry V.; Nakata, John K.; McDonnell, John R.

1988-01-01

At the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, approximately 105,200 acres of the Turtle Mountains Wilderness Study Area (CDCA-307) were evaluated for mineral resources (known) and resource potential (undiscovered). In this report, the area studied is referred to as "the wilderness study area" or simply "the study area"; any reference to the Turtle Mountain Wilderness Study Area refers only to that part of the wilderness study area for which a mineral survey was requested by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.The wilderness study area is in southeastern San Bernardino County, Calif. Gold, silver, copper, and lead have been mined within and adjacent to the study area. Copper-zinc-silver-gold mineral occurrences are found in the southern part and gold-silver mineral occurrences are found in the northern part of the study area; identified low- to moderate-grade gold-silver resources occur adjacent to the study area along the western boundary. Six areas in the south-central and northwestern parts of the study area have high resource potential, two broad areas have moderate resource potential, and part of the southwest corner has low resource potential for lode gold, silver, and associated copper, lead, zinc, molybdenum, and tungsten. Alluvium locally within one of these areas has moderate resource potential for placer gold and silver, and the entire area has low resource potential for placer gold and silver. There is low resource potential for perlite, ornamental stone (onyx marble and opal), manganese, uranium and thorium, pegmatite minerals, and oil and gas within the study area. Sand and gravel are abundant but are readily available outside the wilderness study area.

Gastrointestinal parasites of maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus, Illiger 1815) in a suburban area in southeastern Brazil.

PubMed

Massara, R L; Paschoal, A M O; Chiarello, A G

2015-08-01

We examined 42 maned wolf scats in an unprotected and disturbed area of Cerrado in southeastern Brazil. We identified six helminth endoparasite taxa, being Phylum Acantocephala and Family Trichuridae the most prevalent. The high prevalence of the Family Ancylostomatidae indicates a possible transmission via domestic dogs, which are abundant in the study area. Nevertheless, our results indicate that the endoparasite species found are not different from those observed in protected or least disturbed areas, suggesting a high resilience of maned wolf and their parasites to human impacts, or a common scenario of disease transmission from domestic dogs to wild canid whether in protected or unprotected areas of southeastern Brazil.

Nuclear spectroscopic studies. Progress report

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

Bingham, C.R.; Guidry, M.W.; Riedinger, L.L.

1994-02-18

The Nuclear Physics group at UTK is involved in heavy-ion physics including both nuclear structure and reaction mechanisms. During the last year experimental work has been in 3 broad areas: structure of nuclei at high angular momentum, structure of nuclei far from stability, and ultra-relativistic heavy-ion physics. Results in these areas are described in this document under: properties of high-spin states, study of low-energy levels of nuclei far from stability, and high-energy heavy-ion physics (PHENIX, etc.). Another important component of the work is theoretical interpretation of experimental results (Joint Institute for Heavy Ion Research).

Interpretation of high resolution airborne magnetic data (HRAMD) of Ilesha and its environs, Southwest Nigeria, using Euler deconvolution method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olurin, Oluwaseun Tolutope

2017-12-01

Interpretation of high resolution aeromagnetic data of Ilesha and its environs within the basement complex of the geological setting of Southwestern Nigeria was carried out in the study. The study area is delimited by geographic latitudes 7°30'-8°00'N and longitudes 4°30'-5°00'E. This investigation was carried out using Euler deconvolution on filtered digitised total magnetic data (Sheet Number 243) to delineate geological structures within the area under consideration. The digitised airborne magnetic data acquired in 2009 were obtained from the archives of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA). The airborne magnetic data were filtered, processed and enhanced; the resultant data were subjected to qualitative and quantitative magnetic interpretation, geometry and depth weighting analyses across the study area using Euler deconvolution filter control file in Oasis Montag software. Total magnetic intensity distribution in the field ranged from -77.7 to 139.7 nT. Total magnetic field intensities reveal high-magnitude magnetic intensity values (high-amplitude anomaly) and magnetic low intensities (low-amplitude magnetic anomaly) in the area under consideration. The study area is characterised with high intensity correlated with lithological variation in the basement. The sharp contrast is enhanced due to the sharp contrast in magnetic intensity between the magnetic susceptibilities of the crystalline and sedimentary rocks. The reduced-to-equator (RTE) map is characterised by high frequencies, short wavelengths, small size, weak intensity, sharp low amplitude and nearly irregular shaped anomalies, which may due to near-surface sources, such as shallow geologic units and cultural features. Euler deconvolution solution indicates a generally undulating basement, with a depth ranging from -500 to 1000 m. The Euler deconvolution results show that the basement relief is generally gentle and flat, lying within the basement terrain.

Do Leaders' Experience and Concentration Area Influence School Performance?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sturgis, Kimberlin; Shiflett, Brittanee; Tanner, Tyrone

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the educational background of leaders in small, high poverty, high minority schools in an effort to determine if the leader's concentration area and background were related to the academic success of the students. Through a causal comparative design, a modified version of the Interstate School Leaders…

G.E.M.S. event

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-03-08

NASA Human Resources Specialist Ashley Speed speaks to a group of high school students from area schools during a Girls Excited about Math and Science event at Stennis Space Center on March 8, 2012. About 170 high school and elementary girls from area schools visited Stennis to participate in a day of activities designed to promote studies in science and mathematics.

Area Fish and Game Ecology [Sahuarita High School Career Curriculum Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esser, Robert

This course entitled "Area Fish and Game Ecology" is one of a series of instructional guides prepared by teachers for the Sahuarita High School (Arizona) Career Curriculum Project. It consists of nine units of study, and 18 behavioral objectives relating to these units are stated. The topics covered include map projections, map symbols and…

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2003-09-01

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

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

PubMed

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

2014-09-01

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

Mapping child maltreatment risk: a 12-year spatio-temporal analysis of neighborhood influences.

PubMed

Gracia, Enrique; López-Quílez, Antonio; Marco, Miriam; Lila, Marisol

2017-10-18

'Place' matters in understanding prevalence variations and inequalities in child maltreatment risk. However, most studies examining ecological variations in child maltreatment risk fail to take into account the implications of the spatial and temporal dimensions of neighborhoods. In this study, we conduct a high-resolution small-area study to analyze the influence of neighborhood characteristics on the spatio-temporal epidemiology of child maltreatment risk. We conducted a 12-year (2004-2015) small-area Bayesian spatio-temporal epidemiological study with all families with child maltreatment protection measures in the city of Valencia, Spain. As neighborhood units, we used 552 census block groups. Cases were geocoded using the family address. Neighborhood-level characteristics analyzed included three indicators of neighborhood disadvantage-neighborhood economic status, neighborhood education level, and levels of policing activity-, immigrant concentration, and residential instability. Bayesian spatio-temporal modelling and disease mapping methods were used to provide area-specific risk estimations. Results from a spatio-temporal autoregressive model showed that neighborhoods with low levels of economic and educational status, with high levels of policing activity, and high immigrant concentration had higher levels of substantiated child maltreatment risk. Disease mapping methods were used to analyze areas of excess risk. Results showed chronic spatial patterns of high child maltreatment risk during the years analyzed, as well as stability over time in areas of low risk. Areas with increased or decreased child maltreatment risk over the years were also observed. A spatio-temporal epidemiological approach to study the geographical patterns, trends over time, and the contextual determinants of child maltreatment risk can provide a useful method to inform policy and action. This method can offer a more accurate description of the problem, and help to inform more localized prevention and intervention strategies. This new approach can also contribute to an improved epidemiological surveillance system to detect ecological variations in risk, and to assess the effectiveness of the initiatives to reduce this risk.

Historical water-quality data for the High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study Area in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming, 1930-98

USGS Publications Warehouse

Litke, David W.

2001-01-01

The High Plains aquifer underlies 174,000 square miles in parts of eight States and includes eight primary hydrogeologic units, including the well-known Ogallala Formation. The High Plains aquifer is an important resource, providing water for 27 percent of the Nation?s irrigated agricultural lands in an otherwise dry landscape. Since the 1980?s there has been concern over the sustainability of the aquifer due to water-level declines caused by substantial pumping. Water quality of the aquifer is a more recent concern. As part of the U.S. Geological Survey?s National Water-Quality Assessment Program, historical water-quality data have been gathered for the High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study Area into a retrospective data base, which can be used to evaluate the occurrence and distribution of water-quality constituents of concern.Data from the retrospective data base verify that nitrate, pesticides, and dissolved solids (salinity) are important water-quality concerns in the High Plains study area. Sixteen percent of all measured nitrate concentrations were larger than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water standard of 10 milligrams per liter. In about 70 percent of the counties within the High Plains study area, nitrate concentrations for 1980-98 were significantly larger than for 1930-69. While nitrate concentrations are largest where depth to water is shallow, concentrations also have increased in the Ogallala Formation where depth to water is large. Pesticide data primarily are available only in the northern half of the study area. About 50 pesticides were detected in the High Plains study area, but only four pesticides (atrazine, alachlor, cyanazine, and simazine) had concentrations exceeding a drinking-water standard. The occasional detection of pesticides in deeper parts of the Ogallala Formation indicates that contamination pathways exist. Dissolved solids, which are a direct measure of salinity, had 29 percent of measured concentrations in excess of the secondary drinking-water standard of 500 milligrams per liter. Comparison of dissolved-solids concentrations prior to 1980 to concentrations after 1980 indicates dissolved-solids concentrations have increased in the alluvial valleys of the Platte, the Republican, and the Arkansas Rivers, as well as in the Ogallala Formation?South hydrogeologic unit.Water-quality results indicate that human activities are affecting the water of the High Plains aquifer. Because there is a potential for water quality to become impaired relative to the historical uses of the aquifer, water quality needs to be considered when evaluating the sustainability of the High Plains aquifer. Data collected as part of the High Plains Regional Ground-Water Study will help to fill in gaps in water-quality information and provide additional information for understanding the factors that govern ambient water quality.

Climatology of the autumn Red Sea trough

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Awad, Adel M.; Mashat, Abdul-Wahab S.

2018-03-01

In this study, the Sudan low and the associated Red Sea trough (RST) are objectively identified using the mean sea level pressure (SLP) data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis dataset covering the period 1955-2015. The Sudan low was detected in approximately 60.6% of the autumn periods, and approximately 83% of the detected low-pressure systems extended into RSTs, with most generated at night and during cold months. The distribution of the RSTs demonstrated that Sudan, South Sudan and Red Sea are the primary development areas of the RSTs, generating 97% of the RSTs in the study period. In addition, the outermost areas affected by RSTs, which include the southern, central and northern Red Sea areas, received approximately 91% of the RSTs originating from the primary generation areas. The synoptic features indicated that a Sudan low developed into an RST when the Sudan low deepened in the atmosphere, while the low pressures over the southern Arabian Peninsula are shallow and the anticyclonic systems are weakened over the northern Red Sea. Moreover, stabile areas over Africa and Arabian Peninsula form a high stability gradient around the Red Sea and the upper maximum winds weaken. The results of the case studies indicate that RSTs extend northward when the upper cyclonic and anticyclonic systems form a high geopotential gradient over Arabian Peninsula. Furthermore, the RST is oriented from the west to the east when the Azores high extends eastward and the Siberian high shrinks eastward or shifts northward.

In-season wheat sown area mapping for Afghanistan using high resolution optical and RADAR images in cloud platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matin, M. A.; Tiwari, V. K.; Qamer, F. M.; Yadav, N. K.; Ellenburg, W. L.; Bajracharya, B.; Vadrevu, K.; Rushi, B. R.; Stanikzai, N.; Yusafi, W.; Rahmani, H.

2017-12-01

Afghanistan has only 11% of arable land while wheat is the major crop with 80% of total cereal planted area. The production of wheat is therefore highly critical to the food security of the country with population of 35 million among which 30% are food insecure. The lack of timely availability of data on crop sown area and production hinders decision on regular grain import policies as well as log term planning for self-sustainability. The objective of this study is to develop an operational in-season wheat area mapping system to support the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) for annual food security planning. In this study, we used 10m resolution sentinel - 2 optical images in combination with sentinel - 1 SAR data to classify wheat area. The available provincial crop calendar and field data collected by MAIL was used for classification and validation. Since the internet and computing infrastructure in Afghanistan is very limited thus cloud computing platform of Google Earth Engine (GEE) is used to accomplish this work. During the assessment it is observed that the smaller size of wheat plots and mixing of wheat with other crops makes it difficult to achieve expected accuracy of wheat area particularly in rain fed areas. The cloud cover during the wheat growing season limits the availability of valid optical satellite data. In the first phase of assessment important learnings points were captured. In an extremely challenging security situation field data collection require use of innovative approaches for stratification of sampling sites as well as use of robust mobile app with adequate training of field staff. Currently, GEE assets only contain Sentinel-2 Level 1C product which limits the classification accuracy. In representative areas, where Level 2A product was developed and applied a significant improvement in accuracy is observed. Development of high resolution agro-climatic zones map, will enable extrapolating crop growth calendars, collected from representative areas, across entire study area. While the present study shows a great potential for operational wheat area monitoring, a systematic approach for sample data collection and better understanding of cropping calendar will improve the results significantly.

In-season wheat sown area mapping for Afghanistan using high resolution optical and RADAR images in cloud platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matin, M. A.; Tiwari, V. K.; Qamer, F. M.; Yadav, N. K.; Ellenburg, W. L.; Bajracharya, B.; Vadrevu, K.; Rushi, B. R.; Stanikzai, N.; Yusafi, W.; Rahmani, H.

2016-12-01

Afghanistan has only 11% of arable land while wheat is the major crop with 80% of total cereal planted area. The production of wheat is therefore highly critical to the food security of the country with population of 35 million among which 30% are food insecure. The lack of timely availability of data on crop sown area and production hinders decision on regular grain import policies as well as log term planning for self-sustainability. The objective of this study is to develop an operational in-season wheat area mapping system to support the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) for annual food security planning. In this study, we used 10m resolution sentinel - 2 optical images in combination with sentinel - 1 SAR data to classify wheat area. The available provincial crop calendar and field data collected by MAIL was used for classification and validation. Since the internet and computing infrastructure in Afghanistan is very limited thus cloud computing platform of Google Earth Engine (GEE) is used to accomplish this work. During the assessment it is observed that the smaller size of wheat plots and mixing of wheat with other crops makes it difficult to achieve expected accuracy of wheat area particularly in rain fed areas. The cloud cover during the wheat growing season limits the availability of valid optical satellite data. In the first phase of assessment important learnings points were captured. In an extremely challenging security situation field data collection require use of innovative approaches for stratification of sampling sites as well as use of robust mobile app with adequate training of field staff. Currently, GEE assets only contain Sentinel-2 Level 1C product which limits the classification accuracy. In representative areas, where Level 2A product was developed and applied a significant improvement in accuracy is observed. Development of high resolution agro-climatic zones map, will enable extrapolating crop growth calendars, collected from representative areas, across entire study area. While the present study shows a great potential for operational wheat area monitoring, a systematic approach for sample data collection and better understanding of cropping calendar will improve the results significantly.

Classification of irrigated land using satellite imagery, the High Plains aquifer, nominal date 1992

USGS Publications Warehouse

Qi, Sharon L.; Konduris, Alexandria; Litke, David W.; Dupree, Jean

2002-01-01

Satellite imagery from the Landsat Thematic Mapper (nominal date 1992) was used to classify and map the location of irrigated land across the High Plains aquifer. The High Plains aquifer underlies 174,000 square miles in parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a waterquality study of the High Plains aquifer as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program. To help interpret data and select sites for the study, it is helpful to know the location of irrigated land within the study area. To date, the only information available for the entire area is 20 years old. To update the data on irrigated land, 40 summer and 40 spring images (nominal date 1992) were acquired from the National Land Cover Data set and processed using a band-ratio method (Landsat Thematic Mapper band 4 divided by band 3) to enhance the vegetation signatures. The study area was divided into nine subregions with similar environmental characteristics, and a band-ratio threshold was selected from imagery in each subregion that differentiated the cutoff between irrigated and nonirrigated land. The classified images for each subregion were mosaicked to produce an irrigated land map for the study area. The total amount of irrigated land classified from the 1992 imagery was 13.1 million acres, or about 12 percent of the total land in the High Plains. This estimate is approximately 1.5 percent greater than the amount of irrigated land reported in the 1992 Census of Agriculture (12.8 millions acres). This information was also compared to a similar data set based on 1980 imagery. The 1980 data classified 13.7 million acres as irrigated. Although the change in the amount of irrigated land between the two times was not substantial, the location of the irrigated land did shift from areas where there were large ground-water-level declines to other areas where ground-water levels were static or rising.

The large area high resolution gamma ray astrophysics facility - HR-GRAF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fenyves, E. J.; Chaney, R. C.; Hoffman, J. H.; Cline, D. B.; Atac, M.; Park, J.; White, S. R.; Zych, A. D.; Tumer, Q. T.; Hughes, E. B.

1990-03-01

The long-term program is described in terms of its equipment, scientific objectives, and long-range scientific studies. A prototype of a space-based large-area high-resolution gamma-ray facility (HR-GRAF) is being developed to examine pointlike and diffuse gamma-ray sources in the range 1 MeV-100 GeV. The instrument for the facility is proposed to have high angular and energy resolution and very high sensitivity to permit the study of the proposed objects. The primary research targets include the mapping of galactic gamma radiation, observing the angular variations of diffuse gamma rays, and studying the Galactic center with particular emphasis on the hypothetical black hole. Also included in the research plans are obtaining data on gamma-ray bursters, investigating the transmission of gamma rays from cold dark matter, and studying nuclear gamma-ray lines.

Laser and high-frequency cauthery gingivectomy in nonperiodontal indications: assessment and comparison of techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartak, Petr; Smucler, Roman

2003-06-01

The authors have verified the efficiency and safety of laser and high-frequency gingivectomy in non-periodontal indications. Within a prospective, non-selective study, they treated and monitored 357 dental areas in 139 teeth.Out of the total number, 248 areas were treated wtih a diode laser, 980nm; 109 areas with high-frequency electrocautery. The following parameters were monitored: a) regeneration of the marginal gingiva; b) generation of iatrogenic recessions or periodontal pockets; c) bleeding from gingival sulcus during probing; d) changes in tooth vitality; e) patient's subjective evaluation. The authors identified a high degree of safety in both laser and high-frequency gingivectomy, with no significant difference between these two methods. Laser gingivectomy appears to have a wider indication range, while high-frequency gingivectomy requires lower financial expenses.

Urbanization, mainly rurality, but not altitude is associated with dyslipidemia profiles.

PubMed

Lazo-Porras, Maria; Bernabe-Ortiz, Antonio; Quispe, Renato; Málaga, German; Smeeth, Liam; Gilman, Robert H; Checkley, William; Miranda, J Jaime

Geographical and environmental features such as urbanization and altitude may influence individual's lipid profiles because of the diversity of human-environment interactions including lifestyles. To characterize the association between altitude and urbanization and lipid profile among Peruvian adults aged ≥35 years. Cross-sectional analysis of the CRONICAS Cohort Study. The outcomes of interest were 6 dyslipidemia traits: hypertriglyceridemia, high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), nonisolated low HDL-c, isolated low HDL-c, and high non-HDL-c. The exposures of interest were urbanization level (highly urban, urban, semi-urban, and rural) and altitude (high altitude vs sea level). Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated using Poisson regression models with robust variance adjusting for potential confounders. Data from 3037 individuals, 48.5% males, mean age of 55.6 (standard deviation ±12.7) years, were analyzed. The most common dyslipidemia pattern was high non-HDL-c with a prevalence of 88.0% (95% CI: 84.9%-90.7%) in the rural area and 96.0% (95% CI: 94.5%-97.1%) in the semi-urban area. Relative to the highly urban area, living in rural areas was associated with a lower prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia (PR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.56-0.99) and high non-HDL-c (PR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.93-0.99), whereas living in semi-urban areas was associated with higher prevalence high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (PR = 1.37; 95% CI: 1.11-1.67). Compared with sea level areas, high-altitude areas had lower prevalence of high non-HDL-c (PR = 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95-0.99). Urbanization but not altitude was associated to several dyslipidemia traits, with the exception of high non-HDL-c in high altitude settings. Copyright © 2017 National Lipid Association. All rights reserved.

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

PubMed

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

2017-07-01

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

Determination of the rockfall source in an urban settlement area by using a rule-based fuzzy evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aksoy, H.; Ercanoglu, M.

2006-10-01

The evaluation of the rockfall initiation mechanism and the simulation of the runout behavior is an important issue in the prevention and remedial measures for potential rockfall hazards in highway protection, in forest preservation, and especially in urban settlement areas. In most of the studies in the literature, the extent of the rockfall hazard was determined by various techniques basing on the selection of a rockfall source, generally defined as zones of rock bodies having slope angles higher than a certain value, proposed by general practice. In the present study, it was aimed to carry out a rule-based fuzzy analysis on the discontinuity data of andesites in the city of Ankara, Turkey, in order to bring a different and rather systematic approach to determine the source areas for rockfall hazard in an urban settlement, based on the discontinuity and natural slope features. First, to obtain rock source areas (RSAs), data obtained from the field studies were combined with a rule-based fuzzy evaluation, incorporating the altitude difference, the number of discontinuities, the number of wedges and the number of potential slides as the parameters of the fuzzy sets. After processing the outputs of the rule-based fuzzy system and producing the linguistic definitions, it could be possible to obtain potential RSAs. According to the RSA maps, 1.7% of the study area was found to have "high RSA", and 5.8% of the study area was assigned as "medium RSA". Then, potential rockfall hazard map was prepared. At the final stage, based upon the high and medium RSAs, 3.6% of the study area showed "high rockfall potential", while areal distribution of "medium rockfall potential" was found as 7.9%. Both RSA and potential rockfall hazard map were in accordance with the observations performed in the field.

Assessment of the intrinsic vulnerability of agricultural land to water and nitrogen losses: case studies in Italy and Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aschonitis, V. G.; Mastrocicco, M.; Colombani, N.; Salemi, E.; Castaldelli, G.

2014-09-01

LOS indices (abbr. of Losses) can be used for the assessment of the intrinsic vulnerability of agricultural land to water and nitrogen losses through percolation and runoff. The indices were applied on the lowland region of Ferrara Province (FP) in Italy and the upland region of Sarigkiol Basin (SB) in Greece. The most vulnerable zones in FP were the coastal areas consisting of high permeability sandy dunes and the areas close to riverbanks and palaeochannels, and in SB were the areas characterized by high slopes and high permeability soils at high altitude and areas belonging to the upper part of the alluvial plain close to the boundaries between agricultural land and mountainous regions. The application of LOS indices highlighted the specific features of both lowland and upland regions that contribute to water and nitrogen losses and showed their ability for use as tools in designing environmental management plans.

Experiences that influence a student's choice on majoring in physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobbin, Donya Rae

Currently the production of college graduates with science and engineering degrees is insufficient to fill the increasing number of jobs requiring these skills. This study focuses on physics majors with an in-depth examination of student transitions from high school to college. Many different areas of influence could affect a student's decision to major in physics. The first phase of this study addresses all of the potential areas of influence identified from the literature. The goal was to identify common influences that might be used to increase students' interest in majoring in physics. Subjects (N=35) from the first phase were recruited from physics majors at diverse Michigan colleges and universities. The second phase of this study explored, in more depth, important areas of influence identified in the first phase of the study. Subjects (N=94) from the second phase were recruited from diverse colleges and universities in Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. The interviews were also conducted via email. Approximately half of the students in the study decided to major in physics while still in high school. Their reasons relate to many of the areas of influence. For example, high school physics teachers were cited as a strong influence in many students' decisions to major in physics. Influential physics teachers were described as being helpful, encouraging and interesting. The teachers also need to be their students' number one cheerleader and not their number one critic. Some areas of influence were found to be different for males vs. females. A high percentage of all physics majors had influential adults with careers in physical or biological science fields. This percentage was even larger for female physics majors. Female students also showed a greater initial interest in astronomy than the male students. Thus, high school and college physics teachers should seek to expose students to science-related careers and adults with these careers. Astronomy is also an important and often over looked entry into physics.

Are neighbourhood food resources distributed inequitably by income and race in the USA? Epidemiological findings across the urban spectrum

PubMed Central

Richardson, Andrea S; Boone-Heinonen, Janne; Popkin, Barry M

2012-01-01

Objective Many recent policies focus on socioeconomic inequities in availability of healthy food stores and restaurants. Yet understanding of how socioeconomic inequities vary across neighbourhood racial composition and across the range from rural to urban settings is limited, largely due to lack of large, geographically and socio-demographically diverse study populations. Using a national sample, the authors examined differences in neighbourhood food resource availability according to neighbourhood-level poverty and racial/ethnic population in non-urban, low-density urban and high-density urban areas. Design Cross-sectional data from an observational cohort study representative of the US middle and high school-aged population in 1994 followed into young adulthood. Participants Using neighbourhood characteristics of participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Wave III, 2001–2002; n=13 995 young adults aged 18–28 years representing 7588 US block groups), the authors examined associations between neighbourhood poverty and race/ethnicity with neighbourhood food resource availability in urbanicity-stratified multivariable linear regression. Primary and secondary outcome measures Neighbourhood availability of grocery/supermarkets, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants (measured as number of outlets per 100 km roadway). Results Neighbourhood race and income disparities were most pronounced in low-density urban areas, where high-poverty/high-minority areas had lower availability of grocery/supermarkets (β coefficient (β)=–1.91, 95% CI –2.73 to –1.09) and convenience stores (β=–2.38, 95% CI –3.62 to –1.14) and greater availability of fast-food restaurants (β=4.87, 95% CI 2.26 to 7.48) than low-poverty/low-minority areas. However, in high-density urban areas, high-poverty/low-minority neighbourhoods had comparatively greater availability of grocery/supermarkets (β=8.05, 95% CI 2.52 to 13.57), convenience stores (β=2.89, 95% CI 0.64 to 5.14) and fast-food restaurants (β=4.03, 95% CI 1.97 to 6.09), relative to low-poverty/low-minority areas. Conclusions In addition to targeting disproportionate fast-food availability in disadvantaged dense urban areas, our findings suggest that policies should also target disparities in grocery/supermarket and fast-food restaurant availability in low-density areas. PMID:22505308

Albedo and land surface temperature shift in hydrocarbon seepage potential area, case study in Miri Sarawak Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suherman, A.; Rahman, M. Z. A.; Busu, I.

2014-02-01

The presence of hydrocarbon seepage is generally associated with rock or mineral alteration product exposures, and changes of soil properties which manifest with bare development and stress vegetation. This alters the surface thermodynamic properties, changes the energy balance related to the surface reflection, absorption and emission, and leads to shift in albedo and LST. Those phenomena may provide a guide for seepage detection which can be recognized inexpensively by remote sensing method. District of Miri is used for study area. Available topographic maps of Miri and LANDSAT ETM+ were used for boundary construction and determination albedo and LST. Three land use classification methods, namely fixed, supervised and NDVI base classifications were employed for this study. By the intensive land use classification and corresponding statistical comparison was found a clearly shift on albedo and land surface temperature between internal and external seepage potential area. The shift shows a regular pattern related to vegetation density or NDVI value. In the low vegetation density or low NDVI value, albedo of internal area turned to lower value than external area. Conversely in the high vegetation density or high NDVI value, albedo of internal area turned to higher value than external area. Land surface temperature of internal seepage potential was generally shifted to higher value than external area in all of land use classes. In dense vegetation area tend to shift the temperature more than poor vegetation area.

Multiscale Simulations of ALD in Cross Flow Reactors

DOE PAGES

Yanguas-Gil, Angel; Libera, Joseph A.; Elam, Jeffrey W.

2014-08-13

In this study, we have developed a multiscale simulation code that allows us to study the impact of surface chemistry on the coating of large area substrates with high surface area/high aspect-ratio features. Our code, based on open-source libraries, takes advantage of the ALD surface chemistry to achieve an extremely efficient two-way coupling between reactor and feature length scales, and it can provide simulated quartz crystal microbalance and mass spectrometry data at any point of the reactor. By combining experimental surface characterization with simple analysis of growth profiles in a tubular cross flow reactor, we are able to extract amore » minimal set of reactions to effectively model the surface chemistry, including the presence of spurious CVD, to evaluate the impact of surface chemistry on the coating of large, high surface area substrates.« less

Mineral resources of the Sheepshead Mountains, Wildcat Canyon, and Table Mountain Wilderness Study Areas, Malheur and Harney counties, Oregon

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

Sherrod, D.R.; Griscom, A.; Turner, R.L.

1988-01-01

The Sheepshead Mountains, Wildcat Canyon, and Table Mountain Wilderness Study Areas encompass most of the Sheepshead Mountains in southeast Oregon. The mountains comprise several fault blocks of middle and late Miocene basalt, basaltic andesite, andesite, and dacite lava; pyroclastic and sedimentary rocks are minor. The three wilderness study areas have low resource potential for gold, silver, and oil and gas. A few small areas have low-to-high resource potential for diatomite, as indicated by the occurrence of low-grade diatomite. Some fault zones have a moderate potential for geothermal energy.

Assessing fire risk in the wildland-urban interface.

Treesearch

Robert G. Haight; David T. Cleland; Roger B. Hammer; Volker B. Radeloff; T. Scott Rupp

2004-01-01

Identifying areas of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) that are prone to severe wildfire is an important step in prioritizing fire prevention and preparedness projects. Our objective is to determine at a regional scale the relative risk of severe wildfire in WUI areas and the numbers of people and houses in high-risk areas. For a study area in northern lower Michigan...

Agricultural recovery of a formerly contaminated area: Establishment of a high-resolution quantitative protein map of mature flax seeds harvested from the remediated chernobyl area

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In recent years there has been an increasing tendency toward remediation of contaminated areas for agricultural purposes. The study described herein is part of a comprehensive, long-term characterization of crop plants grown in the area formerly contaminated with radioactivity. As a first step, we ...

Assessing fire risk in the wildland-urban interface

Treesearch

Robert G. Haight; David T. Cleland; Roger B. Hammer; Volker C. Radeloff; T. Scott Rupp

2004-01-01

Identifying areas of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) that are prone to severe wildfire is an important step in prioritizing fire prevention and preparedness projects. Our objective is to determine at a regional scale the relative risk of severe wildfire in WUI areas and the numbers of people and houses in high-risk areas. For a study area in northern lower Michigan...

Constructions of Literacy: A Study of Reading Instruction in Middle School Content Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomson, Louise Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Today's adolescents are expected to read and write well at highly competent levels and the content area literacy skills they will acquire in adolescence are necessary for academic achievement as well as life-long learning. In the middle grades, content area literacy skills are perfected through work in various curricular areas, which are housed in…

Quality characterization of groundwater in Koilsagar project area, Mahabubnagar District, Andhra Pradesh, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raju, C. Sudarsana; Goud, P. V. Prakash

1990-09-01

Studies of groundwater chemistry in the Koilsagar project area of Andhra Pradesh indicate that the waters are sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, mixed cationic-mixed anionic, mixed cationic Na dominating bicarbonate, and mixed cationic Ca dominating bicarbonate types. Of them, sodium bicarbonate and mixed cationic Mg dominating bicarbonate types of waters are more prevalent. Isocone mapping of specific conductance indicates that the ionic concentration increases from east to west in the area. Graphical treatment of chemical data reveals that, in general, the area has basic water, whereas the left flank canal area is dominated by secondary alkaline water, and Pallamarri and Pedda Rajmur villages have strongly acidic waters. Ion-exchange studies show that cation-anion exchanges exist all over the area except for two places, which have a base exchange hardened type of water. Graphical representation further shows that most of the area has medium salinity-low sodium (C2S1) water useful for irrigation purposes. High salinity-low sodium (C3S1) and high salinity-medium sodium (C3S2) waters are present in some areas, which need adequate drainage to overcome the salinity problem.

High Surface Area Dendrite Nanoelectrodes for Electrochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nesbitt, Nathan; Glover, Jennifer; Goyal, Saurabh; Simidjiysky, Svetoslav; Naughton, Michael

2014-03-01

Solution-based electrodeposition of metal using a low ion concentration, surface passivation agents, and/or electrochemical crystal conditioning has allowed for the formation of high surface area metal electrodes, useful for Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical sensors. Additionally, high frequency electrical oscillations have been used to electrically connect co-planar electrodes, a process called directed electrochemical nanowire assembly (DENA). These approaches aim to control the crystal face that metal atoms in solution will nucleate onto, thus causing anisotropic growth of metal crystals. However, DENA has not been used to create high surface area electrodes, and no study has been conducted on the effect of micron-scale surface topography on the initial nucleation of metal crystals on the electrode surface. When DENA is used to create a high surface area electrode, such a texture has a strong impact on the subsequent topography of the three dimensional dendritic structures by limiting the areal density of crystals on the electrode surface. Such structures both demonstrate unique physics concerning the nucleation of metal dendrites, and offer a unique and highly facile fabrication method of high surface area electrodes, useful for chemical and biological sensing. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. (DGE-1258923).

Mapping of Geographically Isolated Wetlands of Western Siberia Using High Resolution Space Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dyukarev, E.; Pologova, N.; Dyukarev, A.; Lane, C.; Autrey, B. C.

2014-12-01

Using the remote sensing data for integrated study of natural objects is actual for investigation of difficult to access areas of West Siberia. The research of this study focuses on determining the extent and spectral signatures of isolated wetlands within Ob-Tom Interfluve area using Landsat and Quickbird space images. High-resolution space images were carefully examined and wetlands were manually delineated. Wetlands have clear visible signs at the high resolution space images. 567 wetlands were recognized as isolated wetlands with the area about 10 000 ha (of 2.5% of the study area). Isolated wetlands with area less 2 ha are the most frequent. Half of the total amount of wetlands has area less than 6.4 ha. The largest isolated wetland occupies 797 ha, and only 5% have area more than 50 ha. The Landsat 7 ETM+ data were used for analysis of vegetation structure and spectral characteristics of wetlands. The masked isolated wetlands image was classified into 12 land cover classes using ISODATA unsupervised classification. The attribution of unsupervised classification results allowed us to clearly recognize 7 types of wetlands: tall, low and sparse ryams (Pine-Shrub-Sphagnum community), open wetlands with shrub, moss or sedge cover, and open water objects. Analysis of spectral profiles for all classes has shown that Landsat spectral bands 4 and 5 have higher variability. These bands allow to separate wetland classed definitely. Accuracy assessment of isolated wetland map shows a good agreement with expert field data. The work was supported by grants ISTC № 4079.

Susceptibility of bacterial isolates from community-acquired infections in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia to macrolide antibiotics.

PubMed

Lubell, Yoel; Turner, Paul; Ashley, Elizabeth A; White, Nicholas J

2011-10-01

To review the literature on the susceptibility of common community pathogens in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia to the macrolide antibiotics. Inclusion criteria required that isolates were collected since 2004 to ensure results were of contemporary relevance. The data were aggregated by region, age group and sterility of site of culture sample. A total of 51 studies were identified, which reported the macrolide antimicrobial susceptibilities of common bacterial pathogens isolated since 2004. In general, there was less macrolide resistance in African than in Asian isolates. Most African studies reported high levels of macrolide susceptibility in Streptococcus pneumoniae, whereas most Chinese studies reported high levels of resistance. There was very little information available for Gram-negative organisms. Susceptibility of the pneumococcus to macrolides in SSA remains high in many areas, and good activity of azithromycin has been shown against Salmonellae spp. in Asia. In urban areas where high antibiotic consumption is prevalent, there was evidence of increased resistance to macrolides. However, there is no information on susceptibility from large areas in both continents. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Particulate Matter Concentration Levels in South Central Richmond, California (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonner, B.; Byias, C.; Cuff, K. E.; Diaz, J.; Love, K.; Marks-Block, T.; McLane, F.; Mollique, Z.; Montes, E.; Ross, R.; Washington, B.

2009-12-01

South Central Richmond, California is the home of one of the nation’s most innovative green workforce training centers, Richmond BUILD - Green Jobs Training facility. A near constant stream of young people engaged in training activities, instructors, invited guests, and journalists of various ages can be seen moving in and out of the facility nearly every day of the week throughout a given year. Additionally, the comings and goings of young children and adults associated with a mid-sized elementary school just north of the facility contributes to the general area’s substantial human traffic. Unfortunately, however, a major highway, Interstate 580, a major thoroughfare, 23rd Street and a railway line operated by Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and the Richmond Pacific Railroad frame the triangular area within which these two sites are situated. In addition, a major petrochemical complex and several shipping facilities are located less than three kilometers away north and west of this area. As part of a general assessment of air quality in this heavily human traveled area, we conducted a study of particulate matter (PM) concentrations over a five-month period beginning in August of 2009. Measurements were made at a variety of locations, and results were used to map the spatial distribution of PM of various sizes. Regions of high concentration levels were identified, and these particular areas then were monitored over time. Preliminary results of our study indicate that regions with high concentrations are consistent across the range of particle sizes measured, which suggests a common source for PM found in the study area. As these regions are located close to a major thoroughfare and railway line, we believe that diesel-burning vehicles are major contributors to the PM levels found in the study area. Time series results suggest a fairly strong correlation between higher than average PM concentrations and abnormally high wind gusts. On days when wind gusts are high, areas of high concentrations were observed to shift slightly in the westerly direction (i.e., prevailing wind direction). Overall, preliminary results of our study suggest that while the air quality in the area immediately surrounding Richmond BUILD and the elementary school is not the poorest in the general region, because they are located close to a major thoroughfare and a railway line these sites are likely to experience poor air quality at some point throughout the year due to shifting wind patterns. As a result, we recommend that signs be posted to warn visitors of the potential for extremely poor air quality.

Agents affecting health of mother and child in a rural area of Kenya. XVIII. Fertility, mortality and migration in 1975-1978.

PubMed

Van Ginneken, J K; Voorhoeve, A M; Omondi-Odhiambo; Muller, A S; Blok, P G; W'Oigo, H O

1980-06-01

The results reported here are based on age-specific rates and are, therefore, more sensitive and meaningful as indicators of fertility and mortality than the crude rates mentioned in the previous article. The results confirm that, compared to world standards, the study area is characterized by a high level of fertility and a fairly low level of mortality. Fertility and mortality are, however, lower in the study area in comparison to Kenya as a whole. Another characteristic is high population mobility which is of two types: temporary migration of absent members of the population, and permanent in- and out-migration.

Integrated approach for demarcating subsurface pollution and saline water intrusion zones in SIPCOT area: a case study from Cuddalore in Southern India.

PubMed

Sankaran, S; Sonkamble, S; Krishnakumar, K; Mondal, N C

2012-08-01

This paper deals with a systematic hydrogeological, geophysical, and hydrochemical investigations carried out in SIPCOT area in Southern India to demarcate groundwater pollution and saline intrusion through Uppanar River, which flows parallel to sea coast with high salinity (average TDS 28, 870 mg/l) due to back waters as well as discharge of industrial and domestic effluents. Hydrogeological and geophysical investigations comprising topographic survey, self-potential, multi-electrode resistivity imaging, and water quality monitoring were found the extent of saline water intrusion in the south and pockets of subsurface pollution in the north of the study area. Since the area is beset with highly permeable unconfined quaternary alluvium forming potential aquifer at shallow depth, long-term excessive pumping and influence of the River have led to lowering of the water table and degradation of water quality through increased salinity there by generating reversal of hydraulic gradient in the south. The improper management of industrial wastes and left over chemicals by closed industries has led surface and subsurface pollution in the north of the study area.

Value of electrical stimulation and high frequency oscillations (80–500 Hz) in identifying epileptogenic areas during intracranial EEG recordings

PubMed Central

Jacobs, Julia; Zijlmans, Maeike; Zelmann, Rina; Olivier, André; Hall, Jeffery; Gotman, Jean; Dubeau, François

2013-01-01

Summary Purpose Electrical stimulation (ES) is used during intracranial electroencephalography (EEG) investigations to delineate epileptogenic areas and seizure-onset zones (SOZs) by provoking afterdischarges (ADs) or patients’ typical seizure. High frequency oscillations (HFOs—ripples, 80–250 Hz; fast ripples, 250–500 Hz) are linked to seizure onset. This study investigates whether interictal HFOs are more frequent in areas with a low threshold to provoke ADs or seizures. Methods Intracranial EEG studies were filtered at 500 Hz and sampled at 2,000 Hz. HFOs were visually identified. Twenty patients underwent ES, with gradually increasing currents. Results were interpreted as agreeing or disagreeing with the intracranial study (clinical-EEG seizure onset defined the SOZ). Current thresholds provoking an AD or seizure were correlated with the rate of HFOs of each channel. Results ES provoked a seizure in 12 and ADs in 19 patients. Sixteen patients showed an ES response inside the SOZ, and 10 had additional areas with ADs. The response was more specific for mesiotemporal than for neocortical channels. HFO rates were negatively correlated with thresholds for ES responses; especially in neo-cortical regions; areas with low threshold and high HFO rate were colocalized even outside the SOZ. Discussion Areas showing epileptic HFOs colocalize with those reacting to ES. HFOs may represent a pathologic correlate of regions showing an ES response; both phenomena suggest a more widespread epileptogenicity. PMID:19845730

Designing medical internships to improve recruitment and retention of doctors in rural areas.

PubMed

Gaski, Margrete; Abelsen, Birgit

2017-01-01

The medical internship as a way of exposing young doctors to training in a rural context is regarded as a useful tool to recruit and retain doctors in rural areas. Norwegian health authorities tested an arrangement of early sign-up for medical internships in the Finnmark County in Norway. To report on the effects of the early sign-up for medical internship. This study compares the choice of workplace after internship among physicians who signed up early with those candidates assigned to the raffle model of internship in the study area, and in a comparison area experiencing similar recruitment and retention problems. The proportion of interns who signed up early that still worked as physicians in the study area by April 2014 (29%) was twice as high as among the regular interns (15%) and interns in the comparison area (14%). Among the 59 interns who signed up early still working in the study area in April 2014, 33% had grown up in this area. However, the greatest benefits were for the most densely populated municipalities in the study area. The early sign-up model had a net contribution of proving additional physicians in the study area.

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

PubMed

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

2011-02-01

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

Spatial distribution of soil cadmium and its influencing factors in peri-urban farmland: a case study in the Jingyang District, Sichuan, China.

PubMed

Li, Bing; Xiao, Rui; Wang, Changquan; Cao, Linhai; Zhang, Yi; Zheng, Shunqiang; Yang, Lan; Guo, Yong

2017-01-01

Semi-agricultural ecosystems in peri-urban areas are susceptible to contamination. The spatial distribution and influencing factors of such pollution are unclear and poorly constrained in many areas worldwide. Therefore, studying the problems of soil pollution in peri-urban areas is critical for environmental management and agricultural production. In this paper, with cadmium (Cd) as the target pollutant, the spatiotemporal variations of soil cadmium pollution and the relative importance of the affecting factors were analyzed at a peri-urban area from the Jingyang District, Sichuan, China. Statistical results showed that the farmland in the study area could be considered moderately soil Cd-polluted, under the dual influence of natural factors and human activity. In particular, the soil Cd concentration in Tianyuan and Bajiaojing exceeded 0.5 mg kg -1 , for intensive industrial enterprises are distributed in these areas. Correspondingly, the geoaccumulation index also showed that the contamination of Cd in this area was moderately polluted. Moreover, the ecological risk index was 80% in the study area, indicating that the soil Cd pollution potential risk was moderate to high. High geological background values (soil Cd = 0.29 mg kg -1 ), river migration, industrial enterprises, and traffic significantly influenced soil Cd pollution, with natural geological factors playing greater roles. The significant horizontal-spatial effective distances away from Shiting River, Deyang-Aba Highway, and chemical plants were 200, 400, and 100 m, respectively. These results will be useful in guiding farmland cultivation and pollution remediation effectively in the peri-urban areas.

Differences in the distribution of risk factors for stroke among the high-risk population in urban and rural areas of Eastern China.

PubMed

Mi, Te; Sun, Shangwen; Du, Yifeng; Guo, Shougang; Cong, Lin; Cao, Mingfeng; Sun, Qinjian; Sun, Yi; Qu, Chuanqiang

2016-05-01

Considering the program of screening for risk factors of stroke in Eastern China, the aim of this study was to compare the distribution differences in risk factors for stroke among the high-risk population living in urban and rural areas. A total of 231,289 residents were screened and basic information collected. Risk factors for stroke among the high-risk population were compared between the urban and rural groups. A total of 117,776 high-risk residents from urban areas and 113,513 from rural areas were included in the analysis. The prevalence of hypertension was much higher in rural areas (73.3%) than that in urban areas (64.1%). Dyslipidemia (48.9% vs. 26.9%), sport lack (46.6% vs. 31.6%), diabetes mellitus (21.3% vs. 16.5%), and atrial fibrillation (18.7% vs. 9.8%) were more prevalent in the urban group, while smoking (26.5% vs. 28.8%), previous stroke (10.1% vs. 16.9%), and transient ischemic attack (20.9% vs. 24.6%) were less prevalent. Among the population at high risk of stroke, there were significant differences in the distribution of the following risk factors between the urban and rural groups: hypertension, atrial fibrillation, dyslipidemia, lack of physical exercise, and a previous stroke.

Prediction of high-risk areas for visceral leishmaniasis using socioeconomic indicators and remote sensing data

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Spatial heterogeneity in the incidence of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important aspect to be considered in planning control actions for the disease. The objective of this study was to predict areas at high risk for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) based on socioeconomic indicators and remote sensing data. We applied classification and regression trees to develop and validate prediction models. Performance of the models was assessed by means of sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve. The model developed was able to discriminate 15 subsets of census tracts (CT) with different probabilities of containing CT with high risk of VL occurrence. The model presented, respectively, in the validation and learning samples, sensitivity of 79% and 52%, specificity of 75% and 66%, and area under the ROC curve of 83% and 66%. Considering the complex network of factors involved in the occurrence of VL in urban areas, the results of this study showed that the development of a predictive model for VL might be feasible and useful for guiding interventions against the disease, but it is still a challenge as demonstrated by the unsatisfactory predictive performance of the model developed. PMID:24885128

Using risk elasticity to prioritize risk reduction strategies for geographical areas and industry sectors.

PubMed

Li, Pei-Chiun; Ma, Hwong-Wen

2016-01-25

The total quantity of chemical emissions does not take into account their chemical toxicity, and fails to be an accurate indicator of the potential impact on human health. The sources of released contaminants, and therefore, the potential risk, also differ based on geography. Because of the complexity of the risk, there is no integrated method to evaluate the effectiveness of risk reduction. Therefore, this study developed a method to incorporate the spatial variability of emissions into human health risk assessment to evaluate how to effectively reduce risk using risk elasticity analysis. Risk elasticity analysis, the percentage change in risk in response to the percentage change in emissions, was adopted in this study to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of risk reduction. The results show that the main industry sectors are different in each area, and that high emission in an area does not correspond to high risk. Decreasing the high emissions of certain sectors in an area does not result in efficient risk reduction in this area. This method can provide more holistic information for risk management, prevent the development of increased risk, and prioritize the risk reduction strategies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Advanced Livestock Production: A Course of Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Larry E.

With the introduction of specialized courses of study in the third and fourth year of high school, it has become necessary to do more specialized work in the area of livestock production. The course is designed to provide a guideline to encourage intensified studies in this area, and outlines materials and methods, time allotment, and the use of…

Biodiversity and land degradation in the lower Euphrates subregion of Turkey.

PubMed

Ozturk, Munir; Kebapci, Umit; Gucel, Salih; Cetin, Esat; Altundag, Ernaz

2012-04-01

Atotal of 107 plant taxa were determined in this study, 24 being new records for the area. Out of 813 plant taxa reported from the study area 100 species couldn't be verified. The number of endemics in the study area is around 46. The majorfamilies and genera are Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae and Astragalus, Euphorbia, Allium and Trigonella. The area shows a relatively rich and highly diverse fauna. For terrestrial vertebrate species peculiarly showing marginal distribution, this area forms their northernmost distributional limits. Avifauna along the Euphrates valley is quite rich with 207 species. Globally threatened species, Geronticus eremita (Waldrapp), has been observed locally in the area. Many macromammal species once common have gone extinct. Out of 18 lizard species, 3 lizards are known only from the study area. There are 20 species of snakes, one being exclusively endemic to the study area. Nearly 30 fish species are found in Euphrates system. Very scanty information is available for the invertebrate fauna except for some groups of Mollusca and Arthropoda. The biodiversity of the area is under threat from recent developments and abiotic interferences.

High-gain Antenna & Terrain

NASA Image and Video Library

1997-07-06

Areas of rocky Martian terrain are seen in this image, taken by the Imager for Mars Pathfinder (IMP) on Sol 2. Portions of a lander petal and deflated airbag are at lower left. The dark disk at center is the high-gain antenna, and the silver cylindrical objects at upper right are part of the antenna's mechanism. An area of relatively smooth terrain is seen at upper right, which may offer clues to how this area was formed, and may be a future target for Sojourner's studies. The black area at lower right and small strip at top center is missing data. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00625

Initiation of Farm Safety Programs in the Arkansas Delta: A Case Study of Participatory Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richter, Jan S.; Hall, Becky G.; Deere, G. David

2007-01-01

Context: Outreach to high-risk communities is one of the goals of Area Health Education Centers. One such population is the farm community, which is known to suffer high rates of traumatic events. Purpose: To describe a participatory methods initiative by the Arkansas Delta Area Health Education Center and other agencies to address farm-related…

Somatic and Functional Status of Boys from Various Social and Environmental Categories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Domaradzki, Jaroslaw; Ignasiak, Zofia; Slawinska, Teresa

2009-01-01

Study aim: To assess the somatic and fitness status of adolescent boys from polluted industrial areas. Material and methods: A group of 313 boys aged 11-15 years from 5 villages located in the copper mine area in South-Western Poland were classified by the degree of lead and cadmium pollution (high--very high) and by parents' education…

Residents in a High Radon Potential Geographic Area: Their Risk Perception and Attitude toward Testing and Mitigation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferng, Shiaw-Fen; Lawson, Jay K.

1996-01-01

Results of a study in Boone County, Indiana--a high radon potential geographic area--show that residents' knowledge about radon is at a relatively superficial level. A significant correlation between radon knowledge and home radon tests is observed. Respondents chose the newspaper as the favorite medium through which to launch radon health…

STEPS TOWARD COMPENSATORY EDUCATION IN THE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS. HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS. REPORT OF AN EVALUATIVE STUDY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CITIZENS SCHOOLS COMMITTEE OF CHICAGO

THE CITIZENS COMMITTEE OFFERS SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPENSATORY EDUCATION TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL CHILDREN LIVING IN AREAS OF HIGH TRANSIENCY WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED A MEAGER EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND. THE SUGGESTIONS ARE--THAT CLASS SIZE BE LIMITED TO 25 STUDENTS. THAT THE LENGTH OF SCHOOL IN "DIFFICULT" AREAS BE LENGTHENED, AND THAT THE SALARY…

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

PubMed

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

2011-11-01

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

Mineral Resources of the Mount Nutt Wilderness Study Area, Mohave County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gray, Floyd; Jachens, Robert C.; Miller, Robert J.; Turner, Robert L.; Livo, Eric K.; Knepper, Daniel H.; Mariano, John; Almquist, Carl L.

1990-01-01

The Mount Nutt Wilderness Study Area (AZ-020-024) is located in the Black Mountains about 15 mi west of Kingman, Arizona. At the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, approximately 27,210 acres of the wilderness study area was evaluated for mineral resources (known) and mineral resource potential (undiscovered). In this report, the area studied is referred to as the 'wilderness study area' or simply 'the study area'; any reference to the Mount Nutt Wilderness Study Area refers only to that part of the wilderness study area (27,210 acres) for which a mineral survey was requested. The U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted geological, geochemical, and geophysical surveys to assess the identified mineral resources and mineral resource potential of the study area. Fieldwork for this report was carried out in 1987 and 1988. A gold resource totaling at least 56,000 troy oz has been identified at two sites in Secret Pass Canyon, less than 0.5 mi north of the study area. No other metallic mineral resources were identified inside the study area. An area near the center of the study area contains fire agate, a gem stone. On the basis of tonnage, site accessibility, and current production methods, this area is considered an indicated subeconomic fire-agate resource for the foreseeable future. Sand and gravel are present in the study area. An area surrounding the Tincup mine and including a small portion of the extreme north-central part of the study area has high potential for gold and low potential for silver, lead, and mercury. Three areas in the extreme northwestern, north-central, and southwestern parts of the study area have moderate potential for gold and low potential for silver, lead, and mercury. A small area near the known fire-agate resource in the south-central part of the study area has low potential for fire agate. Large areas in the eastern and central parts of the study area have low potential for perlite and zeolite resources. The entire study area has no potential for oil and gas and no potential for geothermal resources.

Exploring the Influence of Topographic Correction and SWIR Spectral Information Inclusion on Burnt Scars Detection From High Resolution EO Imagery: A Case Study Using ASTER imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Said, Yahia A.; Petropoulos, George; Srivastava, Prashant K.

2014-05-01

Information on burned area estimates is of key importance in environmental and ecological studies as well as in fire management including damage assessment and planning of post-fire recovery of affected areas. Earth Observation (EO) provides today the most efficient way in obtaining such information in a rapid, consistent and cost-effective manner. The present study aimed at exploring the effect of topographic correction to the burnt area delineation in conditions characteristic of a Mediterranean environment using ASTER high resolution multispectral remotely sensed imagery. A further objective was to investigate the potential added-value of the inclusion of the shortwave infrared (SWIR) bands in improving the retrievals of burned area cartography from the ASTER data. In particular the capability of the Maximum Likelihood (ML), the Support Vector Machines (SVMs) and Object-based Image Analysis (OBIA) classification techniques has been examined herein for the purposes of our study. As a case study is used a typical Mediterranean site on which a fire event occurred in Greece during the summer of 2007, for which post-fire ASTER imagery has been acquired. Our results indicated that the combination of topographic correction (ortho-rectification) with the inclusion of the SWIR bands returned the most accurate results in terms of burnt area mapping. In terms of image processing methods, OBIA showed the best results and found as the most promising approach for burned area mapping with least absolute difference from the validation polygon followed by SVM and ML. All in all, our study provides an important contribution to the understanding of the capability of high resolution imagery such as that from ASTER sensor and corroborates the usefulness particularly of the topographic correction as an image processing step when in delineating the burnt areas from such data. It also provides further evidence that use of EO technology can offer an effective practical tool for the extent of ecosystem destruction from wildfires, providing extremely useful information in co-ordinating efforts for the recovery of fire-affected ecosystems after wildfire. Keywords: Remote Sensing, ASTER, Burned area mapping, Maximum Likelihood, Support Vector Machines, Object-based image analysis, Greece

Cortical thickness and surface area in neonates at high risk for schizophrenia.

PubMed

Li, Gang; Wang, Li; Shi, Feng; Lyall, Amanda E; Ahn, Mihye; Peng, Ziwen; Zhu, Hongtu; Lin, Weili; Gilmore, John H; Shen, Dinggang

2016-01-01

Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with subtle abnormal cortical thickness and cortical surface area. However, it is unclear whether these abnormalities exist in neonates associated with genetic risk for schizophrenia. To this end, this preliminary study was conducted to identify possible abnormalities of cortical thickness and surface area in the high-genetic-risk neonates. Structural magnetic resonance images were acquired from offspring of mothers (N = 21) who had schizophrenia (N = 12) or schizoaffective disorder (N = 9), and also matched healthy neonates of mothers who were free of psychiatric illness (N = 26). Neonatal cortical surfaces were reconstructed and parcellated as regions of interest (ROIs), and cortical thickness for each vertex was computed as the shortest distance between the inner and outer surfaces. Comparisons were made for the average cortical thickness and total surface area in each of 68 cortical ROIs. After false discovery rate (FDR) correction, it was found that the female high-genetic-risk neonates had significantly thinner cortical thickness in the right lateral occipital cortex than the female control neonates. Before FDR correction, the high-genetic-risk neonates had significantly thinner cortex in the left transverse temporal gyrus, left banks of superior temporal sulcus, left lingual gyrus, right paracentral cortex, right posterior cingulate cortex, right temporal pole, and right lateral occipital cortex, compared with the control neonates. Before FDR correction, in comparison with control neonates, male high-risk neonates had significantly thicker cortex in the left frontal pole, left cuneus cortex, and left lateral occipital cortex; while female high-risk neonates had significantly thinner cortex in the bilateral paracentral, bilateral lateral occipital, left transverse temporal, left pars opercularis, right cuneus, and right posterior cingulate cortices. The high-risk neonates also had significantly smaller cortical surface area in the right pars triangularis (before FDR correction), compared with control neonates. This preliminary study provides the first evidence that early development of cortical thickness and surface area might be abnormal in the neonates at genetic risk for schizophrenia.

Multidecadal trends in area burned with high severity in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area 1880-2012

Treesearch

Penelope Morgan; Andrew T. Hudak; Ashley Wells; Sean A. Parks; L. Scott Baggett; Benjamin C. Bright; Patricia Green

2017-01-01

Multidecadal trends in areas burned with high severity shape ecological effects of fires, but most assessments are limited to ~30 years of satellite data. We analysed the proportion of area burned with high severity, the annual area burned with high severity, the probability areas burned with high severity and also the area reburned (all severities and high burn...

Association of area socioeconomic status with lung function in children.

PubMed

Wu, Yi-Fan; Wu, Cho-Kai; Chen, Duan-Rung; Chie, Wei-Chu; Lee, Yungling Leo

2012-12-01

The study investigates the association between area-level socioeconomic status (SES) and children's lung function. Participants were 3994 seventh grade students from the Taiwan Children Health Study living in 14 communities in Taiwan and were recruited in 2007. Area-level SES predictors were population size, occupation type, income and education level. Hierarchical linear models (HLM) were used to examine the effects of area-level SES on lung function, after accounting for area air pollution and individual SES (parental education and family income). Areas with high income were independently associated with lower child lung function. The coefficients for log transformation of area tax per person in HLM were -47.8 (95% confidence interval (CI): -80.9, -14.8) in FEV(1), -43.8 (95% CI: -75.2, -12.5) in FVC, -93.4 (95% CI: -179.3, -7.5) in FEF(25-75) and -203.2 (95% CI: -349.1, -57.2) in PEF. All SES predictors influenced in the same direction and affected males more. The interaction of area tax per person with parental educational level was significant on PEF, suggesting significant association of greater parental education with lower lung function in children. High area SES was inversely associated with lung function in Taiwanese children. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Groundwater and surface-water resources in the Bureau of Land Management Moab Master Leasing Plan area and adjacent areas, Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah, and Mesa and Montrose Counties, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Masbruch, Melissa D.; Shope, Christopher L.

2014-01-01

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Canyon Country District Office is preparing a leasing plan known as the Moab Master Leasing Plan (Moab MLP) for oil, gas, and potash mineral rights in an area encompassing 946,469 acres in southeastern Utah. The BLM has identified water resources as being potentially affected by oil, gas, and potash development and has requested that the U.S. Geological Survey prepare a summary of existing water-resources information for the Moab MLP area. This report includes a summary and synthesis of previous and ongoing investigations conducted in the Moab MLP and adjacent areas in Utah and Colorado from the early 1930s through the late 2000s.Eight principal aquifers and six confining units were identified within the study area. Permeability is a function of both the primary permeability from interstitial pore connectivity and secondary permeability created by karst features or faults and fractures. Vertical hydraulic connection generally is restricted to strongly folded and fractured zones, which are concentrated along steeply dipping monoclines and in narrow regions encompassing igneous and salt intrusive masses. Several studies have identified both an upper and lower aquifer system separated by the Pennsylvanian age Paradox Member of the Hermosa Formation evaporite, which is considered a confining unit and is present throughout large parts of the study area.Surface-water resources of the study area are dominated by the Colorado River. Several perennial and ephemeral or intermittent tributaries join the Colorado River as it flows from northeast to southwest across the study area. An annual spring snowmelt and runoff event dominates the hydrology of streams draining mountainous parts of the study area, and most perennial streams in the study area are snowmelt-dominated. A bimodal distribution is observed in hydrographs from some sites with a late-spring snowmelt-runoff peak followed by smaller peaks of shorter duration during the late summer. The large regional streams (Colorado, Green, and Dolores Rivers) integrate the regional hydrologic partitioning of a very large contributing area and, therefore, the hydrographs for these streams are much more smooth and consistent. Several streams throughout the study area are considered impaired and do not meet the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency for specific designated-use classifications.Limited data are available to quantitatively estimate the large-scale regional groundwater budget for the study area. Previous studies have estimated groundwater budgets for areas in and adjacent to the current study area, namely Moab-Spanish Valley and parts of the Paradox Basin. Most groundwater recharge to the study area originates as infiltration of precipitation from upland areas and is further enhanced in areas covered with sandy soils or in areas where the bedrock is highly fractured. Additional groundwater recharge occurs as seepage from streams and irrigation water, and as subsurface inflow, both vertically between aquifers and as lateral movement into the study area. Groundwater discharge occurs as seepage to streams, evapotranspiration, to springs and seeps, well withdrawals; and as subsurface outflow, both vertically between aquifers and as lateral movement out of the study area across its defined boundaries. Groundwater use in the study area was determined using data from the Utah Division of Water Rights. Most wells in the study area are categorized as having multiple uses.Mean specific-conductance values for groundwater from wells and springs in the study area range from 101 to 220,000 microsiemens per centimeter at 25° C (μS/cm); most of the wells or springs have mean specific-conductance values of less than or equal to 1,000 μS/cm. Previously reported total dissolved-solids concentrations, specific conductances, and other groundwater-quality data for each of the principal aquifers indicate relative freshwater throughout the study area, except within the lower aquifer system and areas in contact with the Paradox Member of the Hermosa Formation evaporites.There is limited information on the resource availability of brines and saline groundwater in the study area. Total dissolved-solids concentrations typically are high (greater than 35,000 milligrams per liter) in groundwater from, or in contact with, the Paradox Member of the Hermosa Formation. Total dissolved-solids concentrations also are high in groundwater samples collected from the lower aquifer system. Because the Paradox Member of the Hermosa Formation is considered a barrier to vertical groundwater flow, most of the brine and saline groundwater resources are restricted to the lower aquifer system.

Effect of high surface area activated carbon on thermal degradation of jet fuel

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

Gergova, K.; Eser, S.; Arumugam, R.

1995-05-01

Different solid carbons added to jet fuel during thermal stressing cause substantial changes in pyrolytic degradation reactions. Activated carbons, especially high surface area activated carbons were found to be very effective in suppressing solid deposition on metal reactor walls during stressing at high temperatures (425 and 450{degrees}C). The high surface area activated carbon PX-21 prevented solid deposition on reactor walls even after 5h at 450{degrees}C. The differences seen in the liquid product composition when activated carbon is added indicated that the carbon surfaces affect the degradation reactions. Thermal stressing experiments were carried out on commercial petroleum-derived JPTS jet fuel. Wemore » also used n-octane and n-dodecane as model compounds in order to simplify the study of the chemical changes which take place upon activated carbon addition. In separate experiments, the presence of a hydrogen donor, decalin, together with PX-21 was also studied.« less

Pressures on safety net access: the level of managed care penetration and uninsurance rate in a community.

PubMed

Cunningham, P J

1999-04-01

To examine the effects of managed care penetration and the uninsurance rate in an area on access to care of low-income uninsured persons and to compare differences in access between low-income insured and uninsured persons across these different market areas. Primarily the Community Tracking Study household survey. Other market-level data were obtained from the Community Tracking Study physician survey, American Hospital Association annual survey of hospitals, Area Resource File, HCFA Administrative Data, Bureau of Primary Care data on Community Health Centers. Individuals are grouped based on the level of managed care penetration and uninsurance rate in the site where they reside. Measures of managed care include overall managed care penetration in the site, and the level of Medicaid managed care penetration in the state. Uninsurance rate is defined as the percentage of people uninsured in the site. Measures of access include the percentage with a usual source of care, percentage with any ambulatory care use, and percentage of persons who reported unmet medical care needs. Estimates are adjusted to control for other confounding factors, including both individual and market-level characteristics. A survey, primarily telephoned, of households concentrated in 60 sites, defined as metropolitan statistical areas and nonmetropolitan areas. Access to care for low-income uninsured persons is lower in states with high Medicaid managed care penetration, compared to uninsured persons in states with low Medicaid managed care penetration. Access to care for low-income uninsured persons is also lower in areas with high uninsurance rates. The "access gap" (differences in access between insured and uninsured persons) is also larger in areas with high Medicaid managed care penetration and areas with high uninsurance rates. Efforts to achieve cost savings under managed care may result in financial pressures that limit cross-subsidization of care to the medically indigent, particularly for those providers who are heavily dependent on Medicaid revenue. High demand for care (as reflected in high uninsurance rates) may further strain limited resources for indigent care, further limiting access to care for uninsured persons.

The Geography of the Alzheimer's Disease Mortality in Spain: Should We Focus on Industrial Pollutants Prevention?

PubMed

2017-11-25

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has a high worldwide prevalence but little is known about its aetiology and risk factors. Recent research suggests environmental factors might increase AD risk. We aim to describe the association between AD mortality and the presence of highly polluting industry in small areas in Spain between 1999 and 2010. We calculated AD age-adjusted Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR), stratified by sex, grouped by industrial pollution density, compared for each small area of Spain. In the small areas with the highest mortality, the SMR among women was at least 25% greater than the national average (18% in men). The distribution of AD mortality was generally similar to that of high industrial pollution (higher mortality in the north, the Mediterranean coast and in some southern areas). The risk of AD mortality among women was 140% higher (123% among men) in areas with the highest industrial density in comparison to areas without polluting industries. This study has identified a geographical pattern of small areas with higher AD mortality risk and an ecological positive association with the density of highly polluting industry. Further research is needed on the potential impact of this type of industry pollution on AD aetiology and mortality.

Improvement of Advanced Storm-scale Analysis and Prediction System (ASAPS) on Seoul Metropolitan Area, Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jeong-Gyun; Jee, Joon-Bum

2017-04-01

Dangerous weather such as severe rain, heavy snow, drought and heat wave caused by climate change make more damage in the urban area that dense populated and industry areas. Urban areas, unlike the rural area, have big population and transportation, dense the buildings and fuel consumption. Anthropogenic factors such as road energy balance, the flow of air in the urban is unique meteorological phenomena. However several researches are in process about prediction of urban meteorology. ASAPS (Advanced Storm-scale Analysis and Prediction System) predicts a severe weather with very short range (prediction with 6 hour) and high resolution (every hour with time and 1 km with space) on Seoul metropolitan area based on KLAPS (Korea Local Analysis and Prediction System) from KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration). This system configured three parts that make a background field (SUF5), analysis field (SU01) with observation and forecast field with high resolution (SUF1). In this study, we improve a high-resolution ASAPS model and perform a sensitivity test for the rainfall case. The improvement of ASAPS include model domain configuration, high resolution topographic data and data assimilation with WISE observation data.

Noise from high speed maglev systems: Noise sources, noise criteria, preliminary design guidelines for noise control, recommendations for acoustical test facility for maglev research. Final report, July 1991-October 1992

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

Hanson, C.E.; Abbot, P.; Dyer, I.

1993-01-01

Noise levels from magnetically-levitated trains (maglev) at very high speed may be high enough to cause environmental noise impact in residential areas. Aeroacoustic sources dominate the sound at high speeds and guideway vibrations generate noticeable sound at low speed. In addition to high noise levels, the startle effect as a result of sudden onset of sound from a rapidly moving nearby maglev vehicle may lead to increased annoyance to neighbors of a maglev system. The report provides a base for determining the noise consequences and potential mitigation for a high speed maglev system in populated areas of the United States.more » Four areas are included in the study: (1) definition of noise sources; (2) development of noise criteria; (3) development of design guidelines; and (4) recommendations for a noise testing facility.« less

Magnetotelluric and Audio-magnetotelluric measurements in Alasehir Graben for geothermal exploration purposes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tekesin-Cankurtaranlar, Ozge; Tuysuz, Okan; Riza Kilic, Ali

2017-04-01

In this study, we present the results of Magnetotelluric (MT) and Audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) soundings over a potential geothermal field. Study area is located in the northeasternmost part of the Alasehir (or Gediz) Graben, Western Anatolia, which is delimited by NW-SE trending fault systems and is filled by Miocene to Recent sediments. Study area is also very close to the Kula Quaternary volcanic region, a possible geothermal heat source for the region, last eruption of which was 12.000 years ago. Relatively thin crust, high heat flow values and intense tectonic activity of the Western Anatolia possibly refers to the high geothermal potential. In fact, along the southern and central part of the graben there are many productive areas reaching up to 300 degrees Celsius. By this motivation, to determine the geothermal potential of the study area MT and AMT measurements had been carried out on a total of 45 stations covering about 8 km2 area. All profiles shows higher resistivity values (>140 ohm.m) at greater depths, possibly indicating a metamorphic basement covered by Miocene to Recent sediments. This metamorphic basement gets shallower towards the North where the geothermally weathered schists and marbles crop out. Furthermore, a normal fault interface between metamorphic basement and Neogene sediments shows high resistivity contrast. Results indicate that the metamorphic basement is a less conductive block located at a depth of 1500 - 2000 m at the south and gets shallower towards the north as normal fault blocks.

Sharp-Tailed Grouse Nest Survival and Nest Predator Habitat Use in North Dakota's Bakken Oil Field.

PubMed

Burr, Paul C; Robinson, Aaron C; Larsen, Randy T; Newman, Robert A; Ellis-Felege, Susan N

2017-01-01

Recent advancements in extraction technologies have resulted in rapid increases of gas and oil development across the United States and specifically in western North Dakota. This expansion of energy development has unknown influences on local wildlife populations and the ecological interactions within and among species. Our objectives for this study were to evaluate nest success and nest predator dynamics of sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus) in two study sites that represented areas of high and low energy development intensities in North Dakota. During the summers of 2012 and 2013, we monitored 163 grouse nests using radio telemetry. Of these, 90 nests also were monitored using miniature cameras to accurately determine nest fates and identify nest predators. We simultaneously conducted predator surveys using camera scent stations and occupancy modeling to estimate nest predator occurrence at each site. American badgers (Taxidea taxus) and striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) were the primary nest predators, accounting for 56.7% of all video recorded nest depredations. Nests in our high intensity gas and oil area were 1.95 times more likely to succeed compared to our minimal intensity area. Camera monitored nests were 2.03 times more likely to succeed than non-camera monitored nests. Occupancy of mammalian nest predators was 6.9 times more likely in our study area of minimal gas and oil intensity compared to the high intensity area. Although only a correlative study, our results suggest energy development may alter the predator community, thereby increasing nest success for sharp-tailed grouse in areas of intense development, while adjacent areas may have increased predator occurrence and reduced nest success. Our study illustrates the potential influences of energy development on the nest predator-prey dynamics of sharp-tailed grouse in western North Dakota and the complexity of evaluating such impacts on wildlife.

Method for Assessing the Integrated Risk of Soil Pollution in Industrial and Mining Gathering Areas

PubMed Central

Guan, Yang; Shao, Chaofeng; Gu, Qingbao; Ju, Meiting; Zhang, Qian

2015-01-01

Industrial and mining activities are recognized as major sources of soil pollution. This study proposes an index system for evaluating the inherent risk level of polluting factories and introduces an integrated risk assessment method based on human health risk. As a case study, the health risk, polluting factories and integrated risks were analyzed in a typical industrial and mining gathering area in China, namely, Binhai New Area. The spatial distribution of the risk level was determined using a Geographic Information System. The results confirmed the following: (1) Human health risk in the study area is moderate to extreme, with heavy metals posing the greatest threat; (2) Polluting factories pose a moderate to extreme inherent risk in the study area. Such factories are concentrated in industrial and urban areas, but are irregularly distributed and also occupy agricultural land, showing a lack of proper planning and management; (3) The integrated risks of soil are moderate to high in the study area. PMID:26580644

Cd pollution and ecological risk assessment for mining activity zone in Karst Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, B.; He, J. L.; Wen, X. M.; Tan, H.

2017-08-01

The monitored soil samples were collected from farmland in the area with mining activity in Karst area in Liupanshui. In this article, moss bag technology and TSP were used simultaneously for Cd transportation and deposition in the study area. Geostatistics and GIS were then used for the spatial distribution of Cd in the soil. Afterwards, Cd pollution to the soil environment and human health was studied by using the geo-accumulation index and potential ecological risk index methods. The results indicated that atmospheric deposition is the major route of Cd pollution. A moderate to strong pollution of Cd in the area and the degree of potential ecological risk was in a high level in the study area. Furthermore, Cd pollution in Liupanshui may originate from mining activity and atmospheric deposition.

Dermatoglyphs in carriers of a balanced 15;21 translocation.

PubMed

Rodewald, A; Zankl, M; Zankl, H; Zang, K D

1980-08-01

Cytogenetic and dermatoglyphic features were studied in a large family with an inherited 15;21 translocation. Of 35 healthy members of the family, 21 carried the translocation chromosome and 14 were chromosomally normal. There were six members with Down's syndrome who had the translocation. Dermatoglyphic studies showed that carriers of this balanced translocation had the following peculiarities significantly more often than the general population. On the hands, they had ulnar loops on the fingertips, symmetrical high terminations of the A line, symmetrical ulnar loops on the hypothenar areas, distal loops in the 3rd interdigital areas, open fields in the 4th interdigital areas, axial triradii in the distal position, and single transverse palmar creases (Sydney lines). On the feet, they had small distal loops on the hallucal area and distal loops in the 4th interdigital areas. The translocation carriers also had significantly more often than non-carrier relatives symmetrical high terminations of the A line, open fields in the 4th interdigital areas, distal axial triradii, and Sydney lines. On the feet, they had small distal loops on the hallucal areas, distal loops in the 4th interdigital areas, and tibial loops on the proximal hypothenar areas. The data obtained from this study, and especially the values of the Walker and general indices, indicate that some of the dermatoglyphic stigmata of Down's syndrome are directly associated with the 15;21 translocation carrier state and can therefore be used for predicting that state.

Variability in stream chemistry in relation to urban development and biological condition in seven metropolitan areas of the United States, 1999-2004

USGS Publications Warehouse

Beaulieu, Karen M.; Bell, Amanda H.; Coles, James F.

2012-01-01

Beginning in 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Program investigated the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems in nine metropolitan study areas across the United States. In seven of these study areas, stream-chemistry samples were collected every other month for 1 year at 6 to 10 sites. Within a study area, the sites collectively represented a gradient of urban development from minimally to highly developed watersheds, based on the percentage of urban land cover; depending on study area, the land cover before urban development was either forested or agricultural. The stream-chemistry factors measured in the samples were total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chloride, and pesticide toxicity. These data were used to characterize the stream-chemistry factors in four ways (hereafter referred to as characterizations)—seasonal high-flow value, seasonal low-flow value, the median value (representing a single integrated value of the factor over the year), and the standard deviation of values (representing the variation of the factor over the year). Aquatic macroinvertebrate communities were sampled at each site to infer the biological condition of the stream based on the relative sensitivity of the community to environmental stressors. A Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate relations between (1) urban development and each characterization of the stream-chemistry factors and (2) the biological condition of a stream and the different characterizations of chloride and pesticide toxicity. Overall, the study areas where the land cover before urban development was primarily forested had a greater number of moderate and strong relations compared with the study areas where the land cover before urban development was primarily agriculture; this was true when urban development was correlated with the stream-chemistry factors (except chloride) and when chloride and pesticide toxicity was correlated with the biological condition. Except for primarily phosphorus in two study areas, stream-chemistry factors generally increased with urban development, and among the different characterizations, the median value typically indicated the strongest relations. The variation in stream-chemistry factors throughout the year generally increased with urban development, indicating that water quality became less consistent as watersheds were developed. In study areas with high annual snow fall, the variation in chloride concentrations throughout the year was particularly strongly related to urban development, likely a result of road salt applications during the winter. The relations of the biological condition to chloride and pesticide toxicity were calculated irrespective of urban development, but the overall results indicated that the relations were still stronger in the study areas that had been forested before urban development. The weaker relations in the study areas that had been agricultural before urban development were likely the results of biological communities having been degraded from agricultural practices in the watersheds. Collectively, these results indicated that, compared with sampling a stream at a single point in time, sampling at regular intervals during a year may provide a more representative measure of water quality, especially in the areas of high urban development where water quality fluctuated more widely between samples. Furthermore, the use of "integrated" values of stream chemistry factors may be more appropriate when assessing relations to the biological condition of a stream because the taxa composition of a biological community typically reflects the water-quality conditions over time.

Recommended High School Programs of Study for College Preparation and Broad Career Concentrations. A Report Submitted to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Speaker of the House, and the Seventy-Fifth Texas Legislature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Education Agency, Austin.

A study explored the use of career concentration areas in Texas school systems and recommended broad career concentration areas. Of the 40 largest school districts, 35 responded to the survey. Approximately 58 percent currently use variations of the career concentration area concept to help students prepare for working life. Respondents…

Spatial modeling of infrastructure resilience to the natural disasters using baseline resilience indicators for communities (BRIC) - Case study: 5 districts/cities of Bandung Basin area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nafishoh, Qoriatun; Riqqi, Akhmad; Meilano, Irwan

2017-07-01

The Bandung Basin area has highly susceptible to the natural disasters. Therefore, resilience measurement is useful to find out the capacity of an area in the facing of a natural disaster. Natural disaster resilience can be measured using BRIC (Baseline Resilience Indicators for Communities) model. This model comprises several indicators; includes social, economic, community, institution, infrastructure, and the environment. This research tries to measure resilience to the natural disasters with still focusing on infrastructure resilience measurement by spatial modeling and analyzed the dominant driving factor that contributes to this resilience trend. We generated a spatial modeling by applying a spatial analysis to the infrastructure objects. The infrastructure objects consist of the road, school, and health facilities. Those objects will be given some radius levels that indicate the resilience level by using buffer processing. An area closest to those objects will have high resilience and contrarily. Our result showed that almost all city areas (Bandung and Cimahi City) have high resilience because they have many infrastructure objects. But contrarily with the district areas which are still contained many patterns of low and moderate resilience level. The dominant driving factor of infrastructure resilience in this research area is a road. The areas which are closest to the road have high resilience and farther away from the road will have low resilience.

Notes for Teachers on an Earth Science Excursion to the Sellicks Beach Area

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reid, R.

1977-01-01

Describes approximately 15 hours of activities in the Sellicks Beach Area suitable for high school students interested in studying sedimentary and structural geology, geomorphology, and human land use patterns. (CP)

Bioremediation and fodder potentials of two Sargassum spp. in coastal waters of Shenzhen, South China.

PubMed

Yu, Zonghe; Zhu, Xiaoshan; Jiang, Yuelu; Luo, Peng; Hu, Chaoqun

2014-08-30

In this study, the bioremediation potentials of two seaweeds (Sargassum hemiphyllum and S. henslowianum) against pollution in a coastal mariculture area of Shenzhen, South China, were investigated by comparing the growth, nutrient bioaccumulation capacity of plants from the seaweed bed (control site) with plants from the fish farm. Results indicated that both species are potential candidates for bioremediation in the fish farm areas in terms of their high growth rates and high bioaccumulation capacities on inorganic nutrients. Both Sargassum spp. contain high levels of crude protein (11.7-14.0%) and crude fat (2.2-2.7%), suggesting high nutritional values. The S. hemiphyllum may serve as a good aquaculture fodder with high nutritional compositions and low heavy metal contents. However, heavy metals (Cr, Pb and Cd) of S. henslowianum exceed the maximum allowable concentrations as aquatic feed, which restricts its fodder application. In general, the results of this study may contribute to the marine pollution bioremediation in the coastal areas of South China, especially in mariculture zones. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stability Behavior and Thermodynamic States of Iron and Manganese in Sandy Soil Aquifer, Manukan Island, Malaysia

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

Lin, Chin Yik, E-mail: cy_lin_ars@hotmail.com; Abdullah, Mohd. Harun; Musta, Baba

2011-03-15

A total of 20 soil samples were collected from 10 boreholes constructed in the low lying area, which included ancillary samples taken from the high elevation area. Redox processes were investigated in the soil as well as groundwater in the shallow groundwater aquifer of Manukan Island, Sabah, Malaysia. Groundwater samples (n = 10) from each boreholes were also collected in the low lying area to understand the concentrations and behaviors of Fe and Mn in the dissolved state. This study strives to obtain a general understanding of the stability behaviors on Fe and Mn at the upper unsaturated and themore » lower-saturated soil horizons in the low lying area of Manukan Island as these elements usually play a major role in the redox chemistry of the shallow groundwater. Thermodynamic calculations using PHREEQC showed that the groundwater samples in the study area are oversaturated with respect to goethite, hematite, Fe(OH){sub 3} and undersaturated with respect to manganite and pyrochroite. Low concentrations of Fe and Mn in the groundwater might be probably due to the lack of minerals of iron and manganese oxides, which exist in the sandy aquifer. In fact, high organic matters that present in the unsaturated horizon are believed to be responsible for the high Mn content in the soil. It was observed that the soil samples collected from high elevation area (BK) comprises considerable amount of Fe in both unsaturated (6675.87 mg/kg) and saturated horizons (31440.49 mg/kg) compared to the low Fe content in the low lying area. Based on the stability diagram, the groundwater composition lies within the stability field for Mn{sup 2+} and Fe{sup 2+} under suboxic condition and very close to the FeS/Fe{sup 2+} stability boundary. This study also shows that both pH and Eh values comprise a strong negative value thus suggesting that the redox potential is inversely dependent on the changes of pH.« less

Influence of Personal Factors on Sound Perception and Overall Experience in Urban Green Areas. A Case Study of a Cycling Path Highly Exposed to Road Traffic Noise.

PubMed

Aletta, Francesco; Van Renterghem, Timothy; Botteldooren, Dick

2018-05-30

In contemporary urban design, green public areas play a vital role. They have great societal value, but if exposed to undue environmental noise their restorative potential might be compromised. On the other hand, research has shown that the presence of greenery can moderate noise annoyance in areas with high sound levels, while personal factors are expected to play an important role too. A cycling path bordered by vegetation, but highly exposed to road traffic noise, was here considered as a case study. A sound perception survey was submitted to participants on site and they were subsequently sorted into groups according to their noise sensitivity, visual attention and attitude towards greenery. The aim of this study was testing whether these three personal factors could affect their noise perception and overall experience of the place. Results showed that people highly sensitive to noise and more sceptical towards greenery's potential as an environmental moderator reported worse soundscape quality, while visually attentive people reported better quality. These three personal factors were found to be statistically independent. This study shows that several person-related factors impact the assessment of the sound environment in green areas. Although the majority of the respondents benefit from the presence of visual green, policy-makers and planners should be aware that for a significant subset of the population, it should be accompanied by a tranquil soundscape to be fully appreciated.

Observation and Simulations of the Backsplash Effects in High-Energy Gamma-Ray Telescopes Containing a Massive Calorimeter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moiseev, Alexander A.; Ormes, Jonathan F.; Hartman, Robert C.; Johnson, Thomas E.; Mitchell, John W.; Thompson, David J.

1999-01-01

Beam test and simulation results are presented for a study of the backsplash effects produced in a high-energy gamma-ray detector containing a massive calorimeter. An empirical formula is developed to estimate the probability (per unit area) of backsplash for different calorimeter materials and thicknesses, different incident particle energies, and at different distances from the calorimeter. The results obtained are applied to the design of Anti-Coincidence Detector (ACD) for the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST).

Growth in conventional fields in high-cost areas: a case study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Attanasi, E.D.

2000-01-01

Exploration managers commonly base future drilling decisions on past experience in an area. To do this well, they should consider both discovered and undiscovered resources to characterize total future potential. Discovery-size estimates should be adjusted to account for future field growth; otherwise, the relative efficiency of recent exploration will be undervalued. This study models and projects field growth for pre-1997 discoveries in the U.S. Federal Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Projected additions to reserves for these fields from field growth through 2020 are 5.2 billion bbl of oil and 46 Tcfg. Projections include growth associated with sizable new oil discoveries in deepwater areas and initial reserve additions from new subsalt plays discovered through 1996. This article focuses on the U.S. GOM because it has produced longer than other worldwide offshore areas. Its field-growth profile may be prototypical of other offshore provinces such as the North Sea, Scotian Shelf and deepwater Angola, as well as high-cost onshore areas.

Geological sources of fluoride and acceptable intake of fluoride in an endemic fluorosis area, southern Iran.

PubMed

Battaleb-Looie, Sedigheh; Moore, Farid; Jacks, Gunnar; Ketabdari, Mohammad Reza

2012-10-01

The present study is the first attempt to put forward possible source(s) of fluoride in the Dashtestan area, Bushehr Province, southern Iran. In response to reports on the high incidence of dental fluorosis, 35 surface and groundwater samples were collected and analysed for fluoride. The results indicate that dissolved fluoride in the study area is above the maximum permissible limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). An additional 35 soil and rock samples were also collected and analysed for fluoride, and rock samples were subjected to petrographic investigations and X-ray diffraction. The results of these analyses show that the most likely source for fluoride in the groundwater is from clay minerals (chlorite) and micas (muscovite, sericite, and biotite) in the soils and rocks in the area. We also note that due to the high average temperatures all year round and excessive water consumption in the area, the optimum fluoride dose level should be lower than that recommended by the WHO.

Difference in rural and urban driver-injury severities in highway-rail grade crossing accidents.

PubMed

Hao, Wei; Kamga, Camille

2017-06-01

Based on the Federal Railway Administration (FRA) database, there were 25,945 highway-rail crossing accidents in the United States between 2002 and 2011. With an extensive research, analysis results showed that there were substantial differences between rural and urban areas at highway-rail grade crossings. However, there is no published study specific on driver's injury severity at highway-rail grade crossings classified by area types. Using an ordered probit modelling approach, the study explores the determinants of driver-injury severity at rural highway-rail grade crossings compared with urban highway-rail grade crossings. The analysis found that motor vehicle driver's injury level at rural highway-rail grade crossing is extremely higher than urban area. Compared to collisions at urban area, collisions happened at rural area tend to result in more severe injuries. These crashes were more prevalent if vehicle drivers are driving at a high speed or the oncoming trains are high-speed. Moreover, highway-rail grade crossing accidents were more likely to occur at rural area without pavement and lighting.

Application of remote sensing and geographical information system in mapping forest fire risk zone at Bhadra wildlife sanctuary, India.

PubMed

Sowmya, S V; Somashekar, R K

2010-11-01

Fire is the most spectacular natural disturbance that affects the forest ecosystem composition and diversity. Fire has a devastating effect on the landscape and its impact is felt at every level of the ecosystem and it is possible to map forest fire risk zone and thereby minimize the frequency of fire. There is a need for supranational approaches that analyze wide scenarios of factors involved and global fire effects. Fires can be monitored and analyzed over large areas in a timely and cost effective manner by using satellite imagery. Also Geographical Information System (GIS) can be used effectively to demarcate the fire risk zone map. Bhadra wildlife Sanctuary located in Kamataka, India was selected for this study. Vegetation, slope, distance from roads, settlements parameters were derived for a study area using topographic maps and field information. The Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS)-based forest fire risk model of the study area appeared to be highly compatible with the actual fire-affected sites. The temporal satellite data from 1989 to2006 have been analyzed to map the burnt areas. These classes were weighted according to their influence on forest fire. Four categories of fire risk regions such as Low, Moderate, High and Very high fire intensity zones were identified. It is predicted that around 10.31% of the area falls undermoderate risk zone.

Wilderness study area, mineral resources of the Sleeping Giant, Lewis and Clark County, Montana

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

Tysdal, G.; Reynold, M.W.; Carlson, R.R.

1991-01-01

A Mineral resource survey was conducted in 1987 by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Bureau of Mines to evaluate mineral resources (known) and mineral resource potential (undiscovered) of the Sleeping Giant Wilderness Study Area (MT-075-111) in Lewis and Clark County, Montana. The only economic resource in the study area is an inferred 1.35-million-ton reserve of decorative stone (slate); a small gold placer resource is subeconomic. A high resource potential for decorative slate exists directly adjacent to the area of identified slate resource and in the northeastern part of the study area. The rest of the study area hasmore » a low potential for decorative slate. The westernmost part of the study area has a moderate resource potential for copper and associated silver in state-bound deposits in green beds and limestone; potential is low in the rest of the study are. The study area has a low resource potential for sapphires in placer deposits, gold in placer deposits (exclusive of subeconomic resource mentioned above), phosphate in the Spokane Formation, diatomite in lake deposits, uranium, oil, gas, geothermal energy, and no resource potential for phosphate in the Phosphoria Formation.« less

Eddy covariance measurement of CO2 flux to the atmosphere from a area of high volcanogenic emissions, Mammoth Mountain, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anderson, D.E.; Farrar, C.D.

2001-01-01

Three pilot studies were performed to assess application of the eddy covariance micrometeorological method in the measurement of carbon dioxide (CO2) flux of volcanic origin. The selected study area is one of high diffuse CO2 emission on Mammoth Mountain, CA. Because terrain and source characteristics make this a complex setting for this type of measurement, added consideration was given to source area and upwind fetch. Footprint analysis suggests that the eddy covariance measurements were representative of an upwind elliptical source area (3.8 ?? 103 m2) which can vary with mean wind direction, surface roughness, and atmospheric stability. CO2 flux averaged 8-16 mg m-2 s-1 (0.7-1.4 kg m-2 day-1). Eddy covariance measurements of flux were compared with surface chamber measurements made in separate studies [Geophys. Res. Lett. 25 (1998a) 1947; EOS Trans. 79 (1998) F941.] and were found to be similar. ?? 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A CFD Study of Jet Mixing in Reduced Flow Areas for Lower Combustor Emissions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, C. E.; Talpallikar, M. V.; Holdeman, J. D.

1991-01-01

The Rich-burn/Quick-mix/Lean-burn (RQL) combustor has the potential of significantly reducing NO(x) emissions in combustion chambers of High Speed Civil Transport aircraft. Previous work on RQL combustors for industrial applications suggested the benefit of necking down the mixing section. A 3-D numerical investigation was performed to study the effects of neckdown on NO(x) emissions and to develop a correlation for optimum mixing designs in terms of neckdown area ratio. The results of the study showed that jet mixing in reduced flow areas does not enhance mixing, but does decrease residence time at high flame temperatures, thus reducing NO(x) formation. By necking down the mixing flow area by 4, a potential NO(x) reduction of 16:1 is possible for annual combustors. However, there is a penalty that accompanies the mixing neckdown: reduced pressure drop across the combustor swirler. At conventional combustor loading parameters, the pressure drop penalty does not appear to be excessive.

Geographical clustering of high risk sexual behaviors in "hot-spots" for HIV and sexually transmitted infections in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

PubMed

Ramjee, Gita; Wand, Handan

2014-02-01

We investigated geographical variations of three sexually transmitted infections (STIs) namely chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in the greater Durban area, so as to optimize intervention strategies. The study population was a cohort of sexually active women who consented to be screened in one of three biomedical studies conducted in Durban. A total of nine local regions collectively formed three clusters at screening, five of which were previously defined as HIV hot-spots. STI cases were geo-coded at the census level based on residence at the time of screening. Spatial SaTScan Statistics software was employed to identify the areas with a disproportionate prevalence and incidence of STI infection when compared to the neighboring areas under study. Both prevalence and incidence of STIs were collectively clustered in several localized areas, and the majority of these locations overlapped with high HIV clusters and shared the same characteristics: younger age, not married/cohabitating and multiple sex partners.

Prediction of soil water erosion risk within GIS-case study of Beni Amrane Dam catchment (North of Algeria)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Touahir, S.; Khenter, K.; Remini, B.; Saad, H.

2017-08-01

Isser River is one of North Algeria’s major resources. It is vulnerable to water soil erosion because of favourable conjunctions of different geomorphological, hydro-climatic and lithologic factors. This case study has been carried out on the Beni Amrane dam Catchment, which is located in the bottom of Isser River, in North Algeria. The study involves a mapping of main factors of water erosion: rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope and land use. Essentially a data mapping specification analysis shows, on each factor, how to identify the areas that are prone to water erosion. 04 classes of multifactorial vulnerability to water erosion have been identified: areas with low vulnerability (10 per cent); area with middle vulnerability (49 per cent); areas with high and very high vulnerability (38 per cent and 3 per cent). This could be a first guidance document for a rational use of land in the region and better secure the Beni Amrane dam against reservoir siltation.

New Madrid seismotectonic study. Activities during fiscal year 1977. [Regional study

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

Buschbach, T.C.

1977-10-01

Approximately 30 highly qualified scientists are participating in a coordinated geological, geophysical, and seismological study of the area within a 200-mile radius of New Madrid, Missouri. The study is designed to define the structural setting and tectonic history of the area in order to realistically evaluate earthquake risks in the siting of nuclear facilities. The region studied includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and Missouri. An inventory of existing data and supporting research in the area was prepared. New information from aeromagnetic, ground magnetic, and gravity surveys has been obtained, and the data are currently being processed.

Nitrogen dynamics in a highly urbanized coastal area of western Japan: impact of sewage-derived loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Mitsuyo; Onodera, Shin-ichi; Jin, Guangzhe; Shimizu, Yuta; Taniguchi, Masanobu

2018-12-01

In this study, we examined the nitrogen dynamics of a highly urbanized coastal area, focusing on the impacts of sewage-derived nitrogen. High levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen were detected in seawater near treated sewage effluent (TSE) discharge points before decreasing in the offshore direction, suggesting that the impact zone of sewage effluent is about 1-2 km from the discharge point. The stable isotope ratios of nitrate and particulate organic nitrogen suggest nitrogen uptake by phytoplankton as well as dilution by offshore seawater, which contributed to a decrease in sewage-derived nitrogen levels. However, the extent of the impact zone was controlled by tidal variations and differences in temperature between the TSE and seawater. Our results also identify nitrogen transport processes, through exchange between seawater and sediment pore water, as an additional important source of nitrogen in the study area.

Preliminary appraisal of gravity and magnetic data of Syncline Ridge, western Yucca Flat, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ponce, David A.; Hanna, William F.

1982-01-01

A gravity and magnetic study of the Syncline Ridge area was conducted as part of an investigation of argillite rocks of the Eleana Formation under consideration as a medium for the possible storage of high-level radioactive waste. Bouguer gravity anomaly data, viewed in light of densities obtained by gamma-gamma logs and previous work of D. L. Healey (1968), delineate two regions of steep negative gradient where Cenozoic rocks and sediments are inferred to abruptly thicken: (1) the western third of the study area where Tertiary volcanic rocks are extensively exposed and (2) the northeast corner of the area where Quaternary alluvium is exposed and where volcanic rocks are inferred to occur at depth. In the remainder of the area, a region extending contiguously from Mine Mountain northwestward through Syncline Ridge to the Eleana Range, the gravity data indicate that the Eleana Formation, where not exposed, is buried at depths of less than about 200 m, except in a limited area of exposed older Paleozoic rocks on Mine Mountain. Quaternary alluvium and Tertiary volcanic rocks are inferred to occur in this region as veneers or shallow dishes of deposit on Tippipah Limestone or Eleana Formation. Low-level aeromagnetic anomaly data, covering the western two-thirds of the study area, delineate relatively magnetic tuff units within the Tertiary volcanic rocks and provide a very attractive means for distinguishing units of normal polarization from units of reversed polarization. If used in conjunction with results of previous magnetization studies of G. D. Bath (1968), the low-level survey may prove to be an effective tool for mapping specific tuff members in the volcanic terrane. The important question of the feasibility of discriminating high-quartz argillite from low-quartz argillite of the Eleana Formation using surface gravity data remains unresolved. If the more highly competent, denser, high-quartz phase should occur as stratigraphic units many tens of meters thick, closely spaced gravity data may reliably detect these units. If the high-quartz phase occurs only as relatively thin units, interbedded with low-quartz phase, borehole gravity surveying can be used much more effectively than equivalent surface gravity surveying.

Geochemical and mineralogical sampling of the Devonian shales in the Broadtop synclinorium, Appalachian basin, in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania

USGS Publications Warehouse

Enomoto, Catherine B.; Coleman, James L.; Swezey, Christopher S.; Niemeyer, Patrick W.; Dulong, Frank T.

2015-01-01

The presence of conventional anticlinal gas fields in the study area that are productive from the underlying Lower Devonian Oriskany Sandstone suggests that an unconventional (or continuous) shale gas system may be in place within the Marcellus Shale in the study area. Results of this study indicate that the Marcellus Shale in the Broadtop synclinorium generally is similar in organic geochemical nature throughout its extent, and based on the sample analyses, there are no clearly identifiable high potential areas (or “sweet spots”) in the study area. This report contains analyses of 132 outcrop and well drill-cuttings samples.

Regional danger assessment of Debris flow and its engineering mitigation practice in Sichuan-Tibet highway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Pengcheng; Sun, Zhengchao; li, Yong

2017-04-01

Luding-Kangding highway cross the eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau where belong to the most deep canyon area of plateau and mountains in western Sichuan with high mountain and steep slope. This area belongs to the intersection among Xianshuihe, Longmenshan and Anninghe fault zones which are best known in Sichuan province. In the region, seismic intensity is with high frequency and strength, new tectonic movement is strong, rock is cracked, there are much loose solid materials. Debris flow disaster is well developed under the multiple effects of the earthquake, strong rainfall and human activity which poses a great threat to the local people's life and property security. So this paper chooses Kangding and LuDing as the study area to do the debris flow hazard assessment through the in-depth analysis of development characteristics and formation mechanism of debris flow. Which can provide important evidence for local disaster assessment and early warning forecast. It also has the important scientific significance and practical value to safeguard the people's life and property safety and the security implementation of the national major project. In this article, occurrence mechanism of debris flow disasters in the study area is explored, factor of evaluation with high impact to debris flow hazards is identified, the database of initial evaluation factors is made by the evaluation unit of basin. The factors with high impact to hazards occurrence are selected by using the stepwise regression method of logistic regression model, at the same time the factors with low impact are eliminated, then the hazard evaluation factor system of debris flow is determined in the study area. Then every factors of evaluation factor system are quantified, and the weights of all evaluation factors are determined by using the analysis of stepwise regression. The debris flows hazard assessment and regionalization of all the whole study area are achieved eventually after establishing the hazard assessment model. In this paper, regional debris flows hazard assessment method with strong universality and reliable evaluation result is presented. The whole study area is divided into 1674 units by automatically extracting and artificial identification, and then 11 factors are selected as the initial assessment factors of debris flow hazard assessment in the study area. The factors of the evaluation index system are quantified using the method of standardized watershed unit amount ratio. The relationship between debris flow occurrence and each evaluation factor is simulated using logistic regression model. The weights of evaluation factors are determined, and the model of debris flows hazard assessment is established in the study area. Danger assessment result of debris flow was applied in line optimization and engineering disaster reduction of Sichuan-Tibet highway (section of Luding-Kangding).

São Paulo urban heat islands have a higher incidence of dengue than other urban areas.

PubMed

Araujo, Ricardo Vieira; Albertini, Marcos Roberto; Costa-da-Silva, André Luis; Suesdek, Lincoln; Franceschi, Nathália Cristina Soares; Bastos, Nancy Marçal; Katz, Gizelda; Cardoso, Vivian Ailt; Castro, Bronislawa Ciotek; Capurro, Margareth Lara; Allegro, Vera Lúcia Anacleto Cardoso

2015-01-01

Urban heat islands are characterized by high land surface temperature, low humidity, and poor vegetation, and considered to favor the transmission of the mosquito-borne dengue fever that is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. We analyzed the recorded dengue incidence in Sao Paulo city, Brazil, in 2010-2011, in terms of multiple environmental and socioeconomic variables. Geographical information systems, thermal remote sensing images, and census data were used to classify city areas according to land surface temperature, vegetation cover, population density, socioeconomic status, and housing standards. Of the 7415 dengue cases, a majority (93.1%) mapped to areas with land surface temperature >28°C. The dengue incidence rate (cases per 100,000 inhabitants) was low (3.2 cases) in high vegetation cover areas, but high (72.3 cases) in low vegetation cover areas where the land surface temperature was 29±2°C. Interestingly, a multiple cluster analysis phenogram showed more dengue cases clustered in areas of land surface temperature >32°C, than in areas characterized as low socioeconomic zones, high population density areas, or slum-like areas. In laboratory experiments, A. aegypti mosquito larval development, blood feeding, and oviposition associated positively with temperatures of 28-32°C, indicating these temperatures to be favorable for dengue transmission. Thus, among all the variables studied, dengue incidence was most affected by the temperature. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

GIS applied to location of fires detection towers in domain area of tropical forest.

PubMed

Eugenio, Fernando Coelho; Rosa Dos Santos, Alexandre; Fiedler, Nilton Cesar; Ribeiro, Guido Assunção; da Silva, Aderbal Gomes; Juvanhol, Ronie Silva; Schettino, Vitor Roberto; Marcatti, Gustavo Eduardo; Domingues, Getúlio Fonseca; Alves Dos Santos, Gleissy Mary Amaral Dino; Pezzopane, José Eduardo Macedo; Pedra, Beatriz Duguy; Banhos, Aureo; Martins, Lima Deleon

2016-08-15

In most countries, the loss of biodiversity caused by the fires is worrying. In this sense, the fires detection towers are crucial for rapid identification of fire outbreaks and can also be used in environmental inspection, biodiversity monitoring, telecommunications mechanisms, telemetry and others. Currently the methodologies for allocating fire detection towers over large areas are numerous, complex and non-standardized by government supervisory agencies. Therefore, this study proposes and evaluates different methodologies to best location of points to install fire detection towers considering the topography, risk areas, conservation units and heat spots. Were used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques and unaligned stratified systematic sampling for implementing and evaluating 9 methods for allocating fire detection towers. Among the methods evaluated, the C3 method was chosen, represented by 140 fire detection towers, with coverage of: a) 67% of the study area, b) 73.97% of the areas with high risk, c) 70.41% of the areas with very high risk, d) 70.42% of the conservation units and e) 84.95% of the heat spots in 2014. The proposed methodology can be adapted to areas of other countries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Epitaxy of GaN in high aspect ratio nanoscale holes over silicon substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kejia; Wang, Anqi; Ji, Qingbin; Hu, Xiaodong; Xie, Yahong; Sun, Ying; Cheng, Zhiyuan

2017-12-01

Dislocation filtering in gallium nitride (GaN) by epitaxial growth through patterned nanoscale holes is studied. GaN grown from extremely high aspect ratio holes by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition is examined by transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. This selective area epitaxial growth method with a reduced epitaxy area and an increased depth to width ratio of holes leads to effective filtering of dislocations within the hole and improves the quality of GaN significantly.

Spatial heterogeneity in repeated measures of perceived stress among car commuters in Scania, Sweden.

PubMed

Mattisson, Kristoffer; Jakobsson, Kristina; Håkansson, Carita; Cromley, Ellen

2016-07-27

Long commutes by car are stressful. Most research studying health effects of commuting have summarized cross-sectional data for large regions. This study investigated whether the levels of stress and individual characteristics among 30-60 min car commuters were similar across different places within the county of Scania, Sweden, and if there were changes over time. The study population was drawn from a public health survey conducted in 2000, with follow-ups in 2005 and 2010. The study population was selected from the 8206 study participants that completed the questionnaire at all three time points. Commuting questions in the 2010 questionnaire assessed exposure concurrently for that year and retrospectively for 2000 and 2005. In total, 997 persons aged 18-65 and working 15-60 h/week had commuted by car 30-60 min at least at one time point. Geographically weighted proportions of stress among 30-60 min car commuters were calculated for each year and classified into geographically continuous groups based on Wards algorithm. Stress levels, sociodemographic characteristics and commuting characteristics were compared for areas with high and low stress in relation to the rest of the county. This novel methodology can be adapted to other study settings where individual-level data are available over time. Spatial heterogeneity in stress levels was observed and the locations of high and low stress areas changed over time. Local differences in stress among participants were only partly explained by sociodemographic characteristics. Stressed commuters in the high stress area in 2000 were more likely to maintain their commuting mode and time than those not stressed. Stressed commuters in the high stress area in 2000 were also more likely to have the same workplace location in 2010, while stressed commuters in the high stress area in 2010 were more likely to have the same residential location as in 2000. The relationship between commuting mode and time and stress is variable in place and time. Better understanding of commuting contexts such as congestion is needed in research on the health effects of commuting.

Applicability of non-destructive substitutes for leaf area in different stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) focusing on traditional forest crown measures.

PubMed

Laubhann, Daniel; Eckmüllner, Otto; Sterba, Hubert

2010-09-30

Since individual tree leaf area is an important measure for productivity as well as for site occupancy, it is of high interest in many studies about forest growth. The exact determination of leaf area is nearly impossible. Thus, a common way to get information about leaf area is to use substitutes. These substitutes are often variables which are collected in a destructive way which is not feasible for long term studies. Therefore, this study aimed at testing the applicability of using substitutes for leaf area which could be collected in a non-destructive way, namely crown surface area and crown projection area. In 8 stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.), divided into three age classes and two thinning treatments, a total of 156 trees were felled in order to test the relationship between leaf area and crown surface area and crown projection area, respectively. Individual tree leaf area of the felled sample trees was estimated by 3P-branch sampling with an accuracy of ±10%. Crown projection area and crown surface area were compared with other, more commonly used, but destructive predictors of leaf area, namely sapwood area at different heights on the bole. Our investigations confirmed findings of several studies that sapwood area is the most precise measure for leaf area because of the high correlation between sapwood area and the leaf area. But behind sapwood area at crown base and sapwood area at three tenth of the tree height the predictive ability of crown surface area was ranked third and even better than that of sapwood area at breast height (R(2) = 0.656 compared with 0.600). Within the stands leaf area is proportional to crown surface area. Using the pooled data of all stands a mixed model approach showed that additionally to crown surface area dominant height and diameter at breast height (dbh) improved the leaf area estimates. Thus, taking dominant height and dbh into account, crown surface area can be recommended for estimating the leaf area of individual trees. The resulting model was in line with many other findings on the leaf area and leaf mass relationships with crown size. From the additional influence of dominant height and dbh in the leaf area model we conclude that the used crown model could be improved by estimating the position of the maximum crown width and the crown width at the base of the crown depending on these two variables.

Applicability of non-destructive substitutes for leaf area in different stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) focusing on traditional forest crown measures

PubMed Central

Laubhann, Daniel; Eckmüllner, Otto; Sterba, Hubert

2010-01-01

Since individual tree leaf area is an important measure for productivity as well as for site occupancy, it is of high interest in many studies about forest growth. The exact determination of leaf area is nearly impossible. Thus, a common way to get information about leaf area is to use substitutes. These substitutes are often variables which are collected in a destructive way which is not feasible for long term studies. Therefore, this study aimed at testing the applicability of using substitutes for leaf area which could be collected in a non-destructive way, namely crown surface area and crown projection area. In 8 stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.), divided into three age classes and two thinning treatments, a total of 156 trees were felled in order to test the relationship between leaf area and crown surface area and crown projection area, respectively. Individual tree leaf area of the felled sample trees was estimated by 3P-branch sampling with an accuracy of ±10%. Crown projection area and crown surface area were compared with other, more commonly used, but destructive predictors of leaf area, namely sapwood area at different heights on the bole. Our investigations confirmed findings of several studies that sapwood area is the most precise measure for leaf area because of the high correlation between sapwood area and the leaf area. But behind sapwood area at crown base and sapwood area at three tenth of the tree height the predictive ability of crown surface area was ranked third and even better than that of sapwood area at breast height (R2 = 0.656 compared with 0.600). Within the stands leaf area is proportional to crown surface area. Using the pooled data of all stands a mixed model approach showed that additionally to crown surface area dominant height and diameter at breast height (dbh) improved the leaf area estimates. Thus, taking dominant height and dbh into account, crown surface area can be recommended for estimating the leaf area of individual trees. The resulting model was in line with many other findings on the leaf area and leaf mass relationships with crown size. From the additional influence of dominant height and dbh in the leaf area model we conclude that the used crown model could be improved by estimating the position of the maximum crown width and the crown width at the base of the crown depending on these two variables. PMID:21072126

Ground-Water Quality Beneath Irrigated Cropland of the Northern and Southern High Plains Aquifer, Nebraska and Texas, 2003-04

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stanton, Jennifer S.; Fahlquist, Lynne

2006-01-01

A study of the quality of ground water beneath irrigated cropland was completed for the northern and southern High Plains aquifer. Ground-water samples were collected from 30 water-table monitoring wells in the northern agricultural land-use (NAL) study area in Nebraska in 2004 and 29 water-table monitoring wells in the southern agricultural land-use (SAL) study area in Texas in 2003. The two study areas represented different agricultural and hydrogeologic settings. The primary crops grown in the NAL study area were corn and soybeans, and the primary crop in the SAL study area was cotton. Overall, pesticide and fertilizer application rates were larger in the NAL study area. Also, precipitation and recharge rates were greater in the NAL study area, and depths to water and evapotranspiration rates were greater in the SAL study area. Ground-water quality beneath irrigated cropland was different in the two study areas. Nitrate concentrations were larger and pesticide detections were more frequent in the NAL study area. Nitrate concentrations in NAL samples ranged from 1.96 to 106 mg/L (milligrams per liter) as nitrogen, with a median concentration of 10.6 mg/L. Water in 73 percent of NAL samples had at least one pesticide or pesticide degradate detected. Most of the pesticide compounds detected (atrazine, alachlor, metolachlor, simazine, and degradates of those pesticides) are applied to corn and soybean fields. Nitrate concentrations in SAL samples ranged from 0.96 to 21.6 mg/L, with a median of 4.12 mg/L. Water in 24 percent of SAL samples had at least one pesticide or pesticide degradate detected. The pesticide compounds detected were deethylatrazine (a degradate of atrazine and propazine), propazine, fluometuron, and tebuthiuron. Most of the pesticides detected are applied to cotton fields. Dissolved-solids concentrations were larger in the SAL area and were positively correlated with both nitrate and chloride concentrations, suggesting a combination of human and natural sources. Dissolved-solids concentrations in NAL samples ranged from 272 to 2,160 mg/L, with a median of 442 mg/L, and dissolved solids in SAL samples ranged from 416 to 3,580 mg/L, with a median of 814 mg/L.

Area-averaged evapotranspiration over a heterogeneous land surface: aggregation of multi-point EC flux measurements with a high-resolution land-cover map and footprint analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Feinan; Wang, Weizhen; Wang, Jiemin; Xu, Ziwei; Qi, Yuan; Wu, Yueru

2017-08-01

The determination of area-averaged evapotranspiration (ET) at the satellite pixel scale/model grid scale over a heterogeneous land surface plays a significant role in developing and improving the parameterization schemes of the remote sensing based ET estimation models and general hydro-meteorological models. The Heihe Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research (HiWATER) flux matrix provided a unique opportunity to build an aggregation scheme for area-averaged fluxes. On the basis of the HiWATER flux matrix dataset and high-resolution land-cover map, this study focused on estimating the area-averaged ET over a heterogeneous landscape with footprint analysis and multivariate regression. The procedure is as follows. Firstly, quality control and uncertainty estimation for the data of the flux matrix, including 17 eddy-covariance (EC) sites and four groups of large-aperture scintillometers (LASs), were carefully done. Secondly, the representativeness of each EC site was quantitatively evaluated; footprint analysis was also performed for each LAS path. Thirdly, based on the high-resolution land-cover map derived from aircraft remote sensing, a flux aggregation method was established combining footprint analysis and multiple-linear regression. Then, the area-averaged sensible heat fluxes obtained from the EC flux matrix were validated by the LAS measurements. Finally, the area-averaged ET of the kernel experimental area of HiWATER was estimated. Compared with the formerly used and rather simple approaches, such as the arithmetic average and area-weighted methods, the present scheme is not only with a much better database, but also has a solid grounding in physics and mathematics in the integration of area-averaged fluxes over a heterogeneous surface. Results from this study, both instantaneous and daily ET at the satellite pixel scale, can be used for the validation of relevant remote sensing models and land surface process models. Furthermore, this work will be extended to the water balance study of the whole Heihe River basin.

Study of sand fly fauna in an endemic area of American cutaneous leishmaniasis and canine visceral leishmaniasis in the municipality of Espírito Santo do Pinhal, São Paulo, Brazil.

PubMed

Colla-Jacques, Fernanda Elisa; Casanova, Cláudio; Prado, Angelo Pires do

2010-03-01

Canine American visceral leishmaniasis and American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) cases have been recorded in Espírito Santo do Pinhal. The aim of this study was to gather knowledge of the sand fly community and its population ecology within the municipality. Captures were made weekly over a period of 15 months in the urban, periurban and rural areas of the municipality, using automatic light traps. A total of 5,562 sand flies were collected, comprising 17 species. The most abundant species were Nyssomyia whitmani and Pintomyia pessoai in the rural area, Lutzomyia longipalpis and Ny. whitmani in the periurban area and Lu. longipalpis in the urban area. The highest species richness and greatest index species diversity were found in the rural area. The similarity index showed that urban and periurban areas were most alike. Lu. longipalpis was found in great numbers during both dry and humid periods. The presence of dogs infected with Leishmania infantum chagasi in the urban area indicates a high risk for the establishment of the disease in the region. A high abundance of Ny. whitmani and Pi. pessoai in the rural and periurban areas indicates the possibility of new cases of ACL occurring in and spreading to the periurban area of Espírito Santo do Pinhal.

Fundamental research in the area of high temperature fuel cells in Russia

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

Dyomin, A.K.

1996-04-01

Research in the area of molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells has been conducted in Russia since the late 60`s. Institute of High Temperature Electrochemistry is the lead organisation in this area. Research in the area of materials used in fuel cells has allowed us to identify compositions of electrolytes, electrodes, current paths and transmitting, sealing and structural materials appropriate for long-term fuel cell applications. Studies of electrode processes resulted in better understanding of basic patterns of electrode reactions and in the development of a foundation for electrode structure optimization. We have developed methods to increase electrode activity levelsmore » that allowed us to reach current density levels of up to 1 amper/cm{sup 2}. Development of mathematical models of processes in high temperature fuel cells has allowed us to optimize their structure. The results of fundamental studies have been tested on laboratory mockups. MCFC mockups with up to 100 W capacity and SOFC mockups with up to 1 kW capacity have been manufactured and tested at IHTE. There are three SOFC structural options: tube, plate and modular.« less

Attrition and Retention of Special Education Self-Contained Teachers: Should I Stay or Should I Go?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rousseau, Stephen Anthony

2011-01-01

The field of special education has emerged as an area of significant research over the last decade. One area that has been targeted for study within the body of research relates to the high rates of attrition of staff. With the advent of the federal legislation requiring school districts to locate and employ highly qualified teachers, the need to…

New county records from Grundy County, Tennessee on the Mid-Cumberland Plateau of Southern Tennessee, USA

Treesearch

A.W. Cantrell; Y. Wang; C.J. Schweitzer

2011-01-01

The southeastern United States is known for its high herpetofaunal diversity, which can be partly explained by high habitat diversity (Bailey et al. 2006). However, there are still many areas within the southeast that are not well studied, with little scientific documentation of species composition. One such area is the mid-Cumberland Plateau, in particular Grundy Co...

TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR MIDDLE EASTERN CULTURAL STUDIES IN THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

KELLY, JAMES

THE THIRD PART OF A PROJECT TO DEVELOP APPROACHES TO TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ABOUT CULTURE AREAS OF THE NON-WESTERN WORLD (SEE TE 499 984 AND TE 499 995), THIS TEACHERS' GUIDE FOR AN 8-WEEK COURSE ON THE MIDDLE EAST COVERS THE GOEGRAPHY, ECONOMY, POLITICS, AND CULTURE OF THE AREAS. IT ALSO DEALS WITH THE MAJOR HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE…

The Problem of Science Education in Minority Areas--Based on a Study in Gansu Province of China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liang, Bai

2017-01-01

After 60 years of development, minority education not only has made great achievements in China, but also faces many problems. Among them is the problem of science education. The students learning in high school in the basic education in minority areas have faced particular difficulties in learning science. The teaching quality is not high,…

Areas of high conservation value at risk by plant invaders in Georgia under climate change.

PubMed

Slodowicz, Daniel; Descombes, Patrice; Kikodze, David; Broennimann, Olivier; Müller-Schärer, Heinz

2018-05-01

Invasive alien plants (IAP) are a threat to biodiversity worldwide. Understanding and anticipating invasions allow for more efficient management. In this regard, predicting potential invasion risks by IAPs is essential to support conservation planning into areas of high conservation value (AHCV) such as sites exhibiting exceptional botanical richness, assemblage of rare, and threatened and/or endemic plant species. Here, we identified AHCV in Georgia, a country showing high plant richness, and assessed the susceptibility of these areas to colonization by IAPs under present and future climatic conditions. We used actual protected areas and areas of high plant endemism (identified using occurrences of 114 Georgian endemic plant species) as proxies for AHCV. Then, we assessed present and future potential distribution of 27 IAPs using species distribution models under four climate change scenarios and stacked single-species potential distribution into a consensus map representing IAPs richness. We evaluated present and future invasion risks in AHCV using IAPs richness as a metric of susceptibility. We show that the actual protected areas cover only 9.4% of the areas of high plant endemism in Georgia. IAPs are presently located at lower elevations around the large urban centers and in western Georgia. We predict a shift of IAPs toward eastern Georgia and higher altitudes and an increased susceptibility of AHCV to IAPs under future climate change. Our study provides a good baseline for decision makers and stakeholders on where and how resources should be invested in the most efficient way to protect Georgia's high plant richness from IAPs.

Application of LANDSAT images to the study of level soils for recognizing drainage areas. Thesis Paper

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Espinoza, M. U.

1977-01-01

Photographic images from LANDSAT 1 were applied to the study of soil in Desaguadero, Bolivia, in order to locate areas with high agricultural and livestock potential. Photointerpretation techniques were emphasized and advantages of information obtained via multispectral satellite images in various bands and combinations were demonstrated.

Potential effects of four Flaming Gorge Dam hydropower operational scenarios on the fishes of the Green River, Utah and Colorado

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

Hlohowskyj, I.; Hayse, J.W.

1995-09-01

Aerial videography and modeling were used to evaluate the impacts of four hydropower operational scenarios at Flaming Gorge Dam, Utah, on trout and native fishes in the Green River, Utah and Colorado. The four operational scenarios studied were year-round high fluctuations, seasonally adjusted high fluctuations, seasonally adjusted moderate fluctuations, and seasonally adjusted steady flows. Impacts on trout were evaluated by examining differences among scenarios in the areas of inundated substrates that serve as spawning and feeding habitat. All scenarios would provide at least 23 acres per mile of habitat for spawning and food production; seasonally adjusted operations would provide additionalmore » areas during periods of sustained high release. Seasonally adjusted high fluctuations would increase inundated areas by 12 to 26% for a short period in winter and spring, but food production and reproduction would not be expected to increase. Seasonally adjusted moderate fluctuations and steady flows would produce similar increases in area, but the longer period of inundation could also result in increased food production and provide additional spawning sites for trout. Impacts on native fishes were assessed by examining daily changes in backwater nursery areas. Compared with year-round high fluctuations, the daily changes in backwater area would decrease by about 47, 89, and 100% under the seasonally adjusted high fluctuation, moderate fluctuation, and steady flow scenarios, respectively. Similarly, daily stage fluctuations during the nursery period would decrease by 72, 89, and 100% under the seasonally adjusted high fluctuation, moderate fluctuation, and steady flow scenarios, respectively. These reductions in daily fluctuations in backwater area and stage would improve conditions in nursery habitats and could in turn improve recruitment and overwinter survival. Introduced fish species could also benefit from the seasonally adjusted operational scenarios.« less

Assessing soil and groundwater contamination in a metropolitan redevelopment project.

PubMed

Yun, Junki; Lee, Ju Young; Khim, Jeehyeong; Ji, Won Hyun

2013-08-01

The purpose of this study was to assess contaminated soil and groundwater for the urban redevelopment of a rapid transit railway and a new mega-shopping area. Contaminated soil and groundwater may interfere with the progress of this project, and residents and shoppers may be exposed to human health risks. The study area has been remediated after application of first remediation technologies. Of the entire area, several sites were still contaminated by waste materials and petroleum. For zinc (Zn) contamination, high Zn concentrations were detected because waste materials were disposed in the entire area. For petroleum contamination, high total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and hydrocarbon degrading microbe concentrations were observed at the depth of 7 m because the underground petroleum storage tank had previously been located at this site. Correlation results suggest that TPH (soil) concentration is still related with TPH (groundwater) concentration. The relationship is taken into account in the Spearman coefficient (α).

Seaweed composition from Bintulu coast of Sarawak, Malaysia.

PubMed

Zawawi, Mohd Hafizbillah; Idris, Mohd Hanafi; Kamal, Abu Hena Mustafa; King, Wong Sing

2014-08-01

Species composition of seaweed and distribution were investigated in the coastal waters of Bintulu, Sarawak. The seaweed samples were collected during low tide between May 2011 and May 2012 from the six different stations. In total 54 species of seaweeds were identified from study areas of Bintulu coastal waters. Among them, 23 species were from Rhodophyta with 11 families, 15 species were from Phaeophyta with 2 families and 16 species were from Chlorophyta with 10 families: Seventeen species of seaweeds were recorded from the Tanjung Batu, while 23 species from Pantai Telekom, 14 species from Golden Beach, 26 species from Kuala Similajau, 12 species from Kuala Nyalau and 21 species from Batu Mandi. Seaweeds abundance was high in rocky substrate and Rhodophyta (11 families and 23 species) was the common and highest group of seaweeds in this coastal areas. Present study recorded high diversified seaweed species at the rocky shore area compare to reef area.

Intrinsic vulnerability assessment of Sette Comuni Plateau aquifer (Veneto Region, Italy).

PubMed

Cucchi, Franco; Franceschini, Giuliana; Zini, Luca; Aurighi, Marina

2008-09-01

Maps illustrating the different degrees of vulnerability within a given area are integral to environmental protection and management policies. The assessment of the intrinsic vulnerability of karst areas is difficult since the type and stage of karst development and the related underground discharge behavior are difficult to determine and quantify. Geographic Information Systems techniques are applied to the evaluation of the vulnerability of an aquifer in the alpine karst area of the Sette Comuni Plateau, in the Veneto Region of northern Italy. The water resources of the studied aquifer are of particular importance to the local communities. This aquifer must therefore be protected from both inappropriate use as well as possible pollution. The SINTACS and SINTACS P(RO) K(ARST) vulnerability assessment methods have been utilized here to create the vulnerability map. SINTACS P(RO) K(ARST) is an adaptation of the parametric managerial model (SINTACS) to karst hydrostructures. The vulnerability map reveals vast zones (81% of the analyzed areas) with a high degree of vulnerability. The presence of well-developed karst structures in these highly vulnerable areas facilitate water percolation, thereby enhancing the groundwater vulnerability risk. Only 1.5 of the studied aquifer have extremely high-vulnerability levels, however these areas include all of the major springs utilized for human consumption. This vulnerability map of the Sette Comuni Plateau aquifer is an indispensable tool for both the effective management of water resources and as support to environmental planning in the Sette Comuni Plateau area.

Multidisciplinary approach to evaluate landslide susceptibility along highway in northern Calabria, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muto, Francesco; Conforti, Massimo; Critelli, Salvatore; Fabbricatore, Davide; Filomena, Luciana; Rago, Valeria; Robustelli, Gaetano; Scarciglia, Fabio; Versace, Pasquale

2014-05-01

The interaction of landslides with linear infrastructures is often the cause of disasters. In Italy landslide impact on roads, railways and buildings cause millions of Euro per year in damage and restoration as well. The proposed study is aimed to the landslide susceptibility evaluation using a multidisciplinary approach: geological and geomorphological survey, statistical analysis and GIS technique, along a section of highway "A3 (Salerno-Reggio Calabria)" between Cosenza Sud and Altilia, northern Calabria. This study is included in a wider research project, named: PON01-01503, Landslides Early Warning-Sistemi integrati per il monitoraggio e la mitigazione del rischio idrogeologico lungo le grandi vie di comunicazione - aimed at the hydrogeological risk mitigation and at the early warning along the highways. The work was first based on air-photo interpretations and field investigations, in order to realize the geological map, geomorphological map and landslide inventory map. In the study area the geomorphology is strongly controlled by its bedrock geology and tectonics. The bedrock geology consists of Neogene sedimentary rocks that cover a thick stack of allochthonous nappes. These nappes consist of crystalline rocks mainly gneiss, phyllite and schist. A total of 835 landslides were mapped and the type of movement are represented mainly by slides and complex and subordinately flow. In order to estimate and validate landslide susceptibility the landslides were divided in two group. One group (training set) was used to prepare susceptibility map and the second group (validation set) to validate the map. Then, the selection of predisposing factors was performed, according with the geological and geomorphological settings of the study area: lithology, distance from tectonic elements, land use, slope, aspect, stream power index (SPI) and plan curvature. In order to evaluate landslide susceptibility Conditional Analysis was applied to Unique Conditions Units (UCUs), that are a unique combination of the predisposing factors. Subsequently, the landslide area is determined within each UCU and the landslide density is computed. The outcome of the study was a classification of the study area into four susceptibility classes, ranked from low to very high. The results showed that the 33% of the study area is characterized by a high to very high degree of susceptibility. The validation procedure results, obtained by crossing the group of the landslide of validation set with the susceptibility map, showed that the predictive model is generally satisfactory; therefore, over 75% of the landslide of validation set is correctly classified falling in high and very high susceptibility classes. The consistency of the model is also suggested by computing the seed cell area index (SCAI) because the high and very high susceptibility classes have very low SCAI values, whereas the SCAI values of the very low and low susceptibility classes are very high. Finally, the landslide susceptibility map provides the baseline information for further evaluations of landslide hazards and related risks.

Geographical distribution of drinking-water with high iodine level and association between high iodine level in drinking-water and goitre: a Chinese national investigation.

PubMed

Shen, Hongmei; Liu, Shoujun; Sun, Dianjun; Zhang, Shubin; Su, Xiaohui; Shen, Yanfeng; Han, Hepeng

2011-07-01

Excessive iodine intake can cause thyroid function disorders as can be caused by iodine deficiency. There are many people residing in areas with high iodine levels in drinking-water in China. The main aim of the present study was to map the geographical distribution of drinking-water with high iodine level in China and to determine the relationship between high iodine level in drinking-water and goitre prevalence. Iodine in drinking-water was measured in 1978 towns of eleven provinces in China, with a total of 28,857 water samples. We randomly selected children of 8-10 years old, examined the presence of goitre and measured their urinary iodine in 299 towns of nine provinces. Of the 1978 towns studied, 488 had iodine levels between 150 and 300 μg/l in drinking-water, and in 246 towns, the iodine level was >300 μg/l. These towns are mainly distributed along the original Yellow River flood areas, the second largest river in China. Of the 56 751 children examined, goitre prevalence was 6.3 % in the areas with drinking-water iodine levels of 150-300 μg/l and 11.0 % in the areas with drinking-water iodine >300 μg/l. Goitre prevalence increased with water and urinary iodine levels. For children with urinary iodine >1500 μg/l, goitre prevalence was 3.69 times higher than that for those with urinary iodine levels of 100-199 μg/l. The present study suggests that drinking-water with high iodine levels is distributed in eleven provinces of China. Goitre becomes more prevalent with the increase in iodine level in drinking-water. Therefore, it becomes important to prevent goitre through stopping the provision of iodised salt and providing normal drinking-water iodine through pipelines in these areas in China.

Forage site selection by lesser snow geese during autumn staging on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hupp, Jerry W.; Robertson, Donna G.

1998-01-01

Lesser snow geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) of the Western Canadian Arctic Population feed intensively for 2-4 weeks on the coastal plain of the Beaufort Sea in Canada and Alaska at the beginning of their autumn migration. Petroleum leasing proposed for the Alaskan portion of the staging area on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) could affect staging habitats and their use by geese. Therefore we studied availability, distribution, and use by snow geese of tall and russett cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium and E. russeolum, respectively) feeding habitats on the ANWR. We studied selection of feeding habitats at 3 spatial scales (feeding sites [0.06 m2], feeding patches [ca. 100 m2], and feeding areas [>1 ha]) during 1990-93. We used logistic regression analysis to discriminate differences in soil moisture and vegetation between 1,548 feeding sites where snow geese exploited individual cotton-grass plants and 1,143 unexploited sites at 61 feeding patches in 1990. Feeding likelihood increased with greater soil moisture and decreased where nonforage species were present. We tested the logistic regression model in 1991 by releasing human-imprinted snow geese into 4 10 × 20-m enclosed plots where plant communities had been mapped, habitats sampled, and feeding probabilities calculated. Geese selected more feeding sites per square meter in areas of predicted high quality feeding habitat (feeding probability ≥ 0.6) than in medium (feeding probability = 0.3-0.59) or poor (feeding probability < 0.3) quality habitat (P < 0.0001). Geese increasingly used medium quality areas and spent more time feeding as trials progressed and forage was presumably reduced in high quality habitats. We examined relationships between underground biomass of plants, feeding probability, and surface microrelief at 474 0.06- m2 sites in 20 thermokarst pits in 1992. Feeding probability was correlated with the percentage of underground biomass composed of cotton-grass (r = 0.56). Feeding probability and relative availability of cotton-grass forage were highest in flooded soils along the ecotone of flooded and upland habitats. In 1992, we also used the logistic regression model to estimate availability of high quality feeding sites on 192 80 × 90-m plots that were randomly located on 24 study areas. A mean of 1.6% of the area sampled in each plot was classified as high quality feeding habitat at 23 of the study areas. Relative availability of high quality sites was highest in troughs, thermokarst pits, and water tracks because saturated soils in those microreliefs were dominated by cotton-grass. Relative availability of high quality sites was lower in saturated soils of basins (low-centered polygons, wet meadows, and strangmoor) because that microrelief was dominated by Carex spp. Most (63%) of the saturated area on the ANWR coastal plain was in basins. We examined distribution of feeding patches relative to microrelief in 49 snow goose feeding areas in 1993. Only 2.5% of the tundra in each feeding area was exploited by snow geese. Snow geese preferentially fed in thermokarst pits, water tracks, and troughs, and avoided basins and uplands. Feeding areas had more thermokarst pit but less basin microrelief than adjacent randomly-selected areas. Thermokarst pits and water tracks occurred most frequently in regions of the coastal plain where geese were observed most often during aerial surveys (1982-93). Microrelief influenced selection of feeding patches and feeding areas and may have affected snow goose distribution on the ANWR. Potential feeding patches were widely distributed but composed a small percentage (≤2.5%) of the tundra landscape and were highly interspersed with less suitable habitat. The Western Canadian Arctic Population probably used a large staging area on the Beaufort Sea coastal plain because snow geese exploited a spatially and temporally heterogeneous resource.

Temporal reliability and lateralization of the resting-state language network.

PubMed

Zhu, Linlin; Fan, Yang; Zou, Qihong; Wang, Jue; Gao, Jia-Hong; Niu, Zhendong

2014-01-01

The neural processing loop of language is complex but highly associated with Broca's and Wernicke's areas. The left dominance of these two areas was the earliest observation of brain asymmetry. It was demonstrated that the language network and its functional asymmetry during resting state were reproducible across institutions. However, the temporal reliability of resting-state language network and its functional asymmetry are still short of knowledge. In this study, we established a seed-based resting-state functional connectivity analysis of language network with seed regions located at Broca's and Wernicke's areas, and investigated temporal reliability of language network and its functional asymmetry. The language network was found to be temporally reliable in both short- and long-term. In the aspect of functional asymmetry, the Broca's area was found to be left lateralized, while the Wernicke's area is mainly right lateralized. Functional asymmetry of these two areas revealed high short- and long-term reliability as well. In addition, the impact of global signal regression (GSR) on reliability of the resting-state language network was investigated, and our results demonstrated that GSR had negligible effect on the temporal reliability of the resting-state language network. Our study provided methodology basis for future cross-culture and clinical researches of resting-state language network and suggested priority of adopting seed-based functional connectivity for its high reliability.

Temporal Reliability and Lateralization of the Resting-State Language Network

PubMed Central

Zou, Qihong; Wang, Jue; Gao, Jia-Hong; Niu, Zhendong

2014-01-01

The neural processing loop of language is complex but highly associated with Broca's and Wernicke's areas. The left dominance of these two areas was the earliest observation of brain asymmetry. It was demonstrated that the language network and its functional asymmetry during resting state were reproducible across institutions. However, the temporal reliability of resting-state language network and its functional asymmetry are still short of knowledge. In this study, we established a seed-based resting-state functional connectivity analysis of language network with seed regions located at Broca's and Wernicke's areas, and investigated temporal reliability of language network and its functional asymmetry. The language network was found to be temporally reliable in both short- and long-term. In the aspect of functional asymmetry, the Broca's area was found to be left lateralized, while the Wernicke's area is mainly right lateralized. Functional asymmetry of these two areas revealed high short- and long-term reliability as well. In addition, the impact of global signal regression (GSR) on reliability of the resting-state language network was investigated, and our results demonstrated that GSR had negligible effect on the temporal reliability of the resting-state language network. Our study provided methodology basis for future cross-culture and clinical researches of resting-state language network and suggested priority of adopting seed-based functional connectivity for its high reliability. PMID:24475058

Human response to high-background radiation environments on Earth and in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durante, M.; Manti, L.

The main long-term goal of the space exploration program is the colonization of the planets of the Solar System The high cosmic radiation equivalent dose rate represents a major problem for a stable and safe colonization of the planets The dose rate on Mars ranges between 60 and 150 mSv year depending on the Solar cycle and altitude and can reach values as high as 360 mSv year on the Moon The average dose rate on the Earth is about 3 mSv year reduced to about 1 mSv year excluding the internal exposure to Rn daughters However some areas of the Earth have anomalously high levels of background radiation Values 200-400 times higher than the world average are found in regions where monazite sand deposits are abundant Population in Tibet experience a high cosmic radiation background Epidemiological studies did not detect any adverse health effects in the populations living in those high-background radiation areas on Earth Chromosomal aberrations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes from the population living in the high-background radiation areas have been measured in several studies because the chromosomal damage represents an early biomarker of cancer risk Similar cytogenetic studies have been recently performed in cohort of astronauts involved in single or repeated space flights over many years A comparison of the cytogenetic findings in populations exposed at high dose rate on Earth or in space will be described

Impact of air pollution on vitamin D deficiency and bone health in adolescents.

PubMed

Feizabad, Elham; Hossein-Nezhad, Arash; Maghbooli, Zhila; Ramezani, Majid; Hashemian, Roxana; Moattari, Syamak

2017-12-01

The association between air pollution and bone health was evaluated in adolescents in the city of Tehran. This study is essentially ecological. Vitamin D deficiency among adolescents has been reported at higher rates in polluted areas than in non-polluted areas. Additionally, residence in polluted areas is associated with lower levels of bone alkaline phosphatase. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between ambient air pollution and bone turnover in adolescents and to compare the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency between polluted and non-polluted areas of Tehran. This cross-sectional population-based study was conducted on 325 middle- and high-school students (both girls and boys) in Tehran in the winter. During the study period, detailed daily data on air pollution were obtained from archived data collected by Tehran Air Quality Control Company (AQCC). Serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone (PTH), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, 25(OH) vitamin D, osteocalcin, cross-linked C-telopeptide (CTX), total protein, albumin, and creatinine were obtained from the study group. Vitamin D deficiency was more prevalent in polluted areas than in non-polluted areas. After adjustment for age and sex, residence in the polluted area showed a statistically significant positive association with vitamin D deficiency and a statistically significant negative association with bone turnover. Interestingly, high calcium intake (>5000 mg/week) protects against the effects of air pollution on bone turnover. Air pollution is a chief factor determining the amount of solar UVB that reaches the earth's surface. Thus, atmospheric pollution may play a significant independent role in the development of vitamin D deficiency.

Representation of Sound Objects within Early-Stage Auditory Areas: A Repetition Effect Study Using 7T fMRI

PubMed Central

Da Costa, Sandra; Bourquin, Nathalie M.-P.; Knebel, Jean-François; Saenz, Melissa; van der Zwaag, Wietske; Clarke, Stephanie

2015-01-01

Environmental sounds are highly complex stimuli whose recognition depends on the interaction of top-down and bottom-up processes in the brain. Their semantic representations were shown to yield repetition suppression effects, i. e. a decrease in activity during exposure to a sound that is perceived as belonging to the same source as a preceding sound. Making use of the high spatial resolution of 7T fMRI we have investigated the representations of sound objects within early-stage auditory areas on the supratemporal plane. The primary auditory cortex was identified by means of tonotopic mapping and the non-primary areas by comparison with previous histological studies. Repeated presentations of different exemplars of the same sound source, as compared to the presentation of different sound sources, yielded significant repetition suppression effects within a subset of early-stage areas. This effect was found within the right hemisphere in primary areas A1 and R as well as two non-primary areas on the antero-medial part of the planum temporale, and within the left hemisphere in A1 and a non-primary area on the medial part of Heschl’s gyrus. Thus, several, but not all early-stage auditory areas encode the meaning of environmental sounds. PMID:25938430

Human cortical activity related to unilateral movements. A high resolution EEG study.

PubMed

Urbano, A; Babiloni, C; Onorati, P; Babiloni, F

1996-12-20

In the present study a modern high resolution electroencephalography (EEG) technique was used to investigate the dynamic functional topography of human cortical activity related to simple unilateral internally triggered finger movements. The sensorimotor area (M1-S1) contralateral to the movement as well as the supplementary motor area (SMA) and to a lesser extent the ipsilateral M1-S1 were active during the preparation and execution of these movements. These findings suggest that both hemispheres may cooperate in both planning and production of simple unilateral volitional acts.

The development of science achievement in middle and high school. Individual differences and school effects.

PubMed

Ma, Xin; Wilkins, Jesse L M

2002-08-01

Using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), hierarchical linear models (HLMs) were used to model the growth of student science achievement in three areas (biology, physical science, and environmental science) during middle and high school. Results showed significant growth in science achievement across all areas. The growth was quadratic across all areas, with rapid growth at the beginning grades of middle school but slow growth at the ending grades of high school. At the student level, socioeconomic status (SES) and age were related to the rate of growth in all areas. There were no gender differences in the rate of growth in any of the three areas. At the school level, variables associated with school context (school mean SES and school size) and variables associated with school climate (principal leadership, academic expectation, and teacher autonomy) were related to the growth in science achievement. Initial (Grade 7) status in science achievement was not associated with the rate of growth in science achievement among either students or schools in any of the three areas.

An ecological study of the relationship between socioeconomic isolation and mental health in the most deprived areas in Auckland, New Zealand.

PubMed

Pearson, Amber L; Griffin, Edward; Davies, Anna; Kingham, Simon

2013-01-01

International debate posits that when groups feel deprived relative to reference groups in society, there may be psychosocial impacts. Deprivation varies geographically and deprived areas may be proximal to advantaged areas. In theory, this leads to chronic stress and poor mental health. This research explored whether socioeconomically isolated deprived areas experience increased levels of anxiety/mental disorder treatment, compared to other deprived areas. We developed a spatial isolation measure to characterise deprived areas surrounded by advantaged areas in Auckland, New Zealand. We found that isolated areas were characterised by fewer Māori and Pacific people, high density and shorter travel time to General Practitioners. We found significantly higher rates of anxiety/mood disorder treatment in highly isolated versus non-isolated areas and a statistically significant relationship with anxiety/mood disorders for each isolation level, both before and after confounder adjustment. This evidence suggests that mental health within small areas may be sensitive to the neighbourhood interactions, through social comparison or discrimination which lead to psychosocial stress. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of Exposure to Pressure of 50 MPa on the Specific Surface Area of Clay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koszela-Marek, Ewa

2017-12-01

The paper presents results of laboratory tests conducted to determine the impact of pressure of 50 MPa on specific surface area of clay. These tests were carried out in an original, high-pressure test stand. The specific surface area of clay extracted directly from an open pit mine was compared with the specific surface area of the same clay subjected to the pressure of 50 MPa in a high-pressure chamber. The study found that the specific surface area of the clay subjected to the pressure of 50 MPa increased distinctly by over 35 %. The increase in specific surface can be a result of changes in the microstructure of clay particles and microstructural alteration in the soil skeleton, caused by the pressure.

Relationship between land use and water quality in Pesanggrahan River

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Effendi, Hefni; Muslimah, Sri; Ayu Permatasari, Prita

2018-05-01

Pesanggrahan River watershed has several activities such as residential and commercial area in its catchment area. The purpose of this study was to analyse water quality related to spatial land use in Pesanggrahan River using GIS Analysis. River water quality in some locations, did not meet water quality standard of class III. From pollution load estimation it was revealed that segment 2 (Bogor City) has the highest BOD, COD, and TSS of 15,043 kg/day, 25,619 kg/day, and 18,104 kg/day respectively. On the other hand, the most developed area in Pesanggrahan Watershed is located in segment 7 (24.5%). Hence, it can be concluded that although an area has a fairly small developed area, high urban activity can cause high BOD, COD, and TSS.

Designing medical internships to improve recruitment and retention of doctors in rural areas

PubMed Central

Gaski, Margrete; Abelsen, Birgit

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: The medical internship as a way of exposing young doctors to training in a rural context is regarded as a useful tool to recruit and retain doctors in rural areas. Norwegian health authorities tested an arrangement of early sign-up for medical internships in the Finnmark County in Norway. Objective: To report on the effects of the early sign-up for medical internship. Design: This study compares the choice of workplace after internship among physicians who signed up early with those candidates assigned to the raffle model of internship in the study area, and in a comparison area experiencing similar recruitment and retention problems. Results: The proportion of interns who signed up early that still worked as physicians in the study area by April 2014 (29%) was twice as high as among the regular interns (15%) and interns in the comparison area (14%). Among the 59 interns who signed up early still working in the study area in April 2014, 33% had grown up in this area. However, the greatest benefits were for the most densely populated municipalities in the study area. Conclusions: The early sign-up model had a net contribution of proving additional physicians in the study area. PMID:28417680

Dramatic Decrease in Malaria Transmission after Large-Scale Indoor Residual Spraying with Bendiocarb in Benin, an Area of High Resistance of Anopheles gambiae to Pyrethroids

PubMed Central

Akogbeto, Martin; Padonou, Gil Germain; Bankole, Honore Sourou; Gazard, Dorothee Kinde; Gbedjissi, Ghelus Louis

2011-01-01

In 2008, the National Malaria Control Program in Benin implemented a vector control intervention based on indoor residual spraying (IRS). Four districts of high resistance of Anopheles gambiae to pyrethroids were sprayed with bendiocarb. More than 350,000 inhabitants have been protected. Entomologic parameters in the control area were compared with those in intervention sites. The study has shown a drastic decrease in the An. gambiae biting rate in the sprayed areas. Results of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were negative for Plasmodium falciparum antigen during the entire period of the intervention. No household members received infected bites (entomologic inoculation rate = 0 during January–July). Parous rates were low in areas covered by IRS because bendiocarb is not conducive to long-term mosquito survival. Bendiocarb was found to be a good alternative insecticide for IRS in Benin, in areas where An. gambiae has developed high resistance to pyrethroids. PMID:21976555

Visitor evaluations of management actions at a highly impacted Appalachian Trail camping area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Daniels, M.L.; Marion, J.L.

2006-01-01

Protected area management involves balancing environmental and social objectives. This is particularly difficult at high-use/high-impact recreation sites, because resource protection objectives may require substantial site management or visitor regulation. This study examined visitors? reactions to both of these types of actions at Annapolis Rocks, Maryland, a popular Appalachian Trail camping area. We surveyed visitors before and after implementation of camping policies that included shifting camping to designated newly constructed campsites and prohibiting campfires. Survey results reveal that visitors were more satisfied with all social and environmental indicators after the changes were enacted. An Importance-Performance analysis also determined that management actions improved conditions for factors of greatest concern to campers prior to the changes. Posttreatment visitors were least satisfied with factors related to reduced freedom and to some characteristics of the constructed campsites. Although there was evidence of visitor displacement, the camping changes met management goals by protecting the camping area?s natural resources and improving social conditions.

Examination about the Spatial Representation of PM2.5 Obtained from Limited Stations Using a Network Observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, X.; Zhao, C.

2017-12-01

Haze aerosol pollution has been a focus issue in China, and its characteristics is highly demanded. With limited observation sites, aerosol properties obtained from a single site is frequently used to represent the haze condition over a large domain, such as tens of kilometers. This could result in high uncertainties in the haze characteristics due to their spatial variation. Using a network observation from November 2015 to February 2016 over an urban city in North China with high spatial resolution, this study examines the spatial representation of ground site observations. A method is first developed to determine the representative area of measurements from limited stations. The key idea of this method is to determine the spatial variability of particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) concentration using a variance function in 2km x 2km grids. Based on the high spatial resolution (0.5km x 0.5km) measurements of PM2.5, the grids in which PM2.5 have high correlations and weak value differences are determined as the representation area of measurements at these grids. Note that the size representation area is not exactly a circle region. It shows that the size representation are for the study region and study period ranges from 0.25 km2 to 16.25 km2. The representation area varies with locations. For the 20 km x 20 km study region, 10 station observations would have a good representation of the PM2.5 observations obtained from current 169 stations at the four-month time scale.

Comparison of carbon onions and carbon blacks as conductive additives for carbon supercapacitors in organic electrolytes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jäckel, N.; Weingarth, D.; Zeiger, M.; Aslan, M.; Grobelsek, I.; Presser, V.

2014-12-01

This study investigates carbon onions (∼400 m2 g-1) as a conductive additive for supercapacitor electrodes of activated carbon and compares their performance with carbon black with high or low internal surface area. We provide a study of the electrical conductivity and electrochemical behavior between 2.5 and 20 mass% addition of each of these three additives to activated carbon. Structural characterization shows that the density of the resulting film electrodes depends on the degree of agglomeration and the amount of additive. Addition of low surface area carbon black (∼80 m2 g-1) enhances the power handling of carbon electrodes but significantly lowers the specific capacitance even when adding small amounts of carbon black. A much lower decrease in specific capacitance is observed for carbon onions and the best values are seen for carbon black with a high surface area (∼1390 m2 g-1). The overall performance benefits from the addition of any of the studied additives only at either high scan rates and/or electrolytes with high ion mobility. Normalization to the volume shows a severe decrease in volumetric capacitance and only at high current densities nearing 10 A g-1 we can see an improvement of the electrode capacitance.

Cadastral Resurvey using High Resolution Satellite Ortho Image - challenges: A case study in Odisha, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parida, P. K.; Sanabada, M. K.; Tripathi, S.

2014-11-01

Advancements in satellite sensor technology enabling capturing of geometrically accurate images of earth's surface coupled with DGPS/ETS and GIS technology holds the capability of large scale mapping of land resources at cadastral level. High Resolution Satellite Images depict field bunds distinctly. Thus plot parcels are to be delineated from cloud free ortho-images and obscured/difficult areas are to be surveyed using DGPS and ETS. The vector datasets thus derived through RS/DGPS/ETS survey are to be integrated in GIS environment to generate the base cadastral vector datasets for further settlement/title confirmation activities. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the efficacy of a hybrid methodology employed in Pitambarpur Sasana village under Digapahandi Tahasil of Ganjam district, as a pilot project, particularly in Odisha scenario where the land parcel size is very small. One of the significant observations of the study is matching of Cadastral map area i.e. 315.454 Acres, the image map area i.e. 314.887 Acres and RoR area i.e. 313.815 Acre. It was revealed that 79 % of plots derived by high-tech survey method show acceptable level of accuracy despite the fact that the mode of area measurement by ground and automated method has significant variability. The variations are more in case of Government lands, Temple/Trust lands, Common Property Resources and plots near to river/nalas etc. The study indicates that the adopted technology can be extended to other districts and cadastral resurvey and updating work can be done for larger areas of the country using this methodology.

[Sensibility of the abdomen after high superior tension abdominoplasty].

PubMed

Castus, P; Grandjean, F-X; Tourbach, S; Heymans, O

2009-12-01

Patients who undergo an abdominoplasty frequently complain about the loss of sensibility of the abdominal wall. In this study, we analyze this sensibility after the high tension abdominoplasty. This is a prospective study of 23 females operated between July 2003 and January 2005. The abdominoplasty technique used in our study combines extensive liposuccion, limited undermining centered on the linea alba and traction sutures. The sensibilty tests are carried out preoperatively, as well as at 3 and 6 months postoperatively. The three components of the skin sensibility -tactile, algesic and thermic- are evaluated in four differents areas of the abdomen. In the lateral areas of the abdomen (liposucted only), the thermoalgesic sensibility is diminished at 3 months and completely recovers at 6 months. At 3 months postoperatively, the tactile sensibility is even better than the preoperative one and continues to improve by 6 months. The postoperative hypogastric area is widely undermined during surgery. In this area, the three types of sensibility are heavily altered at 3 months and only partially recover at 6 months. The undermining of the postoperative epigastric area is limited. In this zone, the postoperative thermoalgesic sensibility is diminished at 3 months, but completely recovers at 6 months. At 3 months, the tactile sensibility is less than the preoperative one, but it improves with time to even exceed the preoperative values at 6 months. The high tension abdominoplasty only needs a limited undermining and largely preserves the innervation of the abdominal flap. Only the hypogastric area, largely undermined, presents a sensitivity loss. These results are better than those previously reported in the literature.

Evidence of late Palaeocene-early Eocene equatorial rain forest refugia in southern Western Ghats, India.

PubMed

Prasad, V; Farooqui, A; Tripathi, S K M; Garg, R; Thakur, B

2009-11-01

Equatorial rain forests that maintain a balance between speciation and extinction are hot-spots for studies of biodiversity. Western Ghats in southern India have gained attention due to high tropical biodiversity and endemism in their southern most area. We attempted to track the affinities of the pollen fl ora of the endemic plants of Western Ghat area within the fossil palynoflora of late Palaeocene-early Eocene (approximately 55-50 Ma) sedimentary deposits of western and northeastern Indian region. The study shows striking similarity of extant pollen with twenty eight most common fossil pollen taxa of the early Palaeogene. Widespread occurrences of coal and lignite deposits during early Palaeogene provide evidence of existence of well diversified rain forest community and swampy vegetation in the coastal low lying areas all along the western and northeastern margins of the Indian subcontinent. Prevalence of excessive humid climate during this period has been seen as a result of equatorial positioning of Indian subcontinent, superimposed by a long term global warming phase (PETM and EECO) during the early Palaeogene. The study presents clear evidence that highly diversifi ed equatorial rain forest vegetation once widespread in the Indian subcontinent during early Palaeogene times, are now restricted in a small area as a refugia in the southernmost part of the Western Ghat area. High precipitation and shorter periods of dry months seem to have provided suitable environment to sustain lineages of ancient tropical vegetation in this area of Western Ghats in spite of dramatic climatic changes subsequent to the post India-Asia collision and during the Quaternary and Recent times.

Surface-emitting circular DFB, disk- and ring- Bragg resonator lasers with chirped gratings: a unified theory and comparative study.

PubMed

Sun, Xiankai; Yariv, Amnon

2008-06-09

We have developed a theory that unifies the analysis of the modal properties of surface-emitting chirped circular grating lasers. This theory is based on solving the resonance conditions which involve two types of reflectivities of chirped circular gratings. This approach is shown to be in agreement with previous derivations which use the characteristic equations. Utilizing this unified analysis, we obtain the modal properties of circular DFB, disk-, and ring- Bragg resonator lasers. We also compare the threshold gain, single mode range, quality factor, emission efficiency, and modal area of these types of circular grating lasers. It is demonstrated that, under similar conditions, disk Bragg resonator lasers have the highest quality factor, the highest emission efficiency, and the smallest modal area, indicating their suitability in low-threshold, high-efficiency, ultracompact laser design, while ring Bragg resonator lasers have a large single mode range, high emission efficiency, and large modal area, indicating their suitability for high-efficiency, large-area, high-power applications.

Mapping critical loads of nitrogen deposition for aquatic ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nanus, Leora; Clow, David W.; Saros, Jasmine E.; Stephens, Verlin C.; Campbell, Donald H.

2012-01-01

Spatially explicit estimates of critical loads of nitrogen (N) deposition (CLNdep) for nutrient enrichment in aquatic ecosystems were developed for the Rocky Mountains, USA, using a geostatistical approach. The lowest CLNdep estimates (−1 yr−1) occurred in high-elevation basins with steep slopes, sparse vegetation, and abundance of exposed bedrock and talus. These areas often correspond with areas of high N deposition (>3 kg N ha−1 yr−1), resulting in CLNdep exceedances ≥1.5 ± 1 kg N ha−1 yr−1. CLNdep and CLNdep exceedances exhibit substantial spatial variability related to basin characteristics and are highly sensitive to the NO3− threshold at which ecological effects are thought to occur. Based on an NO3− threshold of 0.5 μmol L−1, N deposition exceeds CLNdep in 21 ± 8% of the study area; thus, broad areas of the Rocky Mountains may be impacted by excess N deposition, with greatest impacts at high elevations.

Mapping critical loads of nitrogen deposition for aquatic ecosystems in the Rocky Mountains, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nanus, Leora; Clow, David W.; Saros, Jasmine E.; Stephens, Verlin C.; Campbell, Donald H.

2012-01-01

Spatially explicit estimates of critical loads of nitrogen (N) deposition (CLNdep) for nutrient enrichment in aquatic ecosystems were developed for the Rocky Mountains, USA, using a geostatistical approach. The lowest CLNdep estimates (-1 yr-1) occurred in high-elevation basins with steep slopes, sparse vegetation, and abundance of exposed bedrock and talus. These areas often correspond with areas of high N deposition (>3 kg N ha-1 yr-1), resulting in CLNdep exceedances ≥1.5 ± 1 kg N ha-1 yr-1. CLNdep and CLNdep exceedances exhibit substantial spatial variability related to basin characteristics and are highly sensitive to the NO3- threshold at which ecological effects are thought to occur. Based on an NO3- threshold of 0.5 μmol L-1, N deposition exceeds CLNdep in 21 ± 8% of the study area; thus, broad areas of the Rocky Mountains may be impacted by excess N deposition, with greatest impacts at high elevations.

GRANITE FIORDS WILDERNESS STUDY AREA, ALASKA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berg, Henry C.; Pittman, Tom L.

1984-01-01

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

Mineral resource potential map of the lower San Francisco Wilderness study area and contiguous roadless area, Greenlee County, Arizona and Catron and Grant Counties, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ratte, James C.; Hassemer, Jerry R.; Martin, Ronny A.; Lane, Michael

1982-01-01

The Lower San Francisco Wilderness Study Area consists of a narrow strip 1-2 mi (2-3 km) wide between the rims of the San Francisco River canyon. The wilderness study area has a moderately high potential for geothermal resources, a low to moderate potential for base metal or precious metal resources in middle to upper Tertiary volcanic rocks, essentially no oil, gas, or coal potential, and a largely unassessable potential for metal deposits related to Laramide igneous intrusions in pre-Tertiary or lower Tertiary rocks that underlie the area. The contiguous roadless area, which borders the New Mexico half of the wilderness study area, mainly on the north side of the San Francisco River, has a low to moderate potential for molybdenum or copper deposits related to intrusive igneous rocks in the core of a volcano of dacitic composition at Goat Basin.

Altered intraoperative cerebrovascular reactivity in brain areas of high-grade glioma recurrence.

PubMed

Fierstra, Jorn; van Niftrik, Bas; Piccirelli, Marco; Burkhardt, Jan Karl; Pangalu, Athina; Kocian, Roman; Valavanis, Antonios; Weller, Michael; Regli, Luca; Bozinov, Oliver

2016-07-01

Current MRI sequences are limited in identifying brain areas at risk for high grade glioma recurrence. We employed intraoperative 3-Tesla functional MRI to assess cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) after high-grade glioma resection and analyzed regional CVR responses in areas of tumor recurrence on clinical follow-up imaging. Five subjects with high-grade glioma that underwent an intraoperative Blood Oxygen-Level Dependent (BOLD) MRI CVR examination and had a clinical follow-up of at least 18months were selected from a prospective database. For this study, location of tumor recurrence was spatially matched to the intraoperative imaging to assess CVR response in that particular area. CVR is defined as the percent BOLD signal change during repeated cycles of apnea. Of the 5 subjects (mean age 44, 2 females), 4 were diagnosed with a WHO grade III and 1 subject with a WHO grade IV glioma. Three subjects exhibited a tumor recurrence on clinical follow-up MRI (mean: 15months). BOLD CVR measured in the spatially matched area of tumor recurrence was on average 94% increased (range-32% to 183%) as compared to contralateral hemisphere CVR response, 1.50±0.81 versus 1.03±0.46 respectively (p=0.31). For this first analysis in a small cohort, we found altered intraoperative CVR in brain areas exhibiting high grade glioma recurrence on clinical follow-up imaging. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Response of Stream Chemistry During Base Flow to Gradients of Urbanization in Selected Locations Across the Conterminous United States, 2002-04

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sprague, Lori A.; Harned, Douglas A.; Hall, David W.; Nowell, Lisa H.; Bauch, Nancy J.; Richards, Kevin D.

2007-01-01

During 2002-2004, the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program conducted a study to determine the effects of urbanization on stream water quality and aquatic communities in six environmentally heterogeneous areas of the conterminous United States--Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Milwaukee-Green Bay, Wisconsin; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon. This report compares and contrasts the response of stream chemistry during base flow to urbanization in different environmental settings and examines the relation between the exceedance of water-quality benchmarks and the level of urbanization in these areas. Chemical characteristics studied included concentrations of nutrients, dissolved pesticides, suspended sediment, sulfate, and chloride in base flow. In three study areas where the background land cover in minimally urbanized basins was predominantly forested (Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, and Portland), urban development was associated with increased concentrations of nitrogen and total herbicides in streams. In Portland, there was evidence of mixed agricultural and urban influences at sites with 20 to 50 percent urban land cover. In two study areas where agriculture was the predominant background land cover (Milwaukee-Green Bay and Dallas-Fort Worth), concentrations of nitrogen and herbicides were flat or decreasing as urbanization increased. In Denver, which had predominantly shrub/grass as background land cover, nitrogen concentrations were only weakly related to urbanization, and total herbicide concentrations did not show any clear pattern relative to land cover - perhaps because of extensive water management in the study area. In contrast, total insecticide concentrations increased with increasing urbanization in all six study areas, likely due to high use of insecticides in urban applications and, for some study areas, the proximity of urban land cover to the sampling sites. Phosphorus concentrations increased with urbanization only in Portland; in Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham, leachate from septic tanks may have increased phosphorus concentrations in basins with minimal urban development. Concentrations of suspended sediment were only weakly associated with urbanization, probably because this study analyzed only base-flow samples, and the bulk of sediment loads to streams is transported in storm runoff rather than base flow. Sulfate and chloride concentrations increased with increasing urbanization in four study areas (Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Milwaukee-Green Bay, and Portland), likely due to increasing contributions from urban sources of these constituents. The weak relation between sulfate and chloride concentrations and urbanization in Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver was likely due in part to high sulfate and chloride concentrations in ground-water inflow, which would have obscured any pattern of increasing concentration with urbanization. Pesticides often were detected at multiple sites within a study area, so that the pesticide 'signature' for a given study area - the mixtures of pesticides detected, and their relative concentrations, at streams within the study area - tended to show some pesticides as dominant. The type and concentrations of the dominant pesticides varied markedly among sites within a study area. There were differences between pesticide signatures during high and low base-flow conditions in five of the six study areas. Normalization of absolute pesticide concentrations by the pesticide toxicity index (a relative index indicating potential toxicity to aquatic organisms) dramatically changed the pesticide signatures, indicating that the pesticides with the greatest potential to adversely affect cladocerans or fish were not necessarily the pesticides detected at the highest concentrations. In a screening-level assessment, measured contaminant concentrations in individual base-flow water samples were compared with various water-qual

Introduction and Testing of a Monitoring and Colony-Mapping Method for Waterbird Populations That Uses High-Speed and Ultra-Detailed Aerial Remote Sensing

PubMed Central

Bakó, Gábor; Tolnai, Márton; Takács, Ádám

2014-01-01

Remote sensing is a method that collects data of the Earth's surface without causing disturbances. Thus, it is worthwhile to use remote sensing methods to survey endangered ecosystems, as the studied species will behave naturally while undisturbed. The latest passive optical remote sensing solutions permit surveys from long distances. State-of-the-art highly sensitive sensor systems allow high spatial resolution image acquisition at high altitudes and at high flying speeds, even in low-visibility conditions. As the aerial imagery captured by an airplane covers the entire study area, all the animals present in that area can be recorded. A population assessment is conducted by visual interpretations of an ortho image map. The basic objective of this study is to determine whether small- and medium-sized bird species are recognizable in the ortho images by using high spatial resolution aerial cameras. The spatial resolution needed for identifying the bird species in the ortho image map was studied. The survey was adjusted to determine the number of birds in a colony at a given time. PMID:25046012

Childhood leukaemia in areas with different radon levels: a spatial and temporal analysis using GIS.

PubMed

Kohli, S; Noorlind Brage, H; Löfman, O

2000-11-01

To evaluate the relation between exposure to ground radon levels and leukaemia among children using existing population and disease registers. Ecological correlation study. The county of Ostergötland in Sweden. Every child born in the county between 1979 and 1992 was mapped to the property centroid coordinates by linking addresses in the population and property registers. Population maps were overlaid with radon maps and exposure at birth and each subsequent year was quantified as high, normal, low or unknown. This was analysed with data from the tumour registry. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated using the age and sex specific rates for Sweden for the year 1995. 90 malignancies occurred among 53 146 children (498 887 person years) who formed the study population. SMRs for acute lymphatic leukaemia (ALL) among children born in high, normal and low risk areas were 1.43, 1.17 and 0.25 respectively. The relative risk for the normal risk group and high risk group as compared with the low risk group was 4.64 (95% CI 1.29, 28.26) and 5. 67 (95% CI 1.06, 42.27). The association between ALL and continued residence at normal or high risk areas showed a similar trend. No association between radon risk levels and any other malignancy was seen. Children born in and staying at areas where the risk from ground radon has been classified as low are less likely to develop ALL than those born in areas classified as normal and high risk.

Porosity determination from 2-D resistivity method in studying the slope failures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maslinda, Umi; Nordiana, M. M.; Bery, A. A.

2017-07-01

Slope failures have become the main focus for infrastructures development on hilly areas in Malaysia especially the development of tourism and residential. Lack of understanding and information of the subsoil conditions and geotechnical issues are the main cause of the slope failures. The failures happened are due to a combination of few factors such as topography, climate, geology and land use. 2-D resistivity method was conducted at the collapsed area in Selangor. The 2-D resistivity was done to study the instability of the area. The collapsed occurred because of the subsurface materials was unstable. Pole-dipole array was used with 5 m minimum electrode spacing for the 2-D resistivity method. The data was processed using Res2Dinv software and the porosity was calculated using Archie's law equation. The results show that the saturated zone (1-100 Ωm), alluvium or highly weathered rock (100-1000 Ωm), boulders (1600-7000 Ωm) and granitic bedrock (>7000 Ωm). Generally, the slope failures or landslides occur during the wet season or after rainfall. It is because of the water infiltrate to the slope and cause the saturation of the slope which can lead to landslides. Then, the porosity of saturated zone is usually high because of the water content. The area of alluvium or highly weathered rock and saturated zone have high porosity (>20%) and the high porosity also dominated at almost all the collapsed area which means that the materials with porosity >20% is potential to be saturated, unstable and might trigger slope failures.

Small-scale fisheries bycatch jeopardizes endangered Pacific loggerhead turtles.

PubMed

Peckham, S Hoyt; Maldonado Diaz, David; Walli, Andreas; Ruiz, Georgita; Crowder, Larry B; Nichols, Wallace J

2007-10-17

Although bycatch of industrial-scale fisheries can cause declines in migratory megafauna including seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles, the impacts of small-scale fisheries have been largely overlooked. Small-scale fisheries occur in coastal waters worldwide, employing over 99% of the world's 51 million fishers. New telemetry data reveal that migratory megafauna frequent coastal habitats well within the range of small-scale fisheries, potentially producing high bycatch. These fisheries occur primarily in developing nations, and their documentation and management are limited or non-existent, precluding evaluation of their impacts on non-target megafauna. 30 North Pacific loggerhead turtles that we satellite-tracked from 1996-2005 ranged oceanwide, but juveniles spent 70% of their time at a high use area coincident with small-scale fisheries in Baja California Sur, Mexico (BCS). We assessed loggerhead bycatch mortality in this area by partnering with local fishers to 1) observe two small-scale fleets that operated closest to the high use area and 2) through shoreline surveys for discarded carcasses. Minimum annual bycatch mortality in just these two fleets at the high use area exceeded 1000 loggerheads year(-1), rivaling that of oceanwide industrial-scale fisheries, and threatening the persistence of this critically endangered population. As a result of fisher participation in this study and a bycatch awareness campaign, a consortium of local fishers and other citizens are working to eliminate their bycatch and to establish a national loggerhead refuge. Because of the overlap of ubiquitous small-scale fisheries with newly documented high-use areas in coastal waters worldwide, our case study suggests that small-scale fisheries may be among the greatest current threats to non-target megafauna. Future research is urgently needed to quantify small-scale fisheries bycatch worldwide. Localizing coastal high use areas and mitigating bycatch in partnership with small-scale fishers may provide a crucial solution toward ensuring the persistence of vulnerable megafauna.

Small-Scale Fisheries Bycatch Jeopardizes Endangered Pacific Loggerhead Turtles

PubMed Central

Peckham, S. Hoyt; Diaz, David Maldonado; Walli, Andreas; Ruiz, Georgita; Crowder, Larry B.; Nichols, Wallace J.

2007-01-01

Background Although bycatch of industrial-scale fisheries can cause declines in migratory megafauna including seabirds, marine mammals, and sea turtles, the impacts of small-scale fisheries have been largely overlooked. Small-scale fisheries occur in coastal waters worldwide, employing over 99% of the world's 51 million fishers. New telemetry data reveal that migratory megafauna frequent coastal habitats well within the range of small-scale fisheries, potentially producing high bycatch. These fisheries occur primarily in developing nations, and their documentation and management are limited or non-existent, precluding evaluation of their impacts on non-target megafauna. Principal Findings/Methodology 30 North Pacific loggerhead turtles that we satellite-tracked from 1996–2005 ranged oceanwide, but juveniles spent 70% of their time at a high use area coincident with small-scale fisheries in Baja California Sur, Mexico (BCS). We assessed loggerhead bycatch mortality in this area by partnering with local fishers to 1) observe two small-scale fleets that operated closest to the high use area and 2) through shoreline surveys for discarded carcasses. Minimum annual bycatch mortality in just these two fleets at the high use area exceeded 1000 loggerheads year−1, rivaling that of oceanwide industrial-scale fisheries, and threatening the persistence of this critically endangered population. As a result of fisher participation in this study and a bycatch awareness campaign, a consortium of local fishers and other citizens are working to eliminate their bycatch and to establish a national loggerhead refuge. Conclusions/Significance Because of the overlap of ubiquitous small-scale fisheries with newly documented high-use areas in coastal waters worldwide, our case study suggests that small-scale fisheries may be among the greatest current threats to non-target megafauna. Future research is urgently needed to quantify small-scale fisheries bycatch worldwide. Localizing coastal high use areas and mitigating bycatch in partnership with small-scale fishers may provide a crucial solution toward ensuring the persistence of vulnerable megafauna. PMID:17940605

Identification of the potential gap areas for the developing green infrastructure in the Urban area using High resolution satellite Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanaparthi, M. B.

2017-12-01

In India urban population is growing day by day which is causing air pollution less air quality finally leading to climate change and global warming. To mitigate the effect of the climate change we need to plant more trees in the urban area. The objective of this study is develop a plan to improve the urban Green Infrastructure (GI) to fight against the climate change and global warming. Improving GI is a challenging and difficult task in the urban areas because land unavailability of land, to overcome the problem greenways is a good the solution. Greenway is a linear open space developed along the rivers, canals, roads in the urban areas to form a network of green spaces. Roads are the most common structures in the urban area. The idea is to develop the greenways alongside the road to connecting the different green spaces. Tree crowns will act as culverts to connect the green spaces. This will require the spatial structure of the green space, distribution of trees along the roads and the gap areas along the road where more trees can be planted. This can be achieved with help of high resolution Satellite Imagery and the object extraction techniques. This study was carried in the city Bhimavaram which is located in state Andhra Pradesh. The final outcome of this study is potential gap areas for planting trees in the city.

Preliminary hydrogeologic evaluation of the Cincinnati Arch region for underground high-level radioactive waste disposal, Indiana, Kentucky , and Ohio

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lloyd, O.B.; Davis, R.W.

1989-01-01

Preliminary interpretation of available hydrogeologic data suggests that some areas underlying eastern Indiana, north-central Kentucky, and western Ohio might be worthy of further study regarding the disposal of high-level radioactive waste in Precambrian crystalline rocks buried beneath Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in the area. The data indicate that (1) largest areas of deepest potential burial and thickest sedimentary rock cover occur in eastern Indiana; (2) highest concentrations of dissolved solids in the basal sandstone aquifer, suggesting the most restricted circulation, are found in the southern part of the area near the Kentucky-Ohio State line and in southeastern Indiana; (3) largest areas of lowest porosity in the basal sandstone aquifer, low porosity taken as an indicator of the lowest groundwater flow velocity and contaminant migration, are found in northeastern Indiana and northwestern Ohio, central and southeastern Indiana, and central Kentucky; (4) the thickest confining units that directly overlie the basal sandstone aquifer are found in central Kentucky and eastern Indiana where their thickness exceeds 500 ft; (5) steeply dipping faults that form potential hydraulic connections between crystalline rock, the basal sandstone aquifer, and the freshwater circulation system occur on the boundaries of the study area mainly in central Kentucky and central Indiana. Collectively, these data indicate that the hydrogeology of the sedimentary rocks in the western part of the study area is more favorably suited than that in the remainder of the area for the application of the buried crystalline-rock concept. (USGS)

Assessing the transfer of risk due to transportation of agricultural products.

PubMed

Li, Pei-Chiun; Shih, Hsiu-Ching; Ma, Hwong-Wen

2015-02-01

Health risk assessment (HRA) is the process used to estimate adverse health effects on humans. The importance and sensitivity of food chains to HRA have been observed, but the impact of the transportation of food has generally been ignored. This study developed an exposure assessment to demonstrate the significance of the transportation of agricultural products in HRA. The associated case study estimated the health risks derived from various sources of arsenic emissions in Taiwan. Two assessment scenarios, self-sufficiency and transportation of agricultural products, were compared to calculate risk transfer ratios that show the impact of agriculture transportation. The risk transfer ratios found by the study range from 0.22 to 42.10, indicating that the quantity of transportation of agricultural products is the critical factor. High air deposition and high agricultural production are the two main contributors to the effect of the transportation of agricultural products on HRA. Risk reduction measures could be applied to high-pollution areas as well as to areas with high agricultural productivity to reduce ingestion risks to residents. Certain areas that are sensitive to the transportation of agricultural products may incur more risks if emissions increase in agriculturally productive counties. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Conservation, Spillover and Gene Flow within a Network of Northern European Marine Protected Areas

PubMed Central

Huserbråten, Mats Brockstedt Olsen; Moland, Even; Knutsen, Halvor; Olsen, Esben Moland; André, Carl; Stenseth, Nils Chr.

2013-01-01

To ensure that marine protected areas (MPAs) benefit conservation and fisheries, the effectiveness of MPA designs has to be evaluated in field studies. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we empirically assessed the design of a network of northern MPAs where fishing for European lobster ( Homarusgammarus ) is prohibited. First, we demonstrate a high level of residency and survival (50%) for almost a year (363 days) within MPAs, despite small MPA sizes (0.5-1 km2). Second, we demonstrate limited export (4.7%) of lobsters tagged within MPAs (N = 1810) to neighbouring fished areas, over a median distance of 1.6 km out to maximum 21 km away from MPA centres. In comparison, median movement distance of lobsters recaptured within MPAs was 164 m, and recapture rate was high (40%). Third, we demonstrate a high level of gene flow within the study region, with an estimated F ST of less than 0.0001 over a ≈ 400 km coastline. Thus, the restricted movement of older life stages, combined with a high level of gene flow suggests that connectivity is primarily driven by larval drift. Larval export from the MPAs can most likely affect areas far beyond their borders. Our findings are of high importance for the design of MPA networks for sedentary species with pelagic early life stages. PMID:24039927

Adverse effects of preserved vegetables on squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus and precancer lesions in a high risk area.

PubMed

Song, Qing-Kun; Zhao, Lin; Li, Jun; He, Yu-Ming; Jiang, Cui-Ping; Jiang, Hai-Dong; Qu, Chen-Xu

2013-01-01

Squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus (ESCC) is one of the most common cancers in China. Preserved vegetables are processed foods, consumed in high amounts in the high risk areas for ESCC. This study aimed to investigate the relationships of preserved vegetable consumption with SCC and precancer lesions. Cases from Yanting cancer hospital with pathological diagnosis of primary cancer, along with controls and individuals diagnosed with precancer lesions by endoscopy with iodine staining were interviewed. Trained staff collected data on dietary habits 1 year before the interview. An unconditional logistic regression model was used to estimate the risk odds ratios for preserved vegetable consumption with precancer lesions and cancer. Adjusting for potential confounders, intake of preserved vegetables (OR=2.92, 95%CI 1.32~6.47) and longer intake period (OR=5.78, 95%CI 2.26~14.80) were associated with higher risk of cancer. Compared with lowest intake frequency, the highest was associated with a 3.0-fold risk for precancer lesions and 3.59-fold risk for ESCC (both p<0.05). Consumption of preserved vegetables is a risk factor for esophageal lesions in high risk areas. The carcinogenicity of preserved vegetables needs investigation in further studies and public health strategies for reduction of consumption might be initiated in high risk areas.

High-wattage pulsed irradiation of linearly polarized near-infrared light to stellate ganglion area for burning mouth syndrome.

PubMed

Momota, Yukihiro; Kani, Koichi; Takano, Hideyuki; Matsumoto, Fumihiro; Aota, Keiko; Takegawa, Daisuke; Yamanoi, Tomoko; Kondo, Chika; Tomioka, Shigemasa; Azuma, Masayuki

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to apply high-wattage pulsed irradiation of linearly polarized near-infrared light to the stellate ganglion area for burning mouth syndrome (BMS) and to assess the efficacy of the stellate ganglion area irradiation (SGR) on BMS using differential time-/frequency-domain parameters (D parameters). Three patients with BMS received high-wattage pulsed SGR; the response to SGR was evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS) representing the intensity of glossalgia and D parameters used in heart rate variability analysis. High-wattage pulsed SGR significantly decreased the mean value of VAS in all cases without any adverse event such as thermal injury. D parameters mostly correlated with clinical condition of BMS. High-wattage pulsed SGR was safe and effective for the treatment of BMS; D parameters are useful for assessing efficacy of SGR on BMS.

Inventory and recently increasing GLOF susceptibility of glacial lakes in Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aggarwal, Suruchi; Rai, S. C.; Thakur, P. K.; Emmer, Adam

2017-10-01

Climatic changes alter the climate system, leading to a decrease of glacier mass volumes and swelling glacial lakes. This study provides a new inventory of glacial and high-altitude lakes for Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, and evaluates the susceptibility of lakes to Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). By using satellite data of high spatial resolution (5 m), we obtain 1104 glacial and high-altitude lakes with total area 30.498 km2, of which 472 have an area > 0.01 km2. Applying pre-defined GLOF susceptibility criteria on these 472 lakes yields 21 lakes susceptible to GLOF, which all increased in area from 1972-2015. Using Analytic Hierarchy Processes (AHP), the pairwise comparison matrix further reveals that 5 of these glacial lakes have low, 14 have medium and 2 have high GLOF susceptibility. Especially these 16 glacial lakes with high and medium GLOF susceptibility may threaten downstream communities and infrastructure and need further attention.

Chemically Crushed Wood Cellulose Fiber towards High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries

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

Shen, Fei; Zhu, Hongli; Luo, Wei

Carbon materials have attracted great interest as an anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their high performance and low cost. Here, we studied natural wood fiber derived hard carbon anodes for SIBs considering the abundance and low cost of wood. We discovered that a thermal carbonization of wood fiber led to a porous carbon with a high specific surface area of 586 m2 g–1, while a pretreatment with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) could effectively decrease it to 126 m2 g–1. When evaluating them as anodes for SIBs, we observed that the low surface area carbon resulted in a high initial Coulombicmore » efficiency of 72% compared to 25% of the high surface area carbon. More importantly, the low surface area carbon exhibits an excellent cycling stability that a desodiation capacity of 196 mAh g–1 can be delivered over 200 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g–1, indicating a promising anode for low-cost SIBs.« less

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

PubMed

Axelrod, Vadim; Yovel, Galit

2013-11-01

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

Environmental variation and macrofauna response in a coastal area influenced by land runoff

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akoumianaki, Ioanna; Papaspyrou, Sokratis; Kormas, Konstantinos Ar.; Nicolaidou, Artemis

2013-11-01

Macrofauna community interactions with environmental variables in the water column (salinity, temperature, turbidity, transparency, suspended particulate matter, particulate organic matter, choloroplastic pigments) and in the sediment (granulometric variables, organic carbon and pigments) were investigated in a coastal area with high land runoff due to riverine and temporary stream discharges (Greece, Aegean Sea, Maliakos Gulf). Samples were taken along a distance-depositional gradient from the river mouth to the open sea at eight stations, at times of different precipitation regime from August 2000 to May 2001. The physical variables, such as transparency and median grain size, generally increased seawards, and parallelled the depositional gradient as opposed to measures of food inputs and hydrodynamic regime. High environmental heterogeneity was observed during peak precipitation. The total number of species increased seawards and from August (122 species) to May (170 species). Maximum abundance also increased from August (4953 m-2) to May (10,220 individuals m-2), irrespective of distance from river mouth. Species belonging to different functional groups, as to recolonization, feeding, motility and substrate preferences, coexisted at all times indicating high functional diversity. Non-parametric multivariate regression showed that at times of low, rising and falling precipitation 78-81% of community variation was explained by environmental variables, indicating that macrofauna distribution and species composition respond to food inputs and sediment characteristics. During peak land runoff the community-environment relationship weakened (57% of the variability explained). The diversity of functional traits of the most abundant species indicates that the macrofauna community can absorb the impact of increased turbidity, sedimentation and current-driven dispersion. The study offers baseline information for the integrated coastal zone management in microtidal areas with high land runoff under Mediterranean-type climate conditions. During peak land runoff the community-environment relationship weakened (57% of the variability explained) whilst species distribution ranges increased. The study shows that the functional diversity in the study area prior to high discharge period enable macrofauna community to absorb the impact of increased turbidity, sedimentation and current-driven dispersion. The study offers baseline information for the impact of high land runoff in microtidal areas under Mediterranean-type climate conditions.

New developments in laser-heated diamond anvil cell with in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction at High Pressure Collaborative Access Team

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

Meng, Yue; Hrubiak, Rostislav; Rod, Eric

An overview of the in situ laser heating system at the High Pressure Collaborative Access Team, with emphasis on newly developed capabilities, is presented. Since its establishment at the beamline 16-ID-B a decade ago, laser-heated diamond anvil cell coupled with in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction has been widely used for studying the structural properties of materials under simultaneous high pressure and high temperature conditions. Recent developments in both continuous-wave and modulated heating techniques have been focusing on resolving technical issues of the most challenging research areas. Furthermore, the new capabilities have demonstrated clear benefits and provide new opportunities in researchmore » areas including high-pressure melting, pressure-temperature-volume equations of state, chemical reaction, and time resolved studies.« less

New developments in laser-heated diamond anvil cell with in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction at High Pressure Collaborative Access Team

DOE PAGES

Meng, Yue; Hrubiak, Rostislav; Rod, Eric; ...

2015-07-17

An overview of the in situ laser heating system at the High Pressure Collaborative Access Team, with emphasis on newly developed capabilities, is presented. Since its establishment at the beamline 16-ID-B a decade ago, laser-heated diamond anvil cell coupled with in situ synchrotron x-ray diffraction has been widely used for studying the structural properties of materials under simultaneous high pressure and high temperature conditions. Recent developments in both continuous-wave and modulated heating techniques have been focusing on resolving technical issues of the most challenging research areas. Furthermore, the new capabilities have demonstrated clear benefits and provide new opportunities in researchmore » areas including high-pressure melting, pressure-temperature-volume equations of state, chemical reaction, and time resolved studies.« less

Natural Areas Analysis and Evaluation: Oak Ridge Reservation

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

Baranski, Micahel J

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Oak Ridge Reservation, encompassing 33,639 acres in the Valley and Ridge Physiographic Province of East Tennessee, has long been known for its unfragmented forests and high biodiversity. Many areas on the Reservation have been recognized as important natural areas, but no comprehensive treatment has been performed to evaluate the relative significance and importance of these areas compared to each other. The present study was conducted to develop a set of guidelines for evaluating the natural value of specific areas, to evaluate all the terrestrial areas that are currently delineated, and to rank all areas according to theirmore » relative biodiversity importance. All available data, reports and site-specific information relevant to Reservation lands, including Tennessee Division of Natural Areas database information, were evaluated and field work was conducted. Methodologies and criteria for assessment and evaluation of areas were developed; categories of criteria were devised; and a ranking system for evaluation of natural areas was produced. There were 70 areas evaluated during the study. The system is flexible, dynamic and easily revised to reflect updated and new information and interpretations. Eight categories of evaluation factors were established and used to characterize each site. These were the following: size of area, number or status taxa present, number of Endangered and Threatened taxa present, rarity of the Endangered and Threatened taxa on the Reservation, community diversity, site integrity and quality, disturbance and threat levels, and other significant features and factors. Each category generally consisted of a 5-point ranking scale from 0-4, allowing for a possible composite score of 32, with higher ranked, more important, sites attaining higher scores. Highly ranked sites are representative of regional natural diversity; contain outstanding natural features, communities or geology and/or very rare taxa or other elements; are relatively large in size with mature or old-growth community composition; lack current disturbance factors or potential threats and disturbances; are in excellent condition with good buffers; are places where ecological and evolutionary processes can occur relatively unaffected by humans; and can be reasonably defended and maintained as natural areas in an undeveloped condition. Highly ranked sites are the most significant and should receive the greatest protections. Composite scores of the ranked areas ranged from 1-25.5, with a mean score of 12. The ranked areas were divided into three Priority Groups. Group I, the most highly ranked group, included 20 sites and covered 5189 acres or 15.4% of Reservation lands; Group II included 31 sites and covered 4108 acres; Group III included 19 sites covering 400 acres of Reservation lands. All sites together comprise 9697 acres or 28.8% of Reservation lands. Six sites emerged as clearly the most significant natural areas on the Reservation. The study developed a number of recommendations that should be implemented in order to enhance and refine the natural areas data for the Reservation. There is a clear need for better and standardized ecological community classification and identification. Several areas are proposed for merger into larger units, and some new areas are proposed for inclusion and recognition in a natural areas system. Various gaps and discrepancies in the existing data are described and should be corrected. Other recommendations are made, including the development of a corollary system that can accommodate aquatic natural areas. The study relied primarily on the synthesis of information from many sources and from limited reconnaissance and direct observation during field work to produce a methodology for assessing natural area importance and assigning priorities for protection. Many instances of incomplete, missing or conflicting information made it difficult to complete thorough analysis. Further review and discussion among natural resources personnel will likely reveal possibilities for refinement and some additional factors that should be included in the evaluation. Despite the limitations, this study, as conducted, illustrates the importance of the Oak Ridge Reservation for protecting the nation s increasingly threatened and declining biodiversity.« less

Long-term impact of wildfire on soils exposed to different fire severities. A case study in Cadiretes Massif (NE Iberian Peninsula).

PubMed

Francos, Marcos; Úbeda, Xavier; Pereira, Paulo; Alcañiz, Meritxell

2018-02-15

Wildfires affect ecosystems depending on the fire regime. Long-term studies are needed to understand the ecological role played by fire, especially as regards its impact on soils. The aim of this study is to monitor the long-term effects (18years) of a wildfire on soil properties in two areas affected by low and high fire severity regimes. The properties studied were total nitrogen (TN), total carbon (TC), C/N ratio, soil organic matter (SOM) and extractable calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na) and potassium (K). The study was carried out in three phases: short- (immediately after the wildfire), medium- (seven years after the wildfire) and long-term (18years after the wildfire). The results showed that in both fire regimes TN decreased with time, TC and SOM were significantly lower in the burned plots than they were in the control in the medium- and long-terms. C/N ratio was significantly lower at short-term in low wildfire severity area. Extractable Ca and Mg were significantly higher in control plot than in the burned plots in the medium-term. In the long-term, extractable Ca and Mg were significantly lower in the area exposed to a high severity burning. No differences were identified in the case of extractable Na between plots on any of the sampling dates, while extractable K was significantly higher in the plot exposed to low wildfire than it was in the control. Some restoration measures may be required after the wildfire, especially in areas affected by high severity burning, to avoid the long-term impacts on the essential soil nutrients of TC, SOM, extractable Ca and Mg. This long-term nutrient depletion is attributable to vegetation removal, erosion, leaching and post-fire vegetation consumption. Soils clearly need more time to recover from wildfire disturbance, especially in areas affected by high severity fire regimes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fire regime in Mediterranean ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biondi, Guido; Casula, Paolo; D'Andrea, Mirko; Fiorucci, Paolo

2010-05-01

The analysis of burnt areas time series in Mediterranean regions suggests that ecosystems characterising this area consist primarily of species highly vulnerable to the fire but highly resilient, as characterized by a significant regenerative capacity after the fire spreading. In a few years the area burnt may once again be covered by the same vegetation present before the fire. Similarly, Mediterranean conifer forests, which often refers to plantations made in order to reforest the areas most severely degraded with high erosion risk, regenerate from seed after the fire resulting in high resilience to the fire as well. Only rarely, and usually with negligible damages, fire affects the areas covered by climax species in relation with altitude and soil types (i.e, quercus, fagus, abies). On the basis of these results, this paper shows how the simple Drossel-Schwabl forest fire model is able to reproduce the forest fire regime in terms of number of fires and burned area, describing whit good accuracy the actual fire perimeters. The original Drossel-Schwabl model has been slightly modified in this work by introducing two parameters (probability of propagation and regrowth) specific for each different class of vegetation cover. Using model selection methods based on AIC, the model with the optimal number of classes with different fire behaviour was selected. Two different case studies are presented in this work: Regione Liguria and Regione Sardegna (Italy). Both regions are situated in the center of the Mediterranean and are characterized by a high number of fires and burned area. However, the two regions have very different fire regimes. Sardinia is affected by the fire phenomenon only in summer whilst Liguria is affected by fires also in winter, with higher number of fires and larger burned area. In addition, the two region are very different in vegetation cover. The presence of Mediterranean conifers, (Pinus Pinaster, Pinus Nigra, Pinus halepensis) is quite spread in Liguria and is limited in Sardinia. What is common in the two regions is the widespread presence of shrub species frequently spread by fire. The analysis in the two regions thus allows in a rather limited area to study almost all the species that characterize the Mediterranean region. This work shows that the fire regime in Mediterranean area is strongly related with vegetation patterns, is almost totally independent by the cause of ignition, and only partially dependent by fire extinguishing actions.

Tract-specific fractional anisotropy predicts cognitive outcome in a community sample of middle-aged participants with white matter lesions

PubMed Central

Soriano-Raya, Juan José; Miralbell, Júlia; López-Cancio, Elena; Bargalló, Núria; Arenillas, Juan Francisco; Barrios, Maite; Cáceres, Cynthia; Toran, Pere; Alzamora, Maite; Dávalos, Antoni; Mataró, Maria

2014-01-01

Cerebral white matter lesions (WMLs) have been consistently related to cognitive dysfunction but the role of white matter (WM) damage in cognitive impairment is not fully determined. Diffusion tensor imaging is a promising tool to explain impaired cognition related to WMLs. We investigated the separate association of high-grade periventricular hyperintensities (PVHs) and deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMHs) with fractional anisotropy (FA) in middle-aged individuals. We also assessed the predictive value to cognition of FA within specific WM tracts associated with high-grade WMLs. One hundred participants from the Barcelona-AsIA Neuropsychology Study were divided into groups based on low- and high-grade WMLs. Voxel-by-voxel FA were compared between groups, with separate analyses for high-grade PVHs and DWMHs. The mean FA within areas showing differences between groups was extracted in each tract for linear regression analyses. Participants with high-grade PVHs and participants with high-grade DWMHs showed lower FA in different areas of specific tracts. Areas showing decreased FA in high-grade DWMHs predicted lower cognition, whereas areas with decreased FA in high-grade PVHs did not. The predictive value to cognition of specific WM tracts supports the involvement of cortico-subcortical circuits in cognitive deficits only in DWMHs. PMID:24549185

Tract-specific fractional anisotropy predicts cognitive outcome in a community sample of middle-aged participants with white matter lesions.

PubMed

Soriano-Raya, Juan José; Miralbell, Júlia; López-Cancio, Elena; Bargalló, Núria; Arenillas, Juan Francisco; Barrios, Maite; Cáceres, Cynthia; Toran, Pere; Alzamora, Maite; Dávalos, Antoni; Mataró, Maria

2014-05-01

Cerebral white matter lesions (WMLs) have been consistently related to cognitive dysfunction but the role of white matter (WM) damage in cognitive impairment is not fully determined. Diffusion tensor imaging is a promising tool to explain impaired cognition related to WMLs. We investigated the separate association of high-grade periventricular hyperintensities (PVHs) and deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMHs) with fractional anisotropy (FA) in middle-aged individuals. We also assessed the predictive value to cognition of FA within specific WM tracts associated with high-grade WMLs. One hundred participants from the Barcelona-AsIA Neuropsychology Study were divided into groups based on low- and high-grade WMLs. Voxel-by-voxel FA were compared between groups, with separate analyses for high-grade PVHs and DWMHs. The mean FA within areas showing differences between groups was extracted in each tract for linear regression analyses. Participants with high-grade PVHs and participants with high-grade DWMHs showed lower FA in different areas of specific tracts. Areas showing decreased FA in high-grade DWMHs predicted lower cognition, whereas areas with decreased FA in high-grade PVHs did not. The predictive value to cognition of specific WM tracts supports the involvement of cortico-subcortical circuits in cognitive deficits only in DWMHs.

International Instructional Systems: Social Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brant, Jacek; Chapman, Arthur; Isaacs, Tina

2016-01-01

This paper reports on research conducted as part of the International Instructional System Study that explored five subject areas across nine jurisdictions in six high-performing countries. The Study's overall aim was to understand what, if anything, there is in common in the curricula and assessment arrangements among the high-performing…

Themes Found in High Performing Schools: The CAB Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanders, Brenda

2010-01-01

This study examines the CAB [Cooperativeness, Accountability, and Boundlessness] model of high performing schools by developing case studies of two Portland, Oregon area schools. In pursuing this purpose, this study answers the following three research questions: 1) To what extent is the common correlate cooperativeness demonstrated or absent in…

Estimation of hydrothermal deposits location from magnetization distribution and magnetic properties in the North Fiji Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, S.; Kim, C.; Park, C.; Kim, H.

2013-12-01

The North Fiji Basin is belong to one of the youngest basins of back-arc basins in the southwest Pacific (from 12 Ma ago). We performed the marine magnetic and the bathymetry survey in the North Fiji Basin for finding the submarine hydrothermal deposits in April 2012. We acquired magnetic and bathymetry datasets by using Multi-Beam Echo Sounder EM120 (Kongsberg Co.) and Overhouser Proton Magnetometer SeaSPY (Marine Magnetics Co.). We conducted the data processing to obtain detailed seabed topography, magnetic anomaly, reduce to the pole(RTP), analytic signal and magnetization. The study areas composed of the two areas(KF-1(longitude : 173.5 ~ 173.7 and latitude : -16.2 ~ -16.5) and KF-3(longitude : 173.4 ~ 173.6 and latitude : -18.7 ~ -19.1)) in Central Spreading Ridge(CSR) and one area(KF-2(longitude : 173.7 ~ 174 and latitude : -16.8 ~ -17.2)) in Triple Junction(TJ). The seabed topography of KF-1 existed thin horst in two grabens that trends NW-SE direction. The magnetic properties of KF-1 showed high magnetic anomalies in center part and magnetic lineament structure of trending E-W direction. In the magnetization distribution of KF-1, the low magnetization zone matches well with a strong analytic signal in the northeastern part. KF-2 area has TJ. The seabed topography formed like Y-shape and showed a high feature in the center of TJ. The magnetic properties of KF-2 displayed high magnetic anomalies in N-S spreading ridge center and northwestern part. In the magnetization distribution of KF-2, the low magnetization zone matches well with a strong analytic signal in the northeastern part. The seabed topography of KF-3 presented a flat and high topography like dome structure at center axis and some seamounts scattered around the axis. The magnetic properties of KF-3 showed high magnetic anomalies in N-S spreading ridge center part. In the magnetization of KF-2, the low magnetization zone mismatches to strong analytic signal in this area. The difference of KF-3 between the low magnetization zones and the analytic signals is considered that the submarine magnetic strength of KF-3 is lower than that of KF-1 and KF-2. The spreading ridges of the study areas showed common Central Anomaly Magnetization Highs (CAMH). As a whole, the previous studies on the structure of this study area (Auzende et al, 1990) support our results of the magnetic properties (Magnetic Anomaly and RTP). We can expect to have the better results by comparing with the other study like geophysics (seismic), geology, and geochemistry in this area. Reference Auzende, J.M., and 29 others, Active Spreading and Hydrothermalism in North Fiji Basin(SW Pacific). Results of Japanese French Cruise Kaiyo 87, Marine Geophysical Researches., 12, 269-283, 1990.

Mineral Resources of the Black Mountains North and Burns Spring Wilderness Study Areas, Mohave County, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Conrad, James E.; Hill, Randall H.; Jachens, Robert C.; Neubert, John T.

1990-01-01

At the request of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, approximately 19,300 acres of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area (AZ-020-009) and 23,310 acres of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area (AZ-02D-010) were evaluated for mineral resources and mineral resource potential. In this report, the area studied is referred to, collectively or individually, as the 'wilderness study area' or simply 'the study area'; any reference to the Black Mountains North or Burns Spring Wilderness Study Areas refers only to that part of the wilderness study area for which a mineral survey was requested by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The study area is located in western Arizona, about 30 mi northwest of Kingman. There are no identified resources in the study area. An area surrounding the Portland mine and including the southern part of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area and the extreme northwestern part of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area has high resource potential for gold and moderate resource potential for silver, lead, and mercury. The area surrounding this and including much of the northern part of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area has moderate potential for gold, silver, and lead. The northeastern corner of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area has moderate potential for gold and low potential for silver, copper, and molybdenum resources. The central part, including the narrow strip of land just west of the central part, of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area and the southern and extreme eastern parts of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area have low resource potential for gold. The central and southern parts of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area and all but the southwestern part of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area have moderate resource potential for perlite. Moderate resource potential for zeolites is assigned to a large area around the Portland mine that includes parts of both study areas, to a narrow strip of land just west of the central part of the Black Mountains North Wilderness Study Area, and to all but the southwest corner of the Burns Spring Wilderness Study Area. There is no potential for oil and gas in either study area. Sand and gravel are present in both study areas, but abundant quantities of these resources are available closer to existing markets.

Olive plants (Olea europaea L.) as a bioindicator for pollution.

PubMed

Eliwa, Amal Mohamed; Kamel, Ehab Abdel-Razik

2013-06-15

In the present work, olive plant (Olea europaea L.) was used as a biological indicator for pollution in which, molecular and physiological parameters were studied. Olive plants were collected from polluted and non-polluted areas in Jeddah - Saudi Arabia, traffic area as an air polluted area, sewage treatment station as water polluted area, industrial area as solid waste polluted, costal area as marine polluted area and an area without a direct source of pollution far away from the city center, which was used as control. These changes conducted with nucleic acid content, minerals content, pigments and some growth parameters. Results showed significant reductions in DNA and RNA contents under all polluted sites. Mineral contents were varied widely depending on the different pollutants and locations of olive plant. Generally, micro-elements varied (increase/decrease) significantly within collected samples and the source of pollution. All growth parameters were decreased significantly within the studied samples of all pollutant areas except the relative water content was increased. The content of chlorophyll a has decreased highly significantly in all polluted leaves. While the content of chlorophyll b has increased significantly in all polluted leaves especially in air polluted leaves. The total content of carotenoid pigments has decreased highly significantly in all polluted leaves. It was concluded that olive plant can be used as a biological indicator to the environmental pollutants.

High Incidence of Breast Cancer in Light-Polluted Areas with Spatial Effects in Korea.

PubMed

Kim, Yun Jeong; Park, Man Sik; Lee, Eunil; Choi, Jae Wook

2016-01-01

We have reported a high prevalence of breast cancer in light-polluted areas in Korea. However, it is necessary to analyze the spatial effects of light polluted areas on breast cancer because light pollution levels are correlated with region proximity to central urbanized areas in studied cities. In this study, we applied a spatial regression method (an intrinsic conditional autoregressive [iCAR] model) to analyze the relationship between the incidence of breast cancer and artificial light at night (ALAN) levels in 25 regions including central city, urbanized, and rural areas. By Poisson regression analysis, there was a significant correlation between ALAN, alcohol consumption rates, and the incidence of breast cancer. We also found significant spatial effects between ALAN and the incidence of breast cancer, with an increase in the deviance information criterion (DIC) from 374.3 to 348.6 and an increase in R2 from 0.574 to 0.667. Therefore, spatial analysis (an iCAR model) is more appropriate for assessing ALAN effects on breast cancer. To our knowledge, this study is the first to show spatial effects of light pollution on breast cancer, despite the limitations of an ecological study. We suggest that a decrease in ALAN could reduce breast cancer more than expected because of spatial effects.

High-fidelity patient simulation in nursing education: an integrative review.

PubMed

Weaver, Amy

2011-01-01

An integrative review was undertaken to analyze studies published since 1998 on the use of high-fidelity patient simulation (HFPS) in undergraduate nursing education. This review found that HFPS benefits nursing students in terms of knowledge, value, realism, and learner satisfaction;findings were mixed in the areas of student confidence, knowledge transfer, and stress. Further research in these and other areas will determine whether its increased use is warranted.

A search for stratiform massive-sulfide exploration targets in Appalachian Devonian rocks; a case study using computer-assisted attribute-coincidence mapping

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wedow, Helmuth

1983-01-01

The empirical model for sediment-associated, stratiform, exhalative, massive-sulfide deposits presented by D. Large in 1979 and 1980 has been redesigned to permit its use in a computer-assisted search for exploration-target areas in Devonian rocks of the Appalachian region using attribute-coincidence mapping (ACM). Some 36 gridded-data maps and selected maps derived therefrom were developed to show the orthogonal patterns, using the 7-1/2 minute quadrangle as an information cell, of geologic data patterns relevant to the empirical model. From these map and data files, six attribute-coincidence maps were prepared to illustrate both variation in the application of ACM techniques and the extent of possible significant exploration-target areas. As a result of this preliminary work in ACM, four major (and some lesser) exploration-target areas needing further study and analysis have been defined as follows: 1) in western and central New York in the outcrop area of lowermost Upper Devonian rocks straddling the Clarendon-Linden fault; 2) in western Virginia and eastern West Virginia in an area largely coincident with the well-known 'Oriskany' Mn-Fe ores; 3) an area in West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia along and nearby the trend of the Alabama-New York lineament of King and Zietz approximately between 38- and 40-degrees N. latitude; and 4) an area in northeastern Ohio overlying an area coincident with a significant thickness of Silurian salt and high modern seismic activity. Some lesser, smaller areas suggested by relatively high coincidence may also be worthy of further study.

Acclimation of isoprene emission and photosynthesis to growth temperature in hybrid aspen: resolving structural and physiological controls

PubMed Central

Rasulov, Bahtijor; Bichele, Irina; Hüve, Katja; Vislap, Vivian; Niinemets, Ülo

2018-01-01

Acclimation of foliage to growth temperature involves both structural and physiological modifications, but the relative importance of these two mechanisms of acclimation is poorly known, especially for isoprene emission responses. We grew hybrid aspen (Populus tremula x P. tremuloides) under control (day/night temperature of 25/20 °C) and high temperature conditions (35/27 °C) to gain insight into the structural and physiological acclimation controls. Growth at high temperature resulted in larger and thinner leaves with smaller and more densely packed chloroplasts and with lower leaf dry mass per area (MA). High growth temperature also led to lower photosynthetic and respiration rates, isoprene emission rate and leaf pigment content and isoprene substrate dimethylallyl diphosphate pool size per unit area, but to greater stomatal conductance. However, the declining characteristics were similar when expressed per unit dry mass, indicating that the area-based differences were primarily driven by MA. Acclimation to high temperature further increased heat stability of photosynthesis, and increased activation energies for isoprene emission and isoprene synthase rate constant. This study demonstrates that temperature acclimation of photosynthetic and isoprene emission characteristics per unit leaf area was primarily driven by structural modifications, and we argue that future studies investigating acclimation to growth temperature must consider structural modifications. PMID:25158785

Distribution of greenhouse gases in hyper-arid and arid areas of northern Chile and the contribution of the high altitude wetland microbiome (Salar de Huasco, Chile).

PubMed

Molina, Verónica; Eissler, Yoanna; Cornejo, Marcela; Galand, Pierre E; Dorador, Cristina; Hengst, Martha; Fernandez, Camila; Francois, Jean Pierre

2018-04-06

Northern Chile harbors different bioclimatic zones including hyper-arid and arid ecosystems and hotspots of microbial life, such as high altitude wetlands, which may contribute differentially to greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). In this study, we explored ground level GHG distribution and the potential role of a wetland situated at 3800 m.a.s.l, and characterized by high solar radiation < 1600 W m -2 , extreme temperature ranges (-12 to 24 °C) and wind stress (< 17 m s -1 ). The water source of the wetland is mainly groundwater springs, which generates streams and ponds surrounded by peatlands. These sites support a rich microbial aquatic life including diverse bacteria and archaea communities, which transiently form more complex structures, such as microbial mats. In this study, GHG were measured in the water and above ground level air at the wetland site and along an elevation gradient in different bioclimatic areas from arid to hyper-arid zones. The microbiome from the water and sediments was described by high-throughput sequencing 16S rRNA and rDNA genes. The results indicate that GHG at ground level were variable along the elevation gradient potentially associated with different bioclimatic zones, reaching high values at the high Andean steppe and variable but lower values in the Atacama Desert and at the wetland. The water areas of the wetland presented high concentrations of CH 4 and CO 2 , particularly at the spring areas and in air bubbles below microbial mats. The microbial community was rich (> 40 phyla), including archaea and bacteria potentially active in the different matrices studied (water, sediments and mats). Functional microbial groups associated with GHG recycling were detected at low frequency, i.e., < 2.5% of total sequences. Our results indicate that hyper-arid and arid areas of northern Chile are sites of GHG exchange associated with various bioclimatic zones and particularly in aquatic areas of the wetland where this ecosystem could represent a net sink of N 2 O and a source for CH 4 and CO 2 .

Modeling of episodic particulate matter events using a 3-D air quality model with fine grid: Applications to a pair of cities in the US/Mexico border

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Yu-Jin; Hyde, Peter; Fernando, H. J. S.

High (episodic) particulate matter (PM) events over the sister cities of Douglas (AZ) and Agua Prieta (Sonora), located in the US-Mexico border, were simulated using the 3D Eulerian air quality model, MODELS-3/CMAQ. The best available input information was used for the simulations, with pollution inventory specified on a fine grid. In spite of inherent uncertainties associated with the emission inventory as well as the chemistry and meteorology of the air quality simulation tool, model evaluations showed acceptable PM predictions, while demonstrating the need for including the interaction between meteorology and emissions in an interactive mode in the model, a capability currently unavailable in MODELS-3/CMAQ when dealing with PM. Sensitivity studies on boundary influence indicate an insignificant regional (advection) contribution of PM to the study area. The contribution of secondary particles to the occurrence of high PM events was trivial. High PM episodes in the study area, therefore, are purely local events that largely depend on local meteorological conditions. The major PM emission sources were identified as vehicular activities on unpaved/paved roads and wind-blown dust. The results will be of immediate utility in devising PM mitigation strategies for the study area, which is one of the US EPA-designated non-attainment areas with respect to PM.

Analysis of Ground Water Fluoride Content and its Association with Prevalence of Fluorosis in Zarand/Kerman: (Using GIS).

PubMed

T, Malek Mohammadi; R, Derakhshani; M, Tavallaie; M, Raoof; N, Hasheminejad; Aa, Haghdoost

2017-06-01

The concentration of fluoride in water is usually higher in areas around the coal mines. Zarand region in the south-east of Iran is known for its coal mines. Some studies have shown the high prevalence of fluorosis and some studies reported high levels of fluoride in the region. This study aimed to use Geographic Information System (GIS) to assess the relationship between water fluoride content and the prevalence of fluorosis and its spatial distribution in Zarand region. This cross-sectional study aimed to recruit 550 people aged 7-40 years in Zarand. Dental examination for fluorosis was conducted based on the Dean's Index. The level of fluoride in the water was determined in samples of water taken from 35 areas. Information on fluorosis and fluoride content was mapped on GIS. Most participants lived in rural areas (87.25%) and had an educational status of high school level (66%). About 23% of the examined people had normal teeth, 10% had severe and 67% had mild to moderate fluorosis. Distribution of severe fluorosis was higher in areas with higher levels of fluoride in the water according to GIS map. GIS map clearly showed a positive relationship between the prevalence and severity of fluorosis with the level of fluoride in water in Zarand. The GIS analysis may be useful in the analysis of other oral conditions.

Combining large area fluorescence with multiphoton microscopy for improved detection of oral epithelial neoplasia (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pal, Rahul; Yang, Jinping; Qiu, Suimin; McCammon, Susan; Resto, Vicente; Vargas, Gracie

2016-03-01

Volumetric Multiphoton Autofluorescence Microscopy (MPAM) and Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy (SHGM) show promise for revealing indicators of neoplasia representing the complex microstructural organization of mucosa, potentially providing high specificity for detection of neoplasia, but is limited by small imaging area. Large area fluorescence methods on the other hand show high sensitivity appropriate for screening but are hampered by low specificity. In this study, we apply MPAM-SHGM following guidance from large area fluorescence, by either autofluorescence or a targeted metabolic fluorophore, as a potentially clinically viable approach for detection of oral neoplasia. Sites of high neoplastic potentially were identified by large area red/green autofluorescence or by a fluorescently labelled deoxy-glucose analog, 2-deoxy-2-[(7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)amino]-D-glucose (2-NBDG) to highlight areas of high glucose uptake across the buccal pouch of a hamster model for OSCC. Follow-up MPAM-SHGM was conducted on regions of interests (ROIs) to assess whether microscopy would reveal microscopic features associated with neoplasia to confirm or exclude large area fluorescence findings. Parameters for analysis included cytologic metrics, 3D epithelial connective tissue interface metrics (MPAM-SHGM) and intensity of fluorescence (widefield). Imaged sites were biopsied and processed for histology and graded by a pathologist. A small sample of human ex vivo tissues were also imaged. A generalized linear model combining image metrics from large area fluorescence and volumetric MPAM-SHGM indicated the ability to delineate normal and inflammation from neoplasia.

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

Goren, A.I.; Hellman, S.; Brenner, S.

During spring 1984, 2,334 second and 2,000 fifth-grade schoolchildren living in three Haifa Bay areas on the eastern Mediterranean coast with different levels of air pollution were studied. The parents of these children filled out American Thoracic Society and National Heart and Lung Institute health questionnaires, and the children performed the following pulmonary function tests (PFT): FVC, FEV{sub 1}, FEV{sub 1}/FEV, PEF, FEF{sub 50}, and FEF{sub 75}. A trend of higher prevalence of most reported respiratory symptoms was found for schoolchildren growing up in the medium and high pollution areas as compared with the low pollution area. Part of themore » reported respiratory diseases were significantly more common among children from the high pollution area. Models fitted for the respiratory conditions that differed significantly among the three areas of residence also included background variables that could be responsible for these differences. Relative risk values, which were calculated from the logistic models, were in the range of 1.38 for sputum with cold and 1.81 for sputum without cold for children from the high pollution area as compared with 1.00 for children from the low pollution area. All the measured values of PFT were within the normal range. There was no consistent trend of reduced pulmonary function that characterized any residential area.« less

Lingual palpation for porcine cysticercosis: a rapid epidemiological tool for estimating prevalence and community risk in Africa.

PubMed

Guyatt, Helen L; Fèvre, Eric M

2016-10-01

To assess the association between the prevalence of tongue cyst-positive and antigen-positive pigs across different settings in Africa, to evaluate whether examining pigs for cysts could be used as a rapid surveillance tool for identifying geographical areas with a higher probability of high transmission of cysticercosis. Published data were collated from 26 study sites across Africa that reported the prevalence of porcine cysticercosis by both lingual and serological examinations. The study sites were located in 10 countries across Africa. Seroprevalence rates ranged from 4% to 41%. Despite the varied study sites, the relationship between the two variables was highly consistent and suggests identification of tongue cysts may be useful for cysticercosis surveillance. We found that all areas with more than 10% of pigs having cysts in their tongues had at least 30% seroprevalence (PPV of 100%), although this cut-off is less reliable at predicting that an area is of low transmission (NPV of 84%). Assessing the prevalence of tongue cyst-positive pigs is a potential rapid epidemiological tool for identifying areas at high risk of cysticercosis, although further refinement and validation is required using standardised data sets. © 2016 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Microzonation Mapping Of The Yanbu Industrial City, Western Saudi Arabia: A Multicriteria Decision Analysis Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moustafa, Sayed, Sr.; Alarifi, Nassir S.; Lashin, Aref A.

2016-04-01

Urban areas along the western coast of Saudi Arabia are susceptible to natural disasters and environmental damages due to lack of planning. To produce a site-specific microzonation map of the rapidly growing Yanbu industrial city, spatial distribution of different hazard entities are assessed using the Analytical Hierarchal Process (AHP) together with Geographical Information System (GIS). For this purpose six hazard parameter layers are considered, namely; fundamental frequency, site amplification, soil strength in terms of effective shear-wave velocity, overburden sediment thickness, seismic vulnerability index and peak ground acceleration. The weight and rank values are determined during AHP and are assigned to each layer and its corresponding classes, respectively. An integrated seismic microzonation map was derived using GIS platform. Based on the derived map, the study area is classified into five hazard categories: very low, low, moderate high, and very high. The western and central parts of the study area, as indicated from the derived microzonation map, are categorized as a high hazard zone as compared to other surrounding places. The produced microzonation map of the current study is envisaged as a first-level assessment of the site specific hazards in the Yanbu city area, which can be used as a platform by different stakeholders in any future land-use planning and environmental hazard management.

Variability in core areas of spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in a tropical dry forest in Costa Rica.

PubMed

Asensio, Norberto; Schaffner, Colleen M; Aureli, Filippo

2012-04-01

Core areas are highly used parts of the home range on which the survival of solitary or group-living animals depends. We investigated the home range and core area size and area fidelity of a spider monkey community in a tropical dry forest over a 4-year period. Home ranges overlapped extensively across years, subgroup sizes, and seasons. In contrast, spider monkeys used core areas that varied in size and location across the study years, subgroup sizes, and seasons. These shifts in core areas suggest that the understanding of core areas, and thus the spatial requirements, of a species in a particular habitat may be limited if based on short-term studies. In this respect, our findings emphasize the importance of long-term studies of the spatial ecology of any species in a particular habitat. Our study also shows that the yearly home range basically includes all the core areas from different years, seasons, and subgroup sizes (i.e., the super-core area). This is conceptually important for territorial species, such as spider monkeys, which defend a stable home range as it contains not only the current, but also the future core areas.

Morphometric Study of the Mare Oviductal Mucosa at Different Reproductive Stages.

PubMed

Mouguelar, Horacio; Díaz, Tomás; Borghi, Damiana; Quinteros, Rolando; Bonino, Facundo; Apichela, Silvana Andrea; Aguilar, José Javier

2015-11-01

The objectives of this work were to describe some morphometric characteristics and to establish quantitative parameters of different regions of the equine oviductal mucosa from the isthmus, ampullary-isthmic junction (AIJ), and ampulla. Twenty-one mixed-bred mares were used for this study. Mares were selected in the following reproductive phases: anestrus, estrus, and diestrus. The left oviducts were examined with light microscopy, and rights ones were studied through the intraoviductal molds. The isthmus showed the smallest luminal area, mucosal area, epithelial perimeter, and luminal diameter. On the molds surfaces, some grooves extended as longitudinal canals, reducing their depth as they approached to the AIJ. Several small height projections, some obliquely positioned towards utero-tubal junction, were observed in all reproductive phases. These formations may represent pockets or cul-de-sacs in the basal areas of the epithelial folds. The AIJ mucosa gradually changed from the smooth isthmic region toward highly folded ampulla. The number and complexity of epithelial folds showed moderate increase in the same way that many of the morphometric parameters. Multiple curves were observed on the molds of the AIJ, creating a zigzag path in the oviductal lumen. In the ampulla, the high branched epithelial folds occupied most of the lumen, leaving a small luminal area free. A linear relationship between epithelial perimeter and mucosal area was found. The presence of glandular-like structures was observed in all the reproductive stages studied. The equine endosalpinx reveals a highly complex tridimensional arrangement where each region shows very particular and specific designs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Emerging health risks associated with modern agriculture practices: a comprehensive study in India.

PubMed

Sarkar, Atanu; Aronson, Kristan J; Patil, Shantagouda; Hugar, Lingappa B; vanLoon, Gary W

2012-05-01

In order to enhance food production, India has adopted modern agriculture practices and achieved noteworthy success. This achievement was essentially the result of a paradigm shift in agriculture that included high inputs of agrochemicals, water, and widespread practice of monoculture, as well as bureaucratic changes that promoted these changes. There are very few comprehensive analyses of potential adverse health outcomes that may be related to these changes. The objective of this study is to identify health risks associated with modern agricultural practices in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. This study aims to compare high-input and low-input agricultural practices and the consequences for health of people in these communities. The fieldwork was conducted from May to August, 2009 and included a survey carried out in six villages. Data were collected by in-depth personal interviews among 240 households and key informants, field observations, laboratory analyses, and data from secondary sources. The study identified four major visible impacts: occupational hazards, vector borne diseases, changing nutritional status, and inequity in development. In the high-input area, mechanization has resulted in more occurrences of serious accidents and injuries. Ecological changes due to rice cultivation in this area have further augmented mosquito breeding, and there has been a surge in the incidence of Japanese encephalitis and malaria. The traditional coarse cereals (complex carbohydrates, high protein) have been replaced by mill-polished rice (simple carbohydrate, low protein). The prevalence of overweight (BMI>25) has emerged as a new public health challenge, and this is most evident in large-landholding households, especially in the high-input agriculture areas. In all agro-ecological areas, it was observed that women faced a greater risk of both extremes of under-nutrition and being overweight. Output-driven and market-oriented modern agricultural practices have changed the ecology and disease pattern in this area in India, and our survey indicated significant health effects associated with these changes. There is a need for more extensive epidemiological studies in order to know the full impact on diseases and to understand the complex causal relationships. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Zonation of High Disaster Potential Communities for Remote Mountainous Areas in Southern Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yie-Ruey; Tsai, Kuang-Jung; Chang, Chwen-Ming; Chen, Jing-Wen; Chiang, Jie-Lun; Lu, Yi-Ching; Tsai, Hui-Wen

2017-04-01

About three-quarters of Taiwan are covered by hillside areas. Most of the hillside regions in Taiwan are sedimentary and metamorphic rocks which are fragile and highly weathered. In recent years, human development coupled with the global impact of extreme weather, typhoons and heavy rains have caused the landslide disasters and leaded to human causalities and properties loss. The landslides also endanger the major public works and almost make the overall industrial economic development and transport path overshadowed by disasters. Therefore, this research assesses the exploration of landslide potential analysis and zonation of high disaster potential communities for remote mountainous areas in southern Taiwan. In this study, the time series of disaster records and land change of remote mountainous areas in southern Taiwan are collected using techniques of interpretation from satellite images corresponding to multi-year and multi-rainfall events. To quantify the slope hazards, we adopt statistical analysis model to analyze massive data of slope disasters and explore the variance, difference and trend of influence factors of hillside disaster; establish the disaster potential analysis model under the climate change and construct the threshold of disaster. Through analysis results of disaster potential assessment, the settlement distribution with high-risk hazard potential of study area is drawn with geographic information system. Results of image classification show that the values of coefficient of agreement for different time periods are at high level. Compared with the historical disaster records of research areas, the accuracy of predicted landslide potential is in reasonable confidence level. The spatial distribution of landslide depends on the interaction of rainfall patterns, slope and elevation of the research area. The results also show that the number and scale of secondary landslide sites are much larger than those of new landslide sites after rainfall. The greater the slope land disturbance, the more likely the scale of secondary landslide uprises. The results of the map for the zonation of high-disaster potential communities can be a useful reference for the government to plan strategies on adaptation to climate change for remote mountainous communities in southern Taiwan.

Groundwater vulnerability assessment for the Banyas Catchment of the Syrian coastal area using GIS and the RISKE method.

PubMed

Kattaa, Bassam; Al-Fares, Walid; Al Charideh, Abdul Rahman

2010-05-01

Vulnerability assessment to delineate areas that are more susceptible to contamination from anthropogenic sources has become an important element for sensible resource management and landuse planning. This contribution aims at estimating aquifer vulnerability by applying the RISKE model in Banyas Catchment Area (BCA), Tartous Prefecture, west Syria. An additional objective is to demonstrate the combined use of the RISKE model and a geographical information system (GIS) as an effective method for groundwater pollution risk assessment. The RISKE model uses five environmental parameters (Rock of aquifer media, Infiltration, Soil media, Karst, and Epikarst) to characterize the hydro-geological setting and evaluate aquifer vulnerability. The elevated eastern and low western part of the study area was dominated by high vulnerability classes, while the middle part was characterized by moderate vulnerability classes. Based on the vulnerability analysis, it was found that 2% and 39% of BCA is under low and high vulnerability to groundwater contamination, respectively, while more than 52% and 5% of the area of BCA can be designated as an area of moderate and very high vulnerability to groundwater contamination, respectively. The GIS technique has provided an efficient environment for analyses and high capabilities of handling a large amount of spatial data. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does Walkability Contribute to Geographic Variation in Psychosocial Distress? A Spatial Analysis of 91,142 Members of the 45 and Up Study in Sydney, Australia

PubMed Central

Morgan, Geoffrey G.; Jalaludin, Bin B.; Bauman, Adrian E.

2018-01-01

Walkability describes the capacity of the built environment to promote walking, and has been proposed as a potential focus for community-level mental health planning. We evaluated this possibility by examining the contribution of area-level walkability to variation in psychosocial distress in a population cohort at spatial scales comparable to those used for regional planning in Sydney, Australia. Data on psychosocial distress were analysed for 91,142 respondents to the 45 and Up Study baseline survey between January 2006 and April 2009. We fit conditional auto regression models at the postal area level to obtain smoothed “disease maps” for psychosocial distress, and assess its association with area-level walkability after adjusting for individual- and area-level factors. Prevalence of psychosocial distress was 7.8%; similar for low (7.9%), low-medium (7.9%), medium-high (8.0%), and high (7.4%) walkability areas; and decreased with reducing postal area socioeconomic disadvantage: 12.2% (most), 9.3%, 7.5%, 5.9%, and 4.7% (least). Unadjusted disease maps indicated strong geographic clustering of psychosocial distress with 99.0% of excess prevalence due to unobserved and spatially structured factors, which was reduced to 55.3% in fully adjusted maps. Spatial and unstructured variance decreased by 97.3% and 39.8% after adjusting for individual-level factors, and another 2.3% and 4.2% with the inclusions of area-level factors. Excess prevalence of psychosocial distress in postal areas was attenuated in adjusted models but remained spatially structured. Postal area prevalence of high psychosocial distress is geographically clustered in Sydney, but is unrelated to postal area walkability. Area-level socioeconomic disadvantage makes a small contribution to this spatial structure; however, community-level mental health planning will likely deliver greatest benefits by focusing on individual-level contributors to disease burden and inequality associated with psychosocial distress. PMID:29415461

Does Walkability Contribute to Geographic Variation in Psychosocial Distress? A Spatial Analysis of 91,142 Members of the 45 and Up Study in Sydney, Australia.

PubMed

Mayne, Darren J; Morgan, Geoffrey G; Jalaludin, Bin B; Bauman, Adrian E

2018-02-06

Walkability describes the capacity of the built environment to promote walking, and has been proposed as a potential focus for community-level mental health planning. We evaluated this possibility by examining the contribution of area-level walkability to variation in psychosocial distress in a population cohort at spatial scales comparable to those used for regional planning in Sydney, Australia. Data on psychosocial distress were analysed for 91,142 respondents to the 45 and Up Study baseline survey between January 2006 and April 2009. We fit conditional auto regression models at the postal area level to obtain smoothed "disease maps" for psychosocial distress, and assess its association with area-level walkability after adjusting for individual- and area-level factors. Prevalence of psychosocial distress was 7.8%; similar for low (7.9%), low-medium (7.9%), medium-high (8.0%), and high (7.4%) walkability areas; and decreased with reducing postal area socioeconomic disadvantage: 12.2% (most), 9.3%, 7.5%, 5.9%, and 4.7% (least). Unadjusted disease maps indicated strong geographic clustering of psychosocial distress with 99.0% of excess prevalence due to unobserved and spatially structured factors, which was reduced to 55.3% in fully adjusted maps. Spatial and unstructured variance decreased by 97.3% and 39.8% after adjusting for individual-level factors, and another 2.3% and 4.2% with the inclusions of area-level factors. Excess prevalence of psychosocial distress in postal areas was attenuated in adjusted models but remained spatially structured. Postal area prevalence of high psychosocial distress is geographically clustered in Sydney, but is unrelated to postal area walkability. Area-level socioeconomic disadvantage makes a small contribution to this spatial structure; however, community-level mental health planning will likely deliver greatest benefits by focusing on individual-level contributors to disease burden and inequality associated with psychosocial distress.

Field evaluation of ZeroFly--an insecticide incorporated plastic sheeting against malaria vectors & its impact on malaria transmission in tribal area of northern Orissa.

PubMed

Sharma, S K; Upadhyay, A K; Haque, M A; Tyagi, P K; Mohanty, S S; Mittal, P K; Dash, A P

2009-10-01

Insecticide incorporated plastic sheeting is a new technology to control mosquitoes in emergency shelter places and also temporary habitations in different locations. Therefore, field studies were conducted to assess the efficacy of ZeroFly plastic sheeting treated with deltamethrin on prevailing disease vectors Anopheles culicifacies and An. fluviatilis and its impact on malaria transmission in one of the highly endemic areas of Orissa. The study was conducted in Birkera block of Sundargarh district, Orissa state. The study area comprised 3 villages, which were randomized as ZeroFly plastic sheet, untreated plastic sheet and no sheet area. ZeroFly plastic sheets and untreated plastic sheets were fixed in study and control villages respectively covering all the rooms in each household. Longitudinal studies were conducted on the bioefficacy with the help of cone bioassays, monitoring of the mosquito density through hand catch, floor sheet and exit trap collections and fortnightly domiciliary active surveillance in all the study villages. In ZeroFly plastic sheeting area, there was a significant reduction of 84.7 per cent in the entry rate of total mosquitoes in comparison to pre-intervention phase. There was 56.2 per cent immediate mortality in total mosquitoes in houses with ZeroFly sheeting. The overall feeding success rate of mosquitoes in the trial village was only 12.5 per cent in comparison to 49.7 and 51.1 per cent in villages with untreated plastic sheet and no sheet respectively. There was a significant reduction of 65.0 and 70.5 per cent in malaria incidence in ZeroFly plastic sheeting area as compared to untreated plastic sheet and no sheet area respectively. Our study showed that introduction of ZeroFly plastic sheets in a community-based intervention programme is operationally feasible to contain malaria especially in the high transmission difficult areas.

A study of the impacts of climate change scenarios on the plant hardiness zones of Albania

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maps of plant hardiness zones are useful tools for determining the extreme limits for the survival of plants. Exploration of projected climate change effects on hardiness zones can help identify areas most affected by climate change. Such studies are important in areas with high risks related to cli...

One Secondary School's Subject-Area Teachers' Perspectives on Co-Teaching Students with Special Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Legutko, Robert S.

2015-01-01

This study is an action research study conducted at one rural northeastern Pennsylvania junior/senior high school to gain secondary education subject-area teacher's perspectives on educating students with special needs in a co-teaching environment. A written open-ended questionnaire was issued to relevant faculty members which determined that…

Inquiring into Pre-Service Content Area Teachers' Development of Literacy Practices and Pedagogical Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitton Kukner, Jennifer; Murray Orr, Anne

2015-01-01

The focus of this qualitative multi-year case study is on preservice teachers' experiences related to the development of their literacy practices in teaching high school science, math, social studies and other content area courses during their final field placement in a teacher education program. Results indicate tangible indicators of overall…

Research and technology, 1988

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Flight projects and mission definition studies for 1988 are briefly described. Technology research is presented in the following areas: sensors and space technology; space communication systems; system and software engineering; user space data systems; and techniques. Studies are presented for the following space and Earth science areas: atmospheres, SN 1987A, astronomy, high energy astrophysics, land and climate, solar systems, and oceans.

The Basic Study Skills Curriculum Guide for Grades 10-12.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prince George's County Public Schools, Upper Marlboro, MD.

This guide has been designed for use in teaching study skills to high school students, grades ten through twelve. It contains lessons developed and refined over a three-year period in the skills areas of listening, scheduling and task analysis, memory, notetaking, and using a textbook. Each skills area is developed in the context of a kindergarten…

The Basic Study Skills Curriculum Guide for Grades 7-9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prince George's County Public Schools, Upper Marlboro, MD.

This guide has been designed for use in teaching study skills to junior high school students, grades seven through nine. It contains lessons developed and refined over a three-year period in the skills areas of listening, scheduling and task analysis, memory, notetaking, and using a textbook. Each skills area is developed in the context of a…

Increasing Social and Economic Inequalities among Suburban Schools: A Study in Educational Administration and Finance. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hickrod, G. Alan; Sabulao, Cesar M.

This study of five metropolitan areas indicates increasing social and economic inequalities among suburban schools. In addition, the metropolitan areas seemed to be developing contiguous sectors of "advantaged" school districts and "disadvantaged" school districts. Financial differences are at the base of the inequalities, with high income/low tax…

Exploration of peripapillary vessel density in highly myopic eyes with peripapillary intrachoroidal cavitation and its relationship with ocular parameters using optical coherence tomography angiography.

PubMed

Chen, Qiuying; He, Jiangnan; Hua, Yihong; Fan, Ying

2017-12-01

Identifying changes of peripapillary vessel density in highly myopic eyes with peripapillary intrachoroidal cavitation by optical coherence tomography angiography. To investigate peripapillary vessel density and its relationship with other ocular parameters in highly myopic eyes with peripapillary intrachoroidal cavitation. Hospital-based, cross-sectional study. Thirty-five highly myopic eyes with peripapillary intrachoroidal cavitation, 46 highly myopic eyes without peripapillary intrachoroidal cavitation and 36 normal eyes were included in this study. All participants underwent optical coherence tomography angiography to image the retinal vasculature in the peripapillary areas, including the radial peripapillary capillaries and optic nerve head layer. Correlations between vessel density and ocular metrics were analysed. Peripapillary vessel density. In highly myopic eyes, vessel density was significantly lower in eyes with peripapillary intrachoroidal cavitation than in those without in peripapillary (P = 0.014, P = 0.037), inferotemporal (P < 0.001, P < 0.001) and superotemporal (P = 0.014, P = 0.009) areas. In the radial peripapillary capillaries layer, vessel density was negatively correlated with peripapillary atrophy area (P = 0.012) and myopic maculopathy (P = 0.002), and in the optic nerve head layer, it was negatively associated with a diagnosis of peripapillary intrachoroidal cavitation (P = 0.012) and myopic maculopathy (P < 0.001). In addition, it was positively correlated with retinal nerve fibre layer thickness in both layers (P < 0.001). Highly myopic eyes with peripapillary intrachoroidal cavitation had lower peripapillary vessel densities, especially in the temporal area, than those without. © 2017 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.

Land use impacts on lake water quality in Alytus region (Lithuania)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira, Paulo; Laukonis, Rymvidas

2016-04-01

Land use has important impacts on soils, surface and ground water quality. Urban agricultural areas are an important source of pollutants, which can reach lakes through surface runoff and underground circulation. Human intervention in the landscape is one of the major causes pollution and land degradation, thus it is very important to understand the impacts of and use on environment and if they have some spatial pattern (Pereira et al., 2013, 2015; Brevik et al., 2016). The identification of the spatial pattern of lakes pollution is in Alytus area (Lithuania) is fundamental, since they provide an important range of ecosystem services to local communities, including food and recreational activities. Thus, the degradation of these environments can induce important economic losses. In this context, it is import to identify the areas with high pollutant accumulation and the environmental and human factors responsible for it. The objective of this work is to study identify the amount of some important nutrients resultant from human activities in lake water quality in Alytus region (Lithuania). Alytus region is located in southern part of Lithuania and has an approximate area of 40 km2. Inside this region we analyzed several water quality parameters of 55 lakes, including, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), suspended materials (SM), water clarity (WC) biochemical oxygen demand (BDO), total phosphorous (TP), total Nitrogen (TN), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), as other environmental variables as altitude, lake maximum deep (MD), lake area and land use according Corine land cover classification (CLC2006). Previous to data analysis, data normality and homogeneity of the variances, was assessed with the Shapiro-wilk and Leven's test, respectively. The majority of the data did not respect the Gaussian distribution and the heteroscedasticity, even after a logarithmic, and box-cox transformation. Thus, in this work we used the logarithmic transformed data to do a principal component analysis (PCA), based on the correlation matrix. The loadings of factors that at least explained one of the variables were used for a hot spot analysis, in order to identify if there was a spatial pattern in the variables distribution (Pereira et al., 2010, 2016). The results showed that in Alytus region 45.5% of the land use was classified as agricultural area, 47.3% as forest and semi-natural areas, 3.3% as water bodies, 2% as artificial surfaces and 1.9% as wetlands. The water properties of the studied lakes were the follow: pH 8.3±0.41, EC 336.31±106.49 μS/cm, 9.55±3.09 mg/l, WC 2.55±1.41 meters, BDO 3.53±1.30 mg/l, TP 0.0425±0.027 mg/l, TN 0.92±0.39 mg/l, DOC 9.61±0.79 mg/l. On average, the altitude of the lakes was 113.98±17.06 meters, MD 15.98±12.08 and lake area 243.85±386.52 ha. The PCA identified three different groups (factors). The factor 1 had high loadings in MD and WC, and high negative loadings in BDS, TP, TN and SM. The factor 2 showed high negative loadings in pH, EC and DOC. Finally, the factor 3 had high positive loadings in the area of the lake and high negative loadings in altitude. The hot spot analysis carried out with the loadings of factor 1 showed that that the area at northeast of Alytus region had a significant concentration lakes with high amounts of BDS, TP, TN, and SM, and in the west an area of lakes with high WC and MD. The hot spot analysis applied to the factor 2 loadings, showed that there was a group of lakes with high pH, EC and DOC, and a cluster located in the northeast part of Alytus region with a low level of pH, EC and DOC. Finally, the hot spot analysis applied to the factor 3 loadings, identified that the areas where the high lake area were located in the northwest of the study area, and small lakes were identified in the northeast. The lakes located at high altitude were located in the northeast area and the ones at low altitude at northeast part of Alytus area. Overall, the area with lakes with high pollution are located at northwest of the study area, where the lakes were more shallow, the altitude was low and the majority of the surroundings are covered by agricultural areas. The degradation of water quality of this area may be attributed to the fertilizers and pesticides applied by farmers in this area, contributing to the degradation of water quality and the quality of the services offered by this area. References Brevik, E., Baumgarten, A., Calzolari, C., Jordan, A., Kabala, C., Miller, B., Pereira, P. Editorial Historical perspectives and future needs in soil mapping, classification and pedological modelling, Geoderma, 264, Part B, 253-255. Pereira, P., Úbeda, X., Baltrenaite, E. (2010) Mapping Total Nitrogen in ash after a Wildfire, a microplot analysis, Ekologija, 56 (3-4), 144-152. Pereira, P., Cerdà, A., Jordán, A., Bolutiene, V., Úbeda, X., Pranskevicius, M., Mataix-Solera, J. (2013) Spatio-temporal vegetation recuperation after a grassland fire in Lithuania, Procedia Environmental Sciences, 19:856-864 Pereira, P., Gimenez-Morera, A., Novara, A., Keesstra, S., Jordan, A., Masto, R.E., Cerda, A. (2015) Soil erosion on road and railways embankments in the Canyoles river watershed, Eastern Spain, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, Discussions, 12, 12947-12985.doi:10.5194/hessd-12-12947-2015 Pereira, P., Oliva, M., Misiune, I. (2016) Spatial interpolation of precipitation indexes in Sierra Nevada (Spain): comparing the performance of some interpolation methods, Theoretical and Applied Climatology (in press), doi:10.1007/s00704-015-1606-8

Mapping fire probability and severity in a Mediterranean area using different weather and fuel moisture scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arca, B.; Salis, M.; Bacciu, V.; Duce, P.; Pellizzaro, G.; Ventura, A.; Spano, D.

2009-04-01

Although in many countries lightning is the main cause of ignition, in the Mediterranean Basin the forest fires are predominantly ignited by arson, or by human negligence. The fire season peaks coincide with extreme weather conditions (mainly strong winds, hot temperatures, low atmospheric water vapour content) and high tourist presence. Many works reported that in the Mediterranean Basin the projected impacts of climate change will cause greater weather variability and extreme weather conditions, with drier and hotter summers and heat waves. At long-term scale, climate changes could affect the fuel load and the dead/live fuel ratio, and therefore could change the vegetation flammability. At short-time scale, the increase of extreme weather events could directly affect fuel water status, and it could increase large fire occurrence. In this context, detecting the areas characterized by both high probability of large fire occurrence and high fire severity could represent an important component of the fire management planning. In this work we compared several fire probability and severity maps (fire occurrence, rate of spread, fireline intensity, flame length) obtained for a study area located in North Sardinia, Italy, using FlamMap simulator (USDA Forest Service, Missoula). FlamMap computes the potential fire behaviour characteristics over a defined landscape for given weather, wind and fuel moisture data. Different weather and fuel moisture scenarios were tested to predict the potential impact of climate changes on fire parameters. The study area, characterized by a mosaic of urban areas, protected areas, and other areas subject to anthropogenic disturbances, is mainly composed by fire-prone Mediterranean maquis. The input themes needed to run FlamMap were input as grid of 10 meters; the wind data, obtained using a computational fluid-dynamic model, were inserted as gridded file, with a resolution of 50 m. The analysis revealed high fire probability and severity in most of the areas, and therefore a high potential danger. The FlamMap outputs and the derived fire probability maps can be used in decision support systems for fire spread and behaviour and for fire danger assessment with actual and future fire regimes.

Determination for regional differences of agriculture using satellite data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, G.

2006-12-01

Remote Sensing Laboratory, Field Science Center, Graduate School of Agriculture Science, Tohoku University starts at April 2004. For studies and education at the laboratory we are now developing the system of remote sensing and GIS. Earth Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center (ERSDAC) made the Home Pages of Terra/ASTER Image Web Library 3 "The Major Airport of the World." http://www.Ersdac.or.jp/ASTERimage3/library_E.html. First, we check the Airport Data to use agricultural understanding for the world. Almost major airport is located in rural area and surrounded with agriculture field. To survey the agriculture field adjacent to the major airport has almost the same condition of human activities. The images are same size and display about 18km X 14km. We can easily understand field size and surrounding conditions. We study seven airports as follows, 1. Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT), Japan, 2. Taipei Chiang kai Shek International Airport (TPE), Taiwan, 3. Bangkok International Airport (BKK), Thailand, 4. Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH), Saudi Arabia, 5. Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Paris, France, 6. Vienna International Airport (VIE), Austria, 7. Denver International Airport (DEN), CO, USA. At the area of Tokyo Narita Airport, there are many golf courses, big urban area and small size of agricultural fields. At Taipei Airport area are almost same as Tokyo Narita Airport area and there are many ponds for irrigations. Bangkok Airport area also has golf courses and many ponds for irrigation water. Riyadh Airport area is quite different from others, and there are large bare soils and small agriculture fields with irrigation and circle shape. Paris Airport area and Vienna Airport area are almost agricultural fields and there are vegetated field and bare soil fields because of crop rotation. Denver Airport area consists of almost agriculture fields and each field size is very large. The advantages of ASTER data are as follows, 1. High-resolution and large swath, 2. Large wavelength and many bands, 3. High-revel of geographical location, 4. Stereo pair images, 5. High performance data searching system, 6. High speed data delivery system, 7. Cheap price, 8. Seven years observation and large volume archive. A kind of project "Determination of Local Characteristics at Global Agriculture Using Archive ASTER Data" was started at middle of November 2005. We establish data processing system and get some results. Paddy rice fields analysis was started at first, we analyze 1) the Shonai Plains in Japan, 2) the Yangtze River delta in Middle-East China, 3) Mekong Delta in South Vietnam, 4) North-east Thai Plaines, Thailand, 5) Sacrament Valley, California, USA. The results of this studies are as follows, 1) Using ASTER images, we can easily understand agricultural characteristics of each local area. 2) ASTER data are high accuracy for location, and the accuracy is suitable for global study without the fine topographical maps, 3) By five years observation of ASTER, there is huge numbers of ASTER scenes, but not enough volumes for cloud free data for seasonal analysis. It means that follow-on program of ASTER is necessary, 4) We need not only paddy field, but also all crop fields and all area, 5) The studies are necessary to international corroboration.

Neighborhood crime and self-care: risks for aggression and lower academic performance.

PubMed

Lord, Heather; Mahoney, Joseph L

2007-11-01

This longitudinal study evaluated associations among official rates of neighborhood crime, academic performance, and aggression in a sample of 581 children in 1st-3rd grade (6.3-10.6 years old). It was hypothesized that the influence of crime depends on children's unsupervised exposure to the neighborhood context through self-care. Average weekly hours in self-care were trichotomized into low (0-3), moderate (4-9), and high (10-15). Moderate and high amounts of self-care were linked to increased aggression and decreased academic performance for children from high-crime areas (11,230 crimes per 100,000 persons) but not average-crime areas, when the authors controlled for neighborhood, family, and child covariates. In high-crime areas, academic outcomes were more favorable when self-care occurred in combination with after-school program participation. (c) 2007 APA.

The mass use of deltamethrin collars to control and prevent canine visceral leishmaniasis: A field effectiveness study in a highly endemic area.

PubMed

Leite, Bruna Martins Macedo; Solcà, Manuela da Silva; Santos, Liliane Celestino Sales; Coelho, Lívia Brito; Amorim, Leila Denise Alves Ferreira; Donato, Lucas Edel; Passos, Sandra Maria de Souza; Almeida, Adriana Oliveira de; Veras, Patrícia Sampaio Tavares; Fraga, Deborah Bittencourt Mothé

2018-05-01

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonosis of great importance. Limitations in current VL control measures compromise efficacy, indicating the need to implement new strategies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the mass use of deltamethrin-impregnated collars in dogs as a public health measure to control and prevent canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). An interventional study was implemented in two endemic areas in the district of Monte Gordo (Bahia-Brazil): an intervention area, in which VL seronegative dogs were collared, and a control area in which only conventional CVL control measures were applied. At baseline, seropositive dogs were removed and seronegative dogs were included. Dogs were then reevaluated every 7-8 months for almost two years. At each time point, dogs in the intervention area that remained seronegative received new collars and newly identified seronegative dogs were included and collared. The local zoonosis control authorities were notified of any dogs that tested seropositive in both areas, which were subsequently marked for euthanasia as mandated by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. In the first serological survey, seroprevalence was similar in both areas. At the second evaluation, significant reductions in seroprevalence were seen in both areas, while seroprevalence in the intervention area reduced to 6.0% during the final evaluation versus an increase of 11.0% in the control area. This significant increase and the estimated relative risk (RR = 0.55) indicated protection against CVL in the intervention area. Although CVL incidence did not differ significantly between the areas, an increased tendency was observed in the control area, which could be due to low seroconversion rates throughout the study or a high loss to follow-up. Although our evaluation of the effectiveness of deltamethrin-impregnated collars as a community-wide public health control measure was inconclusive, this measure likely provides protection over time. In endemic areas of Brazil, this strategy represents an operational challenge for local zoonosis control authorities, indicating the need for adjustments, including improved collar design.

Seattle wide-area information for travelers (SWIFT) : institutional issues study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-10-19

The Seattle Wide-area Information for Travelers (SWIFT) project was a highly successful Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Field Operational Test (FOT) that was conducted over a four-year period from 1993 to 1997. The purpose of the project was ...

Seattle wide-area information for travelers (SWIFT) : deployment cost study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-10-19

The Seattle Wide-area Information For Travelers (SWIFT) project was a highly successful Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Field Operational Test (FOT) that was conducted over a four-year period from 1993 to 1997. The purpose of the project was ...

Bibliometric profile of deep brain stimulation.

PubMed

Hu, Kejia; Moses, Ziev B; Xu, Wendong; Williams, Ziv

2017-10-01

We aimed to identify and analyze the characteristics of the 100 most highly-cited papers in the research field of deep brain stimulation (DBS). The Web of Science was searched for highly-cited papers related to DBS research. The number of citations, countries, institutions of origin, year of publication, and research area were noted and analyzed. The 100 most highly-cited articles had a mean of 304.15 citations. These accrued an average of 25.39 citations a year. The most represented target by far was the subthalamic nucleus (STN). These articles were published in 46 high-impact journals, with Brain (n = 10) topping the list. These articles came from 11 countries, with the USA contributing the most highly-cited articles (n = 29); however, it was the University of Toronto (n = 13) in Canada that was the institution with the most highly-cited studies. This study identified the 100 most highly-cited studies and highlighted a historical perspective on the progress in the field of DBS. These findings allow for the recognition of the most influential reports and provide useful information that can indicate areas requiring further investigation.

[Women with high fertility in Mexico: orientations for a population policy].

PubMed

Lopez, E

1989-01-01

The characteristics and correlates of high fertility women in Mexico were assessed for different age and residential groups with data from the National Demographic Survey of 1982. This survey included information on rural, urban and metropolitan Mexican women aged 15-49 years who had ever been in union. Rural areas were defined as those with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. Metropolitan areas were Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mexico City. High fertility was defined for the purpose of this study as at least 2 live births for women 15-19, 3 for women 20-24, 4 for those 25-29, 5 for those 30-34, 6 for those 35-39, and 7 for those 40-49. According to this definition about 40% of Mexican women are high fertility, with proportions ranging from about 1/3 of those 20-29 to half of those 35-49 years old. High fertility is about twice as common in women 15-19 in rural areas as in urban and metropolitan areas of Mexico. 10% of rural women aged 20-24 already have 5 children, compared to less than 1% of metropolitan women and under 3% of women in other urban areas. By age 45-49, 31% of rural women, 20% of other urban women, and 15% of metropolitan women have 10 or more children. 13% in all areas have 2 or 3. Large proportions of rural women in all age groups are high fertility, with the difference especially marked at young ages. The data on contraceptive usage indicate that high fertility women are among the increasing numbers of Mexican women attempting to control their family size. 10% of high fertility women in rural areas are sterilized and another 10% use oral contraceptives. Injectables and traditional methods share 3rd place. IUDs are almost nonexistent in rural areas. In urban and metropolitan zones about 1/4 of high fertility women have been sterilized. About 10% use pills. Traditional methods and IUDs are in 3rd place for urban women while injectables occupy 3rd place for metropolitan women. Except among women 30-34, about 70% of sterilizations in rural areas are in high fertility women. The data demonstrate the growing acceptance of family planning in rural as well as in urban areas. In 1969, only 10% of rural women in union had ever used a contraceptive method. The 43.1% of Mexican women with little or no schooling contribute 63% of the high fertility. High fertility women are overrepresented in the lowest educational stratum in all age groups. Methodological difficulties arise in comparing the fertility performance of different social groups. It appears however that agricultural workers and unsalaried self-employed workers contribute a disproportionate share of high fertility.

Usability of small impact craters on small surface areas in crater count dating: Analysing examples from the Harmakhis Vallis outflow channel, Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kukkonen, S.; Kostama, V.-P.

2018-05-01

The availability of very high-resolution images has made it possible to extend crater size-frequency distribution studies to small, deca/hectometer-scale craters. This has enabled the dating of small and young surface units, as well as recent, short-time and small-scale geologic processes that have occurred on the units. Usually, however, the higher the spatial resolution of space images is, the smaller area is covered by the images. Thus the use of single, very high-resolution images in crater count age determination may be debatable if the images do not cover the studied region entirely. Here we compare the crater count results for the floor of the Harmakhis Vallis outflow channel obtained from the images of the ConTeXt camera (CTX) and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The CTX images enable crater counts for entire units on the Harmakhis Vallis main valley, whereas the coverage of the higher-resolution HiRISE images is limited and thus the images can only be used to date small parts of the units. Our case study shows that the crater count data based on small impact craters and small surface areas mainly correspond with the crater count data based on larger craters and more extensive counting areas on the same unit. If differences between the results were founded, they could usually be explained by the regional geology. Usually, these differences appeared when at least one cratering model age is missing from either of the crater datasets. On the other hand, we found only a few cases in which the cratering model ages were completely different. We conclude that the crater counts using small impact craters on small counting areas provide useful information about the geological processes which have modified the surface. However, it is important to remember that all the crater counts results obtained from a specific counting area always primarily represent the results from the counting area-not the whole unit. On the other hand, together with crater count results from extensive counting areas and lower-resolution images, crater counts on small counting areas but by using very high-resolution images is a very valuable tool for obtaining unique additional information about the local processes on the surface units.

Monitoring Spatiotemporal Changes of Heat Island in Babol City due to Land Use Changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alavi Panah, S. K.; Kiavarz Mogaddam, M.; Karimi Firozjaei, M.

2017-09-01

Urban heat island is one of the most vital environmental risks in urban areas. The advent of remote sensing technology provides better visibility due to the integrated view, low-cost, fast and effective way to study and monitor environmental and humanistic changes. The aim of this study is a spatiotemporal evaluation of land use changes and the heat island in the time period of 1985-2015 for the studied area in the city of Babol. For this purpose, multi-temporal Landsat images were used in this study. For calculating the land surface temperature (LST), single-channel and maximum likelihood algorithms were used, to classify Images. Therefore, land use changes and LST were examined, and thereby the relationship between land-use changes was analyzed with the normalized LST. By using the average and standard deviation of normalized thermal images, the area was divided into five temperature categories, inter alia, very low, low, medium, high and very high and then, the heat island changes in the studied time period were investigated. The results indicate that land use changes for built-up lands increased by 92%, and a noticeable decrease was observed for agricultural lands. The Built-up land changes trend has direct relation with the trend of normalized surface temperature changes. Low and very low-temperature categories which follow a decreasing trend, are related to lands far away from the city. Also, high and very high-temperature categories whose areas increase annually, are adjacent to the city center and exit ways of the town. The results emphasize on the importance of attention of urban planners and managers to the urban heat island as an environmental risk.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sineeva, Natalya

2018-03-01

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

Spatial variation of physicochemical and bacteriological parameters elucidation with GIS in Rangat Bay, Middle Andaman, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dheenan, P. S.; Jha, Dilip Kumar; Vinithkumar, N. V.; Ponmalar, A. Angelin; Venkateshwaran, P.; Kirubagaran, R.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the concentration, distribution of bacteria and physicochemical property of surface seawater in Rangat Bay, Middle Andaman, Andaman Islands (India). The bay experiences tidal variations. Perhaps physicochemical properties of seawater in Rangat Bay were found not to vary significantly. The concentration of faecal streptococci was high (2.2 × 103 CFU/100 mL) at creek and harbour area, whereas total coliforms were high (7.0 × 102 CFU/100 mL) at mangrove area. Similarly, total heterotrophic bacterial concentration was high (5.92 × 104 CFU/100 mL) in mangrove and harbour area. The Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus concentration was high (4.2 × 104 CFU/100 mL and 9 × 103 CFU/100 mL) at open sea. Cluster analysis showed grouping of stations in different tidal periods. The spatial maps clearly depicted the bacterial concentration pattern in the bay. The combined approach of multivariate analysis and spatial mapping techniques was proved to be useful in the current study.

Incidence of cancer among residents of high temperature geothermal areas in Iceland: a census based study 1981 to 2010

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Residents of geothermal areas are exposed to geothermal emissions and water containing hydrogen sulphide and radon. We aim to study the association of the residence in high temperature geothermal area with the risk of cancer. Methods This is an observational cohort study where the population of a high-temperature geothermal area (35,707 person years) was compared with the population of a cold, non-geothermal area (571,509 person years). The cohort originates from the 1981 National Census. The follow up from 1981 to 2010 was based on record linkage by personal identifier with nation-wide death and cancer registries. Through the registries it was possible to ascertain emigration and vital status and to identify the cancer cases, 95% of which had histological verification. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated in Cox-model, adjusted for age, gender, education and housing. Results Adjusted HR in the high-temperature geothermal area for all cancers was 1.22 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.42) as compared with the cold area. The HR for pancreatic cancer was 2.85 (95% CI 1.39 to 5.86), breast cancer 1.59 (95% CI 1.10 to 2.31), lymphoid and hematopoietic cancer 1.64 (95% CI 1.00 to 2.66), and non-Hodgkins lymphoma 3.25 (95% CI 1.73 to 6.07). The HR for basal cell carcinoma of the skin was 1.61 (95% CI 1.10 to 2.35). The HRs were increased for cancers of the nasal cavities, larynx, lung, prostate, thyroid gland and for soft tissue sarcoma; however the 95% CIs included unity. Conclusions More precise information on chemical and physical exposures are needed to draw firm conclusions from the findings. The significant excess risk of breast cancer, and basal cell carcinoma of the skin, and the suggested excess risk of other radiation-sensitive cancers, calls for measurement of the content of the gas emissions and the hot water, which have been of concern in previous studies in volcanic areas. There are indications of an exposure-response relationship, as the risk was higher in comparison with the cold than with the warm reference area. Social status has been taken into account and data on reproductive factors and smoking habits show that these do not seem to explain the increased risk of cancers, however unknown confounding can not be excluded. PMID:23025471

Cyberpark 2000: Protected Areas Management Pilot Project. Satellite time series vegetation monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monteleone, M.; Lanorte, A.; Lasaponara, R.

2009-04-01

Cyberpark 2000 is a project funded by the UE Regional Operating Program of the Apulia Region (2000-2006). The main objective of the Cyberpark 2000 project is to develop a new assessment model for the management and monitoring of protected areas in Foggia Province (Apulia Region) based on Information and Communication Technologies. The results herein described are placed inside the research activities finalized to develop an environmental monitoring system knowledge based on the use of satellite time series. This study include: - A- satellite time series of high spatial resolution data for supporting the analysis of fire static risk factors through land use mapping and spectral/quantitative characterization of vegetation fuels; - B- satellite time series of MODIS for supporting fire dynamic risk evaluation of study area - Integrated fire detection by using thermal imaging cameras placed on panoramic view-points; - C - integrated high spatial and high temporal satellite time series for supporting studies in change detection factors or anomalies in vegetation covers; - D - satellite time-series for monitoring: (i) post fire vegetation recovery and (ii) spatio/temporal vegetation dynamics in unburned and burned vegetation covers.

Risk factors for high levels of lead in blood of schoolchildren in Mexico City.

PubMed

Olaiz, G; Fortoul, T I; Rojas, R; Doyer, M; Palazuelos, E; Tapia, C R

1996-01-01

Risk factors associated with blood lead levels exceeding 15 microg/dl were analyzed in this report. This relatively high lead level was selected because, at the time the study commenced, it was considered to be a "safe" level. A total of 1583 schoolchildren were studied. The students were from (a) two areas in Mexico City (Tlalnepantla and Xalostoc) that have had historically high concentrations of lead in air, and (b) three areas (Pedregal, Iztalpalapa, and Centro) with less impressive air lead levels. Parents were presented with a questionnaire that solicited information about lead risk factors. A bivariate analysis and a multilogistic analysis were conducted to identify associations and to identify the model that most accurately explains the variability of the sample. High blood lead concentrations were found in children who lived in Xalostoc and Tlalnepantla (16.1 and 17.0 microg/dl, respectively), and the lowest concentration (i.e., 10 microg/dl) was found in children from Iztapalapa. The strongest association was with area of residence, followed by education level of parents, cooking of meals in glazed pottery, and chewing or sucking of yellow or other colored pencils. A child's area of residence is the most significant risk factor that must be accounted for when any study of lead and blood lead concentrations is undertaken. Follow-up in similar populations should assist greatly in the evaluation of the impact of governmental actions on public health.

Estimation of lean and fat composition of pork ham using image processing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Jiancheng; Schinckel, Allan P.; Forrest, John C.

1995-01-01

This paper presents a method of estimating the lean and fat composition in pork ham from cross-sectional area measurements using image processing technology. The relationship between the quantity of ham lean and fat mass with the ham lean and fat areas was studied. The prediction equations for pork ham composition based on the ham cross-sectional area measurements were developed. The results show that ham lean weight was related to the ham lean area (r equals .75, P < .0001) while ham fat weight was related tot the ham fat area (r equals .79, P equals .0001). Ham lean weight was highly related to the product of ham total weight times percentage ham lean area (r equals .96, P < .0001). Ham fat weight was highly related to the product of ham total weight times percentage ham fat area (r equals .88, P < .0001). The best combination of independent variables for estimating ham lean weight was trimmed wholesale ham weight and percentage ham fat area with a coefficient of determination of 92%. The best combination of independent variables for estimating ham fat weight was trimmed wholesale ham weight and percentage ham fat area with a coefficient of determination of 78%. Prediction equations with either two or three independent variables did not significantly increase the accuracy of prediction. The results of this study indicate that the weight of ham lean and fat could be predicted from ham cross-sectional area measurements using image analysis in combination with wholesale ham weight.

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

PubMed

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

2017-07-07

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

Regional differences in post-traumatic stress symptoms among children after the 2011 tsunami in Higashi-Matsushima, Japan.

PubMed

Kuwabara, Hitoshi; Araki, Tsuyoshi; Yamasaki, Syudo; Ando, Shuntaro; Kano, Yukiko; Kasai, Kiyoto

2015-01-01

On 11 March 2011, a massive undersea earthquake, measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, caused a tsunami that devastated the shoreline of east Japan. It is estimated that over 20,000 people lost their lives as a result. It is recommended that clinical effort after a tsunami disaster concentrate on a high-impact area rather than cover a large area. However, regional differences in post-traumatic stress symptoms among children after a tsunami disaster are not well clarified. This study evaluated post-traumatic stress symptoms and reported the findings of early-phase screening of 2259 students from Higashi-Matsushima City, Japan, 6 weeks after a tsunami hit the city. The sample was divided into two age groups: elementary school students (n=1102) and junior high school students (n=1157). Of these groups, 289 (26.2%) elementary school students and 123 (10.6%) junior high school students attended the four schools that were located in the area struck by the tsunami; the mortality rate of the area exceeded 4%. We referred to these students as the "high-impact group." The "lower-impact group" consisted of 813 (73.8%) elementary school students and 1034 (89.4%) junior high school students who attended the remaining ten schools. The severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms did not significantly differ between areas with relatively high and low impact. However, among the junior high school students, those attending the school in the highly impacted area showed higher post-traumatic symptoms scores than did the students of the less-impacted area. When planning a mass intervention after a disaster, especially in the early phase when the resources for intervention are not sufficient, it might be useful to consider the degree of age-dependent impact effect. Copyright © 2014 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Upper gastrointestinal cancer burden in Hebei Province, China: A population-based study.

PubMed

Li, Dao-Juan; Liang, Di; Song, Guo-Hui; Li, Yong-Wei; Wen, Deng-Gui; Jin, Jing; He, Yu-Tong

2017-04-14

To investigate the incidence and mortality rates of upper gastrointestinal cancer (UGIC) in Hebei Province, China, and to identify high-risk populations to improve UGIC prevention and control. Data for UGIC patients were collected from 21 population-based cancer registries covering 15.25% of the population in Hebei Province. Mortality data were extracted from three national retrospective death surveys (1973-1975, 1990-1992 and 2004-2005). The data were stratified by 5-year age groups, gender and area (high-risk/non-high-risk areas) for analysis. The age-period-cohort and grey system model were used. The crude incidence rate of UGIC was 55.47/100000, and the adjusted rate (Segi's population) was 44.90/100000. Males in rural areas had the highest incidence rate (world age-standardized rate = 87.89/100000). The crude mortality rate of UGIC displayed a decreasing trend in Hebei Province from the 1970s to 2013, and the adjusted rate decreased by 43.81% from the 1970s (58.07/100000) to 2013 (32.63/100000). The mortality rate declined more significantly in the high-risk areas (57.26%) than in the non-high-risk areas (55.02%) from the 1970s to 2013. The median age at diagnosis of UGIC was 65.06 years in 2013. There was a notable delay in the median age at death from the 1970s (66.15 years) to 2013 (70.39 years), especially in the high-risk areas. In Cixian, the total trend of the cohort effect declined, and people aged 65-69 years were a population at relatively high risk for UGIC. We predicted that the crude mortality rates of UGIC in Cixian and Shexian would decrease to 98.80 and 133.99 per 100000 in 2018, respectively. UGIC was the major cause of cancer death in Hebei Province, and males in rural areas were a high-risk population. We should strengthen early detection and treatment of UGIC in this population.

XUNET experimental high-speed network testbed CRADA 1136, DOE TTI No. 92-MULT-020-B2

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

Palmer, R.E.

1996-04-01

XUNET is a research program with AT&T and other partners to study high-speed wide area communication between local area networks over a backbone using Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switches. Important goals of the project are to develop software techniques for network control and management, and applications for high-speed networks. The project entails building a testbed between member sites to explore performance issues for mixed network traffic such as congestion control, multimedia communications protocols, segmentation and reassembly of ATM cells, and overall data throughput rates.

The Impact of Public Spending in a Low-Income Rural Area: A Case Study of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, O. Wendell

The economic effects of Government spending at public installations in rural areas was investigated. Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, was chosen because of its location in a low-income rural area with relatively high outmigration, a declining agricultural industry base, and few employment opportunities. All of the data relating to Government spending…

A systematic review of food deserts, 1966-2007.

PubMed

Beaulac, Julie; Kristjansson, Elizabeth; Cummins, Steven

2009-07-01

"Food deserts," areas characterized by poor access to healthy and affordable food, may contribute to social and spatial disparities in diet and diet-related health outcomes. However, the extent to which food deserts exist is debated. We review the evidence for the existence of food deserts in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. We conducted a systematic review of primary, quantitative, observational studies, published in English or French, that used geographic or market-basket approaches in high-income countries. The literature search included electronic and hand searches and peer-reviewed and grey literature from 1966 through 2007. We also contacted key researchers to identify other studies. We analyzed the findings and quality of the studies qualitatively. Forty-nine studies in 5 countries met inclusion criteria; the amount and consistency of the evidence varied by country. These studies were a mix of geographic and market-basket approaches, but the methodologic quality of studies and completeness of reported findings were mixed. We found clear evidence for disparities in food access in the United States by income and race. Findings from other high-income countries were sparse and equivocal. This review suggests that food deserts exist in the United States, where area-level deprivation compounds individual disadvantage. Evidence for the existence of food deserts in other high-income nations is weak.

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability using DRASTIC Model and GIS : A case study of two sub-districts in Banda Aceh city, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Machdar, I.; Zulfikar, T.; Rinaldi, W.; Alfiansyah, Y.

2018-03-01

This present study assessed the groundwater vulnerability to protect aquifer in part of Banda Aceh City (the sub-district of Banda Raya and Lueng Bata), Indonesia. The study provides an additional tool for local planner and manager as for managing and protecting groundwater resources. The study area covers 1,164 ha and total population was estimated around 50,000 inhabitants. DRASTIC model in a GIS (Geographic Information System) environment was used in this study to generate vulnerability maps. The maps were created by applied seven criteria as standard in DRASTIC approach, i.e. depth to groundwater, recharge, aquifer type, soil properties, topography, impact of the vadose zone, and hydraulic conductivity. The vulnerability maps provides five categories of vulnerability, i.e. less, low, medium, high, and very high. It was found that the village areas, labelled with the high groundwater pollution potential, are mainly in the area of Lamlagang and the part of Geuce Kaye Jatoe and Geuce Komplek (Banda Raya sub-district) and the part of Batoh and Suka Damai (Lueng Bata sub-distric) This study prompts that the DRASTIC approach is helpful and efficient instrument for assessing groundwater vulnerability. The generated map can be an effective tool for local administrators in groundwater management as well.

Slope stability susceptibility evaluation parameter (SSEP) rating scheme - An approach for landslide hazard zonation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raghuvanshi, Tarun Kumar; Ibrahim, Jemal; Ayalew, Dereje

2014-11-01

In this paper a new slope susceptibility evaluation parameter (SSEP) rating scheme is presented which is developed as an expert evaluation approach for landslide hazard zonation. The SSEP rating scheme is developed by considering intrinsic and external triggering parameters that are responsible for slope instability. The intrinsic parameters which are considered are; slope geometry, slope material (rock or soil type), structural discontinuities, landuse and landcover and groundwater. Besides, external triggering parameters such as, seismicity, rainfall and manmade activities are also considered. For SSEP empirical technique numerical ratings are assigned to each of the intrinsic and triggering parameters on the basis of logical judgments acquired from experience of studies of intrinsic and external triggering factors and their relative impact in inducing instability to the slope. Further, the distribution of maximum SSEP ratings is based on their relative order of importance in contributing instability to the slope. Finally, summation of all ratings for intrinsic and triggering parameter based on actual observation will provide the expected degree of landslide in a given land unit. This information may be utilized to develop a landslide hazard zonation map. The SSEP technique was applied in the area around Wurgessa Kebelle of North Wollo Zonal Administration, Amhara National Regional State in northern Ethiopia, some 490 km from Addis Ababa. The results obtained indicates that 8.33% of the area fall under Moderately hazard and 83.33% fall within High hazard whereas 8.34% of the area fall under Very high hazard. Further, in order to validate the LHZ map prepared during the study, active landslide activities and potential instability areas, delineated through inventory mapping was overlain on it. All active landslide activities and potential instability areas fall within very high and high hazard zone. Thus, the satisfactory agreement confirms the rationality of considered governing parameters, the adopted SSEP technique, tools and procedures in developing the landslide hazard map of the study area.

[Mapping Critical Loads of Heavy Metals for Soil Based on Different Environmental Effects].

PubMed

Shi, Ya-xing; Wu, Shao-hua; Zhou, Sheng-lu; Wang, Chun-hui; Chen, Hao

2015-12-01

China's rapid development of industrialization and urbanization causes the growing problem of heavy metal pollution of soil, threatening environment and human health. Therefore, prevention and management of heavy metal pollution become particularly important. Critical loads of heavy metals are an important management tool that can be utilized to prevent the occurrence of heavy metal pollution. Our study was based on three cases: status balance, water environmental effects and health risks. We used the steady-state mass balance equation to calculate the critical loads of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn at different effect levels and analyze the values and spatial variation of critical loads. In addition, we used the annual input fluxes of heavy metals of the agro-ecosystem in the Yangtze River delta and China to estimate the proportion of area with exceedance of critical loads. The results demonstrated that the critical load value of Cd was the minimum, and the values of Cu and Zn were lager. There were spatial differences among the critical loads of four elements in the study area, lower critical loads areas mainly occurred in woodland and high value areas distributed in the east and southwest of the study area, while median values and the medium high areas mainly occurred in farmland. Comparing the input fluxes of heavy metals, we found that Pb and Zn in more than 90% of the area exceeded the critical loads under different environmental effects in the study area. The critical load exceedance of Cd mainly occurred under the status balance and the water environmental effect, while Cu under the status balance and water environmental effect with a higher proportion of exceeded areas. Critical loads of heavy metals at different effect levels in this study could serve as a reference from effective control of the emissions of heavy metals and to prevent the occurrence of heavy metal pollution.

Fox baiting against Echinococcus multilocularis: contrasted achievements among two medium size cities.

PubMed

Comte, S; Raton, V; Raoul, F; Hegglin, D; Giraudoux, P; Deplazes, P; Favier, S; Gottschek, D; Umhang, G; Boué, F; Combes, B

2013-08-01

In Europe, most cities are currently colonized by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), which are considered to be the main definitive host of the zoonotic cestode Echinococcus multilocularis. The risk of transmission to humans is of particular concern where high fox populations overlap with high human populations. The distribution of baits containing praziquantel has successfully reduced the infection pressure in rural areas and in small plots within large cities. The purpose of this study was to assess its efficiency in two medium size cities (less than 100,000 inhabitants) in areas of high human alveolar echinococcosis incidence. From August 2006 to March 2009, 14 baiting campaigns of praziquantel treatment were run in Annemasse and Pontarlier (Eastern France), each of which encompassed 33 km(2), with a density of 40 baits/km(2). The bait consumption appeared to be lower in strictly urban context compared to suburban areas (78.9% vs. 93.4%) and lower in Annemasse than in Pontarlier (82.2% vs. 89.5%). During our study, the prevalence of E. multilocularis, as assessed by EM-ELISA on fox faeces collected in the field in Annemasse, was lower within the treated area than in the rural control area. A "before/during" treatment comparison revealed a significant decrease of spring prevalence from 13.3% to 2.2%. No significant change in prevalence was detected in Pontarlier (stable prevalence: 9.1%) where the contamination of the treated area followed the temporal trend observed in the control area. There, a greater resilience of the parasite's life cycle, probably due to a strong pressure of recontamination from outside the treated area, may have counteracted the prophylaxis treatment. These contrasted outcomes suggest that the frequency of fox anthelmintic treatment should be adapted to the local situation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Differences in prescription opioid analgesic availability: comparing minority and white pharmacies across Michigan.

PubMed

Green, Carmen R; Ndao-Brumblay, S Khady; West, Brady; Washington, Tamika

2005-10-01

Little is known about physical barriers to adequate pain treatment for minorities. This investigation explored sociodemographic determinants of pain medication availability in Michigan pharmacies. A cross-sectional survey-based study with census data and data provided by Michigan community retail pharmacists was designed. Sufficient opioid analgesic supplies was defined as stocking at least one long-acting, short-acting, and combination opioid analgesic. Pharmacies located in minority (or=70% white residents) zip code areas were randomly selected by using a 2-stage sampling selection process (response rate, 80%). For the 190 pharmacies surveyed, most were located in white areas (51.6%) and had sufficient supplies (84.1%). After accounting for zip code median age and stratifying by income, pharmacies in white areas (odds ratio, 13.36 high income vs 54.42 low income) and noncorporate pharmacies (odds ratio, 24.92 high income vs 3.61 low income) were more likely to have sufficient opioid analgesic supplies (P < .005). Racial differences in the odds of having a sufficient supply were significantly higher in low income areas when compared with high income areas. Having a pharmacy located near a hospital did not change the availability for opioid analgesics. Persons living in predominantly minority areas experienced significant barriers to accessing pain medication, with greater disparities in low income areas regardless of ethnic composition. Differences were also found on the basis of pharmacy type, suggesting variability in pharmacist's decision making. Michigan pharmacies in minority zip codes were 52 times less likely to carry sufficient opioid analgesics than pharmacies in white zip codes regardless of income. Lower income areas and corporate pharmacies were less likely to carry sufficient opioid analgesics. This study illustrates barriers to pain care and has public health implications.

TDEM survey in an area of seismicity induced by water wells in Paraná sedimentary basin, Northern São Paulo State, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porsani, Jorge Luís; Almeida, Emerson Rodrigo; Bortolozo, Cassiano Antonio; Santos, Fernando Acácio Monteiro dos

2012-07-01

This article presents TDEM results from an area with recent induced shallow seismicity. The purpose was to do a geoelectrical mapping of sedimentary and fractured basaltic aquifers for better understanding of the hydrogeologic setting. The study area is in the Paraná basin where flood basalts are overlain by sedimentary units near the city of Bebedouro, northern São Paulo State, Brazil. 86 TDEM soundings were acquired in an area of 90 km2 in the Andes and Botafogo study areas. The soundings were chosen next to wells for calibration, and also along profiles crossing the seismically active areas. 1-D interpretation results showed the general geoelectrical stratigraphy of this part of the Paraná basin. The upper geoelectrical layer is the shallow sedimentary aquifer (Adamantina formation) with less than 80 m thickness. The second geoelectrical layer contains the upper basalts of the Serra Geral formation at about 60-80 m depths. A saturated fractured basalt zone between 100 and 300 m depths was identifiable on various TDEM soundings. This depth range corresponds to the range of hypocentral depths for more than 3000 micro-earthquakes in this area. The lower basalt layer was estimated to lie between 400 and 650 m depth. The deepest geoelectrical layer detected by various TDEM soundings corresponds to the Botucatu sandstone (Guarani aquifer). Results suggest that the high-discharge wells are located in the fractured zone in the middle basalt of the Serra Geral formation. There is a good correlation between seismically active areas, high discharge wells (> 190 m3/h), and fracture zones in the middle basalt. The results reinforce the hypothesis that the shallow seismic activity in the Bebedouro region is being triggered by high rates of groundwater withdrawal.

Trends in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) associated with urban development in northern West Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esau, Igor; Miles, Victoria V.; Davy, Richard; Miles, Martin W.; Kurchatova, Anna

2016-08-01

Exploration and exploitation of oil and gas reserves of northern West Siberia has promoted rapid industrialization and urban development in the region. This development leaves significant footprints on the sensitive northern environment, which is already stressed by the global warming. This study reports the region-wide changes in the vegetation cover as well as the corresponding changes in and around 28 selected urbanized areas. The study utilizes the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from high-resolution (250 m) MODIS data acquired for summer months (June through August) over 15 years (2000-2014). The results reveal the increase of NDVI (or "greening") over the northern (tundra and tundra-forest) part of the region. Simultaneously, the southern, forested part shows the widespread decrease of NDVI (or "browning"). These region-wide patterns are, however, highly fragmented. The statistically significant NDVI trends occupy only a small fraction of the region. Urbanization destroys the vegetation cover within the developed areas and at about 5-10 km distance around them. The studied urbanized areas have the NDVI values by 15 to 45 % lower than the corresponding areas at 20-40 km distance. The largest NDVI reduction is typical for the newly developed areas, whereas the older areas show recovery of the vegetation cover. The study reveals a robust indication of the accelerated greening near the older urban areas. Many Siberian cities become greener even against the wider browning trends at their background. Literature discussion suggests that the observed urban greening could be associated not only with special tending of the within-city green areas but also with the urban heat islands and succession of more productive shrub and tree species growing on warmer sandy soils.

[Study on the relationship between ER Rsa I gene polymorphism and children's dental fluorosis].

PubMed

Ba, Yue; Li, Hai-Xia; Yin, Gong-Ju; Wu, Wei-Hua; Yu, Bo; Cheng, Xue-Min; Cui, Liu-Xin

2009-09-01

To explore the distribution of ER Rsa I genotype in children who lived in the areas with or without high fluoride, and evaluate the relationship between ER Rsa I gene polymorphism and children's dental fluorosis. Children aged 8 to 12 years, born and raised in high fluoride areas and control areas in two counties of Henan Province were recruited. The Rsa I marker of ER gene was genotyped in 237 children composed of both dental fluorosis cases and controls by PCR-RFLP procedure. Urine fluoride was detected with fluoride ion selective electrode method. The frequency distribution of ER Rsa I genotype was rr 60.81% (45/74), Rr 27.02% (20/74), RR 12.16% (9/74) in children with fluorosis; rr 73.91% (51/69), Rr 20.29% (14/69), RR 5.80% (4/69) in children without fluorosis from high fluoride areas, and rr 63.83% (60/94), Rr 34.04% (32/94), RR 2.13% (2/94) in the children without fluorosis from control areas respectively. There were no significant differences in the three groups (P>0.05), but children carrying allele R of ER Rsa I had a significantly increased risk of dental fluorosis (OR=1.821, 95% CI: 1.013-3.274) compared to children carrying the allele r in endemic fluorosis areas. Although no significant difference was found in ER Rsa I genotype between cases and non-dental fluorosis in endemic fluorosis areas, children carrying R allele of ER Rsa I had a higher risk compared to children carrying r allele, and the further study is needed.

Characterization, distribution, and risk assessment of heavy metals in agricultural soil and products around mining and smelting areas of Hezhang, China.

PubMed

Briki, Meryem; Ji, Hongbing; Li, Cai; Ding, Huaijian; Gao, Yang

2015-12-01

Mining and smelting have been releasing huge amount of toxic substances into the environment. In the present study, agricultural soil and different agricultural products (potato, Chinese cabbage, garlic bolt, corn) were analyzed to examine the source, spatial distribution, and risk of 12 elements (As, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn) in agricultural soil near mine fields, smelting fields, and mountain field around Hezhang County, west of Guizhou Province, China. Multivariate statistical analysis indicated that in mining area, As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sb, and Zn were generated from anthropogenic sources; in smelting area, As, Be, Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, Sb, and Zn were derived from anthropogenic sources through zinc smelting ceased in 2004. The enrichment factors (EFs) and ecological risk index (RI) of soil in mining area are the most harmful, showing extremely high enrichment and very high ecological risk of As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sb, and Zn. Zinc is the most significant enriched in the smelting area; however, mountain area has a moderate enrichment and ecological risk and do not present any ecological risk. According to spatial distribution, the concentrations depend on the nearby mining and smelting activities. Transfer factors (TFs) in the smelting area and mountain are high, implying a threat for human consumption. Therefore, further studies should be carried out taking into account the harm of those heavy metals and potential negative health effects from the consumption of agricultural products in these circumstances.

Racial/ethnic disparities in the use of mental health services in poverty areas.

PubMed

Chow, Julian Chun-Chung; Jaffee, Kim; Snowden, Lonnie

2003-05-01

This study examined racial/ethnic disparities in mental health service access and use at different poverty levels. We compared demographic and clinical characteristics and service use patterns of Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians living in low-poverty and high-poverty areas. Logistic regression models were used to assess service use patterns of minority racial/ethnic groups compared with Whites in different poverty areas. Residence in a poverty neighborhood moderates the relationship between race/ethnicity and mental health service access and use. Disparities in using emergency and inpatient services and having coercive referrals were more evident in low-poverty than in high-poverty areas. Neighborhood poverty is a key to understanding racial/ethnic disparities in the use of mental health services.

Map showing geochemistry of stream sediments in the Jerry Peak Wilderness Study Area, Custer County, Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Callahan, J.E.; McIntyre, D.H.; Cooley, E.F.; Cookro, T.M.

1984-01-01

The Jerry Peak Wilderness Study Area is about 25 mi south of Challis in Custer County, central Idaho (fig. 1). The study area contains 46,150 acres of land administered by the by the Bureau of Land Management and 1 sq mi owned by the State of Idaho, a total of 46,790 acres. Most of the study area is readily accessible by roads along tributaries of the East Fork Salmon River, especially Road Creek, Herd Creek, and Lake Creek. The southeastern part of the area can be reached from Road Creek by the road down Peck's Canyon and by roads from Thousand Springs Valley, southeast of the study area. Several access roads to past logging operations extend up Sage Creek and its tributaries in the southeast part of the study area. Access to points within the northern part of the area is facilitated by jeep trails that connect with Road Creek and lake Creek and by improved road that extends northward from Herd Lake. The study area is moderately rugged, with local relief approaching 2,000 ft. Jerry (10,010 ft), the highest point within the area, is a low knoll on a north-trending linear ridge (fig. 1). The ridge has not been glaciated, despite its relatively high altitude. Most of the area is thinly covered by grass and low shrubs; trees, for the most part, are restricted to valley bottoms or to local, small groves on hillslopes.

Thermally dried ink-jet process for 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene for high mobility and high uniformity on a large area substrate

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ryu, Gi Seong; Lee, Myung Won; Jeong, Seung Hyeon; Song, Chung Kun

2012-01-01

In this study we developed a simple ink-jet process for 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene (TIPS-pentacene), which is known as a high-mobility soluble organic semiconductor, to achieve relatively high-mobility and high-uniformity performance for large-area applications. We analyzed the behavior of fluorescent particles in droplets and applied the results to determining a method of controlling the behavior of TIPS-pentacene molecules. The grain morphology of TIPS-pentacene varied depending on the temperature applied to the droplets during drying. We were able to obtain large and uniform grains at 46 degrees C without any "coffee stain". The process was applied to a large-size organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) backplane for an electrophoretic display panel containing 192 x 150 pixels on a 6-in.-sized substrate. The average of mobilities of 36 OTFTs, which were taken from different locations of the backplane, was 0.44 +/- 0.08 cm2.V-1.s-1, with a small deviation of 20%, over a 6-in.-size area comprising 28,800 OTFTs. This process providing high mobility and high uniformity can be achieved by simply maintaining the whole area of the substrate at a specific temperature (46 degrees C in this case) during drying of the droplets.

Truancy and Its Influence on Students' Learning in Dormaa Senior High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henry, Gyimah; Yelkpieri, Daniel

2017-01-01

The study instigated the incidence of truancy among students and its influence on learning in the Dormaa Senior High School. A descriptive survey design was adopted in carrying out the study. The study population consisted of teachers, students, parents and opinion leaders in the study area. The simple random and purposive samplings were used in…

Use of spring recession curves for groundwater reservoir assessment in flysch areas (High Bieszczady Mountains, SE Poland)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mostowik, Karolina; Rzonca, Bartłomiej; Siwek, Janusz

2017-04-01

The groundwater storage capacity of the Outer Carpathians in Poland is believed to be low due to fast surface runoff and low retention rates of flysch areas. Moreover, flysch Carpathian areas are characterized by a large number of very small springs with discharge at less than 0.5 l s-1, which are recharged by slope deposits, while large groundwater reservoirs are not to be found. However, hydrology condition research in the High Bieszczady Mountains (SE Poland, Outer Eastern Carpathians) revealed the presence of high discharge springs in the PoŁ onina Wetlińska Massif. The aim of the study was to characterize runoff variability of the springs and to assess the storage properties of groundwater reservoirs based on spring recession curves. The four selected springs are located on the northern slope of the PoŁ onina Wetlińska Massif at high elevations near the ridgeline (995-1,101 m a.s.l) and have small topographic catchment areas (<0.5 km-2). Hourly discharge measurements for the springs were logged in the period 2012-2015 and hydrographs were created. Slopes of the recession curves of hydrographs (α - recession coefficient) were obtained on the basis of an exponential recession equation. Furthermore, the obtained recession curve parameters enabled a storage capacity and residence time assessment. The selected springs were characterized by average discharge ranging from 3.1 to 9.9 l s-1 with maximum flow in April and May (under favorable meteorological conditions exceeding 30 l s-1), whereas minimum flow occurs in September and October. Despite similarities in elevation, precipitation, and lithology in the studied drainage areas, we found substantial variation in the recession coefficients and groundwater reservoir parameters. Due to the magnitude of total precipitation and its frequency, spring recession curves usually cover less than 20 days. Analysis of falling limbs of the obtained spring hydrographs showed both fast and slow recession segments. The fast recession phase indicates shallow groundwater drainage, whereas the slow phase indicates outflow from a deeper and more capacious reservoir. The recession coefficients for both segments increase with the decline of spring discharge and topographic catchment area. The average storage capacity of groundwater reservoirs drained by the selected springs strongly varied in the small study area, and differences between the average storage capacity of adjacent catchments reached one order of magnitude (5.5ṡ103 to 5.3ṡ104 m3). Likewise, the mean groundwater residence time varied from 13 days to about 50 days depending on the volume of groundwater drained by the studied springs. Differences in discharge, recession coefficients, groundwater capacity, and residence time for the studied springs were related to recharge areas of different size. Simple relationships between the topographic catchment areas of springs and their hydrologic parameters can become altered by local structural features such as faults and fissures. Tectonically-produced structures may facilitate a larger supply of groundwater and the occurrence of high-discharge springs in a given area.

[Estimation of desert vegetation coverage based on multi-source remote sensing data].

PubMed

Wan, Hong-Mei; Li, Xia; Dong, Dao-Rui

2012-12-01

Taking the lower reaches of Tarim River in Xinjiang of Northwest China as study areaAbstract: Taking the lower reaches of Tarim River in Xinjiang of Northwest China as study area and based on the ground investigation and the multi-source remote sensing data of different resolutions, the estimation models for desert vegetation coverage were built, with the precisions of different estimation methods and models compared. The results showed that with the increasing spatial resolution of remote sensing data, the precisions of the estimation models increased. The estimation precision of the models based on the high, middle-high, and middle-low resolution remote sensing data was 89.5%, 87.0%, and 84.56%, respectively, and the precisions of the remote sensing models were higher than that of vegetation index method. This study revealed the change patterns of the estimation precision of desert vegetation coverage based on different spatial resolution remote sensing data, and realized the quantitative conversion of the parameters and scales among the high, middle, and low spatial resolution remote sensing data of desert vegetation coverage, which would provide direct evidence for establishing and implementing comprehensive remote sensing monitoring scheme for the ecological restoration in the study area.

North of the 46° parallel: Obstacles and challenges to recycling in Ontario's rural and northern communities.

PubMed

Lakhan, Calvin

2015-10-01

This study examines the economic challenges of recycling in Ontario's rural and northern areas. Specifically, this study quantifies the economic and diversion impact of operating recycling programs in these regions. Using a systems based cost model, focus is placed on analyzing: (1) What would happen to provincial recycling costs and diversion levels if recycling programs were eliminated in "high cost" northern and rural communities? (2) Is it possible to increase the provincial recycling rate by focusing investments in low cost, high performance regions (while simultaneously eliminating recycling programs in rural and northern areas)? (3) How would the mix of material recovered change if recycling programs were eliminated in rural and northern areas? The results of this analysis show that eliminating recycling programs in high cost regions significantly decreased system costs without negatively impacting overall recycling rates. This study also found that it was possible to increase the provincial recycling rate while simultaneously reducing program costs by targeting specific regions for recovery. The findings of this study suggest that Ontario reevaluate whether rural and northern municipalities be legislatively required to operate household recycling programs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The socio-spatial context as a risk factor for hospitalization due to mental illness in the metropolitan areas of Portugal.

PubMed

Loureiro, Adriana; Costa, Cláudia; Almendra, Ricardo; Freitas, Ângela; Santana, Paula

2015-11-01

This study's aims are: (i) identifying spatial patterns for the risk of hospitalization due to mental illness and for the potential risk resulting from contextual factors with influence on mental health; and (ii) analyzing the spatial association between risk of hospitalization due to mental illness and potential risk resulting from contextual factors in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, Portugal. A cross-sectional ecological study was conducted by applying statistical methods for assessing spatial dependency and heterogeneity. Results reveal a spatial association between risk of hospitalization due to mental illness and potential risk resulting from contextual factors with a statistical relevance of moderate intensity. 20% of the population under study lives in areas with a simultaneously high potential risk resulting from contextual factors and risk of hospitalization due to mental illness. Porto Metropolitan Area show the highest percentage of population living in parishes with a significantly high risk of hospitalization due to mental health, which puts forward the need for interventions on territory-adjusted contextual factors influencing mental health.

[Entomologic study on the transmission of onchocerciasis in a forest-savanna transition area of Cameroon].

PubMed

Barbazan, P; Escaffre, H; Mbentengam, R; Boussinesq, M

1998-01-01

An entomological study was conducted in the basin area of middle Sanaga (Cameroon) in order to document the pattern of onchocerciasis transmission in a region where a high prevalence of infection had been recorded in villages located 30 km from the main rivers. The main vector of O. volvulus was found to be S. squamosum s.s. No breeding site was found in the small tributaries of the Sanaga and Mbam Rivers, and the dispersal of S. damnosum s.l. in the area thus appeared to be particularly high. The highest blackfly population densities were recorded during the long rainy season, and a second peak of density occurred along the Mbam River during the short rainy season. A seasonal variation in dispersal patterns was found at three of the four transects studied. The transmission of Onchocerca volvulus in the area occurred principally between January and May (i.e. at the end of the long dry season and the beginning of the short rainy season). Vector control operations might well reinforce the effect of ivermectin distributions in this onchocerciasis focus.

[Prevalence of thyroid function in pregnant and lactating women in areas with different iodine levels of Shanxi province].

PubMed

Ren, Y T; Jia, Q Z; Zhang, X D; Guo, B S; Zhang, F F; Cheng, X T; Wang, Y P

2018-05-10

Objective: To investigate the effects of high iodine intake on thyroid function in pregnant and lactating women. Methods: A cross sectional epidemiological study was conducted among 130 pregnant women and 220 lactating women aged 19-40 years in areas with high environment iodine level (>300 μg/L) or proper environment iodine level (50-100 μg/L) in Shanxi in 2014. The general information, urine samples and blood samples of the women surveyed and water samples were collected. The water and urine iodine levels were detected with arsenic and cerium catalysis spectrophotometric method, the blood TSH level was detected with electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, and thyroid stimulating hormone (FT(4)), antithyroid peroxidase autoantibody (TPOAb) and anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (TGAb) were detected with chemiluminescence immunoassay. Results: The median urine iodine levels of the four groups were 221.9, 282.5, 814.1 and 818.6 μg/L, respectively. The median serum FT(4) of lactating women in high iodine area and proper iodine area were 12.96 and 13.22 pmol/L, and the median serum TSH was 2.45 and 2.17 mIU/L, respectively. The median serum FT(4) of pregnant women in high iodine area and proper iodine area were 14.66 and 16.16 pmol/L, and the median serum TSH was 2.13 and 1.82 mIU/L, respectively. The serum FT(4) levels were lower and the abnormal rates of serum TSH were higher in lactating women than in pregnant women in both high iodine area and proper iodine area, the difference was statistically significant (FT(4): Z =-6.677, -4.041, P <0.01; TSH: Z =8.797, 8.910, P <0.01). In high iodine area, the abnormal rate of serum FT(4) in lactating women was higher than that in pregnant women, the difference was statistically significant ( Z =7.338, P =0.007). The serum FT(4) level of lactating women in high iodine area was lower than that in proper iodine area, the difference was statistically significant ( Z =-4.687, P =0.000). In high iodine area, the median serum FT(4) in early pregnancy, mid-pregnancy and late pregnancy was 16.26, 14.22 and 14.80 pmol/L, respectively, and the median serum TSH was 1.74, 1.91 and 2.38 mIU/L, respectively. In high iodine area, the serum FT(4) level in early pregnancy was higher than that in mid-pregnancy and late pregnancy, and the serum TSH level was lower than that in mid-pregnancy and late pregnancy, the difference was statistically significant (FT(4): Z =-2.174, -2.238, P <0.05; TSH: Z =-2.985, -1.978, P <0.05). There were no significant differences in the positive rates of serum thyroid autoantibodies among the four groups of women and women in different periods of pregnancy ( P >0.05). The morbidity rates of subclinical hyperthyroidism in pregnant women and lactating women in high iodine area were obviously higher than those in proper iodine areas, the difference was statistically significant ( χ (2)=5.363, 5.007, P <0.05). Conclusions: Excessive iodine intake might increase the risk of subclinical hypothyroidism in pregnant women and lactating women. It is suggested to strengthen the iodine nutrition and thyroid function monitoring in women, pregnant women and lactating women in areas with high environmental iodine.

High speed hydrogen/graphite interaction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kelly, A. J.; Hamman, R.; Sharma, O. P.; Harrje, D. T.

1974-01-01

Various aspects of a research program on high speed hydrogen/graphite interaction are presented. Major areas discussed are: (1) theoretical predictions of hydrogen/graphite erosion rates; (2) high temperature, nonequilibrium hydrogen flow in a nozzle; and (3) molecular beam studies of hydrogen/graphite erosion.

Rural Industrialization in the Ozarks: Case Study of a New Shirt Plant at Gassville, Arkansas. Agricultural Economic Report No. 123.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordon, Max F.

To determine the short term effects of a large apparel plant on the economy of a relatively isolated, highly rural Ozark area (8 counties), characterized by low income and few employment opportunities, this study compared 1959 data on the study area and the state of Arkansas with similar post plant data (1960-1963). Data were compared on income…

I Want to Be a Scientist/A Teacher: Students' Perceptions of Career Decision-Making in Gender-Typed, Non-Traditional Areas of Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buschor, Christine Bieri; Kappler, Christa; Keck Frei, Andrea; Berweger, Simone

2014-01-01

The study examines the career decision-making of Swiss academic high school students opting for a career in a non-traditional, gender-typed area of work during the transition to higher education. Based on a longitudinal study, a qualitative study with 11 female students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and 13 male student…

Multidisciplinary approach for the characterization of landslides in volcanic areas - a case study from the Palma Sola-Chiconquiaco Mountain Range, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilde, Martina; Rodríguez Elizarrarás, Sergio R.; Morales Barrera, Wendy V.; Schwindt, Daniel; Bücker, Matthias; Flores Orozco, Adrián; García García, Emilio; Pita de la Paz, Carlos; Terhorst, Birgit

2017-04-01

The Palma Sola-Chiconquiaco mountain range, situated in the State of Veracruz, Mexico, is highly susceptible to landslides, which is evidenced by the high frequency of landslide events of different sizes. The study area is located near the Gulf of Mexico coastline in the eastern sector of the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt. There, landslide triggers are intense rainfalls related to tropical storms and hurricanes. Steeper slopes are commonly affected by rockfalls, whereas moderate slopes, covered by massive slope deposits, are affected by shallow as well as deep seated landslides. Some of the landslides in the slope deposits reach dimensions of more than 1000 m in length and depths of over 30 m. The heterogeneous parent material as well as older slide masses hamper the detailed characterization of the involved materials. Therefore, in this study, a multidisciplinary approach is applied that integrates geomorphological, geological, and geophysical data. The aim is the reconstruction of process dynamics by analyzing the geomorphological situation and subsurface conditions before and after the event. The focus lies on the identification of past landslide areas, which represent areas with high susceptibility for the reactivation of old slide masses. Furthermore, the analysis of digital terrain models, generated before the landslide event, indicate initial movements like extension cracks, which are located close to the current scarp area. In order to characterize the subsurface of slide masses geophysical investigations are applied. The geophysical survey consists of a total of nine profiles covering relevant key features of the large affected area. Along these profiles, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and seismic refraction tomography (SRT) data were collected. Both, electrical and seismic images reveal a sharp contrast between relatively loose and dry material of the slide mass (high resistivities and low seismic velocities) and the former land surface that is characterized by significantly reduced resistivities and higher seismic velocities. This contrast allows to establish the thicknesses of slope deposits and geological layers along all geophysical profiles. Furthermore, the investigations are complemented by a high resolution digital terrain model of the landslide and its surroundings, which was reconstructed from orthophotos derived from unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry.

Comparisons of predictors for typhoid and paratyphoid fever in Kolkata, India

PubMed Central

Sur, Dipika; Ali, Mohammad; von Seidlein, Lorenz; Manna, Byomkesh; Deen, Jacqueline L; Acosta, Camilo J; Clemens, John D; Bhattacharya, Sujit K

2007-01-01

Background: Exposure of the individual to contaminated food or water correlates closely with the risk for enteric fever. Since public health interventions such as water improvement or vaccination campaigns are implemented for groups of individuals we were interested whether risk factors not only for the individual but for households, neighbourhoods and larger areas can be recognised? Methods: We conducted a large enteric fever surveillance study and analyzed factors which correlate with enteric fever on an individual level and factors associated with high and low risk areas with enteric fever incidence. Individual level data were linked to a population based geographic information systems. Individual and household level variables were fitted in Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) with the logit link function to take into account the likelihood that household factors correlated within household members. Results: Over a 12-month period 80 typhoid fever cases and 47 paratyphoid fever cases were detected among 56,946 residents in two bustees (slums) of Kolkata, India. The incidence of paratyphoid fever was lower (0.8/1000/year), and the mean age of paratyphoid patients was older (17.1 years) than for typhoid fever (incidence 1.4/1000/year, mean age 14.7 years). Residents in areas with a high risk for typhoid fever had lower literacy rates and economic status, bigger household size, and resided closer to waterbodies and study treatment centers than residents in low risk areas. Conclusion: There was a close correlation between the characteristics detected based on individual cases and characteristics associated with high incidence areas. Because the comparison of risk factors of populations living in high versus low risk areas is statistically very powerful this methodology holds promise to detect risk factors associated with diseases using geographic information systems. PMID:17935611

Source segregation and food waste prevention activities in high-density households in a deprived urban area

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

Rispo, A.; Williams, I.D., E-mail: idw@soton.ac.uk; Shaw, P.J.

Highlights: • Study of waste management in economically and socially deprived high-density housing. • Food waste segregation, prevention and recycling activities investigated. • Study involved a waste audit and household survey of 1034 households. • Populations in such areas are “hard-to-reach”. • Exceptional efforts and additional resources are required to improve performance. - Abstract: A waste audit and a household questionnaire survey were conducted in high-density housing estates in one of the most economically and socially deprived areas of England (Haringey, London). Such areas are under-represented in published research. The study examined source segregation, potential participation in a food wastemore » segregation scheme, and food waste prevention activities in five estates (1034 households). The results showed that: contamination of recyclables containers was low; ca. 28% of the mixed residual waste’s weight was recyclable; food waste comprised a small proportion of the waste from these residents, probably because of their relatively disadvantaged economic circumstances; and the recycling profile reflected an intermittent pattern of behaviour. Although the majority of respondents reported that they would participate in a food waste separation scheme, the response rate was low and many responses of “don’t know” were recorded. Municipalities committed to foster improved diversion from landfill need to recognise that there is no “quick and easy fix”, regardless of local or national aspirations. Lasting and sustained behaviour change requires time and the quality of service provision and associated infrastructure play a fundamental role in facilitating residents to participate effectively in waste management activities that maximise capture of source-segregated materials. Populations in deprived areas that reside in high-rise, high-density dwellings are “hard-to-reach” in terms of participation in recycling schemes and exceptional efforts and additional resources are usually required to improve performance.« less

Variation of radiation level and radionuclide enrichment in high background area.

PubMed

Shetty, P K; Narayana, Y

2010-12-01

Significantly high radiation level and radionuclide concentration along Quilon beach area of coastal Kerala have been reported by several investigators. Detailed gamma radiation level survey was carried out using a portable scintillometer. Detailed studies on radionuclides concentration in different environmental matrices of high background areas were undertaken in the coastal areas of Karunagapalli, Kayankulam, Chavara, Neendakara and Kollam to study the distribution and enrichment of the radionuclides in the region. The absorbed gamma dose rates in air in high background area are in the range 43-17,400nGyh⁻¹. Gamma radiation level is found to be maximum at a distance of 20m from the sea waterline in all beaches. The soil samples collected from different locations were analysed for primordial radionuclides by gamma spectrometry. The activity of primordial radionuclides was determined for the different size fractions of soil to study the enrichment pattern. The highest activity of (232)Th and (226)Ra was found to be enriched in 125-63μ size fraction. The preferential accumulation of (40)K was found in <63μ fraction. The minimum (232)Th activity was 30.2Bqkg⁻¹, found in 1000-500μ particle size fraction at Kollam and maximum activity of 3250.4Bqkg⁻¹ was observed in grains of size 125-63μ at Neendakara. The lowest (226)Ra activity observed was 33.9Bqkg⁻¹ at Neendakara in grains of size 1000-500μ and the highest activity observed was 482.6Bqkg⁻¹ in grains of size 125-63μ in Neendakara. The highest (40)K activity found was 1923Bqkg⁻¹ in grains of size <63μ for a sample collected from Neendakara. A good correlation was observed between computed dose and measured dose in air. The correlation between (232)Th and (226)Ra was also moderately high. The results of these investigations are presented and discussed in this paper. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Forest Loss in Protected Areas and Intact Forest Landscapes: A Global Analysis

PubMed Central

Heino, Matias; Kummu, Matti; Makkonen, Marika; Mulligan, Mark; Verburg, Peter H.; Jalava, Mika; Räsänen, Timo A.

2015-01-01

In spite of the high importance of forests, global forest loss has remained alarmingly high during the last decades. Forest loss at a global scale has been unveiled with increasingly finer spatial resolution, but the forest extent and loss in protected areas (PAs) and in large intact forest landscapes (IFLs) have not so far been systematically assessed. Moreover, the impact of protection on preserving the IFLs is not well understood. In this study we conducted a consistent assessment of the global forest loss in PAs and IFLs over the period 2000–2012. We used recently published global remote sensing based spatial forest cover change data, being a uniform and consistent dataset over space and time, together with global datasets on PAs’ and IFLs’ locations. Our analyses revealed that on a global scale 3% of the protected forest, 2.5% of the intact forest, and 1.5% of the protected intact forest were lost during the study period. These forest loss rates are relatively high compared to global total forest loss of 5% for the same time period. The variation in forest losses and in protection effect was large among geographical regions and countries. In some regions the loss in protected forests exceeded 5% (e.g. in Australia and Oceania, and North America) and the relative forest loss was higher inside protected areas than outside those areas (e.g. in Mongolia and parts of Africa, Central Asia, and Europe). At the same time, protection was found to prevent forest loss in several countries (e.g. in South America and Southeast Asia). Globally, high area-weighted forest loss rates of protected and intact forests were associated with high gross domestic product and in the case of protected forests also with high proportions of agricultural land. Our findings reinforce the need for improved understanding of the reasons for the high forest losses in PAs and IFLs and strategies to prevent further losses. PMID:26466348

VASQUEZ PEAK WILDERNESS STUDY AREA, AND ST. LOUIS PEAK, AND WILLIAMS FORK ROADLESS AREAS, COLORADO.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Theobald, P.K.; Bielski, A.M.

1984-01-01

A mineral-resource survey was conducted during the years 1979-82 in the Vasquez Peak Wilderness Study Area and in the St. Louis Peak and Williams Fork Roadless Areas, central Front Range, Colorado. Probable resource potential for the occurrence of copper, lead, zinc, and silver in massive sulfide deposits has been identified in calcareous metamorphic rocks in the northern part of the St. Louis Peak Roadless Area and in the southern part of the Williams Fork Roadless Area. A probable resource potential for vein-type uranium deposits is identified along the Berthoud Pass fault zone in the eastern part of the Vasquez Peak Wilderness Study Area. A large area encompassing the eastern and southeastern part of each of the three areas has probable and substantiated potential for either high-grade lead-zinc-silver vein deposits, or larger, lower-grade clustered vein deposits. A probable resource potential for stockwork molybdenum deposits related to porphyry molybdenum type mineralization exists beneath the lead-zinc-silver-rich veins. The nature of the geologic terrane indicates little likelihood for the occurrence of organic fuels.

Reasoning about the implications of facial expressions: a behavioral and fMRI study on low and high social impact.

PubMed

Prochnow, D; Brunheim, S; Steinhäuser, L; Seitz, R J

2014-10-01

Inferring the cause of another person's emotional state is relevant for guiding behavior in social interactions. With respect to their potentially evoked behavioral reactions some emotional states like anger or happiness are considered to have high social impact while others such as fear and sadness have low social impact. We conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study to map the brain activation patterns related to reasoning about facial expressions of emotions with high or low social impact in twenty-six healthy volunteers with good emotional competence, self-reported empathy, and explicit facial affect recognition abilities. Our data show that empathic reasoning was faster and more accurate for high impact emotional states than for low impact emotional states. Activated brain areas involved brain circuits associated with basic and higher order empathy and decision-making in the dorsomedial and dorsolateral frontal cortex. However, activation in higher order areas was less during reasoning about emotional states of high social impact. Taken together, reasoning of high and low impact emotional states relied on similar empathy-related brain areas with reasoning about emotional states of low social impact being more erroneous and requiring more cognitive resources. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effectiveness of student team-achievement division (STAD) for teaching high school chemistry in the United Arab Emirates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balfakih, Nagib M. A.

2003-05-01

Education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) faces major problems which may hinder its future development. These include low achievement in science and a negative attitude toward science subjects, which have resulted in a high number of student dropouts from the science track in high school. It is believed among UAE educators that the main reason is the way science that has been taught in its schools. A solution to this problem depends on finding effective teaching methods, which maintain student achievement, improve students' attitude and provide opportunities to develop essential scientific skills. The effectiveness of Student Team-Achievement Division (STAD) for teaching science to high school classes in the UAE was investigated. The sample was selected randomly. A representative group of UAE high school students was chosen from the northern province, which includes urban areas, and from the eastern province, which includes rural areas. The study involved sixteen tenth grade classes. During the second semester of the academic year 1998/1999, three units in the chemistry curriculum were covered. This study was designed to investigate the effectiveness of STAD in teaching high school chemistry in the UAE and to find out which groups, gender, area, and ability benefitted most.

Assessment of the impact of climate change and land cover change on landslide in Tana Toraja district

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ardiansyah, M.; Rafiuddin, A.; Jadmiko, S. D.; Boer, R.

2018-05-01

Landslides are the frequent and widespread climate hazard in Indonesia that cause loss of human life and damage to property. Tana Toraja District is one of the regencies in Indonesia with the highest number of landslide events. Throughout the year 2016 there were at least 3 (three) landslide incidents that caused casualties and disconnection of transportation access. The study aimed to assess the impact of climate change and land cover change on landslide hazard in the Tana Toraja District. The study showed that in 2014 the number of landslide area with high risk was 53.3% and very high risk 14.4%, while in 2031 the high risk 56.4% and very high risk 12.7%. Thus, in high climate risk area, landslide adaptation and risk reduction strategies in the framework of climate change are necessary.

Chemometric evaluation of nitrate contamination in the groundwater of a hard rock area in Dharapuram, south India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sajil Kumar, P. J.; Jegathambal, P.; James, E. J.

2014-12-01

This paper presents the results of investigations on groundwater nitrate contamination in the Dharapuram area of Tamil Nadu in south India as a primary step to initiate denitrification. Groundwater samples were collected from 26 selected locations during the pre-monsoon season in July 2010 and analysed for nitrate and other water quality parameters. Two important water types were identified, viz. Ca-Na-HCO3 and mixed Ca-Mg-Cl. It is found that the majority of samples possess high nitrate concentration; 57 % of samples exceeded the permissible limit of Indian (45 mg/L) and WHO (50 mg/L) drinking water standard. Spatial distribution map of NO3 suggested that major contamination was observed in the SW and NW parts of the study area. This result was in agreement with the corresponding land-use pattern in this study area. Denitrification process at greater depths was evident from the negative correlation between NO3 and well depth. The sources and controlling factors of high nitrate were investigated using cross plots of NO3 with other selected hydrochemical parameters. Positive correlation for NO3 was observed with EC, K, Cl and SO4. This analysis was capable of differentiating the various sources of nitrate in groundwater. The major sources of nitrate contamination are identified as areas of high fertilizer application, sewages and animal waste dumping yards. Regulation of these pollutant sources with appropriate and cost-effective denitrification process can restore the water quality in this area.

Controlling the impact of the managed honeybee on wild bees in protected areas.

PubMed

Henry, Mickaël; Rodet, Guy

2018-06-18

In recent years, conservation biologists have raised awareness about the risk of ecological interference between massively introduced managed honeybees and the native wild bee fauna in protected natural areas. In this study, we surveyed wild bees and quantified their nectar and pollen foraging success in a rosemary Mediterranean scrubland in southern France, under different conditions of apiary size and proximity. We found that high-density beekeeping triggers foraging competition which depresses not only the occurrence (-55%) and nectar foraging success (-50%) of local wild bees but also nectar (-44%) and pollen (-36%) harvesting by the honeybees themselves. Overall, those competition effects spanned distances of 600-1.100 m around apiaries, i.e. covering 1.1-3.8km 2 areas. Regardless the considered competition criterion, setting distance thresholds among apiaries appeared more tractable than setting colony density thresholds for beekeeping regulation. Moreover, the intraspecific competition among the honeybees has practical implications for beekeepers. It shows that the local carrying capacity has been exceeded and raises concerns for honey yields and colony sustainability. It also offers an effective ecological criterion for pragmatic decision-making whenever conservation practitioners envision progressively reducing beekeeping in protected areas. Although specific to the studied area, the recommendations provided here may help raise consciousness about the threat high-density beekeeping may pose to local nature conservation initiatives, especially in areas with sensitive or endangered plant or bee species such as small oceanic islands with high levels of endemism.

A Study of Gaps in Defensive Countermeasures for Web Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-14

Reuse 4 1 1 High Session fixation 3 3 2 High Privilege escalation 2 6 7 Med Logic vulnerabilities 2 4 2,5,7 Med File inclusion N /A 5 4 Med Drive-by...downloads N /A N /A 10 Low Clickjacking N /A 7 N /A Low Plug-in attacks N /A N /A 9 Low of attacks occurring in each area. Reliable and well-classified data...that mapped cleanly to the attack areas described above, as indicated by N /A in the table. 4 2.3 GAP DISCOVERY PROCESS For the purposes of this study

A Study of Gaps in Defensive Countermeasures for Web Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-18

4 1 1 High Session fixation 3 3 2 High Privilege escalation 2 6 7 Med Logic vulnerabilities 2 4 2,5,7 Med File inclusion N /A 5 4 Med Drive-by...downloads N /A N /A 10 Low Clickjacking N /A 7 N /A Low Plug-in attacks N /A N /A 9 Low occurring in each area. Reliable and well-classified data sources are...cleanly to the attack areas described above, as indicated by N /A in the table. 6 3.3 GAP DISCOVERY PROCESS For the purposes of this study, we focus on the

Demarcation of mineral rich zones in areas adjoining to a copper prospect in Rajasthan, India using ASTER, DEM (ALOS) and spaceborne gravity data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sengar, Vivek K.; Champati Ray, P. K.; Chattoraj, Shovan L.; Venkatesh, A. S.; Sajeev, R.; Konwar, Purnima; Thapa, Shailaja

2017-10-01

The objective of this work is to identify the potential zones for detailed mineral exploration studies in areas adjoining to a copper prospect using Remotely Sensed data sets. In this study visualization of ASTER data has been enhanced to highlight the mineral-rich areas using various remote sensing techniques such as colour composites and band ratios. VNIR region of ASTER is significant to detect iron oxides while, clay minerals, carbonates and chlorites have characteristic absorption in the SWIR wavelength region. Therefore, an attempt has been made to target the mineral abundant regions through ASTER data processing. Height based information was extracted using high-resolution ALOSDEM to analyse the topographical controls in the region considering the fact that mineral deposits often found associated with geological structures and geomorphological units. Gravity data was used to generate gravity anomaly map which gives clues about subsurface density differences. In this context, base metal ores may show anomalous (high) gravity values in comparison to the non-mineralised areas. Outputs from all the data sets were analysed and correlated with the geological map and available literature. Final validation of results has been done through proper ground checks and laboratory analysis of rock samples collected from the litho-units present in the study area. Based on this study some new areas have been successfully demarcated which may be potential for base metal exploration.

PM Levels, Composition and Evolution in a Highly Industrialised Area. Objectives of Improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minguillon, M. C.; Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Monfort, E.; Mantilla, E.; Miro, J. V.

2007-05-01

Evolution of levels and speciation of PM10 in the ceramic producing area of Castello (East Spain) was studied from April 2002 until December 2005. To this end, daily PM10 sampling was carried out at three urban sites and one suburban site of the area and chemical analyses were made in about 35 % of the samples. Average PM10 levels varied between 27-36 µg/m3 for the study period. The major constituent was mineral matter, exceeding by 5-12 µg/m3 the usual ranges of annual mineral loads in PM10 at similar Spanish urban or regional background sites with no industrial influence. Based on this comparison and on the efficiency of emission abatement techniques, a reduction target of 3-5 µgPM10/m3 of the annual mean seems to be achievable at the urban sites. Moreover, levels of Li, Sc, Co, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Zr, Cd, Cs, Ce, Tl and Pb were higher than the usual range of concentration in urban areas of Spain. Of these elements, Zr, Zn, Pb and As may be considered as tracers of the ceramic emissions from the study area. Their levels showed a simultaneous decrease with the progressive implementation of emission abatement techniques in frit (glaze component for the manufacture of glazed tiles) fusion kilns of the area. Given the high proportion of facilities with implemented abatement techniques at the end of the study period, the reduction margin for these elements is very low.

Local variability but landscape stability in coral reef communities following repeated hurricane impacts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bythell, John C.; Hillis-Star, Zandy M; Rogers, Caroline S.

2000-01-01

Coral reef community structure has remained remarkably stable over a 10 yr period within a small protected marine area despite repeated hurricane impacts. Local community dynamics have been highly variable, however. Sites that were destroyed by disease in the 1970s are showing little or no recovery, while sites less than a kilometre away that were devastated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989 are recovering well. Strong coral recruitment has occurred in shallow, exposed areas that showed the greatest hurricane impacts, and these areas are now more species rich than in 1988, although coral cover has not reached pre-hurricane levels. Coral colony survivorship has been high throughout most of the study area. Partial mortality rates were elevated for several years following Hurricane Hugo, but significant whole coral-head mortality only occurred during periods with hurricane impacts and only at the most exposed sites. Overall, the coral community has proved resilient to closely repeated major hurricane impacts. From a single case study we cannot attribute this resilience to the relatively low level of human impacts, but grazing fish populations have apparently remained high enough to keep macroalgae in check despite the mass mortality of the herbivore Diadema antillarum in the 1980s.

Baseline design of the filters for the LAD detector on board LOFT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbera, M.; Winter, B.; Coker, J.; Feroci, M.; Kennedy, T.; Walton, D.; Zane, S.

2014-07-01

The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT) was one of the M3 missions selected for the phase A study in the ESA's Cosmic Vision program. LOFT is designed to perform high-time-resolution X-ray observations of black holes and neutron stars. The main instrument on the LOFT payload is the Large Area Detector (LAD), a collimated experiment with a nominal effective area of ~10 m2 @ 8 keV, and a spectral resolution of ~240 eV in the energy band 2-30 keV. These performances are achieved covering a large collecting area with more than 2000 large-area Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) each one coupled to a collimator based on lead-glass micro-channel plates. In order to reduce the thermal load onto the detectors, which are open to Sky, and to protect them from out of band radiation, optical-thermal filter will be mounted in front of the SDDs. Different options have been considered for the LAD filters for best compromise between high quantum efficiency and high mechanical robustness. We present the baseline design of the optical-thermal filters, show the nominal performances, and present preliminary test results performed during the phase A study.

Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) resource selection in the northern Bering Sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jay, Chadwick V.; Grebmeier, Jacqueline M.; Fischbach, Anthony S.; McDonald, Trent L.; Cooper, Lee W.; Hornsby, Fawn

2014-01-01

The Pacific walrus is a large benthivore with an annual range extending across the continental shelves of the Bering and Chukchi Seas. We used a discrete choice model to estimate site selection by adult radio-tagged walruses relative to the availability of the caloric biomass of benthic infauna and sea ice concentration in a prominent walrus wintering area in the northern Bering Sea (St. Lawrence Island polynya) in 2006, 2008, and 2009. At least 60% of the total caloric biomass of dominant macroinfauna in the study area was composed of members of the bivalve families Nuculidae, Tellinidae, and Nuculanidae. Model estimates indicated walrus site selection was related most strongly to tellinid bivalve caloric biomass distribution and that walruses selected lower ice concentrations from the mostly high ice concentrations that were available to them (quartiles: 76%, 93%, and 99%). Areas with high average predicted walrus site selection generally coincided with areas of high organic carbon input identified in other studies. Projected decreases in sea ice in the St. Lawrence Island polynya and the potential for a concomitant decline of bivalves in the region could result in a northward shift in the wintering grounds of walruses in the northern Bering Sea.

Coexistence of coyotes (Canis latrans) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in an urban landscape.

PubMed

Mueller, Marcus A; Drake, David; Allen, Maximilian L

2018-01-01

Urban environments are increasing worldwide and are inherently different than their rural counterparts, with a variety of effects on wildlife due to human presence, increased habitat fragmentation, movement barriers, and access to anthropogenic food sources. Effective management of urban wildlife requires an understanding of how urbanization affects their behavior and ecology. The spatial activity and interactions of urban wildlife, however, have not been as rigorously researched as in rural areas. From January 2015 to December 2016, we captured, radio-collared, and tracked 11 coyotes and 12 red foxes in Madison, WI. Within our study area, coyotes strongly selected home ranges with high proportions of natural areas; conversely, red foxes selected home ranges with open space and moderately developed areas. Use of highly developed areas best explained variation among individual home range sizes and inversely affected home range size for coyotes and red foxes. Coyote and red fox home ranges showed some degree of spatial and temporal overlap, but generally appeared partitioned by habitat type within our study area. Coyotes and red foxes were both active at similar times of the day, but their movement patterns differed based on species-specific habitat use. This spatial partitioning may promote positive co-existence between these sympatric canids in urban areas, and our findings of spatial activity and interactions will better inform wildlife managers working in urban areas.

Coexistence of coyotes (Canis latrans) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in an urban landscape

PubMed Central

Drake, David; Allen, Maximilian L.

2018-01-01

Urban environments are increasing worldwide and are inherently different than their rural counterparts, with a variety of effects on wildlife due to human presence, increased habitat fragmentation, movement barriers, and access to anthropogenic food sources. Effective management of urban wildlife requires an understanding of how urbanization affects their behavior and ecology. The spatial activity and interactions of urban wildlife, however, have not been as rigorously researched as in rural areas. From January 2015 to December 2016, we captured, radio-collared, and tracked 11 coyotes and 12 red foxes in Madison, WI. Within our study area, coyotes strongly selected home ranges with high proportions of natural areas; conversely, red foxes selected home ranges with open space and moderately developed areas. Use of highly developed areas best explained variation among individual home range sizes and inversely affected home range size for coyotes and red foxes. Coyote and red fox home ranges showed some degree of spatial and temporal overlap, but generally appeared partitioned by habitat type within our study area. Coyotes and red foxes were both active at similar times of the day, but their movement patterns differed based on species-specific habitat use. This spatial partitioning may promote positive co-existence between these sympatric canids in urban areas, and our findings of spatial activity and interactions will better inform wildlife managers working in urban areas. PMID:29364916

Variation of the anthropic vulnerability in Ribeirão das Pedras watershed in Campinas/SP - Brazil.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Damame, Desirée; Longo, Regina; Ribeiro, Admilson; Fengler, Felipe

2015-04-01

The human actions has caused over the years profound changes in environmental quality in urban ecosystems suffering losses in the quality of air, soil , water and vegetation also the quality of life of the population that inhabit these areas . The study area is characterized by being a highly urbanized watershed, with about 43 % of its area covered by buildings, houses , and commercial and industrial establishments . Called the Ribeirão das Pedras Basin, located in Campinas / SP - Brazil and is bounded by coordinates 22˚47'10 '' and 22˚52'20 '' S , and 47˚ 07'15 '' and 46˚ 02 ' 15' ' . Has an average temperature of 22.4 ° C and average annual rainfall of 1424.5 mm . It has an area of about 42 km² . This is located two universities and a large mall. It also demands a strong agriculture , which occupies about 30 % of the area . It has also been part of two major forest reserves of the municipality, the Forest Santa Geneva and the Forest of Quilombo , both added to other small fragments overlying only about 6% of the total basin area . Avalição to environmental quality , the analysis of the vulnerability of urban watershed becomes an important environmental management tool. The vulnerability can be defined by susceptibility to changes of environment in its initial state , a current tax status by human intervention , and is almost always associated with risk , and the intensity at which such projects in one place, person or structure. In this context , this study aimed to assess environmental vulnerability in an urban watershed coming under increasing human pressures , especially in recent years . For this analysis were prepared soil graphics, slope , elevation and land use and land cover for the years 2009 and 2014 , generating with these , comparative anthropic vulnerability maps of the past five years. Crafting vulnerability maps is a sensitivity in order to enable appropriate management of biotic systems. With the results can be seen that the variation of anthropogenic vulnerability in the study area took place mainly by the real estate growth that the area has suffered in recent years, due to the large enhancement of the region , both for businesses and homes , as for industrial area. It was found that the distribution of anthropogenic vulnerability for 2009 was 19% too low, 33% low, 40 % moderate , high 8% and 0% too high. 2014 was obtained by dividing the current scenario is as follows: 10% very low , low 31% , moderate 50% , 9% and 0% high too high, meaning that there was an increase in high vulnerability points and moderate and still , a very significant decrease for low and very low vulnerability , revealing the strong environmental impact that the area has been suffering . Thus, we can conclude that the housing boom in large areas impacts the vulnerability of a watershed , which will certainly affect both the areas of forest / native fragments , and subsequently the quality of life of the surrounding population. In the specific case of Ribeirão das Pedras watershed , knowing the strong agricultural occupation of the area , it is known that the increased fragility still imply large losses for food production in the region.

Landsat imagery evidences great recent land cover changes induced by wild fires in central Siberia*

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antamoshkina, O. A.; Trofimova, N. V.; Antamoshkin, O. A.

2016-04-01

The article discusses the methods of satellite image classification to determine general types of forest ecosystems, as well as the long-term monitoring of ecosystems changes using satellite imagery of medium spatial resolution and the daily data of space monitoring of active fires. The area of interest of this work is 100 km footprint of the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO), located near the Zotino settlement, Krasnoyarsk region. The study area is located in the middle taiga subzone of Western Siberia, are presented by the left and right banks of the Yenisei river. For Landsat satellite imagery supervised classification by the maximum likelihood method was made using ground-based studies over the last fifteen years. The results are the identification of the 10 aggregated classes of land surface and composition of the study area thematic map. Operational satellite monitoring and analysis of spatial information about ecosystem in the 100-kilometer footprint of the ZOTTO tall tower allows to monitor the dynamics of forest disturbance by fire and logging over a long time period and to estimate changes in forest ecosystems of the study area. Data on the number and area of fires detected in the study region for the 2000-2014 received in the work. Calculations show that active fires have burned more than a quarter of the footprint area over the study period. Fires have a significant impact on the redistribution of classes of land surface. Area of all types of vegetation ecosystems declined dramatically under the influence of fires, whereas industrial logging does not impact seriously on it. The results obtained in our work indicate the highest occurrence of fires for lichen forest types within study region, probably due to their high natural fire danger, which is consistent with other studies. The least damage the fire caused to the wetland ecosystem due to high content of moisture and the presence of a large number of fire breaks in the form of open water.

Genetic diversity of Casearia sylvestris populations in remnants of the Atlantic Forest.

PubMed

Araujo, F L; Siqueira, M V B M; Grando, C; Viana, J P G; Pinheiro, J B; Alves-Pereira, A; Campos, J B; Brancalion, P H S; Zucchi, M I

2017-01-23

Guaçatonga (Casearia sylvestris) is a native plant of the Atlantic Forest, with high medicinal potential and relevance for reforestation programs. The aim of this study was to characterize, with microsatellite markers, two populations of C. sylvestris from remaining areas of the Atlantic Forest in the State of São Paulo. High allelic variation was found in both populations (N A = 101 and 117; A R = 12.5 and 14.4), although with high endogamy coefficients (f = 0.640 and 0.363). Estimates of genetic structure suggested the presence of considerable genetic divergence between the populations (F ST = 0.103); however, there was no spatial genetic structure within the populations. Genetic divergence may have occurred due to decreased gene flow between the fragmented populations as the result of deforestation. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of genetic diversity and its characterization in native plants within remaining forest areas for the management and restoration of such areas.

Response of lake chemistry to atmospheric deposition and climate in selected Class I wilderness areas in the western United States, 1993-2009

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mast, M. Alisa

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Air Resource Management, conducted a study to evaluate long-term trends in lake-water chemistry for 64 high-elevation lakes in selected Class I wilderness areas in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming during 1993 to 2009. Understanding how and why lake chemistry is changing in mountain areas is essential for effectively managing and protecting high-elevation aquatic ecosystems. Trends in emissions, atmospheric deposition, and climate variables (air temperature and precipitation amount) were evaluated over a similar period of record. A main objective of the study was to determine if changes in atmospheric deposition of contaminants in the Rocky Mountain region have resulted in measurable changes in the chemistry of high-elevation lakes. A second objective was to investigate linkages between lake chemistry and air temperature and precipitation to improve understanding of the sensitivity of mountain lakes to climate variability.

Premature aging in bone of fish from a highly polluted marine area.

PubMed

Scopelliti, Giovanna; Di Leonardo, Rossella; Tramati, Cecilia D; Mazzola, Antonio; Vizzini, Salvatrice

2015-08-15

Fish species have attracted considerable interest in studies assessing biological responses to environmental contaminants. In this study, the attention has been focussed on fishbone of selected fish species from a highly polluted marine area, Augusta Bay (Italy, Central Mediterranean) to evaluate if toxicant elements had an effect on the mineralogical structure of bones, although macroscopic deformations were not evident. In particular, an attempt was made to evaluate if bone mineral features, such as crystallinity, mineral maturity and carbonate/phosphate mineral content, determined by XR-Diffraction and FT-IR Spectroscopy, suffered negative effects due to trace element levels in fishbone, detected by ICP-OES. Results confirmed the reliability of the use of diffractometric and spectroscopic techniques to assess the degree of crystallinity and the mineral maturity in fishbone. In addition, in highly polluted areas, Hg and Cr contamination induced a process of premature aging of fishbone, altering its biochemical and mineral contents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hybrid artificial intelligence approach based on neural fuzzy inference model and metaheuristic optimization for flood susceptibilitgy modeling in a high-frequency tropical cyclone area using GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tien Bui, Dieu; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Nampak, Haleh; Bui, Quang-Thanh; Tran, Quynh-An; Nguyen, Quoc-Phi

2016-09-01

This paper proposes a new artificial intelligence approach based on neural fuzzy inference system and metaheuristic optimization for flood susceptibility modeling, namely MONF. In the new approach, the neural fuzzy inference system was used to create an initial flood susceptibility model and then the model was optimized using two metaheuristic algorithms, Evolutionary Genetic and Particle Swarm Optimization. A high-frequency tropical cyclone area of the Tuong Duong district in Central Vietnam was used as a case study. First, a GIS database for the study area was constructed. The database that includes 76 historical flood inundated areas and ten flood influencing factors was used to develop and validate the proposed model. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) were used to assess the model performance and its prediction capability. Experimental results showed that the proposed model has high performance on both the training (RMSE = 0.306, MAE = 0.094, AUC = 0.962) and validation dataset (RMSE = 0.362, MAE = 0.130, AUC = 0.911). The usability of the proposed model was evaluated by comparing with those obtained from state-of-the art benchmark soft computing techniques such as J48 Decision Tree, Random Forest, Multi-layer Perceptron Neural Network, Support Vector Machine, and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System. The results show that the proposed MONF model outperforms the above benchmark models; we conclude that the MONF model is a new alternative tool that should be used in flood susceptibility mapping. The result in this study is useful for planners and decision makers for sustainable management of flood-prone areas.

Dietary behaviors and nutritional status of adolescents in a remote rural area of Thailand.

PubMed

Areekul, Wirote; Viravathana, Nantaporn; Aimpun, Pote; Watthanakijthavongkul, Khanin; Khruacharooen, Jakkapong; Awaiwanont, Abhinant; Khumtuikhrua, Chaowanan; Silsrikul, Pichayen; Nilrat, Pawarid; Saksoong, Saksit; Watthanatham, Jirawat; Suwannahitatorn, Picha; Sirimaneethum, Pornsirin; Meeprom, Natee; Somboonruangsri, Wuttiwong; Pongmanee, Koonphol; Rangsin, Ram

2005-11-01

Nutritional status among adolescents is an important health indicator. The up-to-date information about nutritional status and food consumption pattern in the remote rural area is required for the effective public health intervention in the rural area of the country. The present study aimed to demonstrate the prevalence of malnutrition, eating behavior and nutritional knowledge among secondary school students in a remote rural area in Thailand. Body weight and height data were collected from 298 secondary school students for nutritional status calculation using the Institute of Nutrition Research, Mahidol University, INMU-Thaigrowth program. Eating behavior and nutritional knowledge were observed by self-administrated questionnaires. The prevalence low height-for-age (<-2SD) 6.1% and it was 0.7% for low weight-for-height (<-2SD). Fruits (69%) and vegetables (79.4%) consumptions were in the high level. The authors found that the students always consumed commercial snacks especially salted chips more often than regular Thai dessert (74.0% VS 52.3%). The inappropriate behavior found in the present study included always drinking caffeine beverage (43.5%), always drinking alcoholic beverage (6.5%) and always consuming instant noodles (64.4%). The prevalence of malnutrition was low among this population. The studied population had a fair knowledge about nutrition. The authoes found that regular consumption of highly commercialized snack products especially salted chips and instant noodles were at a high level in this remote rural area of Thailand. The pattern of nutritional problems in Thailand may have changed in which a public health program for children in rural areas of the country should recognize this transition.

Genetic diversity and population structure analysis in Perilla frutescens from Northern areas of China based on simple sequence repeats.

PubMed

Ma, S J; Sa, K J; Hong, T K; Lee, J K

2017-09-21

In this study, 21 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure among 77 Perilla accessions from high-latitude and middle-latitude areas of China. Ninety-five alleles were identified with an average of 4.52 alleles per locus. The average polymorphic information content (PIC) and genetic diversity values were 0.346 and 0.372, respectively. The level of genetic diversity and PIC value for cultivated accessions of Perilla frutescens var. frutescens from middle-latitude areas were higher than accessions from high-latitude areas. Based on the dendrogram of unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA), all accessions were classified into four major groups with a genetic similarity of 46%. All accessions of the cultivated var. frutescens were discriminated from the cultivated P. frutescens var. crispa. Furthermore, most accessions of the cultivated var. frutescens collected in high-latitude and middle-latitude areas were distinguished depending on their geographical location. However, the geographical locations of several accessions of the cultivated var. frutescens have no relation with their positions in the UPGMA dendrogram and population structure. This result implies that the diffusion of accessions of the cultivated Perilla crop in the northern areas of China might be through multiple routes. On the population structure analysis, 77 Perilla accessions were divided into Group I, Group II, and an admixed group based on a membership probability threshold of 0.8. Finally, the findings in this study can provide useful theoretical knowledge for further study on the population structure and genetic diversity of Perilla and benefit for Perilla crop breeding and germplasm conservation.

Effect of competition on height growth and survival of planted Japanese larch

Treesearch

E. F. McNamara; Irvin C. Reigner

1960-01-01

On the Dilldown Unit of the Delaware-Lehigh Experimental Forest in Pennsylvania, several planting studies have been made with the aim of finding the most economical and practical methods of converting scrub oak areas to productive high-forest types. These studies have already shown the need for site preparation prior to planting. Seedlings planted on prepared areas...

Exploring the Attractiveness of a Norwegian Rural Higher Education Institution Using Importance-Performance Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanssen, Thor-Erik Sandberg; Mathisen, Terje Andreas

2018-01-01

High school graduates in rural counties often move to urban areas to study at higher education institutions (HEIs). Because graduates from HEIs often settle in regions in which they graduate, the result is a permanent out-migration of young talent from rural areas. This study adds to the body of literature on student choice by addressing measures…

A Pilot Study of Service-Learning in a Spanish Heritage Speaker Course: Community Engagement, Identity, and Language in the Chicago Area

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petrov, Lisa Amor

2013-01-01

This article presents research findings from a pilot study of the use of service-learning in an intermediate-high class ("Spanish Language and Culture for Heritage Speakers") in the fall semesters of 2010 and 2011. Students reported gains in the areas of communication skills, dispositional learning, language, identity formation, and…

Does the Direction in Which a Figure Is Looking Influence Whether It Is Visible?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGuigan, Nicola

2009-01-01

Previous studies have shown that young preschool children are highly sensitive to mutual engagement and struggle to diagnose the visibility of a figure when their facial area is occluded. The present study aimed to explore the specificity of engagement by varying (a) the orientation of a figure relative to an observer and (b) the visible area of…

An Analysis of High Impact Scholarship and Publication Trends in Blended Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halverson, Lisa R.; Graham, Charles R.; Spring, Kristian J.; Drysdale, Jeffery S.

2012-01-01

Blended learning is a diverse and expanding area of design and inquiry that combines face-to-face and online modalities. As blended learning research matures, numerous voices enter the conversation. This study begins the search for the center of this emerging area of study by finding the most cited scholarship on blended learning. Using Harzing's…

Application and Comparison of the MODIS-Derived Enhanced Vegetation Index to VIIRS, Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI Platforms: A Case Study in the Arid Colorado River Delta, Mexico.

PubMed

Jarchow, Christopher J; Didan, Kamel; Barreto-Muñoz, Armando; Nagler, Pamela L; Glenn, Edward P

2018-05-13

The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) is a key Earth science parameter used to assess vegetation, originally developed and calibrated for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites. With the impending decommissioning of the MODIS sensors by the year 2020/2022, alternative platforms will need to be used to estimate EVI. We compared Landsat 5 (2000⁻2011), 8 (2013⁻2016) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS; 2013⁻2016) to MODIS EVI (2000⁻2016) over a 420,083-ha area of the arid lower Colorado River Delta in Mexico. Over large areas with mixed land cover or agricultural fields, we found high correspondence between Landsat and MODIS EVI (R² = 0.93 for the entire area studied and 0.97 for agricultural fields), but the relationship was weak over bare soil (R² = 0.27) and riparian vegetation (R² = 0.48). The correlation between MODIS and Landsat EVI was higher over large, homogeneous areas and was generally lower in narrow riparian areas. VIIRS and MODIS EVI were highly similar (R² = 0.99 for the entire area studied) and did not show the same decrease in performance in smaller, narrower regions as Landsat. Landsat and VIIRS provide EVI estimates of similar quality and characteristics to MODIS, but scale, seasonality and land cover type(s) should be considered before implementing Landsat EVI in a particular area.

Maternal anaemia as an indicator for monitoring malaria control in pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Savage, E J; Msyamboza, K; Gies, S; D'Alessandro, U; Brabin, B J

2007-10-01

Malarial anaemia is a major problem in many developing countries and often occurs more frequently in first pregnancies, as primigravidae are more susceptible to Plasmodium falciparum malaria and are at excess risk of malarial anaemia. To analyse the excess risk of anaemia in primigravidae as a potential indicator of malaria control and exposure in pregnant women living in sub-Saharan Africa. The sensitivity, specificity and predictive values for anaemia in first compared with later pregnancies are calculated for 27 studies from malarious and 7 studies from nonmalarious areas. Surveys of pregnancy anaemia reported for highly malarious and nonmalarious areas. In malarious areas, the weighted odds ratio for excess anaemia (haemoglobin [Hb] <11 g/dl) in primigravidae compared with multigravidae for all studies was 1.34 (95% CI 1.14-1.58). At an Hb cutoff below 8 g/dl, the weighted odds ratio was 1.79 (95% CI 1.52-2.10). In nonmalarious areas, there was no increased risk of anaemia in primigravidae with Hb below 11 g/dl (OR 0.80; 95% CI 0.63-1.90) or below 8 g/dl (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.51-1.28). In view of the consistency of results across highly malarious areas compared with nonmalarious areas, maternal anaemia has the potential to be used for surveillance of malaria control in pregnancy. Based on the analysis, an anaemia nomogram is developed for use as a surveillance indicator in malarious areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

CLASH: THE ENHANCED LENSING EFFICIENCY OF THE HIGHLY ELONGATED MERGING CLUSTER MACS J0416.1-2403

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

Zitrin, A.; Bartelmann, M.; Carrasco, M.

2013-01-10

We perform a strong lensing analysis of the merging galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1-2403 (M0416; z = 0.42) in recent CLASH/HST observations. We identify 70 new multiple images and candidates of 23 background sources in the range 0.7 {approx}< z{sub phot} {approx}< 6.14 including two probable high-redshift dropouts, revealing a highly elongated lens with axis ratio {approx_equal}5:1, and a major axis of {approx}100'' (z{sub s} {approx} 2). Compared to other well-studied clusters, M0416 shows an enhanced lensing efficiency. Although the critical area is not particularly large ({approx_equal} 0.6 {open_square}'; z{sub s} {approx} 2), the number of multiple images, per critical area,more » is anomalously high. We calculate that the observed elongation boosts the number of multiple images, per critical area, by a factor of {approx}2.5 Multiplication-Sign , due to the increased ratio of the caustic area relative to the critical area. Additionally, we find that the observed separation between the two main mass components enlarges the critical area by a factor of {approx}2. These geometrical effects can account for the high number (density) of multiple images observed. We find in numerical simulations that only {approx}4% of the clusters (with M{sub vir} {>=} 6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 14} h {sup -1} M{sub Sun }) exhibit critical curves as elongated as in M0416.« less

Long-term trends in submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay, USA, related to water quality

USGS Publications Warehouse

Orth, Robert J.; Williams, Michael R.; Marion, Scott R.; Wilcox, David J.; Carruthers, Tim J.B.; Moore, Kenneth A.; Kemp, W.M.; Dennison, William C.; Rybicki, Nancy B.; Peter Bergstrom,; Batiuk, Richard A.

2010-01-01

Chesapeake Bay supports a diverse assemblage of marine and freshwater species of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) whose broad distributions are generally constrained by salinity. An annual aerial SAV monitoring program and a bi-monthly to monthly water quality monitoring program have been conducted throughout Chesapeake Bay since 1984. We performed an analysis of SAV abundance and up to 22 environmental variables potentially influencing SAV growth and abundance (1984-2006). Historically, SAV abundance has changed dramatically in Chesapeake Bay, and since 1984, when SAV abundance was at historic low levels, SAV has exhibited complex changes including long-term (decadal) increases and decreases, as well as some large, single-year changes. Chesapeake Bay SAV was grouped into three broad-scale community-types based on salinity regime, each with their own distinct group of species, and detailed analyses were conducted on these three community-types as well as on seven distinct case-study areas spanning the three salinity regimes. Different trends in SAVabundance were evident in the different salinity regimes. SAV abundance has (a) continually increased in the low-salinity region; (b) increased initially in the medium-salinity region, followed by fluctuating abundances; and (c) increased initially in the high-salinity region, followed by a subsequent decline. In all areas, consistent negative correlations between measures of SAV abundance and nitrogen loads or concentrations suggest that meadows are responsive to changes in inputs of nitrogen. For smaller case-study areas, different trends in SAV abundance were also noted including correlations to water clarity in high-salinity case-study areas, but nitrogen was highly correlated in all areas. Current maximum SAV coverage for almost all areas remain below restoration targets, indicating that SAV abundance and associated ecosystem services are currently limited by continued poor water quality, and specifically high nutrient concentrations, within Chesapeake Bay. The nutrient reductions noted in some tributaries, which were highly correlated to increases in SAV abundance, suggest management activities have already contributed to SAV increases in some areas, but the strong negative correlation throughout the Chesapeake Bay between nitrogen and SAV abundance also suggests that further nutrient reductions will be necessary for SAV to attain or exceed restoration targets throughout the bay.

Childhood leukaemia in areas with different radon levels: a spatial and temporal analysis using GIS

PubMed Central

Kohli, S; Noorlind, B; Lofman, O

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVES—To evaluate the relation between exposure to ground radon levels and leukaemia among children using existing population and disease registers.
DESIGN—Ecological correlation study.
SETTING—The county of Östergötland in Sweden.
METHODS—Every child born in the county between 1979 and 1992 was mapped to the property centroid coordinates by linking addresses in the population and property registers. Population maps were overlaid with radon maps and exposure at birth and each subsequent year was quantified as high, normal, low or unknown. This was analysed with data from the tumour registry. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated using the age and sex specific rates for Sweden for the year 1995.
RESULTS—90 malignancies occurred among 53 146 children (498 887 person years) who formed the study population. SMRs for acute lymphatic leukaemia (ALL) among children born in high, normal and low risk areas were 1.43, 1.17 and 0.25 respectively. The relative risk for the normal risk group and high risk group as compared with the low risk group was 4.64 (95% CI 1.29, 28.26) and 5.67 (95% CI 1.06, 42.27). The association between ALL and continued residence at normal or high risk areas showed a similar trend. No association between radon risk levels and any other malignancy was seen.
CONCLUSION—Children born in and staying at areas where the risk from ground radon has been classified as low are less likely to develop ALL than those born in areas classified as normal and high risk.


Keywords: leukaemia; cancer; radon; ionising radiation; Geographic Information Systems PMID:11027195

A Comparison of the Human Buccal Cell Assay and the Pollen Abortion Assay in Assessing Genotoxicity in an Urban-Rural Gradient

PubMed Central

Fleck, Alan da Silveira; Vieira, Mariana; Amantéa, Sergio Luís; Rhoden, Claudia Ramos

2014-01-01

Air pollution is exacerbated near heavy traffic roads in cities. Air pollution concentration and composition vary by region and depend on urban-rural gradients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of air pollution in areas of varying population densities and to compare plant biomonitoring with an established biomarker of human exposure to traffic-related air pollution in children. The areas of study were selected near a major street in 3 different regions. Areas A, B and C represent high, intermediate and low population densities, respectively. Micronucleus assay, an established biomarker of human exposure, was performed in children from these areas. For a plant biomonitoring assay, the pollen abortion assay was performed on Bauhinia variegata in these areas. NO2 and O3 concentrations were determined by passive sampling. We report here that the pollen abortion frequency in Bauhinia variegata is correlated with NO2 concentration (P = 0.004) and is strongly associated with vehicular flow and population density in the studied areas. Micronuclei frequency in buccal cells of children was higher in the regions with more degree of urbanization (P < 0.001) following the same pattern of O3 concentrations (P = 0.030). In conclusion, our results demonstrate that high concentrations of air pollutants in Porto Alegre are related to both human and plant genotoxicity. Areas with different concentration of pollutants demonstrated to have an urbanization gradient dependent pattern which also reflected on genotoxic damage among these areas. PMID:25166920

Longitudinal study of dogs living in an area of Spain highly endemic for leishmaniasis by serologic analysis and the leishmanin skin test.

PubMed

Solano-Gallego, Laia; Llull, Joan; Ramis, Antonio; Fernández-Bellon, Hugo; Rodríguez, Alhelí; Ferrer, Lluís; Alberola, Jordi

2005-06-01

The literature contains few longitudinal studies that have assessed areas endemic for canine leishmaniasis and over the same time interval Leishmania-specific cellular and humoral immunity in healthy dogs. Fourteen dogs, three mixed breed and 11 Ibizian hounds, living in an area of Spain that was highly endemic for leishmaniasis were followed-up over a three-year period by serologic analysis and the leishmanin skin test (LST). All but one of these dogs remained clinically healthy during the study period. Seroconversion was observed in four dogs. The three mixed breed dogs had a negative reaction in the LST in the first and third years. The general trend in the Ibizian hounds was an increase in the diameter of the LST reaction at both the 48- and 72-hour readings in the third year. This study demonstrates that in addition to an increase in Leishmania-specific humoral immune response in Ibizian hounds, a parallel increase in cellular immune response was observed.

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

PubMed

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

2015-01-01

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

Analysis of post-earthquake landslide activity and geo-environmental effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Chenxiao; van Westen, Cees; Jetten, Victor

2014-05-01

Large earthquakes can cause huge losses to human society, due to ground shaking, fault rupture and due to the high density of co-seismic landslides that can be triggered in mountainous areas. In areas that have been affected by such large earthquakes, the threat of landslides continues also after the earthquake, as the co-seismic landslides may be reactivated by high intensity rainfall events. Earthquakes create Huge amount of landslide materials remain on the slopes, leading to a high frequency of landslides and debris flows after earthquakes which threaten lives and create great difficulties in post-seismic reconstruction in the earthquake-hit regions. Without critical information such as the frequency and magnitude of landslides after a major earthquake, reconstruction planning and hazard mitigation works appear to be difficult. The area hit by Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, Sichuan province, China, shows some typical examples of bad reconstruction planning due to lack of information: huge debris flows destroyed several re-constructed settlements. This research aim to analyze the decay in post-seismic landslide activity in areas that have been hit by a major earthquake. The areas hit by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake will be taken a study area. The study will analyze the factors that control post-earthquake landslide activity through the quantification of the landslide volume changes well as through numerical simulation of their initiation process, to obtain a better understanding of the potential threat of post-earthquake landslide as a basis for mitigation planning. The research will make use of high-resolution stereo satellite images, UAV and Terrestrial Laser Scanning(TLS) to obtain multi-temporal DEM to monitor the change of loose sediments and post-seismic landslide activities. A debris flow initiation model that incorporates the volume of source materials, vegetation re-growth, and intensity-duration of the triggering precipitation, and that evaluates different initiation mechanisms such as erosion and landslide reactivation will be developed. The developed initiation model will be integrated with run-out model to simulate the dynamic process of post-earthquake debris flows in the study area for a future period and make a prediction about the decay of landslide activity in future.

ESTIMATING SYSTEMIC EXPOSURE TO ETHINYL ESTRADIOL FROM AN ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE

PubMed Central

WESTHOFF, Carolyn L.; PIKE, Malcolm C.; TANG, Rosalind; DINAPOLI, Marianne N.; SULL, Monica; CREMERS, Serge

2015-01-01

Objectives This study was conducted to compare single-dose pharmacokinetics of ethinyl estradiol in an oral contraceptive to steady-state values, and to assess whether any simpler measures could provide an adequate proxy of the ‘gold standard’ 24-hour steady-state area-under-the-curve. Identifying a simple, less expensive, measure of systemic ethinyl estradiol exposure would be useful for larger studies designed to assess the relationship between an individual’s ethinyl estradiol exposure and her side effects. Study Design We conducted a 13 samples over 24 hours pharmacokinetic analysis on day 1 and day 21 of the first cycle of a monophasic oral contraceptive containing 30 mcg ethinyl estradiol and 150 mcg levonorgestrel in 17 non-obese healthy white women. We also conducted an abbreviated single dose 9-sample pharmacokinetic analysis after a month washout. Ethinyl estradiol was measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We compared results of full 13-sample steady-state pharmacokinetic analysis with results calculated using fewer samples (9 or 5) and following the single doses. We calculated Pearson correlation coefficients to evaluate the relationships between these estimates of systemic ethinyl estradiol exposure. Results The area-under-the-curve, maximum (Cmax), and 24-hour (C24) values were similar following the two single oral contraceptive doses (area-under-the-curve, r = 0.92). The steady-state 13-sample 24-hour area-under-the-curve was highly correlated with the average 9-sample area-under-the-curve after the two single doses (r = 0.81, p = 0.0002). This correlation remained the same if the number of samples was reduced to 4, taken at time 1, 2.5, 4 and 24 hours. The C24 at steady-state was highly correlated with the 24-hour steady-state area-under-the-curve (r = 0.92, p < 0.0001). The average of the C24 values following the two single doses was also quite highly correlated with the steady-state area-under-the-curve (r = 0.72, p = 0.0026). Conclusions Limited blood sampling, including results from two single doses, gave highly correlated estimates of an oral contraceptive user’s steady-state ethinyl estradiol exposure. PMID:25511238

Vaccine specific immune response to an inactivated oral cholera vaccine and EPI vaccines in a high and low arsenic area in Bangladeshi children.

PubMed

Saha, Amit; Chowdhury, Mohiul I; Nazim, Mohammad; Alam, Mohammad Murshid; Ahmed, Tanvir; Hossain, Mohammad Bakhtiar; Hore, Samar Kumar; Sultana, Gazi Nurun Nahar; Svennerholm, Ann-Mari; Qadri, Firdausi

2013-01-11

Immune responses to the inactivated oral whole cell cholera toxin B (CTB) subunit cholera vaccine, Dukoral(®), as well as three childhood vaccines in the national immunization system were compared in children living in high and low arsenic contaminated areas in Bangladesh. In addition, serum complement factors C3 and C4 levels were evaluated among children in the two areas. VACCINATIONS: Toddlers (2-5 years) were orally immunized with two doses of Dukoral 14 days apart. Study participants had also received diphtheria, tetanus and measles vaccines according to the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in Bangladesh. The mean level of arsenic in the urine specimens in the children of the high arsenic area (HAA, Shahrasti, Chandpur) was 291.8μg/L while the level was 6.60μg/L in the low arsenic area (LAA, Mirpur, Dhaka). Cholera specific vibriocidal antibody responses were significantly increased in the HAA (87%, P<0.001) and the LAA (75%, P<0.001) children after vaccination with Dukoral, but no differences were found between the two groups. Levels of CTB specific IgA and IgG antibodies were comparable between the two groups, whereas LPS specific IgA and IgG were higher in the LAA group, although response rates were comparable. Diphtheria and tetanus vaccine specific IgG responses were significantly higher in the HAA compared to the LAA group (P<0.001, P=0.048 respectively), whereas there were no differences in the measles specific IgG responses between the groups. Complement C3 and C4 levels in sera were higher in participants from the HAA than the LAA groups (P<0.001, P=0.049 respectively). The study demonstrates that the oral cholera vaccine as well as the EPI vaccines studied are immunogenic in children in high and low arsenic areas in Bangladesh. The results are encouraging for the potential use of cholera vaccines as well as the EPI vaccines in arsenic endemic areas. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The effects of green areas on air surface temperature of the Kuala Lumpur city using WRF-ARW modelling and Remote Sensing technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isa, N. A.; Mohd, W. M. N. Wan; Salleh, S. A.; Ooi, M. C. G.

2018-02-01

Matured trees contain high concentration of chlorophyll that encourages the process of photosynthesis. This process produces oxygen as a by-product and releases it into the atmosphere and helps in lowering the ambient temperature. This study attempts to analyse the effect of green area on air surface temperature of the Kuala Lumpur city. The air surface temperatures of two different dates which are, in March 2006 and March 2016 were simulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The green area in the city was extracted using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from two Landsat satellite images. The relationship between the air surface temperature and the green area were analysed using linear regression models. From the study, it was found that, the green area was significantly affecting the distribution of air temperature within the city. A strong negative correlation was identified through this study which indicated that higher NDVI values tend to have lower air surface temperature distribution within the focus study area. It was also found that, different urban setting in mixed built-up and vegetated areas resulted in different distributions of air surface temperature. Future studies should focus on analysing the air surface temperature within the area of mixed built-up and vegetated area.

Yield of bedrock wells in the Nashoba terrane, central and eastern Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeSimone, Leslie A.; Barbaro, Jeffrey R.

2012-01-01

The yield of bedrock wells in the fractured-bedrock aquifers of the Nashoba terrane and surrounding area, central and eastern Massachusetts, was investigated with analyses of existing data. Reported well yield was compiled for 7,287 wells from Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Geological Survey databases. Yield of these wells ranged from 0.04 to 625 gallons per minute. In a comparison with data from 103 supply wells, yield and specific capacity from aquifer tests were well correlated, indicating that reported well yield was a reasonable measure of aquifer characteristics in the study area. Statistically significant relations were determined between well yield and a number of cultural and hydrogeologic factors. Cultural variables included intended water use, well depth, year of construction, and method of yield measurement. Bedrock geology, topography, surficial geology, and proximity to surface waters were statistically significant hydrogeologic factors. Yield of wells was higher in areas of granites, mafic intrusive rocks, and amphibolites than in areas of schists and gneisses or pelitic rocks; higher in valleys and low-slope areas than on hills, ridges, or high slopes; higher in areas overlain by stratified glacial deposits than in areas overlain by till; and higher in close proximity to streams, ponds, and wetlands than at greater distances from these surface-water features. Proximity to mapped faults and to lineaments from aerial photographs also were related to well yield by some measures in three quadrangles in the study area. Although the statistical significance of these relations was high, their predictive power was low, and these relations explained little of the variability in the well-yield data. Similar results were determined from a multivariate regression analysis. Multivariate regression models for the Nashoba terrane and for a three-quadrangle subarea included, as significant variables, many of the cultural and hydrogeologic factors that were individually related to well yield, in ways that are consistent with conceptual understanding of their effects, but the models explained only 21 percent (regional model for the entire terrane) and 30 percent (quadrangle model) of the overall variance in yield. Moreover, most of the explained variance was due to well characteristics rather than hydrogeologic factors. Hydrogeologic factors such as topography and geology are likely important. However, the overall high variability in the well-yield data, which results from the high variability in aquifer hydraulic properties as well as from limitations of the dataset, would make it difficult to use hydrogeologic factors to predict well yield in the study area. Geostatistical analysis (variograms), on the other hand, indicated that, although highly variable, the well-yield data are spatially correlated. The spatial continuity appears greater in the northeast-southwest direction and less in the southeast-northwest direction, directions that are parallel and perpendicular, respectively, to the regional geologic structural trends. Geostatistical analysis (kriging), used to estimate yield values throughout the study area, identified regional-scale areas of higher and lower yield that may be related to regional structural features—in particular, to a northeast-southwest trending regional fault zone within the Nashoba terrane. It also would be difficult to use kriging to predict yield at specific locations, however, because of the spatial variability in yield, particularly at small scales. The regional-scale analyses in this study, both with hydrogeologic variables and geostatistics, provide a context for understanding the variability in well yield, rather a basis for precise predictions, and site-specific information would be needed to understand local conditions.

Subsurface structure imaging of the Sembalun-Propok area, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia by using the audio-frequency magnetotelluric data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Febriani, F.; Widarto, D. S.; Gaffar, E.; Nasution, A.; Grandis, H.

2017-07-01

We have investigated the subsurface structure of the Sembalun-Propok Area, West Nusa Tenggara, by using the audio-frequency magnetotelluric (AMT) method. This area is one of the geothermal prospect areas in eastern Indonesia. There are 38 AMT observation points, which were deployed along three profiles. We applied the phase tensor analysis on all observation points to determine both the dimensionality of and the regional strike of the study area. The results of the phase tensor analysis show that the study area can be assumed as 2-D and the regional strike of the study area is about N330°E. Then, after rotating the impedance tensor data to the regional strike, we carried out the 2-D inversion modeling to know more detail the subsurface structure of the study area. The results of the 2-D MT inversion are consistent with the geology of the study area. The near surface along all profiles is dominated by the higher resistivity layer (> 500 Ωm). It is highly associated with the surface geology of the study area which is characterized by the volcanic rock and mostly consist of andesitic to dacitic rocks of a calc-alkaline suite. Below the resistive layer at the near surface, the modelings show the layer which has the lower-moderate resistivity layer. It is possibly a cap rock layer of geothermal system of the Sembalun-Propok area. Lastly, the third layer is the very conductive layer and possibly associated with the presence of thermal fluids in the study area.

Spatial relationships between above-ground biomass and bird species biodiversity in Palawan, Philippines.

PubMed

Singh, Minerva; Friess, Daniel A; Vilela, Bruno; Alban, Jose Don T De; Monzon, Angelica Kristina V; Veridiano, Rizza Karen A; Tumaneng, Roven D

2017-01-01

This study maps distribution and spatial congruence between Above-Ground Biomass (AGB) and species richness of IUCN listed conservation-dependent and endemic avian fauna in Palawan, Philippines. Grey Level Co-Occurrence Texture Matrices (GLCMs) extracted from Landsat and ALOS-PALSAR were used in conjunction with local field data to model and map local-scale field AGB using the Random Forest algorithm (r = 0.92 and RMSE = 31.33 Mg·ha-1). A support vector regression (SVR) model was used to identify the factors influencing variation in avian species richness at a 1km scale. AGB is one of the most important determinants of avian species richness for the study area. Topographic factors and anthropogenic factors such as distance from the roads were also found to strongly influence avian species richness. Hotspots of high AGB and high species richness concentration were mapped using hotspot analysis and the overlaps between areas of high AGB and avian species richness was calculated. Results show that the overlaps between areas of high AGB with high IUCN red listed avian species richness and endemic avian species richness were fairly limited at 13% and 8% at the 1-km scale. The overlap between 1) low AGB and low IUCN richness, and 2) low AGB and low endemic avian species richness was higher at 36% and 12% respectively. The enhanced capacity to spatially map the correlation between AGB and avian species richness distribution will further assist the conservation and protection of forest areas and threatened avian species.

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

PubMed

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

2017-08-01

Background Many people with chronic liver disease (CLD) are not detected until they present to hospital with advanced disease, when opportunities for intervention are reduced and morbidity is high. In order to build capacity and liver expertise in the community, it is important to focus liver healthcare resources in high-prevalence disease areas and specific populations with an identified need. The aim of the present study was to examine the geographic location of people seen in a tertiary hospital hepatology clinic, as well as ethnic and sociodemographic characteristics of these geographic areas. Methods The geographic locations of hepatology out-patients were identified via the out-patient scheduling database and grouped into statistical area (SA) regions for demographic analysis using data compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Results During the 3-month study period, 943 individuals from 71 SA Level 3 regions attended clinic. Nine SA Level 3 regions accounted for 55% of the entire patient cohort. Geographic clustering was seen especially for people living with chronic hepatitis B virus. There was a wide spectrum of socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage in areas with high liver disease prevalence. Conclusions The geographic area from which people living with CLD travel to access liver health care is extensive. However, the greatest demand for tertiary liver disease speciality care is clustered within specific geographic areas. Outreach programs targeted to these areas may enhance liver disease-specific health service resourcing. What is known about the topic? The demand for tertiary hospital clinical services in CLD is rising. However, there is limited knowledge about the geographic areas from which people living with CLD travel to access liver services, or the ethnic, socioeconomic and education characteristics of these areas. What does this paper add? The present study demonstrates that a substantial proportion of people living with CLD and accessing tertiary hospital liver services are clustered within specific geographic areas. The most striking geographic clustering was seen for people living with chronic hepatitis B, in regions with a relatively high proportion of people born in Vietnam and China. In addition to ethnicity, the data show an apparent ecological association between liver disease and both socioeconomic and educational and/or occupational disadvantage. What are the implications for practitioners? Identifying where demand for clinical services arises is an important step for service planning and preparing for potential outreach programs to optimise community-based care. It is likely that outreach programs to engage and enhance primary care services in geographic areas from which the greatest demand for tertiary liver disease speciality care arises would yield greater relative return on investment than non-targeted outreach programs.

Vocal fold vibrations: high-speed imaging, kymography, and acoustic analysis: a preliminary report.

PubMed

Larsson, H; Hertegård, S; Lindestad, P A; Hammarberg, B

2000-12-01

To evaluate a new analysis system, High-Speed Tool Box (H. Larsson, custom-made program for image analysis, version 1.1, Department of Logopedics and Phoniatrics, Huddinge University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden, 1998) for studying vocal fold vibrations using a high-speed camera and to relate findings from these analyses to sound characteristics. A Weinberger Speedcam + 500 system (Weinberger AG, Dietikon, Switzerland) was used with a frame rate of 1,904 frames per second. Images were stored and analyzed digitally. Analysis included automatic glottal edge detection and calculation of glottal area variations, as well as kymography. These signals were compared with acoustic waveforms using the Soundswell program (Hitech Development AB, Stockholm, Sweden). The High-Speed Tool Box was applied on two types of high-speed recordings: a diplophonic phonation and a tremor voice. Relations between glottal vibratory patterns and the sound waveform were analyzed. In the diplophonic phonation, the glottal area waveform, as well as the kymogram, showed a specific pattern of repetitive glottal closures, which was also seen in the acoustic waveform. In the tremor voice, fundamental frequency (F0) fluctuations in the acoustic waveform were reflected in slow variations in amplitude in the glottal area waveform. For studying details of mucosal movements during these kinds of abnormal vibrations, the glottal area waveform was particularly useful. Our results suggest that this combined high-speed acoustic-kymographic analysis package is a promising aid for separating and specifying different voice qualities such as diplophonia and voice tremor. Apart from clinical use, this finding should be of help for specification of the terminology of different voice qualities.

Pharmacokinetic Variability of Drugs Used for Prophylactic Treatment of Migraine.

PubMed

Tfelt-Hansen, Peer; Ågesen, Frederik Nybye; Pavbro, Agniezka; Tfelt-Hansen, Jacob

2017-05-01

In this review, we evaluate the variability in the pharmacokinetics of 11 drugs with established prophylactic effects in migraine to facilitate 'personalized medicine' with these drugs. PubMed was searched for 'single-dose' and 'steady-state' pharmacokinetic studies of these 11 drugs. The maximum plasma concentration was reported in 248 single-dose and 115 steady-state pharmacokinetic studies, and the area under the plasma concentration-time curve was reported in 299 single-dose studies and 112 steady-state pharmacokinetic studies. For each study, the coefficient of variation was calculated for maximum plasma concentration and area under the plasma concentration-time curve, and we divided the drug variability into two categories; high variability, coefficient of variation >40%, or low or moderate variability, coefficient of variation <40%. Based on the area under the plasma concentration-time curve in steady-state studies, the following drugs have high pharmacokinetic variability: propranolol in 92% (33/36), metoprolol in 85% (33/39), and amitriptyline in 60% (3/5) of studies. The following drugs have low or moderate variability: atenolol in 100% (2/2), valproate in 100% (15/15), topiramate in 88% (7/8), and naproxen and candesartan in 100% (2/2) of studies. For drugs with low or moderate pharmacokinetic variability, treatment can start without initial titration of doses, whereas titration is used to possibly enhance tolerability of topiramate and amitriptyline. The very high pharmacokinetic variability of metoprolol and propranolol can result in very high plasma concentrations in a small minority of patients, and those drugs should therefore be titrated up from a low initial dose, depending mainly on the occurrence of adverse events.

Population density, water supply, and the risk of dengue fever in Vietnam: cohort study and spatial analysis.

PubMed

Schmidt, Wolf-Peter; Suzuki, Motoi; Thiem, Vu Dinh; White, Richard G; Tsuzuki, Ataru; Yoshida, Lay-Myint; Yanai, Hideki; Haque, Ubydul; Tho, Le Huu; Anh, Dang Duc; Ariyoshi, Koya

2011-08-01

Aedes aegypti, the major vector of dengue viruses, often breeds in water storage containers used by households without tap water supply, and occurs in high numbers even in dense urban areas. We analysed the interaction between human population density and lack of tap water as a cause of dengue fever outbreaks with the aim of identifying geographic areas at highest risk. We conducted an individual-level cohort study in a population of 75,000 geo-referenced households in Vietnam over the course of two epidemics, on the basis of dengue hospital admissions (n = 3,013). We applied space-time scan statistics and mathematical models to confirm the findings. We identified a surprisingly narrow range of critical human population densities between around 3,000 to 7,000 people/km² prone to dengue outbreaks. In the study area, this population density was typical of villages and some peri-urban areas. Scan statistics showed that areas with a high population density or adequate water supply did not experience severe outbreaks. The risk of dengue was higher in rural than in urban areas, largely explained by lack of piped water supply, and in human population densities more often falling within the critical range. Mathematical modeling suggests that simple assumptions regarding area-level vector/host ratios may explain the occurrence of outbreaks. Rural areas may contribute at least as much to the dissemination of dengue fever as cities. Improving water supply and vector control in areas with a human population density critical for dengue transmission could increase the efficiency of control efforts. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

Population Density, Water Supply, and the Risk of Dengue Fever in Vietnam: Cohort Study and Spatial Analysis

PubMed Central

Schmidt, Wolf-Peter; Suzuki, Motoi; Dinh Thiem, Vu; White, Richard G.; Tsuzuki, Ataru; Yoshida, Lay-Myint; Yanai, Hideki; Haque, Ubydul; Huu Tho, Le; Anh, Dang Duc; Ariyoshi, Koya

2011-01-01

Background Aedes aegypti, the major vector of dengue viruses, often breeds in water storage containers used by households without tap water supply, and occurs in high numbers even in dense urban areas. We analysed the interaction between human population density and lack of tap water as a cause of dengue fever outbreaks with the aim of identifying geographic areas at highest risk. Methods and Findings We conducted an individual-level cohort study in a population of 75,000 geo-referenced households in Vietnam over the course of two epidemics, on the basis of dengue hospital admissions (n = 3,013). We applied space-time scan statistics and mathematical models to confirm the findings. We identified a surprisingly narrow range of critical human population densities between around 3,000 to 7,000 people/km2 prone to dengue outbreaks. In the study area, this population density was typical of villages and some peri-urban areas. Scan statistics showed that areas with a high population density or adequate water supply did not experience severe outbreaks. The risk of dengue was higher in rural than in urban areas, largely explained by lack of piped water supply, and in human population densities more often falling within the critical range. Mathematical modeling suggests that simple assumptions regarding area-level vector/host ratios may explain the occurrence of outbreaks. Conclusions Rural areas may contribute at least as much to the dissemination of dengue fever as cities. Improving water supply and vector control in areas with a human population density critical for dengue transmission could increase the efficiency of control efforts. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary PMID:21918642

Mercury in breast milk - a health hazard for infants in gold mining areas?

PubMed

Bose-O'Reilly, Stephan; Lettmeier, Beate; Roider, Gabriele; Siebert, Uwe; Drasch, Gustav

2008-10-01

Breast-feeding can be a source of mercury exposure for infants. The main concern up to now is methyl-mercury exposure of women at child-bearing age. Certain fish species have high levels of methyl-mercury leading to consumer's advisory guidelines in regard of fish consumption to protect infants from mercury exposure passing through breast milk. Little is known about the transfer of inorganic mercury passing through breast milk to infants. Epidemiological studies showed negative health effects of inorganic mercury in gold mining areas. Small-scale gold miners use mercury to extract the gold from the ore. Environmental and health assessments of gold mining areas in Indonesia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe showed a high exposure with inorganic mercury in these gold mining areas, and a negative health impact of the exposure to the miners and the communities. This paper reports about the analysis and the results of 46 breast milk samples collected from mercury-exposed mothers. The median level of 1.87mug/l is fairly high compared to other results from literature. Some breast milk samples showed very high levels of mercury (up to 149mug/l). Fourteen of the 46 breast milk samples exceed 4mug/l which is considered to be a "high" level. US EPA recommends a "Reference Dose" of 0.3mug inorganic mercury/kg body weight/day [United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1997. Volume V: Health Effects of Mercury and Mercury Compounds. Study Report EPA-452/R-97-007: US EPA]. Twenty-two of the 46 children from these gold mining areas had a higher calculated total mercury uptake. The highest calculated daily mercury uptake of 127mug exceeds by far the recommended maximum uptake of inorganic mercury. Further systematic research of mercury in breast milk from small-scale gold mining areas is needed to increase the knowledge about the bio-transfer of mercury from mercury vapour-exposed mothers passing through breast milk to the breast-fed infant.

Flying between sky islands: the effect of naturally fragmented habitat on butterfly population structure.

PubMed

Sekar, Sandhya; Karanth, Praveen

2013-01-01

High elevation montane areas are called "sky islands" when they occur as a series of high mountains separated by lowland valleys. Different climatic conditions at high elevations makes sky islands a specialized type of habitat, rendering them naturally fragmented compared to more continuous habitat at lower elevations. Species in sky islands face unsuitable climate in the intervening valleys when moving from one montane area to another. The high elevation shola-grassland mosaic in the Western Ghats of southern India form one such sky island complex. The fragmented patches make this area ideal to study the effect of the spatial orientation of suitable habitat patches on population genetic structure of species found in these areas. Past studies have suggested that sky islands tend to have genetically structured populations, possibly due to reduced gene flow between montane areas. To test this hypothesis, we adopted the comparative approach. Using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms, we compared population genetic structures of two closely related, similar sized butterfly species: Heteropsis oculus, a high elevation shola-grassland specialist restricted to the southern Western Ghats, and Mycalesis patnia, found more continuously distributed in lower elevations. In all analyses, as per expectation the sky island specialist H. oculus exhibited a greater degree of population genetic structure than M. patnia, implying a difference in geneflow. This difference in geneflow in turn appears to be due to the natural fragmentation of the sky island complexes. Detailed analysis of a subset of H. oculus samples from one sky island complex (the Anamalais) showed a surprising genetic break. A possible reason for this break could be unsuitable conditions of higher temperature and lower rainfall in the intervening valley region. Thus, sky island species are not only restricted by lack of habitat continuity between montane areas, but also by the nature of the intervening habitat.