The devil is in the details: Transposable element analysis of the Tasmanian devil genome

PubMed Central

Nilsson, Maria A.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The third marsupial genome was sequenced from the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), a species that currently is driven to extinction by a rare transmissible cancer. The transposable element (TE) landscape of the Tasmanian devil genome revealed that the main driver of retrotransposition the Long INterspersed Element 1 (LINE1) seem to have become inactivated during the past 12 million years. Strangely, the Short INterspersed Elements (SINE), that normally hijacks the LINE1 retrotransposition system, became inactive prior to LINE1 at around 30 million years ago. The SINE inactivation was in vitro verified in several species. Here I discuss that the apparent LINE1 inactivation might be caused by a genome assembly artifact. The repetitive fraction of any genome is highly complex to assemble and the observed problems are not unique to the Tasmanian devil genome. PMID:27066301

Evidence that disease-induced population decline changes genetic structure and alters dispersal patterns in the Tasmanian devil

PubMed Central

Lachish, S; Miller, K J; Storfer, A; Goldizen, A W; Jones, M E

2011-01-01

Infectious disease has been shown to be a major cause of population declines in wild animals. However, there remains little empirical evidence on the genetic consequences of disease-mediated population declines, or how such perturbations might affect demographic processes such as dispersal. Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) has resulted in the rapid decline of the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii, and threatens to cause extinction. Using 10 microsatellite DNA markers, we compared genetic diversity and structure before and after DFTD outbreaks in three Tasmanian devil populations to assess the genetic consequences of disease-induced population decline. We also used both genetic and demographic data to investigate dispersal patterns in Tasmanian devils along the east coast of Tasmania. We observed a significant increase in inbreeding (FIS pre/post-disease −0.030/0.012, P<0.05; relatedness pre/post-disease 0.011/0.038, P=0.06) in devil populations after just 2–3 generations of disease arrival, but no detectable change in genetic diversity. Furthermore, although there was no subdivision apparent among pre-disease populations (θ=0.005, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.003 to 0.017), we found significant genetic differentiation among populations post-disease (θ=0.020, 0.010–0.027), apparently driven by a combination of selection and altered dispersal patterns of females in disease-affected populations. We also show that dispersal is male-biased in devils and that dispersal distances follow a typical leptokurtic distribution. Our results show that disease can result in genetic and demographic changes in host populations over few generations and short time scales. Ongoing management of Tasmanian devils must now attempt to maintain genetic variability in this species through actions designed to reverse the detrimental effects of inbreeding and subdivision in disease-affected populations. PMID:20216571

Genomic Restructuring in the Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour: Chromosome Painting and Gene Mapping Provide Clues to Evolution of a Transmissible Tumour

PubMed Central

Pearse, Anne-Maree; Rens, Willem; O'Brien, Patricia C. M.; Ferguson-Smith, Malcolm A.; Cheng, Yuanyuan; Morris, Katrina; Taylor, Robyn; Stuart, Andrew; Belov, Katherine; Amemiya, Chris T.; Murchison, Elizabeth P.; Papenfuss, Anthony T.; Marshall Graves, Jennifer A.

2012-01-01

Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is a fatal, transmissible malignancy that threatens the world's largest marsupial carnivore, the Tasmanian devil, with extinction. First recognised in 1996, DFTD has had a catastrophic effect on wild devil numbers, and intense research efforts to understand and contain the disease have since demonstrated that the tumour is a clonal cell line transmitted by allograft. We used chromosome painting and gene mapping to deconstruct the DFTD karyotype and determine the chromosome and gene rearrangements involved in carcinogenesis. Chromosome painting on three different DFTD tumour strains determined the origins of marker chromosomes and provided a general overview of the rearrangement in DFTD karyotypes. Mapping of 105 BAC clones by fluorescence in situ hybridisation provided a finer level of resolution of genome rearrangements in DFTD strains. Our findings demonstrate that only limited regions of the genome, mainly chromosomes 1 and X, are rearranged in DFTD. Regions rearranged in DFTD are also highly rearranged between different marsupials. Differences between strains are limited, reflecting the unusually stable nature of DFTD. Finally, our detailed maps of both the devil and tumour karyotypes provide a physical framework for future genomic investigations into DFTD. PMID:22359511

Rapid evolutionary response to a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils

PubMed Central

Epstein, Brendan; Jones, Menna; Hamede, Rodrigo; Hendricks, Sarah; McCallum, Hamish; Murchison, Elizabeth P.; Schönfeld, Barbara; Wiench, Cody; Hohenlohe, Paul; Storfer, Andrew

2016-01-01

Although cancer rarely acts as an infectious disease, a recently emerged transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) is virtually 100% fatal. Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) has swept across nearly the entire species' range, resulting in localized declines exceeding 90% and an overall species decline of more than 80% in less than 20 years. Despite epidemiological models that predict extinction, populations in long-diseased sites persist. Here we report rare genomic evidence of a rapid, parallel evolutionary response to strong selection imposed by a wildlife disease. We identify two genomic regions that contain genes related to immune function or cancer risk in humans that exhibit concordant signatures of selection across three populations. DFTD spreads between hosts by suppressing and evading the immune system, and our results suggest that hosts are evolving immune-modulated resistance that could aid in species persistence in the face of this devastating disease. PMID:27575253

Horizontal transfer of OC1 transposons in the Tasmanian devil.

PubMed

Gilbert, Clement; Waters, Paul; Feschotte, Cedric; Schaack, Sarah

2013-02-27

There is growing recognition that horizontal DNA transfer, a process known to be common in prokaryotes, is also a significant source of genomic variation in eukaryotes. Horizontal transfer of transposable elements (HTT) may be especially prevalent in eukaryotes given the inherent mobility, widespread occurrence, and prolific abundance of these elements in many eukaryotic genomes. Here, we provide evidence for a new case of HTT of the transposon family OposCharlie1 (OC1) in the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii. Bioinformatic analyses of OC1 sequences in the Tasmanian devil genome suggest that this transposon infiltrated the common ancestor of the Dasyuridae family ~17 million years ago. This estimate is corroborated by a PCR-based screen for the presence/absence of this family in Tasmanian devils and closely-related species. This case of HTT is the first to be reported in dasyurids. It brings the number of animal lineages independently invaded by OC1 to 12, and adds a fourth continent to the pandemic-like pattern of invasion of this transposon. In the context of these data, we discuss the evolutionary history of this transposon family and its potential impact on the diversification of marsupials.

Horizontal transfer of OC1 transposons in the Tasmanian devil

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background There is growing recognition that horizontal DNA transfer, a process known to be common in prokaryotes, is also a significant source of genomic variation in eukaryotes. Horizontal transfer of transposable elements (HTT) may be especially prevalent in eukaryotes given the inherent mobility, widespread occurrence, and prolific abundance of these elements in many eukaryotic genomes. Results Here, we provide evidence for a new case of HTT of the transposon family OposCharlie1 (OC1) in the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii. Bioinformatic analyses of OC1 sequences in the Tasmanian devil genome suggest that this transposon infiltrated the common ancestor of the Dasyuridae family ~17 million years ago. This estimate is corroborated by a PCR-based screen for the presence/absence of this family in Tasmanian devils and closely-related species. Conclusions This case of HTT is the first to be reported in dasyurids. It brings the number of animal lineages independently invaded by OC1 to 12, and adds a fourth continent to the pandemic-like pattern of invasion of this transposon. In the context of these data, we discuss the evolutionary history of this transposon family and its potential impact on the diversification of marsupials. PMID:23445260

Transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils: localized lineage replacement and host population response

PubMed Central

Hamede, Rodrigo K.; Pearse, Anne-Maree; Swift, Kate; Barmuta, Leon A.; Murchison, Elizabeth P.; Jones, Menna E.

2015-01-01

Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is a clonally transmissible cancer threatening the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) with extinction. Live cancer cells are the infectious agent, transmitted to new hosts when individuals bite each other. Over the 18 years since DFTD was first observed, distinct genetic and karyotypic sublineages have evolved. In this longitudinal study, we investigate the associations between tumour karyotype, epidemic patterns and host demographic response to the disease. Reduced host population effects and low DFTD infection rates were associated with high prevalence of tetraploid tumours. Subsequent replacement by a diploid variant of DFTD coincided with a rapid increase in disease prevalence, population decline and reduced mean age of the population. Our results suggest a role for tumour genetics in DFTD transmission dynamics and epidemic outcome. Future research, for this and other highly pathogenic emerging infectious diseases, should focus on understanding the evolution of host and pathogen genotypes, their effects on susceptibility and tolerance to infection, and their implications for designing novel genetic management strategies. This study provides evidence for a rapid localized lineage replacement occurring within a transmissible cancer epidemic and highlights the possibility that distinct DFTD genetic lineages may harbour traits that influence pathogen fitness. PMID:26336167

Extreme Telomere Length Dimorphism in the Tasmanian Devil and Related Marsupials Suggests Parental Control of Telomere Length

PubMed Central

Bender, Hannah S.; Murchison, Elizabeth P.; Pickett, Hilda A.; Deakin, Janine E.; Strong, Margaret A.; Conlan, Carly; McMillan, Daniel A.; Neumann, Axel A.; Greider, Carol W.; Hannon, Gregory J.; Reddel, Roger R.; Graves, Jennifer A. Marshall.

2012-01-01

Telomeres, specialised structures that protect chromosome ends, play a critical role in preserving chromosome integrity. Telomere dynamics in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) are of particular interest in light of the emergence of devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), a transmissible malignancy that causes rapid mortality and threatens the species with extinction. We used fluorescent in situ hybridisation to investigate telomere length in DFTD cells, in healthy Tasmanian devils and in four closely related marsupial species. Here we report that animals in the Order Dasyuromorphia have chromosomes characterised by striking telomere length dimorphism between homologues. Findings in sex chromosomes suggest that telomere length dimorphism may be regulated by events in the parental germlines. Long telomeres on the Y chromosome imply that telomere lengthening occurs during spermatogenesis, whereas telomere diminution occurs during oogenesis. Although found in several somatic cell tissue types, telomere length dimorphism was not found in DFTD cancer cells, which are characterised by uniformly short telomeres. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of naturally occurring telomere length dimorphism in any species and suggests a novel strategy of telomere length control. Comparative studies in five distantly related marsupials and a monotreme indicate that telomere dimorphism evolved at least 50 million years ago. PMID:23049977

The Immunomodulatory Small Molecule Imiquimod Induces Apoptosis in Devil Facial Tumour Cell Lines.

PubMed

Patchett, Amanda L; Darby, Jocelyn M; Tovar, Cesar; Lyons, A Bruce; Woods, Gregory M

2016-01-01

The survival of the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is threatened by devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). This transmissible cancer is usually fatal, and no successful treatments have been developed. In human studies, the small immunomodulatory molecule imiquimod is a successful immunotherapy, activating anti-tumour immunity via stimulation of toll-like receptor-7 (TLR7) signaling pathways. In addition, imiquimod is a potent inducer of apoptosis in human tumour cell lines via TLR7 independent mechanisms. Here we investigate the potential of imiquimod as a DFTD therapy through analysis of treated DFTD cell lines and Tasmanian devil fibroblasts. WST-8 proliferation assays and annexin V apoptosis assays were performed to monitor apoptosis, and changes to the expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic genes were analysed using qRT-PCR. Our results show that DFTD cell lines, but not Tasmanian devil fibroblasts, are sensitive to imiquimod-induced apoptosis in a time and concentration dependent manner. Induction of apoptosis was accompanied by down-regulation of the anti-apoptotic BCL2 and BCLXL genes, and up-regulation of the pro-apoptotic BIM gene. Continuous imiquimod treatment was required for these effects to occur. These results demonstrate that imiquimod can deregulate DFTD cell growth and survival in direct and targeted manner. In vivo, this may increase DFTD vulnerability to imiquimod-induced TLR7-mediated immune responses. Our findings have improved the current knowledge of imiquimod action in tumour cells for application to both DFTD and human cancer therapy.

Anthropogenic selection enhances cancer evolution in Tasmanian devil tumours.

PubMed

Ujvari, Beata; Pearse, Anne-Maree; Swift, Kate; Hodson, Pamela; Hua, Bobby; Pyecroft, Stephen; Taylor, Robyn; Hamede, Rodrigo; Jones, Menna; Belov, Katherine; Madsen, Thomas

2014-02-01

The Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) provides a unique opportunity to elucidate the long-term effects of natural and anthropogenic selection on cancer evolution. Since first observed in 1996, this transmissible cancer has caused local population declines by >90%. So far, four chromosomal DFTD variants (strains) have been described and karyotypic analyses of 253 tumours showed higher levels of tetraploidy in the oldest strain. We propose that increased ploidy in the oldest strain may have evolved in response to effects of genomic decay observed in asexually reproducing organisms. In this study, we focus on the evolutionary response of DFTD to a disease suppression trial. Tumours collected from devils subjected to the removal programme showed accelerated temporal evolution of tetraploidy compared with tumours from other populations where no increase in tetraploid tumours were observed. As ploidy significantly reduces tumour growth rate, we suggest that the disease suppression trial resulted in selection favouring slower growing tumours mediated by an increased level of tetraploidy. Our study reveals that DFTD has the capacity to rapidly respond to novel selective regimes and that disease eradication may result in novel tumour adaptations, which may further imperil the long-term survival of the world's largest carnivorous marsupial.

Anthropogenic selection enhances cancer evolution in Tasmanian devil tumours

PubMed Central

Ujvari, Beata; Pearse, Anne-Maree; Swift, Kate; Hodson, Pamela; Hua, Bobby; Pyecroft, Stephen; Taylor, Robyn; Hamede, Rodrigo; Jones, Menna; Belov, Katherine; Madsen, Thomas

2014-01-01

The Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) provides a unique opportunity to elucidate the long-term effects of natural and anthropogenic selection on cancer evolution. Since first observed in 1996, this transmissible cancer has caused local population declines by >90%. So far, four chromosomal DFTD variants (strains) have been described and karyotypic analyses of 253 tumours showed higher levels of tetraploidy in the oldest strain. We propose that increased ploidy in the oldest strain may have evolved in response to effects of genomic decay observed in asexually reproducing organisms. In this study, we focus on the evolutionary response of DFTD to a disease suppression trial. Tumours collected from devils subjected to the removal programme showed accelerated temporal evolution of tetraploidy compared with tumours from other populations where no increase in tetraploid tumours were observed. As ploidy significantly reduces tumour growth rate, we suggest that the disease suppression trial resulted in selection favouring slower growing tumours mediated by an increased level of tetraploidy. Our study reveals that DFTD has the capacity to rapidly respond to novel selective regimes and that disease eradication may result in novel tumour adaptations, which may further imperil the long-term survival of the world's largest carnivorous marsupial. PMID:24567746

Mitogen-induced responses in lymphocytes from platypus, the Tasmanian devil and the eastern barred bandicoot.

PubMed

Stewart, N J; Bettiol, S S; Kreiss, A; Fox, N; Woods, G M

2008-10-01

As the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisi) and the eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunni) are currently at risk of serious population decline or extinction from fatal diseases in Tasmania, the goal of the present study was to describe the normal immune response of these species to challenge using the lymphocyte proliferation assay, to give a solid basis for further studies. For this preliminary study, we performed lymphocyte proliferation assays on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from the three species. We used the common mitogens phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), concanavalin A (ConA), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). All three species recorded the highest stimulation index (SI) with the T-cell mitogens PHA and ConA. Tasmanian devils and bandicoots had greater responses than platypuses, although variability between individual animals was high. For the first time, we report the normal cellular response of the platypus, the Tasmanian devil and the eastern barred bandicoot to a range of commonly used mitogens.

Evolutionary Histories of Transposable Elements in the Genome of the Largest Living Marsupial Carnivore, the Tasmanian Devil

PubMed Central

Gallus, Susanne; Hallström, Björn M; Kumar, Vikas; Dodt, William G; Janke, Axel; Schumann, Gerald G; Nilsson, Maria A

2015-01-01

The largest living carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), is the sole survivor of a lineage originating about 12 Ma. We set out to investigate the spectrum of transposable elements found in the Tasmanian devil genome, the first high-coverage genome of an Australian marsupial. Marsupial genomes have been shown to have the highest amount of transposable elements among vertebrates. We analyzed the horizontally transmitted DNA transposons OC1 and hAT-1_MEu in the Tasmanian devil genome. OC1 is present in all carnivorous marsupials, while having a very limited distribution among the remaining Australian marsupial orders. In contrast, hAT-1_MEu is present in all Australian marsupial orders, and has so far only been identified in a few placental mammals. We screened 158 introns for phylogenetically informative retrotransposons in the order Dasyuromorphia, and found that the youngest SINE (Short INterspersed Element), WSINE1, is no longer active in the subfamily Dasyuridae. The lack of detectable WSINE1 activity in this group may be due to a retrotransposon inactivation event approximately 30 Ma. We found that the Tasmanian devil genome contains a relatively low number of continuous full-length LINE-1 (Long INterspersed Element 1, L1) retrotransposons compared with the opossum genome. Furthermore, all L1 elements in the Tasmanian devil appeared to be nonfunctional. Hidden Markov Model approaches suggested that other potential sources of functional reverse transcriptase are absent from the genome. We discuss the issues associated with assembling long, highly similar L1 copies from short read Illumina data and describe how assembly artifacts can potentially lead to erroneous conclusions. PMID:25633377

PD-L1 Is Not Constitutively Expressed on Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Cells but Is Strongly Upregulated in Response to IFN-γ and Can Be Expressed in the Tumor Microenvironment

PubMed Central

Flies, Andrew S.; Lyons, A. Bruce; Corcoran, Lynn M.; Papenfuss, Anthony T.; Murphy, James M.; Knowles, Graeme W.; Woods, Gregory M.; Hayball, John D.

2016-01-01

The devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) is caused by clonal transmissible cancers that have led to a catastrophic decline in the wild Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) population. The first transmissible tumor, now termed devil facial tumor 1 (DFT1), was first discovered in 1996 and has been continually transmitted to new hosts for at least 20 years. In 2015, a second transmissible cancer [devil facial tumor 2 (DFT2)] was discovered in wild devils, and the DFT2 is genetically distinct and independent from the DFT1. Despite the estimated 136,559 base pair substitutions and 14,647 insertions/deletions in the DFT1 genome as compared to two normal devil reference genomes, the allograft tumors are not rejected by the host immune system. Additionally, genome sequencing of two sub-strains of DFT1 detected greater than 15,000 single-base substitutions that were found in only one of the DFT1 sub-strains, demonstrating the transmissible tumors are evolving and that generation of neoantigens is likely ongoing. Recent evidence in human clinical trials suggests that blocking PD-1:PD-L1 interactions promotes antitumor immune responses and is most effective in cancers with a high number of mutations. We hypothesized that DFTD cells could exploit the PD-1:PD-L1 inhibitory pathway to evade antitumor immune responses. We developed recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to provide the first demonstration that PD-1 binds to both PD-L1 and PD-L2 in a non-placental mammal and show that PD-L1 is upregulated in DFTD cells in response to IFN-γ. Immunohistochemistry showed that PD-L1 is rarely expressed in primary tumor masses, but low numbers of PD-L1+ non-tumor cells were detected in the microenvironment of several metastatic tumors. Importantly, in vitro testing suggests that PD-1 binding to PD-L1 and PD-L2 can be blocked by mAbs, which could be critical to understanding how the DFT allografts evade the immune system. PMID:28018348

Trophic cascades following the disease-induced decline of an apex predator, the Tasmanian devil.

PubMed

Hollings, Tracey; Jones, Menna; Mooney, Nick; McCallum, Hamish

2014-02-01

As apex predators disappear worldwide, there is escalating evidence of their importance in maintaining the integrity and diversity of the ecosystems they inhabit. The largest extant marsupial carnivore, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is threatened with extinction from a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). The disease, first observed in 1996, has led to apparent population declines in excess of 95% in some areas and has spread to more than 80% of their range. We analyzed a long-term Tasmania-wide data set derived from wildlife spotlighting surveys to assess the effects of DFTD-induced devil decline on populations of other mammals and to examine the relative strength of top-down and bottom-up control of mesopredators between 2 regions with different environmental conditions. Collection of the data began >10 years before DFTD was first observed. A decrease in devil populations was immediate across diseased regions following DFTD arrival, and there has been no indication of population recovery. Feral cats (Felis catus) increased in areas where the disease was present the longest, and feral cat occurrence was significantly and negatively associated with devils. The smallest mesopredator, the eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus), declined rapidly following DFTD arrival. This result suggests the species was indirectly protected by devils through the suppression of larger predators. Rainfall deficiency was also a significant predictor of their decline. Environmental variables determined the relative importance of top-down control in the population regulation of mesopredators. In landscapes of low rainfall and relatively higher proportions of agriculture and human settlement, top-down forces were dampened and bottom-up forces had the most effect on mesopredators. For herbivore prey species, there was evidence of population differences after DFTD arrival, but undetected environmental factors had greater effects. The unique opportunity to

Lack of genetic diversity across diverse immune genes in an endangered mammal, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).

PubMed

Morris, Katrina M; Wright, Belinda; Grueber, Catherine E; Hogg, Carolyn; Belov, Katherine

2015-08-01

The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is threatened with extinction due to the spread of devil facial tumour disease. Polymorphisms in immune genes can provide adaptive potential to resist diseases. Previous studies in diversity at immune loci in wild species have almost exclusively focused on genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC); however, these genes only account for a fraction of immune gene diversity. Devils lack diversity at functionally important immunity loci, including MHC and Toll-like receptor genes. Whether there are polymorphisms at devil immune genes outside these two families is unknown. Here, we identify polymorphisms in a wide range of key immune genes, and develop assays to type single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within a subset of these genes. A total of 167 immune genes were examined, including cytokines, chemokines and natural killer cell receptors. Using genome-level data from ten devils, SNPs within coding regions, introns and 10 kb flanking genes of interest were identified. We found low polymorphism across 167 immune genes examined bioinformatically using whole-genome data. From this data, we developed long amplicon assays to target nine genes. These amplicons were sequenced in 29-220 devils and found to contain 78 SNPs, including eight SNPS within exons. Despite the extreme paucity of genetic diversity within these genes, signatures of balancing selection were exhibited by one chemokine gene, suggesting that remaining diversity may hold adaptive potential. The low functional diversity may leave devils highly vulnerable to infectious disease, and therefore, monitoring and preserving remaining diversity will be critical for the long-term management of this species. Examining genetic variation in diverse immune genes should be a priority for threatened wildlife species. This study can act as a model for broad-scale immunogenetic diversity analysis in threatened species. © 2015 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Published

Evolution of a contagious cancer: epigenetic variation in Devil Facial Tumour Disease

PubMed Central

Ujvari, Beata; Pearse, Anne-Maree; Peck, Sarah; Harmsen, Collette; Taylor, Robyn; Pyecroft, Stephen; Madsen, Thomas; Papenfuss, Anthony T.; Belov, Katherine

2013-01-01

The emergence of Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), a highly contagious cancer, is driving Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) to extinction. The cancer is a genetically and chromosomally stable clonal cell line which is transmitted by biting during social interactions. In the present study, we explore the Devil Facial Tumour (DFT) epigenome and the genes involved in DNA methylation homeostasis. We show that tumour cells have similar levels of methylation to peripheral nerves, the tissue from which DFTD originated. We did not observe any strain or region-specific epimutations. However, we revealed a significant increase in hypomethylation in DFT samples over time (p < 0.0001). We propose that loss of methylation is not because of a maintenance deficiency, as an upregulation of DNA methyltransferase 1 gene was observed in tumours compared with nerves (p < 0.005). Instead, we believe that loss of methylation is owing to active demethylation, supported by the temporal increase in MBD2 and MBD4 (p < 0.001). The implications of these changes on disease phenotypes need to be explored. Our work shows that DFTD should not be treated as a static entity, but rather as an evolving parasite with epigenetic plasticity. Understanding the role of epimutations in the evolution of this parasitic cancer will provide unique insights into the role of epigenetic plasticity in cancer evolution and progression in traditional cancers that arise and die with their hosts. PMID:23135679

Boldness towards novelty and translocation success in captive-raised, orphaned Tasmanian devils.

PubMed

Sinn, David L; Cawthen, Lisa; Jones, Susan M; Pukk, Chrissy; Jones, Menna E

2014-01-01

Translocation of endangered animals is common, but success is often variable and/or poor. Despite its intuitive appeal, little is known with regards to how individual differences amongst translocated animals influence their post-release survival, growth, and reproduction. We measured consistent pre-release responses to novelty in a familiar environment (boldness; repeatability=0.55) and cortisol response in a group of captive-reared Tasmanian devils, currently listed as "Endangered" by the IUCN. The devils were then released at either a hard- or soft-release site within their mothers' population of origin, and individual growth, movement, reproduction (females only), and survival across 2-8 months post-release was measured. Sex, release method, cohort, behavior, and cortisol response did not affect post-release growth, nor did these factors influence the home range size of orphan devils. Final linear distances moved from the release site were impacted heavily by the release cohort, but translocated devils' movement overall was not different from that in the same-age wild devils. All orphan females of reproductive age were subsequently captured with offspring. Overall survival rates in translocated devils were moderate (∼42%), and were not affected by devil sex, release method, cohort, release weight, or pre-release cortisol response. Devils that survived during the study period were, however, 3.5 times more bold than those that did not (effect size r=0.76). Our results suggest that conservation managers may need to provide developmental conditions in captivity that promote a wide range of behaviors across individuals slated for wild release. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Dietary partitioning of Australia's two marsupial hypercarnivores, the Tasmanian devil and the spotted-tailed quoll, across their shared distributional range

PubMed Central

Johnson, Christopher N.; Barmuta, Leon A.; Jones, Menna E.

2017-01-01

Australia’s native marsupial fauna has just two primarily flesh-eating ‘hypercarnivores’, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) and the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) which coexist only on the island of Tasmania. Devil populations are currently declining due to a fatal transmissible cancer. Our aim was to analyse the diet of both species across their range in Tasmania, as a basis for understanding how devil decline might affect the abundance and distribution of quolls through release from competition. We used faecal analysis to describe diets of one or both species at 13 sites across Tasmania. We compared diet composition and breadth between the two species, and tested for geographic patterns in diets related to rainfall and devil population decline. Dietary items were classified into 6 broad categories: large mammals (≥ 7.0kg), medium-sized mammals (0.5–6.9kg), small mammals (< 0.5kg), birds, reptiles and invertebrates. Diet overlap based on prey-size category was high. Quoll diets were broader than devils at all but one site. Devils consumed more large and medium-sized mammals and quolls more small mammals, reptiles and invertebrates. Medium-sized mammals (mainly Tasmanian pademelon Thylogale billardierii), followed by large mammals (mainly Bennett’s wallaby Macropus rufogriseus) and birds, were the most important prey groups for both species. Diet composition varied across sites, suggesting that both species are flexible and opportunistic foragers, but was not related to rainfall for devils. Quolls included more large mammals but fewer small mammals and invertebrates in their diet in the eastern drier parts of Tasmania where devils have declined. This suggests that a competitive release of quolls may have occurred and the substantial decline of devils has provided more food in the large-mammal category for quolls, perhaps as increased scavenging opportunities. The high diet overlap suggests that if resources become limited in areas of

Relaxation of risk-sensitive behaviour of prey following disease-induced decline of an apex predator, the Tasmanian devil

PubMed Central

Hollings, Tracey; McCallum, Hamish; Kreger, Kaely; Mooney, Nick; Jones, Menna

2015-01-01

Apex predators structure ecosystems through lethal and non-lethal interactions with prey, and their global decline is causing loss of ecological function. Behavioural changes of prey are some of the most rapid responses to predator decline and may act as an early indicator of cascading effects. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), an apex predator, is undergoing progressive and extensive population decline, of more than 90% in long-diseased areas, caused by a novel disease. Time since local disease outbreak correlates with devil population declines and thus predation risk. We used hair traps and giving-up densities (GUDs) in food patches to test whether a major prey species of devils, the arboreal common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), is responsive to the changing risk of predation when they forage on the ground. Possums spend more time on the ground, discover food patches faster and forage more to a lower GUD with increasing years since disease outbreak and greater devil population decline. Loss of top–down effects of devils with respect to predation risk was evident at 90% devil population decline, with possum behaviour indistinguishable from a devil-free island. Alternative predators may help to maintain risk-sensitive anti-predator behaviours in possums while devil populations remain low. PMID:26085584

Cryopreservation of epididymal sperm collected postmortem in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii).

PubMed

Keeley, T; McGreevy, P D; O'Brien, J K

2012-07-15

Effective sperm cryopreservation protocols are limited to a small number of marsupial species. In this study, postmortem gamete rescue (PMGR) epididymal sperm samples from Tasmanian devils (N=34) euthanized due to the fatal Devil Facial Tumor Disease were used to develop long-term sperm storage techniques for the species. Cryoprotectant toxicity associated with equilibration of sperm samples in a TEST yolk diluent (TEST; 189 mM N-Tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, 85 mM Trizma base [Tris], 11 mM glucose, 20% vol/vol egg yolk; pH 7.1, and 315.0±5.0 mOsm/kg) with a final concentration of 0.06 M trehalose, or 4%, 10%, and 18% vol/vol of either glycerol or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), was examined over 12 h at 15 °C. Trehalose supplementation resulted in an immediate decline (P<0.05) of total motility. After 12 h, total motility was reduced (P<0.05) in treatments containing 18% glycerol, and 10% and 18% dimethyl sulfoxide. The effects of final glycerol concentration (4% and 10%), glycerol equilibration duration (10 min 1 h, or 3 h) prefreeze, freezing rate and the addition of 0.10 M lactose or a combination of 0.10 M lactose and 0.11 M raffinose were assessed during three experiments on the cryopreservation of postmortem gamete rescue samples in TEST. In all experiments, motility and viability were reduced (P<0.01 postthaw). Samples cryopreserved in TEST supplemented with lactose or lactose with raffinose using a fast freezing rate (-8 °C/min from 4 to -40 °C, then -65 °C/min until -165 °C) produced the highest (P<0.05) postthaw motility (18.6±5.5% and 16.9±8.5%, respectively), which represented 35% to 48% retention of prefreeze motility. These results apparently were the best postthaw results of dasyurid sperm reported to date and will help lay the foundations for developing assisted reproductive technologies for marsupial species. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reversible epigenetic down-regulation of MHC molecules by devil facial tumour disease illustrates immune escape by a contagious cancer

PubMed Central

Siddle, Hannah V.; Kreiss, Alexandre; Tovar, Cesar; Yuen, Chun Kit; Cheng, Yuanyuan; Belov, Katherine; Swift, Kate; Pearse, Anne-Maree; Hamede, Rodrigo; Jones, Menna E.; Skjødt, Karsten; Woods, Gregory M.; Kaufman, Jim

2013-01-01

Contagious cancers that pass between individuals as an infectious cell line are highly unusual pathogens. Devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) is one such contagious cancer that emerged 16 y ago and is driving the Tasmanian devil to extinction. As both a pathogen and an allograft, DFTD cells should be rejected by the host–immune response, yet DFTD causes 100% mortality among infected devils with no apparent rejection of tumor cells. Why DFTD cells are not rejected has been a question of considerable confusion. Here, we show that DFTD cells do not express cell surface MHC molecules in vitro or in vivo, due to down-regulation of genes essential to the antigen-processing pathway, such as β2-microglobulin and transporters associated with antigen processing. Loss of gene expression is not due to structural mutations, but to regulatory changes including epigenetic deacetylation of histones. Consequently, MHC class I molecules can be restored to the surface of DFTD cells in vitro by using recombinant devil IFN-γ, which is associated with up-regulation of the MHC class II transactivator, a key transcription factor with deacetylase activity. Further, expression of MHC class I molecules by DFTD cells can occur in vivo during lymphocyte infiltration. These results explain why T cells do not target DFTD cells. We propose that MHC-positive or epigenetically modified DFTD cells may provide a vaccine to DFTD. In addition, we suggest that down-regulation of MHC molecules using regulatory mechanisms allows evolvability of transmissible cancers and could affect the evolutionary trajectory of DFTD. PMID:23479617

Detecting Selection on Temporal and Spatial Scales: A Genomic Time-Series Assessment of Selective Responses to Devil Facial Tumor Disease

PubMed Central

Brüniche-Olsen, Anna; Austin, Jeremy J.; Jones, Menna E.; Holland, Barbara R.; Burridge, Christopher P.

2016-01-01

Detecting loci under selection is an important task in evolutionary biology. In conservation genetics detecting selection is key to investigating adaptation to the spread of infectious disease. Loci under selection can be detected on a spatial scale, accounting for differences in demographic history among populations, or on a temporal scale, tracing changes in allele frequencies over time. Here we use these two approaches to investigate selective responses to the spread of an infectious cancer—devil facial tumor disease (DFTD)—that since 1996 has ravaged the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Using time-series ‘restriction site associated DNA’ (RAD) markers from populations pre- and post DFTD arrival, and DFTD free populations, we infer loci under selection due to DFTD and investigate signatures of selection that are incongruent among methods, populations, and times. The lack of congruence among populations influenced by DFTD with respect to inferred loci under selection, and the direction of that selection, fail to implicate a consistent selective role for DFTD. Instead genetic drift is more likely driving the observed allele frequency changes over time. Our study illustrates the importance of applying methods with different performance optima e.g. accounting for population structure and background selection, and assessing congruence of the results. PMID:26930198

Dust Devil Tracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

(Released 8 May 2002) The Science This image, centered near 50.0 S and 17.7 W displays dust devil tracks on the surface. Most of the lighter portions of the image likely have a thin veneer of dust settled on the surface. As a dust devil passes over the surface, it acts as a vacuum and picks up the dust, leaving the darker substrate exposed. In this image there is a general trend of many of the tracks running from east to west or west to east, indicating the general wind direction. There is often no general trend present in dust devil tracks seen in other images. The track patterns are quite ephemeral and can completely change or even disappear over the course of a few months. Dust devils are one of the mechanisms that Mars uses to constantly pump dust into the ubiquitously dusty atmosphere. This atmospheric dust is one of the main driving forces of the present Martian climate. The Story Vrrrrooooooooom. Think of a tornado, the cartoon Tasmanian devil, or any number of vacuum commercials that powerfully suck up swirls of dust and dirt. That's pretty much what it's like on the surface of Mars a lot of the time. Whirlpools of wind called

Wind vs. Dust Devil Streaks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

22 February 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image presents a fine illustration of the difference between streaks made by dust devils and streaks made by wind gusts. Dust devils are usually solitary, spinning vortices. They resemble a tornado, or the swirling motion of a familiar, Tasmanian cartoon character. Wind gusts, on the other hand, can cover a larger area and affect more terrain at the same time. The dark, straight, and parallel features resembling scrape marks near the right/center of this image are thought to have been formed by a singular gust of wind, whereas the more haphazard dark streaks that crisscross the scene were formed by dozens of individual dust devils, acting at different times. This southern summer image is located in Noachis Terra near 67.0oS, 316.2oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left; the picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide.

Devil Declines and Catastrophic Cascades: Is Mesopredator Release of Feral Cats Inhibiting Recovery of the Eastern Quoll?

PubMed Central

Fancourt, Bronwyn A.; Hawkins, Clare E.; Cameron, Elissa Z.; Jones, Menna E.; Nicol, Stewart C.

2015-01-01

The eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized Australian marsupial carnivore that has recently undergone a rapid and severe population decline over the 10 years to 2009, with no sign of recovery. This decline has been linked to a period of unfavourable weather, but subsequent improved weather conditions have not been matched by quoll recovery. A recent study suggested another mechanism: that declines in Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) populations, due to the spread of the fatal Devil Facial Tumour Disease, have released feral cats (Felis catus) from competitive suppression, with eastern quoll declines linked to a subsequent increase in cat sightings. Yet current evidence of intraguild suppression among devils, cats and quolls is scant and equivocal. We therefore assessed the influences of top-down effects on abundance and activity patterns among devils, feral cats and eastern quolls. Between 2011 and 2013, we monitored four carnivore populations using longitudinal trapping and camera surveys, and performed camera surveys at 12 additional sites throughout the eastern quoll’s range. We did not find evidence of a negative relationship between devil and cat abundance, nor of higher cat abundance in areas where devil populations had declined the longest. Cats did not appear to avoid devils spatially; however, there was evidence of temporal separation of cat and devil activity, with reduced separation and increasing nocturnal activity observed in areas where devils had declined the longest. Cats and quolls used the same areas, and there was no evidence that cat and quoll abundances were negatively related. Temporal overlap in observed cat and quoll activity was higher in summer than in winter, but this seasonal difference was unrelated to devil declines. We suggest that cats did not cause the recent quoll decline, but that predation of juvenile quolls by cats could be inhibiting low density quoll populations from recovering their former abundance

Devil declines and catastrophic cascades: is mesopredator release of feral cats inhibiting recovery of the eastern quoll?

PubMed

Fancourt, Bronwyn A; Hawkins, Clare E; Cameron, Elissa Z; Jones, Menna E; Nicol, Stewart C

2015-01-01

The eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized Australian marsupial carnivore that has recently undergone a rapid and severe population decline over the 10 years to 2009, with no sign of recovery. This decline has been linked to a period of unfavourable weather, but subsequent improved weather conditions have not been matched by quoll recovery. A recent study suggested another mechanism: that declines in Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) populations, due to the spread of the fatal Devil Facial Tumour Disease, have released feral cats (Felis catus) from competitive suppression, with eastern quoll declines linked to a subsequent increase in cat sightings. Yet current evidence of intraguild suppression among devils, cats and quolls is scant and equivocal. We therefore assessed the influences of top-down effects on abundance and activity patterns among devils, feral cats and eastern quolls. Between 2011 and 2013, we monitored four carnivore populations using longitudinal trapping and camera surveys, and performed camera surveys at 12 additional sites throughout the eastern quoll's range. We did not find evidence of a negative relationship between devil and cat abundance, nor of higher cat abundance in areas where devil populations had declined the longest. Cats did not appear to avoid devils spatially; however, there was evidence of temporal separation of cat and devil activity, with reduced separation and increasing nocturnal activity observed in areas where devils had declined the longest. Cats and quolls used the same areas, and there was no evidence that cat and quoll abundances were negatively related. Temporal overlap in observed cat and quoll activity was higher in summer than in winter, but this seasonal difference was unrelated to devil declines. We suggest that cats did not cause the recent quoll decline, but that predation of juvenile quolls by cats could be inhibiting low density quoll populations from recovering their former abundance

Limited Genetic Diversity Preceded Extinction of the Tasmanian Tiger

PubMed Central

Menzies, Brandon R.; Renfree, Marilyn B.; Heider, Thomas; Mayer, Frieder; Hildebrandt, Thomas B.; Pask, Andrew J.

2012-01-01

The Tasmanian tiger or thylacine was the largest carnivorous marsupial when Europeans first reached Australia. Sadly, the last known thylacine died in captivity in 1936. A recent analysis of the genome of the closely related and extant Tasmanian devil demonstrated limited genetic diversity between individuals. While a similar lack of diversity has been reported for the thylacine, this analysis was based on just two individuals. Here we report the sequencing of an additional 12 museum-archived specimens collected between 102 and 159 years ago. We examined a portion of the mitochondrial DNA hyper-variable control region and determined that all sequences were on average 99.5% identical at the nucleotide level. As a measure of accuracy we also sequenced mitochondrial DNA from a mother and two offspring. As expected, these samples were found to be 100% identical, validating our methods. We also used 454 sequencing to reconstruct 2.1 kilobases of the mitochondrial genome, which shared 99.91% identity with the two complete thylacine mitochondrial genomes published previously. Our thylacine genomic data also contained three highly divergent putative nuclear mitochondrial sequences, which grouped phylogenetically with the published thylacine mitochondrial homologs but contained 100-fold more polymorphisms than the conserved fragments. Together, our data suggest that the thylacine population in Tasmania had limited genetic diversity prior to its extinction, possibly as a result of their geographic isolation from mainland Australia approximately 10,000 years ago. PMID:22530022

Why Devil's town has Devil's water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jovic, Sladjana; Mitriceski, Bojana

2015-04-01

Why Devil's town has Devil's water In the south of Serbia, lies a first-class natural landmark "Devil's Town" at an altitude of 660-700 m. Earthen figures or "towers" as the locals call them, are located in the watershed between two gullies, whose sources joined together create a unique erosive formation, tremendously demolished by the erosive processes. The gullies also have strange names: "Devil's Gully" and "Hell's Gully". There are two rare natural phenomena at the same spot: 202 earthen figures of different shape and dimension, from 2 m to 15 m in height, and from 0.5 m to 3 m in width, with stone caps on the top. They are an outcome of a specific erosive process that lasts for centuries. When figures are formed, they grow, change, shorten, gradually (very slowly) disappear and reappear. The loose soil is dissolved and washed away by the rain. However, the material under the stone caps is protected from the "bombardment" of the rain drops and washout, and remains in place in the form of the rising earthen pillars - figures. Another natural rarity in "Devil's Town" are two springs of extraordinary properties "Devil's Water", which is located in vicinity of these earthen figures, is a cold and extremely acid spring (pH 1.5) of high mineral concentration (15 g/l of water), springing out in "Devil's Gully". In comparison to drinking water, it is 10 to 1000 times richer in minerals (aluminium, iron, potassium, copper, nickel, sulphur, and alaun). "Red Well" is another spring located downstream, in the alluvial plain, 400 m away from the first spring. Its water (pH 3.5) is less acid and has a lower general mineral concentration (4.372 mg/l of water). Due to the oxidation of iron, which is contained in water in large amounts, an attractive red terrace in the form of a fan is created. The main assessment for students is to take some examples of water from Devils Gully and the others from Red Well . Second part is to find out content of minerals in water examples and

GO-DEVILS

DOEpatents

Jefferson, S.

1958-01-28

This patent relates to a device normally termed a godevil for use in clearing pipes of sludge, and in particular describes an arrangement for housing a radioactive source within a go-devil whereby the source is removed from a radioactivity shield for detection purposes only when the go-devil is in use. In the described go-devil the radioactive source is housed in a member attached to a piston. Under normal pressure conditions the piston is forced in a direction to position the source within a lead shield. A bellows senses the pressure external to the go-devil and acts through a hydraulic line to force the piston in a direction to remove the source from the shield as long as the pressure is above a pre-set value.

Marching Dust Devils

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-11-05

On an early fall afternoon in Ganges Chasma Valles Marineris, NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft managed to capture a cluster of eight dust devils, five of them in the enhanced color strip. They're together on a dark sandy surface that tilts slightly to the north, towards the Sun. Both of these factors help warm the surface and generate convection in the air above. The surface is streaked with the faint tracks of earlier dust devils. A pair of dust devils appears together at top right, spaced only 250 meters apart. These two have quite different morphologies. The bigger one (on the right) is about 100 meters in diameter and is shaped like a doughnut with a hole in the middle. Its smaller companion is more compact and plume-like, but it too has a small hole in the center, where the air pressure is lowest. It may be that the smaller dust devil is younger than the larger one. A row of four dust devils are in the middle of the color strip, separated by about 900 meters from one another. This image might answer some interesting questions about the behavior of dust devils. Dust devils are theoretically expected to migrate uphill on a sloping surface, or migrate downwind when there is a breeze. Where they are found close together in pairs, they are expected to rotate in opposite directions. HiRISE color observations can be used to determine the direction of rotation and-for fast moving dust devils-the direction of their travel. This is because the different color observations (infrared, red, and blue) are taken at slightly different times. The differences between the earliest color observation and the last tell us about the changes that took place during that time interval. All this requires careful analysis, but if these dust devils are moving fast enough, and spaced closely enough, these here might display some interesting "social dynamics," possibly marching together and rotating in alternating directions. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20045

Dust Devils Whip by Spirit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2007-01-01

On sol 1120 (February 26, 2007), the navigation camera aboard NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured one of the best dust devils it's seen in its three-plus year mission. The series of navigation camera images were put together to make a dust devil movie.

The dust devil column is clearly defined and is clearly bent in the down wind direction. Near the end of the movie, the base of the dust devil becomes much wider. The atmospheric science team thinks that this is because the dust devil encountered some sand and therefore produced a 'saltation skirt,' an apron of material that is thrown out of the dust devil because it is too large to be carried up into suspension.

Also near the end of the movie the dust devil seems to move faster across the surface. This is because Spirit began taking pictures less frequently, and not because the dust devil sped up.

The riddle of Tasmanian languages

PubMed Central

Bowern, Claire

2012-01-01

Recent work which combines methods from linguistics and evolutionary biology has been fruitful in discovering the history of major language families because of similarities in evolutionary processes. Such work opens up new possibilities for language research on previously unsolvable problems, especially in areas where information from other sources may be lacking. I use phylogenetic methods to investigate Tasmanian languages. Existing materials are so fragmentary that scholars have been unable to discover how many languages are represented in the sources. Using a clustering algorithm which identifies admixture, source materials representing more than one language are identified. Using the Neighbor-Net algorithm, 12 languages are identified in five clusters. Bayesian phylogenetic methods reveal that the families are not demonstrably related; an important result, given the importance of Tasmanian Aborigines for information about how societies have responded to population collapse in prehistory. This work provides insight into the societies of prehistoric Tasmania and illustrates a new utility of phylogenetics in reconstructing linguistic history. PMID:23015621

Telomere Dynamics and Homeostasis in a Transmissible Cancer

PubMed Central

Ujvari, Beata; Pearse, Anne-Maree; Taylor, Robyn; Pyecroft, Stephen; Flanagan, Cassandra; Gombert, Sara; Papenfuss, Anthony T.; Madsen, Thomas; Belov, Katherine

2012-01-01

Background Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) is a unique clonal cancer that threatens the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) with extinction. This transmissible cancer is passed between individual devils by cell implantation during social interactions. The tumour arose in a Schwann cell of a single devil over 15 years ago and since then has expanded clonally, without showing signs of replicative senescence; in stark contrast to a somatic cell that displays a finite capacity for replication, known as the “Hayflick limit”. Methodology/Principal Findings In the present study we investigate the role of telomere length, measured as Telomere Copy Number (TCN), and telomerase and shelterin gene expression, as well as telomerase activity in maintaining hyperproliferation of Devil Facial Tumour (DFT) cells. Our results show that DFT cells have short telomeres. DFTD TCN does not differ between geographic regions or between strains. However, TCN has increased over time. Unlimited cell proliferation is likely to have been achieved through the observed up-regulation of the catalytic subunit of telomerase (TERT) and concomitant activation of telomerase. Up-regulation of the central component of shelterin, the TRF1-intercating nuclear factor 2 (TINF2) provides DFT a mechanism for telomere length homeostasis. The higher expression of both TERT and TINF2 may also protect DFT cells from genomic instability and enhance tumour proliferation. Conclusions/Significance DFT cells appear to monitor and regulate the length of individual telomeres: i.e. shorter telomeres are elongated by up-regulation of telomerase-related genes; longer telomeres are protected from further elongation by members of the shelterin complex, which may explain the lack of spatial and strain variation in DFT telomere copy number. The observed longitudinal increase in gene expression in DFT tissue samples and telomerase activity in DFT cell lines might indicate a

Telomere dynamics and homeostasis in a transmissible cancer.

PubMed

Ujvari, Beata; Pearse, Anne-Maree; Taylor, Robyn; Pyecroft, Stephen; Flanagan, Cassandra; Gombert, Sara; Papenfuss, Anthony T; Madsen, Thomas; Belov, Katherine

2012-01-01

Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) is a unique clonal cancer that threatens the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) with extinction. This transmissible cancer is passed between individual devils by cell implantation during social interactions. The tumour arose in a Schwann cell of a single devil over 15 years ago and since then has expanded clonally, without showing signs of replicative senescence; in stark contrast to a somatic cell that displays a finite capacity for replication, known as the "Hayflick limit". In the present study we investigate the role of telomere length, measured as Telomere Copy Number (TCN), and telomerase and shelterin gene expression, as well as telomerase activity in maintaining hyperproliferation of Devil Facial Tumour (DFT) cells. Our results show that DFT cells have short telomeres. DFTD TCN does not differ between geographic regions or between strains. However, TCN has increased over time. Unlimited cell proliferation is likely to have been achieved through the observed up-regulation of the catalytic subunit of telomerase (TERT) and concomitant activation of telomerase. Up-regulation of the central component of shelterin, the TRF1-intercating nuclear factor 2 (TINF2) provides DFT a mechanism for telomere length homeostasis. The higher expression of both TERT and TINF2 may also protect DFT cells from genomic instability and enhance tumour proliferation. DFT cells appear to monitor and regulate the length of individual telomeres: i.e. shorter telomeres are elongated by up-regulation of telomerase-related genes; longer telomeres are protected from further elongation by members of the shelterin complex, which may explain the lack of spatial and strain variation in DFT telomere copy number. The observed longitudinal increase in gene expression in DFT tissue samples and telomerase activity in DFT cell lines might indicate a selection for more stable tumours with higher proliferative potential.

A Mid-Summer's Dust Devil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2001-01-01

One objective for the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in the Extended Mission is to continue looking for changes and dynamic events taking place on the red planet. The feature shown here elicited gasps of excitement among the MOC Operations Staff when it was received in early April 2001.

The feature is a dust devil. Dust devils are spinning, columnar vortices of wind that move across the landscape, pick up dust, and look somewhat like miniature tornadoes. Dust devils are a common occurrence in dry and desert landscapes on Earth as well as Mars. When this dust devil was spied in Amazonis Planitia on April 10th, the MOC was looking straight down. Usually when the camera is looking down the dust devil will appear as a circular, fuzzy patch with a straight shadow indicating its columnar shape. In this case, however, the dust devil is somewhat curved and kinked--its shape is best seen in the shadow it casts to the right. A thin, light-toned track has been left by the dust devil as it moved eastward across the landscape. Usually, such tracks are darker than the surroundings, in this case the light tone might indicate that the dust being removed by the passing dust devil is darker than the surface underneath the thin veneer of dust.

Dust devils most typically form when the ground heats up during the day, warming the air immediately above the surface. As the warmed air nearest the surface begins to rise, it spins. The spinning column begins to move across the surface and picks up loose dust (if any is present). The dust makes the vortex visible and gives it the 'dust devil' or tornado-like appearance. This dust devil occurred at an optimal time for dust devils whether on Earth or Mars--around 2 p.m. local time in the middle of Northern Hemisphere Summer. North is up, sunlight illuminates the scene from the left (west), and 500 meters is about 547 yards. The shadow cast by the dust devil goes off the edge of the image, but the length shown

Summertime Dust Devil

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-464, 26 August 2003

Dust devils are spinning, columnar vortices of air that move across a landscape, picking up dust as they go. They are common occurrences during summer on Mars. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image, acquired during northern summer, shows a dust devil in the Phlegra region of Mars near 32.0oN, 182.1oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left; the dust devil is casting a columnar shadow toward the upper right. Some dust devils on Mars make streaks as they disrupt the fine coating of dust on the surface--but others do not make streaks. This one did not make a streak. The view shown here is 3 km (1.9 mi) wide.

Gusev Dust Devil, sol 532

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This movie clip shows a dust devil seen by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit during the rover's 532nd martian day, or sol (July 2, 2005). The dust-carrying whirlwind is moving across a plain inside Gusev Crater and viewed from Spirit's vantage point on hills rising from the plain. The clip consists of frames taken by Spirit's navigation camera, processed to enhance contrast for anything in the images that changes from frame to frame. The total elapsed time during the taking of these frames was 8 minutes, 48 seconds.

Spirit began seeing dust devil activity around the beginning of Mars' spring season. Activity increased as spring continued, but fell off again for about two weeks during a dust storm. As the dust storm faded away, dust devil activity came back. In the mid-afternoons as the summer solstice approached, dust devils were a very common occurrence on the floor of Gusev crater. The early-spring dust devils tended to move southwest-to-northeast, across the dust devil streaks in Gusev seen from orbit. Increasingly as the season progresses, the dust devils are seen moving northwest-to-southeast, in the same direction as the streaks. Scientists are watching for the big dust devils that leave those streaks.

Reconstructing the star knowledge of Aboriginal Tasmanians

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gantevoort, Michelle; Hamacher, Duane W.; Lischick, Savannah

2016-12-01

The canopy of stars is a central presence in the daily and spiritual lives of Aboriginal Tasmanians. With the arrival of European colonists, Tasmanian astronomical knowledge and traditions were interrupted and dispersed. Fragments can be found scattered in the ethnographic and historical record throughout the nineteenth century. We draw from these ethnohistorical documents to analyse and reconstruct Aboriginal astronomical knowledge in Tasmania. This analysis demonstrates that stars, the Milky Way, constellations, dark nebula, the Sun, Moon, meteors and aurorae held cultural, spiritual and subsistence significance for the Aboriginal cultures of Tasmania. We move beyond a monolithic view of Aboriginal astronomical knowledge in Tasmania, commonly portrayed in previous research, to lay the groundwork for future ethnographic and archaeological fieldwork with Aboriginal elders and communities.

Argyre Dust Devil Tracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-363, 17 May 2003

This summertime Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) view of the floor of Argyre Basin shows a plethora of dark streaks thought to have been created by the passage of dust devils. Dust devils are vortices of wind--just as a tornado is a vortex of wind associated with stormy weather on Earth, and the spiraling of water down a bathtub drain is a vortex in a liquid. Dust devils usually form on Mars on relatively calm, quiet, spring and summer afternoons. The passage of a dust devil picks up and disturbs the thin coatings of dust on the martian surface, forming streaks that mark the path that the moving dust devil took. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is located near 48.5oS, 43.0oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Particle Lifting Processes in Dust Devils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neakrase, L. D. V.; Balme, M. R.; Esposito, F.; Kelling, T.; Klose, M.; Kok, J. F.; Marticorena, B.; Merrison, J.; Patel, M.; Wurm, G.

2016-11-01

Particle lifting in dust devils on both Earth and Mars has been studied from many different perspectives, including how dust devils could influence the dust cycles of both planets. Here we review our current understanding of particle entrainment by dust devils by examining results from field observations on Earth and Mars, laboratory experiments (at terrestrial ambient and Mars-analog conditions), and analytical modeling. By combining insights obtained from these three methodologies, we provide a detailed overview on interactions between particle lifting processes due to mechanical, thermal, electrodynamical and pressure effects, and how these processes apply to dust devils on Earth and Mars. Experiments and observations have shown dust devils to be effective lifters of dust given the proper conditions on Earth and Mars. However, dust devil studies have yet to determine the individual roles of each of the component processes acting at any given time in dust devils.

Dust Devil Tracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiss, Dennis; Fenton, Lori; Neakrase, Lynn; Zimmerman, Michael; Statella, Thiago; Whelley, Patrick; Rossi, Angelo Pio; Balme, Matthew

2016-11-01

Dust devils that leave dark- or light-toned tracks are common on Mars and they can also be found on the Earth's surface. Dust devil tracks (hereinafter DDTs) are ephemeral surface features with mostly sub-annual lifetimes. Regarding their size, DDT widths can range between ˜1 m and ˜1 km, depending on the diameter of dust devil that created the track, and DDT lengths range from a few tens of meters to several kilometers, limited by the duration and horizontal ground speed of dust devils. DDTs can be classified into three main types based on their morphology and albedo in contrast to their surroundings; all are found on both planets: (a) dark continuous DDTs, (b) dark cycloidal DDTs, and (c) bright DDTs. Dark continuous DDTs are the most common type on Mars. They are characterized by their relatively homogenous and continuous low albedo surface tracks. Based on terrestrial and martian in situ studies, these DDTs most likely form when surficial dust layers are removed to expose larger-grained substrate material (coarse sands of ≥500 μm in diameter). The exposure of larger-grained materials changes the photometric properties of the surface; hence leading to lower albedo tracks because grain size is photometrically inversely proportional to the surface reflectance. However, although not observed so far, compositional differences (i.e., color differences) might also lead to albedo contrasts when dust is removed to expose substrate materials with mineralogical differences. For dark continuous DDTs, albedo drop measurements are around 2.5 % in the wavelength range of 550-850 nm on Mars and around 0.5 % in the wavelength range from 300-1100 nm on Earth. The removal of an equivalent layer thickness around 1 μm is sufficient for the formation of visible dark continuous DDTs on Mars and Earth. The next type of DDTs, dark cycloidal DDTs, are characterized by their low albedo pattern of overlapping scallops. Terrestrial in situ studies imply that they are formed when sand

Diurnal variation in martian dust devil activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, R. M.; Lewis, S. R.; Balme, M.; Steele, L. J.

2017-08-01

We show that the dust devil parameterisation in use in most Mars Global Circulation Models (MGCMs) results in an unexpectedly high level of dust devil activity during morning hours. Prior expectations of the diurnal variation of Martian dust devils are based mainly upon the observed behaviour of terrestrial dust devils: i.e. that the majority occur during the afternoon. We instead find that large areas of the Martian surface experience dust devil activity during the morning in our MGCM, and that many locations experience a peak in dust devil activity before mid-sol. We find that the diurnal variation in dust devil activity is governed by near-surface wind speeds. Within the range of daylight hours, higher wind speeds tend to produce higher levels of dust devil activity, rather than the activity simply being governed by the availability of heat at the planet's surface, which peaks in early afternoon. Evidence for whether the phenomenon we observe is real or an artefact of the parameterisation is inconclusive. We compare our results with surface-based observations of Martian dust devil timings and obtain a good match with the majority of surveys. We do not find a good match with orbital observations, which identify a diurnal distribution more closely matching that of terrestrial dust devils, but orbital observations have limited temporal coverage, biased towards the early afternoon. We propose that the generally accepted description of dust devil behaviour on Mars is incomplete, and that theories of dust devil formation may need to be modified specifically for the Martian environment. Further surveys of dust devil observations are required to support any such modifications. These surveys should include both surface and orbital observations, and the range of observations must encompass the full diurnal period and consider the wider meteorological context surrounding the observations.

Sol 568 Dust Devil in Gusev, Unenhanced

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This movie clip shows several dust devils moving from right to left across a plain inside Mars' Gusev Crater, as seen from the vantage point of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in hills rising from the plain. The clip consists of frames taken by Spirit's navigation camera during the rover's 543rd martian day, or sol (July 13, 2005). Unlike some other movie clips of dust devils seen by Spirit, the images in this clip have not been processed to enhance contrast of the dust devils. The total time elapsed during the taking of these frames was 12 minutes, 17 seconds.

Spirit began seeing dust devil activity around the beginning of Mars' spring season. Activity increased as spring continued, but fell off again for about two weeks during a dust storm. As the dust storm faded away, dust devil activity came back. In the mid-afternoons as the summer solstice approached, dust devils were a very common occurrence on the floor of Gusev crater. The early-spring dust devils tended to move southwest-to-northeast, across the dust devil streaks in Gusev seen from orbit. Increasingly as the season progresses, the dust devils are seen moving northwest-to-southeast, in the same direction as the streaks. Scientists are watching for the big dust devils that leave those streaks.

Dust Devils Seen Streaking Across Mars: PART II--They're the Work of the Devil!

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

In December 1999, the MOC team finally had an answer! A dust devil, shown in the above left figure, was caught in the act of creating a swirly, dark streak! An eerie sensation washed over the first team members who saw this picture--here was an event on Mars 'caught in the act' just hours before the picture was played back to Earth. A 'smoking gun.'

The first dust devil seen making a streak--located in Promethei Terra (above, left)--was traveling from right (east) to left (west). A columnar shadow was cast by sunlight coming from the upper left. This shadow indicates the true shape of the dust devil. The bright dust devil itself does not look like a column because the picture was taken from a camera looking straight down on it. The dust devil is less than 100 meters (less than 100 yards) wide and the picture covers an area approximately 1.5 by 1.7 kilometers (about 1 by 1 mile).

Dust devils are spinning, columnar vortices of wind that move across the landscape, pick up dust, and look somewhat like miniature tornadoes. Dust devils are a common occurrence in dry and desert landscapes on Earth as well as Mars. They form when the ground heats up during the day, warming the air immediately above the surface. As the warmed air nearest the surface begins to rise, it spins. The spinning column begins to move across the surface and picks up loose dust (if any is present). The dust makes the vortex visible and gives it the 'dust devil' or tornado-like appearance. On Earth, dust devils typically last for only a few minutes.

The fourth picture (above, right) shows a surface in southwestern Terra Sirenum near 63oS, 168oW, that has seen the activity of so many dust devils that it looks like a plate of dark gray spaghetti. This image, taken in early summer during February 2000, covers an area 3 km wide and 30 km long (1.9 by 19 miles). In fact, a dust devil

Dust Devil Tracks

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-02-20

Today's VIS image shows dust devil tracks on the plains of Aonia Terra. As the dust devil moves across the surface it scours the fine dust particles, revealing the darker rock surface below. Orbit Number: 66800 Latitude: -65.2605 Longitude: 239.338 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-01-04 04:52 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21316

Sympathy for the devil: a conservation strategy for devil and manta rays

PubMed Central

Lawson, Julia M.; Fordham, Sonja V.; O’Malley, Mary P.; Davidson, Lindsay N.K.; Walls, Rachel H.L.; Heupel, Michelle R.; Stevens, Guy; Fernando, Daniel; Budziak, Ania; Simpfendorfer, Colin A.; Ender, Isabel; Francis, Malcolm P.; Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe

2017-01-01

Background International trade for luxury products, medicines, and tonics poses a threat to both terrestrial and marine wildlife. The demand for and consumption of gill plates (known as Peng Yu Sai, “Fish Gill of Mobulid Ray”) from devil and manta rays (subfamily Mobulinae, collectively referred to as mobulids) poses a significant threat to these marine fishes because of their extremely low productivity. The demand for these gill plates has driven an international trade supplied by largely unmonitored and unregulated catches from target and incidental fisheries around the world. Scientific research, conservation campaigns, and legal protections for devil rays have lagged behind those for manta rays despite similar threats across all mobulids. Methods To investigate the difference in attention given to devil rays and manta rays, we examined trends in the scientific literature and updated species distribution maps for all mobulids. Using available information on target and incidental fisheries, and gathering information on fishing and trade regulations (at international, national, and territorial levels), we examined how threats and protective measures overlap with species distribution. We then used a species conservation planning approach to develop the Global Devil and Manta Ray Conservation Strategy, specifying a vision, goals, objectives, and actions to advance the knowledge and protection of both devil and manta rays. Results and Discussion Our literature review revealed that there had been nearly 2.5-times more “manta”-titled publications, than “mobula” or “devil ray”-titled publications over the past 4.5 years (January 2012–June 2016). The majority of these recent publications were reports on occurrence of mobulid species. These publications contributed to updated Area of Occupancy and Extent of Occurrence maps which showed expanded distributions for most mobulid species and overlap between the two genera. While several international

Sympathy for the devil: a conservation strategy for devil and manta rays.

PubMed

Lawson, Julia M; Fordham, Sonja V; O'Malley, Mary P; Davidson, Lindsay N K; Walls, Rachel H L; Heupel, Michelle R; Stevens, Guy; Fernando, Daniel; Budziak, Ania; Simpfendorfer, Colin A; Ender, Isabel; Francis, Malcolm P; Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe; Dulvy, Nicholas K

2017-01-01

International trade for luxury products, medicines, and tonics poses a threat to both terrestrial and marine wildlife. The demand for and consumption of gill plates (known as Peng Yu Sai , "Fish Gill of Mobulid Ray") from devil and manta rays (subfamily Mobulinae, collectively referred to as mobulids) poses a significant threat to these marine fishes because of their extremely low productivity. The demand for these gill plates has driven an international trade supplied by largely unmonitored and unregulated catches from target and incidental fisheries around the world. Scientific research, conservation campaigns, and legal protections for devil rays have lagged behind those for manta rays despite similar threats across all mobulids. To investigate the difference in attention given to devil rays and manta rays, we examined trends in the scientific literature and updated species distribution maps for all mobulids. Using available information on target and incidental fisheries, and gathering information on fishing and trade regulations (at international, national, and territorial levels), we examined how threats and protective measures overlap with species distribution. We then used a species conservation planning approach to develop the Global Devil and Manta Ray Conservation Strategy, specifying a vision, goals, objectives, and actions to advance the knowledge and protection of both devil and manta rays. Our literature review revealed that there had been nearly 2.5-times more "manta"-titled publications, than "mobula" or "devil ray"-titled publications over the past 4.5 years (January 2012-June 2016). The majority of these recent publications were reports on occurrence of mobulid species. These publications contributed to updated Area of Occupancy and Extent of Occurrence maps which showed expanded distributions for most mobulid species and overlap between the two genera. While several international protections have recently expanded to include all mobulids, there

Dust Devil Tracks

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-03-06

This image captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows dust devil tracks in Aonia Terra. As the dust devil moves along the surface it scours the dust and fine materials away, revealing the darker rocky surface below the dust. Orbit Number: 66962 Latitude: -68.8221 Longitude: 241.346 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-01-17 13:13 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21501

How Do Martian Dust Devils Vary Throughout the Sol?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapman, R.; Lewis, S.; Balme, M. R.; Steele, L.

2016-12-01

Dust devils are vortices of air made visible by entrained dust particles. Dust devils have been observed on Earth and captured in many Mars lander and orbiter images. Martian dust devils may be important to the global climate and are parameterised within Mars Global Circulation Models (MGCMs). We show that the dust devil parameterisation in use within most MGCMs results in an unexpectedly high level of dust devil activity during morning hours. In contrast to expectations, based on the observed behaviour of terrestrial dust devils and the diurnal maximum thermal contrast at the surface, we find that large areas of the modelled Martian surface experience dust devil activity during the morning as well as in the afternoon, and that many locations experience a peak in dust devil activity before mid-sol. Using the UK MGCM, we study the amount of surface dust lifted by dust devils throughout the diurnal cycle as a proxy for the level of dust devil activity occurring. We compare the diurnal variation in dust devil activity with the diurnal variation of the variables included in the dust devil parameterisation. We find that the diurnal variation in dust devil activity is strongly modulated by near-surface wind speeds. Within the range of daylight hours, higher wind speeds tend to produce more dust devil activity, rather than the activity simply being governed by the availability of heat at the planet's surface, which peaks in early afternoon. We compare our results with observations of Martian dust devil timings and obtain a good match with the majority of surface-based surveys. We do not find such a good match with orbital observations, but these data tend to be biased in their temporal coverage. We propose that the generally accepted description of dust devil behaviour on Mars is incomplete, and that theories of dust devil formation may need to be modified specifically for the Martian environment. Further dust devil observations are required to support any such

The devil to pay: a cost of mutualism with Myrmelachista schumanni ants in 'devil's gardens' is increased herbivory on Duroia hirsuta trees.

PubMed

Frederickson, Megan E; Gordon, Deborah M

2007-04-22

'Devil's gardens' are nearly pure stands of the myrmecophyte, Duroia hirsuta, that occur in Amazonian rainforests. Devil's gardens are created by Myrmelachista schumanni ants, which nest in D. hirsuta trees and kill other plants using formic acid as an herbicide. Here, we show that this ant-plant mutualism has an associated cost; by making devil's gardens, M. schumanni increases herbivory on D. hirsuta. We measured standing leaf herbivory on D. hirsuta trees and found that they sustain higher herbivory inside than outside devil's gardens. We also measured the rate of herbivory on nursery-grown D. hirsuta saplings planted inside and outside devil's gardens in ant-exclusion and control treatments. We found that when we excluded ants, herbivory on D. hirsuta was higher inside than outside devil's gardens. These results suggest that devil's gardens are a concentrated resource for herbivores. Myrmelachista schumanni workers defend D. hirsuta against herbivores, but do not fully counterbalance the high herbivore pressure in devil's gardens. We suggest that high herbivory may limit the spread of devil's gardens, possibly explaining why devil's gardens do not overrun Amazonian rainforests.

Laser Doppler dust devil measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bilbro, J. W.; Jeffreys, H. B.; Kaufman, J. W.; Weaver, E. A.

1977-01-01

A scanning laser doppler velocimeter (SLDV) system was used to detect, track, and measure the velocity flow field of naturally occurring tornado-like flows (dust devils) in the atmosphere. A general description of the dust devil phenomenon is given along with a description of the test program, measurement system, and data processing techniques used to collect information on the dust devil flow field. The general meteorological conditions occurring during the test program are also described, and the information collected on two selected dust devils are discussed in detail to show the type of information which can be obtained with a SLDV system. The results from these measurements agree well with those of other investigators and illustrate the potential for the SLDV in future endeavors.

Gusev Dust Devil Movie, Sol 459 (Enhanced)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This movie clip shows a dust devil scooting across a plain inside Gusev Crater on Mars as seen from the NASA rover Spirit's hillside vantage point during the rover's 459th martian day, or sol (April 18, 2005). The individual images were taken about 20 seconds apart by Spirit's navigation camera, and the contrast has been enhanced for anything in the images that changes from frame to frame, that is, for the dust devil.

The movie results from a new way of watching for dust devils, which are whirlwinds that hoist dust from the surface into the air. Spirit began seeing dust devils in isolated images in March 2005. At first, the rover team relied on luck. It might catch a dust devil in an image or it might miss by a few minutes. Using the new detection strategy, the rover takes a series of 21 images. Spirit sends a few of them to Earth, as well as little thumbnail images of all of them. Team members use the 3 big images and all the small images to decide whether the additional big images have dust devils. For this movie, they specifically told Spirit to send back frames that they knew had dust devils.

The images were processed in three steps. All images were calibrated to remove known camera artifacts. The images were then processed to remove stationary objects. The result is a gray scene showing only features that change with time. The final step combined the original image with the image that shows only moving features, showing the martian scene and the enhanced dust devils.

Scientists expected dust devils since before Spirit landed. The landing area inside Gusev Crater is filled with dark streaks left behind when dust devils pick dust up from an area. It is also filled with bright 'hollows,' which are dust-filled miniature craters. Dust covers most of the terrain. Winds flow into and out of Gusev crater every day. The Sun heats the surface so that the surface is warm to the touch even though the atmosphere at 2 meters (6 feet) above the surface

Gusev Dust Devil Movie, Sol 456 (Enhanced)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This movie clip shows a dust devil scooting across a plain inside Gusev Crater on Mars as seen from the NASA rover Spirit's hillside vantage point during the rover's 456th martian day, or sol (April 15, 2005). The individual images were taken about 20 seconds apart by Spirit's navigation camera, and the contrast has been enhanced for anything in the images that changes from frame to frame, that is, for the dust devil.

The movie results from a new way of watching for dust devils, which are whirlwinds that hoist dust from the surface into the air. Spirit began seeing dust devils in isolated images in March 2005. At first, the rover team relied on luck. It might catch a dust devil in an image or it might miss by a few minutes. Using the new detection strategy, the rover takes a series of 21 images. Spirit sends a few of them to Earth, as well as little thumbnail images of all of them. Team members use the 3 big images and all the small images to decide whether the additional big images have dust devils. For this movie, they specifically told Spirit to send back frames that they knew had dust devils.

The images were processed in three steps. All images were calibrated to remove known camera artifacts. The images were then processed to remove stationary objects. The result is a gray scene showing only features that change with time. The final step combined the original image with the image that shows only moving features, showing the martian scene and the enhanced dust devils.

Scientists expected dust devils since before Spirit landed. The landing area inside Gusev Crater is filled with dark streaks left behind when dust devils pick dust up from an area. It is also filled with bright 'hollows,' which are dust-filled miniature craters. Dust covers most of the terrain. Winds flow into and out of Gusev crater every day. The Sun heats the surface so that the surface is warm to the touch even though the atmosphere at 2 meters (6 feet) above the surface

Automatic detection of typical dust devils from Mars landscape images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogohara, Kazunori; Watanabe, Takeru; Okumura, Susumu; Hatanaka, Yuji

2018-02-01

This paper presents an improved algorithm for automatic detection of Martian dust devils that successfully extracts tiny bright dust devils and obscured large dust devils from two subtracted landscape images. These dust devils are frequently observed using visible cameras onboard landers or rovers. Nevertheless, previous research on automated detection of dust devils has not focused on these common types of dust devils, but on dust devils that appear on images to be irregularly bright and large. In this study, we detect these common dust devils automatically using two kinds of parameter sets for thresholding when binarizing subtracted images. We automatically extract dust devils from 266 images taken by the Spirit rover to evaluate our algorithm. Taking dust devils detected by visual inspection to be ground truth, the precision, recall and F-measure values are 0.77, 0.86, and 0.81, respectively.

"Half-Pregnant with Bartlett's Baby": Contested Policies in Tasmanian Post-Secondary Education--2007-2010--Through the Lens of Kingdon's "Agendas"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodwell, Grant

2011-01-01

Tasmania Tomorrow was highly politicised, and Tasmanian post-secondary education policy became a central issue in the 2010 state elections. The purpose of this paper was to analyse the dynamics of Tasmanian post-secondary education policy, and determine what education policy analysts can learn from this episode in Tasmanian education history.…

The devil to pay: a cost of mutualism with Myrmelachista schumanni ants in ‘devil's gardens’ is increased herbivory on Duroia hirsuta trees

PubMed Central

Frederickson, Megan E; Gordon, Deborah M

2007-01-01

‘Devil's gardens’ are nearly pure stands of the myrmecophyte, Duroia hirsuta, that occur in Amazonian rainforests. Devil's gardens are created by Myrmelachista schumanni ants, which nest in D. hirsuta trees and kill other plants using formic acid as an herbicide. Here, we show that this ant–plant mutualism has an associated cost; by making devil's gardens, M. schumanni increases herbivory on D. hirsuta. We measured standing leaf herbivory on D. hirsuta trees and found that they sustain higher herbivory inside than outside devil's gardens. We also measured the rate of herbivory on nursery-grown D. hirsuta saplings planted inside and outside devil's gardens in ant-exclusion and control treatments. We found that when we excluded ants, herbivory on D. hirsuta was higher inside than outside devil's gardens. These results suggest that devil's gardens are a concentrated resource for herbivores. Myrmelachista schumanni workers defend D. hirsuta against herbivores, but do not fully counterbalance the high herbivore pressure in devil's gardens. We suggest that high herbivory may limit the spread of devil's gardens, possibly explaining why devil's gardens do not overrun Amazonian rainforests. PMID:17301016

The development of the 1999 management plan for the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (Australia)

Treesearch

Nicholas Sawyer

2000-01-01

This paper describes the multi-stage public consultation process and other aspects of the development by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service of the second (1999) management plan for the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (Australia). It describes the background to, and rationale for, the process used in developing the plan; it details the consultation...

Dust Devils Seen by Spirit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Figure 1 Annotated

At the Gusev site recently, skies have been very dusty, and on its 421st sol (March 10, 2005) NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit spied two dust devils in action. This pair of images is from the rover's rear hazard-avoidance camera. Views of the Gusev landing region from orbit show many dark streaks across the landscape -- tracks where dust devils have removed surface dust to show relatively darker soil below -- but this is the first time Spirit has photographed an active dust devil.

Scientists are considering several causes of these small phenomena. Dust devils often occur when the Sun heats the surface of Mars. Warmed soil and rocks heat the layer of atmosphere closest to the surface, and the warm air rises in a whirling motion, stirring dust up from the surface like a miniature tornado. Another possibility is that a flow structure might develop over craters as wind speeds increase. As winds pick up, turbulence eddies and rotating columns of air form. As these columns grow in diameter they become taller and gain rotational speed. Eventually they become self-sustaining and the wind blows them down range.

One sol before this image was taken, power output from Spirit's solar panels went up by about 50 percent when the amount of dust on the panels decreased. Was this a coincidence, or did a helpful dust devil pass over Spirit and lift off some of the dust?

By comparing the separate images from the rover's different cameras, team members estimate that the dust devils moved about 500 meters (1,640 feet) in the 155 seconds between the navigation camera and hazard-avoidance camera frames; that equates to about 3 meters per second (7 miles per hour). The dust devils appear to be about 1,100 meters (almost three-quarters of a mile) from the rover.

Dust devils on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, P. G.; Gierasch, P.

1985-01-01

Large columns of dust have been discovered rising above plains on Mars. The storms are probably analogous to terrestrial dust devils, but their size indicates that they are more similar to tornadoes in intensity. They occur at locations where the soil has been strongly warmed by the Sun, and there the surface is smooth and fine grained. These are the same conditions that favor dust devils on Earth. Warm gas from the lowest atmospheric layer converges and rises in a thin column, with intense swirl developing at the edge of the column. In one area a mosaic of Viking images shows 97 vortices in a three day period. This represents a density of vortices of about one in each 900 square kilometers. Thus, these dust devils may be important in moving dust or starting over dust storms.

Dust Devils in Gusev Crater, Sol 463

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This movie clip shows a several dust devils -- whirlwinds that loft dust into the air -- moving across a plain below the hillside vantage point of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. Several of the dust devils are visible at once in some of the frames in this sequence. The local solar time was about 2 p.m., when the ground temperature was high enough to cause turbulence that kicks up dust devils as the wind blows across the plain. The number of seconds elapsed since the first frame is indicated at lower left of the images, typically 20 seconds between frames. Spirit's navigation camera took these images on the rover's 463rd martian day, or sol (April 22, 2005.) Contrast has been enhanced for anything in the images that changes from frame to frame, that is, for the dust devil.

Scientists expected dust devils since before Spirit landed. The landing area inside Gusev Crater is filled with dark streaks left behind when dust devils pick dust up from an area. It is also filled with bright 'hollows,' which are dust-filled miniature craters. Dust covers most of the terrain. Winds flow into and out of Gusev crater every day. The Sun heats the surface so that the surface is warm to the touch even though the atmosphere at 2 meters (6 feet) above the surface would be chilly. That temperature contrast causes convection. Mixing the dust, winds, and convection can trigger dust devils.

Dust Devil Track Occurrence in Argyre Planitia.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whelley, P. L.; Balme, M. R.; Greeley, R.

2002-12-01

Martian dust devil tracks were first observed in Viking Orbiter images [Thomas et al., 1985]. While the interpretation of these features was at first controversial, it is now widely accepted that the tracks are formed by the passage of small convective vortices (dust devils). As the dust devils travel across the surface the atmosphere is loaded with fine particles creating a visible trail inferred to be removal or deposition of material [Greeley et al., 2001]. Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbital Camera (MOC) images of dust devil tracks in Argyre Planitia were used to asses dust devil track abundance as a function of Martian season as well as elevation using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. Argyre Planitia is a large impact basin in the southern hemisphere (55° to 33°W and 35° to 58°S), with topographic relief of 7 km with the median at -1km. We have studied the 564 Narrow Angle MOC images (taken as of summer 2002) covering the area. The images were divided into two categories: those with devil tracks and those without. The Ls (solar longitude degrees as a fraction of orbit) and elevation of all of the images with and without devil tracks were noted. The elevation was recorded at the center point of each MOC image using MOLA data. A polar plot of all of the images shows a statistically random distribution throughout the Martian year. A context map of the images shows a representative distribution over the area of the crater itself. A polar plot of dust devil track occurrence within the area observed shows a major concentration of tracks between Ls 200° and 360° (southern spring to late summer). A seasonal breakdown of devil track occurrence as a percentage of total area observed yields: fall 11.25%, winter 2.24%, spring 27.21%, and summer 46.49%. We therefore conclude that dust devils tracks are formed preferentially in summer and are destroyed, fade or are covered, over a period of a few months. The elevation of all 564 images was measured and 1

Temporal and spatial characteristics of dust devils and their contribution to the aerosol budget in East Asia-An analysis using a new parameterization scheme for dust devils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Yaoguo; Han, Yongxiang; Liu, Zhaohuan

2018-06-01

Dust aerosols are the main aerosol components of the atmosphere that affect climate change, but the contribution of dust devils to the atmospheric dust aerosol budget is uncertain. In this study, a new parameterization scheme for dust devils was established and coupled with WRF-Chem, and the diurnal and monthly variations and the contribution of dust devils to the atmospheric dust aerosol budget in East Asia was simulated. The results show that 1) both the diurnal and monthly variations in dust devil emissions in East Asia had unimodal distributions, with peaks in the afternoon and the summer that were similar to the observations; 2) the simulated dust devils occurred frequently in deserts, including the Gobi. The distributed area and the intensity center of the dust devil moved from east to west during the day; 3) the ratio between the availability of convective buoyancy relative to the frictional dissipation was the main factor that limited the presence of dust devils. The position of the dust devil formation, the surface temperature, and the boundary layer height determined the dust devil intensity; 4) the contribution of dust devils to atmospheric dust aerosols determined in East Asia was 30.4 ± 13%, thereby suggesting that dust devils contribute significantly to the total amount of atmospheric dust aerosols. Although the new parameterization scheme for dust devils was rough, it was helpful for understanding the distribution of dust devils and their contribution to the dust aerosol budget.

Martian Arctic Dust Devil, Phoenix Sol 104

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

The Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander caught this dust devil in action west-southwest of the lander at 11:16 a.m. local Mars time on Sol 104, or the 104th Martian day of the mission, Sept. 9, 2008.

Dust devils have not been detected in any Phoenix images from earlier in the mission, but at least six were observed in a dozen images taken on Sol 104.

Dust devils are whirlwinds that often occur when the Sun heats the surface of Mars, or some areas on Earth. The warmed surface heats the layer of atmosphere closest to it, and the warm air rises in a whirling motion, stirring dust up from the surface like a miniature tornado.

The dust devil visible in the center of this image just below the horizon is estimated to be about 400 meters (about 1,300 feet) from Phoenix, and 4 meters (13 feet) in diameter. It is much smaller than dust devils that have been observed by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit much closer to the equator. It is closer in size to dust devils seen from orbit in the Phoenix landing region, though still smaller than those.

The image has been enhanced to make the dust devil easier to see.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

First Dust Devil Seen by Opportunity

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-07-28

This is the first dust devil that NASA rover Opportunity has observed in the rover six and a half years on Mars. This image has been carefully calibrated and the contrast stretched to make the dust devil easier to see against the Martian sky.

Martian Dust Devil Movie, Phoenix Sol 104

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

The Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander caught this dust devil in action west of the lander in four frames shot about 50 seconds apart from each other between 11:53 a.m. and 11:56 a.m. local Mars time on Sol 104, or the 104th Martian day of the mission, Sept. 9, 2008.

Dust devils have not been detected in any Phoenix images from earlier in the mission, but at least six were observed in a dozen images taken on Sol 104.

Dust devils are whirlwinds that often occur when the Sun heats the surface of Mars, or some areas on Earth. The warmed surface heats the layer of atmosphere closest to it, and the warm air rises in a whirling motion, stirring dust up from the surface like a miniature tornado.

The dust devil visible in this sequence was about 1,000 meters (about 3,300 feet) from the lander when the first frame was taken, and had moved to about 1,700 meters (about 5,600 feet) away by the time the last frame was taken about two and a half minutes later. The dust devil was moving westward at an estimated speed of 5 meters per second (11 miles per hour), which is similar to typical late-morning wind speed and direction indicated by the telltale wind gauge on Phoenix.

This dust devil is about 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter. This is much smaller than dust devils that have been observed by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit much closer to the equator. It is closer in size to dust devils seen from orbit in the Phoenix landing region, though still smaller than those..

The image has been enhanced to make the dust devil easier to see. Some of the frame-to-frame differences in the appearance of foreground rocks is because each frame was taken through a different color filter.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Martian Dust Devils: 2 Mars Years of MGS MOC Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cantor, B. A.; Edgett, K. S.

2002-12-01

Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide and narrow angle images have captured more than 1000 active dust devils over 2 Mars years. In the most recent Mars year, we repeatedly imaged (and are continuing to image) several areas to monitor dust devil occurrence. Some Mars dust devils are as small as a few to 10s of meters across, others are 100s of meters across and over 6 km high. Each Martian hemisphere has a "dust devil season" that generally follows the subsolar latitude. An exception is NW Amazonis, which has frequent, large dust devils throughout northern spring and summer (probably every afternoon; observations are acquired 2-3 times a week). The Amazonis and other MOC observations show no evidence that dust devils cause, lead to, or have a systematic relationship with dust storms. However, dust devils sometimes do occur near small, localized storms; and one specific relation occurred during the onset of the global dust events of 2001: slightly elevated levels of atmospheric dust (an optically thin cloud) triggered a very short period of dust devil activity in NW Amazonis in early northern autumn. The redistribution of dust by the 2001 global events may have also affected subsequent spring and summer dust devil activity in Hellas, where considerably fewer dust devils occurred in 2001-2002 than 1999-2000. In SW Syria, frequent, large dust devils occurred after the 2001 global events and persisted through southern summer. While dust devils have no specific relation to dust storms, they might play a role in the seasonal "wave of darkening" at middle and high latitudes by removing or disrupting thin veneers of dust. Dust devils have been observed to create thin, filamentary streaks. Some streaks are darker than their surroundings, while others are lighter. Some dust devils do not create streaks. At mid-latitudes, surfaces darken in spring as 100s of crisscrossing streaks form on widely-varied terrain. Some rare streaks exhibit cycloidal patterns

Using an Instrumented Drone to Sample Dust Devils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Brian; Lorenz, Ralph; Davis, Karan; Lipple, Brock

2017-10-01

Dust devils are low-pressure, small (many to tens of meters) convective vortices powered by surface heating and rendered visible by lofted dust. Dust devils occur in arid climates on Earth, where they degrade air quality and pose a hazard to small aircraft. They also occur ubiquitously on Mars, where they may dominate the supply of atmospheric dust. Since dust contributes significantly to Mars’ atmospheric heat budget, dust devils probably play an important role in its climate. The dust-lifting capacity of a devil likely depends sensitively on its structure, particularly the wind and pressure profiles, but the exact dependencies are poorly constrained. Thus, the exact contribution to Mars’ atmosphere remains unresolved. Moreover, most previous studies of martian dust devils have relied on passive sampling of the profiles via meteorology packages on landed spacecraft, resulting in random encounter geometries which non-trivially skew the retrieved profiles. Analog studies of terrestrial devils have employed more active sampling (instrumented vehicles or manned aircraft) but have been limited to near-surface (few meters) or relatively high altitude (hundreds of meters) sampling. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, combined with miniature, digital instrumentation, promise a novel and uniquely powerful platform from which to sample dust devils via (relatively) controlled geometries at a wide variety of altitudes. In this presentation, we will describe a pilot study using an instrumented quadcopter on an active field site in southeastern Oregon, which (to our knowledge) has not previously been surveyed for dust devils. We will present preliminary results from the resulting encounters, including stereo image analysis and encounter footage collected onboard the drone.

An investigation of Martian and terrestrial dust devils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ringrose, Timothy John

2004-10-01

It is the purpose of this work to provide an insight into the theoretical and practical dynamics of dust devils and how they are detected remotely from orbit or in situ on planetary surfaces. There is particular interest in the detection of convective vortices on Mars; this has been driven by involvement in the development of the Beagle 2 Environmental Sensor Suite. This suite of sensors is essentially a martian weather station and will be the first planetary lander experiment specifically looking for the presence of dust devils on Mars. Dust devils are characterised by their visible dusty core and intense rotation. The physics of particle motion, including dust lofting and the rotational dynamics within convective vortices are explained and modelled. This modelling has helped in identifying dust devils in meteorological data from both terrestrial and martian investigations. An automated technique for dust devil detection using meteorological data has been developed. This technique searches data looking for the specific vortex signature as well as detecting other transient events. This method has been tested on both terrestrial and martian data with surprising results. 38 possible convective vortices were detected in the first 60 sols of the Viking Lander 2 meteorological data. Tests were also carried out on data from a terrestrial dust devil campaign, which provided conclusive evidence from visual observations of the reliability of this technique. A considerable amount of this work does focus on terrestrial vortices. This is to aid in the understanding of dust devils, specifically how, why and when they form. Both laboratory and terrestrial fieldwork is investigated, providing useful data on the general structure of dust devils.

Gusev Dust Devil Movie, Sol 456 (Plain and Isolated)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This movie clip shows a dust devil scooting across a plain inside Gusev Crater on Mars as seen from the NASA rover Spirit's hillside vantage point during the rover's 456th martian day, or sol (April 15, 2005). The individual images were taken about 20 seconds apart by Spirit's navigation camera. Each frame in this movie has the raw image on the top half and a processed version in the lower half that enhances contrast and removes stationary objects, producing an image that is uniformly gray except for features that change from frame to frame.

The movie results from a new way of watching for dust devils, which are whirlwinds that hoist dust from the surface into the air. Spirit began seeing dust devils in isolated images in March 2005. At first, the rover team relied on luck. It might catch a dust devil in an image or it might miss by a few minutes. Using the new detection strategy, the rover takes a series of 21 images. Spirit sends a few of them to Earth, as well as little thumbnail images of all of them. Team members use the 3 big images and all the small images to decide whether the additional big images have dust devils. For this movie, they specifically told Spirit to send back frames that they knew had dust devils.

Scientists expected dust devils since before Spirit landed. The landing area inside Gusev Crater is filled with dark streaks left behind when dust devils pick dust up from an area. It is also filled with bright 'hollows,' which are dust-filled miniature craters. Dust covers most of the terrain. Winds flow into and out of Gusev crater every day. The Sun heats the surface so that the surface is warm to the touch even though the atmosphere at 2 meters (6 feet) above the surface would be chilly. That temperature contrast causes convection. Mixing the dust, winds, and convection should trigger dust devils.

Scientists will use the images to study several things. Tracking the dust devils tells which way the wind blows at different times

Gusev Dust Devil Movie, Sol 459 (Plain and Isolated)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This movie clip shows a dust devil scooting across a plain inside Gusev Crater on Mars as seen from the NASA rover Spirit's hillside vantage point during the rover's 459th martian day, or sol (April 18, 2005). The individual images were taken about 20 seconds apart by Spirit's navigation camera. Each frame in this movie has the raw image on the top half and a processed version in the lower half that enhances contrast and removes stationary objects, producing an image that is uniformly gray except for features that change from frame to frame.

The movie results from a new way of watching for dust devils, which are whirlwinds that hoist dust from the surface into the air. Spirit began seeing dust devils in isolated images in March 2005. At first, the rover team relied on luck. It might catch a dust devil in an image or it might miss by a few minutes. Using the new detection strategy, the rover takes a series of 21 images. Spirit sends a few of them to Earth, as well as little thumbnail images of all of them. Team members use the 3 big images and all the small images to decide whether the additional big images have dust devils. For this movie, they specifically told Spirit to send back frames that they knew had dust devils.

Scientists expected dust devils since before Spirit landed. The landing area inside Gusev Crater is filled with dark streaks left behind when dust devils pick dust up from an area. It is also filled with bright 'hollows,' which are dust-filled miniature craters. Dust covers most of the terrain. Winds flow into and out of Gusev crater every day. The Sun heats the surface so that the surface is warm to the touch even though the atmosphere at 2 meters (6 feet) above the surface would be chilly. That temperature contrast causes convection. Mixing the dust, winds, and convection should trigger dust devils.

Scientists will use the images to study several things. Tracking the dust devils tells which way the wind blows at different times

Several Dust Devils in Gusev Crater, Sol 461

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This movie clip shows a several dust devils -- whirlwinds that loft dust into the air -- moving across a plain below the hillside vantage point of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. Several of the dust devils are visible at once in some of the 21 frames in this sequence. The local solar time was about 2 p.m., when the ground temperature was high enough to cause turbulence that kicks up dust devils as the wind blows across the plain. The number of seconds elapsed since the first frame is indicated at lower left of the images, typically 20 seconds between frames. Spirit's navigation camera took these images on the rover's 461st martian day, or sol (April 20, 2005.) Contrast has been enhanced for anything in the images that changes from frame to frame, that is, for the dust devil.

Scientists expected dust devils since before Spirit landed. The landing area inside Gusev Crater is filled with dark streaks left behind when dust devils pick dust up from an area. It is also filled with bright 'hollows,' which are dust-filled miniature craters. Dust covers most of the terrain. Winds flow into and out of Gusev crater every day. The Sun heats the surface so that the surface is warm to the touch even though the atmosphere at 2 meters (6 feet) above the surface would be chilly. That temperature contrast causes convection. Mixing the dust, winds, and convection can trigger dust devils.

Dust devils on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, P.; Gierasch, P. J.

1985-10-01

Viking Orbiter photographic imagery has confirmed the occurrence of dust devils on Mars. The images were of small bright clouds with long, tapered shadows viewed from a nearly-nadir angle. Spectra of the features were consistent with dust and not condensates. A maximum height of 6.8 km and width of 1 km were measured. The dust devils appeared on smooth planes, and had average dimensions of 2 km height and 200 m diam, carrying 3000 kg of dust. The data may be of use in interpreting convective processes on earth.

Eocene cooling linked to early flow across the Tasmanian Gateway.

PubMed

Bijl, Peter K; Bendle, James A P; Bohaty, Steven M; Pross, Jörg; Schouten, Stefan; Tauxe, Lisa; Stickley, Catherine E; McKay, Robert M; Röhl, Ursula; Olney, Matthew; Sluijs, Appy; Escutia, Carlota; Brinkhuis, Henk

2013-06-11

The warmest global temperatures of the past 85 million years occurred during a prolonged greenhouse episode known as the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (52-50 Ma). The Early Eocene Climatic Optimum terminated with a long-term cooling trend that culminated in continental-scale glaciation of Antarctica from 34 Ma onward. Whereas early studies attributed the Eocene transition from greenhouse to icehouse climates to the tectonic opening of Southern Ocean gateways, more recent investigations invoked a dominant role of declining atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations (e.g., CO2). However, the scarcity of field data has prevented empirical evaluation of these hypotheses. We present marine microfossil and organic geochemical records spanning the early-to-middle Eocene transition from the Wilkes Land Margin, East Antarctica. Dinoflagellate biogeography and sea surface temperature paleothermometry reveal that the earliest throughflow of a westbound Antarctic Counter Current began ~49-50 Ma through a southern opening of the Tasmanian Gateway. This early opening occurs in conjunction with the simultaneous onset of regional surface water and continental cooling (2-4 °C), evidenced by biomarker- and pollen-based paleothermometry. We interpret that the westbound flowing current flow across the Tasmanian Gateway resulted in cooling of Antarctic surface waters and coasts, which was conveyed to global intermediate waters through invigorated deep convection in southern high latitudes. Although atmospheric CO2 forcing alone would provide a more uniform middle Eocene cooling, the opening of the Tasmanian Gateway better explains Southern Ocean surface water and global deep ocean cooling in the apparent absence of (sub-) equatorial cooling.

Eocene cooling linked to early flow across the Tasmanian Gateway

PubMed Central

Bijl, Peter K.; Bendle, James A. P.; Bohaty, Steven M.; Pross, Jörg; Schouten, Stefan; Tauxe, Lisa; Stickley, Catherine E.; McKay, Robert M.; Röhl, Ursula; Olney, Matthew; Sluijs, Appy; Escutia, Carlota; Brinkhuis, Henk; Klaus, Adam; Fehr, Annick; Williams, Trevor; Carr, Stephanie A.; Dunbar, Robert B.; Gonzàlez, Jhon J.; Hayden, Travis G.; Iwai, Masao; Jimenez-Espejo, Francisco J.; Katsuki, Kota; Kong, Gee Soo; Nakai, Mutsumi; Passchier, Sandra; Pekar, Stephen F.; Riesselman, Christina; Sakai, Toyosaburo; Shrivastava, Prakash K.; Sugisaki, Saiko; Tuo, Shouting; van de Flierdt, Tina; Welsh, Kevin; Yamane, Masako

2013-01-01

The warmest global temperatures of the past 85 million years occurred during a prolonged greenhouse episode known as the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (52–50 Ma). The Early Eocene Climatic Optimum terminated with a long-term cooling trend that culminated in continental-scale glaciation of Antarctica from 34 Ma onward. Whereas early studies attributed the Eocene transition from greenhouse to icehouse climates to the tectonic opening of Southern Ocean gateways, more recent investigations invoked a dominant role of declining atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations (e.g., CO2). However, the scarcity of field data has prevented empirical evaluation of these hypotheses. We present marine microfossil and organic geochemical records spanning the early-to-middle Eocene transition from the Wilkes Land Margin, East Antarctica. Dinoflagellate biogeography and sea surface temperature paleothermometry reveal that the earliest throughflow of a westbound Antarctic Counter Current began ∼49–50 Ma through a southern opening of the Tasmanian Gateway. This early opening occurs in conjunction with the simultaneous onset of regional surface water and continental cooling (2–4 °C), evidenced by biomarker- and pollen-based paleothermometry. We interpret that the westbound flowing current flow across the Tasmanian Gateway resulted in cooling of Antarctic surface waters and coasts, which was conveyed to global intermediate waters through invigorated deep convection in southern high latitudes. Although atmospheric CO2 forcing alone would provide a more uniform middle Eocene cooling, the opening of the Tasmanian Gateway better explains Southern Ocean surface water and global deep ocean cooling in the apparent absence of (sub-) equatorial cooling. PMID:23720311

When Genomics Is Not Enough: Experimental Evidence for a Decrease in LINE-1 Activity During the Evolution of Australian Marsupials

PubMed Central

Gallus, Susanne; Lammers, Fritjof

2016-01-01

The autonomous transposable element LINE-1 is a highly abundant element that makes up between 15% and 20% of therian mammal genomes. Since their origin before the divergence of marsupials and placental mammals, LINE-1 elements have contributed actively to the genome landscape. A previous in silico screen of the Tasmanian devil genome revealed a lack of functional coding LINE-1 sequences. In this study we present the results of an in vitro analysis from a partial LINE-1 reverse transcriptase coding sequence in five marsupial species. Our experimental screen supports the in silico findings of the genome-wide degradation of LINE-1 sequences in the Tasmanian devil, and identifies a high frequency of degraded LINE-1 sequences in other Australian marsupials. The comparison between the experimentally obtained LINE-1 sequences and reference genome assemblies suggests that conclusions from in silico analyses of retrotransposition activity can be influenced by incomplete genome assemblies from short reads. PMID:27389686

Techniques for identifying dust devils in mars pathfinder images

USGS Publications Warehouse

Metzger, S.M.; Carr, J.R.; Johnson, J. R.; Parker, T.J.; Lemmon, M.T.

2000-01-01

Image processing methods used to identify and enhance dust devil features imaged by IMP (Imager for Mars Pathfinder) are reviewed. Spectral differences, visible red minus visible blue, were used for initial dust devil searches, driven by the observation that Martian dust has high red and low blue reflectance. The Martian sky proved to be more heavily dust-laden than pre-Pathfinder predictions, based on analysis of images from the Hubble Space Telescope. As a result, these initial spectral difference methods failed to contrast dust devils with background dust haze. Imager artifacts (dust motes on the camera lens, flat-field effects caused by imperfections in the CCD, and projection onto a flat sensor plane by a convex lens) further impeded the ability to resolve subtle dust devil features. Consequently, reference images containing sky with a minimal horizon were first subtracted from each spectral filter image to remove camera artifacts and reduce the background dust haze signal. Once the sky-flat preprocessing step was completed, the red-minus-blue spectral difference scheme was attempted again. Dust devils then were successfully identified as bright plumes. False-color ratios using calibrated IMP images were found useful for visualizing dust plumes, verifying initial discoveries as vortex-like features. Enhancement of monochromatic (especially blue filter) images revealed dust devils as silhouettes against brighter background sky. Experiments with principal components transformation identified dust devils in raw, uncalibrated IMP images and further showed relative movement of dust devils across the Martian surface. A variety of methods therefore served qualitative and quantitative goals for dust plume identification and analysis in an environment where such features are obscure.

Boundary Layer Regimes Conducive to Formation of Dust Devils on Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, B.; Nair, U. S.

2014-12-01

Dust devils on Mars contribute to maintenance of background atmospheric aerosol loading and thus dust radiative forcing, which is an important modulator of Martian climate. Dust devils also cause surface erosion and change in surface albedo which impacts radiative energy budget. Thus there is a need for parameterizing dust devil impacts in Martian climate models. In this context it is important to understand environmental conditions that are favorable for formation of dust devils on Mars and associated implications for diurnal, seasonal, and geographical variation of dust devil occurrence. On earth, prior studies show that thresholds of ratio of convective and friction scale velocities may be used to identify boundary layer regimes that are conducive to formation of dust devils. On earth, a w*/u* ratio in excess of 5 is found to be conducive for formation of dust devils. In this study, meteorological observations collected during the Viking Lander mission are used to constrain Martian boundary layer model simulations, which is then used to estimate w*/u* ratio. The w*/u* ratio is computed for several case days during which dust devil occurrence was detected. A majority of dust devils occurred in convective boundary layer regimes characterized by w*/u* ratios exceeding 10. The above described analysis is being extended to other mars mission landing sites and results from the extended analysis will also be presented.

Chemical quality of surface waters in Devils Lake basin, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swenson, Herbert; Colby, Bruce R.

1955-01-01

Devils Lake basin, a closed basin in northeastern North Dakota, covers about 3,900 square miles of land, the topography of which is morainal and of glacial origin. In this basin lies a chain of waterways, which begins with the Sweetwater group and extends successively through Mauvais Coulee, Devils Lake, East Bay Devils Lake, and East Devils Lake, to Stump Lake. In former years when lake levels were high, Mauvais Coulee drained the Sweetwater group and discharged considerable water into Devils Lake. Converging coulees also transported excess water to Stump Lake. For at least 70 years prior to 1941, Mauvais Coulee flowed only intermittently, and the levels of major lakes in this region gradually declined. Devils Lake, for example, covered an area of about 90,000 acres in 1867 but had shrunk to approximately 6,500 acres by 1941. Plans to restore the recreational appeal of Devils Lake propose the dilution and eventual displacement of the brackish lake water by fresh water that would be diverted from the Missouri River. Freshening of the lake water would permit restocking Devils Lake with fish. Devils and Stump Lake have irregular outlines and numerous windings and have been described as lying in the valley of a preglacial river, the main stem and tributaries of which are partly filled with drift. Prominent morainal hills along the south shore of Devils Lake contrast sharply with level farmland to the north. The mean annual temperature of Devils Lake basin ranges between 36 ? and 42 ? F. Summer temperatures above 100 ? F and winter temperatures below -30 ? Fare not uncommon. The annual precipitation for 77 years at the city of Devils Lake averaged 17.5 inches. Usually, from 75 to 80 percent of the precipitation in the basin falls during the growing season, April to September. From 1867 to 1941 the net fall of the water surface of Devils Lake was about 38 feet. By 1951 the surface had risen fully 14 feet from its lowest altitude, 1,400.9 feet. Since 1951, the level has

Patterns of Detection and Capture Are Associated with Cohabiting Predators and Prey

PubMed Central

Lazenby, Billie T.; Dickman, Christopher R.

2013-01-01

Avoidance behaviour can play an important role in structuring ecosystems but can be difficult to uncover and quantify. Remote cameras have great but as yet unrealized potential to uncover patterns arising from predatory, competitive or other interactions that structure animal communities by detecting species that are active at the same sites and recording their behaviours and times of activity. Here, we use multi-season, two-species occupancy models to test for evidence of interactions between introduced (feral cat Felis catus) and native predator (Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii) and predator and small mammal (swamp rat Rattus lutreolus velutinus) combinations at baited camera sites in the cool temperate forests of southern Tasmania. In addition, we investigate the capture rates of swamp rats in traps scented with feral cat and devil faecal odours. We observed that one species could reduce the probability of detecting another at a camera site. In particular, feral cats were detected less frequently at camera sites occupied by devils, whereas patterns of swamp rat detection associated with devils or feral cats varied with study site. Captures of swamp rats were not associated with odours on traps, although fewer captures tended to occur in traps scented with the faecal odour of feral cats. The observation that a native carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian devil, can suppress the detectability of an introduced eutherian predator, the feral cat, is consistent with a dominant predator – mesopredator relationship. Such a relationship has important implications for the interaction between feral cats and the lower trophic guilds that form their prey, especially if cat activity increases in places where devil populations are declining. More generally, population estimates derived from devices such as remote cameras need to acknowledge the potential for one species to change the detectability of another, and incorporate this in assessments of numbers and survival

Global potential of dust devil occurrence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jemmett-Smith, Bradley; Marsham, John; Knippertz, Peter; Gilkeson, Carl

2014-05-01

Mineral dust is a key constituent in the climate system. Airborne mineral dust forms the largest component of the global aerosol budget by mass and subsequently affects climate, weather and biogeochemical processes. There remains large uncertainty in the quantitative estimates of the dust cycle. Dry boundary-layer convection serves as an effective mechanism for dust uplift, typically through a combination of rotating dust devils and non-rotating larger and longer-lived convective plumes. These microscale dry-convective processes occur over length scales of several hundred metres or less. They are difficult to observe and model, and therefore their contribution to the global dust budget is highly uncertain. Using an analytical approach to extrapolate limited observations, Koch and Renno (2006) suggest that dust devils and plumes could contribute as much as 35%. Here, we use a new method for quantifying the potential of dust devil occurrence to provide an alternative perspective on this estimate. Observations have shown that dust devil and convective plume occurrence is favoured in hot arid regions under relatively weak background winds, large ground-to-air temperature gradients and deep dry convection. By applying such known constraints to operational analyses from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), we provide, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first hourly estimates of dust devil occurrence including an analysis of sensitivity to chosen threshold uplift. The results show the expected diurnal variation and allow an examination of the seasonal cycle and day-to-day variations in the conditions required for dust devil formation. They confirm that desert regions are expected to have by far the highest frequency of dry convective vortices, with winds capable of dust uplift. This approach is used to test the findings of Koch and Renno (2006). Koch J., Renno N. (2006). The role of convective plumes and vortices on the global aerosol

Martian Arctic Dust Devil and Phoenix Meteorology Mast

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

The Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander caught this dust devil in action west-southwest of the lander at 11:16 a.m. local Mars time on Sol 104, or the 104th Martian day of the mission, Sept. 9, 2008.

Dust devils have not been detected in any Phoenix images from earlier in the mission, but at least six were observed in a dozen images taken on Sol 104.

Dust devils are whirlwinds that often occur when the Sun heats the surface of Mars, or some areas on Earth. The warmed surface heats the layer of atmosphere closest to it, and the warm air rises in a whirling motion, stirring dust up from the surface like a miniature tornado.

The vertical post near the left edge of this image is the mast of the Meteorological Station on Phoenix. The dust devil visible at the horizon just to the right of the mast is estimated to be 600 to 700 meters (about 2,000 to 2,300 feet) from Phoenix, and 4 to 5 meters (10 to 13 feet) in diameter. It is much smaller than dust devils that have been observed by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit much closer to the equator. It is closer in size to dust devils seen from orbit in the Phoenix landing region, though still smaller than those.

The image has been enhanced to make the dust devil easier to see.

The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development is by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

Properties of Arizona Dust Devils: a Martian Analog

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, P. H.; Renno, N.; MATADOR Team

2001-11-01

During the week of June 4-8, 2001, the MATADOR team instrumented a truck to study the properties of dust devils at a Martian analog site in Eloy, AZ. MATADOR consists of a group of instruments operated by a science team of about 20 members originally selected by the HEDS program for a 2003 lander mission to Mars. Currently deselected with the loss of the mission, the team has continued studying the optimum means for measuring dust devil properties. With an eye for remotely sensing and identifying potential hazards to humans and their equipment, MATADOR can eventually act as an early warning system much like tornedo and hurricane watches on the Earth. Key questions that the MATADOR group is addressing concern the ability of LIDAR (provided by Optech in Canada) to scan dust devils, the strength of electrical charging and the associated E-fields that are created, the oxidation of the local soil from ionized species, and the best ways to measure the quixotic meteorological properties that define dust devils. Dozens of dust devils were monitored during the field test both remotely and in situ, the results of our study will be presented in detail. One thing is clear though, dust devils maintain a tremendous charge separation such that E-fields approach the breakdown potential of the Earth's atmosphere. Equivalent dust devils on Mars would be 100 times larger than their small Earth cousins; despite the much reduced breakdown potential of the Martian atmosphere, charge separations are likely to occur on Mars. The discharging of these dust events would create electrical signals that can be studied remotely. We would like to thank NASA's HEDS division for their support of these investigations.

Physical-property, water-quality, plankton, and bottom-material data for Devils Lake and East Devils Lake, North Dakota, September 1988 through October 1990

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sando, Steven K.; Sether, Bradley A.

1993-01-01

Physical-properties were measured and water-quality, plankton, and bottom-material samples were collected at 10 sites in Devils Lake and East Devils Lake during September 1988 through October 1990 to study water-quality variability and water-quality and plankton relations in Devils Lake and East Devils Lake. Physical properties measured include specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved-oxygen concentration, water transparency, and light transmission. Water-quality samples were analyzed for concentrations of major ions, selected nutrients, and selected trace elements. Plankton samples were examined for identification and enumeration of phytoplankton and zooplankton species, and bottom-material samples were analyzed for concentrations of selected nutrients. Data-collection procedures are discussed and the data are presented in tabular form.

Devices for Deviling Classes in Theatre History.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryan, George B.

In addition to the use of the lecture-discussion method of teaching theatre history, the author contends that this approach can be augmented by the process of "deviling" (adding spice to) the learning situation. At the University of Vermont, theatre history courses have been taught with a variety of deviling exercises, which include: (1)…

9 CFR 319.760 - Deviled ham, deviled tongue, and similar products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

...: Provided, That the total fat content shall not exceed 35 percent of the finished product. The moisture content of deviled ham shall not exceed that of the fresh unprocessed meat. (b) The moisture content of...

9 CFR 319.760 - Deviled ham, deviled tongue, and similar products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

...: Provided, That the total fat content shall not exceed 35 percent of the finished product. The moisture content of deviled ham shall not exceed that of the fresh unprocessed meat. (b) The moisture content of...

On the geological origin of Devils Tower (WY, USA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zavada, P.; Dedecek, P.; Holloway, S. D.; Chang, J. C.; Crain, K.; Keller, G. R.

2011-12-01

The Devils Tower is an exceptional igneous rock formation and a dominating landmark of the northern plains in Wyoming (USA). It rises 250 m above the surrounding sedimentary formations. Previous hypotheses suggested that the Devils Tower was originally part of a magmatic intrusion; volcanic conduit, magmatic stock or a laccolith. Our review of the geological evidence suggests that the Devils Tower is a remnant of an eroded lava lake that filled a broad phreatomagmatic volcano crater. Our hypothesis is based on a detailed study of a similar phonolite landmark in Czech Republic, called Boren, and analogue modeling, finite element numerical modeling of cooling for various shapes of volcanic bodies, and results of field and gravity surveys of the area. The Devils Tower together with a group of five phonolite bodies called Missouri Buttes, located 6 km NW from the Devils Tower, represent the easternmost products of the Tertiary tectonomagmatic events related to the lithospheric-scale uplift of the Black hills monocline. The phreatomagmatic deposits in the surroundings of the Missouri Buttes and the Devils Tower suggest that these phonolite bodies were originally emplaced into phreatomagmatic maar-diatreme volcanoes. To reveal the original shape of the Devils Tower, we employed the analogue modeling using plaster of Paris as analogue for phonolite magma to study internal fabrics and shapes of extrusive/intrusive magmatic bodies emplaced into the maar-diatreme volcanoes. Then, the resulting shapes of analogue magmatic bodies were used for the Finite Element thermal numerical models of their cooling using the thermophysical parameters of the phonolite magma and the rock units surrounding the Devils Tower and Missouri Buttes. Because the columnar joints grow perpendicular to the isotherms in cooling igneous and volcanic bodies, we analyzed the match between the thermal structure of the FE models and the columnar jointing pattern on the Devils Tower. The best fit of the

Large-Eddy Simulations of Dust Devils and Convective Vortices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spiga, Aymeric; Barth, Erika; Gu, Zhaolin; Hoffmann, Fabian; Ito, Junshi; Jemmett-Smith, Bradley; Klose, Martina; Nishizawa, Seiya; Raasch, Siegfried; Rafkin, Scot; Takemi, Tetsuya; Tyler, Daniel; Wei, Wei

2016-11-01

In this review, we address the use of numerical computations called Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) to study dust devils, and the more general class of atmospheric phenomena they belong to (convective vortices). We describe the main elements of the LES methodology. We review the properties, statistics, and variability of dust devils and convective vortices resolved by LES in both terrestrial and Martian environments. The current challenges faced by modelers using LES for dust devils are also discussed in detail.

Paralytic shellfish toxins, including deoxydecarbamoyl-STX, in wild-caught Tasmanian abalone (Haliotis rubra).

PubMed

Harwood, D Tim; Selwood, Andrew I; van Ginkel, Roel; Waugh, Craig; McNabb, Paul S; Munday, Rex; Hay, Brenda; Thomas, Krista; Quilliam, Michael A; Malhi, Navreet; Dowsett, Natalie; McLeod, Catherine

2014-11-01

For the first time wild-caught Tasmanian abalone, Haliotis rubra, have been reported to contain paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs). This observation followed blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum. No illnesses were reported, but harvesting restrictions were enforced in commercial areas. Abalone were assayed using HPLC-FLD methodology based on AOAC official method 2005.06. An uncommon congener, deoxydecarbamoyl-STX (doSTX), was observed in addition to regulated PSTs as unassigned chromatographic peaks. A quantitative reference material was prepared from contaminated Tasmanian abalone viscera and ampouled at 54.2 μmol/L. The LD50 of doSTX via intraperitoneal injection was 1069 nmol/kg (95% confidence limits 983-1100 nmol/kg), indicating it is nearly 40 times less toxic than STX. A toxicity equivalence factor of 0.042 was generated using the mouse bioassay. Levels of PSTs varied among individuals from the same site, although the toxin profile remained relatively consistent. In the foot tissue, STX, decarbamoyl-STX and doSTX were identified. On a molar basis doSTX was the dominant congener in both foot and viscera samples. The viscera toxin profile was more complex, with other less toxic PST congeners observed and was similar to mussels from the same site. This finding implicates localised dinoflagellate blooms as the PST source in Tasmanian abalone. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spirit Captures Two Dust Devils On the Move

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Figure 1 Annotated

At the Gusev site recently, skies have been very dusty, and on its 421st sol (March 10, 2005) NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit spied two dust devils in action. This is an image from the rover's navigation camera.

Views of the Gusev landing region from orbit show many dark streaks across the landscape -- tracks where dust devils have removed surface dust to show relatively darker soil below -- but this is the first time Spirit has photographed an active dust devil.

Scientists are considering several causes of these small phenomena. Dust devils often occur when the Sun heats the surface of Mars. Warmed soil and rocks heat the layer of atmosphere closest to the surface, and the warm air rises in a whirling motion, stirring dust up from the surface like a miniature tornado. Another possibility is that a flow structure might develop over craters as wind speeds increase. As winds pick up, turbulence eddies and rotating columns of air form. As these columns grow in diameter they become taller and gain rotational speed. Eventually they become self-sustaining and the wind blows them down range.

One sol before this image was taken, power output from Spirit's solar panels went up by about 50 percent when the amount of dust on the panels decreased. Was this a coincidence, or did a helpful dust devil pass over Spirit and lift off some of the dust?

By comparing the separate images from the rover's different cameras, team members estimate that the dust devils moved about 500 meters (1,640 feet) in the 155 seconds between the navigation camera and hazard-avoidance camera frames; that equates to about 3 meters per second (7 miles per hour). The dust devils appear to be about 1,100 meters (almost three-quarters of a mile) from the rover.

Gaussian-based filters for detecting Martian dust devils

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yang, F.; Mlsna, P.A.; Geissler, P.

2006-01-01

The ability to automatically detect dust devils in the Martian atmosphere from orbital imagery is becoming important both for scientific studies of the planet and for the planning of future robotic and manned missions. This paper describes our approach for the unsupervised detection of dust devils and the preliminary results achieved to date. The algorithm centers upon the use of a filter constructed from Gaussian profiles to match dust devil characteristics over a range of scale and orientation. The classification step is designed to reduce false positive errors caused by static surface features such as craters. A brief discussion of planned future work is included. ?? 2006 IEEE.

Measurements of Martian dust devil winds with HiRISE

USGS Publications Warehouse

Choi, D.S.; Dundas, C.M.

2011-01-01

We report wind measurements within Martian dust devils observed in plan view from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) orbiting Mars. The central color swath of the HiRISE instrument has three separate charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and color filters that observe the surface in rapid cadence. Active features, such as dust devils, appear in motion when observed by this region of the instrument. Our image animations reveal clear circulatory motion within dust devils that is separate from their translational motion across the Martian surface. Both manual and automated tracking of dust devil clouds reveal tangential winds that approach 20-30 m s -1 in some cases. These winds are sufficient to induce a ???1% decrease in atmospheric pressure within the dust devil core relative to ambient, facilitating dust lifting by reducing the threshold wind speed for particle elevation. Finally, radial velocity profiles constructed from our automated measurements test the Rankine vortex model for dust devil structure. Our profiles successfully reveal the solid body rotation component in the interior, but fail to conclusively illuminate the profile in the outer regions of the vortex. One profile provides evidence for a velocity decrease as a function of r -1/2, instead of r -1, suggestive of surface friction effects. However, other profiles do not support this observation, or do not contain enough measurements to produce meaningful insights. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

Growth, productivity, and relative extinction risk of a data-sparse devil ray

PubMed Central

Pardo, Sebastián A.; Kindsvater, Holly K.; Cuevas-Zimbrón, Elizabeth; Sosa-Nishizaki, Oscar; Pérez-Jiménez, Juan Carlos; Dulvy, Nicholas K.

2016-01-01

Devil rays (Mobula spp.) face intensifying fishing pressure to meet the ongoing international demand for gill plates. The paucity of information on growth, mortality, and fishing effort for devil rays make quantifying population growth rates and extinction risk challenging. Furthermore, unlike manta rays (Manta spp.), devil rays have not been listed on CITES. Here, we use a published size-at-age dataset for the Spinetail Devil Ray (Mobula japanica), to estimate somatic growth rates, age at maturity, maximum age, and natural and fishing mortality. We then estimate a plausible distribution of the maximum intrinsic population growth rate (rmax) and compare it to 95 other chondrichthyans. We find evidence that larger devil ray species have low somatic growth rate, low annual reproductive output, and low maximum population growth rates, suggesting they have low productivity. Fishing rates of a small-scale artisanal Mexican fishery were comparable to our estimate of rmax, and therefore probably unsustainable. Devil ray rmax is very similar to that of manta rays, indicating devil rays can potentially be driven to local extinction at low levels of fishing mortality and that a similar degree of protection for both groups is warranted. PMID:27658342

Active dust devils in Gusev crater, Mars: Observations from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit

USGS Publications Warehouse

Greeley, R.; Whelley, P.L.; Arvidson, R. E.; Cabrol, N.A.; Foley, D.J.; Franklin, B.J.; Geissler, P.G.; Golombek, M.P.; Kuzmin, R.O.; Landis, G.A.; Lemmon, M.T.; Neakrase, L.D.V.; Squyres, S. W.; Thompson, S.D.

2006-01-01

A full dust devil "season" was observed from Spirit from 10 March 2005 (sol 421, first active dust devil observed) to 12 December 2005 (sol 691, last dust devil seen); this corresponds to the period Ls 173.2?? to 339.5??, or the southern spring and summer on Mars. Thermal Emission Spectrometer data suggest a correlation between high surface temperatures and a positive thermal gradient with active dust devils in Gusev and that Spirit landed in the waning stages of a dust devil season as temperatures decreased. 533 active dust devils were observed, enabling new characterizations; they ranged in diameter from 2 to 276 m, with most in the range of 10-20 m in diameter, and occurred from about 0930 to 1630 hours local true solar time (with the maximum forming around 1300 hours) and a peak occurrence in southern late spring (Ls ??? 250??). Horizontal speeds of the dust devils ranged from <1 to 21 m/s, while vertical wind speeds within the dust devils ranged from 0.2 to 8.8 m/s. These data, when combined with estimates of the dust content within the dust devils, yield dust fluxes of 3.95 ?? 10-9 to 4.59-4 kg/m2/s. Analysis of the dust devil frequency distribution over the inferred dust devil zone within Gusev crater yields ???50 active dust devils/km2/sol, suggesting a dust loading into the atmosphere of ???19 kg/km2/sol. This value is less than one tenth the estimates by Cantor et al. (2001) for regional dust storms on Mars. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

A Dust Devil Playground

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2006-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Context image for PIA02185 A Dust Devil Playground

Dust Devil activity in this region between Brashear and Ross Craters is very common. Large regions of dust devil tracks surround the south polar region of Mars.

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -55.2N, Longitude 244.2E. 17 meter/pixel resolution.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Ecology: 'Devil's gardens' bedevilled by ants.

PubMed

Frederickson, Megan E; Greene, Michael J; Gordon, Deborah M

2005-09-22

'Devil's gardens' are large stands of trees in the Amazonian rainforest that consist almost entirely of a single species, Duroia hirsuta, and, according to local legend, are cultivated by an evil forest spirit. Here we show that the ant Myrmelachista schumanni, which nests in D. hirsuta stems, creates devil's gardens by poisoning all plants except its host plants with formic acid. By killing these other plants, M. schumanni provides its colonies with abundant nest sites--a long-lasting benefit as colonies can live for 800 years.

Analysis of Dust Devils on Mars using CFD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lange, C. F.; Chen, K.; Davis, J. A.; Gheynani, B. T.

2009-05-01

Recent Mars missions have reported evidence of the existence of dust devils. A detailed study of vortex dynamics will provide a better understanding of this swirling flow of the Martian atmosphere. Further, it is believed that there is a relationship between dust devils and water transport. Recently, the Phoenix Mars mission, designed to investigate ice water and natural events on Mars, has successfully finished. The Phoenix Surface Stereo Imager (SSI) camera captured images of the passage of dust devils over or close to the lander. Additionally, dustless devils, which have similar vortex characteristics but insufficient strength to raise dust from the surface, have been detected in the lander's pressure measurements. It was found that dust devils occur mainly in the early afternoon. Because of this, numerical models of a vortex generator are used to study the physics of this complex swirling flow and the effect of dust devils on the transport of water vapour from the regolith. Characteristic parameters such as core radius and swirl ratio are being explored for scaling factors. Scaling factors will be studied and tested, comparing the small and large scales of numerically generated vortices and laboratory generated vortices. Small scale of numerical models of atmospheric vortices are studied using a commercial software package, ANSYS/CFX11.0 with finite volume method (FVM). Large eddy simulations (LES) of planetary boundary layers are based on NCAR LES code to simulate convective vertical vortices that naturally form in quiescent convective boundary layers (CBL) over homogeneous flat surfaces. This will help to find the approximate location and physical characteristics of the vortices on the surface. The numerical models of atmospheric vortices and the experimental vortex generator validations will help to define the water vapour cycle on Mars.

From Dust Devil to Sustainable Swirling Wind Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Mingxu; Luo, Xilian; Li, Tianyu; Zhang, Liyuan; Meng, Xiangzhao; Kase, Kiwamu; Wada, Satoshi; Yu, Chuck Wah; Gu, Zhaolin

2015-02-01

Dust devils are common but meteorologically unique phenomena on Earth and on Mars. The phenomenon produces a vertical vortex motion in the atmosphere boundary layer and often occurs in hot desert regions, especially in the afternoons from late spring to early summer. Dust devils usually contain abundant wind energy, for example, a maximum swirling wind velocity of up to 25 m/s, with a 15 m/s maximum vertical velocity and 5 m/s maximum near-surface horizontal velocity can be formed. The occurrences of dust devils cannot be used for energy generation because these are generally random and short-lived. Here, a concept of sustained dust-devil-like whirlwind is proposed for the energy generation. A prototype of a circular shed with pre-rotation vanes has been devised to generate the whirlwind flow by heating the air inflow into the circular shed. The pre-rotation vanes can provide the air inflow with angular momentum. The results of numerical simulations and experiment illustrate a promising potential of the circular shed for generating swirling wind energy via the collection of low-temperature solar energy.

Dust devil vortices seen by the Mars Pathfinder camera

USGS Publications Warehouse

Metzger, S.M.; Carr, J.R.; Johnson, J. R.; Parker, T.J.; Lemmon, M.T.

1999-01-01

Discovery of dust devil vortices in Mars Pathfinder (MPF) images reveals a dust entrainment mechanism at work on Mars. Scattering of visible light by dust in the Martian atmosphere creates a pronounced haze, preventing conventional image processing from displaying dust plumes. Spectral differencing techniques have enhanced five localized dust plumes from the general haze in images acquired near midday, which we determine to be dust devils. Processing of 440 nm images highlights dust devils as distinct occultation features against the horizon. The dust devils are interpreted to be 14-79 m wide, 46-350 m tall, travel at 0.5-4.6 m/s, with dust loading of 7E-5 kg m-3, relative to the general haze of 9E-8 kg m-3, and total particulate transport of 2.2 - 700 kg. The vortices match predictions from terrestrial analog studies. Copyright 1999 by the American Geophysical Union.

The Electric Environment of Martian Dust Devils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barth, E. L.; Farrell, W. M.; Rafkin, S. C.

2017-12-01

While Martian dust devils have been monitored through decades of observations, we have yet to study their possible electrical effects from in situ instrumentation. However, evidence for the existence of active electrodynamic processes on Mars is provided by laboratory studies of analog material and field campaigns of dust devils on Earth. We have enabled our Mars regional scale atmospheric model (MRAMS) to estimate an upper limit on electric fields generated through dust devil circulations by including charged particles as defined from the Macroscopic Triboelectric Simulation (MTS) code. MRAMS is used to investigate the complex physics of regional, mesoscale, and microscale atmospheric phenomena on Mars; it is a 3-D, nonhydrostatic model, which permits the simulation of atmospheric flows with large vertical accelerations, such as dust devils. MTS is a 3-D particle code which quantifies charging associated with swirling, mixing dust grains; grains of pre-defined sizes and compositions are placed in a simulation box and allowed to move under the influence of winds and gravity. Our MRAMS grid cell size makes our results most applicable to dust devils of a few hundred meters in diameter. We have run a number of simulations to understand the sensitivity of the electric field strength to the particle size and abundance and the amount of charge on each dust grain. We find that Efields can indeed develop in Martian dust convective features via dust grain filtration effects. The overall value of these E-fields is strongly dependent upon dust grain size, dust load, and lifting efficiency, and field strengths can range from 100s of mV/m to 10s of kV/m.

A multiyear dust devil vortex survey using an automated search of pressure time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Brian; Lorenz, Ralph

2015-03-01

Dust devils occur in arid climates on the Earth and ubiquitously on Mars, where they likely dominate the supply of atmospheric dust and influence climate. Martian dust devils have been studied with a combination of orbiting and landed spacecraft, while most studies of terrestrial dust devils have involved manned monitoring of field sites, which can be costly both in time and personnel. As an alternative approach, we describe a multiyear in situ survey of terrestrial dust devils using pressure loggers deployed at El Dorado Playa in Nevada, USA, a site known for dust devil activity. Analogous to previous surveys for Martian dust devils, we conduct a posthoc analysis of the barometric data to search for putative dust devil pressure dips using a new automated detection algorithm. We investigate the completeness and false positive rates of our new algorithm and conduct several statistically robust analyses of the resulting population of dips. We also investigate possible seasonal, annual, and spatial variability of the putative dust devil dips, possible correlations with precipitation, and the influence of sample size on the derived population statistics. Our results suggest that large numbers of dips (>1000) collected over multiple seasons are probably required for accurate assessment of the underlying dust devil population. Correlating long-term barometric time series with other data streams (e.g., solar flux measurements from photovoltaic cells) can uniquely elucidate the natures and origins of dust devils, and accurately assessing their influence requires consideration of the full distribution of dust devil properties, rather than average values.

Spatial and temporal variability of dissolved sulfate in Devils Lake, North Dakota, 1998

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sether, Bradley A.; Vecchia, Aldo V.; Berkas, Wayne R.

1998-01-01

The Devils Lake Basin is a 3,810-squaremile closed subbasin of the Red River of the North Basin (fig. 1). About 3,320 square miles of the total 3,810 square miles is tributary to Devils Lake. The Devils Lake Basin contributes to the Red River of the North Basin when the level of Devils Lake is greater than 1,459 feet above sea level.Lake levels of Devils Lake were recorded sporadically from 1867 to 1890. In 1901, the U.S. Geological Survey established a gaging station on Devils Lake. From 1867 through 1998, the lake level has fluctuated between a minimum of 1,400.9 feet above sea level in 1940 and a maximum of 1,444.7 feet above sea level in 1998 (fig. 2). The maximum, which occurred on July 7, 1998, was 22.1 feet higher than the level recorded in February 1993.The rapid rise in the lake level of Devils Lake since 1993 is in response to abovenormal precipitation and below-normal evaporation from the summer of 1993 through 1998. Because of the rising lake level, more than 50,000 acres of land and many roads around the lake have been flooded. In addition, the water quality of Devils Lake changed substantially in 1993 because of the summer flooding (Williams-Sether and others, 1996). In response to the flooding, the Devils Lake Basin Interagency Task Force, comprised of many State and Federal agencies, was formed in 1995 to find and propose intermediate (5 years or less) flood mitigation options. Current and accurate hydrologic and water-quality information is needed to assess the effectiveness of the flood mitigation options, which include managing and storing water in the Devils Lake Basin, continuing infrastructure protection, and providing an outlet to the Sheyenne River (Wiche, 1998). As part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Devils Lake emergency outlet feasibility study, the U.S. Geological Survey is modeling lake levels and sulfate concentrations in Devils Lake to simulate operation of an emergency outlet. Accurate simulation of sulfate concentrations in

Dust devil signatures in infrasound records of the International Monitoring System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, Ralph D.; Christie, Douglas

2015-03-01

We explore whether dust devils have a recognizable signature in infrasound array records, since several Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty verification stations conducting continuous measurements with microbarometers are in desert areas which see dust devils. The passage of dust devils (and other boundary layer vortices, whether dust laden or not) causes a local temporary drop in pressure: the high-pass time domain filtering in microbarometers results in a "heartbeat" signature, which we observe at the Warramunga station in Australia. We also observe a ~50 min pseudoperiodicity in the occurrence of these signatures and some higher-frequency infrasound. Dust devils do not significantly degrade the treaty verification capability. The pipe arrays for spatial averaging used in infrasound monitoring degrade the detection efficiency of small devils, but the long observation time may allow a useful census of large vortices, and thus, the high-sensitivity infrasonic array data from the monitoring network can be useful in studying columnar vortices in the lower atmosphere.

A Multi-Year Dust Devil Vortex Survey Using an Automated Search of Pressure Time-Series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Brian K.; Lorenz, Ralph

2014-11-01

Dust devils occur in arid climates on the Earth and ubiquitously on Mars, where they likely dominate the supply of atmospheric dust and influence climate. Martian dust devils have been studied with a combination of orbiting and landed spacecraft, while most studies of terrestrial dust devils have involved manned monitoring of field sites, which can be costly both in time and personnel. As an alternative approach, we describe a multi-year in-situ survey of terrestrial dust devils using pressure loggers deployed at El Dorado Playa in Nevada, USA, a site known for dust devil activity. Analogous to previous surveys for Martian dust devils, we conduct a post-hoc analysis of the barometric data to search for putative dust devil pressure dips using a new automated detection algorithm. We investigate the completeness and false positive rates of our new algorithm and conduct several statistically robust analyses of the resulting population of dips. We also investigate seasonal, annual, and spatial variability of the putative dust devil dips, possible correlations with precipitation, and the influence of sample size on the derived population statistics. Our results suggest that large numbers of dips (> 1,000) collected over multiple seasons are probably required for accurate assessment of the underlying dust devil population. Correlating long-term barometric time-series with other data streams (e.g., solar flux measurements from photovoltaic cells) can uniquely elucidate the natures and origins of dust devils, and accurately assessing their influence requires consideration of the full distribution of dust devil properties, rather than average values. For example, our results suggest the dust flux from the average terrestrial devil is nearly 1,000 times smaller than the (more representative) population-weighted average flux. If applicable to Martian dust devils, such corrections may help resolve purported discrepancies between the dust fluxes estimated from dust devil studies

Humanizing folk devils using ethnography.

PubMed

Myers, Peter L

2018-01-01

The sociological concepts of the "moral panic" and the deviant "folk devil" apply to the drug panics in the United States over methamphetamine, heroin, and crack cocaine. Mothers or pregnant women who smoke crack cocaine, and their babies, are assigned exaggerated "demonic" attributes that result in stigma and societal rejection. Otherwise, ethnographic studies of drug users demonstrate realities that are other than what might be considered were one to merely look at their use and the consequences. These considerations are examined with respect to the image of folk devils, methadone program attendees, smokers of "blunts," opium den habitués, and others grouped together as negative influences as a result of their drug habits.

Real-Time Detection of Dust Devils from Pressure Readings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wagstaff, Kiri

2009-01-01

A method for real-time detection of dust devils at a given location is based on identifying the abrupt, temporary decreases in atmospheric pressure that are characteristic of dust devils as they travel through that location. The method was conceived for use in a study of dust devils on the Martian surface, where bandwidth limitations encourage the transmission of only those blocks of data that are most likely to contain information about features of interest, such as dust devils. The method, which is a form of intelligent data compression, could readily be adapted to use for the same purpose in scientific investigation of dust devils on Earth. In this method, the readings of an atmospheric- pressure sensor are repeatedly digitized, recorded, and processed by an algorithm that looks for extreme deviations from a continually updated model of the current pressure environment. The question in formulating the algorithm is how to model current normal observations and what minimum magnitude deviation can be considered sufficiently anomalous as to indicate the presence of a dust devil. There is no single, simple answer to this question: any answer necessarily entails a compromise between false detections and misses. For the original Mars application, the answer was sought through analysis of sliding time windows of digitized pressure readings. Windows of 5-, 10-, and 15-minute durations were considered. The windows were advanced in increments of 30 seconds. Increments of other sizes can also be used, but computational cost increases as the increment decreases and analysis is performed more frequently. Pressure models were defined using a polynomial fit to the data within the windows. For example, the figure depicts pressure readings from a 10-minute window wherein the model was defined by a third-degree polynomial fit to the readings and dust devils were identified as negative deviations larger than both 3 standard deviations (from the mean) and 0.05 mbar in magnitude. An

THEMIS VIS and IR observations of a high-altitude Martian dust devil

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cushing, G.E.; Titus, T.N.; Christensen, P.R.

2005-01-01

The Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) imaged a Martian dust devil in both visible and thermal-infrared wavelengths on January 30, 2004. We believe this is the first documented infrared observation of an extraterrestrial dust devil, and the highest to be directly observed at more than 16 kilometers above the equatorial geoid of Mars. This dust devil measured over 700 meters in height and 375 meters across, and the strongest infrared signature was given by atmospheric dust absorption in the 9-micron range (THEMIS IR band 5). In addition to having formed in the extremely low-pressure environment of about 1 millibar, this dust devil is of particular interest because it was observed at 16:06 local time. This is an unusually late time of day to find dust devils on Mars, during a period when rapid surface cooling typically reduces the boundary-layer turbulence necessary to form these convective vortices. Understanding the mechanisms for dust-devil formation under such extreme circumstances will help to constrain theories of atmospheric dynamics, and of dust lifting and transport mechanisms on Mars. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.

Dust devil characteristics and associated dust entrainment based on large-eddy simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klose, Martina; Kwidzinski, Nick; Shao, Yaping

2015-04-01

The characteristics of dust devils, such as occurrence frequency, lifetime, size, and intensity, are usually inferred from in situ field measurements and remote sensing. Numerical models, e.g. large-eddy simulation (LES) models, have also been established as a tool to investigate dust devils and their structures. However, most LES models do not contain a dust module. Here, we present results from simulations using the WRF-LES model coupled to the convective turbulent dust emission (CTDE) scheme of Klose et al. (2014). The scheme describes the stochastic process of aerodynamic dust entrainment in the absence of saltation. It therefore allows for dust emission even below the threshold friction velocity for saltation. Numerical experiments have been conducted for different atmospheric stability and background wind conditions at 10 m horizontal resolution. A dust devil tracking algorithm is used to identify dust devils in the simulation results. The detected dust devils are statistically analyzed with regard to e.g. radius, pressure drop, lifetime, and turbulent wind speeds. An additional simulation with higher horizontal resolution (2 m) is conducted for conditions, which are especially favorable for dust devil development, i.e. unstable atmospheric stratification and weak mean winds. The higher resolution enables the identification of smaller dust devils and a more detailed structure analysis. Dust emission fluxes, dust concentrations, and dust mass budgets are calculated from the simulations. The results are compared to field observations reported in literature.

Martian Dust Devil Action in Gale Crater, Sol 1597

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-02-27

This frame from a sequence of images shows a dust-carrying whirlwind, called a dust devil, scooting across the ground inside Gale Crater, as observed on the local summer afternoon of NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover's 1,597th Martian day, or sol (Feb. 1, 2017). Set within a broader southward view from the rover's Navigation Camera, the rectangular area outlined in black was imaged multiple times over a span of several minutes to check for dust devils. Images from the period with most activity are shown in the inset area. The images are in pairs that were taken about 12 seconds apart, with an interval of about 90 seconds between pairs. Timing is accelerated and not fully proportional in this animation. A dust devil is most evident in the 10th, 11th and 12th frames. In the first and fifth frames, dust blowing across the ground appears as pale horizontal streak. Contrast has been modified to make frame-to-frame changes easier to see. A black frame is added between repeats of the sequence. On Mars as on Earth, dust devils are whirlwinds that result from sunshine warming the ground, prompting convective rising of air that has gained heat from the ground. Observations of Martian dust devils provide information about wind directions and interaction between the surface and the atmosphere. An animation is available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21270

Dust loading in Gusev crater, Mars: Results from two active dust devil seasons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waller, D. A.; Greeley, R.; Neakrase, L. D.; Landis, G. A.; Whelley, P.; Thompson, S. D.

2009-12-01

Dust devils dominate the volcanic plains at the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) landing site within the Low Albedo Zone (LAZ) in Gusev Crater. Previous studies indicate that the inferred pressure drop within the dust devil core allows the vortex to lift large amounts of unconsolidated dust high into the atmosphere which contributes to the atmospheric haze. Previous laboratory results indicate that dust devils are efficient in lifting very fine-grained (<10 μm) material, even when boundary layer winds do not exceed previously predicted threshold wind speeds (~30-35 m/s at 1.5 m above the surface for Mars conditions). Since landing in Gusev crater in January 2004, MER Spirit has obtained data for two dust devil seasons (defined as the period of time when the first and last dust devils were imaged), with a third season currently being analyzed. These seasons typically correspond to southern spring and summer, when winds capable of lifting sediment are determined to be most frequent. All observations for Season One were taken as Spirit neared the summit of Husband Hill. During Season Two Spirit imaged dust devils in the plains as it traversed within the Inner Basin, a low-lying area in the Columbia Hills complex. All results were extrapolated so that they are representative of the entire LAZ. Season One lasted 270 sols (March 2005 to December 2005 corresponding to Ls 173.2 to 339.5 degrees), whereas Season Two lasted 153 sols (January 2007 to June 2007 corresponding to Ls 171.2 to 266.7 degrees) and ended suddenly on sol 1240 just after the dust devil frequency peaked for the season. This abrupt drop in dust devil activity corresponded to atmospheric opacity levels that exceeded 1.0 and the onset of a global dust storm that originated in the southern hemisphere that engulfed Gusev within weeks. Results show a large contrast in activity between the two seasons. An 81% decrease in dust devil frequency across the plains was found in Season Two. 533 dust devils were imaged

A Comparative Study Of Dust Devils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lange, C. F.; Prieto, L. E.

2005-12-01

Spatial variations in the column of water vapour in the Martian near-surface are due to the combined effects of several process within water underground reservoirs and the atmosphere. Among these process, dust devils could be an important local factor in the water concentration levels. In fact, the apparently high occurrence of dust devils could potentially affect the mass transfer rate of water vapour from the Martian regolith. A detailed study of these atmospheric vortices may help to better understand the complex relation between the cycle of water and this Martian atmospheric event. Subsequently, field data are required to provide a close estimation of the dynamics presented in Martian surface. The upcoming Phoenix mission is being designed to investigate these natural events on Mars. However, field studies of dust devils are difficult because of their sporadic, unpredictable occurrence and distance. In contrast, laboratory simulations present a better physical insight into this complex swirling flow by consideration of a much simplified, and more controllable and reproducible model flow. The use of numerical simulations in addition to laboratory experiments can provide complementary information on flow properties in regions where measurements are difficult due to flow profiles. Computational models also allow for significant flexibility in the model layout and they are, therefore, ideally suited for a comparison of different types of model flows. A 3-D numerical study is presented for two different types of dust devil laboratory simulators (Ward, 1952 and Greeley et al., 2001). An initial numerical study was conducted to validate the simulation results with previous laboratory measurements (Lund and Snow, 1993). Secondly, a numerical comparison was carried out between the two tornado-like vortex representations based on kinematic similarities to provide a clear method to relate dust devils in several nature environments, laboratory simulations, and

The Devil We Don't Know: Investigating Habitat and Abundance of Endangered Giant Devil Rays in the North-Western Mediterranean Sea

PubMed Central

Notarbartolo di Sciara, Giuseppe; Lauriano, Giancarlo; Pierantonio, Nino; Cañadas, Ana; Donovan, Greg; Panigada, Simone

2015-01-01

The giant devil ray Mobula mobular, the only Mediterranean mobulid, is subject to mortality caused by directed and accidental captures in fisheries throughout the region. Whilst the combination of human impacts, limited range and a low reproductive potential is not inconsistent with its endangered listing, there are insufficient data to enable a quantitative assessment of trends. Without this, it is difficult to assess and prioritise threats and develop effective conservation actions. Using results from aerial surveys conducted between 2009 and 2014 over the Ligurian, Corsican, Sardinian, northern and central Tyrrhenian seas (626,228 km2), this study provides the first quantitative information on giant devil ray abundance and habitat choice in the western Mediterranean. Devil rays were observed in all seasons except winter, with their estimated abundance in the study area peaking in summer. The overall uncorrected mean density in the study area during summer was estimated at 0.0257 individuals km-2 (range: 0.017–0.044), resulting in a total abundance estimate of 6,092 (12.7%CV) individuals at the surface; once corrected for availability bias, this estimate indicates a summer presence of >12,700 devil rays in the study area. Rays were mostly observed alone even if occasionally, larger aggregations up to a maximum of 18 individuals were observed. Although observed throughout the study area, spatial modelling identified their preferred habitat to be over a broad strip connecting the Tuscan Archipelago to Eastern Sardinia, over a wide range of water depths ranging from 10 to 2000m. The observed seasonal changes in giant devil ray distribution in this study, combined with similar evidence from other areas in the Mediterranean, support the hypothesis that the species undertakes latitudinal migrations across the region, taking advantage of highly productive waters in the north during summer, and warmer southern waters during winter. PMID:26580814

Results from Automated Cloud and Dust Devil Detection Onboard the MER

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve; Castano, Rebecca; Bornstein, Benjamin; Fukunaga, Alex; Castano, Andres; Biesiadecki, Jeffrey; Greeley, Ron; Whelley, Patrick; Lemmon, Mark

2008-01-01

We describe a new capability to automatically detect dust devils and clouds in imagery onboard rovers, enabling downlink of just the images with the targets or only portions of the images containing the targets. Previously, the MER rovers conducted campaigns to image dust devils and clouds by commanding a set of images be collected at fixed times and downloading the entire image set. By increasing the efficiency of the campaigns, more campaigns can be executed. Software for these new capabilities was developed, tested, integrated, uploaded, and operationally checked out on both rovers as part of the R9.2 software upgrade. In April 2007 on Sol 1147 a dust devil was automatically detected onboard the Spirit rover for the first time. We discuss the operational usage of the capability and present initial dust devil results showing how this preliminary application has demonstrated the feasibility and potential benefits of the approach.

In Situ Sampling of Relative Dust Devil Particle Loads and Their Vertical Grain Size Distributions.

PubMed

Raack, Jan; Reiss, Dennis; Balme, Matthew R; Taj-Eddine, Kamal; Ori, Gian Gabriele

2017-04-19

During a field campaign in the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco, spring 2012, we sampled the vertical grain size distribution of two active dust devils that exhibited different dimensions and intensities. With these in situ samples of grains in the vortices, it was possible to derive detailed vertical grain size distributions and measurements of the lifted relative particle load. Measurements of the two dust devils show that the majority of all lifted particles were only lifted within the first meter (∼46.5% and ∼61% of all particles; ∼76.5 wt % and ∼89 wt % of the relative particle load). Furthermore, ∼69% and ∼82% of all lifted sand grains occurred in the first meter of the dust devils, indicating the occurrence of "sand skirts." Both sampled dust devils were relatively small (∼15 m and ∼4-5 m in diameter) compared to dust devils in surrounding regions; nevertheless, measurements show that ∼58.5% to 73.5% of all lifted particles were small enough to go into suspension (<31 μm, depending on the used grain size classification). This relatively high amount represents only ∼0.05 to 0.15 wt % of the lifted particle load. Larger dust devils probably entrain larger amounts of fine-grained material into the atmosphere, which can have an influence on the climate. Furthermore, our results indicate that the composition of the surface, on which the dust devils evolved, also had an influence on the particle load composition of the dust devil vortices. The internal particle load structure of both sampled dust devils was comparable related to their vertical grain size distribution and relative particle load, although both dust devils differed in their dimensions and intensities. A general trend of decreasing grain sizes with height was also detected. Key Words: Mars-Dust devils-Planetary science-Desert soils-Atmosphere-Grain sizes. Astrobiology 17, xxx-xxx.

Climatology and potential effects of an emergency outlet, Devils Lake Basin, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiche, Gregg J.; Vecchia, Aldo V.; Osborne, Leon; Fay, James T.

2000-01-01

The Devils Lake Basin is a 3,810-square-mile subbasin in the Red River of the North Basin.  At an elevation of about 1,447 feet above sea level, Devils Lake begins to spill into Stump Lake; and at an elevation of about 1,459 feet above sea level, the combined lakes begin to spill through Tolna Coulee into the Sheyenne River. Since the end of glaciation about 10,000 years ago, Devils Lake has fluctuated between spilling and being dry.  Research by the North Dakota Geological Survey indicates Devils Lake has overflowed into the Sheyenne River at least twice during the past 4,000 years and has spilled into the Stump Lakes several times (Bluemle, 1991; Murphy and others, 1997).  John Bluemle, North Dakota State Geologist, concluded the natural condition for Devils Lake is either rising or falling, and the lake should not be expected to remain at any elevation for a long period of time. Recent conditions indicate the lake is in a rising phase.  The lake rose 24.7 feet from February 1993 to August 1999, and flood damages in the Devils Lake Basin have exceeded $300 million.  These damages, and the potential for additional damages, have led to an effort to develop an outlet to help control lake levels.  Therefore, current and accurate climatologic and hydrologic data are needed to assess the viability of the various options to reduce flood damages at Devils Lake.

Measurements of Dust Devil Lower Structure and Properties, El Dorado Valley, Nevada, June 2002

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Towner, M. C.; Ringrose, T. J.; Balme, M.; Greeley, R.; Zarnecki, J. C.

2002-12-01

We report the results of a recent field campaign in Nevada, USA, carried out to investigate the lower structure (less than 2m) and dust lofting mechanisms of terrestrial dust devils. Over several days, an instrumented platform was repeatedly deployed from the back of a pickup truck into the path of oncoming dust devils. Around 40 events were recorded, including core penetrations of large and small dust devils, close misses and periods of ambient background conditions before and after dust devil events, and during periods of dust devil inactivity. The platform deployed consisted of a 2 by 1m base with a 2m mast and carried a total of 24 instruments. The instrument suite consisted of horizontal wind profiling down to 5mm above surface, vertical wind speed and direction, temperature and pressure profiling, airborne and saltating particle recorders, vertical electric field gradient measurements, and upward looking UV sensors. We present preliminary results of profiles for several events, together with details of ambient conditions required for dust devil formation.

Terrestrial in situ sampling of dust devils (relative particle loads and vertical grain size distributions) as an equivalent for martian dust devils.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raack, J.; Dennis, R.; Balme, M. R.; Taj-Eddine, K.; Ori, G. G.

2017-12-01

Dust devils are small vertical convective vortices which occur on Earth and Mars [1] but their internal structure is almost unknown. Here we report on in situ samples of two active dust devils in the Sahara Desert in southern Morocco [2]. For the sampling we used a 4 m high aluminium pipe with sampling areas made of removable adhesive tape. We took samples between 0.1-4 m with a sampling interval of 0.5 m and between 0.5-2 m with an interval of 0.25 m, respectively. The maximum diameter of all particles of the different sampling heights were then measured using an optical microscope to gain vertical grain size distributions and relative particle loads. Our measurements imply that both dust devils have a general comparable internal structure despite their different strengths and dimensions which indicates that the dust devils probably represents the surficial grain size distribution they move over. The particle sizes within the dust devils decrease nearly exponential with height which is comparable to results by [3]. Furthermore, our results show that about 80-90 % of the total particle load were lifted only within the first meter, which is a direct evidence for the existence of a sand skirt. If we assume that grains with a diameter <31 μm can go into suspension [4], our results show that only less than 0.1 wt% can be entrained into the atmosphere. Although this amount seems very low, these values represent between 60 and 70 % of all lifted particles due to the small grain sizes and their low weight. On Mars, the amount of lifted particles will be general higher as the dust coverage is larger [5], although the atmosphere can only suspend smaller grain sizes ( <20 μm) [6] compared to Earth. During our field campaign we observed numerous larger dust devils each day which were up to several hundred meters tall and had diameters of several tens of meters. This implies a much higher input of fine grained material into the atmosphere (which will have an influence on the

A Dust Devil Making a Streak and Climbing a Crater Wall

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2002-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-318, 8 August 2002 [figure removed for brevity, see original site] One of the key elements of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) Extended Mission is to look for and monitor changes taking place on the planet over the course of a second--and, eventually, a third--martian year. MGS is now well into its second Mars year, which will draw to a close in December 2002. Among the changes the MOC has observed are streaks believed to be caused by the passage of dust devils. Thousands of MOC images show these streaks, dozens show that they change over time, but far fewer images have actually captured a dust devil in the act of creating a streak. At the center right of this image (above left) is a dust devil that, on May 21, 2002, was seen climbing the wall of a crater at 4.1oS, 9.5oW. This crater (above right) is in western Terra Meridiani. The dust devil was moving toward the northeast (upper right), leaving behind a dark trail where a thin coating of surficial dust was removed or disrupted as the dust devil advanced. Dust devils most commonly form after noon on days when the martian air is still (that is, when there isn't even a faint breeze). On such days, the ground is better able to heat up the air immediately above the surface. As the warmed near-surface air begins to rise, it also begins to spin, creating a vortex. The spinning column then moves across the surface and picks up loose dust (if any is present). The dust makes the vortex visible and gives it a tornado-like appearance. The dust devil in this image has a very short, dark shadow cast to the right of the bright column; this shadow is short because the sun was nearly overhead.

Dust Devil Art

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

12 December 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark squiggles and streaks created by passing spring and summer dust devils near Pallacopas Vallis in the martian southern hemisphere.

Location near: 53.9oS, 17.2oW Image width: width: 3 km (1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Summer

Toward an integrative molecular approach to wildlife disease.

PubMed

DeCandia, Alexandra L; Dobson, Andrew P; vonHoldt, Bridgett M

2018-01-29

Pathogens pose serious threats to human health, agricultural investment, and biodiversity conservation through the emergence of zoonoses, spillover to domestic livestock, and epizootic outbreaks. As such, wildlife managers are often tasked with mitigating the negative effects of disease. Yet, parasites form a major component of biodiversity that often persist. This is due to logistical challenges of implementing management strategies and to insufficient understanding of host-parasite dynamics. We advocate for an inclusive understanding of molecular diversity in driving parasite infection and variable host disease states in wildlife systems. More specifically, we examine the roles of genetic, epigenetic, and commensal microbial variation in disease pathogenesis. These include mechanisms underlying parasite virulence and host resistance and tolerance, and the development, regulation, and parasite subversion of immune pathways, among other processes. Case studies of devil facial tumor disease in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) and chytridiomycosis in globally distributed amphibians exemplify the broad range of questions that can be addressed by examining different facets of molecular diversity. For particularly complex systems, integrative molecular analyses present a promising frontier that can provide critical insights necessary to elucidate disease dynamics operating across scales. These insights enable more accurate risk assessment, reconstruction of transmission pathways, discernment of optimal intervention strategies, and development of more effective and ecologically sound treatments that minimize damage to the host population and environment. Such measures are crucial when mitigating threats posed by wildlife disease to humans, domestic animals, and species of conservation concern. © 2018 Society for Conservation Biology.

A framework for relating the structures and recovery statistics in pressure time-series surveys for dust devils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Brian; Lorenz, Ralph; Davis, Karan

2018-01-01

Dust devils are likely the dominant source of dust for the martian atmosphere, but the amount and frequency of dust-lifting depend on the statistical distribution of dust devil parameters. Dust devils exhibit pressure perturbations and, if they pass near a barometric sensor, they may register as a discernible dip in a pressure time-series. Leveraging this fact, several surveys using barometric sensors on landed spacecraft have revealed dust devil structures and occurrence rates. However powerful they are, though, such surveys suffer from non-trivial biases that skew the inferred dust devil properties. For example, such surveys are most sensitive to dust devils with the widest and deepest pressure profiles, but the recovered profiles will be distorted, broader and shallow than the actual profiles. In addition, such surveys often do not provide wind speed measurements alongside the pressure time series, and so the durations of the dust devil signals in the time series cannot be directly converted to profile widths. Fortunately, simple statistical and geometric considerations can de-bias these surveys, allowing conversion of the duration of dust devil signals into physical widths, given only a distribution of likely translation velocities, and the recovery of the underlying distributions of physical parameters. In this study, we develop a scheme for de-biasing such surveys. Applying our model to an in-situ survey using data from the Phoenix lander suggests a larger dust flux and a dust devil occurrence rate about ten times larger than previously inferred. Comparing our results to dust devil track surveys suggests only about one in five low-pressure cells lifts sufficient dust to leave a visible track.

Dunes and Dust Devils

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-02-12

This image captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft is of an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra. Part of the crater floor contains a dune field. Dust devil tracks are visible east of the dunes. Orbit Number: 57931 Latitude: -52.1733 Longitude: 18.0624 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2015-01-04 18:28 http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19199

The Devil and Daniel's Spreadsheet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Maurice J.

2012-01-01

"When making mathematical models, technology is valuable for varying assumptions, exploring consequences, and comparing predictions with data," notes the Common Core State Standards Initiative (2010, p. 72). This exploration of the recursive process in the Devil and Daniel Webster problem reveals that the symbolic spreadsheet fits this bill.…

Comparison of Martian Dust Devil Track Morphologies in Gusev and Russell Craters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verba, C. A.; Geissler, P. E.

2008-12-01

Detailed HiRISE images were used to observe the seasonal changes of dust devil tracks in Gusev and Russell craters, focusing on the temporal and morphological differences between the two locations. Seasonal variations in dust devil activity are influenced by topography, sediment supply, altitude, as well as latitudinal variations in the atmospheric dust cycle and local winds. Topographical features, such as the dunes in Russell, enhance convective circulation, thereby playing a key role in dust devil formation. The greater the contrast between surface and air temperatures, the greater the surface heat flux and potential for dust devil activity. The NASA Ames General Circulation Model (GCM) was used to compare predicted wind directions to those determined from inferred scallops of tracks mapped using ArcMap. Observations indicate distinct variations in the density, shape, and size of the tracks during specific seasons. Russell crater tracks are curvilinear and highly sinuous, with widths and lengths ranging from 20-40 m and 340 m to 9 km respectively. Gusev crater tracks are less sinuous, measuring tens of meters wide and 2-4 km long. Tracks in Russell crater are aligned with the northwesterly oriented prevailing wind as predicted by the GCM. The dust devil season in Gusev Crater is much shorter (Ls= 160° - 340°, with only minor activity afterwards) than that of Russell Crater (Ls= 172° - 40°). Peak dust devil frequencies occur sooner at Gusev (Ls 250°) than at Russell crater (Ls 288°). Track densities are greater and more consistent in Gusev crater and are more variable at Russell, particularly during the early part of the season. Possible explanations for the differences in seasonal behavior between the study sites include: (1) average altitudes up to 2000 m higher at Russell crater than at Gusev, resulting in enhanced convective circulation; (2) increased insolation at higher southern latitudes during perihelion; and (3) frost on the dunes delays the start

Dust devils as aeolian transport mechanisms in southern Nevada and the Mars Pathfinder landing site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Metzger, Stephen M.

Discovery of dust devils vortices in Mars Pathfinder images by this study is direct evidence of a dust entrainment mechanism at work on Mars. Dust devils on Earth can entrain fine material from crusted as well as unconsolidated surfaces, even when forced-convection wind speeds are below threshold. Terrestrial dust devils are commonly ``squat'' V-shaped vortices lasting several minutes. Well developed vortices consist of an outer cylinder of high rotation (<25 m/s), an Intermediate cylinder of moderate vertical lift (<13 m/s), and a inner cylindrical core of low pressure (<1.5% below ambient pressure) and elevated temperature (up to 20°C above ambient air temperature). Directly sampled dust devils on Earth were found to carry from 30 to over 2000 kg of soil. On average, the Eldorado Valley, NV, experienced 42 observable dust devils per summer day, each lofting over 200 kg for a daily total of 9 metric tonnes from this desert basin. Spectral differencing techniques have enhanced five localized dust plumes against the general haze in Mars Pathfinder images acquired near midday, which are determined to be dust devils. Given interpreted geographic locations relative to the lander, the dust devils are 14 to 79 m wide, 46 to over 350 m tall, and travel over ground at 0.5 to 4.6 m/s. Their dust loading was approximately 7 × 10-5 kg/m3, relative to the general haze of 9 × 10-8 kg/m3. With an estimated vertical dust flux of 0.5 g m-2 s-1, total particulate transport of these Martian dust devils may have ranged from 2.2 kg for a small dust devil lasting 35 s to over 700 kg for a large plume of 400 s duration. Observed characteristics of these plumes are consistent with expectations based on theory and the lessons of terrestrial field studies. The increasingly apparent role of dust devils in the dust aeolian transport cycle may largely explain the continued concentration of the general Martian dust haze and perhaps the Initiation mechanism for global dust storms.

Fluid pressure responses for a Devil's Slide-like system: problem formulation and simulation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomas, Matthew A.; Loague, Keith; Voss, Clifford I.

2015-01-01

This study employs a hydrogeologic simulation approach to investigate subsurface fluid pressures for a landslide-prone section of the central California, USA, coast known as Devil's Slide. Understanding the relative changes in subsurface fluid pressures is important for systems, such as Devil's Slide, where slope creep can be interrupted by episodic slip events. Surface mapping, exploratory core, tunnel excavation records, and dip meter data were leveraged to conceptualize the parameter space for three-dimensional (3D) Devil's Slide-like simulations. Field observations (i.e. seepage meter, water retention, and infiltration experiments; well records; and piezometric data) and groundwater flow simulation (i.e. one-dimensional vertical, transient, and variably saturated) were used to design the boundary conditions for 3D Devil's Slide-like problems. Twenty-four simulations of steady-state saturated subsurface flow were conducted in a concept-development mode. Recharge, heterogeneity, and anisotropy are shown to increase fluid pressures for failure-prone locations by up to 18.1, 4.5, and 1.8% respectively. Previous estimates of slope stability, driven by simple water balances, are significantly improved upon with the fluid pressures reported here. The results, for a Devil's Slide-like system, provide a foundation for future investigations

Lake levels, streamflow, and surface-water quality in the Devils Lake area, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiche, Gregg J.

1996-01-01

The Devils Lake Basin is a 3,810-square-mile (mi2) closed basin (fig. 1) in the Red River of the North Basin. About 3,320 mi2 of the total 3,810 mi2 is tributary to Devils Lake; the remainder is tributary to Stump Lake.Since glaciation, the lake level of Devils Lake has fluctuated from about 1,457 feet (ft) above sea level (asl), the natural spill elevation of the lake to the Sheyenne River, to 1,400 ft asl (Aronow, 1957). Although no documented records of lake levels are available before 1867, Upham (1895, p. 595), on the basis of tree-ring chronology, indicated that the lake level was 1,441 ft asl in 1830. Lake levels were recorded sporadically from 1867 to 1901 when the U.S. Geological Survey established a gaging station on Devils Lake. From 1867 to the present (1996), the lake level has fluctuated between a maximum of 1,438.4 ft asl in 1867 and a minimum of 1,400.9 ft asl in 1940 (fig. 2). On July 31, 1996, the lake level was 1,437.8 ft asl, about 15.2 ft higher than the level recorded in February 1993 and the highest level in about 120 years.Since 1993, the lake level of Devils Lake (fig. 2) has risen rapidly in response to above-normal precipitation from the summer of 1993 to the present, and 30,000 acres of land around the lake have been flooded. The above-normal precipitation also has caused flooding elsewhere in the Devils Lake Basin. State highways near Devils Lake are being raised, and some local roads have been closed because of flooding.In response to the flooding, the Devils Lake Basin Interagency Task Force, comprised of many State and Federal agencies, was formed in 1995 to find and propose intermediate (5 years or less) solutions to reduce the effects of high lake levels. In addition to various planning studies being conducted by Federal agencies, the North Dakota State Water Commission has implemented a project to store water on small tracts of land and in the chain of lakes (Sweetwater Lake, Morrison Lake, Dry Lake, Mikes Lake, Chain Lake

AV-95 Sun Devil: High-Speed Military Rotorcraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1996-01-01

The AV-95 Sun Devil must combine helicopter capabilities, such as vertical takeoff and landings (VTOL) and rotor-powered flight, along with long-duration cruise and high-speed dash capabilities unobtainable by conventional helicopters. To be able to perform both tasks, and perform them well, the AV-95 Sun Devil design incorporates several unconventional devices; the AV-95 uses two convertible turbofan engines, able to provide both shaft power for the main rotor and tall fan as well as jet thrust either separately or simultaneously. Other devices used for the AV-95 include a variable diameter main rotor and a blown flap. In helicopter mode, the AV-95 Sun Devil performs like a winged helicopter. The addition of wings to an attack helicopter results in two significant advantages. First, the addition of wings makes a helicopter more maneuverable than a wingless, but otherwise similar helicopter. Second, since the wings produce lift, rotor stall and compressibility effects can be significantly delayed at high tip velocities. In fixed-wing mode, the main rotor is completely off-loaded but slightly powered, and the rotor diameter has been minimized. The AV-95 Sun Devil has many advantages over other VTOL aircraft. The conversion process is simple and fast; conversion does not make the AV-95 vulnerable to enemy attack during conversion such as a tilt-wing or a tilt-rotor. Stop-rotor aircraft and a stowed rotor aircraft require heavy breaking of the rotor for conversion; this adds time for conversion and weight to the aircraft. Because the AV-95 never stops the rotor in flight, much weight is spared, and conversion is much simpler and faster.

Quantifying global dust devil occurrence from meteorological analyses

PubMed Central

Jemmett-Smith, Bradley C; Marsham, John H; Knippertz, Peter; Gilkeson, Carl A

2015-01-01

Dust devils and nonrotating dusty plumes are effective uplift mechanisms for fine particles, but their contribution to the global dust budget is uncertain. By applying known bulk thermodynamic criteria to European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational analyses, we provide the first global hourly climatology of potential dust devil and dusty plume (PDDP) occurrence. In agreement with observations, activity is highest from late morning into the afternoon. Combining PDDP frequencies with dust source maps and typical emission values gives the best estimate of global contributions of 3.4% (uncertainty 0.9–31%), 1 order of magnitude lower than the only estimate previously published. Total global hours of dust uplift by dry convection are ∼0.002% of the dust-lifting winds resolved by ECMWF, consistent with dry convection making a small contribution to global uplift. Reducing uncertainty requires better knowledge of factors controlling PDDP occurrence, source regions, and dust fluxes induced by dry convection. Key Points Global potential dust devil occurrence quantified from meteorological analyses Climatology shows realistic diurnal cycle and geographical distribution Best estimate of global contribution of 3.4% is 10 times smaller than the previous estimate PMID:26681815

Sources and cycling of major ions and nutrients in Devils Lake, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lent, R.M.

1994-01-01

Devils Lake is a saline lake in a large, closed drainage basin in northeastern North Dakota. Previous studies determined that major-ion and nutrient concentrations in Devils Lake are strongly affected by microbially mediated sulfate reduction and dissolution of sulfate and carbonate minerals in the bottom sediments. These studies documented substantial spatial variability in the magnitude of calculated benthic fluxes coincident with the horizontal salinity gradient in Devils Lake. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate seasonal variability in benthic-flux rates, and to understand the effect of these fluxes on the major-ion and nutrient chemistries in Devils Lake between May and October 1991. During the study period, the water column was well mixed, and specific conductance, pH, and temperature did not vary with depth. Dissolved oxygen was enriched near the lake surface due to photosynthesis. Major-ion concentrations and nutrient concentrations did not vary with depth. Because the water-quality data were obtained during open-water periods, the vertical profiles reflect well-mixed conditions. However, the first and last profiles for the study period did document near-bottom maxima of major cations. Secchi-disk depth varied from 0.82 meter on May 7,1991, to 2.13 meters on June 5, 1991. The mean Secchi-disk depth during the study period was 1.24 meters. Seasonal variations in Secchi-disk depths were attributed to variations in primary productivity and phytoplankton communities. Nutrient cycles in Devils Lake were evaluated using gross primary productivity rate data, sediment trap data, and major-ion and nutrient benthic-flux rate data. Gross primary productivity rate was smallest in May (0.076 gram of carbon per square meter per day) and largest in September (1.8 grams of carbon per square meter per day). Average gross primary productivity for the study period was 0.87 gram of carbon per square meter per day. Average gross primary productivity is consistent

Geophysical investigation of Red Devil mine using direct-current resistivity and electromagnetic induction, Red Devil, Alaska, August 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burton, Bethany L.; Ball, Lyndsay B.

2011-01-01

Red Devil Mine, located in southwestern Alaska near the Village of Red Devil, was the state's largest producer of mercury and operated from 1933 to 1971. Throughout the lifespan of the mine, various generations of mills and retort buildings existed on both sides of Red Devil Creek, and the tailings and waste rock were deposited across the site. The mine was located on public Bureau of Land Management property, and the Bureau has begun site remediation by addressing mercury, arsenic, and antimony contamination caused by the minerals associated with the ore deposit (cinnabar, stibnite, realgar, and orpiment). In August 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a geophysical survey at the site using direct-current resistivity and electromagnetic induction surface methods. Eight two-dimensional profiles and one three-dimensional grid of direct-current resistivity data as well as about 5.7 kilometers of electromagnetic induction profile data were acquired across the site. On the basis of the geophysical data and few available soil borings, there is not sufficient electrical or electromagnetic contrast to confidently distinguish between tailings, waste rock, and weathered bedrock. A water table is interpreted along the two-dimensional direct-current resistivity profiles based on correlation with monitoring well water levels and a relatively consistent decrease in resistivity typically at 2-6 meters depth. Three settling ponds used in the last few years of mine operation to capture silt and sand from a flotation ore processing technique possessed conductive values above the interpreted water level but more resistive values below the water level. The cause of the increased resistivity below the water table is unknown, but the increased resistivity may indicate that a secondary mechanism is affecting the resistivity structure under these ponds if the depth of the ponds is expected to extend below the water level. The electromagnetic induction data clearly identified the

Multitemporal observations of identical active dust devils on Mars with the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiss, D.; Zanetti, M.; Neukum, G.

2011-09-01

Active dust devils were observed in Syria Planum in Mars Observer Camera - Wide Angle (MOC-WA) and High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) imagery acquired on the same day with a time delay of ˜26 min. The unique operating technique of the HRSC allowed the measurement of the traverse velocities and directions of motion. Large dust devils observed in the HRSC image could be retraced to their counterparts in the earlier acquired MOC-WA image. Minimum lifetimes of three large (avg. ˜700 m in diameter) dust devils are ˜26 min, as inferred from retracing. For one of these large dust devil (˜820 m in diameter) it was possible to calculate a minimum lifetime of ˜74 min based on the measured horizontal speed and the length of its associated dust devil track. The comparison of our minimum lifetimes with previous published results of minimum and average lifetimes of small (˜19 m in diameter, avg. min. lifetime of ˜2.83 min) and medium (˜185 m in diameter, avg. min. lifetime of ˜13 min) dust devils imply that larger dust devils on Mars are active for much longer periods of time than smaller ones, as it is the case for terrestrial dust devils. Knowledge of martian dust devil lifetimes is an important parameter for the calculation of dust lifting rates. Estimates of the contribution of large dust devils (>300-1000 m in diameter) indicate that they may contribute, at least regionally, to ˜50% of dust entrainment by dust devils into the atmosphere compared to the dust devils <300 m in diameter given that the size-frequency distribution follows a power-law. Although large dust devils occur relatively rarely and the sediment fluxes are probably lower compared to smaller dust devils, their contribution to the background dust opacity by dust devils on Mars could be at least regionally large due to their longer lifetimes and ability of dust lifting into high atmospheric layers.

Field measurements of horizontal forward motion velocities of terrestrial dust devils: Towards a proxy for ambient winds on Mars and Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balme, M. R.; Pathare, A.; Metzger, S. M.; Towner, M. C.; Lewis, S. R.; Spiga, A.; Fenton, L. K.; Renno, N. O.; Elliott, H. M.; Saca, F. A.; Michaels, T. I.; Russell, P.; Verdasca, J.

2012-11-01

Dust devils - convective vortices made visible by the dust and debris they entrain - are common in arid environments and have been observed on Earth and Mars. Martian dust devils have been identified both in images taken at the surface and in remote sensing observations from orbiting spacecraft. Observations from landing craft and orbiting instruments have allowed the dust devil translational forward motion (ground velocity) to be calculated, but it is unclear how these velocities relate to the local ambient wind conditions, for (i) only model wind speeds are generally available for Mars, and (ii) on Earth only anecdotal evidence exists that compares dust devil ground velocity with ambient wind velocity. If dust devil ground velocity can be reliably correlated to the ambient wind regime, observations of dust devils could provide a proxy for wind speed and direction measurements on Mars. Hence, dust devil ground velocities could be used to probe the circulation of the martian boundary layer and help constrain climate models or assess the safety of future landing sites. We present results from a field study of terrestrial dust devils performed in the southwest USA in which we measured dust devil horizontal velocity as a function of ambient wind velocity. We acquired stereo images of more than a 100 active dust devils and recorded multiple size and position measurements for each dust devil. We used these data to calculate dust devil translational velocity. The dust devils were within a study area bounded by 10 m high meteorology towers such that dust devil speed and direction could be correlated with the local ambient wind speed and direction measurements. Daily (10:00-16:00 local time) and 2-h averaged dust devil ground speeds correlate well with ambient wind speeds averaged over the same period. Unsurprisingly, individual measurements of dust devil ground speed match instantaneous measurements of ambient wind speed more poorly; a 20-min smoothing window applied to

Signal-adapted tomography as a tool for dust devil detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguirre, C.; Franzese, G.; Esposito, F.; Vázquez, Luis; Caro-Carretero, Raquel; Vilela-Mendes, Rui; Ramírez-Nicolás, María; Cozzolino, F.; Popa, C. I.

2017-12-01

Dust devils are important phenomena to take into account to understand the global dust circulation of a planet. On Earth, their contribution to the injection of dust into the atmosphere seems to be secondary. Elsewhere, there are many indications that the dust devil's role on other planets, in particular on Mars, could be fundamental, impacting the global climate. The ability to identify and study these vortices from the acquired meteorological measurements assumes a great importance for planetary science. Here we present a new methodology to identify dust devils from the pressure time series testing the method on the data acquired during a 2013 field campaign performed in the Tafilalt region (Morocco) of the North-Western Sahara Desert. Although the analysis of pressure is usually studied in the time domain, we prefer here to follow a different approach and perform the analysis in a time signal-adapted domain, the relation between the two being a bilinear transformation, i.e. a tomogram. The tomographic technique has already been successfully applied in other research fields like those of plasma reflectometry or the neuronal signatures. Here we show its effectiveness also in the dust devils detection. To test our results, we compare the tomography with a phase picker time domain analysis. We show the level of agreement between the two methodologies and the advantages and disadvantages of the tomographic approach.

The Gothic Folk Devils Strike Back! Theorizing Folk Devil Reaction in the Post-Columbine Era

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffiths, Richard

2010-01-01

Folk devils have to date been significantly overlooked in previous studies of moral panics. While several studies have called attention to this problematic (Thornton and McRobbie 1995, De Young 2004, Lumsden 2009), no specific theoretical framework has been proposed for reading this dimension of a moral panic. This paper argues that a moral panic…

Devil's staircases and continued fractions in Josephson junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukrinov, Yu. M.; Medvedeva, S. Yu.; Botha, A. E.; Kolahchi, M. R.; Irie, A.

2013-12-01

Detailed numerical simulations of the IV characteristics of a Josephson junction under external electromagnetic radiation show the devil's staircase within different bias current intervals. We have found that the observed steps form very precisely continued fractions. Increase of the amplitude of the radiation shifts the devil's staircase to higher Shapiro steps. An algorithm for the appearance and detection of subharmonics with increasing radiation amplitude is proposed. We demonstrate that the subharmonic steps registered in the well-known experiments by Dayem and Wiegand [Phys. Rev. 155, 419 (1967), 10.1103/PhysRev.155.419] and Clarke [Phys. Rev. B 4, 2963 (1971), 10.1103/PhysRevB.4.2963] also form continued fractions.

Chemical quality of surface waters in Devils Lake basin North Dakota, 1952-60

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mitten, Hugh T.; Scott, C.H.; Rosene, Philip G.

1968-01-01

Above-normal precipitation in 1954, 1956, and 1957 caused the water surface of Devils Lake to rise to an altitude of 1,419.3 feet, its highest in 40 years. Nearly all the water entering the lake flowed through Big Coulee, and about three-fourths of that inflow was at rates greater than 100 cubic feet per second. At these rates, the inflow contained less than 600 ppm (parts per million) dissolved solids and was of the calcium bicarbonate type.Because the inflow was more dilute than the lake water, the dissolved solids in the lake decreased from 8,680 ppm in 1952 to about 6,000 ppm in 1956 and 1957. Subsequently, however, they increased to slightly more than 8,000 ppm and averaged 6,800 ppm for the 1954-60 period. Sodium and sulfate were the principal dissolved constituents in the lake water. Although the concentration of dissolved solids varied significantly from time to time, the relative proportions of the chief constituents remained nearly the same.Water flowed from Devils Lake to Mission Bay in 1956,1957, and 1958, and some flowed from Mission Bay into East Bay. However, no water moved between East Devils Lake, western Stump Lake, and eastern Stump Lake during 1952-60; these lakes received only local runoff, and the variations in their water volume caused only minor variations in dissolved solids. For the periods sampled, concentrations averaged 60,700 ppm for East Devils Lake, 23,100 ppm for western Stump Lake, and 127,000 ppm for eastern Stump Lake.Sodium and sulfate were the chief dissolved constituents in all the lakes of the Devils Lake chain. Water in eastern Stump Lake was saturated with sodium sulfate and precipitated large quantities of granular, hydrated sodium sulfate crystals on the lakebed and shore in fall and winter. A discontinuous layer of consolidated sodium sulfate crystals formed a significant part of the bed throughout the year.Measured concentrations! of zinc, iron, manganese, fluoride, arsenic, boron, copper, and lead were not high enough

Observations from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE): Martian dust devils in Gusev and Russell craters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verba, Circe A.; Geissler, Paul E.; Titus, Timothy N.; Waller, Devin

2010-09-01

Two areas targeted for repeated imaging by detailed High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) observations allow us to examine morphological differences and monitor seasonal variations of Martian dust devil tracks at two quite different locations. Russell crater (53.3°S, 12.9°E) is regularly imaged to study seasonal processes including deposition and sublimation of CO2 frost. Gusev crater (14.6°S, 175.4°E) has been frequently imaged in support of the Mars Exploration Rover mission. Gusev crater provides the first opportunity to compare “ground truth” orbital observations of dust devil tracks to surface observations of active dust plumes. Orbital observations show that dust devil tracks are rare, forming at a rate <1/110 that of the occurrence of active dust plumes estimated from Spirit's surface observations. Furthermore, the tracks observed from orbit are wider than typical plume diameters observed by Spirit. We conclude that the tracks in Gusev are primarily formed by rare, large dust devils. Smaller dust devils fail to leave tracks that are visible from orbit, perhaps because of limited surface excavation depths. Russell crater displays more frequent, smaller sinuous tracks than Gusev. This may be due to the thin dust cover in Russell, allowing smaller dust devils to penetrate through the bright dust layer and leave conspicuous tracks. The start of the dust devil season and peak activity are delayed in Russell in comparison to Gusev, likely because of its more southerly location. Dust devils in both sites travel in directions consistent with general circulation model (GCM)-predicted winds, confirming a laboratory-derived approach to determining dust devil travel directions based on track morphology.

9 CFR 319.761 - Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product. 319.761 Section 319.761 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION... COMPOSITION Meat Salads and Meat Spreads § 319.761 Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product...

9 CFR 319.761 - Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product. 319.761 Section 319.761 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION... COMPOSITION Meat Salads and Meat Spreads § 319.761 Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product...

9 CFR 319.761 - Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product. 319.761 Section 319.761 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION... COMPOSITION Meat Salads and Meat Spreads § 319.761 Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product...

9 CFR 319.761 - Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product. 319.761 Section 319.761 Animals and Animal Products FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION... COMPOSITION Meat Salads and Meat Spreads § 319.761 Potted meat food product and deviled meat food product...

A Laboratory Scale Vortex Generator for Simulation of Martian Dust Devils.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balme, M.; Greeley, R.; Mickelson, B.; Iversen, J.; Beardmore, G.; Metzger, S.

2001-12-01

Martian dust particles are a few microns in diameter. Current Martian ambient wind speeds appear to be insufficient to lift such fine particles and are marginal to entrain even the optimum particles sizes for threshold (100-160mm diameter). Instead, dust devils were suggested as a local source of airborne particles and have been observed on Mars both from orbit and from lander data. Dust devils lift particles through enhanced local wind speeds and by a pressure drop often associated with the vortex which provides `lift'. This study seeks to 1) quantify the relative importance of enhanced wind speed versus pressure drop lift in dust devil entrainment threshold; 2) measure the mass transport potential of dust devils; 3) investigate the effects of surface roughness and topography on dust devil morphology; 4) quantify the overall effects of low atmospheric pressure on the formation, structure and entrainment processes of dust devils. To investigate the particle lifting properties of dust devils, a laboratory vortex generator was fabricated. It consists of a large vertical cylinder (45 and 75cm in diameter) containing a motor-driven rotor comprised of four vertical blades. Beneath the cylinder is a 2.4 by 2.4 m tabletop containing 14 differential pressure transducer ports used to measure the surface pressure structure of the vortex. Both the distance between the cylinder and the tabletop and the height of the blades within the cylinder can be varied. By controlling these variables and the angular velocity of the blades, a wide range of geometries and intensities of atmospheric vortices can be achieved. The apparatus is portable for use both under terrestrial atmospheric conditions and in the NASA-Ames Research Center Mars Surface Wind Tunnel facility to simulate Martian atmospheric conditions. The laboratory simulation is preferable to a numerical model because direct measurements of dust lifting threshold can be made and holds several advantages over terrestrial field

In Situ Sampling of Terrestrial Dust Devils and Implications for Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raack, J.; Reiss, D.; Balme, M. R.; Taj-Eddine, K.; Ori, G. G.

2017-09-01

We report on first very detailed in situ samples of the relative dust load and the vertical grain size distribution of terrestrial dust devils sampled during two field campaigns in Morocco and their implications for Mars. Our measurements imply, i.e., a similar internal structure for sampled dust devils, despite their different strenghts and dimensions; an exponential decreasing of particle size with height; and that between 60 and 70% of all lifted particles can go into atmospheric suspension.

Food preference of red devil (Amphilophus labiatus) in the Sermo Reservoir, Kulon Progo Regency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ariasari, A.; Helmiati, S.; Setyobudi, E.

2018-03-01

Food preference is one of the important information that can be used to know the food chain in order to manage fisheries resources. This study aims to determine the food habits and preference of red devil (Amphilophus labiatus) in the Sermo Reservoir, Kulon Progo Regency. Samples were collected randomly each month from September 2013 to February 2014. Each sample collected was measured its total length, body weight, and determined sex, then dissected to measure the gut length and to observe gut contents. Results showed that red devil is omnivorous (relative gut length = 3.83) with food composition consisted of fish, crustaceans, detritus, phytoplankton, zooplankton, plants, insects, insect’s larvae, Chironomus sp., and annelids. A change occurred in the food preference of red devil, i.e. the young fish prefers to feed Chironomus sp. larvae (86.02 %) whereas the adult fish prefers fish/fish chunk (81.82 %). Trophic level status of red devil showed as carnivorous and niche overlapping between male and female of the adult.

Mars Atmospheric Chemistry in Electrified Dust Devils and Storms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farrell, W. M.; Delory, G. T.; Atreya, S. K.; Wong, A.-S.; Renno, N. O.; Sentmann, D. D.; Marshall, J. G.; Cummer, S. A.; Rafkin, S.; Catling, D.

2005-01-01

Laboratory studies, simulations and desert field tests all indicate that aeolian mixing dust can generate electricity via contact electrification or "triboelectricity". In convective structures like dust devils or storms, grain stratification (or charge separation) occurs giving rise to an overall electric dipole moment to the aeolian feature, similar in nature to the dipolar electric field generated in terrestrial thunderstorms. Previous simulation studies [1] indicate that this storm electric field on Mars can approach atmospheric breakdown field strength of 20 kV/m. In terrestrial dust devils, coherent dipolar electric fields exceeding 20 kV/m have been measured directly via electric field instrumentation. Given the expected electrostatic fields in Martian dust devils and storms, electrons in the low pressure CO2 gas can be energized via the electric field to values exceeding the electron dissociative attachment energy of both CO2 and H2O, resulting in the formation of new chemical products CO and O- and OH and H- within the storm. Using a collisional plasma physics model we present a calculation of the CO/O- and OH/H- reaction and production rates. We demonstrate that these rates vary geometrically with ambient electric field, with substantial production of dissociative products when fields approach breakdown levels of 20-30 kV/m.

Differentiating Natural and Anthropogenic Groundwater-Level Changes in Critical Habitats: An Example from Devils Hole, Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halford, K. J.; Jackson, T.; Fenelon, J.

2017-12-01

Endangered species such as the Devils Hole pupfish can be affected by decadal groundwater-level changes of less than 1 ft. These relatively minor changes in long-term water levels primarily result from temporal variations in recharge and groundwater development. Natural groundwater-level changes are the summation of episodic rises from infrequent recharge events and steady declines from regional groundwater discharge. Rising water levels have been observed in Devils Hole and across southern Nevada in response to wetter conditions during 1970-2016 relative to the 1900-1970 period. Interpretation of water-level changes in Devils Hole were made tractable by differentiating naturally occurring rises from pumping effects with analytical water-level models. Effects of local and regional pumping on water-level changes in Devils Hole were differentiated easily with a calibrated groundwater-flow model after removing natural rising trends. Annual average water levels declined 2.3 ft from 1968-1972 in response to local pumping within 2 mi of Devils Hole and rose 1.7 ft from 1973-2016 in response to the cumulative effects of recharge, recovery from the cessation of local pumping, and long-term declines of regional pumping.

Geology of the Devils Hole area, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carr, W.J.

1988-01-01

Detailed and reconnaissance mapping of the Devils Hole, Nevada, area has improved definition of the local geologic structure within a regional carbonate aquifer near its primary discharge points -- the springs of Ash Meadows. Several formerly unmapped calcite veins, and other young calcite-lined paleo-spring feeder zones were found, as well as a number of previously unknown small collapse areas in the limestone. Although the predominant structural grain of the area is oriented northwest, the importance of the very subordinate northeast-striking faults and fractures is underscored by their association with Devils Hole itself, with most of the collapse depressions, and with many of the calcite veins in ' lake beds ' and alluvium. Probable channeling of groundwater flow may occur along one important northeast-striking fault zone. The persistent tendency for openings may have been facilitated by underlying low-angle faults that separate brittle carbonate rocks from underlying, less-competent clastic rocks. (Author 's abstract)

In-situ measurement of dust devil activity at La Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico, USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We document observations of dust devil vortices using a linear array of 10 miniature pressure- and sunlight-logging stations in summer 2013 at La Jornada Experimental Range in the southwestern USA. These data provide a census of vortex and dust-devil activity at this site. The simultaneous spatial...

Extensive computation of albedo contrast between martian dust devil tracks and their neighboring regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Statella, Thiago; Pina, Pedro; da Silva, Erivaldo Antônio

2015-04-01

We have developed a method to compute the albedo contrast between dust devil tracks and their surrounding regions on Mars. It is mainly based on Mathematical Morphology operators and uses all the points of the edges of the tracks to compute the values of the albedo contrast. It permits the extraction of more accurate and complete information, when compared to traditional point sampling, not only providing better statistics but also permitting the analysis of local variations along the entirety of the tracks. This measure of contrast, based on relative quantities, is much more adequate to establish comparisons at regional scales and in multi-temporal basis using imagery acquired in rather different environmental and operational conditions. Also, the substantial increase in the details extracted may permit quantifying differential depositions of dust by computing local temporal fading of the tracks with consequences on a better estimation of the thickness of the top most layer of dust and the minimum value needed to create dust devils tracks. The developed tool is tested on 110 HiRISE images depicting regions in the Aeolis, Argyre, Eridania, Noachis and Hellas quadrangles. As a complementary evaluation, we also performed a temporal analysis of the albedo in a region of Russell crater, where high seasonal dust devil activity was already observed before, comprising the years 2007-2012. The mean albedo of the Russell crater is in this case indicative of dust devil tracks presence and, therefore, can be used to quantify dust devil activity.

An Archaeological Inventory of Portions of the Devils Lake Basin, Benson, Eddy, Nelson, and Ramsey Counties, North Dakota

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-01-18

INVENTORY O: PORTIONS OF THE DEVILS LAKE BASIN , I BENSON, EDDY, NELSON, AND RAMSEY COUNTIES, NORTH DAKOTA By: 5 MERVIN G. FLOODMAN, M.A. Submitted By...had a geomorphological study conducted for the Devils Lake Basin , to interpret the Pleistocene and Holocene development of the landscape, and assess...investigations, in an attempt to make broad statements about the location of cultural resources within the Devils Lake Basin . None of the historic sites

Point discharge current measurements beneath dust devils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We document for the first time observations of point discharge currents under dust devils using a novel compact sensor deployed in summer 2016 at the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range in New Mexico, USA. A consistent signature is noted in about a dozen events seen over 40 days, with a positive cur...

Escaping Devil's Island: Confronting Racism, Learning History

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grant, Carl A.

2011-01-01

This article argues that African Americans, especially males living in urban areas, are physically and mentally trapped on a Devil's Island. The penal colony on the coast of French Guiana is a metaphor for the boundaries and constraints that close off opportunities and constrain African American historical knowledge. The article argues that…

"Death by a Thousand Cuts": The Failings of the Tasmanian Essential Learnings Curriculum (2000-2006)--The Political Dynamics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodwell, G. W.

2009-01-01

In 2000, Paula Wriedt, the Tasmanian Minister for Education, gave instructions for her department to begin the development of a K to 10 statewide curriculum, soon to become known as the Essential Learnings Framework, or simply, ELs. The curriculum was an integrated one, doing away with traditional subjects, or disciplines, such as mathematics,…

Devils Hole, Nevada, δ18O record extended to the mid-Holocene

USGS Publications Warehouse

Winograd, Isaac J.; Landwehr, Jurate M.; Coplen, Tyler B.; Sharp, Warren D.; Riggs, Alan C.; Ludwig, Kenneth R.; Kolesar, Peter T.

2006-01-01

The mid-to-late Pleistocene Devils Hole δ18O record has been extended from 60,000 to 4500 yr ago. The new δ18O time series, in conjunction with the one previously published, is shown to be a proxy of Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature (SST) off the coast of California. During marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 2 and 6, the Devil Hole and SST time series exhibit a steady warming that began 5000 to > 10,000 yr prior to the last and penultimate deglaciations. Several possible proximate causes for this early warming are evaluated. The magnitude of the peak δ18O or SST during the last interglacial (LIG) is significantly greater (1 per mill and 2 to 3°C, respectively) than the peak value of these parameters for the Holocene; in contrast, benthic δ18O records of ice volume show only a few tenths per mill difference in the peak value for these interglacials. Statistical analysis provides an estimate of the large shared information (variation) between the Devils Hole and Eastern Pacific SST time series from ∼ 41 to ∼ 2°N and enforces the concept of a common forcing among all of these records. The extended Devils Hole record adds to evidence of the importance of uplands bordering the eastern Pacific as a source of archives for reconstructing Pacific climate variability.

Climate simulation and flood risk analysis for 2008-40 for Devils Lake, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vecchia, Aldo V.

2008-01-01

Devils Lake and Stump Lake in northeastern North Dakota receive surface runoff from a 3,810-square-mile drainage basin, and evaporation provides the only major water loss unless the lakes are above their natural spill elevation to the Sheyenne River. In September 2007, flow from Devils Lake to Stump Lake had filled Stump Lake and the two lakes consisted of essentially one water body with an elevation of 1,447.1 feet, about 3 feet below the existing base flood elevation (1,450 feet) and about 12 feet below the natural outlet elevation to the Sheyenne River (1,459 feet).Devils Lake could continue to rise, causing extensive additional flood damages in the basin and, in the event of an uncontrolled natural spill, downstream in the Red River of the North Basin. This report describes the results of a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to evaluate future flood risk for Devils Lake and provide information for developing updated flood-insurance rate maps and planning flood-mitigation activities such as raising levees or roads.In about 1980, a large, abrupt, and highly significant increase in precipitation occurred in the Devils Lake Basin and elsewhere in the Northern Great Plains, and wetter-than-normal conditions have persisted through the present (2007). Although future precipitation is impossible to predict, paleoclimatic evidence and recent research on climate dynamics indicate the current wet conditions are not likely to end anytime soon. For example, there is about a 72-percent chance wet conditions will last at least 10 more years and about a 37-percent chance wet conditions will last at least 30 more years.A stochastic simulation model for Devils Lake and Stump Lake developed in a previous study was updated and used to generate 10,000 potential future realizations, or traces, of precipitation, evaporation, inflow, and lake levels given existing conditions on September 30, 2007, and randomly

Middle Devonian to Early Carboniferous event stratigraphy of Devils Gate and Northern Antelope Range sections, Nevada, U.S.A

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sandberg, C.A.; Morrow, J.R.; Poole, F.G.; Ziegler, W.

2003-01-01

The classic type section of the Devils Gate Limestone at Devils Gate Pass is situated on the eastern slope of a proto-Antler forebulge that resulted from convergence of the west side of the North American continent with an ocean plate. The original Late Devonian forebulge, the site of which is now located between Devils Gate Pass and the Northern Antelope Range, separated the continental-rise to deep-slope Woodruff basin on the west from the backbulge Pilot basin on the east. Two connections between these basins are recorded by deeper water siltstone beds at Devils Gate; the older one is the lower tongue of the Woodruff Formation, which forms the basal unit of the upper member of the type Devils Gate, and the upper one is the overlying, thin lower member of the Pilot Shale. The forebulge and the backbulge Pilot basin originated during the middle Frasnian (early Late Devonian) Early hassi Zone, shortly following the Alamo Impact within the punctata Zone in southern Nevada. Evidence of this impact is recorded by coeval and reworked shocked quartz grains in the Northern Antelope Range and possibly by a unique bypass-channel or megatsunami-uprush sandy diamictite within carbonate-platform rocks of the lower member of the type Devils Gate Limestone. Besides the Alamo Impact and three regional events, two other important global events are recorded in the Devils Gate section. The semichatovae eustatic rise, the maximum Late Devonian flooding event, coincides with the sharp lithogenetic change at the discordant boundary above the lower member of the Devils Gate Limestone. Most significantly, the Devils Gate section contains the thickest and most complete rock record in North America across the late Frasnian linguiformis Zone mass extinction event. Excellent exposures include not only the extinction shale, but also a younger. Early triangularis Zone tsunamite breccia, produced by global collapse of carbonate platforms during a shallowing event that continued into the next

Dune and Dust Devil Tracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

31 January 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a dark sand dune patch that occurs on the floor of a southern hemisphere crater near 64.1oS, 197.2oW. Passing dust devils have disrupted the fine, bright dust that coats the surrounding terrain, leaving wildly-varied streak patterns. Dark dots to the left (west) of the dune are boulders. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide; sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

A comparative study of prokaryotic diversity and physicochemical characteristics of Devils Hole and the Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility, a constructed analog.

PubMed

Sackett, Joshua D; Huerta, Desiree C; Kruger, Brittany R; Hamilton-Brehm, Scott D; Moser, Duane P

2018-01-01

Devils Hole is the sole natural habitat of the critically endangered Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis). To establish a backup population, the Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility (AMFCF), a full-scale replica of the uppermost 6.7 m of Devils Hole, was constructed by management agencies in the mid-2010s. Despite rigorous efforts to mimic the bathymetric and physical details of the Devils Hole environment, the biogeochemistry and microbiology of the AMFCF refuge tank remain largely unaddressed. We evaluated water physicochemistry and employed Illumina DNA sequencing of 16S rRNA gene libraries to evaluate planktonic and benthic bacterial and archaeal community composition within their respective physicochemical contexts in Devils Hole and AMFCF on the same day. Major ion concentrations were consistent between the two systems, but water temperature and dissolved oxygen dynamics differed. Bioavailable nitrogen (primarily nitrate) was 5x lower in AMFCF. Devils Hole and AMFCF nitrogen:phosphorus molar ratios were 107:1 and 22:1, indicative of different nutrient control mechanisms. Both sites are microbiologically diverse, with over 40 prokaryotic phyla represented at each, with 37 shared between them and nearly than half deriving from candidate divisions. The abundance and composition of predicted photosynthetic primary producers (Cyanobacteria) was markedly different between sites: Devils Hole planktonic and sediment communities were dominated by Oscillatoria spp. (13.2% mean relative abundance), which proved virtually undetectable in AMFCF. Conversely, AMFCF was dominated by a predicted heterotroph from the Verrucomicrobiaceae family (31.7%); which was comparatively rare (<2.4%) in Devils Hole. We propose that the paucity of bioavailable nitrogen in AMFCF, perhaps resulting from physical isolation from allochthonous environmental inputs, is reflected in the microbial assemblage disparity, influences biogeochemical cycling of other dissolved constituents, and

A comparative study of prokaryotic diversity and physicochemical characteristics of Devils Hole and the Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility, a constructed analog

PubMed Central

Huerta, Desiree C.; Kruger, Brittany R.; Hamilton-Brehm, Scott D.; Moser, Duane P.

2018-01-01

Devils Hole is the sole natural habitat of the critically endangered Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis). To establish a backup population, the Ash Meadows Fish Conservation Facility (AMFCF), a full-scale replica of the uppermost 6.7 m of Devils Hole, was constructed by management agencies in the mid-2010s. Despite rigorous efforts to mimic the bathymetric and physical details of the Devils Hole environment, the biogeochemistry and microbiology of the AMFCF refuge tank remain largely unaddressed. We evaluated water physicochemistry and employed Illumina DNA sequencing of 16S rRNA gene libraries to evaluate planktonic and benthic bacterial and archaeal community composition within their respective physicochemical contexts in Devils Hole and AMFCF on the same day. Major ion concentrations were consistent between the two systems, but water temperature and dissolved oxygen dynamics differed. Bioavailable nitrogen (primarily nitrate) was 5x lower in AMFCF. Devils Hole and AMFCF nitrogen:phosphorus molar ratios were 107:1 and 22:1, indicative of different nutrient control mechanisms. Both sites are microbiologically diverse, with over 40 prokaryotic phyla represented at each, with 37 shared between them and nearly than half deriving from candidate divisions. The abundance and composition of predicted photosynthetic primary producers (Cyanobacteria) was markedly different between sites: Devils Hole planktonic and sediment communities were dominated by Oscillatoria spp. (13.2% mean relative abundance), which proved virtually undetectable in AMFCF. Conversely, AMFCF was dominated by a predicted heterotroph from the Verrucomicrobiaceae family (31.7%); which was comparatively rare (<2.4%) in Devils Hole. We propose that the paucity of bioavailable nitrogen in AMFCF, perhaps resulting from physical isolation from allochthonous environmental inputs, is reflected in the microbial assemblage disparity, influences biogeochemical cycling of other dissolved constituents, and

Mercury accumulation in Devils Lake, North Dakota effects of environmental variation in closed-basin lakes on mercury chronologies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lent, R.M.; Alexander, C.R.

1997-01-01

Sediment cores were collected from lakes in the Devils Lake Basin in North Dakota to determine if mercury (Hg) accumulation chronologies from sediment-core data are good indicators of variations in Hg accumulation rates in saline lakes. Sediment cores from Creel Bay and Main Bay, Devils Lake were selected for detailed analysis and interpretation. The maximum Hg concentration in the Creel Bay core was 0.15 micrograms per gram at 8 to 9 centimeters. The maximum Hg concentration in the Main Bay core was 0.07 micrograms per gram at 5 to 7 centimeters. The general decreases in Hg concentrations with depth are attributed to historic variations in atmospheric Hg deposition rate. Hg stratigraphies combined with 210Pb and 137Cs dating analyses yield Hg chronologies that indicate a general increase in Hg accumulation rates in Devils Lake since the middle of the 19th century. Mean modern Hg accumulation rates in Creel Bay were 4.9 nanograms per square centimeter per year, and rates in Main Bay were 1.8 nanograms per square centimeter per year. Mean preindustrial Hg accumulation rates in Creel Bay were 1.2 nanograms per square centimeter per year, and rates in Main Bay were 1.6 nanograms per square centimeter per year. Relatively low Hg concentrations in recent sediments in the Devils Lake Basin, along with similarities in Hg accumulation rates between lakes in the Devils Lake Basin and other lakes in the northern interior of North America, indicate that local sources of Hg are not important sources of Hg. Results of the study indicate that accurate Hg chronologies are discernible in sediment cores collected from saline lakes. However, spatial and temporal variations in lake level and water chemistry common to saline lakes make interpretation of radioisotopic and geochemical chronologies difficult. Hg geochemistry in Devils Lake, and presumably in other saline lakes, is dynamic. The results of this study indicate that the absolute amount of sediment transported to Devils Lake

"The Sacred Spark of Wonder": Local Museums, Australian Curriculum History, and Pre-Service Primary Teacher Education: A Tasmanian Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brett, Peter

2014-01-01

This article explores the intersections between museum learning in a distinctive Tasmanian setting, the possibilities of a new national History curriculum, and the evolving views and professional practices of pre-service primary teachers at one Australian university. Following a brief overview of the framework for local and Australian history that…

78 FR 1751 - Modification of VOR Federal Airway V-170 in the Vicinity of Devils Lake, ND

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-09

..., Devils Lake, ND, to support non- radar separation requirements when the restricted area is active. DATES...-radar separation and airway clearance from the newly established R-5402, Devils Lake, ND (77 FR 54860... greatest level of safety and efficiency in the vicinity of this area that has poor low altitude radar...

Simulation of a proposed emergency outlet from Devils Lake, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Vecchia, Aldo V.

2002-01-01

From 1993 to 2001, Devils Lake rose more than 25 feet, flooding farmland, roads, and structures around the lake and causing more than $400 million in damages in the Devils Lake Basin. In July 2001, the level of Devils Lake was at 1,448.0 feet above sea level1, which was the highest lake level in more than 160 years. The lake could continue to rise to several feet above its natural spill elevation to the Sheyenne River (1,459 feet above sea level) in future years, causing extensive additional flooding in the basin and, in the event of an uncontrolled natural spill, downstream in the Red River of the North Basin as well. The outlet simulation model described in this report was developed to determine the potential effects of various outlet alternatives on the future lake levels and water quality of Devils Lake.Lake levels of Devils Lake are controlled largely by precipitation on the lake surface, evaporation from the lake surface, and surface inflow. For this study, a monthly water-balance model was developed to compute the change in total volume of Devils Lake, and a regression model was used to estimate monthly water-balance data on the basis of limited recorded data. Estimated coefficients for the regression model indicated fitted precipitation on the lake surface was greater than measured precipitation in most months, fitted evaporation from the lake surface was less than estimated evaporation in most months, and ungaged inflow was about 2 percent of gaged inflow in most months. Dissolved sulfate was considered to be the key water-quality constituent for evaluating the effects of a proposed outlet on downstream water quality. Because large differences in sulfate concentrations existed among the various bays of Devils Lake, monthly water-balance data were used to develop detailed water and sulfate mass-balance models to compute changes in sulfate load for each of six major storage compartments in response to precipitation, evaporation, inflow, and outflow from

Laboratory evaluation of sample collection methods (organs vs swabs) for Tasmanian salmon reovirus detection in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.

PubMed

Zainathan, S C; Carson, J; Crane, M St J; Nowak, B F

2013-04-01

The use of swabs relative to organs as a sample collection method for the detection of Tasmanian salmon reovirus (TSRV) in farmed Tasmanian Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., was evaluated by RT-qPCR. Evaluation of individual and pooled sample collection (organs vs swabs) was carried out to determine the sensitivity of the collection methods and the effect of pooling of samples for the detection of TSRV. Detection of TSRV in individual samples was as sensitive when organs were sampled compared to swabs, and in pooled samples, organs demonstrated a sensitivity of one 10-fold dilution higher than sampling of pooled swabs. Storage of swabs at 4 °C for t = 24 h demonstrated results similar to those at t = 0. Advantages of using swabs as a preferred sample collection method for the detection of TSRV compared to organ samples are evident from these experimental trials. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Impacts of Recent Wetting on Snow Processes and Runoff Generation in a Terminal Lake Basin, Devils Lake, North Dakota.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahmood, T. H.; Van Hoy, D.

2016-12-01

The Devils Lake Basin, only terminal lake basin in North America, drains to a terminal lake called Devils Lake. Terminal lakes are susceptible to climate and land use changes as their water levels fluctuate to these changes. The streamflow from the headwater catchments of the Devils Lake basin exerts a strong control on the water level of the lake. Since, the mid-1980s, the Devils Lake Basin as well as other basins in the northern Great Plains have faced a large and abrupt surge in precipitation regime resulting in a series of wetter climatic condition and flooding around the Devils Lake area. Nevertheless, the impacts of the recent wetting on snow processes such as snow accumulations, blowing snow transport, in-transit sublimation, frozen soil infiltration and snowmelt runoff generations in a headwater catchment of the Devils Lake basin are poorly understood. In this study, I utilize a physically-based, distributed cold regions hydrological model to simulate the hydrological responses in the Mauvais Coulee basin that drains to Devils Lake. The Mauvais Coulee basin ( 1072 km2), located in the north-central North Dakota, is set in a gently rolling landscape with low relief ( 220 m) and an average elevation of 500 m. Major land covers are forest areas in turtle mountains ( 10%) and crops ( 86%), with wheat ( 25%) and canola ( 20%) as the major crops. The model set up includes ten sub-basins, each of which is divided into several hydrological response units (HRUs): riparian forest, river channel, reservoir, wheat, canola, other crops, and marsh. The model is parameterized using local and regional measurements and the findings from previous scientific studies. The model is evaluated against streamflow observations at the Mauvais Coulee gauge (USGS) during 1994-2013 periods using multiple performance criteria. Finally, the impacts of recent increases in precipitation on hydrologic responses are investigated using modeled hydrologic processes.

In-situ growth of calcite at Devils Hole, Nevada: Comparison of field and laboratory rates to a 500,000 year record of near-equilibrium calcite growth

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plummer, Niel; Busenberg, E.; Riggs, A.C.

2000-01-01

Calcite grew continuously for 500,000 years on the submerged walls of an open fault plane (Devils Hole) in southern Nevada, U.S.A. at rates of 0.3 to 1.3 mm/ka, but ceased growing approximately 60,000 years ago, even though the fault plane remained open and was continuously submerged. The maximum initial in-situ growth rate on pre-weighed crystals of Iceland spar placed in Devils Hole (calcite saturation index, SI, is 0.16 to 0.21 at 33.7??C) for growth periods of 0.75 to 4.5 years was 0.22 mm/ka. Calcite growth on seed crystals slowed or ceased following initial contact with Devils Hole groundwater. Growth rates measured in synthetic Ca-HCO3 solutions at 34??C, CO2 partial pressures of 0.101, 0.0156 (similar to Devils Hole groundwater) and 0.00102 atm, and SI values of 0.2 to 1.9 were nearly independent of P(CO)(2), decreased with decreasing saturation state, and extrapolated through the historical Devils Hole rate. The results show that calcite growth rate is highly sensitive to saturation state near equilibrium. A calcite crystal retrieved from Devils Hole, and used without further treatment of its surface, grew in synthetic Devils Hole groundwater when the saturation index was raised nearly 10-fold that of Devils Hole water, but the rate was only 1/4 that of fresh laboratory crystals that had not contacted Devils Hole water. Apparently, inhibiting processes that halted calcite growth in Devils Hole 60,000 years ago continue today.

In-situ growth of calcite at Devils Hole, Nevada--Comparison of field and laboratory rates to a 500,000 year record of near-equilibrium calcite growth

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plummer, Niel; Busenberg, Eurybiades; Riggs, Alan C.

2000-01-01

Calcite grew continuously for 500,000 years on the submerged walls of an open fault plane (Devils Hole) in southern Nevada, U.S.A. at rates of 0.3 to 1.3 mm/ka, but ceased growing approximately 60,000 years ago, even though the fault plane remained open and was continuously submerged. The maximum initial in-situ growth rate on pre-weighed crystals of Iceland spar placed in Devils Hole (calcite saturation index, SI, is 0.16 to 0.21 at 33.7 °C) for growth periods of 0.75 to 4.5 years was 0.22 mm/ka. Calcite growth on seed crystals slowed or ceased following initial contact with Devils Hole groundwater. Growth rates measured in synthetic Ca-HCO3 solutions at 34 °C, CO2 partial pressures of 0.101, 0.0156 (similar to Devils Hole groundwater) and 0.00102 atm, and SI values of 0.2 to 1.9 were nearly independent of PCO2, decreased with decreasing saturation state, and extrapolated through the historical Devils Hole rate. The results show that calcite growth rate is highly sensitive to saturation state near equilibrium. A calcite crystal retrieved from Devils Hole, and used without further treatment of its surface, grew in synthetic Devils Hole groundwater when the saturation index was raised nearly 10-fold that of Devils Hole water, but the rate was only 1/4 that of fresh laboratory crystals that had not contacted Devils Hole water. Apparently, inhibiting processes that halted calcite growth in Devils Hole 60,000 years ago continue today.

Dust Devil Art

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-541, 11 November 2003

In some regions of Mars, dust devils create streaks by disrupting or removing thin coatings of fine, bright dust from the surface. This summertime view of terrain in southern Noachis Terra, acquired by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), provides an example. Streak patterns such as these are commonly created during the spring and summer in the southern hemisphere; in autumn and winter they are often erased--perhaps by deposition of a new coating of dust--and then a completely different pattern is formed the following spring and summer. This image is located near 59.6oS, 328.8oW. The picture is 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

"Dust Devils": Gardening Agents on the Surface of Mars, and Hidden Hazards to Human Exploration?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, J.; Smith, P.; White, B.; Farrell, W.

1999-01-01

Dust devils are familiar sites in the and regions of the world: they can produce quite spectacular displays of dust lofting when the vortices scavenge very loose dust from a dry lake bed or from recently disturbed agricultural fields. If one were to arrive at the center of an arid region, take one photograph, or even a series of photographs over a period of several days, then return the images for laboratory analysis, it would be most likely concluded that the region was inactive from an aeolian perspective. No images of general dust movement were obtained, nor were any dust devils "caught on camera" owing to their ephemeral and unpredictable appearance, and the fact that there was deceptively little residue of their actions. If, however, a camera were to take a 360 degree continuous recording over a period of a year, and the film were then to be shown at high speed over a period a several minutes, the impression might be that of a region ravaged by air vorticity and dust movement. Extrapolate this over geological time, and it is possible to visualize dust devils as prime aeolian agents, rather than insignificant vagaries of nature, On Mars, the thin atmosphere permits the surface of the planet to be heated but it does not itself retain heat with the capacity of the earth's atmosphere. This gives rise to greater thermal instability near the surface of Mars as "warm" air pockets diapiritically inject themselves into higher atmospheric layers. Resulting boundary-layer vorticity on Mars might therefore be expected to produce dust devils in abundance, if only seasonally. The spectacular images of dust devils obtained by Pathfinder within its brief functional period on the planet testify to the probability of highly frequent surface vorticity in light of the above reasoning about observational probability. Notably, the Pathfinder devils appeared to be at least a kilometer in height. There are several consequences for the geology of Mars, and for human exploration, if

"Dust Devils": Gardening Agents on the Surface of Mars, and Hidden Hazards to Human Exploration?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marshall, J.; Smith, P.; White, B.; Farrell, W.

1999-09-01

Dust devils are familiar sites in the and regions of the world: they can produce quite spectacular displays of dust lofting when the vortices scavenge very loose dust from a dry lake bed or from recently disturbed agricultural fields. If one were to arrive at the center of an arid region, take one photograph, or even a series of photographs over a period of several days, then return the images for laboratory analysis, it would be most likely concluded that the region was inactive from an aeolian perspective. No images of general dust movement were obtained, nor were any dust devils "caught on camera" owing to their ephemeral and unpredictable appearance, and the fact that there was deceptively little residue of their actions. If, however, a camera were to take a 360 degree continuous recording over a period of a year, and the film were then to be shown at high speed over a period a several minutes, the impression might be that of a region ravaged by air vorticity and dust movement. Extrapolate this over geological time, and it is possible to visualize dust devils as prime aeolian agents, rather than insignificant vagaries of nature, On Mars, the thin atmosphere permits the surface of the planet to be heated but it does not itself retain heat with the capacity of the earth's atmosphere. This gives rise to greater thermal instability near the surface of Mars as "warm" air pockets diapiritically inject themselves into higher atmospheric layers. Resulting boundary-layer vorticity on Mars might therefore be expected to produce dust devils in abundance, if only seasonally. The spectacular images of dust devils obtained by Pathfinder within its brief functional period on the planet testify to the probability of highly frequent surface vorticity in light of the above reasoning about observational probability. Notably, the Pathfinder devils appeared to be at least a kilometer in height. There are several consequences for the geology of Mars, and for human exploration, if

Electrical Characteristics of Simulated Tornadoes and Dust Devils

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zimmerman, Michael I.; Farrell, William M.; Barth, E. L.; Lewellen, W. S.; Perlongo, N. J.; Jackson, T. L.

2012-01-01

It is well known that tornadoes and dust devils have the ability to accumulate significant, visible clouds of debris. Collisions between sand-like debris species produce different electric charges on different types of grains, which convect along different trajectories around the vortex. Thus, significant charge separations and electric currents are possible, which as the vortex fluctuates over time are thought to produce ULF radiation signatures that have been measured in the field. These electric and magnetic fields may contain valuable information about tornado structure and genesis, and may be critical in driving electrochemical processes within dust devils on Mars. In the present work, existing large eddy simulations of debris-laden tornadoes performed at West Virginia University are coupled with a new debris-charging and advection code developed at Goddard Space Flight Center to investigate the detailed (meter-resolution) fluid-dynamic origins of electromagnetic fields within terrestrial vortices. First results are presented, including simulations of the electric and magnetic fields that would be observed by a near-surface, instrument-laden probe during a direct encounter with a tornado.

Dust devil track survey at Elysium Planitia, Mars: Implications for the InSight landing sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiss, Dennis; Lorenz, Ralph D.

2016-03-01

The InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) robotic lander is scheduled to land in Elysium Planitia on Mars in September 2016. InSight will perform the first comprehensive surface-based geophysical investigation including seismic measurements. Knowledge about encounter rates of dust devils with the InSight lander are important for two main reasons: (1) dust devils will affect the scientific measurements, i.e., wind-induced seismic noise, and (2) the power-supply of the InSight lander and instruments is provided by solar arrays and previous landers and rovers on Mars were affected by a steady decline in electrical power output due to atmospheric dust deposition on the solar panels. Long term science operations were only made possible by dust clearing events of the solar arrays caused by wind gusts and dust devils. In this study we analyzed dust devil tracks (DDTs) at the final InSight landing site region in Elysium Planitia. Formation of DDTs is caused by the removal of a layer of dust by passing dust devils, hence in principle the same process as clearing of dust from solar panels. We mapped the number, size (width and length), and orientation of DDTs in repeat observations using High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images covering the exact same surface area acquired within a relatively short time span (<90 martian days). In total, we analyzed 557 newly formed dust devil tracks in 8 study areas. DDTs are morphologically relatively straight with a low mean sinuosity of 1.03 and only reach maximum widths of 30 m. The mean DDT width is 4 m, indicating that the dust devil size population is dominated by small dust devils with a diameter <10 m. The size-frequency distribution of DDTs follows a -2 power law. The mean lengths of DDTs are 0.62 km and 1.23 km for complete (tracks which are visible from their start to end point) and incomplete DDTs (tracks running across the HiRISE footprint), respectively. The

Progress report: chemical character of surface waters in the Devils Lake Basin, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swenson, Herbert A.

1950-01-01

Devils Lake in northeastern North Dakota was at one time the most popular summer resort in the state. With decline in lake level the lake has become a shallow body pf vary saline water, which scenic value and recreational appeal completely destroyed. Under the Missouri River development program, it is proposed to restore the lake level to an altitude of 1,425 feet by diversion of Missouri River water. The chemical character of the water in Devils Lake and in other surface bodies in Devils Lake Basin is determined from the analyses of 95 samples. The physical and chemical properties of lake bed deposits are also shown. Lake water in the basin vary considerable in both concentration and composition, ranging from fresh bicarbonate waters of 300 parts per million dissolved solids to sulfate waters of over 100,000 parts per million of soluble salts. Twenty-four samples indicates the chemical character of water in the Red River of the North and its tributaries. The probable concentration of dissolved solids in water of Devils Lake at altitude 1,425 feet has been estimated as ranging from 3,000 to 7,600 parts per million. Final concentration will largely depend upon the percentage of deposited salts reentering solution and the quality of the inflow water. The possible effects of lake effluents on downstream developments, with particular reference to sanitation and pollution problems, are also discussed in this report.

SUV Tracks On Mars? The 'Devil' is in the Details

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) on Mars? Imagine the MOC imaging team's surprise on the morning of April 27, 1998, as the latest images came in from the 'Red Planet.'

A picture taken by the camera on Mars Global Surveyor just one day earlier showed several thin, dark lines that--at first glance--looked like pathways blazed by off-road sport utility vehicles. Who's been driving around on Mars?

The MOC image in question (#26403), seen here at full resolution of 13.8 meters (45 feet) per pixel, was obtained around 10:22 a.m. PDT on April 26, 1998, during Mars Global Surveyor's 264th orbit. North is approximately up, illumination is from the lower right. Located in eastern Arabia Terra near 16.5o N latitude, 311.4o W longitude, the image showed a number of natural features--small craters formed by meteor impact, several buttes and mesas left by erosion of the surrounding terrain, small dunes and drifts, and a mantle of dust that varies in thickness from place to place. But the new picture also showed two dark lines--each varying in width up to about 15 meters (49 feet)--that extended several kilometers/miles across the image.

Lines like these have been seen before on Mars. They are most likely the result of dust devils--columnar vortices of wind that move across the landscape, pick up dust, and look somewhat like miniature tornadoes. Dust devils are a common occurrence in dry and desert landscapes on Earth as well as Mars. They form when the ground heats up during the day, warming the air immediately above the surface. As pockets of warm air rise and interfere with one another, they create horizontal pressure variations that, combined with other meteorological winds, cause the upward moving air to spin (the direction of the spin is controlled by the same Coriolis forces that cause terrestrial hurricanes to spin in specific directions). As the spinning column of air moves across the surface, it occasionally encounters dust on the surface, which it can suck upward

To the theory of particle lifting by terrestrial and Martian dust devils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurgansky, M. V.

2018-01-01

The combined Rankine vortex model is applied to describe the radial profile of azimuthal velocity in atmospheric dust devils, and a simplified model version is proposed of the turbulent surface boundary layer beneath the Rankine vortex periphery that corresponds to the potential vortex. Based on the results by Burggraf et al. (1971), it is accepted that the radial velocity near the ground in the potential vortex greatly exceeds the azimuthal velocity, which makes tractable the problem of the surface shear stress determination, including the case of the turbulent surface boundary layer. The constructed model explains exceeding the threshold shear velocity for aeolian transport in typical dust-devil vortices both on Earth and on Mars.

Propagation of hybrid Devils Hole Pupfish × Ash Meadows Amargosa Pupfish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Feuerbacher, Olin; Mapula, Justin A.; Bonar, Scott A.

2015-01-01

Recent censuses of Devils Hole Pupfish Cyprinodon diabolis revealed that fewer than 100 individuals currently remain in the wild. Captive propagation is among actions being considered to prevent their extinction, but no pure-strain Devils Hole Pupfish were available for broodstock. To help provide emergency information, we investigated techniques to propagate their most closely related relative, hybrid Devils Hole Pupfish C. diabolis× Ash Meadows Amargosa Pupfish C. nevadensis mionectes. We tested various temperatures and larval feeds with respect to egg production, larval survival, and growth. Larval survival and growth were similar from 24°C to 32°C and egg production peaked at static 28°C; however, reducing water temperatures to 23°C and then raising them to 28°C resulted in even higher production. Larvae fed infusoria, Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Chow (RGSM), or Zeigler larval diet (ZLD) had the highest survival (79.4, 71.6, and 73.4%, respectively), and those fed Otohime (OTO) had the lowest survival (60.8%), although OTO provided greatest (14 mm) 30-d growth. Supplementation of RGSM or ZLD with Artemia nauplii increased growth but decreased survival. Larval production was maximized by placing six spawning mops, constructed of yarn and tile, in each of four 437-L parental aquaria, stocked with 24 adult fish each (1:1 sex ratio) for 3 d, to attract adults and provide spawning substrate. A 30% water change conducted on the same day of mop placement lowered water temperature from 28°C to 23°C. Water temperature was raised back to 28°C over 48 h. After 3 d, mops were transferred to hatching aquaria that were held at 28°C and aerated until larval hatch. Although some differences likely exist in effective propagation techniques for hybrid and pure-strain Devils Hole Pupfish, these data help provide initial recommendations to aid recovery.

The source of groundwater and solutes to Many Devils Wash at a former uranium mill site in Shiprock, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robertson, Andrew J.; Ranalli, Anthony J.; Austin, Stephen A.; Lawlis, Bryan R.

2016-04-21

The Shiprock Disposal Site is the location of the former Navajo Mill (Mill), a uranium ore-processing facility, located on a terrace overlooking the San Juan River in the town of Shiprock, New Mexico. Following the closure of the Mill, all tailings and associated materials were encapsulated in a disposal cell built on top of the former Mill and tailings piles. The milling operations, conducted at the site from 1954 to 1968, created radioactive tailings and process-related wastes that are now found in the groundwater. Elevated concentrations of constituents of concern—ammonium, manganese, nitrate, selenium, strontium, sulfate, and uranium—have also been measured in groundwater seeps in the nearby Many Devils Wash arroyo, leading to the inference that these constituents originated from the Mill. These constituents have also been reported in groundwater that is associated with Mancos Shale, the bedrock that underlies the site. The objective of this report is to increase understanding of the source of water and solutes to the groundwater beneath Many Devils Wash and to establish the background concentrations for groundwater that is in contact with the Mancos Shale at the site. This report presents evidence on three working hypotheses: (1) the water and solutes in Many Devils Wash originated from the operations at the former Mill, (2) groundwater in deep aquifers is upwelling under artesian pressure to recharge the shallow groundwater beneath Many Devils Wash, and (3) the groundwater beneath Many Devils Wash originates as precipitation that infiltrates into the shallow aquifer system and discharges to Many Devils Wash in a series of springs on the east side of the wash. The solute concentrations in the shallow groundwater of Many Devils Wash would result from the interaction of the water and the Mancos Shale if the source of water was upwelling from deep aquifers or precipitation.In order to compare the groundwater from various wells to groundwater that has been

Cutaneous water collection by a moisture-harvesting lizard, the thorny devil (Moloch horridus).

PubMed

Comanns, Philipp; Withers, Philip C; Esser, Falk J; Baumgartner, Werner

2016-11-01

Moisture-harvesting lizards, such as the Australian thorny devil, Moloch horridus, have the remarkable ability to inhabit arid regions. Special skin structures, comprising a micro-structured surface with capillary channels in between imbricate overlapping scales, enable the lizard to collect water by capillarity and transport it to the mouth for ingestion. The ecological role of this mechanism is the acquisition of water from various possible sources such as rainfall, puddles, dew, condensation on the skin, or absorption from moist sand, and we evaluate here the potential of these various sources for water uptake by M. horridus The water volume required to fill the skin capillary system is 3.19% of body mass. Thorny devils standing in water can fill their capillary system and then drink from this water, at approximately 0.7 µl per jaw movement. Thorny devils standing on nearly saturated moist sand could only fill the capillary channels to 59% of their capacity, and did not drink. However, placing moist sand on skin replicas showed that the capillary channels could be filled from moist sand when assisted by gravity, suggesting that their field behaviour of shovelling moist sand onto the dorsal skin might fill the capillary channels and enable drinking. Condensation facilitated by thermal disequilibrium between a cool thorny devil and warm moist air provided skin capillary filling to approximately 0.22% of body weight, which was insufficient for drinking. Our results suggest that rain and moist sand seem to be ecologically likely water sources for M. horridus on a regular basis. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Identifying genome-wide immune gene variation underlying infectious disease in wildlife populations - a next generation sequencing approach in the gopher tortoise.

PubMed

Elbers, Jean P; Brown, Mary B; Taylor, Sabrina S

2018-01-19

Infectious disease is the single greatest threat to taxa such as amphibians (chytrid fungus), bats (white nose syndrome), Tasmanian devils (devil facial tumor disease), and black-footed ferrets (canine distemper virus, plague). Although understanding the genetic basis to disease susceptibility is important for the long-term persistence of these groups, most research has been limited to major-histocompatibility and Toll-like receptor genes. To better understand the genetic basis of infectious disease susceptibility in a species of conservation concern, we sequenced all known/predicted immune response genes (i.e., the immunomes) in 16 Florida gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus. All tortoises produced antibodies against Mycoplasma agassizii (an etiologic agent of infectious upper respiratory tract disease; URTD) and, at the time of sampling, either had (n = 10) or lacked (n = 6) clinical signs. We found several variants associated with URTD clinical status in complement and lectin genes, which may play a role in Mycoplasma immunity. Thirty-five genes deviated from neutrality according to Tajima's D. These genes were enriched in functions relating to macromolecule and protein modifications, which are vital to immune system functioning. These results are suggestive of genetic differences that might contribute to disease severity, a finding that is consistent with other mycoplasmal diseases. This has implications for management because tortoises across their range may possess genetic variation associated with a more severe response to URTD. More generally: 1) this approach demonstrates that a broader consideration of immune genes is better able to identify important variants, and; 2) this data pipeline can be adopted to identify alleles associated with disease susceptibility or resistance in other taxa, and therefore provide information on a population's risk of succumbing to disease, inform translocations to increase genetic variation for disease resistance

Cycloidal Dust Devil Track

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-382, 5 June 2003

The spiraling feature near the center of this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image is known as a cycloidal marking. Patterns like this can also occur on Earth. On Mars, the cycloidalpattern--and all of the other dark streaks in this picture--are thought to have been formed by passing dust devils. On Earth, cycloidal markings have been observed to result from some tornadoes. The pattern is created when more than one vortex (spinning column of air) is traveling, and spinning, together. This picture is near 62.9oS, 234.7oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Martian Dust Devils: Laboratory Simulations of Particle Threshold

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greeley, Ronald; Balme, Matthew R.; Iverson, James D.; Metzger, Stephen; Mickelson, Robert; Phoreman, Jim; White, Bruce

2003-01-01

An apparatus has been fabricated to simulate terrestrial and Martian dust devils. Comparisons of surface pressure profiles through the vortex core generated in the apparatus with both those in natural dust devils on Earth and those inferred for Mars are similar and are consistent with theoretical Rankine vortex models. Experiments to determine particle threshold under Earth ambient atmospheric pressures show that sand (particles > 60 micron in diameter) threshold is analogous to normal boundary-layer shear, in which the rotating winds of the vortex generate surface shear and hence lift. Lower-pressure experiments down to approx. 65 mbar follow this trend for sand-sized particles. However, smaller particles (i.e., dust) and all particles at very low pressures (w 10-60 mbar) appear to be subjected to an additional lift function interpreted to result from the strong decrease in atmospheric pressure centered beneath the vortex core. Initial results suggest that the wind speeds required for the entrainment of grains approx. 2 microns in diameter (i.e., Martian dust sizes) are about half those required for entrainment by boundary layer winds on both Earth and Mars.

Instructional Note: Using "The Devil's Dictionary" to Teach Definitions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, Mary T.

2004-01-01

Known as Bitter Bierce, the writer Ambrose Bierce spent years ironically redefining the terms for a host of people, things, actions, and concepts, compiling his redefinitions into the "The Devil's Dictionary." In this article, the author describes how she uses this caustic work as a model for an exercise when her developmental writing class begins…

Water storage capacity of natural wetland depressions in the Devils Lake basin of North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ludden, A.P.; Frink, D.L.; Johnson, D.H.

1983-01-01

Photogrammetric mapping techniques were used to derive the water storage capacities of natural wetland depressions other than lakes in the Devils Lake Basin of North Dakota. Results from sample quarter-section areas were expanded to the entire basin. Depressions in the Devils Lake Basin have a maximum storage capacity of nearly 811,000 cubic dekameters (657,000 acre-feet). The depressions store about 72 percent of the total runoff volume from a 2-year-frequency runoff and about 41 percent of the total runoff volume from a 100-year-frequency runoff.

A response to "Milankovitch theory viewed from Devils Hole" by J. Imbrie, A.C. Mix and D.G. Martinson

USGS Publications Warehouse

Winograd, I.J.; Landwehr, J.M.

1993-01-01

The detailed and well-dated 500,000-yr record of oxygen-18 variations found in vein calcite core DH-11 taken from Devils Hole in Nevada provides several challenges to the Milankovitch theory for the occurrence of Quaternary glaciations. A recent discussion paper (Imbrie and others, 1993) has dismissed the relevance of this well-dated core for determining the timing of global climatic fluctuations and, moreover, asserts that the Devils Hole record provides support for the Milankovitch theory. Upon analysis of the arguments found in this discussion, the authors found nothing to dissuade them from the original conclusion that the Devils Hole chronology does present a serious challenge to the Milankovitch theory.

New Approaches in estimating Dust Devil Parameters, Trajectories and Populations from Single-Station Measurements on Mars and Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, Ralph

2015-11-01

A Monte-Carlo modeling approach (Lorenz, J. Atm. Sci., 2014) using a power law population function and empirical correlations between diameter and longevity can be used to reconcile single-station pressure records of vortex close-approaches with visual counts of dust devils and Large Eddy Simulations (LES). That work suggests that on Earth, the populations can be reconciled if dust-lifting occurs with a typical threshold corresponding to core pressure drop of 0.8 mb, a little higher than the ~0.3 mb estimated in laboratory experiments. A similar analysis can be conducted at Mars. The highest vortex production rates in LES, indicated from field encounters, and extrapolated from visual counts, appear to be of the order of 1000 per km2 per day.Recent field experiments at a playa near Goldstone, CA (Lorenz et al., Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, in press) show that dust devils cause a ground tilt, due to the negative pressure load of the vortex on the elastic ground, that can be detected with a broadband seismometer like that on InSight. Dust devils therefore can serve as a ‘seismic source’ to characterize the shallow subsurface.Observations of the InSight landing area in Elysium by Reiss and Lorenz (Icarus, submitted) show that dust devil trails are abundant, but smaller in diameter than those at Gusev. This may indicate a shallower Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) at this site and season : Fenton and Lorenz (Icarus, 2015) found that observed dust devil height and spacing in Amazonis relates to the PBL thickness.Quantitative assessment of dust devil effects (e.g. electrical and magnetic signatures) requires knowledge of encounter geometry, notably miss distance. A recent heuristic approach has been developed (Lorenz, Icarus, submitted) to fit an analytic vortex model to pressure, windspeed and direction histories to recover this geometry. Some ambiguities exist, but can be constrained with camera images and/or the azimuth history estimated from

Use of a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model to evaluate extreme flooding and transport of dissolved solids through Devils Lake and Stump Lake, North Dakota, 2006

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nustad, Rochelle A.; Wood, Tamara M.; Bales, Jerad D.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the North Dakota Department of Transportation, North Dakota State Water Commission, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, developed a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of Devils Lake and Stump Lake, North Dakota to be used as a hydrologic tool for evaluating the effects of different inflow scenarios on water levels, circulation, and the transport of dissolved solids through the lake. The numerical model, UnTRIM, and data primarily collected during 2006 were used to develop and calibrate the Devils Lake model. Performance of the Devils Lake model was tested using 2009 data. The Devils Lake model was applied to evaluate the effects of an extreme flooding event on water levels and hydrological modifications within the lake on the transport of dissolved solids through Devils Lake and Stump Lake. For the 2006 calibration, simulated water levels in Devils Lake compared well with measured water levels. The maximum simulated water level at site 1 was within 0.13 feet of the maximum measured water level in the calibration, which gives reasonable confidence that the Devils Lake model is able to accurately simulate the maximum water level at site 1 for the extreme flooding scenario. The timing and direction of winddriven fluctuations in water levels on a short time scale (a few hours to a day) were reproduced well by the Devils Lake model. For this application, the Devils Lake model was not optimized for simulation of the current speed through bridge openings. In future applications, simulation of current speed through bridge openings could be improved by more accurate definition of the bathymetry and geometry of select areas in the model grid. As a test of the performance of the Devils Lake model, a simulation of 2009 conditions from April 1 through September 30, 2009 was performed. Overall, errors in inflow estimates affected the results for the 2009 simulation; however, for the rising phase of the lakes, the Devils Lake model

Evaluating Capability of Devils Lake Emergency Outlets in Lowering Lake Water Levels While Controlling flooding Damage to Downstream

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scanlon, B. R.; Zhang, Z.; Sun, A.; Save, H.; Mueller Schmied, H.; Wada, Y.; Doll, P. M.; Eisner, S.

2016-12-01

Devils Lake is an endorheic lake locate in the Red River of the North Basin with a natural outlet at a level of 444.7 meters above the sea level flowing into the Sheyenne River. Historical accumulation of salts has dramatically increased the concentration of salts in the lake, particularly of the sulfates, that are much greater than the surrounding water bodies. Since 1993, the lake water level has risen by nearly 10 meters and caused extensive flooding in the surrounding area, and greatly increased the chance of natural spillage to the Sheyenne River. To mitigate Devils Lake flooding and to prevent its natural spillage, two outlets were constructed at the west and east sides of the lake to drain the water to the Sheyenne River in a controlled fashion. However, pumping water from Devils Lake has degraded water quality of the Sheyenne River. In an earlier study, we coupled Soil and Water Assessment Tools (SWAT) and CE-QUAL-W2 models to investigate the changes of sulfate distribution as the lake water level rises. We found that, while operating the two outlets has lowered Devils Lake water level by 0.7 meter, it has also significantly impaired the Sheyenne River water quality, increasing the Sheyenne River average sulfate concentration from 105 to 585 mg l-1 from 2012 to 2014 In this study, we investigate the impact of the outlets on the Sheyenne River floodplain by coupling SWAT and HEC-RAS model. The SWAT model performed well in simulating daily streamflow in the Sheyenne River with R2>0.56 and ENS > 0.52. The simulated water depths and floodplain by HEC-RAS model for the Sheyenne River agreed well with observations. Operating the outlets from April to October can draw down the Devil Lake water level by 0.45 m, but the drained water would almost double the extension of the Sheyenne River floodplain and elevate the sulfate concentration in the Sheyenne River above the 450 mg l-1 North Dakota sulfate concentration standard for stream class I. Operating the outlets is

Evaluating Capability of Devils Lake Emergency Outlets in Lowering Lake Water Levels While Controlling flooding Damage to Downstream

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shabani, A.; Zhang, X.

2017-12-01

Devils Lake is an endorheic lake locate in the Red River of the North Basin with a natural outlet at a level of 444.7 meters above the sea level flowing into the Sheyenne River. Historical accumulation of salts has dramatically increased the concentration of salts in the lake, particularly of the sulfates, that are much greater than the surrounding water bodies. Since 1993, the lake water level has risen by nearly 10 meters and caused extensive flooding in the surrounding area, and greatly increased the chance of natural spillage to the Sheyenne River. To mitigate Devils Lake flooding and to prevent its natural spillage, two outlets were constructed at the west and east sides of the lake to drain the water to the Sheyenne River in a controlled fashion. However, pumping water from Devils Lake has degraded water quality of the Sheyenne River. In an earlier study, we coupled Soil and Water Assessment Tools (SWAT) and CE-QUAL-W2 models to investigate the changes of sulfate distribution as the lake water level rises. We found that, while operating the two outlets has lowered Devils Lake water level by 0.7 meter, it has also significantly impaired the Sheyenne River water quality, increasing the Sheyenne River average sulfate concentration from 105 to 585 mg l-1 from 2012 to 2014 In this study, we investigate the impact of the outlets on the Sheyenne River floodplain by coupling SWAT and HEC-RAS model. The SWAT model performed well in simulating daily streamflow in the Sheyenne River with R2>0.56 and ENS > 0.52. The simulated water depths and floodplain by HEC-RAS model for the Sheyenne River agreed well with observations. Operating the outlets from April to October can draw down the Devil Lake water level by 0.45 m, but the drained water would almost double the extension of the Sheyenne River floodplain and elevate the sulfate concentration in the Sheyenne River above the 450 mg l-1 North Dakota sulfate concentration standard for stream class I. Operating the outlets is

Classification of 3 DES supernova with OzDES and DEVILS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, L. J. M.; Driver, S. P.; Hashemizadeh, A.; Kushan, S. l.; Lidman, C.; Mannering, E.; Panther, F.; Sharp, R.; Sommer, N. E.; Tucker, B. E.; Zhang, B.; Mudd, D.; Swann, E. S.; Wiseman, P.; King, A.; Mould, J. R.; Calcino, J.; Bolejko, K.; Papadopoulos, A.; Morganson, E.; Desai, S.; Paech, K.; Smith, R. C.; Schubnell, M.; Moller, A.; Yuan, F.; Davis, T. M.; Hinton, S.; Asorey, J.; Lewis, G. F.; Muthukrishna, D.; Uddin, S.; Kessler, R.; Lasker, J.; Scolnic, D.; Brout, D. J.; D'Andrea, C.; Gladney, L.; March, M.; Sako, M.; Wolf, R. C.; Brown, P. J.; Krisciunas, K.; Suntzeff, N.; Macaulay, E.; Nichol, R.; Maartens, R.; Childress, M.; Prajs, S.; Smith, M.; Sullivan, M.; Kovacs, E.; Kuhlmann, S.; Spinka, H.; Ahn, E.; Finley, D. A.; Frieman, J.; Marriner, J.; Wester, W.; Aldering, G.; Gupta, R.; Kim, A. G.; Thomas, R. C.; Barbary, K.; Bloom, J. S.; Goldstein, D.; Nugent, P.; Perlmutter, S.; Foley, R. J.; Pan, Y.-C.; Casas, R.; Castander, F. J.

2018-06-01

We report new spectroscopic classifications by OzDES and DEVILS of supernovae discovered by the Dark Energy Survey (ATEL #4668). The spectra (370-885nm) were obtained with the AAOmega Spectrograph (Saunders et al. 2004, SPIE, 5492, 389) and the 2dF fibre positioner at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT).

Facial Scar Revision: Understanding Facial Scar Treatment

MedlinePlus

... Contact Us Trust your face to a facial plastic surgeon Facial Scar Revision Understanding Facial Scar Treatment ... face like the eyes or lips. A facial plastic surgeon has many options for treating and improving ...

DEVILS DEN ROADLESS AREA, VERMONT.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Slack, John F.; Sabin, Andrew E.

1984-01-01

A mineral-resource survey was made of the Devils Den Roadless Area, Vermont, Geochemical sampling found traces of gold, copper, barium, lead, molybdenum, silver, tin, and thorium in rocks, stream sediments, and panned concentrates, but not in sufficient quantities to identify any resource potential. The only apparent resources are nonmetallic commodities including abundant rock suitable for crushihg, and very small deposits of sand and gravel and marble; these also occur outside the roadless area. The area was also evaluated for bedrock uranium and thorium deposits, but not anomalously high radioactive bedrock was found. A potential may exist for oil or natural gas at great depth, but this cannot be evaluated by the present study.

A Devil's dictionary for mental health

PubMed Central

Timms, Philip

2017-01-01

Clinical psychiatry, for all its emphasis on scientific rigour, is mediated mainly by words rather than by numbers. As with other professional areas, it has developed its own set of jargon words and phrases. Many of these are not the technical terms traditionally seen as jargon, but standard English words and phrases used in an idiosyncratic way. They therefore go unnoticed as jargon, while enfeebling our communications. I have used the template of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary to highlight some examples, with the aim of helping us all to talk, write and, perhaps, think more clearly. PMID:29018547

Structured chaos in a devil's staircase of the Josephson junction.

PubMed

Shukrinov, Yu M; Botha, A E; Medvedeva, S Yu; Kolahchi, M R; Irie, A

2014-09-01

The phase dynamics of Josephson junctions (JJs) under external electromagnetic radiation is studied through numerical simulations. Current-voltage characteristics, Lyapunov exponents, and Poincaré sections are analyzed in detail. It is found that the subharmonic Shapiro steps at certain parameters are separated by structured chaotic windows. By performing a linear regression on the linear part of the data, a fractal dimension of D = 0.868 is obtained, with an uncertainty of ±0.012. The chaotic regions exhibit scaling similarity, and it is shown that the devil's staircase of the system can form a backbone that unifies and explains the highly correlated and structured chaotic behavior. These features suggest a system possessing multiple complete devil's staircases. The onset of chaos for subharmonic steps occurs through the Feigenbaum period doubling scenario. Universality in the sequence of periodic windows is also demonstrated. Finally, the influence of the radiation and JJ parameters on the structured chaos is investigated, and it is concluded that the structured chaos is a stable formation over a wide range of parameter values.

Structured chaos in a devil's staircase of the Josephson junction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukrinov, Yu. M.; Botha, A. E.; Medvedeva, S. Yu.; Kolahchi, M. R.; Irie, A.

2014-09-01

The phase dynamics of Josephson junctions (JJs) under external electromagnetic radiation is studied through numerical simulations. Current-voltage characteristics, Lyapunov exponents, and Poincaré sections are analyzed in detail. It is found that the subharmonic Shapiro steps at certain parameters are separated by structured chaotic windows. By performing a linear regression on the linear part of the data, a fractal dimension of D = 0.868 is obtained, with an uncertainty of ±0.012. The chaotic regions exhibit scaling similarity, and it is shown that the devil's staircase of the system can form a backbone that unifies and explains the highly correlated and structured chaotic behavior. These features suggest a system possessing multiple complete devil's staircases. The onset of chaos for subharmonic steps occurs through the Feigenbaum period doubling scenario. Universality in the sequence of periodic windows is also demonstrated. Finally, the influence of the radiation and JJ parameters on the structured chaos is investigated, and it is concluded that the structured chaos is a stable formation over a wide range of parameter values.

Structured chaos in a devil's staircase of the Josephson junction

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

Shukrinov, Yu. M.; Botha, A. E., E-mail: bothaae@unisa.ac.za; Medvedeva, S. Yu.

2014-09-01

The phase dynamics of Josephson junctions (JJs) under external electromagnetic radiation is studied through numerical simulations. Current-voltage characteristics, Lyapunov exponents, and Poincaré sections are analyzed in detail. It is found that the subharmonic Shapiro steps at certain parameters are separated by structured chaotic windows. By performing a linear regression on the linear part of the data, a fractal dimension of D = 0.868 is obtained, with an uncertainty of ±0.012. The chaotic regions exhibit scaling similarity, and it is shown that the devil's staircase of the system can form a backbone that unifies and explains the highly correlated and structured chaotic behavior.more » These features suggest a system possessing multiple complete devil's staircases. The onset of chaos for subharmonic steps occurs through the Feigenbaum period doubling scenario. Universality in the sequence of periodic windows is also demonstrated. Finally, the influence of the radiation and JJ parameters on the structured chaos is investigated, and it is concluded that the structured chaos is a stable formation over a wide range of parameter values.« less

Climatology, hydrology, and simulation of an emergency outlet, Devils Lake basin, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiche, Gregg J.; Vecchia, A.V.; Osborne, Leon; Wood, Carrie M.; Fay, James T.

2000-01-01

Devils Lake is a natural lake in northeastern North Dakota that is the terminus of a nearly 4,000-square-mile subbasin in the Red River of the North Basin. The lake has not reached its natural spill elevation to the Sheyenne River (a tributary of the Red River of the North) in recorded history. However, geologic evidence indicates a spill occurred sometime within the last 1,800 years. From 1993 to 1999, Devils Lake rose 24.5 feet and, at the present (August 2000), is about 13 feet below the natural spill elevation. The recent lake-level rise has caused flood damages exceeding $300 million and triggered development of future flood-control options to prevent further infrastructure damage and reduce the risk of a potentially catastrophic uncontrolled spill. Construction of an emergency outlet from the west end of Devils Lake to the Sheyenne River is one flood-control option being considered. This report describes the climatologic and hydrologic causes of the recent lake level rise, provides information on the potential for continued lake-level rises during the next 15 years, and describes the potential effectiveness of an emergency outlet in reducing future lake levels and in reducing the risk of an uncontrolled spill. The potential effects of an outlet on downstream water quantity and quality in the upper Sheyenne River also are described.

[Effects of a Facial Muscle Exercise Program including Facial Massage for Patients with Facial Palsy].

PubMed

Choi, Hyoung Ju; Shin, Sung Hee

2016-08-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a facial muscle exercise program including facial massage on the facial muscle function, subjective symptoms related to paralysis and depression in patients with facial palsy. This study was a quasi-experimental research with a non-equivalent control group non-synchronized design. Participants were 70 patients with facial palsy (experimental group 35, control group 35). For the experimental group, the facial muscular exercise program including facial massage was performed 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week for two weeks. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, χ²-test, Fisher's exact test and independent sample t-test with the SPSS 18.0 program. Facial muscular function of the experimental group improved significantly compared to the control group. There was no significant difference in symptoms related to paralysis between the experimental group and control group. The level of depression in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group. Results suggest that a facial muscle exercise program including facial massage is an effective nursing intervention to improve facial muscle function and decrease depression in patients with facial palsy.

Phoenix Mars Lander: Vortices and Dust Devils at the Landing Site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellehoj, M. D.; Taylor, P. A.; Gunnlaugsson, H. P.; Gheynani, B. T.; Drube, L.; von Holstein-Rathlou, C.; Whiteway, J.; Lemmon, M.; Madsen, M. B.; Fisher, D.; Volpe, R.; Smith, P.

2008-12-01

Near continuous measurements of temperatures and pressure on the Phoenix Mars Lander are used to identify the passage of vertically oriented vortex structures at the Phoenix landing site (126W, 68N) on Mars. Observations: During the Phoenix mission the pressure and temperature sensors frequently detected features passing over or close to the lander. Short duration (order 20 s) pressure drops of order 1-2 Pa, and often less, were observed relatively frequently, accompanied by increases in temperature. Similar features were observed from the Pathfinder mission, although in that case the reported pressure drops were often larger [1]. Statistics of the pressure drop features over the first 102 sols of the Phoenix mission shows that most of the events occur between noon and 15:00 LMST - the hottest part of the sol. Dust Raising: By assuming the concept of a vortex in cyclostrophic flow as well as various assumptions about the atmosphere, we obtain a pressure drop of 1.9 - 3.2 Pa if dust is to be raised. We only saw few pressure drops this large in Sols 0-102. However, the features do not need to pass directly over the lander and the pressures could be lower than the minima we measure. Furthermore, the response time of the pressure sensor is of order 3-5 s so it may not capture peak pressure perturbations. Thus, more dust devils may have occurred near the Phoenix site, but most of our detected vortices would be ghostly, dustless devils. Modelling: Using a Large Eddy Simulation model, we can simulate highly convective boundary layers on Mars [2]. The typical vortex has a diameter of 150 m, and extends up to 1 km. Further calculations give an incidence of 11 vortex events per day that could be compatible with the LES simulations. Deeper investigation of this is planned -but the numbers are roughly compatible. If the significant pressure signatures are limited to the center of the vortex then 5 per sol might be appropriate. The Phoenix mission has collected a unique set of

One Newspaper's Role in the Demise of the Tasmanian Essential Learnings Curriculum: Adding New Understandings to Cohen's Moral Panic Theory in Analyzing Curriculum Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodwell, Grant

2011-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of print media in the development of systemwide curriculum change. Consideration is given to the nature and influence of newspapers on public opinion about curriculum change through the examination of the role of the "Mercury" in one period in the history of Tasmanian curriculum change.…

[Facial palsy].

PubMed

Cavoy, R

2013-09-01

Facial palsy is a daily challenge for the clinicians. Determining whether facial nerve palsy is peripheral or central is a key step in the diagnosis. Central nervous lesions can give facial palsy which may be easily differentiated from peripheral palsy. The next question is the peripheral facial paralysis idiopathic or symptomatic. A good knowledge of anatomy of facial nerve is helpful. A structure approach is given to identify additional features that distinguish symptomatic facial palsy from idiopathic one. The main cause of peripheral facial palsies is idiopathic one, or Bell's palsy, which remains a diagnosis of exclusion. The most common cause of symptomatic peripheral facial palsy is Ramsay-Hunt syndrome. Early identification of symptomatic facial palsy is important because of often worst outcome and different management. The prognosis of Bell's palsy is on the whole favorable and is improved with a prompt tapering course of prednisone. In Ramsay-Hunt syndrome, an antiviral therapy is added along with prednisone. We also discussed of current treatment recommendations. We will review short and long term complications of peripheral facial palsy.

Sound-induced facial synkinesis following facial nerve paralysis.

PubMed

Ma, Ming-San; van der Hoeven, Johannes H; Nicolai, Jean-Philippe A; Meek, Marcel F

2009-08-01

Facial synkinesis (or synkinesia) (FS) occurs frequently after paresis or paralysis of the facial nerve and is in most cases due to aberrant regeneration of (branches of) the facial nerve. Patients suffer from inappropriate and involuntary synchronous facial muscle contractions. Here we describe two cases of sound-induced facial synkinesis (SFS) after facial nerve injury. As far as we know, this phenomenon has not been described in the English literature before. Patient A presented with right hemifacial palsy after lesion of the facial nerve due to skull base fracture. He reported involuntary muscle activity at the right corner of the mouth, specifically on hearing ringing keys. Patient B suffered from left hemifacial palsy following otitis media and developed involuntary muscle contraction in the facial musculature specifically on hearing clapping hands or a trumpet sound. Both patients were evaluated by means of video, audio and EMG analysis. Possible mechanisms in the pathophysiology of SFS are postulated and therapeutic options are discussed.

Systematic characterization of structural, dynamical and electrical properties of dust devils and implications for dust lifting processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franzese, Gabriele; Esposito, Francesca; Lorenz, Ralph D.; Popa, Ciprian; Silvestro, Simone; Deniskina, Natalia; Cozzolino, Fabio

2017-04-01

Dust devils are convective vortices able to lift sand and dust grains from the soil surface, even in conditions of low wind speed environment. They have been observed not only on Earth but also on other planets of the solar system; in particular, they are largely studied on Mars. Indeed, the contribution of the dust devils to the Martian climate is a highly debated question. In order to investigate this topic, it is important to understand the nature of the dust lifting mechanism by the vortex and characterize the induced electric field. As part of the development process of DREAMS, the meteorological station on board the Schiapparelli lander of the ExoMars 2016 mission, and of the Dust complex package of the ExoMars 2020 mission, we performed various field campaigns in the Sahara desert (Tafilalt region, Morocco). We deployed a fully equipped meteorological station and, during the 2014 summer, we observed three months of dust devils activity, collecting almost six hundreds events. For each dust devil, we monitored the horizontal wind speed and direction, the vertical wind speed, the pressure drop due to the vortex core, the temperature, the induced electric field and the concentration of dust lifted. This data set is unique in literature and represents up to now the most comprehensive one available for the dusty convective vortices. Here we will present the analysis of the Moroccan data with particular emphasis on the study of the atmospheric electric field variations due to the passage of the vortices. The distribution of the vortex parameters (wind speed and direction, pressure, E-field and dust lifted) are showed and compared, when possible, to the ones observed by the Martian surveys. The connection between the E-field and the other parameters will be presented. In the terrestrial environment, the development of the convective vortices is restricted by the presence of the vegetation and of the urban areas, hence dust devils can impact the climate only on local

Facial dynamics and emotional expressions in facial aging treatments.

PubMed

Michaud, Thierry; Gassia, Véronique; Belhaouari, Lakhdar

2015-03-01

Facial expressions convey emotions that form the foundation of interpersonal relationships, and many of these emotions promote and regulate our social linkages. Hence, the facial aging symptomatological analysis and the treatment plan must of necessity include knowledge of the facial dynamics and the emotional expressions of the face. This approach aims to more closely meet patients' expectations of natural-looking results, by correcting age-related negative expressions while observing the emotional language of the face. This article will successively describe patients' expectations, the role of facial expressions in relational dynamics, the relationship between facial structures and facial expressions, and the way facial aging mimics negative expressions. Eventually, therapeutic implications for facial aging treatment will be addressed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Water quality and the composition of fish and macroinvertebrate communities in the Devils and Pecos Rivers within and upstream from the Amistad National Recreation Area, Texas, 2005-7

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moring, J. Bruce

2012-01-01

The total number of fish species collected was the same in the Devils River and Pecos River, but the species found in the two rivers varied slightly. The number of fish species generally increased from the site farthest upstream to the site farthest downstream in the Devils River, and decreased between the site farthest upstream and site farthest downstream in the Pecos River. The redbreast sunfish was the most abundant species collected in the Devils River, and the blacktail shiner was the most abundant species collected in the Pecos River. Comparing the species from each river, the percentage of omnivorous fish species was larger at the more downstream sites closer to Amistad Reservoir, and the percentage of species tolerant of environmental stressors was larger in the Pecos River. The fish community, assessed on the basis of the number of shared species among the sites sampled, was more similar to the fish community at the other sites on the same river than it was to the fish community from any other site in the other river. More macroinvertebrate taxa were collected in the Devils River than in the Pecos River. The largest number of macroinvertebrate taxa were from the site second farthest downstream on the Devils River, and the smallest numbers of macroinvertebrate taxa were from the farthest downstream site on the Pecos River. Mayflies were more common in the Devils River, and caddisflies were less common than mayflies at most sites. Net-spinning caddisflies were more common at the Devils River sites. The combined percent of mayfly, caddisfly, and stonefly taxa was generally larger at the Pecos River sites. Riffle beetles were the most commonly collected beetle taxon among all sites, and water-penny beetles were only collected at the Pecos River sites. A greater number of true midge taxa were collected more than any other taxa at the genus and species taxonomic level. Non-insect macroinvertebrate taxa were more common at the Devils River sites. Corbicula sp

Response of Water Levels in Devils Hole, Death Valley National Park, Nevada, to Atmospheric Loading, Earth Tides, and Earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cutillo, P. A.; Ge, S.

2004-12-01

Devils Hole, home to the endangered Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis) in Death Valley National Park, Nevada, is one of about 30 springs and the largest collapse depression in the Ash Meadows area. The small pool leads to an extensive subterranean cavern within the regional Paleozoic carbonate-rock aquifer. Previous work has established that the pool level fluctuates in response to changes in barometric pressure, Earth tides and earthquakes. Analyses of these fluctuations indicate that the formation is a sensitive indicator of crustal strain, and provide important information regarding the material properties of the surrounding aquifer. Over ten years of hourly water-level measurements were analyzed for the effects of atmospheric loading and Earth tides. The short-term water-level fluctuations caused by these effects were found to be on the order of millimeters to centimeters, indicating relatively low matrix compressibility. Accordingly, the Devils Hole water-level record shows strong responses to the June 28, 1992 Landers/Little Skull Mountain earthquake sequence and to the October 16, 1999 Hector Mine earthquake. A dislocation model was used to calculate volumetric strain for each earthquake. The sensitivity of Devils Hole to strain induced by the solid Earth tide was used to constrain the modeling. Water-level decreases observed following the 1992 and 1999 earthquakes were found to be consistent with areas of crustal expansion predicted by the dislocation model. The magnitude of the water-level changes was also found to be proportional to the predicted coseismic volumetric strain. Post-seismic pore-pressure diffusion, governed by the hydraulic diffusivity of the aquifer, was simulated with a numerical model using the coseismic change in pore pressure as an initial condition. Results of the numerical model indicate that factors such as fault-plane geometry and aquifer heterogeneity may play an important role in controlling pore pressure diffusion in the

Evaluating an icon of population persistence: the Devil's Hole pupfish

PubMed Central

Reed, J. Michael; Stockwell, Craig A.

2014-01-01

The Devil's Hole pupfish Cyprinodon diabolis has iconic status among conservation biologists because it is one of the World's most vulnerable species. Furthermore, C. diabolis is the most widely cited example of a persistent, small, isolated vertebrate population; a chronic exception to the rule that small populations do not persist long in isolation. It is widely asserted that this species has persisted in small numbers (less than 400 adults) for 10 000–20 000 years, but this assertion has never been evaluated. Here, we analyse the time series of count data for this species, and we estimate time to coalescence from microsatellite data to evaluate this hypothesis. We conclude that mean time to extinction is approximately 360–2900 years (median 410–1800), with less than a 2.1% probability of persisting 10 000 years. Median times to coalescence varied from 217 to 2530 years, but all five approximations had wide credible intervals. Our analyses suggest that Devil's Hole pupfish colonized this pool well after the Pleistocene Lakes receded, probably within the last few hundred to few thousand years; this could have occurred through human intervention. PMID:25232135

Air Quality at Devils Postpile National Monument, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA

Treesearch

Joel D. Burley; Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Monica Buhler; Barbara Zielinska; Donald Schweizer; Ricardo Cisneros; Susan Schilling; Jennifer Chapman Varela; Mark McDaniel; Michelle Horn; Deanna Dulen

2016-01-01

Ambient concentrations of O3, PM2.5, NH3, NO, NO2, HNO3, SO2 and VOCs were measured at Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO) during the summer seasons of 2013 and 2014. The measurements were impacted by the Aspen and Rim Fires in...

Multiracial Facial Golden Ratio and Evaluation of Facial Appearance.

PubMed

Alam, Mohammad Khursheed; Mohd Noor, Nor Farid; Basri, Rehana; Yew, Tan Fo; Wen, Tay Hui

2015-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the association of facial proportion and its relation to the golden ratio with the evaluation of facial appearance among Malaysian population. This was a cross-sectional study with 286 randomly selected from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Health Campus students (150 females and 136 males; 100 Malaysian Chinese, 100 Malaysian Malay and 86 Malaysian Indian), with the mean age of 21.54 ± 1.56 (Age range, 18-25). Facial indices obtained from direct facial measurements were used for the classification of facial shape into short, ideal and long. A validated structured questionnaire was used to assess subjects' evaluation of their own facial appearance. The mean facial indices of Malaysian Indian (MI), Malaysian Chinese (MC) and Malaysian Malay (MM) were 1.59 ± 0.19, 1.57 ± 0.25 and 1.54 ± 0.23 respectively. Only MC showed significant sexual dimorphism in facial index (P = 0.047; P<0.05) but no significant difference was found between races. Out of the 286 subjects, 49 (17.1%) were of ideal facial shape, 156 (54.5%) short and 81 (28.3%) long. The facial evaluation questionnaire showed that MC had the lowest satisfaction with mean score of 2.18 ± 0.97 for overall impression and 2.15 ± 1.04 for facial parts, compared to MM and MI, with mean score of 1.80 ± 0.97 and 1.64 ± 0.74 respectively for overall impression; 1.75 ± 0.95 and 1.70 ± 0.83 respectively for facial parts. 1) Only 17.1% of Malaysian facial proportion conformed to the golden ratio, with majority of the population having short face (54.5%); 2) Facial index did not depend significantly on races; 3) Significant sexual dimorphism was shown among Malaysian Chinese; 4) All three races are generally satisfied with their own facial appearance; 5) No significant association was found between golden ratio and facial evaluation score among Malaysian population.

Multiracial Facial Golden Ratio and Evaluation of Facial Appearance

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the association of facial proportion and its relation to the golden ratio with the evaluation of facial appearance among Malaysian population. This was a cross-sectional study with 286 randomly selected from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Health Campus students (150 females and 136 males; 100 Malaysian Chinese, 100 Malaysian Malay and 86 Malaysian Indian), with the mean age of 21.54 ± 1.56 (Age range, 18–25). Facial indices obtained from direct facial measurements were used for the classification of facial shape into short, ideal and long. A validated structured questionnaire was used to assess subjects’ evaluation of their own facial appearance. The mean facial indices of Malaysian Indian (MI), Malaysian Chinese (MC) and Malaysian Malay (MM) were 1.59 ± 0.19, 1.57 ± 0.25 and 1.54 ± 0.23 respectively. Only MC showed significant sexual dimorphism in facial index (P = 0.047; P<0.05) but no significant difference was found between races. Out of the 286 subjects, 49 (17.1%) were of ideal facial shape, 156 (54.5%) short and 81 (28.3%) long. The facial evaluation questionnaire showed that MC had the lowest satisfaction with mean score of 2.18 ± 0.97 for overall impression and 2.15 ± 1.04 for facial parts, compared to MM and MI, with mean score of 1.80 ± 0.97 and 1.64 ± 0.74 respectively for overall impression; 1.75 ± 0.95 and 1.70 ± 0.83 respectively for facial parts. In conclusion: 1) Only 17.1% of Malaysian facial proportion conformed to the golden ratio, with majority of the population having short face (54.5%); 2) Facial index did not depend significantly on races; 3) Significant sexual dimorphism was shown among Malaysian Chinese; 4) All three races are generally satisfied with their own facial appearance; 5) No significant association was found between golden ratio and facial evaluation score among Malaysian population. PMID:26562655

Dancing with the Devil and Other Stories My Mother Told Me

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madrid, E. Michael

2009-01-01

"Dancing with the Devil and Other Stories My Mother Told Me" is an analysis of the history and growth of a popular folktale genre that developed during the 15th century in Mexico and has persisted over time throughout the Southwest. The oral tradition and the telling of folktales are means by which the cultural traditions of people of…

Traumatic facial nerve neuroma with facial palsy presenting in infancy.

PubMed

Clark, James H; Burger, Peter C; Boahene, Derek Kofi; Niparko, John K

2010-07-01

To describe the management of traumatic neuroma of the facial nerve in a child and literature review. Sixteen-month-old male subject. Radiological imaging and surgery. Facial nerve function. The patient presented at 16 months with a right facial palsy and was found to have a right facial nerve traumatic neuroma. A transmastoid, middle fossa resection of the right facial nerve lesion was undertaken with a successful facial nerve-to-hypoglossal nerve anastomosis. The facial palsy improved postoperatively. A traumatic neuroma should be considered in an infant who presents with facial palsy, even in the absence of an obvious history of trauma. The treatment of such lesion is complex in any age group but especially in young children. Symptoms, age, lesion size, growth rate, and facial nerve function determine the appropriate management.

Spontaneous Facial Mimicry in Response to Dynamic Facial Expressions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sato, Wataru; Yoshikawa, Sakiko

2007-01-01

Based on previous neuroscientific evidence indicating activation of the mirror neuron system in response to dynamic facial actions, we hypothesized that facial mimicry would occur while subjects viewed dynamic facial expressions. To test this hypothesis, dynamic/static facial expressions of anger/happiness were presented using computer-morphing…

Maps showing mines, quarries, prospects, and exposures in the Devils Fork Roadless Area, Scott County, Virginia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Behum, Paul T.

1984-01-01

The Devils Fork Roadless Area is located at the eastern edge of the Appalachian coal region and is within the Cumberland Mountain section of the Appalachian Plateau physiographic province. Most of the area is drained by Devil Fork and its tributaries. Clinch Rock Branch of Straight Creek, Roddy Branch of Valley Creek, and Stinking Creek, all tributary to the Clinch River, drain small fringe tracts. Altitudes range from about 1,550 ft on the lower part of Straight Fork to about 3,490 ft at Cox Place on Little Mountain. Vegetation varies from mixed hardwoods in the uplands to thickets of conifer, rhododendron, and laurel in moist protected areas, as in coves along drainage courses.

Adsorption and movement of water by skin of the Australian thorny devil (Agamidae: Moloch horridus)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comanns, Philipp; Esser, Falk J.; Kappel, Peter H.; Baumgartner, Werner; Shaw, Jeremy; Withers, Philip C.

2017-09-01

Moisture-harvesting lizards, such as the Australian thorny devil Moloch horridus, have remarkable adaptations for inhabiting arid regions. Their microstructured skin surface, with channels in between overlapping scales, enables them to collect water by capillarity and passively transport it to the mouth for ingestion. We characterized this capillary water transport for live thorny devils using high-speed video analyses. Comparison with preserved specimens showed that live lizards are required for detailed studies of skin water transport. For thorny devils, there was no directionality in cutaneous water transport (unlike Phrynosoma) as 7 µl water droplets applied to the skin were transported radially over more than 9.2 mm. We calculated the total capillary volume as 5.76 µl cm-2 (dorsal) and 4.45 µl cm-2 (ventral), which is reduced to 50% filling by the time transportation ceases. Using micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy of shed skin to investigate capillary morphology, we found that the channels are hierarchically structured as a large channel between the scales that is sub-divided by protrusions into smaller sub-capillaries. The large channel quickly absorbs water whereas the sub-capillary structure extends the transport distance by about 39% and potentially reduces the water volume required for drinking. An adapted dynamics function, which closely reflects the channel morphology, includes that ecological role.

Adsorption and movement of water by skin of the Australian thorny devil (Agamidae: Moloch horridus).

PubMed

Comanns, Philipp; Esser, Falk J; Kappel, Peter H; Baumgartner, Werner; Shaw, Jeremy; Withers, Philip C

2017-09-01

Moisture-harvesting lizards, such as the Australian thorny devil Moloch horridus , have remarkable adaptations for inhabiting arid regions. Their microstructured skin surface, with channels in between overlapping scales, enables them to collect water by capillarity and passively transport it to the mouth for ingestion. We characterized this capillary water transport for live thorny devils using high-speed video analyses. Comparison with preserved specimens showed that live lizards are required for detailed studies of skin water transport. For thorny devils, there was no directionality in cutaneous water transport (unlike Phrynosoma ) as 7 µl water droplets applied to the skin were transported radially over more than 9.2 mm. We calculated the total capillary volume as 5.76 µl cm -2 (dorsal) and 4.45 µl cm -2 (ventral), which is reduced to 50% filling by the time transportation ceases. Using micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy of shed skin to investigate capillary morphology, we found that the channels are hierarchically structured as a large channel between the scales that is sub-divided by protrusions into smaller sub-capillaries. The large channel quickly absorbs water whereas the sub-capillary structure extends the transport distance by about 39% and potentially reduces the water volume required for drinking. An adapted dynamics function, which closely reflects the channel morphology, includes that ecological role.

Using Angels and Devils: A Board Game Developed for Play in Nursing Homes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corbin, Sandra; Nelson, Thomas M.

1980-01-01

Studied effects on nursing home residents playing a discussion-stimulating board game called "Angels and Devils." Results indicate a high incidence of sensory deprivation and social isolation effects. These do not correlate with length of institutionalization, amount of social contact, or degree of medical restriction. (Author)

The role of great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy in facial nerve damage.

PubMed

Sun, Yan; Liu, Limei; Han, Yuechen; Xu, Lei; Zhang, Daogong; Wang, Haibo

2015-01-01

Facial nerve is easy to be damaged, and there are many reconstructive methods for facial nerve reconstructive, such as facial nerve end to end anastomosis, the great auricular nerve graft, the sural nerve graft, or hypoglossal-facial nerve anastomosis. However, there is still little study about great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy. The aim of the present study was to identify the role of great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy and the mechanism. Rat models of facial nerve cut (FC), facial nerve end to end anastomosis (FF), facial-great auricular neurorrhaphy (FG), and control (Ctrl) were established. Apex nasi amesiality observation, electrophysiology and immunofluorescence assays were employed to investigate the function and mechanism. In apex nasi amesiality observation, it was found apex nasi amesiality of FG group was partly recovered. Additionally, electrophysiology and immunofluorescence assays revealed that facial-great auricular neurorrhaphy could transfer nerve impulse and express AChR which was better than facial nerve cut and worse than facial nerve end to end anastomosis. The present study indicated that great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy is a substantial solution for facial lesion repair, as it is efficiently preventing facial muscles atrophy by generating neurotransmitter like ACh.

Facial approximation-from facial reconstruction synonym to face prediction paradigm.

PubMed

Stephan, Carl N

2015-05-01

Facial approximation was first proposed as a synonym for facial reconstruction in 1987 due to dissatisfaction with the connotations the latter label held. Since its debut, facial approximation's identity has morphed as anomalies in face prediction have accumulated. Now underpinned by differences in what problems are thought to count as legitimate, facial approximation can no longer be considered a synonym for, or subclass of, facial reconstruction. Instead, two competing paradigms of face prediction have emerged, namely: facial approximation and facial reconstruction. This paper shines a Kuhnian lens across the discipline of face prediction to comprehensively review these developments and outlines the distinguishing features between the two paradigms. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Lake-level frequency analysis for Devils Lake, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiche, Gregg J.; Vecchia, Aldo V.

1996-01-01

Two approaches were used to estimate future lake-level probabilities for Devils Lake. The first approach is based on an annual lake-volume model, and the second approach is based on a statistical water mass-balance model that generates seasonal lake volumes on the basis of seasonal precipitation, evaporation, and inflow. Autoregressive moving average models were used to model the annual mean lake volume and the difference between the annual maximum lake volume and the annual mean lake volume. Residuals from both models were determined to be uncorrelated with zero mean and constant variance. However, a nonlinear relation between the residuals of the two models was included in the final annual lakevolume model.Because of high autocorrelation in the annual lake levels of Devils Lake, the annual lake-volume model was verified using annual lake-level changes. The annual lake-volume model closely reproduced the statistics of the recorded lake-level changes for 1901-93 except for the skewness coefficient. However, the model output is less skewed than the data indicate because of some unrealistically large lake-level declines. The statistical water mass-balance model requires as inputs seasonal precipitation, evaporation, and inflow data for Devils Lake. Analysis of annual precipitation, evaporation, and inflow data for 1950-93 revealed no significant trends or long-range dependence so the input time series were assumed to be stationary and short-range dependent.Normality transformations were used to approximately maintain the marginal probability distributions; and a multivariate, periodic autoregressive model was used to reproduce the correlation structure. Each of the coefficients in the model is significantly different from zero at the 5-percent significance level. Coefficients relating spring inflow from one year to spring and fall inflows from the previous year had the largest effect on the lake-level frequency analysis.Inclusion of parameter uncertainty in the model

Lake-level frequency analysis for Devils Lake, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wiche, Gregg J.; Vecchia, Aldo V.

1995-01-01

Two approaches were used to estimate future lake-level probabilities for Devils Lake. The first approach is based on an annual lake-volume model, and the second approach is based on a statistical water mass-balance model that generates seasonal lake volumes on the basis of seasonal precipitation, evaporation, and inflow.Autoregressive moving average models were used to model the annual mean lake volume and the difference between the annual maximum lake volume and the annual mean lake volume. Residuals from both models were determined to be uncorrelated with zero mean and constant variance. However, a nonlinear relation between the residuals of the two models was included in the final annual lake-volume model.Because of high autocorrelation in the annual lake levels of Devils Lake, the annual lakevolume model was verified using annual lake-level changes. The annual lake-volume model closely reproduced the statistics of the recorded lake-level changes for 1901-93 except for the skewness coefficient However, the model output is less skewed than the data indicate because of some unrealistically large lake-level declines.The statistical water mass-balance model requires as inputs seasonal precipitation, evaporation, and inflow data for Devils Lake. Analysis of annual precipitation, evaporation, and inflow data for 1950-93 revealed no significant trends or long-range dependence so the input time series were assumed to be stationary and short-range dependent.Normality transformations were used to approximately maintain the marginal probability distributions; and a multivariate, periodic autoregressive model was used to reproduce the correlation structure. Each of the coefficients in the model is significantly different from zero at the 5-percent significance level. Coefficients relating spring inflow from one year to spring and fall inflows from the previous year had the largest effect on the lake-level frequency analysis.Inclusion of parameter uncertainty in the model

Human Facial Expressions as Adaptations:Evolutionary Questions in Facial Expression Research

PubMed Central

SCHMIDT, KAREN L.; COHN, JEFFREY F.

2007-01-01

The importance of the face in social interaction and social intelligence is widely recognized in anthropology. Yet the adaptive functions of human facial expression remain largely unknown. An evolutionary model of human facial expression as behavioral adaptation can be constructed, given the current knowledge of the phenotypic variation, ecological contexts, and fitness consequences of facial behavior. Studies of facial expression are available, but results are not typically framed in an evolutionary perspective. This review identifies the relevant physical phenomena of facial expression and integrates the study of this behavior with the anthropological study of communication and sociality in general. Anthropological issues with relevance to the evolutionary study of facial expression include: facial expressions as coordinated, stereotyped behavioral phenotypes, the unique contexts and functions of different facial expressions, the relationship of facial expression to speech, the value of facial expressions as signals, and the relationship of facial expression to social intelligence in humans and in nonhuman primates. Human smiling is used as an example of adaptation, and testable hypotheses concerning the human smile, as well as other expressions, are proposed. PMID:11786989

Realistic facial animation generation based on facial expression mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Hui; Garrod, Oliver; Jack, Rachael; Schyns, Philippe

2014-01-01

Facial expressions reflect internal emotional states of a character or in response to social communications. Though much effort has been taken to generate realistic facial expressions, it still remains a challenging topic due to human being's sensitivity to subtle facial movements. In this paper, we present a method for facial animation generation, which reflects true facial muscle movements with high fidelity. An intermediate model space is introduced to transfer captured static AU peak frames based on FACS to the conformed target face. And then dynamic parameters derived using a psychophysics method is integrated to generate facial animation, which is assumed to represent natural correlation of multiple AUs. Finally, the animation sequence in the intermediate model space is mapped to the target face to produce final animation.

The role of great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy in facial nerve damage

PubMed Central

Sun, Yan; Liu, Limei; Han, Yuechen; Xu, Lei; Zhang, Daogong; Wang, Haibo

2015-01-01

Background: Facial nerve is easy to be damaged, and there are many reconstructive methods for facial nerve reconstructive, such as facial nerve end to end anastomosis, the great auricular nerve graft, the sural nerve graft, or hypoglossal-facial nerve anastomosis. However, there is still little study about great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy. The aim of the present study was to identify the role of great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy and the mechanism. Methods: Rat models of facial nerve cut (FC), facial nerve end to end anastomosis (FF), facial-great auricular neurorrhaphy (FG), and control (Ctrl) were established. Apex nasi amesiality observation, electrophysiology and immunofluorescence assays were employed to investigate the function and mechanism. Results: In apex nasi amesiality observation, it was found apex nasi amesiality of FG group was partly recovered. Additionally, electrophysiology and immunofluorescence assays revealed that facial-great auricular neurorrhaphy could transfer nerve impulse and express AChR which was better than facial nerve cut and worse than facial nerve end to end anastomosis. Conclusions: The present study indicated that great auricular-facial nerve neurorrhaphy is a substantial solution for facial lesion repair, as it is efficiently preventing facial muscles atrophy by generating neurotransmitter like ACh. PMID:26550216

Dust Devils on Mars: Effects of Surface Roughness on Particle Threshold

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neakrase, Lynn D.; Greeley, Ronald; Iversen, James D.; Balme, Matthew L.; Foley, Daniel J.; Eddlemon, Eric E.

2005-01-01

Dust devils have been proposed as effective mechanisms for lofting large quantities of dust into the martian atmosphere. Previous work showed that vortices lift dust more easily than simple boundary layer winds. The aim of this study is to determine experimentally the effects of non-erodable roughness elements on vortex particle threshold through laboratory simulations of natural surfaces. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

Geology of Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinson, Charles Sherwood

1956-01-01

Devils Tower is a steep-sided mass of igneous rock that rises above the surrounding hills and the valley of the Belle Fourche River in Crook County, Wyo. It is composed of a crystalline rock, classified as phonolite porphyry, that when fresh is gray but which weathers to green or brown. Vertical joints divide the rock mass into polygonal columns that extend from just above the base to the top of the Tower. The hills in the vicinity and at the base of the Tower are composed of red, yellow, green, or gray sedimentary rocks that consist of sandstone, shale, or gypsum. These rocks, in aggregate about 400 feet thick, include, from oldest to youngest, the upper part of the Spearfish formation, of Triassic age, the Gypsum Spring formation, of Middle Jurassic age, and the Sundance formation, of Late Jurassic age. The Sundance formation consists of the Stockade Beaver shale member, the Hulett sandstone member, the Lak member, and the Redwater shale member. The formations have been only slightly deformed by faulting and folding. Within 2,000 to 3.000 feet of the Tower, the strata for the most part dip at 3 deg - 5 deg towards the Tower. Beyond this distance, they dip at 2 deg - 5 deg from the Tower. The Tower is believed to have been formed by the intrusion of magma into the sedimentary rocks, and the shape of the igneous mass formed by the cooled magma is believed to have been essentially the same as the Tower today. Devils Tower owes its impressiveness to its resistance to erosion as compared with the surrounding sedimentary rocks, and to the contrast of the somber color of the igneous column to the brightly colored bands of sedimentary rocks.

Easy facial analysis using the facial golden mask.

PubMed

Kim, Yong-Ha

2007-05-01

For over 2000 years, many artists and scientists have tried to understand or quantify the form of the perfect, ideal, or most beautiful face both in art and in vivo (life). A mathematical relationship has been consistently and repeatedly reported to be present in beautiful things. This particular relationship is the golden ratio. It is a mathematical ratio of 1.618:1 that seems to appear recurrently in beautiful things in nature as well as in other things that are seen as beautiful. Dr. Marquardt made the facial golden mask that contains and includes all of the one-dimensional and two-dimensional geometric golden elements formed from the golden ratio. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of the golden facial mask. In 40 cases, the authors applied the facial golden mask to preoperative and postoperative photographs and scored each photograph on a 1 to 5 scale from the perspective of their personal aesthetic views. The score was lower when the facial deformity was severe, whereas it was higher when the face was attractive. Compared with the average scores of facial mask applied photographs and nonapplied photographs using a nonparametric test, statistical significance was not reached (P > 0.05). This implies that the facial golden mask may be used as an analytical tool. The facial golden mask is easy to apply, inexpensive, and relatively objective. Therefore, the authors introduce it as a useful facial analysis.

Climate change, shifting seasons, and the ecohydrology of Devils Hole, Death Valley National Park

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hausner, M. B.; Wilson, K. P.; Gaines, D. B.; Suarez, F. I.; Tyler, S. W.

2011-12-01

Devils Hole, a water-filled fracture in the carbonate aquifer of the Death Valley Regional Flow System, comprises an ecosystem that can serve as a bellwether of climate change. This 50 square meter pool of unknown depth is home to the only extant population of the endangered Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis). A shallow shelf in the system provides the most suitable habitat for spawning, and the past pupfish population counts have been correlated to the water level in the system. Recently, however, population declines unrelated to water level have been observed. The 33° C waters of Devils Hole are near the upper threshold for most Cyprinodon species, and the shallow shelf experiences the greatest diurnal and seasonal temperature variability. The extremely limited habitat, small population (the spring, 2011 population survey counted approximately 100 individuals), and precarious nature of populations near survival thresholds combine to make the system exceptionally susceptible to the impacts of climate change. A hydrodynamic model of the shallow shelf was developed to simulate thermal convection in response to a number of energy fluxes, including climatic drivers such as air temperature and solar radiation. Simulations of current conditions demonstrate seasonal and diurnal changes in the temperature of the water and the substrate in which adult pupfish spawn, eggs hatch, and larvae develop. The simulated convection patterns also influence the oxygen dynamics, nutrient cycling, and the food web of the ecosystem. Simulations of future conditions using a delta change methodology point towards changes in the seasonal cycles, which may limit or shift the reproductive season of the species.

Biogeochemistry of silica in Devils Lake: Implications for diatom preservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lent, R.M.; Lyons, B.

2001-01-01

Diatom-salinity records from sediment cores have been used to construct climate records of saline-lake basins. In many cases, this has been done without thorough understanding of the preservation potential of the diatoms in the sediments through time. The purpose of this study was to determine the biogeochemistry of silica in Devils Lake and evaluate the potential effects of silica cycling on diatom preservation. During the period of record, 1867-1999, lake levels have fluctuated from 427 m above sea level in 1940 to 441.1 m above sea level in 1999. The biogeochemistry of silica in Devils Lake is dominated by internal cycling. During the early 1990s when lake levels were relatively high, about 94% of the biogenic silica (BSi) produced in Devils Lake was recycled in the water column before burial. About 42% of the BSi that was incorporated in bottom sediments was dissolved and diffused back into the lake, and the remaining 58% was buried. Therefore, the BSi accumulation rate was about 3% of the BSi assimilation rate. Generally, the results obtained from this study are similar to those obtained from studies of the biogeochemistry of silica in large oligotrophic lakes and the open ocean where most of the BSi produced is recycled in surface water. During the mid 1960s when lake levels were relatively low, BSi assimilation and water-column dissolution rates were much higher than when lake levels were high. The BSi assimilation rate was as much as three times higher during low lake levels. Even with the much higher BSi assimilation rate, the BSi accumulation rate was about three times lower because the BSi water-column dissolution rate was more than 99% of the BSi assimilation rate compared to 94% during high lake levels. Variations in the biogeochemistry of silica with lake level have important implications for paleolimnologic studies. Increased BSi water-column dissolution during decreasing lake levels may alter the diatom-salinity record by selectively removing the

A numerical study on dust devils with implications to global dust budget estimates

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The estimates of the contribution of dust devils (DDs) to the global dust budget have large uncertainties because the dust emission mechanisms in DDs are not yet well understood. In this study, a large-eddy simulation model coupled with a dust scheme is used to investigate DD dust entrainment. DDs a...

Reproducibility of the dynamics of facial expressions in unilateral facial palsy.

PubMed

Alagha, M A; Ju, X; Morley, S; Ayoub, A

2018-02-01

The aim of this study was to assess the reproducibility of non-verbal facial expressions in unilateral facial paralysis using dynamic four-dimensional (4D) imaging. The Di4D system was used to record five facial expressions of 20 adult patients. The system captured 60 three-dimensional (3D) images per second; each facial expression took 3-4seconds which was recorded in real time. Thus a set of 180 3D facial images was generated for each expression. The procedure was repeated after 30min to assess the reproducibility of the expressions. A mathematical facial mesh consisting of thousands of quasi-point 'vertices' was conformed to the face in order to determine the morphological characteristics in a comprehensive manner. The vertices were tracked throughout the sequence of the 180 images. Five key 3D facial frames from each sequence of images were analyzed. Comparisons were made between the first and second capture of each facial expression to assess the reproducibility of facial movements. Corresponding images were aligned using partial Procrustes analysis, and the root mean square distance between them was calculated and analyzed statistically (paired Student t-test, P<0.05). Facial expressions of lip purse, cheek puff, and raising of eyebrows were reproducible. Facial expressions of maximum smile and forceful eye closure were not reproducible. The limited coordination of various groups of facial muscles contributed to the lack of reproducibility of these facial expressions. 4D imaging is a useful clinical tool for the assessment of facial expressions. Copyright © 2017 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Devil's Slide: An evolving feature of California's coastal landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, M.; Loague, K.

2013-12-01

Coastal landslides in the United States remain a persistent threat to human life and urban development. The focus of this study is a landslide-prone section of the central California coastline, approximately 20 km south of San Francisco, known as Devil's Slide. This investigation employs an extensive aerial image inventory, digital elevation models (DEMs), and a water balance / limit-equilibrium approach to better understand the spatial and temporal characteristics of deep-seated bedrock slides at the site. Photographic surveys of the area reveal nearly three kilometers of headscarp and a complex network of slope failures that respond to hydrologic, seismic, and anthropogenic perturbations. DEM analysis suggests that, for a 145-year period (1866 to 2010), the study area experienced an average coastal retreat rate of 0.14 m yr-1 and an average volumetric loss of 11,216 m3 yr-1. At least 38% of the landscape evolution in the steep coastal terrain has been driven by slope failure events. A loosely coupled water balance / limit-equilibrium analysis quantitatively illustrates the precarious nature of the active landslide zone at the site. The slope is shown to be unstable for a large suite of equally-likely scenarios. The analyses presented herein suggest that future work should include a rigorous characterization of pore-water pressure development, driven by comprehensive simulations of subsurface hydrologic response, to improve our understanding of slope failure initiation at the Devil's Slide site.

Devils Lake Flood Control Project. Section 205. Detailed Project Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-10-01

Sd.U.JS IWE 00 RlEP0OAT II PERIOD COVERED SE~CTION 205 DETAILED PROJECT REPORT FLOOD CONTROL Final. Oct 1979-July 1983 PROJECT AT DEVILS LAKE. NORTH...a few feet. The light loading proposed for the site and thick cover of impervious material make more detailed evaluation of the strength and water...can cause low-oapaoity channels to overflow, resulting in flood damages to crops . Because the subbasin has no outlet near the existing water surface

The Prevalence of Cosmetic Facial Plastic Procedures among Facial Plastic Surgeons.

PubMed

Moayer, Roxana; Sand, Jordan P; Han, Albert; Nabili, Vishad; Keller, Gregory S

2018-04-01

This is the first study to report on the prevalence of cosmetic facial plastic surgery use among facial plastic surgeons. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency with which facial plastic surgeons have cosmetic procedures themselves. A secondary aim is to determine whether trends in usage of cosmetic facial procedures among facial plastic surgeons are similar to that of nonsurgeons. The study design was an anonymous, five-question, Internet survey distributed via email set in a single academic institution. Board-certified members of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (AAFPRS) were included in this study. Self-reported history of cosmetic facial plastic surgery or minimally invasive procedures were recorded. The survey also queried participants for demographic data. A total of 216 members of the AAFPRS responded to the questionnaire. Ninety percent of respondents were male ( n  = 192) and 10.3% were female ( n  = 22). Thirty-three percent of respondents were aged 31 to 40 years ( n  = 70), 25% were aged 41 to 50 years ( n  = 53), 21.4% were aged 51 to 60 years ( n  = 46), and 20.5% were older than 60 years ( n  = 44). Thirty-six percent of respondents had a surgical cosmetic facial procedure and 75% has at least one minimally invasive cosmetic facial procedure. Facial plastic surgeons are frequent users of cosmetic facial plastic surgery. This finding may be due to access, knowledge base, values, or attitudes. By better understanding surgeon attitudes toward facial plastic surgery, we can improve communication with patients and delivery of care. This study is a first step in understanding use of facial plastic procedures among facial plastic surgeons. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Facial neuropathy with imaging enhancement of the facial nerve: a case report

PubMed Central

Mumtaz, Sehreen; Jensen, Matthew B

2014-01-01

A young women developed unilateral facial neuropathy 2 weeks after a motor vehicle collision involving fractures of the skull and mandible. MRI showed contrast enhancement of the facial nerve. We review the literature describing facial neuropathy after trauma and facial nerve enhancement patterns with different causes of facial neuropathy. PMID:25574155

The Devil's Hole Is In The Details

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, M. G.

2012-12-01

As the granularity of Quaternary paleoclimatic proxy signatures from continental and oceanic sources continues to resolve, increasingly integrated studies such as Shakun et. al. (2012), and Kohfeld and Ridgewell (2009) have emerged, with far-reaching but sometimes conflicting paleo-global climate interpretations. Accordingly, none of the competing empirical and phenomenological narratives regarding the time series of Quaternary temperature patterns fit with sufficient fidelity to the observational record. Among other examples, the Shakun et al. study reviewed and processed 80 proxy sites worldwide for paleotemperature reconstruction, but left out the premier Devil's Hole poxy site in the continental Southwestern U.S. The Devil's Hole site presents a nominally earlier record of an interglacial warming signal (Landwehr and Winograd 2012). Both cite similar data (NOAA, 2005) as confirmation of their competing interpretations. Clearly both cannot be right. Epistemic origins of this apparent conflict may be rooted on the ongoing controversy concerning the importance of orbital forcings to the 100K year Quaternary glacial oscillations. Orbital forcings had been intrinsically posited as the only possible extraterrestrial driver of global temperature cycles over the Quaternary time frame. Yet other extraterrestrial climate forcing parameters are now conceivable. This paper reexamines past 3He marine core measurements conducted on two oceans and two hemispheres, and alternatives to the associated interpretations of researchers Patterson and Farley (1998). This study includes a new phenomenological and empirical exploration of an alternate extraterrestrial Quaternary global climate forcing model. This new interpretation is possible based on improved mapping of the Local Interstellar Medium (ISM), as documented in recent works such as those by Frisch and Mueller (2011). References: Frisch, P.C., and HR Mueller, 2011, Time-Variability in the Interstellar Boundary Conditions of

Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS): Motivation, Design and Target Catalogue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, L. J. M.; Robotham, A. S. G.; Driver, S. P.; Lagos, C. P.; Cortese, L.; Mannering, E.; Foster, C.; Lidman, C.; Hashemizadeh, A.; Koushan, S.; O'Toole, S.; Baldry, I. K.; Bilicki, M.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Bremer, M. N.; Brown, M. J. I.; Bryant, J. J.; Catinella, B.; Croom, S. M.; Grootes, M. W.; Holwerda, B. W.; Jarvis, M. J.; Maddox, N.; Meyer, M.; Moffett, A. J.; Phillipps, S.; Taylor, E. N.; Windhorst, R. A.; Wolf, C.

2018-06-01

The Deep Extragalactic VIsible Legacy Survey (DEVILS) is a large spectroscopic campaign at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) aimed at bridging the near and distant Universe by producing the highest completeness survey of galaxies and groups at intermediate redshifts (0.3 < z < 1.0). Our sample consists of ˜60,000 galaxies to Y<21.2 mag, over ˜6 deg2 in three well-studied deep extragalactic fields (Cosmic Origins Survey field, COSMOS, Extended Chandra Deep Field South, ECDFS and the X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission Large-Scale Structure region, XMM-LSS - all Large Synoptic Survey Telescope deep-drill fields). This paper presents the broad experimental design of DEVILS. Our target sample has been selected from deep Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) Y-band imaging (VISTA Deep Extragalactic Observations, VIDEO and UltraVISTA), with photometry measured by PROFOUND. Photometric star/galaxy separation is done on the basis of NIR colours, and has been validated by visual inspection. To maximise our observing efficiency for faint targets we employ a redshift feedback strategy, which continually updates our target lists, feeding back the results from the previous night's observations. We also present an overview of the initial spectroscopic observations undertaken in late 2017 and early 2018.

Measuring Facial Movement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ekman, Paul; Friesen, Wallace V.

1976-01-01

The Facial Action Code (FAC) was derived from an analysis of the anatomical basis of facial movement. The development of the method is explained, contrasting it to other methods of measuring facial behavior. An example of how facial behavior is measured is provided, and ideas about research applications are discussed. (Author)

Effect of a Facial Muscle Exercise Device on Facial Rejuvenation

PubMed Central

Hwang, Ui-jae; Kwon, Oh-yun; Jung, Sung-hoon; Ahn, Sun-hee; Gwak, Gyeong-tae

2018-01-01

Abstract Background The efficacy of facial muscle exercises (FMEs) for facial rejuvenation is controversial. In the majority of previous studies, nonquantitative assessment tools were used to assess the benefits of FMEs. Objectives This study examined the effectiveness of FMEs using a Pao (MTG, Nagoya, Japan) device to quantify facial rejuvenation. Methods Fifty females were asked to perform FMEs using a Pao device for 30 seconds twice a day for 8 weeks. Facial muscle thickness and cross-sectional area were measured sonographically. Facial surface distance, surface area, and volumes were determined using a laser scanning system before and after FME. Facial muscle thickness, cross-sectional area, midfacial surface distances, jawline surface distance, and lower facial surface area and volume were compared bilaterally before and after FME using a paired Student t test. Results The cross-sectional areas of the zygomaticus major and digastric muscles increased significantly (right: P < 0.001, left: P = 0.015), while the midfacial surface distances in the middle (right: P = 0.005, left: P = 0.047) and lower (right: P = 0.028, left: P = 0.019) planes as well as the jawline surface distances (right: P = 0.004, left: P = 0.003) decreased significantly after FME using the Pao device. The lower facial surface areas (right: P = 0.005, left: P = 0.006) and volumes (right: P = 0.001, left: P = 0.002) were also significantly reduced after FME using the Pao device. Conclusions FME using the Pao device can increase facial muscle thickness and cross-sectional area, thus contributing to facial rejuvenation. Level of Evidence: 4 PMID:29365050

Water-resources data collected in the Devils Hole area, Ash Meadows, Nevada, 1975-76

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hanes, William Toby

1976-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey collected water-level, spring-flow, and power-consumption data in the Devils Hole area in Nevada from July 1975 through June 1976. The work for this sfurth annual data report was done in cooperation with the National Park Service. Continuous recorders were used to monitor water levels in Devils Hole, three observation wells, and the flow from four springs. Also, monthly readings were made on two wells to help define a general trend of ground-water levels. Monthly meter readings of six electrically powered irrigation wells provided a record of power consumption, which in turn, is an index of the amount of water pumped. The purpose of the work is to observe the effects, if any, of ground-water withdrawals from specified irrigtion wells in the Ash Meadows area on (1) the water level in Devils Hole, and (2) the flow of four springs in the area. Fairbanks Spring and Big Spring, which are in the extreme northern and southern parts of Ash Meadows respectively, show little effect of pumping. An increase in the monthly average flow at Fairbanks Spring in September can be attributed to runoff and surficial recharge in the surrounding area caused by a large cloudburst. Jack Rabbit Spring, which is about 1 mile southwest of the major pumping field, is affected strongly by pumping. Jack Rabbit Spring flowed during the winter months but flowed very infrequently during non-winter months. Point of Rocks Spring had a flow pattern similar to Big Spring and Fairbanks Spring. All the springs had a general increase in flow during the Winter months. (Woodard-USGS)

Prediction Markets for Defense Acquisition: The Devil is in the Details

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

1 Bill Gates, Pete Coughlan, Noah Myung, Jeremy Arkes Professors of Economics Naval Postgraduate School Prediction Markets for Defense Acquisition...Acquisition: The Devil is in the Details 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR( S ) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER 5e...TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME( S ) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval Postgraduate School,Monterey,CA,93943 8. PERFORMING

Inhibitory effects of devil's claw (secondary root of Harpagophytum procumbens) extract and harpagoside on cytokine production in mouse macrophages.

PubMed

Inaba, Kazunori; Murata, Kazuya; Naruto, Shunsuke; Matsuda, Hideaki

2010-04-01

Successive oral administration (50 mg/kg) of a 50% ethanolic extract (HP-ext) of devil's claw, the secondary root of Harpagophytum procumbens, showed a significant anti-inflammatory effect in the rat adjuvant-induced chronic arthritis model. HP-ext dose-dependently suppressed the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of inflammatory cytokines [interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)] in mouse macrophage cells (RAW 264.7). Harpagoside, a major iridoid glycoside present in devil's claw, was found to be one of the active agents in HP-ext and inhibited the production of IL-1beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha by RAW 264.7.

Facial Fractures.

PubMed

Ghosh, Rajarshi; Gopalkrishnan, Kulandaswamy

2018-06-01

The aim of this study is to retrospectively analyze the incidence of facial fractures along with age, gender predilection, etiology, commonest site, associated dental injuries, and any complications of patients operated in Craniofacial Unit of SDM College of Dental Sciences and Hospital. This retrospective study was conducted at the Department of OMFS, SDM College of Dental Sciences, Dharwad from January 2003 to December 2013. Data were recorded for the cause of injury, age and gender distribution, frequency and type of injury, localization and frequency of soft tissue injuries, dentoalveolar trauma, facial bone fractures, complications, concomitant injuries, and different treatment protocols.All the data were analyzed using statistical analysis that is chi-squared test. A total of 1146 patients reported at our unit with facial fractures during these 10 years. Males accounted for a higher frequency of facial fractures (88.8%). Mandible was the commonest bone to be fractured among all the facial bones (71.2%). Maxillary central incisors were the most common teeth to be injured (33.8%) and avulsion was the most common type of injury (44.6%). Commonest postoperative complication was plate infection (11%) leading to plate removal. Other injuries associated with facial fractures were rib fractures, head injuries, upper and lower limb fractures, etc., among these rib fractures were seen most frequently (21.6%). This study was performed to compare the different etiologic factors leading to diverse facial fracture patterns. By statistical analysis of this record the authors come to know about the relationship of facial fractures with gender, age, associated comorbidities, etc.

The Martian Dust Devil Electron Avalanche: Laboratory Measurements of the E-Field Fortifying Effects of Dust-Electron Absorption

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farrell, W. M.; McLain, J. L.; Collier, M. R.; Keller, J. W.

2017-01-01

Analogous to terrestrial dust devils, charged dust in Mars dust devils should become vertically stratified in the convective features, creating large scale E-fields. This E-field in a Martian-like atmosphere has been shown to stimulate the development of a Townsend discharge (electron avalanche) that acts to dissipate charge in regions where charge build-up occurs. While the stratification of the charged dust is a source of the electrical energy, the uncharged particulates in the dust population may absorb a portion of these avalanching electrons, thereby inhibiting dissipation and leading to the development of anomalously large E-field values. We performed a laboratory study that does indeed show the presence of enhanced E-field strengths between an anode and cathode when dust-absorbing filaments (acting as particulates) are placed in the avalanching electron flow. Further, the E-field threshold condition to create an impulsive spark discharge increases to larger values as more filaments are placed between the anode and cathode. We conclude that the spatially separated charged dust creates the charge centers and E-fields in a dust devil, but the under-charged portion of the population acts to reduce Townsend electron dissipation currents, further fortifying the development of larger-than-expected E-fields.

Martian Dust Devil Electron Avalanche Process and Associated Electrochemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, Telana L.; Farrell, William M.; Delory, Gregory T.; Nithianandam, Jeyasingh

2010-01-01

Mars' dynamic atmosphere displays localized dust devils and larger, global dust storms. Based on terrestrial analog studies, electrostatic modeling, and laboratory work these features will contain large electrostatic fields formed via triboelectric processes. In the low-pressure Martian atmosphere, these fields may create an electron avalanche and collisional plasma due to an increase in electron density driven by the internal electrical forces. To test the hypothesis that an electron avalanche is sustained under these conditions, a self-consistent atmospheric process model is created including electron impact ionization sources and electron losses via dust absorption, electron dissociation attachment, and electron/ion recombination. This new model is called the Dust Devil Electron Avalanche Model (DDEAM). This model solves simultaneously nine continuity equations describing the evolution of the primary gaseous chemical species involved in the electrochemistry. DDEAM monitors the evolution of the electrons and primary gas constituents, including electron/water interactions. We especially focus on electron dynamics and follow the electrons as they evolve in the E field driven collisional gas. When sources and losses are self-consistently included in the electron continuity equation, the electron density grows exponentially with increasing electric field, reaching an equilibrium that forms a sustained time-stable collisional plasma. However, the character of this plasma differs depending upon the assumed growth rate saturation process (chemical saturation versus space charge). DDEAM also shows the possibility of the loss of atmospheric methane as a function of electric field due to electron dissociative attachment of the hydrocarbon. The methane destruction rates are presented and can be included in other larger atmospheric models.

Automatic Contour Extraction of Facial Organs for Frontal Facial Images with Various Facial Expressions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Seiji; Takahashi, Hisanori; Tange, Akira; Kikuchi, Kohki

This study deals with a method to realize automatic contour extraction of facial features such as eyebrows, eyes and mouth for the time-wise frontal face with various facial expressions. Because Snakes which is one of the most famous methods used to extract contours, has several disadvantages, we propose a new method to overcome these issues. We define the elastic contour model in order to hold the contour shape and then determine the elastic energy acquired by the amount of modification of the elastic contour model. Also we utilize the image energy obtained by brightness differences of the control points on the elastic contour model. Applying the dynamic programming method, we determine the contour position where the total value of the elastic energy and the image energy becomes minimum. Employing 1/30s time-wise facial frontal images changing from neutral to one of six typical facial expressions obtained from 20 subjects, we have estimated our method and find it enables high accuracy automatic contour extraction of facial features.

Three-Dimensional Accuracy of Facial Scan for Facial Deformities in Clinics: A New Evaluation Method for Facial Scanner Accuracy.

PubMed

Zhao, Yi-Jiao; Xiong, Yu-Xue; Wang, Yong

2017-01-01

In this study, the practical accuracy (PA) of optical facial scanners for facial deformity patients in oral clinic was evaluated. Ten patients with a variety of facial deformities from oral clinical were included in the study. For each patient, a three-dimensional (3D) face model was acquired, via a high-accuracy industrial "line-laser" scanner (Faro), as the reference model and two test models were obtained, via a "stereophotography" (3dMD) and a "structured light" facial scanner (FaceScan) separately. Registration based on the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm was executed to overlap the test models to reference models, and "3D error" as a new measurement indicator calculated by reverse engineering software (Geomagic Studio) was used to evaluate the 3D global and partial (upper, middle, and lower parts of face) PA of each facial scanner. The respective 3D accuracy of stereophotography and structured light facial scanners obtained for facial deformities was 0.58±0.11 mm and 0.57±0.07 mm. The 3D accuracy of different facial partitions was inconsistent; the middle face had the best performance. Although the PA of two facial scanners was lower than their nominal accuracy (NA), they all met the requirement for oral clinic use.

Devils Hole, Nevada—A photographic story of a restricted subaqueous environment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hoffman, Ray J.

2017-07-24

This report presents selected photographic images taken by the author during U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research into paleoclimatology and geochemistry in Devils Hole cavern during 1984 to 1993 in cooperation with the National Park Service. The unaltered suite of photographs was prepared by the USGS dive team as an aid to assist nondiving scientists with a visual perspective of the environment where earth-science samples were collected and subsequently analyzed for chemical and isotopic composition.

Emotional facial activation induced by unconsciously perceived dynamic facial expressions.

PubMed

Kaiser, Jakob; Davey, Graham C L; Parkhouse, Thomas; Meeres, Jennifer; Scott, Ryan B

2016-12-01

Do facial expressions of emotion influence us when not consciously perceived? Methods to investigate this question have typically relied on brief presentation of static images. In contrast, real facial expressions are dynamic and unfold over several seconds. Recent studies demonstrate that gaze contingent crowding (GCC) can block awareness of dynamic expressions while still inducing behavioural priming effects. The current experiment tested for the first time whether dynamic facial expressions presented using this method can induce unconscious facial activation. Videos of dynamic happy and angry expressions were presented outside participants' conscious awareness while EMG measurements captured activation of the zygomaticus major (active when smiling) and the corrugator supercilii (active when frowning). Forced-choice classification of expressions confirmed they were not consciously perceived, while EMG revealed significant differential activation of facial muscles consistent with the expressions presented. This successful demonstration opens new avenues for research examining the unconscious emotional influences of facial expressions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genetic Factors That Increase Male Facial Masculinity Decrease Facial Attractiveness of Female Relatives

PubMed Central

Lee, Anthony J.; Mitchem, Dorian G.; Wright, Margaret J.; Martin, Nicholas G.; Keller, Matthew C.; Zietsch, Brendan P.

2014-01-01

For women, choosing a facially masculine man as a mate is thought to confer genetic benefits to offspring. Crucial assumptions of this hypothesis have not been adequately tested. It has been assumed that variation in facial masculinity is due to genetic variation and that genetic factors that increase male facial masculinity do not increase facial masculinity in female relatives. We objectively quantified the facial masculinity in photos of identical (n = 411) and nonidentical (n = 782) twins and their siblings (n = 106). Using biometrical modeling, we found that much of the variation in male and female facial masculinity is genetic. However, we also found that masculinity of male faces is unrelated to their attractiveness and that facially masculine men tend to have facially masculine, less-attractive sisters. These findings challenge the idea that facially masculine men provide net genetic benefits to offspring and call into question this popular theoretical framework. PMID:24379153

Genetic factors that increase male facial masculinity decrease facial attractiveness of female relatives.

PubMed

Lee, Anthony J; Mitchem, Dorian G; Wright, Margaret J; Martin, Nicholas G; Keller, Matthew C; Zietsch, Brendan P

2014-02-01

For women, choosing a facially masculine man as a mate is thought to confer genetic benefits to offspring. Crucial assumptions of this hypothesis have not been adequately tested. It has been assumed that variation in facial masculinity is due to genetic variation and that genetic factors that increase male facial masculinity do not increase facial masculinity in female relatives. We objectively quantified the facial masculinity in photos of identical (n = 411) and nonidentical (n = 782) twins and their siblings (n = 106). Using biometrical modeling, we found that much of the variation in male and female facial masculinity is genetic. However, we also found that masculinity of male faces is unrelated to their attractiveness and that facially masculine men tend to have facially masculine, less-attractive sisters. These findings challenge the idea that facially masculine men provide net genetic benefits to offspring and call into question this popular theoretical framework.

[Facial nerve neurinomas].

PubMed

Sokołowski, Jacek; Bartoszewicz, Robert; Morawski, Krzysztof; Jamróz, Barbara; Niemczyk, Kazimierz

2013-01-01

Evaluation of diagnostic, surgical technique, treatment results facial nerve neurinomas and its comparison with literature was the main purpose of this study. Seven cases of patients (2005-2011) with facial nerve schwannomas were included to retrospective analysis in the Department of Otolaryngology, Medical University of Warsaw. All patients were assessed with history of the disease, physical examination, hearing tests, computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging, electronystagmography. Cases were observed in the direction of potential complications and recurrences. Neurinoma of the facial nerve occurred in the vertical segment (n=2), facial nerve geniculum (n=1) and the internal auditory canal (n=4). The symptoms observed in patients were analyzed: facial nerve paresis (n=3), hearing loss (n=2), dizziness (n=1). Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography allowed to confirm the presence of the tumor and to assess its staging. Schwannoma of the facial nerve has been surgically removed using the middle fossa approach (n=5) and by antromastoidectomy (n=2). Anatomical continuity of the facial nerve was achieved in 3 cases. In the twelve months after surgery, facial nerve paresis was rated at level II-III° HB. There was no recurrence of the tumor in radiological observation. Facial nerve neurinoma is a rare tumor. Currently surgical techniques allow in most cases, the radical removing of the lesion and reconstruction of the VII nerve function. The rate of recurrence is low. A tumor of the facial nerve should be considered in the differential diagnosis of nerve VII paresis. Copyright © 2013 Polish Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Society. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z.o.o. All rights reserved.

Contralateral botulinum toxin injection to improve facial asymmetry after acute facial paralysis.

PubMed

Kim, Jin

2013-02-01

The application of botulinum toxin to the healthy side of the face in patients with long-standing facial paralysis has been shown to be a minimally invasive technique that improves facial symmetry at rest and during facial motion, but our experience using botulinum toxin therapy for facial sequelae prompted the idea that botulinum toxin might be useful in acute cases of facial paralysis, leading to improve facial asymmetry. In cases in which medical or surgical treatment options are limited because of existing medical problems or advanced age, most patients with acute facial palsy are advised to await spontaneous recovery or are informed that no effective intervention exists. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of botulinum toxin treatment for facial asymmetry in 18 patients after acute facial palsy who could not be optimally treated by medical or surgical management because of severe medical or other problems. From 2009 to 2011, nine patients with Bell's palsy, 5 with herpes zoster oticus and 4 with traumatic facial palsy (10 men and 8 women; age range, 22-82 yr; mean, 50.8 yr) participated in this study. Botulinum toxin A (Botox; Allergan Incorporated, Irvine, CA, USA) was injected using a tuberculin syringe with a 27-gauge needle. The amount injected per site varied from 2.5 to 3 U, and the total dose used per patient was 32 to 68 U (mean, 47.5 +/- 8.4 U). After administration of a single dose of botulinum toxin A on the nonparalyzed side of 18 patients with acute facial paralysis, marked relief of facial asymmetry was observed in 8 patients within 1 month of injection. Decreased facial asymmetry and strengthened facial function on the paralyzed side led to an increased HB and SB grade within 6 months after injection. Use of botulinum toxin after acute facial palsy cases is of great value. Such therapy decreases the relative hyperkinesis contralateral to the paralysis, leading to greater symmetric function. Especially in patients with medical

Quantitative facial asymmetry: using three-dimensional photogrammetry to measure baseline facial surface symmetry.

PubMed

Taylor, Helena O; Morrison, Clinton S; Linden, Olivia; Phillips, Benjamin; Chang, Johnny; Byrne, Margaret E; Sullivan, Stephen R; Forrest, Christopher R

2014-01-01

Although symmetry is hailed as a fundamental goal of aesthetic and reconstructive surgery, our tools for measuring this outcome have been limited and subjective. With the advent of three-dimensional photogrammetry, surface geometry can be captured, manipulated, and measured quantitatively. Until now, few normative data existed with regard to facial surface symmetry. Here, we present a method for reproducibly calculating overall facial symmetry and present normative data on 100 subjects. We enrolled 100 volunteers who underwent three-dimensional photogrammetry of their faces in repose. We collected demographic data on age, sex, and race and subjectively scored facial symmetry. We calculated the root mean square deviation (RMSD) between the native and reflected faces, reflecting about a plane of maximum symmetry. We analyzed the interobserver reliability of the subjective assessment of facial asymmetry and the quantitative measurements and compared the subjective and objective values. We also classified areas of greatest asymmetry as localized to the upper, middle, or lower facial thirds. This cluster of normative data was compared with a group of patients with subtle but increasing amounts of facial asymmetry. We imaged 100 subjects by three-dimensional photogrammetry. There was a poor interobserver correlation between subjective assessments of asymmetry (r = 0.56). There was a high interobserver reliability for quantitative measurements of facial symmetry RMSD calculations (r = 0.91-0.95). The mean RMSD for this normative population was found to be 0.80 ± 0.24 mm. Areas of greatest asymmetry were distributed as follows: 10% upper facial third, 49% central facial third, and 41% lower facial third. Precise measurement permitted discrimination of subtle facial asymmetry within this normative group and distinguished norms from patients with subtle facial asymmetry, with placement of RMSDs along an asymmetry ruler. Facial surface symmetry, which is poorly assessed

Outcome of facial physiotherapy in patients with prolonged idiopathic facial palsy.

PubMed

Watson, G J; Glover, S; Allen, S; Irving, R M

2015-04-01

This study investigated whether patients who remain symptomatic more than a year following idiopathic facial paralysis gain benefit from tailored facial physiotherapy. A two-year retrospective review was conducted of all symptomatic patients. Data collected included: age, gender, duration of symptoms, Sunnybrook facial grading system scores pre-treatment and at last visit, and duration of treatment. The study comprised 22 patients (with a mean age of 50.5 years (range, 22-75 years)) who had been symptomatic for more than a year following idiopathic facial paralysis. The mean duration of symptoms was 45 months (range, 12-240 months). The mean duration of follow up was 10.4 months (range, 2-36 months). Prior to treatment, the mean Sunnybrook facial grading system score was 59 (standard deviation = 3.5); this had increased to 83 (standard deviation = 2.7) at the last visit, with an average improvement in score of 23 (standard deviation = 2.9). This increase was significant (p < 0.001). Tailored facial therapy can improve facial grading scores in patients who remain symptomatic for prolonged periods.

Speak Truth and Shame the Devil: An Ethnodrama in Response to Racism in the Academy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward Randolph, Adah; Weems, Mary E.

2010-01-01

This ethnodrama examines how two African American women experience racism in the academe. Both scholars examine the social/political context of racism in higher education and its manifestation in institutional practices. Both authors seek to "speak truth and shame the devil" by examining institutional responses to the racism they encounter in…

Comment on “Reconciliation of the Devils Hole climate record with orbital forcing”

USGS Publications Warehouse

Winograd, Isaac J.

2016-01-01

Moseley et al. (Reports, 8 January 2016, p. 165) postulate an increase in dissolved thorium isotope 230Th with depth below the water table as the explanation for the differing ages of Termination II. Flow of geothermal water through the Devils Hole caverns precludes this explanation. Deposition of younger secondary calcite into the initial porosity of the calcite comprising their cores is a plausible alternate explanation.

Comment on “Reconciliation of the Devils Hole climate record with orbital forcing”

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winograd, Isaac J.

2016-10-01

Moseley et al. (Reports, 8 January 2016, p. 165) postulate an increase in dissolved thorium isotope 230Th with depth below the water table as the explanation for the differing ages of Termination II. Flow of geothermal water through the Devils Hole caverns precludes this explanation. Deposition of younger secondary calcite into the initial porosity of the calcite comprising their cores is a plausible alternate explanation.

Facial trauma.

PubMed

Peeters, N; Lemkens, P; Leach, R; Gemels B; Schepers, S; Lemmens, W

Facial trauma. Patients with facial trauma must be assessed in a systematic way so as to avoid missing any injury. Severe and disfiguring facial injuries can be distracting. However, clinicians must first focus on the basics of trauma care, following the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) system of care. Maxillofacial trauma occurs in a significant number of severely injured patients. Life- and sight-threatening injuries must be excluded during the primary and secondary surveys. Special attention must be paid to sight-threatening injuries in stabilized patients through early referral to an appropriate specialist or the early initiation of emergency care treatment. The gold standard for the radiographic evaluation of facial injuries is computed tomography (CT) imaging. Nasal fractures are the most frequent isolated facial fractures. Isolated nasal fractures are principally diagnosed through history and clinical examination. Closed reduction is the most frequently performed treatment for isolated nasal fractures, with a fractured nasal septum as a predictor of failure. Ear, nose and throat surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons and ophthalmologists must all develop an adequate treatment plan for patients with complex maxillofacial trauma.

Modeling of Ground Deformation and Shallow Surface Waves Generated by Martian Dust Devils and Perspectives for Near-Surface Structure Inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenda, Balthasar; Lognonné, Philippe; Spiga, Aymeric; Kawamura, Taichi; Kedar, Sharon; Banerdt, William Bruce; Lorenz, Ralph; Banfield, Don; Golombek, Matthew

2017-10-01

We investigated the possible seismic signatures of dust devils on Mars, both at long and short period, based on the analysis of Earth data and on forward modeling for Mars. Seismic and meteorological data collected in the Mojave Desert, California, recorded the signals generated by dust devils. In the 10-100 s band, the quasi-static surface deformation triggered by pressure fluctuations resulted in detectable ground-tilt effects: these are in good agreement with our modeling based on Sorrells' theory. In addition, high-frequency records also exhibit a significant excitation in correspondence to dust devil episodes. Besides wind noise, this signal includes shallow surface waves due to the atmosphere-surface coupling and is used for a preliminary inversion of the near-surface S-wave profile down to 50 m depth. In the case of Mars, we modeled the long-period signals generated by the pressure field resulting from turbulence-resolving Large-Eddy Simulations. For typical dust-devil-like vortices with pressure drops of a couple Pascals, the corresponding horizontal acceleration is of a few nm/s2 for rocky subsurface models and reaches 10-20 nm/s2 for weak regolith models. In both cases, this signal can be detected by the Very-Broad Band seismometers of the InSight/SEIS experiment up to a distance of a few hundred meters from the vortex, the amplitude of the signal decreasing as the inverse of the distance. Atmospheric vortices are thus expected to be detected at the InSight landing site; the analysis of their seismic and atmospheric signals could lead to additional constraints on the near-surface structure, more precisely on the ground compliance and possibly on the seismic velocities.

Protecting Sacred Sites on Public Land: Religion and Alliances in the Mato Tipila-Devils Tower Litigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freedman, Eric

2007-01-01

This article traces the Devils Tower litigation in the context of the "Bear Lodge" alliance's theoretical underpinnings, particularly the interrelationship among culture, geographic place, and religion, as well as the institutional mechanisms that regulate litigation alliances in the U.S. judicial system. It discusses principal factors…

Slowing down presentation of facial movements and vocal sounds enhances facial expression recognition and induces facial-vocal imitation in children with autism.

PubMed

Tardif, Carole; Lainé, France; Rodriguez, Mélissa; Gepner, Bruno

2007-09-01

This study examined the effects of slowing down presentation of facial expressions and their corresponding vocal sounds on facial expression recognition and facial and/or vocal imitation in children with autism. Twelve autistic children and twenty-four normal control children were presented with emotional and non-emotional facial expressions on CD-Rom, under audio or silent conditions, and under dynamic visual conditions (slowly, very slowly, at normal speed) plus a static control. Overall, children with autism showed lower performance in expression recognition and more induced facial-vocal imitation than controls. In the autistic group, facial expression recognition and induced facial-vocal imitation were significantly enhanced in slow conditions. Findings may give new perspectives for understanding and intervention for verbal and emotional perceptive and communicative impairments in autistic populations.

Association Among Facial Paralysis, Depression, and Quality of Life in Facial Plastic Surgery Patients

PubMed Central

Nellis, Jason C.; Ishii, Masaru; Byrne, Patrick J.; Boahene, Kofi D. O.; Dey, Jacob K.; Ishii, Lisa E.

2017-01-01

IMPORTANCE Though anecdotally linked, few studies have investigated the impact of facial paralysis on depression and quality of life (QOL). OBJECTIVE To measure the association between depression, QOL, and facial paralysis in patients seeking treatment at a facial plastic surgery clinic. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS Data were prospectively collected for patients with all-cause facial paralysis and control patients initially presenting to a facial plastic surgery clinic from 2013 to 2015. The control group included a heterogeneous patient population presenting to facial plastic surgery clinic for evaluation. Patients who had prior facial reanimation surgery or missing demographic and psychometric data were excluded from analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Demographics, facial paralysis etiology, facial paralysis severity (graded on the House-Brackmann scale), Beck depression inventory, and QOL scores in both groups were examined. Potential confounders, including self-reported attractiveness and mood, were collected and analyzed. Self-reported scores were measured using a 0 to 100 visual analog scale. RESULTS There was a total of 263 patients (mean age, 48.8 years; 66.9% were female) were analyzed. There were 175 control patients and 88 patients with facial paralysis. Sex distributions were not significantly different between the facial paralysis and control groups. Patients with facial paralysis had significantly higher depression, lower self-reported attractiveness, lower mood, and lower QOL scores. Overall, 37 patients with facial paralysis (42.1%) screened positive for depression, with the greatest likelihood in patients with House-Brackmann grade 3 or greater (odds ratio, 10.8; 95% CI, 5.13–22.75) compared with 13 control patients (8.1%) (P < .001). In multivariate regression, facial paralysis and female sex were significantly associated with higher depression scores (constant, 2.08 [95% CI, 0.77–3.39]; facial paralysis effect, 5.98 [95% CI, 4.38–7

Facial fractures in children.

PubMed

Boyette, Jennings R

2014-10-01

Facial trauma in children differs from adults. The growing facial skeleton presents several challenges to the reconstructive surgeon. A thorough understanding of the patterns of facial growth and development is needed to form an individualized treatment strategy. A proper diagnosis must be made and treatment options weighed against the risk of causing further harm to facial development. This article focuses on the management of facial fractures in children. Discussed are common fracture patterns based on the development of the facial structure, initial management, diagnostic strategies, new concepts and old controversies regarding radiologic examinations, conservative versus operative intervention, risks of growth impairment, and resorbable fixation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Distribution and risk factors for spread of amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Australia.

PubMed

Pauza, Matthew D; Driessen, Michael M; Skerratt, Lee F

2010-11-01

Chytridiomycosis is an emerging infectious disease caused by the pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and is the cause of the decline and extinction of amphibian species throughout the world. We surveyed the distribution of Bd within and around the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA), a 1.38 million ha area of significant fauna conservation value, which provides the majority of habitat for Tasmania's 3 endemic frog species (Litoria burrowsae, Bryobatrachus nimbus and Crinia tasmaniensis). Bd was detected at only 1 (3%) of the 33 sites surveyed within the TWWHA and at 15 (52%) of the 29 sites surveyed surrounding the TWWHA. The relatively low incidence of the disease within the TWWHA suggests that the majority of the TWWHA is currently free of the pathogen despite the fact that the region provides what appears to be optimal conditions for the persistence of Bd. For all survey sites within and around the TWWHA, the presence of Bd was strongly associated with the presence of gravel roads, forest and < 1000 m altitude--factors that in this study were associated with human-disturbed landscapes around the TWWHA. Conversely, the presence of walking tracks was strongly associated with the absence of Bd, suggesting an association of absence with relatively remote locations. The wide distribution of Bd in areas of Tasmania with high levels of human disturbance and its very limited occurrence in remote wilderness areas suggests that anthropogenic activities may facilitate the dissemination of the pathogen on a landscape scale in Tasmania. Because the majority of the TWWHA is not readily accessible and appears to be largely free of Bd, and because Tasmanian frogs reproduce in ponds rather than streams, it may be feasible to control the spread of the disease in the TWWHA.

Slowing down Presentation of Facial Movements and Vocal Sounds Enhances Facial Expression Recognition and Induces Facial-Vocal Imitation in Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tardif, Carole; Laine, France; Rodriguez, Melissa; Gepner, Bruno

2007-01-01

This study examined the effects of slowing down presentation of facial expressions and their corresponding vocal sounds on facial expression recognition and facial and/or vocal imitation in children with autism. Twelve autistic children and twenty-four normal control children were presented with emotional and non-emotional facial expressions on…

Classifying Facial Actions

PubMed Central

Donato, Gianluca; Bartlett, Marian Stewart; Hager, Joseph C.; Ekman, Paul; Sejnowski, Terrence J.

2010-01-01

The Facial Action Coding System (FACS) [23] is an objective method for quantifying facial movement in terms of component actions. This system is widely used in behavioral investigations of emotion, cognitive processes, and social interaction. The coding is presently performed by highly trained human experts. This paper explores and compares techniques for automatically recognizing facial actions in sequences of images. These techniques include analysis of facial motion through estimation of optical flow; holistic spatial analysis, such as principal component analysis, independent component analysis, local feature analysis, and linear discriminant analysis; and methods based on the outputs of local filters, such as Gabor wavelet representations and local principal components. Performance of these systems is compared to naive and expert human subjects. Best performances were obtained using the Gabor wavelet representation and the independent component representation, both of which achieved 96 percent accuracy for classifying 12 facial actions of the upper and lower face. The results provide converging evidence for the importance of using local filters, high spatial frequencies, and statistical independence for classifying facial actions. PMID:21188284

Chronic, burning facial pain following cosmetic facial surgery.

PubMed

Eisenberg, E; Yaari, A; Har-Shai, Y

1996-01-01

Chronic, burning facial pain as a result of cosmetic facial surgery has rarely been reported. During the year of 1994, two female patients presented themselves at our Pain Relief Clinic with chronic facial pain that developed following aesthetic facial surgery. One patient underwent bilateral transpalpebral surgery for removal of intraorbital fat for the correction of the exophthalmus, and the other had classical face and anterior hairline forehead lifts. Pain in both patients was similar in that it was bilateral, symmetric, burning in quality, and aggravated by external stimuli, mainly light touch. It was resistant to multiple analgesic medications, and was associated with significant depression and disability. Diagnostic local (lidocaine) and systemic (lidocaine and phentolamine) nerve blocks failed to provide relief. Psychological evaluation revealed that the two patients had clear psychosocial factors that seemed to have further compounded their pain complaints. Tricyclic antidepressants (and biofeedback training in one patient) were modestly effective and produced only partial pain relief.

Facial attractiveness.

PubMed

Little, Anthony C

2014-11-01

Facial attractiveness has important social consequences. Despite a widespread belief that beauty cannot be defined, in fact, there is considerable agreement across individuals and cultures on what is found attractive. By considering that attraction and mate choice are critical components of evolutionary selection, we can better understand the importance of beauty. There are many traits that are linked to facial attractiveness in humans and each may in some way impart benefits to individuals who act on their preferences. If a trait is reliably associated with some benefit to the perceiver, then we would expect individuals in a population to find that trait attractive. Such an approach has highlighted face traits such as age, health, symmetry, and averageness, which are proposed to be associated with benefits and so associated with facial attractiveness. This view may postulate that some traits will be universally attractive; however, this does not preclude variation. Indeed, it would be surprising if there existed a template of a perfect face that was not affected by experience, environment, context, or the specific needs of an individual. Research on facial attractiveness has documented how various face traits are associated with attractiveness and various factors that impact on an individual's judgments of facial attractiveness. Overall, facial attractiveness is complex, both in the number of traits that determine attraction and in the large number of factors that can alter attraction to particular faces. A fuller understanding of facial beauty will come with an understanding of how these various factors interact with each other. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:621-634. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1316 CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The author has declared no conflicts of interest for this article. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Facial anatomy.

PubMed

Marur, Tania; Tuna, Yakup; Demirci, Selman

2014-01-01

Dermatologic problems of the face affect both function and aesthetics, which are based on complex anatomical features. Treating dermatologic problems while preserving the aesthetics and functions of the face requires knowledge of normal anatomy. When performing successfully invasive procedures of the face, it is essential to understand its underlying topographic anatomy. This chapter presents the anatomy of the facial musculature and neurovascular structures in a systematic way with some clinically important aspects. We describe the attachments of the mimetic and masticatory muscles and emphasize their functions and nerve supply. We highlight clinically relevant facial topographic anatomy by explaining the course and location of the sensory and motor nerves of the face and facial vasculature with their relations. Additionally, this chapter reviews the recent nomenclature of the branching pattern of the facial artery. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Children's Facial Trustworthiness Judgments: Agreement and Relationship with Facial Attractiveness.

PubMed

Ma, Fengling; Xu, Fen; Luo, Xianming

2016-01-01

This study examined developmental changes in children's abilities to make trustworthiness judgments based on faces and the relationship between a child's perception of trustworthiness and facial attractiveness. One hundred and one 8-, 10-, and 12-year-olds, along with 37 undergraduates, were asked to judge the trustworthiness of 200 faces. Next, they issued facial attractiveness judgments. The results indicated that children made consistent trustworthiness and attractiveness judgments based on facial appearance, but with-adult and within-age agreement levels of facial judgments increased with age. Additionally, the agreement levels of judgments made by girls were higher than those by boys. Furthermore, the relationship between trustworthiness and attractiveness judgments increased with age, and the relationship between two judgments made by girls was closer than those by boys. These findings suggest that face-based trait judgment ability develops throughout childhood and that, like adults, children may use facial attractiveness as a heuristic cue that signals a stranger's trustworthiness.

Children's Facial Trustworthiness Judgments: Agreement and Relationship with Facial Attractiveness

PubMed Central

Ma, Fengling; Xu, Fen; Luo, Xianming

2016-01-01

This study examined developmental changes in children's abilities to make trustworthiness judgments based on faces and the relationship between a child's perception of trustworthiness and facial attractiveness. One hundred and one 8-, 10-, and 12-year-olds, along with 37 undergraduates, were asked to judge the trustworthiness of 200 faces. Next, they issued facial attractiveness judgments. The results indicated that children made consistent trustworthiness and attractiveness judgments based on facial appearance, but with-adult and within-age agreement levels of facial judgments increased with age. Additionally, the agreement levels of judgments made by girls were higher than those by boys. Furthermore, the relationship between trustworthiness and attractiveness judgments increased with age, and the relationship between two judgments made by girls was closer than those by boys. These findings suggest that face-based trait judgment ability develops throughout childhood and that, like adults, children may use facial attractiveness as a heuristic cue that signals a stranger's trustworthiness. PMID:27148111

Brain responses to facial attractiveness induced by facial proportions: evidence from an fMRI study

PubMed Central

Shen, Hui; Chau, Desmond K. P.; Su, Jianpo; Zeng, Ling-Li; Jiang, Weixiong; He, Jufang; Fan, Jintu; Hu, Dewen

2016-01-01

Brain responses to facial attractiveness induced by facial proportions are investigated by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in 41 young adults (22 males and 19 females). The subjects underwent fMRI while they were presented with computer-generated, yet realistic face images, which had varying facial proportions, but the same neutral facial expression, baldhead and skin tone, as stimuli. Statistical parametric mapping with parametric modulation was used to explore the brain regions with the response modulated by facial attractiveness ratings (ARs). The results showed significant linear effects of the ARs in the caudate nucleus and the orbitofrontal cortex for all of the subjects, and a non-linear response profile in the right amygdala for only the male subjects. Furthermore, canonical correlation analysis was used to learn the most relevant facial ratios that were best correlated with facial attractiveness. A regression model on the fMRI-derived facial ratio components demonstrated a strong linear relationship between the visually assessed mean ARs and the predictive ARs. Overall, this study provided, for the first time, direct neurophysiologic evidence of the effects of facial ratios on facial attractiveness and suggested that there are notable gender differences in perceiving facial attractiveness as induced by facial proportions. PMID:27779211

Brain responses to facial attractiveness induced by facial proportions: evidence from an fMRI study.

PubMed

Shen, Hui; Chau, Desmond K P; Su, Jianpo; Zeng, Ling-Li; Jiang, Weixiong; He, Jufang; Fan, Jintu; Hu, Dewen

2016-10-25

Brain responses to facial attractiveness induced by facial proportions are investigated by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in 41 young adults (22 males and 19 females). The subjects underwent fMRI while they were presented with computer-generated, yet realistic face images, which had varying facial proportions, but the same neutral facial expression, baldhead and skin tone, as stimuli. Statistical parametric mapping with parametric modulation was used to explore the brain regions with the response modulated by facial attractiveness ratings (ARs). The results showed significant linear effects of the ARs in the caudate nucleus and the orbitofrontal cortex for all of the subjects, and a non-linear response profile in the right amygdala for only the male subjects. Furthermore, canonical correlation analysis was used to learn the most relevant facial ratios that were best correlated with facial attractiveness. A regression model on the fMRI-derived facial ratio components demonstrated a strong linear relationship between the visually assessed mean ARs and the predictive ARs. Overall, this study provided, for the first time, direct neurophysiologic evidence of the effects of facial ratios on facial attractiveness and suggested that there are notable gender differences in perceiving facial attractiveness as induced by facial proportions.

[Peripheral facial nerve lesion induced long-term dendritic retraction in pyramidal cortico-facial neurons].

PubMed

Urrego, Diana; Múnera, Alejandro; Troncoso, Julieta

2011-01-01

Little evidence is available concerning the morphological modifications of motor cortex neurons associated with peripheral nerve injuries, and the consequences of those injuries on post lesion functional recovery. Dendritic branching of cortico-facial neurons was characterized with respect to the effects of irreversible facial nerve injury. Twenty-four adult male rats were distributed into four groups: sham (no lesion surgery), and dendritic assessment at 1, 3 and 5 weeks post surgery. Eighteen lesion animals underwent surgical transection of the mandibular and buccal branches of the facial nerve. Dendritic branching was examined by contralateral primary motor cortex slices stained with the Golgi-Cox technique. Layer V pyramidal (cortico-facial) neurons from sham and injured animals were reconstructed and their dendritic branching was compared using Sholl analysis. Animals with facial nerve lesions displayed persistent vibrissal paralysis throughout the five week observation period. Compared with control animal neurons, cortico-facial pyramidal neurons of surgically injured animals displayed shrinkage of their dendritic branches at statistically significant levels. This shrinkage persisted for at least five weeks after facial nerve injury. Irreversible facial motoneuron axonal damage induced persistent dendritic arborization shrinkage in contralateral cortico-facial neurons. This morphological reorganization may be the physiological basis of functional sequelae observed in peripheral facial palsy patients.

Lesser devil rays Mobula cf. hypostoma from Venezuela are almost twice their previously reported maximum size and may be a new sub-species.

PubMed

Ehemann, N R; González-González, L V; Trites, A W

2017-03-01

Three rays opportunistically obtained near Margarita Island, Venezuela, were identified as lesser devil rays Mobula cf. hypostoma, but their disc widths were between 207 and 230 cm, which is almost double the reported maximum disc width of 120 cm for this species. These morphometric data suggest that lesser devil rays are either larger than previously recognized or that these specimens belong to an unknown sub-species of Mobula in the Caribbean Sea. Better data are needed to describe the distribution, phenotypic variation and population structure of this poorly known species. © 2017 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Repeated short presentations of morphed facial expressions change recognition and evaluation of facial expressions.

PubMed

Moriya, Jun; Tanno, Yoshihiko; Sugiura, Yoshinori

2013-11-01

This study investigated whether sensitivity to and evaluation of facial expressions varied with repeated exposure to non-prototypical facial expressions for a short presentation time. A morphed facial expression was presented for 500 ms repeatedly, and participants were required to indicate whether each facial expression was happy or angry. We manipulated the distribution of presentations of the morphed facial expressions for each facial stimulus. Some of the individuals depicted in the facial stimuli expressed anger frequently (i.e., anger-prone individuals), while the others expressed happiness frequently (i.e., happiness-prone individuals). After being exposed to the faces of anger-prone individuals, the participants became less sensitive to those individuals' angry faces. Further, after being exposed to the faces of happiness-prone individuals, the participants became less sensitive to those individuals' happy faces. We also found a relative increase in the social desirability of happiness-prone individuals after exposure to the facial stimuli.

[[The Devil in the Details: Women's Right to Abortion and Health Organization].

PubMed

Pioggia, Alessandra

Often a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy for health reasons is considered as achieved by simply performing the intervention. But today isn't in doubt that the effective protection of health requires that health organizations carrying out performance which also affect other aspects: taking charge of women, information on services, respect for the dignity and autonomy of women, etc ... You could say that these are details, compared to the final performance. But, as we know, often the devil is in the details.

Lupines, manganese, and devil-sickness: an Anglo-Saxon medical response to epilepsy.

PubMed

Dendle, P

2001-01-01

The most frequently prescribed herb for "devil-sickness" in the vernacular medical books from Anglo-Saxon England, the lupine, is exceptionally high in manganese. Since manganese depletion has been linked with recurring seizures in both clinical and experimental studies, it is possible that lupine administration responded to the particular pathophysiology of epilepsy. Lupine is not prescribed for seizures in classical Mediterranean medical sources, implying that the Northern European peoples (if not the Anglo-Saxons themselves) discovered whatever anticonvulsive properties the herb may exhibit.

Chondromyxoid fibroma of the mastoid facial nerve canal mimicking a facial nerve schwannoma.

PubMed

Thompson, Andrew L; Bharatha, Aditya; Aviv, Richard I; Nedzelski, Julian; Chen, Joseph; Bilbao, Juan M; Wong, John; Saad, Reda; Symons, Sean P

2009-07-01

Chondromyxoid fibroma of the skull base is a rare entity. Involvement of the temporal bone is particularly rare. We present an unusual case of progressive facial nerve paralysis with imaging and clinical findings most suggestive of a facial nerve schwannoma. The lesion was tubular in appearance, expanded the mastoid facial nerve canal, protruded out of the stylomastoid foramen, and enhanced homogeneously. The only unusual imaging feature was minor calcification within the tumor. Surgery revealed an irregular, cystic lesion. Pathology diagnosed a chondromyxoid fibroma involving the mastoid portion of the facial nerve canal, destroying the facial nerve.

Simulation of the effects of the Devils Lake State Outlet on hydrodynamics and water quality in Lake Ashtabula, North Dakota, 2006-10

USGS Publications Warehouse

Galloway, Joel M.

2011-01-01

In 2010, a two-dimensional hydrodynamic and water-quality model (CE-QUAL-W2) of Lake Ashtabula, North Dakota, was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the North Dakota State Water Commission to understand the dynamics of chemical constituents in the reservoir and to provide a tool for the management and operation of the Devils Lake State Outlet in meeting the water-quality standards downstream from Baldhill Dam. The Lake Ashtabula model was calibrated for hydrodynamics, sulfate concentrations, and total dissolved-solids concentrations to ambient conditions from June 2006 through June 2010. The calibrated model then was used to simulate four scenarios that represent various Devils Lake outlet options that have been considered for reducing the water levels in Devils Lake. Simulated water temperatures compared well with measured temperatures and differences varied spatially in Lake Ashtabula from June 2006 through June 2010. The absolute mean error ranged from 0.7 degrees Celsius to 1.0 degrees Celsius and the root mean square error ranged from 0.7 degrees Celsius to 1.1 degrees Celsius. Simulated sulfate concentrations compared well with measured concentrations in Lake Ashtabula. In general, simulated sulfate concentrations were slightly overpredicted with mean differences between simulated and measured sulfate concentrations ranging from -2 milligram per liter to 18 milligrams per liter. Differences between simulated and measured sulfate concentrations varied temporally in Lake Ashtabula from June 2006 through June 2010. In 2006, sulfate concentrations were overpredicted in the lower part of the reservoir and underpredicted in the upper part of the reservoir. Simulated total dissolved solids generally were greater than measured total dissolved-solids concentrations in Lake Ashtabula from June 2006 through June 2010. The mean difference between simulated and measured total dissolved-solids concentrations ranged from -3 milligrams per liter to

Caricaturing facial expressions.

PubMed

Calder, A J; Rowland, D; Young, A W; Nimmo-Smith, I; Keane, J; Perrett, D I

2000-08-14

The physical differences between facial expressions (e.g. fear) and a reference norm (e.g. a neutral expression) were altered to produce photographic-quality caricatures. In Experiment 1, participants rated caricatures of fear, happiness and sadness for their intensity of these three emotions; a second group of participants rated how 'face-like' the caricatures appeared. With increasing levels of exaggeration the caricatures were rated as more emotionally intense, but less 'face-like'. Experiment 2 demonstrated a similar relationship between emotional intensity and level of caricature for six different facial expressions. Experiments 3 and 4 compared intensity ratings of facial expression caricatures prepared relative to a selection of reference norms - a neutral expression, an average expression, or a different facial expression (e.g. anger caricatured relative to fear). Each norm produced a linear relationship between caricature and rated intensity of emotion; this finding is inconsistent with two-dimensional models of the perceptual representation of facial expression. An exemplar-based multidimensional model is proposed as an alternative account.

Enhancing facial features by using clear facial features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rofoo, Fanar Fareed Hanna

2017-09-01

The similarity of features between individuals of same ethnicity motivated the idea of this project. The idea of this project is to extract features of clear facial image and impose them on blurred facial image of same ethnic origin as an approach to enhance a blurred facial image. A database of clear images containing 30 individuals equally divided to five different ethnicities which were Arab, African, Chines, European and Indian. Software was built to perform pre-processing on images in order to align the features of clear and blurred images. And the idea was to extract features of clear facial image or template built from clear facial images using wavelet transformation to impose them on blurred image by using reverse wavelet. The results of this approach did not come well as all the features did not align together as in most cases the eyes were aligned but the nose or mouth were not aligned. Then we decided in the next approach to deal with features separately but in the result in some cases a blocky effect was present on features due to not having close matching features. In general the available small database did not help to achieve the goal results, because of the number of available individuals. The color information and features similarity could be more investigated to achieve better results by having larger database as well as improving the process of enhancement by the availability of closer matches in each ethnicity.

Facial reanimation by muscle-nerve neurotization after facial nerve sacrifice. Case report.

PubMed

Taupin, A; Labbé, D; Babin, E; Fromager, G

2016-12-01

Recovering a certain degree of mimicry after sacrifice of the facial nerve is a clinically recognized finding. The authors report a case of hemifacial reanimation suggesting a phenomenon of neurotization from muscle-to-nerve. A woman benefited from a parotidectomy with sacrifice of the left facial nerve indicated for recurrent tumor in the gland. The distal branches of the facial nerve, isolated at the time of resection, were buried in the masseter muscle underneath. The patient recovered a voluntary hémifacial motricity. The electromyographic analysis of the motor activity of the zygomaticus major before and after block of the masseter nerve showed a dependence between mimic muscles and the masseter muscle. Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain the spontaneous reanimation of facial paralysis. The clinical case makes it possible to argue in favor of muscle-to-nerve neurotization from masseter muscle to distal branches of the facial nerve. It illustrates the quality of motricity that can be obtained thanks to this procedure. The authors describe a simple implantation technique of distal branches of the facial nerve in the masseter muscle during a radical parotidectomy with facial nerve sacrifice and recovery of resting tone but also a quality voluntary mimicry. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Changing perception: facial reanimation surgery improves attractiveness and decreases negative facial perception.

PubMed

Dey, Jacob K; Ishii, Masaru; Boahene, Kofi D O; Byrne, Patrick J; Ishii, Lisa E

2014-01-01

Determine the effect of facial reanimation surgery on observer-graded attractiveness and negative facial perception of patients with facial paralysis. Randomized controlled experiment. Ninety observers viewed images of paralyzed faces, smiling and in repose, before and after reanimation surgery, as well as normal comparison faces. Observers rated the attractiveness of each face and characterized the paralyzed faces by rating severity, disfigured/bothersome, and importance to repair. Iterated factor analysis indicated these highly correlated variables measure a common domain, so they were combined to create the disfigured, important to repair, bothersome, severity (DIBS) factor score. Mixed effects linear regression determined the effect of facial reanimation surgery on attractiveness and DIBS score. Facial paralysis induces an attractiveness penalty of 2.51 on a 10-point scale for faces in repose and 3.38 for smiling faces. Mixed effects linear regression showed that reanimation surgery improved attractiveness for faces both in repose and smiling by 0.84 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.67, 1.01) and 1.24 (95% CI: 1.07, 1.42) respectively. Planned hypothesis tests confirmed statistically significant differences in attractiveness ratings between postoperative and normal faces, indicating attractiveness was not completely normalized. Regression analysis also showed that reanimation surgery decreased DIBS by 0.807 (95% CI: 0.704, 0.911) for faces in repose and 0.989 (95% CI: 0.886, 1.093), an entire standard deviation, for smiling faces. Facial reanimation surgery increases attractiveness and decreases negative facial perception of patients with facial paralysis. These data emphasize the need to optimize reanimation surgery to restore not only function, but also symmetry and cosmesis to improve facial perception and patient quality of life. © 2013 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

The chronology for the d18O record from Devils Hole, Nevada, extended into the Mid-Holocene

USGS Publications Warehouse

Landwehr, J.M.; Sharp, W.D.; Coplen, T.B.; Ludwig, K. R.; Winograd, I.J.

2011-01-01

This report presents the numeric values for the chronology of the paleoclimatically relevant mid-to-late Pleistocene record of the ratios of stable oxygen isotope (delta18O) in vein calcite from Devils Hole, Nev., which recently had been extended into the mid-Holocene. Dating was obtained using 230Th-234U-238U thermal ionization mass spectrometry. Devils Hole is a subaqueous cave of tectonic origin, which developed in the discharge zone of a regional aquifer in south-central Nevada. The primary groundwater recharge source area is the Spring Mountains, the highest mountain range in southern Nevada [altitude 3,630 meters (m)], approximately 80 kilometers to the east of the cavern. The walls of the open fault zone comprising the cave system are coated with dense vein calcite precipitated from the through-flowing groundwater. The calcite, up to 40 centimeters (cm) thick, contains a continuous record of the sequential variation of the composition of stable oxygen isotopes in the ground water over time. The vein calcite has also proven to be a suitable material for precise uranium-series dating via thermal ionization mass spectrometry utilizing the 230Th-234U-238U decay clock. Earlier work has presented data from the Devils Hole core DH-11, a 36-cm-long core of vein calcite recovered from a depth of about 30 m below the water table (about 45 m beneath the ground surface). The DH-11 core provided a continuous record of isotopic oxygen variation from 567,700 to 59,800 years before present. Recent work has extended this record up to 4,500 years before present, into the mid-Holocene epoch.

Automated Facial Recognition of Computed Tomography-Derived Facial Images: Patient Privacy Implications.

PubMed

Parks, Connie L; Monson, Keith L

2017-04-01

The recognizability of facial images extracted from publically available medical scans raises patient privacy concerns. This study examined how accurately facial images extracted from computed tomography (CT) scans are objectively matched with corresponding photographs of the scanned individuals. The test subjects were 128 adult Americans ranging in age from 18 to 60 years, representing both sexes and three self-identified population (ancestral descent) groups (African, European, and Hispanic). Using facial recognition software, the 2D images of the extracted facial models were compared for matches against five differently sized photo galleries. Depending on the scanning protocol and gallery size, in 6-61 % of the cases, a correct life photo match for a CT-derived facial image was the top ranked image in the generated candidate lists, even when blind searching in excess of 100,000 images. In 31-91 % of the cases, a correct match was located within the top 50 images. Few significant differences (p > 0.05) in match rates were observed between the sexes or across the three age cohorts. Highly significant differences (p < 0.01) were, however, observed across the three ancestral cohorts and between the two CT scanning protocols. Results suggest that the probability of a match between a facial image extracted from a medical scan and a photograph of the individual is moderately high. The facial image data inherent in commonly employed medical imaging modalities may need to consider a potentially identifiable form of "comparable" facial imagery and protected as such under patient privacy legislation.

External facial features modify the representation of internal facial features in the fusiform face area.

PubMed

Axelrod, Vadim; Yovel, Galit

2010-08-15

Most studies of face identity have excluded external facial features by either removing them or covering them with a hat. However, external facial features may modify the representation of internal facial features. Here we assessed whether the representation of face identity in the fusiform face area (FFA), which has been primarily studied for internal facial features, is modified by differences in external facial features. We presented faces in which external and internal facial features were manipulated independently. Our findings show that the FFA was sensitive to differences in external facial features, but this effect was significantly larger when the external and internal features were aligned than misaligned. We conclude that the FFA generates a holistic representation in which the internal and the external facial features are integrated. These results indicate that to better understand real-life face recognition both external and internal features should be included. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Applications of Electrified Dust and Dust Devil Electrodynamics to Martian Atmospheric Electricity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, R. G.; Barth, E.; Esposito, F.; Merrison, J.; Montmessin, F.; Aplin, K. L.; Borlina, C.; Berthelier, J. J.; Déprez, G.; Farrell, W. M.; Houghton, I. M. P.; Renno, N. O.; Nicoll, K. A.; Tripathi, S. N.; Zimmerman, M.

2016-11-01

Atmospheric transport and suspension of dust frequently brings electrification, which may be substantial. Electric fields of 10 kV m-1 to 100 kV m-1 have been observed at the surface beneath suspended dust in the terrestrial atmosphere, and some electrification has been observed to persist in dust at levels to 5 km, as well as in volcanic plumes. The interaction between individual particles which causes the electrification is incompletely understood, and multiple processes are thought to be acting. A variation in particle charge with particle size, and the effect of gravitational separation explains to, some extent, the charge structures observed in terrestrial dust storms. More extensive flow-based modelling demonstrates that bulk electric fields in excess of 10 kV m-1 can be obtained rapidly (in less than 10 s) from rotating dust systems (dust devils) and that terrestrial breakdown fields can be obtained. Modelled profiles of electrical conductivity in the Martian atmosphere suggest the possibility of dust electrification, and dust devils have been suggested as a mechanism of charge separation able to maintain current flow between one region of the atmosphere and another, through a global circuit. Fundamental new understanding of Martian atmospheric electricity will result from the ExoMars mission, which carries the DREAMS (Dust characterization, Risk Assessment, and Environment Analyser on the Martian Surface)—MicroARES ( Atmospheric Radiation and Electricity Sensor) instrumentation to Mars in 2016 for the first in situ electrical measurements.

Applications of Electrified Dust and Dust Devil Electrodynamics to Martian Atmospheric Electricity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrison, R. G.; Barth, E.; Esposito, F.; Merrison, J.; Montmessin, F.; Aplin, K. L.; Borlina, C.; Berthelier, J J.; Deprez, G.; Farrell, William M.;

Surface ozone at the Devils Postpile National Monument receptor site during low and high wildland fire years

Treesearch

Andrzej Bytnerowicz; Joel D. Burley; Ricardo Cisneros; Haiganoush K. Preisler; Susan Schilling; Donald Schweizer; John Ray; Deanna Dulen; Christopher Beck; Bianca Auble

2013-01-01

Surface ozone (O3) was measured at the Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO), eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, during the 2007 (low-fire) and 2008 (high-fire) summer seasons. While mean and median values of O3 concentrations for the 2007 and 2008 summer seasons were similar, maximum O3...

Does Facial Amimia Impact the Recognition of Facial Emotions? An EMG Study in Parkinson’s Disease

PubMed Central

Argaud, Soizic; Delplanque, Sylvain; Houvenaghel, Jean-François; Auffret, Manon; Duprez, Joan; Vérin, Marc; Grandjean, Didier; Sauleau, Paul

2016-01-01

According to embodied simulation theory, understanding other people’s emotions is fostered by facial mimicry. However, studies assessing the effect of facial mimicry on the recognition of emotion are still controversial. In Parkinson’s disease (PD), one of the most distinctive clinical features is facial amimia, a reduction in facial expressiveness, but patients also show emotional disturbances. The present study used the pathological model of PD to examine the role of facial mimicry on emotion recognition by investigating EMG responses in PD patients during a facial emotion recognition task (anger, joy, neutral). Our results evidenced a significant decrease in facial mimicry for joy in PD, essentially linked to the absence of reaction of the zygomaticus major and the orbicularis oculi muscles in response to happy avatars, whereas facial mimicry for expressions of anger was relatively preserved. We also confirmed that PD patients were less accurate in recognizing positive and neutral facial expressions and highlighted a beneficial effect of facial mimicry on the recognition of emotion. We thus provide additional arguments for embodied simulation theory suggesting that facial mimicry is a potential lever for therapeutic actions in PD even if it seems not to be necessarily required in recognizing emotion as such. PMID:27467393

Incongruence Between Observers’ and Observed Facial Muscle Activation Reduces Recognition of Emotional Facial Expressions From Video Stimuli

PubMed Central

Wingenbach, Tanja S. H.; Brosnan, Mark; Pfaltz, Monique C.; Plichta, Michael M.; Ashwin, Chris

2018-01-01

According to embodied cognition accounts, viewing others’ facial emotion can elicit the respective emotion representation in observers which entails simulations of sensory, motor, and contextual experiences. In line with that, published research found viewing others’ facial emotion to elicit automatic matched facial muscle activation, which was further found to facilitate emotion recognition. Perhaps making congruent facial muscle activity explicit produces an even greater recognition advantage. If there is conflicting sensory information, i.e., incongruent facial muscle activity, this might impede recognition. The effects of actively manipulating facial muscle activity on facial emotion recognition from videos were investigated across three experimental conditions: (a) explicit imitation of viewed facial emotional expressions (stimulus-congruent condition), (b) pen-holding with the lips (stimulus-incongruent condition), and (c) passive viewing (control condition). It was hypothesised that (1) experimental condition (a) and (b) result in greater facial muscle activity than (c), (2) experimental condition (a) increases emotion recognition accuracy from others’ faces compared to (c), (3) experimental condition (b) lowers recognition accuracy for expressions with a salient facial feature in the lower, but not the upper face area, compared to (c). Participants (42 males, 42 females) underwent a facial emotion recognition experiment (ADFES-BIV) while electromyography (EMG) was recorded from five facial muscle sites. The experimental conditions’ order was counter-balanced. Pen-holding caused stimulus-incongruent facial muscle activity for expressions with facial feature saliency in the lower face region, which reduced recognition of lower face region emotions. Explicit imitation caused stimulus-congruent facial muscle activity without modulating recognition. Methodological implications are discussed. PMID:29928240

Incongruence Between Observers' and Observed Facial Muscle Activation Reduces Recognition of Emotional Facial Expressions From Video Stimuli.

PubMed

Wingenbach, Tanja S H; Brosnan, Mark; Pfaltz, Monique C; Plichta, Michael M; Ashwin, Chris

2018-01-01

According to embodied cognition accounts, viewing others' facial emotion can elicit the respective emotion representation in observers which entails simulations of sensory, motor, and contextual experiences. In line with that, published research found viewing others' facial emotion to elicit automatic matched facial muscle activation, which was further found to facilitate emotion recognition. Perhaps making congruent facial muscle activity explicit produces an even greater recognition advantage. If there is conflicting sensory information, i.e., incongruent facial muscle activity, this might impede recognition. The effects of actively manipulating facial muscle activity on facial emotion recognition from videos were investigated across three experimental conditions: (a) explicit imitation of viewed facial emotional expressions (stimulus-congruent condition), (b) pen-holding with the lips (stimulus-incongruent condition), and (c) passive viewing (control condition). It was hypothesised that (1) experimental condition (a) and (b) result in greater facial muscle activity than (c), (2) experimental condition (a) increases emotion recognition accuracy from others' faces compared to (c), (3) experimental condition (b) lowers recognition accuracy for expressions with a salient facial feature in the lower, but not the upper face area, compared to (c). Participants (42 males, 42 females) underwent a facial emotion recognition experiment (ADFES-BIV) while electromyography (EMG) was recorded from five facial muscle sites. The experimental conditions' order was counter-balanced. Pen-holding caused stimulus-incongruent facial muscle activity for expressions with facial feature saliency in the lower face region, which reduced recognition of lower face region emotions. Explicit imitation caused stimulus-congruent facial muscle activity without modulating recognition. Methodological implications are discussed.

[The application of facial liposuction and fat grafting in the remodeling of facial contour].

PubMed

Wen, Huicai; Ma, Li; Sui, Ynnpeng; Jian, Xueping

2015-03-01

To investigate the application of facial liposuction and fat grafting in the remodeling of facial contour. From Nov. 2008 to Mar. 2014, 49 cases received facial liposuction and fat grafting to improve facial contours. Subcutaneous facial liposuction with tumescent technique and chin fat grafting were performed in all the cases, buccal fat pad excision of fat in 7 cases, the masseter injection of botulinum toxin type A in 9 cases, temporal fat grafting in 25 cases, forehead fat grafting in 15 cases. Marked improvement was achieved in all the patients with stable results during the follow-up period of 6 - 24 months. Complications, such as asymmetric, unsmooth and sagging were retreated with acceptance results. Combination application of liposuction and fat grafting can effectively and easily improve the facial contour with low risk.

Facial Orientation and Facial Shape in Extant Great Apes: A Geometric Morphometric Analysis of Covariation

PubMed Central

Neaux, Dimitri; Guy, Franck; Gilissen, Emmanuel; Coudyzer, Walter; Vignaud, Patrick; Ducrocq, Stéphane

2013-01-01

The organization of the bony face is complex, its morphology being influenced in part by the rest of the cranium. Characterizing the facial morphological variation and craniofacial covariation patterns in extant hominids is fundamental to the understanding of their evolutionary history. Numerous studies on hominid facial shape have proposed hypotheses concerning the relationship between the anterior facial shape, facial block orientation and basicranial flexion. In this study we test these hypotheses in a sample of adult specimens belonging to three extant hominid genera (Homo, Pan and Gorilla). Intraspecific variation and covariation patterns are analyzed using geometric morphometric methods and multivariate statistics, such as partial least squared on three-dimensional landmarks coordinates. Our results indicate significant intraspecific covariation between facial shape, facial block orientation and basicranial flexion. Hominids share similar characteristics in the relationship between anterior facial shape and facial block orientation. Modern humans exhibit a specific pattern in the covariation between anterior facial shape and basicranial flexion. This peculiar feature underscores the role of modern humans' highly-flexed basicranium in the overall integration of the cranium. Furthermore, our results are consistent with the hypothesis of a relationship between the reduction of the value of the cranial base angle and a downward rotation of the facial block in modern humans, and to a lesser extent in chimpanzees. PMID:23441232

Facial diplegia: a clinical dilemma.

PubMed

Chakrabarti, Debaprasad; Roy, Mukut; Bhattacharyya, Amrit K

2013-06-01

Bilateral facial paralysis is a rare clinical entity and presents as a diagnostic challenge. Unlike its unilateral counterpart facial diplegia is seldom secondary to Bell's palsy. Occurring at a frequency of 0.3% to 2% of all facial palsies it often indicates ominous medical conditions. Guillian-Barre syndrome needs to be considered as a differential in all given cases of facial diplegia where timely treatment would be rewarding. Here a case of bilateral facial palsy due to Guillian-Barre syndrome with atypical presentation is reported.

Effects of Objective 3-Dimensional Measures of Facial Shape and Symmetry on Perceptions of Facial Attractiveness.

PubMed

Hatch, Cory D; Wehby, George L; Nidey, Nichole L; Moreno Uribe, Lina M

2017-09-01

Meeting patient desires for enhanced facial esthetics requires that providers have standardized and objective methods to measure esthetics. The authors evaluated the effects of objective 3-dimensional (3D) facial shape and asymmetry measurements derived from 3D facial images on perceptions of facial attractiveness. The 3D facial images of 313 adults in Iowa were digitized with 32 landmarks, and objective 3D facial measurements capturing symmetric and asymmetric components of shape variation, centroid size, and fluctuating asymmetry were obtained from the 3D coordinate data using geo-morphometric analyses. Frontal and profile images of study participants were rated for facial attractiveness by 10 volunteers (5 women and 5 men) on a 5-point Likert scale and a visual analog scale. Multivariate regression was used to identify the effects of the objective 3D facial measurements on attractiveness ratings. Several objective 3D facial measurements had marked effects on attractiveness ratings. Shorter facial heights with protrusive chins, midface retrusion, faces with protrusive noses and thin lips, flat mandibular planes with deep labiomental folds, any cants of the lip commissures and floor of the nose, larger faces overall, and increased fluctuating asymmetry were rated as significantly (P < .001) less attractive. Perceptions of facial attractiveness can be explained by specific 3D measurements of facial shapes and fluctuating asymmetry, which have important implications for clinical practice and research. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual attention during the evaluation of facial attractiveness is influenced by facial angles and smile.

PubMed

Kim, Seol Hee; Hwang, Soonshin; Hong, Yeon-Ju; Kim, Jae-Jin; Kim, Kyung-Ho; Chung, Chooryung J

2018-05-01

To examine the changes in visual attention influenced by facial angles and smile during the evaluation of facial attractiveness. Thirty-three young adults were asked to rate the overall facial attractiveness (task 1 and 3) or to select the most attractive face (task 2) by looking at multiple panel stimuli consisting of 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° rotated facial photos with or without a smile for three model face photos and a self-photo (self-face). Eye gaze and fixation time (FT) were monitored by the eye-tracking device during the performance. Participants were asked to fill out a subjective questionnaire asking, "Which face was primarily looked at when evaluating facial attractiveness?" When rating the overall facial attractiveness (task 1) for model faces, FT was highest for the 0° face and lowest for the 90° face regardless of the smile ( P < .01). However, when the most attractive face was to be selected (task 2), the FT of the 0° face decreased, while it significantly increased for the 45° face ( P < .001). When facial attractiveness was evaluated with the simplified panels combined with facial angles and smile (task 3), the FT of the 0° smiling face was the highest ( P < .01). While most participants reported that they looked mainly at the 0° smiling face when rating facial attractiveness, visual attention was broadly distributed within facial angles. Laterally rotated faces and presence of a smile highly influence visual attention during the evaluation of facial esthetics.

Hypoglossal-facial nerve "side"-to-side neurorrhaphy for facial paralysis resulting from closed temporal bone fractures.

PubMed

Su, Diya; Li, Dezhi; Wang, Shiwei; Qiao, Hui; Li, Ping; Wang, Binbin; Wan, Hong; Schumacher, Michael; Liu, Song

2018-06-06

Closed temporal bone fractures due to cranial trauma often result in facial nerve injury, frequently inducing incomplete facial paralysis. Conventional hypoglossal-facial nerve end-to-end neurorrhaphy may not be suitable for these injuries because sacrifice of the lesioned facial nerve for neurorrhaphy destroys the remnant axons and/or potential spontaneous innervation. we modified the classical method by hypoglossal-facial nerve "side"-to-side neurorrhaphy using an interpositional predegenerated nerve graft to treat these injuries. Five patients who experienced facial paralysis resulting from closed temporal bone fractures due to cranial trauma were treated with the "side"-to-side neurorrhaphy. An additional 4 patients did not receive the neurorrhaphy and served as controls. Before treatment, all patients had suffered House-Brackmann (H-B) grade V or VI facial paralysis for a mean of 5 months. During the 12-30 months of follow-up period, no further detectable deficits were observed, but an improvement in facial nerve function was evidenced over time in the 5 neurorrhaphy-treated patients. At the end of follow-up, the improved facial function reached H-B grade II in 3, grade III in 1 and grade IV in 1 of the 5 patients, consistent with the electrophysiological examinations. In the control group, two patients showed slightly spontaneous innervation with facial function improved from H-B grade VI to V, and the other patients remained unchanged at H-B grade V or VI. We concluded that the hypoglossal-facial nerve "side"-to-side neurorrhaphy can preserve the injured facial nerve and is suitable for treating significant incomplete facial paralysis resulting from closed temporal bone fractures, providing an evident beneficial effect. Moreover, this treatment may be performed earlier after the onset of facial paralysis in order to reduce the unfavorable changes to the injured facial nerve and atrophy of its target muscles due to long-term denervation and allow axonal

The face is not an empty canvas: how facial expressions interact with facial appearance.

PubMed

Hess, Ursula; Adams, Reginald B; Kleck, Robert E

2009-12-12

Faces are not simply blank canvases upon which facial expressions write their emotional messages. In fact, facial appearance and facial movement are both important social signalling systems in their own right. We here provide multiple lines of evidence for the notion that the social signals derived from facial appearance on the one hand and facial movement on the other interact in a complex manner, sometimes reinforcing and sometimes contradicting one another. Faces provide information on who a person is. Sex, age, ethnicity, personality and other characteristics that can define a person and the social group the person belongs to can all be derived from the face alone. The present article argues that faces interact with the perception of emotion expressions because this information informs a decoder's expectations regarding an expresser's probable emotional reactions. Facial appearance also interacts more directly with the interpretation of facial movement because some of the features that are used to derive personality or sex information are also features that closely resemble certain emotional expressions, thereby enhancing or diluting the perceived strength of particular expressions.

Accurate landmarking of three-dimensional facial data in the presence of facial expressions and occlusions using a three-dimensional statistical facial feature model.

PubMed

Zhao, Xi; Dellandréa, Emmanuel; Chen, Liming; Kakadiaris, Ioannis A

2011-10-01

Three-dimensional face landmarking aims at automatically localizing facial landmarks and has a wide range of applications (e.g., face recognition, face tracking, and facial expression analysis). Existing methods assume neutral facial expressions and unoccluded faces. In this paper, we propose a general learning-based framework for reliable landmark localization on 3-D facial data under challenging conditions (i.e., facial expressions and occlusions). Our approach relies on a statistical model, called 3-D statistical facial feature model, which learns both the global variations in configurational relationships between landmarks and the local variations of texture and geometry around each landmark. Based on this model, we further propose an occlusion classifier and a fitting algorithm. Results from experiments on three publicly available 3-D face databases (FRGC, BU-3-DFE, and Bosphorus) demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, in terms of landmarking accuracy and robustness, in the presence of expressions and occlusions.

Developing rural community health risk assessments for climate change: a Tasmanian pilot study.

PubMed

Bell, Erica J; Turner, Paul; Meinke, Holger; Holbrook, Neil J

2015-01-01

This article examines the development and pilot implementation of an approach to support local community decision-makers to plan health adaptation responses to climate change. The approach involves health and wellbeing risk assessment supported through the use of an electronic tool. While climate change is a major foreseeable public health threat, the extent to which health services are prepared for, or able to adequately respond to, climate change impact-related risks remains unclear. Building health decision-support mechanisms in order to involve and empower local stakeholders to help create the basis for agreement on these adaptive actions is an important first step. The primary research question was 'What can be learned from pilot implementation of a community health and well-being risk assessment (CHWRA) information technology-based tool designed to support understanding of, and decision-making on, local community challenges and opportunities associated with health risks posed by climate change? The article examines the complexity of climate change science to adaptation translational processes, with reference to existing research literature on community development. This is done in the context of addressing human health risks for rural and remote communities in Tasmania, Australia. This process is further examined through the pilot implementation of an electronic tool designed to support the translation of physically based climate change impact information into community-level assessments of health risks and adaptation priorities. The procedural and technical nature of the CHWRA tool is described, and the implications of the data gathered from stakeholder workshops held at three rural Tasmanian local government sites are considered and discussed. Bushfire, depression and waterborne diseases were identified by community stakeholders as being potentially 'catastrophic' health effects 'likely' to 'almost certain' to occur at one or more Tasmanian rural sites

Large Intratemporal Facial Nerve Schwannoma without Facial Palsy: Surgical Strategy of Tumor Removal and Functional Reconstruction.

PubMed

Yetiser, Sertac

2018-06-08

 Three patients with large intratemporal facial schwannomas underwent tumor removal and facial nerve reconstruction with hypoglossal anastomosis. The surgical strategy for the cases was tailored to the location of the mass and its extension along the facial nerve.  To provide data on the different clinical aspects of facial nerve schwannoma, the appropriate planning for management, and the predictive outcomes of facial function.  Three patients with facial schwannomas (two men and one woman, ages 45, 36, and 52 years, respectively) who presented to the clinic between 2009 and 2015 were reviewed. They all had hearing loss but normal facial function. All patients were operated on with radical tumor removal via mastoidectomy and subtotal petrosectomy and simultaneous cranial nerve (CN) 7- CN 12 anastomosis.  Multiple segments of the facial nerve were involved ranging in size from 3 to 7 cm. In the follow-up period of 9 to 24 months, there was no tumor recurrence. Facial function was scored House-Brackmann grades II and III, but two patients are still in the process of functional recovery.  Conservative treatment with sparing of the nerve is considered in patients with small tumors. Excision of a large facial schwannoma with immediate hypoglossal nerve grafting as a primary procedure can provide satisfactory facial nerve function. One of the disadvantages of performing anastomosis is that there is not enough neural tissue just before the bifurcation of the main stump to provide neural suturing without tension because middle fossa extension of the facial schwannoma frequently involves the main facial nerve at the stylomastoid foramen. Reanimation should be processed with extensive backward mobilization of the hypoglossal nerve. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Computer Recognition of Facial Profiles

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-08-01

facial recognition 20. ABSTRACT (Continue on reverse side It necessary and Identify by block number) A system for the recognition of human faces from...21 2.6 Classification Algorithms ........... ... 32 III FACIAL RECOGNITION AND AUTOMATIC TRAINING . . . 37 3.1 Facial Profile Recognition...provide a fair test of the classification system. The work of Goldstein, Harmon, and Lesk [81 indicates, however, that for facial recognition , a ten class

Impaired Overt Facial Mimicry in Response to Dynamic Facial Expressions in High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoshimura, Sayaka; Sato, Wataru; Uono, Shota; Toichi, Motomi

2015-01-01

Previous electromyographic studies have reported that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) exhibited atypical patterns of facial muscle activity in response to facial expression stimuli. However, whether such activity is expressed in visible facial mimicry remains unknown. To investigate this issue, we videotaped facial responses in…

Outcome of a graduated minimally invasive facial reanimation in patients with facial paralysis.

PubMed

Holtmann, Laura C; Eckstein, Anja; Stähr, Kerstin; Xing, Minzhi; Lang, Stephan; Mattheis, Stefan

2017-08-01

Peripheral paralysis of the facial nerve is the most frequent of all cranial nerve disorders. Despite advances in facial surgery, the functional and aesthetic reconstruction of a paralyzed face remains a challenge. Graduated minimally invasive facial reanimation is based on a modular principle. According to the patients' needs, precondition, and expectations, the following modules can be performed: temporalis muscle transposition and facelift, nasal valve suspension, endoscopic brow lift, and eyelid reconstruction. Applying a concept of a graduated minimally invasive facial reanimation may help minimize surgical trauma and reduce morbidity. Twenty patients underwent a graduated minimally invasive facial reanimation. A retrospective chart review was performed with a follow-up examination between 1 and 8 months after surgery. The FACEgram software was used to calculate pre- and postoperative eyelid closure, the level of brows, nasal, and philtral symmetry as well as oral commissure position at rest and oral commissure excursion with smile. As a patient-oriented outcome parameter, the Glasgow Benefit Inventory questionnaire was applied. There was a statistically significant improvement in the postoperative score of eyelid closure, brow asymmetry, nasal asymmetry, philtral asymmetry as well as oral commissure symmetry at rest (p < 0.05). Smile evaluation revealed no significant change of oral commissure excursion. The mean Glasgow Benefit Inventory score indicated substantial improvement in patients' overall quality of life. If a primary facial nerve repair or microneurovascular tissue transfer cannot be applied, graduated minimally invasive facial reanimation is a promising option to restore facial function and symmetry at rest.

Mime therapy improves facial symmetry in people with long-term facial nerve paresis: a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Beurskens, Carien H G; Heymans, Peter G

2006-01-01

What is the effect of mime therapy on facial symmetry and severity of paresis in people with facial nerve paresis? Randomised controlled trial. 50 people recruited from the Outpatient department of two metropolitan hospitals with facial nerve paresis for more than nine months. The experimental group received three months of mime therapy consisting of massage, relaxation, inhibition of synkinesis, and co-ordination and emotional expression exercises. The control group was placed on a waiting list. Assessments were made on admission to the trial and three months later by a measurer blinded to group allocation. Facial symmetry was measured using the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System. Severity of paresis was measured using the House-Brackmann Facial Grading System. After three months of mime therapy, the experimental group had improved their facial symmetry by 20.4 points (95% CI 10.4 to 30.4) on the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System compared with the control group. In addition, the experimental group had reduced the severity of their paresis by 0.6 grade (95% CI 0.1 to 1.1) on the House-Brackmann Facial Grading System compared with the control group. These effects were independent of age, sex, and duration of paresis. Mime therapy improves facial symmetry and reduces the severity of paresis in people with facial nerve paresis.

Guide to Understanding Facial Palsy

MedlinePlus

... to many different facial muscles. These muscles control facial expression. The coordinated activity of this nerve and these ... involves a weakness of the muscles responsible for facial expression and side-to-side eye movement. Moebius syndrome ...

Managing the Pediatric Facial Fracture

PubMed Central

Cole, Patrick; Kaufman, Yoav; Hollier, Larry H.

2009-01-01

Facial fracture management is often complex and demanding, particularly within the pediatric population. Although facial fractures in this group are uncommon relative to their incidence in adult counterparts, a thorough understanding of issues relevant to pediatric facial fracture management is critical to optimal long-term success. Here, we discuss several issues germane to pediatric facial fractures and review significant factors in their evaluation, diagnosis, and management. PMID:22110800

Dust Devil in Spirit's View Ahead on Sol 1854

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit used its navigation camera to take the images that have been combined into this stereo, 180-degree view of the rover's surroundings during the 1,854th Martian day, or sol, of Spirit's surface mission (March 21, 2009).

The rover had driven 13.79 meters (45 feet) westward earlier on Sol 1854.

West is at the center, where a dust devil is visible in the distance. North on the right, where Husband Hill dominates the horizon; Spirit was on top of Husband Hill in September and October 2005. South is on the left, where lighter-toned rock lines the edge of the low plateau called 'Home Plate.'

This view is presented as a cylindrical projection with geometric seam correction.

[Facial paralysis in children].

PubMed

Muler, H; Paquelin, F; Cotin, G; Luboinski, B; Henin, J M

1975-01-01

Facial paralyses in children may be grouped under headings displaying a certain amount of individuality. Chronologically, first to be described are neonatal facial paralyses. These are common and are nearly always cured within a few days. Some of these cases are due to the mastoid being crushed at birth with or without the use of forceps. The intra-osseous pathway of the facial nerve is then affected throughout its length. However, a cure is often spontaneous. When this desirable development does not take place within three months, the nerve should be freed by decompressive surgery. The special anatomy of the facial nerve in the new-born baby makes this a delicate operation. Later, in all stages of acute otitis, acute mastoiditis or chronic otitis, facial paralysis can be seen. Treatment depends on the stage reached by the otitis: paracentesis, mastoidectomy, various scraping procedures, and, of course, antibiotherapy. The other causes of facial paralysis in children are very much less common: a frigore or viral, traumatic, occur ring in the course of acute poliomyelitis, shingles or tumours of the middle ear. To these must be added exceptional causes such as vitamin D intoxication, idiopathic hypercalcaemia and certain haemopathies.

[Facial tics and spasms].

PubMed

Potgieser, Adriaan R E; van Dijk, J Marc C; Elting, Jan Willem J; de Koning-Tijssen, Marina A J

2014-01-01

Facial tics and spasms are socially incapacitating, but effective treatment is often available. The clinical picture is sufficient for distinguishing between the different diseases that cause this affliction.We describe three cases of patients with facial tics or spasms: one case of tics, which are familiar to many physicians; one case of blepharospasms; and one case of hemifacial spasms. We discuss the differential diagnosis and the treatment possibilities for facial tics and spasms. Early diagnosis and treatment is important, because of the associated social incapacitation. Botulin toxin should be considered as a treatment option for facial tics and a curative neurosurgical intervention should be considered for hemifacial spasms.

Random complex dynamics and devil's coliseums

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sumi, Hiroki

2015-04-01

We investigate the random dynamics of polynomial maps on the Riemann sphere \\hat{\\Bbb{C}} and the dynamics of semigroups of polynomial maps on \\hat{\\Bbb{C}} . In particular, the dynamics of a semigroup G of polynomials whose planar postcritical set is bounded and the associated random dynamics are studied. In general, the Julia set of such a G may be disconnected. We show that if G is such a semigroup, then regarding the associated random dynamics, the chaos of the averaged system disappears in the C0 sense, and the function T∞ of probability of tending to ∞ \\in \\hat{\\Bbb{C}} is Hölder continuous on \\hat{\\Bbb{C}} and varies only on the Julia set of G. Moreover, the function T∞ has a kind of monotonicity. It turns out that T∞ is a complex analogue of the devil's staircase, and we call T∞ a ‘devil’s coliseum'. We investigate the details of T∞ when G is generated by two polynomials. In this case, T∞ varies precisely on the Julia set of G, which is a thin fractal set. Moreover, under this condition, we investigate the pointwise Hölder exponents of T∞.

Outcome of different facial nerve reconstruction techniques.

PubMed

Mohamed, Aboshanif; Omi, Eigo; Honda, Kohei; Suzuki, Shinsuke; Ishikawa, Kazuo

There is no technique of facial nerve reconstruction that guarantees facial function recovery up to grade III. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of different facial nerve reconstruction techniques. Facial nerve reconstruction was performed in 22 patients (facial nerve interpositional graft in 11 patients and hypoglossal-facial nerve transfer in another 11 patients). All patients had facial function House-Brackmann (HB) grade VI, either caused by trauma or after resection of a tumor. All patients were submitted to a primary nerve reconstruction except 7 patients, where late reconstruction was performed two weeks to four months after the initial surgery. The follow-up period was at least two years. For facial nerve interpositional graft technique, we achieved facial function HB grade III in eight patients and grade IV in three patients. Synkinesis was found in eight patients, and facial contracture with synkinesis was found in two patients. In regards to hypoglossal-facial nerve transfer using different modifications, we achieved facial function HB grade III in nine patients and grade IV in two patients. Facial contracture, synkinesis and tongue atrophy were found in three patients, and synkinesis was found in five patients. However, those who had primary direct facial-hypoglossal end-to-side anastomosis showed the best result without any neurological deficit. Among various reanimation techniques, when indicated, direct end-to-side facial-hypoglossal anastomosis through epineural suturing is the most effective technique with excellent outcomes for facial reanimation and preservation of tongue movement, particularly when performed as a primary technique. Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Recognizing Facial Expressions Automatically from Video

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shan, Caifeng; Braspenning, Ralph

Facial expressions, resulting from movements of the facial muscles, are the face changes in response to a person's internal emotional states, intentions, or social communications. There is a considerable history associated with the study on facial expressions. Darwin [22] was the first to describe in details the specific facial expressions associated with emotions in animals and humans, who argued that all mammals show emotions reliably in their faces. Since that, facial expression analysis has been a area of great research interest for behavioral scientists [27]. Psychological studies [48, 3] suggest that facial expressions, as the main mode for nonverbal communication, play a vital role in human face-to-face communication. For illustration, we show some examples of facial expressions in Fig. 1.

Facial transplantation for massive traumatic injuries.

PubMed

Alam, Daniel S; Chi, John J

2013-10-01

This article describes the challenges of facial reconstruction and the role of facial transplantation in certain facial defects and injuries. This information is of value to surgeons assessing facial injuries with massive soft tissue loss or injury. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quality of life assessment in facial palsy: validation of the Dutch Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale.

PubMed

Kleiss, Ingrid J; Beurskens, Carien H G; Stalmeier, Peep F M; Ingels, Koen J A O; Marres, Henri A M

2015-08-01

This study aimed at validating an existing health-related quality of life questionnaire for patients with facial palsy for implementation in the Dutch language and culture. The Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale was translated into the Dutch language using a forward-backward translation method. A pilot test with the translated questionnaire was performed in 10 patients with facial palsy and 10 normal subjects. Finally, cross-cultural adaption was accomplished at our outpatient clinic for facial palsy. Analyses for internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity and responsiveness were performed. Ninety-three patients completed the Dutch Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale, the Dutch Facial Disability Index, and the Dutch Short Form (36) Health Survey. Cronbach's α, representing internal consistency, was 0.800. Test-retest reliability was shown by an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.737. Correlations with the House-Brackmann score, Sunnybrook score, Facial Disability Index physical function, and social/well-being function were -0.292, 0.570, 0.713, and 0.575, respectively. The SF-36 domains correlate best with the FaCE social function domain, with the strongest correlation between the both social function domains (r = 0.576). The FaCE score did statistically significantly increase in 35 patients receiving botulinum toxin type A (P = 0.042, Student t test). The domains 'facial comfort' and 'social function' improved statistically significantly as well (P = 0.022 and P = 0.046, respectively, Student t-test). The Dutch Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale shows good psychometric values and can be implemented in the management of Dutch-speaking patients with facial palsy in the Netherlands. Translation of the instrument into other languages may lead to widespread use, making evaluation and comparison possible among different providers.

Facial nerve conduction after sclerotherapy in children with facial lymphatic malformations: report of two cases.

PubMed

Lin, Pei-Jung; Guo, Yuh-Cherng; Lin, Jan-You; Chang, Yu-Tang

2007-04-01

Surgical excision is thought to be the standard treatment of choice for lymphatic malformations. However, when the lesions are limited to the face only, surgical scar and facial nerve injury may impair cosmetics and facial expression. Sclerotherapy, an injection of a sclerosing agent directly through the skin into a lesion, is an alternative method. By evaluating facial nerve conduction, we observed the long-term effect of facial lymphatic malformations after intralesional injection of OK-432 and correlated the findings with anatomic outcomes. One 12-year-old boy with a lesion over the right-side preauricular area adjacent to the main trunk of facial nerve and the other 5-year-old boy with a lesion in the left-sided cheek involving the buccinator muscle were enrolled. The follow-up data of more than one year, including clinical appearance, computed tomography (CT) scan and facial nerve evaluation were collected. The facial nerve conduction study was normal in both cases. Blink reflex in both children revealed normal results as well. Complete resolution was noted on outward appearance and CT scan. The neurophysiologic data were compatible with good anatomic and functional outcomes. Our report suggests that the inflammatory reaction of OK-432 did not interfere with adjacent facial nerve conduction.

Selective attention to a facial feature with and without facial context: an ERP-study.

PubMed

Wijers, A A; Van Besouw, N J P; Mulder, G

2002-04-01

The present experiment addressed the question whether selectively attending to a facial feature (mouth shape) would benefit from the presence of a correct facial context. Subjects attended selectively to one of two possible mouth shapes belonging to photographs of a face with a happy or sad expression, respectively. These mouths were presented randomly either in isolation, embedded in the original photos, or in an exchanged facial context. The ERP effect of attending mouth shape was a lateral posterior negativity, anterior positivity with an onset latency of 160-200 ms; this effect was completely unaffected by the type of facial context. When the mouth shape and the facial context conflicted, this resulted in a medial parieto-occipital positivity with an onset latency of 180 ms, independent of the relevance of the mouth shape. Finally, there was a late (onset at approx. 400 ms) expression (happy vs. sad) effect, which was strongly lateralized to the right posterior hemisphere and was most prominent for attended stimuli in the correct facial context. For the isolated mouth stimuli, a similarly distributed expression effect was observed at an earlier latency range (180-240 ms). These data suggest the existence of separate, independent and neuroanatomically segregated processors engaged in the selective processing of facial features and the detection of contextual congruence and emotional expression of face stimuli. The data do not support that early selective attention processes benefit from top-down constraints provided by the correct facial context.

Facial Nerve Paralysis due to a Pleomorphic Adenoma with the Imaging Characteristics of a Facial Nerve Schwannoma

PubMed Central

Nader, Marc-Elie; Bell, Diana; Sturgis, Erich M.; Ginsberg, Lawrence E.; Gidley, Paul W.

2014-01-01

Background Facial nerve paralysis in a patient with a salivary gland mass usually denotes malignancy. However, facial paralysis can also be caused by benign salivary gland tumors. Methods We present a case of facial nerve paralysis due to a benign salivary gland tumor that had the imaging characteristics of an intraparotid facial nerve schwannoma. Results The patient presented to our clinic 4 years after the onset of facial nerve paralysis initially diagnosed as Bell palsy. Computed tomography demonstrated filling and erosion of the stylomastoid foramen with a mass on the facial nerve. Postoperative histopathology showed the presence of a pleomorphic adenoma. Facial paralysis was thought to be caused by extrinsic nerve compression. Conclusions This case illustrates the difficulty of accurate preoperative diagnosis of a parotid gland mass and reinforces the concept that facial nerve paralysis in the context of salivary gland tumors may not always indicate malignancy. PMID:25083397

Facial Nerve Paralysis due to a Pleomorphic Adenoma with the Imaging Characteristics of a Facial Nerve Schwannoma.

PubMed

Nader, Marc-Elie; Bell, Diana; Sturgis, Erich M; Ginsberg, Lawrence E; Gidley, Paul W

2014-08-01

Background Facial nerve paralysis in a patient with a salivary gland mass usually denotes malignancy. However, facial paralysis can also be caused by benign salivary gland tumors. Methods We present a case of facial nerve paralysis due to a benign salivary gland tumor that had the imaging characteristics of an intraparotid facial nerve schwannoma. Results The patient presented to our clinic 4 years after the onset of facial nerve paralysis initially diagnosed as Bell palsy. Computed tomography demonstrated filling and erosion of the stylomastoid foramen with a mass on the facial nerve. Postoperative histopathology showed the presence of a pleomorphic adenoma. Facial paralysis was thought to be caused by extrinsic nerve compression. Conclusions This case illustrates the difficulty of accurate preoperative diagnosis of a parotid gland mass and reinforces the concept that facial nerve paralysis in the context of salivary gland tumors may not always indicate malignancy.

Advances in facial reanimation.

PubMed

Tate, James R; Tollefson, Travis T

2006-08-01

Facial paralysis often has a significant emotional impact on patients. Along with the myriad of new surgical techniques in managing facial paralysis comes the challenge of selecting the most effective procedure for the patient. This review delineates common surgical techniques and reviews state-of-the-art techniques. The options for dynamic reanimation of the paralyzed face must be examined in the context of several patient factors, including age, overall health, and patient desires. The best functional results are obtained with direct facial nerve anastomosis and interpositional nerve grafts. In long-standing facial paralysis, temporalis muscle transfer gives a dependable and quick result. Microvascular free tissue transfer is a reliable technique with reanimation potential whose results continue to improve as microsurgical expertise increases. Postoperative results can be improved with ancillary soft tissue procedures, as well as botulinum toxin. The paper provides an overview of recent advances in facial reanimation, including preoperative assessment, surgical reconstruction options, and postoperative management.

Facial paralysis for the plastic surgeon.

PubMed

Kosins, Aaron M; Hurvitz, Keith A; Evans, Gregory Rd; Wirth, Garrett A

2007-01-01

Facial paralysis presents a significant and challenging reconstructive problem for plastic surgeons. An aesthetically pleasing and acceptable outcome requires not only good surgical skills and techniques, but also knowledge of facial nerve anatomy and an understanding of the causes of facial paralysis.The loss of the ability to move the face has both social and functional consequences for the patient. At the Facial Palsy Clinic in Edinburgh, Scotland, 22,954 patients were surveyed, and over 50% were found to have a considerable degree of psychological distress and social withdrawal as a consequence of their facial paralysis. Functionally, patients present with unilateral or bilateral loss of voluntary and nonvoluntary facial muscle movements. Signs and symptoms can include an asymmetric smile, synkinesis, epiphora or dry eye, abnormal blink, problems with speech articulation, drooling, hyperacusis, change in taste and facial pain.With respect to facial paralysis, surgeons tend to focus on the surgical, or 'hands-on', aspect. However, it is believed that an understanding of the disease process is equally (if not more) important to a successful surgical outcome. The purpose of the present review is to describe the anatomy and diagnostic patterns of the facial nerve, and the epidemiology and common causes of facial paralysis, including clinical features and diagnosis. Treatment options for paralysis are vast, and may include nerve decompression, facial reanimation surgery and botulinum toxin injection, but these are beyond the scope of the present paper.

Facial paralysis for the plastic surgeon

PubMed Central

Kosins, Aaron M; Hurvitz, Keith A; Evans, Gregory RD; Wirth, Garrett A

2007-01-01

Facial paralysis presents a significant and challenging reconstructive problem for plastic surgeons. An aesthetically pleasing and acceptable outcome requires not only good surgical skills and techniques, but also knowledge of facial nerve anatomy and an understanding of the causes of facial paralysis. The loss of the ability to move the face has both social and functional consequences for the patient. At the Facial Palsy Clinic in Edinburgh, Scotland, 22,954 patients were surveyed, and over 50% were found to have a considerable degree of psychological distress and social withdrawal as a consequence of their facial paralysis. Functionally, patients present with unilateral or bilateral loss of voluntary and nonvoluntary facial muscle movements. Signs and symptoms can include an asymmetric smile, synkinesis, epiphora or dry eye, abnormal blink, problems with speech articulation, drooling, hyperacusis, change in taste and facial pain. With respect to facial paralysis, surgeons tend to focus on the surgical, or ‘hands-on’, aspect. However, it is believed that an understanding of the disease process is equally (if not more) important to a successful surgical outcome. The purpose of the present review is to describe the anatomy and diagnostic patterns of the facial nerve, and the epidemiology and common causes of facial paralysis, including clinical features and diagnosis. Treatment options for paralysis are vast, and may include nerve decompression, facial reanimation surgery and botulinum toxin injection, but these are beyond the scope of the present paper. PMID:19554190

Augmentation of linear facial anthropometrics through modern morphometrics: a facial convexity example.

PubMed

Wei, R; Claes, P; Walters, M; Wholley, C; Clement, J G

2011-06-01

The facial region has traditionally been quantified using linear anthropometrics. These are well established in dentistry, but require expertise to be used effectively. The aim of this study was to augment the utility of linear anthropometrics by applying them in conjunction with modern 3-D morphometrics. Facial images of 75 males and 94 females aged 18-25 years with self-reported Caucasian ancestry were used. An anthropometric mask was applied to establish corresponding quasi-landmarks on the images in the dataset. A statistical face-space, encoding shape covariation, was established. The facial median plane was extracted facilitating both manual and automated indication of commonly used midline landmarks. From both indications, facial convexity angles were calculated and compared. The angles were related to the face-space using a regression based pathway enabling the visualization of facial form associated with convexity variation. Good agreement between the manual and automated angles was found (Pearson correlation: 0.9478-0.9474, Dahlberg root mean squared error: 1.15°-1.24°). The population mean angle was 166.59°-166.29° (SD 5.09°-5.2°) for males-females. The angle-pathway provided valuable feedback. Linear facial anthropometrics can be extended when used in combination with a face-space derived from 3-D scans and the exploration of property pathways inferred in a statistically verifiable way. © 2011 Australian Dental Association.

Design and testing of a mesocosm-scale habitat for culturing the endangered Devils Hole Pupfish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Feuerbacher, Olin; Bonar, Scott A.; Barrett, Paul J.

2016-01-01

aptive propagation of desert spring fishes, whether for conservation or research, is often difficult, given the unique and often challenging environments these fish utilize in nature. High temperatures, low dissolved oxygen, minimal water flow, and highly variable lighting are some conditions a researcher might need to recreate to simulate their natural environments. Here we describe a mesocosm-scale habitat created to maintain hybrid Devils Hole × Ash Meadows Amargosa Pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis × C. nevadensis mionectes) under conditions similar to those found in Devils Hole, Nevada. This 13,000-L system utilized flow control and natural processes to maintain these conditions rather than utilizing complex and expensive automation. We designed a rotating solar collector to control natural sunlight, a biological reactor to consume oxygen while buffering water quality, and a reverse-daylight photosynthesis sump system to stabilize nighttime pH and swings in dissolved oxygen levels. This system successfully controlled many desired parameters and helped inform development of a larger, more permanent desert fish conservation facility at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada. For others who need to raise fish from unique habitats, many components of the scalable and modular design of this system can be adapted at reasonable cost.

Marquardt’s Facial Golden Decagon Mask and Its Fitness with South Indian Facial Traits

PubMed Central

Gandikota, Chandra Sekhar; Yadagiri, Poornima K; Manne, Ranjit; Juvvadi, Shubhaker Rao; Farah, Tamkeen; Vattipelli, Shilpa; Gumbelli, Sangeetha

2016-01-01

Introduction The mathematical ratio of 1:1.618 which is famously known as golden ratio seems to appear recurrently in beautiful things in nature as well as in other things that are seen as beautiful. Dr. Marquardt developed a facial golden mask that contains and includes all of the one-dimensional and two-dimensional geometric golden elements formed from the golden ratio and he claimed that beauty is universal, beautiful faces conforms to the facial golden mask regardless of sex and race. Aim The purpose of this study was to evaluate the goodness of fit of the golden facial mask with the South Indian facial traits. Materials and Methods A total of 150 subjects (75 males & 75 females) with attractive faces were selected with cephalometric orthodontic standards of a skeletal class I relation. The facial aesthetics was confirmed by the aesthetic evaluation of the frontal photographs of the subjects by a panel of ten evaluators including five orthodontists and five maxillofacial surgeons. The well-proportioned photographs were superimposed with the Golden mask along the reference lines, to evaluate the goodness of fit. Results South Indian males and females invariably show a wider inter-zygomatic and inter-gonial width than the golden mask. Most of the South Indian females and males show decreased mid-facial height compared to the golden mask, while the total facial height is more or less equal to the golden mask. Conclusion Ethnic or individual discrepancies cannot be totally ignored as in our study the mask did not fit exactly with the South Indian facial traits but, the beauty ratios came closer to those of the mask. To overcome this difficulty, there is a need to develop variants of golden facial mask for different ethnic groups. PMID:27190951

The MPI Facial Expression Database — A Validated Database of Emotional and Conversational Facial Expressions

PubMed Central

Kaulard, Kathrin; Cunningham, Douglas W.; Bülthoff, Heinrich H.; Wallraven, Christian

2012-01-01

The ability to communicate is one of the core aspects of human life. For this, we use not only verbal but also nonverbal signals of remarkable complexity. Among the latter, facial expressions belong to the most important information channels. Despite the large variety of facial expressions we use in daily life, research on facial expressions has so far mostly focused on the emotional aspect. Consequently, most databases of facial expressions available to the research community also include only emotional expressions, neglecting the largely unexplored aspect of conversational expressions. To fill this gap, we present the MPI facial expression database, which contains a large variety of natural emotional and conversational expressions. The database contains 55 different facial expressions performed by 19 German participants. Expressions were elicited with the help of a method-acting protocol, which guarantees both well-defined and natural facial expressions. The method-acting protocol was based on every-day scenarios, which are used to define the necessary context information for each expression. All facial expressions are available in three repetitions, in two intensities, as well as from three different camera angles. A detailed frame annotation is provided, from which a dynamic and a static version of the database have been created. In addition to describing the database in detail, we also present the results of an experiment with two conditions that serve to validate the context scenarios as well as the naturalness and recognizability of the video sequences. Our results provide clear evidence that conversational expressions can be recognized surprisingly well from visual information alone. The MPI facial expression database will enable researchers from different research fields (including the perceptual and cognitive sciences, but also affective computing, as well as computer vision) to investigate the processing of a wider range of natural facial expressions

Two Ways to Facial Expression Recognition? Motor and Visual Information Have Different Effects on Facial Expression Recognition.

PubMed

de la Rosa, Stephan; Fademrecht, Laura; Bülthoff, Heinrich H; Giese, Martin A; Curio, Cristóbal

2018-06-01

Motor-based theories of facial expression recognition propose that the visual perception of facial expression is aided by sensorimotor processes that are also used for the production of the same expression. Accordingly, sensorimotor and visual processes should provide congruent emotional information about a facial expression. Here, we report evidence that challenges this view. Specifically, the repeated execution of facial expressions has the opposite effect on the recognition of a subsequent facial expression than the repeated viewing of facial expressions. Moreover, the findings of the motor condition, but not of the visual condition, were correlated with a nonsensory condition in which participants imagined an emotional situation. These results can be well accounted for by the idea that facial expression recognition is not always mediated by motor processes but can also be recognized on visual information alone.

Facial Soft Tissue Trauma

PubMed Central

Kretlow, James D.; McKnight, Aisha J.; Izaddoost, Shayan A.

2010-01-01

Traumatic facial soft tissue injuries are commonly encountered in the emergency department by plastic surgeons and other providers. Although rarely life-threatening, the treatment of these injuries can be complex and may have significant impact on the patient's facial function and aesthetics. This article provides a review of the relevant literature related to this topic and describes the authors' approach to the evaluation and management of the patient with facial soft tissue injuries. PMID:22550459

Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging Volumetry of Facial Muscles in Healthy Patients with Facial Palsy

PubMed Central

Volk, Gerd F.; Karamyan, Inna; Klingner, Carsten M.; Reichenbach, Jürgen R.

2014-01-01

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has not yet been established systematically to detect structural muscular changes after facial nerve lesion. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate quantitative assessment of MRI muscle volume data for facial muscles. Methods: Ten healthy subjects and 5 patients with facial palsy were recruited. Using manual or semiautomatic segmentation of 3T MRI, volume measurements were performed for the frontal, procerus, risorius, corrugator supercilii, orbicularis oculi, nasalis, zygomaticus major, zygomaticus minor, levator labii superioris, orbicularis oris, depressor anguli oris, depressor labii inferioris, and mentalis, as well as for the masseter and temporalis as masticatory muscles for control. Results: All muscles except the frontal (identification in 4/10 volunteers), procerus (4/10), risorius (6/10), and zygomaticus minor (8/10) were identified in all volunteers. Sex or age effects were not seen (all P > 0.05). There was no facial asymmetry with exception of the zygomaticus major (larger on the left side; P = 0.012). The exploratory examination of 5 patients revealed considerably smaller muscle volumes on the palsy side 2 months after facial injury. One patient with chronic palsy showed substantial muscle volume decrease, which also occurred in another patient with incomplete chronic palsy restricted to the involved facial area. Facial nerve reconstruction led to mixed results of decreased but also increased muscle volumes on the palsy side compared with the healthy side. Conclusions: First systematic quantitative MRI volume measures of 5 different clinical presentations of facial paralysis are provided. PMID:25289366

[Prosopagnosia and facial expression recognition].

PubMed

Koyama, Shinichi

2014-04-01

This paper reviews clinical neuropsychological studies that have indicated that the recognition of a person's identity and the recognition of facial expressions are processed by different cortical and subcortical areas of the brain. The fusiform gyrus, especially the right fusiform gyrus, plays an important role in the recognition of identity. The superior temporal sulcus, amygdala, and medial frontal cortex play important roles in facial-expression recognition. Both facial recognition and facial-expression recognition are highly intellectual processes that involve several regions of the brain.

Management of Chronic Facial Pain

PubMed Central

Williams, Christopher G.; Dellon, A. Lee; Rosson, Gedge D.

2009-01-01

Pain persisting for at least 6 months is defined as chronic. Chronic facial pain conditions often take on lives of their own deleteriously changing the lives of the sufferer. Although much is known about facial pain, it is clear that those physicians who treat these conditions should continue elucidating the mechanisms and defining successful treatment strategies for these life-changing conditions. This article will review many of the classic causes of chronic facial pain due to the trigeminal nerve and its branches that are amenable to surgical therapies. Testing of facial sensibility is described and its utility introduced. We will also introduce some of the current hypotheses of atypical facial pain and headaches secondary to chronic nerve compressions and will suggest possible treatment strategies. PMID:22110799

Facial mimicry in its social setting

PubMed Central

Seibt, Beate; Mühlberger, Andreas; Likowski, Katja U.; Weyers, Peter

2015-01-01

In interpersonal encounters, individuals often exhibit changes in their own facial expressions in response to emotional expressions of another person. Such changes are often called facial mimicry. While this tendency first appeared to be an automatic tendency of the perceiver to show the same emotional expression as the sender, evidence is now accumulating that situation, person, and relationship jointly determine whether and for which emotions such congruent facial behavior is shown. We review the evidence regarding the moderating influence of such factors on facial mimicry with a focus on understanding the meaning of facial responses to emotional expressions in a particular constellation. From this, we derive recommendations for a research agenda with a stronger focus on the most common forms of encounters, actual interactions with known others, and on assessing potential mediators of facial mimicry. We conclude that facial mimicry is modulated by many factors: attention deployment and sensitivity, detection of valence, emotional feelings, and social motivations. We posit that these are the more proximal causes of changes in facial mimicry due to changes in its social setting. PMID:26321970

Facial neuroma masquerading as acoustic neuroma.

PubMed

Sayegh, Eli T; Kaur, Gurvinder; Ivan, Michael E; Bloch, Orin; Cheung, Steven W; Parsa, Andrew T

2014-10-01

Facial nerve neuromas are rare benign tumors that may be initially misdiagnosed as acoustic neuromas when situated near the auditory apparatus. We describe a patient with a large cystic tumor with associated trigeminal, facial, audiovestibular, and brainstem dysfunction, which was suspicious for acoustic neuroma on preoperative neuroimaging. Intraoperative investigation revealed a facial nerve neuroma located in the cerebellopontine angle and internal acoustic canal. Gross total resection of the tumor via retrosigmoid craniotomy was curative. Transection of the facial nerve necessitated facial reanimation 4 months later via hypoglossal-facial cross-anastomosis. Clinicians should recognize the natural history, diagnostic approach, and management of this unusual and mimetic lesion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Facial Transplantation Surgery Introduction

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Severely disfiguring facial injuries can have a devastating impact on the patient's quality of life. During the past decade, vascularized facial allotransplantation has progressed from an experimental possibility to a clinical reality in the fields of disease, trauma, and congenital malformations. This technique may now be considered a viable option for repairing complex craniofacial defects for which the results of autologous reconstruction remain suboptimal. Vascularized facial allotransplantation permits optimal anatomical reconstruction and provides desired functional, esthetic, and psychosocial benefits that are far superior to those achieved with conventional methods. Along with dramatic improvements in their functional statuses, patients regain the ability to make facial expressions such as smiling and to perform various functions such as smelling, eating, drinking, and speaking. The ideas in the 1997 movie "Face/Off" have now been realized in the clinical field. The objective of this article is to introduce this new surgical field, provide a basis for examining the status of the field of face transplantation, and stimulate and enhance facial transplantation studies in Korea. PMID:26028914

Facial transplantation surgery introduction.

PubMed

Eun, Seok-Chan

2015-06-01

Severely disfiguring facial injuries can have a devastating impact on the patient's quality of life. During the past decade, vascularized facial allotransplantation has progressed from an experimental possibility to a clinical reality in the fields of disease, trauma, and congenital malformations. This technique may now be considered a viable option for repairing complex craniofacial defects for which the results of autologous reconstruction remain suboptimal. Vascularized facial allotransplantation permits optimal anatomical reconstruction and provides desired functional, esthetic, and psychosocial benefits that are far superior to those achieved with conventional methods. Along with dramatic improvements in their functional statuses, patients regain the ability to make facial expressions such as smiling and to perform various functions such as smelling, eating, drinking, and speaking. The ideas in the 1997 movie "Face/Off" have now been realized in the clinical field. The objective of this article is to introduce this new surgical field, provide a basis for examining the status of the field of face transplantation, and stimulate and enhance facial transplantation studies in Korea.

Facial reanimation with gracilis muscle transfer neurotized to cross-facial nerve graft versus masseteric nerve: a comparative study using the FACIAL CLIMA evaluating system.

PubMed

Hontanilla, Bernardo; Marre, Diego; Cabello, Alvaro

2013-06-01

Longstanding unilateral facial paralysis is best addressed with microneurovascular muscle transplantation. Neurotization can be obtained from the cross-facial or the masseter nerve. The authors present a quantitative comparison of both procedures using the FACIAL CLIMA system. Forty-seven patients with complete unilateral facial paralysis underwent reanimation with a free gracilis transplant neurotized to either a cross-facial nerve graft (group I, n=20) or to the ipsilateral masseteric nerve (group II, n=27). Commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity were measured using the FACIAL CLIMA system. Postoperative intragroup commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity means of the reanimated versus the normal side were first compared using the independent samples t test. Mean percentage of recovery of both parameters were compared between the groups using the independent samples t test. Significant differences of mean commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity between the reanimated side and the normal side were observed in group I (p=0.001 and p=0.014, respectively) but not in group II. Intergroup comparisons showed that both commissural displacement and commissural contraction velocity were higher in group II, with significant differences for commissural displacement (p=0.048). Mean percentage of recovery of both parameters was higher in group II, with significant differences for commissural displacement (p=0.042). Free gracilis muscle transfer neurotized by the masseteric nerve is a reliable technique for reanimation of longstanding facial paralysis. Compared with cross-facial nerve graft neurotization, this technique provides better symmetry and a higher degree of recovery. Therapeutic, III.

Are facial injuries really different? An observational cohort study comparing appearance concern and psychological distress in facial trauma and non-facial trauma patients.

PubMed

Rahtz, Emmylou; Bhui, Kamaldeep; Hutchison, Iain; Korszun, Ania

2018-01-01

Facial injuries are widely assumed to lead to stigma and significant psychosocial burden. Experimental studies of face perception support this idea, but there is very little empirical evidence to guide treatment. This study sought to address the gap. Data were collected from 193 patients admitted to hospital following facial or other trauma. Ninety (90) participants were successfully followed up 8 months later. Participants completed measures of appearance concern and psychological distress (post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms). Participants were classified by site of injury (facial or non-facial injury). The overall levels of appearance concern were comparable to those of the general population, and there was no evidence of more appearance concern among people with facial injuries. Women and younger people were significantly more likely to experience appearance concern at baseline. Baseline and 8-month psychological distress, although common in the sample, did not differ according to the site of injury. Changes in appearance concern were, however, strongly associated with psychological distress at follow-up. We conclude that although appearance concern is severe among some people with facial injury, it is not especially different to those with non-facial injuries or the general public; changes in appearance concern, however, appear to correlate with psychological distress. We therefore suggest that interventions might focus on those with heightened appearance concern and should target cognitive bias and psychological distress. Copyright © 2017 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Relationships between Processing Facial Identity, Emotional Expression, Facial Speech, and Gaze Direction during Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spangler, Sibylle M.; Schwarzer, Gudrun; Korell, Monika; Maier-Karius, Johanna

2010-01-01

Four experiments were conducted with 5- to 11-year-olds and adults to investigate whether facial identity, facial speech, emotional expression, and gaze direction are processed independently of or in interaction with one another. In a computer-based, speeded sorting task, participants sorted faces according to facial identity while disregarding…

Intratemporal facial nerve ultrastructure in patients with idiopathic facial paralysis: viral infection evidence study.

PubMed

Florez, Rosangela Aló Maluza; Lang, Raquel; Veridiano, Adriano Mora; Zanini, Renato de Oliveira; Calió, Pedro Luiz; Simões, Ricardo Dos Santos; Testa, José Ricardo Gurgel

2010-01-01

The etiology of idiopathic peripheral facial palsy (IPFP) is still uncertain; however, some authors suggest the possibility of a viral infection. to analyze the ultrastructure of the facial nerve seeking viral evidences that might provide etiological data. We studied 20 patients with peripheral facial palsy (PFP), with moderate to severe FP, of both genders, between 18-60 years of age, from the Clinic of Facial Nerve Disorders. The patients were broken down into two groups - Study: eleven patients with IPFP and Control: nine patients with trauma or tumor-related PFP. The fragments were obtained from the facial nerve sheath or from fragments of its stumps - which would be discarded or sent to pathology exam during the facial nerve repair surgery. The removed tissue was fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde, and studied under Electronic Transmission Microscopy. In the study group we observed an intense repair cellular activity by increased collagen fibers, fibroblasts containing developed organelles, free of viral particles. In the control group this repair activity was not evident, but no viral particles were observed. There were no viral particles, and there were evidences of intense activity of repair or viral infection.

Devil's staircase of odd-number charge order modulations in divalent β -vanadium bronzes under pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamauchi, Touru; Ueda, Hiroaki; Ohwada, Kenji; Nakao, Hironori; Ueda, Yutaka

2018-03-01

A common characteristic of quasi-one-dimensional (q1D) conductors β -A0.33V2O5 (A = Li, Na, and Ag) is that the charge ordering (CO), the ground state (GS) at ambient pressure, and the superconducting (SC) phases, the GS under high pressure, are competing with each other. We have explored high-pressure properties of divalent β -vanadium bronzes, β -A0.33V2O5 (A = Ca, Sr, and Pb), which are A -cation stoichiometry finely controlled single-crystal/powder samples, and found the absence of the SC phase. In these observations, however, we observed enormous and novel phase transitions, a kind of "devil's staircase"-type phase transitions in the charge ordering (CO) phases. The most surprising discovery in this devil's staircase, which was found mainly in β -Sr0.33V2O5 , is that all the charge modulation vectors of many kinds of CO phases can be represented as a primitive lattice translation vector along the b axis multiplied by several odd numbers. This discovery surely demonstrates interplay between the charge degree freedom and the crystallographic symmetry. We propose two possible mechanisms to explain this phenomenon: "self-charge transfer (carrier redistribution)" between the two subsystems in these compounds and "sequential symmetry reduction" that was discussed in Landau theory of phase transitions. In β -Ca0.33V2O5 we also found a P -T phase diagram similar in outlook but different in detail. The devil's staircase was also observed but it is an incomplete one. Furthermore, the charge modulation vectors in it are shorter than those in β -Sr0.33V2O5 . In β -Pb0.33V2O5 , which has no CO phase at ambient pressure, the pressure-induced antiferromagnetic ordering was observed at around 50 K above 0.5 GPa. Using these two kinds of mechanisms, we also explain the global high-pressure properties in all the stoichiometric divalent β -vanadium bronzes, which were observed as a wide variety of electromagnetic states. In addition, we also discuss a possible key for

Peripheral facial palsy in children.

PubMed

Yılmaz, Unsal; Cubukçu, Duygu; Yılmaz, Tuba Sevim; Akıncı, Gülçin; Ozcan, Muazzez; Güzel, Orkide

2014-11-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate the types and clinical characteristics of peripheral facial palsy in children. The hospital charts of children diagnosed with peripheral facial palsy were reviewed retrospectively. A total of 81 children (42 female and 39 male) with a mean age of 9.2 ± 4.3 years were included in the study. Causes of facial palsy were 65 (80.2%) idiopathic (Bell palsy) facial palsy, 9 (11.1%) otitis media/mastoiditis, and tumor, trauma, congenital facial palsy, chickenpox, Melkersson-Rosenthal syndrome, enlarged lymph nodes, and familial Mediterranean fever (each 1; 1.2%). Five (6.1%) patients had recurrent attacks. In patients with Bell palsy, female/male and right/left ratios were 36/29 and 35/30, respectively. Of them, 31 (47.7%) had a history of preceding infection. The overall rate of complete recovery was 98.4%. A wide variety of disorders can present with peripheral facial palsy in children. Therefore, careful investigation and differential diagnosis is essential. © The Author(s) 2013.

Facial expressions and pair bonds in hylobatids.

PubMed

Florkiewicz, Brittany; Skollar, Gabriella; Reichard, Ulrich H

2018-06-06

Facial expressions are an important component of primate communication that functions to transmit social information and modulate intentions and motivations. Chimpanzees and macaques, for example, produce a variety of facial expressions when communicating with conspecifics. Hylobatids also produce various facial expressions; however, the origin and function of these facial expressions are still largely unclear. It has been suggested that larger facial expression repertoires may have evolved in the context of social complexity, but this link has yet to be tested at a broader empirical basis. The social complexity hypothesis offers a possible explanation for the evolution of complex communicative signals such as facial expressions, because as the complexity of an individual's social environment increases so does the need for communicative signals. We used an intraspecies, pair-focused study design to test the link between facial expressions and sociality within hylobatids, specifically the strength of pair-bonds. The current study compared 206 hr of video and 103 hr of focal animal data for ten hylobatid pairs from three genera (Nomascus, Hoolock, and Hylobates) living at the Gibbon Conservation Center. Using video footage, we explored 5,969 facial expressions along three dimensions: repertoire use, repertoire breadth, and facial expression synchrony [FES]. We then used focal animal data to compare dimensions of facial expressiveness to pair bond strength and behavioral synchrony. Hylobatids in our study overlapped in only half of their facial expressions (50%) with the only other detailed, quantitative study of hylobatid facial expressions, while 27 facial expressions were uniquely observed in our study animals. Taken together, hylobatids have a large facial expression repertoire of at least 80 unique facial expressions. Contrary to our prediction, facial repertoire composition was not significantly correlated with pair bond strength, rates of territorial synchrony

Impact of facial defect reconstruction on attractiveness and negative facial perception.

PubMed

Dey, Jacob K; Ishii, Masaru; Boahene, Kofi D O; Byrne, Patrick; Ishii, Lisa E

2015-06-01

Measure the impact of facial defect reconstruction on observer-graded attractiveness and negative facial perception. Prospective, randomized, controlled experiment. One hundred twenty casual observers viewed images of faces with defects of varying sizes and locations before and after reconstruction as well as normal comparison faces. Observers rated attractiveness, defect severity, and how disfiguring, bothersome, and important to repair they considered each face. Facial defects decreased attractiveness -2.26 (95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.45, -2.08) on a 10-point scale. Mixed effects linear regression showed this attractiveness penalty varied with defect size and location, with large and central defects generating the greatest penalty. Reconstructive surgery increased attractiveness 1.33 (95% CI: 1.18, 1.47), an improvement dependent upon size and location, restoring some defect categories to near normal ranges of attractiveness. Iterated principal factor analysis indicated the disfiguring, important to repair, bothersome, and severity variables were highly correlated and measured a common domain; thus, they were combined to create the disfigured, important to repair, bothersome, severity (DIBS) factor score, representing negative facial perception. The DIBS regression showed defect faces have a 1.5 standard deviation increase in negative perception (DIBS: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.61, 1.77) compared to normal faces, which decreased by a similar magnitude after surgery (DIBS: -1.44, 95% CI: -1.49, -1.38). These findings varied with defect size and location. Surgical reconstruction of facial defects increased attractiveness and decreased negative social facial perception, an impact that varied with defect size and location. These new social perception data add to the evidence base demonstrating the value of high-quality reconstructive surgery. NA. © 2015 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Imaging the Facial Nerve: A Contemporary Review

PubMed Central

Gupta, Sachin; Mends, Francine; Hagiwara, Mari; Fatterpekar, Girish; Roehm, Pamela C.

2013-01-01

Imaging plays a critical role in the evaluation of a number of facial nerve disorders. The facial nerve has a complex anatomical course; thus, a thorough understanding of the course of the facial nerve is essential to localize the sites of pathology. Facial nerve dysfunction can occur from a variety of causes, which can often be identified on imaging. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are helpful for identifying bony facial canal and soft tissue abnormalities, respectively. Ultrasound of the facial nerve has been used to predict functional outcomes in patients with Bell's palsy. More recently, diffusion tensor tractography has appeared as a new modality which allows three-dimensional display of facial nerve fibers. PMID:23766904

Facial nerve palsy due to birth trauma

MedlinePlus

Seventh cranial nerve palsy due to birth trauma; Facial palsy - birth trauma; Facial palsy - neonate; Facial palsy - infant ... An infant's facial nerve is also called the seventh cranial nerve. It can be damaged just before or at the time of delivery. ...

Facial Nerve Paralysis due to Chronic Otitis Media: Prognosis in Restoration of Facial Function after Surgical Intervention

PubMed Central

Kim, Jin; Jung, Gu-Hyun; Park, See-Young

2012-01-01

Purpose Facial paralysis is an uncommon but significant complication of chronic otitis media (COM). Surgical eradication of the disease is the most viable way to overcome facial paralysis therefrom. In an effort to guide treatment of this rare complication, we analyzed the prognosis of facial function after surgical treatment. Materials and Methods A total of 3435 patients with COM, who underwent various otologic surgeries throughout a period of 20 years, were analyzed retrospectively. Forty six patients (1.33%) had facial nerve paralysis caused by COM. We analyzed prognostic factors including delay of surgery, the extent of disease, presence or absence of cholesteatoma and the type of surgery affecting surgical outcomes. Results Surgical intervention had a good effect on the restoration of facial function in cases of shorter duration of onset of facial paralysis to surgery and cases of sudden onset, without cholesteatoma. No previous ear surgery and healthy bony labyrinth indicated a good postoperative prognosis. Conclusion COM causing facial paralysis is most frequently due to cholesteatoma and the presence of cholesteatoma decreased the effectiveness of surgical treatment and indicated a poor prognosis after surgery. In our experience, early surgical intervention can be crucial to recovery of facial function. To prevent recurrent cholesteatoma, which leads to local destruction of the facial nerve, complete eradication of the disease in one procedure cannot be overemphasized for the treatment of patients with COM. PMID:22477011

Use of Facial Recognition Software to Identify Disaster Victims With Facial Injuries.

PubMed

Broach, John; Yong, Rothsovann; Manuell, Mary-Elise; Nichols, Constance

2017-10-01

After large-scale disasters, victim identification frequently presents a challenge and a priority for responders attempting to reunite families and ensure proper identification of deceased persons. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether currently commercially available facial recognition software can successfully identify disaster victims with facial injuries. Photos of 106 people were taken before and after application of moulage designed to simulate traumatic facial injuries. These photos as well as photos from volunteers' personal photo collections were analyzed by using facial recognition software to determine whether this technology could accurately identify a person with facial injuries. The study results suggest that a responder could expect to get a correct match between submitted photos and photos of injured patients between 39% and 45% of the time and a much higher percentage of correct returns if submitted photos were of optimal quality with percentages correct exceeding 90% in most situations. The present results suggest that the use of this software would provide significant benefit to responders. Although a correct result was returned only 40% of the time, this would still likely represent a benefit for a responder trying to identify hundreds or thousands of victims. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:568-572).

[Neural mechanisms of facial recognition].

PubMed

Nagai, Chiyoko

2007-01-01

We review recent researches in neural mechanisms of facial recognition in the light of three aspects: facial discrimination and identification, recognition of facial expressions, and face perception in itself. First, it has been demonstrated that the fusiform gyrus has a main role of facial discrimination and identification. However, whether the FFA (fusiform face area) is really a special area for facial processing or not is controversial; some researchers insist that the FFA is related to 'becoming an expert' for some kinds of visual objects, including faces. Neural mechanisms of prosopagnosia would be deeply concerned to this issue. Second, the amygdala seems to be very concerned to recognition of facial expressions, especially fear. The amygdala, connected with the superior temporal sulcus and the orbitofrontal cortex, appears to operate the cortical function. The amygdala and the superior temporal sulcus are related to gaze recognition, which explains why a patient with bilateral amygdala damage could not recognize only a fear expression; the information from eyes is necessary for fear recognition. Finally, even a newborn infant can recognize a face as a face, which is congruent with the innate hypothesis of facial recognition. Some researchers speculate that the neural basis of such face perception is the subcortical network, comprised of the amygdala, the superior colliculus, and the pulvinar. This network would relate to covert recognition that prosopagnosic patients have.

Noninvasive Facial Rejuvenation. Part 1: Patient-Directed

PubMed Central

Commander, Sarah Jane; Chang, Daniel; Fakhro, Abdulla; Nigro, Marjory G.; Lee, Edward I.

2016-01-01

A proper knowledge of noninvasive facial rejuvenation is integral to the practice of a cosmetic surgeon. Noninvasive facial rejuvenation can be divided into patient- versus physician-directed modalities. Patient-directed facial rejuvenation combines the use of facial products such as sunscreen, moisturizers, retinoids, α-hydroxy acids, and various antioxidants to both maintain youthful skin and rejuvenate damaged skin. Physicians may recommend and often prescribe certain products, but the patients are in control of this type of facial rejuvenation. On the other hand, physician-directed facial rejuvenation entails modalities that require direct physician involvement, such as neuromodulators, filler injections, laser resurfacing, microdermabrasion, and chemical peels. With the successful integration of each of these modalities, a complete facial regimen can be established and patient satisfaction can be maximized. This article is the first in a three-part series describing noninvasive facial rejuvenation. The authors focus on patient-directed facial rejuvenation. It is important, however, to emphasize that even in a patient-directed modality, a physician's involvement through education and guidance is integral to its success. PMID:27478421

Pediatric facial injuries: It's management.

PubMed

Singh, Geeta; Mohammad, Shadab; Pal, U S; Hariram; Malkunje, Laxman R; Singh, Nimisha

2011-07-01

Facial injuries in children always present a challenge in respect of their diagnosis and management. Since these children are of a growing age every care should be taken so that later the overall growth pattern of the facial skeleton in these children is not jeopardized. To access the most feasible method for the management of facial injuries in children without hampering the facial growth. Sixty child patients with facial trauma were selected randomly for this study. On the basis of examination and investigations a suitable management approach involving rest and observation, open or closed reduction and immobilization, trans-osseous (TO) wiring, mini bone plate fixation, splinting and replantation, elevation and fixation of zygoma, etc. were carried out. In our study fall was the predominant cause for most of the facial injuries in children. There was a 1.09% incidence of facial injuries in children up to 16 years of age amongst the total patients. The age-wise distribution of the fracture amongst groups (I, II and III) was found to be 26.67%, 51.67% and 21.67% respectively. Male to female patient ratio was 3:1. The majority of the cases of facial injuries were seen in Group II patients (6-11 years) i.e. 51.67%. The mandibular fracture was found to be the most common fracture (0.60%) followed by dentoalveolar (0.27%), mandibular + midface (0.07) and midface (0.02%) fractures. Most of the mandibular fractures were found in the parasymphysis region. Simple fracture seems to be commonest in the mandible. Most of the mandibular and midface fractures in children were amenable to conservative therapies except a few which required surgical intervention.

The Last Word: An Interview with Frank Pajares--God, the Devil, William James, the Little Prince, and Self-Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bembenutty, Hefer

2007-01-01

This article presents an interview with Frank Pajares, an internationally recognized scholar in the field of motivation and self-efficacy. During the interview, Pajares talked about William James, what he learned from reading "The Little Prince," his self-efficacy beliefs, and his famous speech wherein he spoke of God, the Devil, and solving the…

Diffusive Insights: On the Disagreement of Christian Bohr and August Krogh at the Centennial of the Seven Little Devils

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gjedde, Albert

2010-01-01

The year 2010 is the centennial of the publication of the "Seven Little Devils" in the predecessor of "Acta Physiologica". In these seven papers, August and Marie Krogh sought to refute Christian Bohr's theory that oxygen diffusion from the lungs to the circulation is not entirely passive but rather facilitated by a specific cellular activity…

Geochemical survey of the Devil's Den Roadless Area, Rutland and Windsor counties, Vermont

USGS Publications Warehouse

Slack, J.F.; Atelsek, P.J.; Grosz, A.E.

1985-01-01

The Devils Den area is named for a large undercut cliff (Dale, 1915, p. 21) developed in Precambrian basement rocks. This undercut cliff forms a broad natural cave immediately west of and below Forest Service Road 10, at the head of Mt. Tabor Brook. Another much smaller cave is present in dolomite of probable Paleozoic (Early Cambrian) age on the east side of the same road. This smaller cave apparently is of artificial origin, having been made during early mining of the dolomite (Dale, 1915, p. 21). This man-made cave is the only evidence of previous mining activity within the study area.

Complications in Pediatric Facial Fractures

PubMed Central

Chao, Mimi T.; Losee, Joseph E.

2009-01-01

Despite recent advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of pediatric facial fractures, little has been published on the complications of these fractures. The existing literature is highly variable regarding both the definition and the reporting of adverse events. Although the incidence of pediatric facial fractures is relative low, they are strongly associated with other serious injuries. Both the fractures and their treatment may have long-term consequence on growth and development of the immature face. This article is a selective review of the literature on facial fracture complications with special emphasis on the complications unique to pediatric patients. We also present our classification system to evaluate adverse outcomes associated with pediatric facial fractures. Prospective, long-term studies are needed to fully understand and appreciate the complexity of treating children with facial fractures and determining the true incidence, subsequent growth, and nature of their complications. PMID:22110803

Evaluation of facial attractiveness in black people according to the subjective facial analysis criteria.

PubMed

Melo, Andréa Reis de; Conti, Ana Cláudia de Castro Ferreira; Almeida-Pedrin, Renata Rodrigues; Didier, Victor; Valarelli, Danilo Pinelli; Capelozza Filho, Leopoldino

2017-02-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the facial attractiveness in 30 black individuals, according to the Subjective Facial Analysis criteria. Frontal and profile view photographs of 30 black individuals were evaluated for facial attractiveness and classified as esthetically unpleasant, acceptable, or pleasant by 50 evaluators: the 30 individuals from the sample, 10 orthodontists, and 10 laymen. Besides assessing the facial attractiveness, the evaluators had to identify the structures responsible for the classification as unpleasant and pleasant. Intraexaminer agreement was assessed by using Spearman's correlation, correlation within each category using Kendall concordance coefficient, and correlation between the 3 categories using chi-square test and proportions. Most of the frontal (53. 5%) and profile view (54. 9%) photographs were classified as esthetically acceptable. The structures most identified as esthetically unpleasant were the mouth, lips, and face, in the frontal view; and nose and chin in the profile view. The structures most identified as esthetically pleasant were harmony, face, and mouth, in the frontal view; and harmony and nose in the profile view. The ratings by the examiners in the sample and laymen groups showed statistically significant correlation in both views. The orthodontists agreed with the laymen on the evaluation of the frontal view and disagreed on profile view, especially regarding whether the images were esthetically unpleasant or acceptable. Based on these results, the evaluation of facial attractiveness according to the Subjective Facial Analysis criteria proved to be applicable and to have a subjective influence; therefore, it is suggested that the patient's opinion regarding the facial esthetics should be considered in orthodontic treatmentplanning.

Operant conditioning of facial displays of pain.

PubMed

Kunz, Miriam; Rainville, Pierre; Lautenbacher, Stefan

2011-06-01

The operant model of chronic pain posits that nonverbal pain behavior, such as facial expressions, is sensitive to reinforcement, but experimental evidence supporting this assumption is sparse. The aim of the present study was to investigate in a healthy population a) whether facial pain behavior can indeed be operantly conditioned using a discriminative reinforcement schedule to increase and decrease facial pain behavior and b) to what extent these changes affect pain experience indexed by self-ratings. In the experimental group (n = 29), the participants were reinforced every time that they showed pain-indicative facial behavior (up-conditioning) or a neutral expression (down-conditioning) in response to painful heat stimulation. Once facial pain behavior was successfully up- or down-conditioned, respectively (which occurred in 72% of participants), facial pain displays and self-report ratings were assessed. In addition, a control group (n = 11) was used that was yoked to the reinforcement plans of the experimental group. During the conditioning phases, reinforcement led to significant changes in facial pain behavior in the majority of the experimental group (p < .001) but not in the yoked control group (p > .136). Fine-grained analyses of facial muscle movements revealed a similar picture. Furthermore, the decline in facial pain displays (as observed during down-conditioning) strongly predicted changes in pain ratings (R(2) = 0.329). These results suggest that a) facial pain displays are sensitive to reinforcement and b) that changes in facial pain displays can affect self-report ratings.

Facial Displays Are Tools for Social Influence.

PubMed

Crivelli, Carlos; Fridlund, Alan J

2018-05-01

Based on modern theories of signal evolution and animal communication, the behavioral ecology view of facial displays (BECV) reconceives our 'facial expressions of emotion' as social tools that serve as lead signs to contingent action in social negotiation. BECV offers an externalist, functionalist view of facial displays that is not bound to Western conceptions about either expressions or emotions. It easily accommodates recent findings of diversity in facial displays, their public context-dependency, and the curious but common occurrence of solitary facial behavior. Finally, BECV restores continuity of human facial behavior research with modern functional accounts of non-human communication, and provides a non-mentalistic account of facial displays well-suited to new developments in artificial intelligence and social robotics. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Does Facial Resemblance Enhance Cooperation?

PubMed Central

Giang, Trang; Bell, Raoul; Buchner, Axel

2012-01-01

Facial self-resemblance has been proposed to serve as a kinship cue that facilitates cooperation between kin. In the present study, facial resemblance was manipulated by morphing stimulus faces with the participants' own faces or control faces (resulting in self-resemblant or other-resemblant composite faces). A norming study showed that the perceived degree of kinship was higher for the participants and the self-resemblant composite faces than for actual first-degree relatives. Effects of facial self-resemblance on trust and cooperation were tested in a paradigm that has proven to be sensitive to facial trustworthiness, facial likability, and facial expression. First, participants played a cooperation game in which the composite faces were shown. Then, likability ratings were assessed. In a source memory test, participants were required to identify old and new faces, and were asked to remember whether the faces belonged to cooperators or cheaters in the cooperation game. Old-new recognition was enhanced for self-resemblant faces in comparison to other-resemblant faces. However, facial self-resemblance had no effects on the degree of cooperation in the cooperation game, on the emotional evaluation of the faces as reflected in the likability judgments, and on the expectation that a face belonged to a cooperator rather than to a cheater. Therefore, the present results are clearly inconsistent with the assumption of an evolved kin recognition module built into the human face recognition system. PMID:23094095

Facial nerve paralysis secondary to occult malignant neoplasms.

PubMed

Boahene, Derek O; Olsen, Kerry D; Driscoll, Colin; Lewis, Jean E; McDonald, Thomas J

2004-04-01

This study reviewed patients with unilateral facial paralysis and normal clinical and imaging findings who underwent diagnostic facial nerve exploration. Study design and setting Fifteen patients with facial paralysis and normal findings were seen in the Mayo Clinic Department of Otorhinolaryngology. Eleven patients were misdiagnosed as having Bell palsy or idiopathic paralysis. Progressive facial paralysis with sequential involvement of adjacent facial nerve branches occurred in all 15 patients. Seven patients had a history of regional skin squamous cell carcinoma, 13 patients had surgical exploration to rule out a neoplastic process, and 2 patients had negative exploration. At last follow-up, 5 patients were alive. Patients with facial paralysis and normal clinical and imaging findings should be considered for facial nerve exploration when the patient has a history of pain or regional skin cancer, involvement of other cranial nerves, and prolonged facial paralysis. Occult malignancy of the facial nerve may cause unilateral facial paralysis in patients with normal clinical and imaging findings.

Pediatric facial injuries: It's management

PubMed Central

Singh, Geeta; Mohammad, Shadab; Pal, U. S.; Hariram; Malkunje, Laxman R.; Singh, Nimisha

2011-01-01

Background: Facial injuries in children always present a challenge in respect of their diagnosis and management. Since these children are of a growing age every care should be taken so that later the overall growth pattern of the facial skeleton in these children is not jeopardized. Purpose: To access the most feasible method for the management of facial injuries in children without hampering the facial growth. Materials and Methods: Sixty child patients with facial trauma were selected randomly for this study. On the basis of examination and investigations a suitable management approach involving rest and observation, open or closed reduction and immobilization, trans-osseous (TO) wiring, mini bone plate fixation, splinting and replantation, elevation and fixation of zygoma, etc. were carried out. Results and Conclusion: In our study fall was the predominant cause for most of the facial injuries in children. There was a 1.09% incidence of facial injuries in children up to 16 years of age amongst the total patients. The age-wise distribution of the fracture amongst groups (I, II and III) was found to be 26.67%, 51.67% and 21.67% respectively. Male to female patient ratio was 3:1. The majority of the cases of facial injuries were seen in Group II patients (6-11 years) i.e. 51.67%. The mandibular fracture was found to be the most common fracture (0.60%) followed by dentoalveolar (0.27%), mandibular + midface (0.07) and midface (0.02%) fractures. Most of the mandibular fractures were found in the parasymphysis region. Simple fracture seems to be commonest in the mandible. Most of the mandibular and midface fractures in children were amenable to conservative therapies except a few which required surgical intervention. PMID:22639504

Effect of facial neuromuscular re-education on facial symmetry in patients with Bell's palsy: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Manikandan, N

2007-04-01

To determine the effect of facial neuromuscular re-education over conventional therapeutic measures in improving facial symmetry in patients with Bell's palsy. Randomized controlled trial. Neurorehabilitation unit. Fifty-nine patients diagnosed with Bell's palsy were included in the study after they met the inclusion criteria. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: control (n = 30) and experimental (n = 29). Control group patients received conventional therapeutic measures while the facial neuromuscular re-education group patients received techniques that were tailored to each patient in three sessions per day for six days per week for a period of two weeks. All the patients were evaluated using a Facial Grading Scale before treatment and after three months. The Facial Grading Scale scores showed significant improvement in both control (mean 32 (range 9.7-54) to 54.5 (42.2-71.7)) and the experimental (33 (18-43.5) to 66 (54-76.7)) group. Facial Grading Scale change scores showed that experimental group (27.5 (20-43.77)) improved significantly more than the control group (16.5 (12.2-24.7)). Analysis of Facial Grading Scale subcomponents did not show statistical significance, except in the movement score (12 (8-16) to 24 (12-18)). Individualized facial neuromuscular re-education is more effective in improving facial symmetry in patients with Bell's palsy than conventional therapeutic measures.

Automated and objective action coding of facial expressions in patients with acute facial palsy.

PubMed

Haase, Daniel; Minnigerode, Laura; Volk, Gerd Fabian; Denzler, Joachim; Guntinas-Lichius, Orlando

2015-05-01

Aim of the present observational single center study was to objectively assess facial function in patients with idiopathic facial palsy with a new computer-based system that automatically recognizes action units (AUs) defined by the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). Still photographs using posed facial expressions of 28 healthy subjects and of 299 patients with acute facial palsy were automatically analyzed for bilateral AU expression profiles. All palsies were graded with the House-Brackmann (HB) grading system and with the Stennert Index (SI). Changes of the AU profiles during follow-up were analyzed for 77 patients. The initial HB grading of all patients was 3.3 ± 1.2. SI at rest was 1.86 ± 1.3 and during motion 3.79 ± 4.3. Healthy subjects showed a significant AU asymmetry score of 21 ± 11 % and there was no significant difference to patients (p = 0.128). At initial examination of patients, the number of activated AUs was significantly lower on the paralyzed side than on the healthy side (p < 0.0001). The final examination for patients took place 4 ± 6 months post baseline. The number of activated AUs and the ratio between affected and healthy side increased significantly between baseline and final examination (both p < 0.0001). The asymmetry score decreased between baseline and final examination (p < 0.0001). The number of activated AUs on the healthy side did not change significantly (p = 0.779). Radical rethinking in facial grading is worthwhile: automated FACS delivers fast and objective global and regional data on facial motor function for use in clinical routine and clinical trials.

Forensic Facial Reconstruction: The Final Frontier.

PubMed

Gupta, Sonia; Gupta, Vineeta; Vij, Hitesh; Vij, Ruchieka; Tyagi, Nutan

2015-09-01

Forensic facial reconstruction can be used to identify unknown human remains when other techniques fail. Through this article, we attempt to review the different methods of facial reconstruction reported in literature. There are several techniques of doing facial reconstruction, which vary from two dimensional drawings to three dimensional clay models. With the advancement in 3D technology, a rapid, efficient and cost effective computerized 3D forensic facial reconstruction method has been developed which has brought down the degree of error previously encountered. There are several methods of manual facial reconstruction but the combination Manchester method has been reported to be the best and most accurate method for the positive recognition of an individual. Recognition allows the involved government agencies to make a list of suspected victims'. This list can then be narrowed down and a positive identification may be given by the more conventional method of forensic medicine. Facial reconstruction allows visual identification by the individual's family and associates to become easy and more definite.

Perceived functional impact of abnormal facial appearance.

PubMed

Rankin, Marlene; Borah, Gregory L

2003-06-01

Functional facial deformities are usually described as those that impair respiration, eating, hearing, or speech. Yet facial scars and cutaneous deformities have a significant negative effect on social functionality that has been poorly documented in the scientific literature. Insurance companies are declining payments for reconstructive surgical procedures for facial deformities caused by congenital disabilities and after cancer or trauma operations that do not affect mechanical facial activity. The purpose of this study was to establish a large, sample-based evaluation of the perceived social functioning, interpersonal characteristics, and employability indices for a range of facial appearances (normal and abnormal). Adult volunteer evaluators (n = 210) provided their subjective perceptions based on facial physical appearance, and an analysis of the consequences of facial deformity on parameters of preferential treatment was performed. A two-group comparative research design rated the differences among 10 examples of digitally altered facial photographs of actual patients among various age and ethnic groups with "normal" and "abnormal" congenital deformities or posttrauma scars. Photographs of adult patients with observable congenital and posttraumatic deformities (abnormal) were digitally retouched to eliminate the stigmatic defects (normal). The normal and abnormal photographs of identical patients were evaluated by the large sample study group on nine parameters of social functioning, such as honesty, employability, attractiveness, and effectiveness, using a visual analogue rating scale. Patients with abnormal facial characteristics were rated as significantly less honest (p = 0.007), less employable (p = 0.001), less trustworthy (p = 0.01), less optimistic (p = 0.001), less effective (p = 0.02), less capable (p = 0.002), less intelligent (p = 0.03), less popular (p = 0.001), and less attractive (p = 0.001) than were the same patients with normal facial

Cranio-facial clefts in pre-hispanic America.

PubMed

Marius-Nunez, A L; Wasiak, D T

2015-10-01

Among the representations of congenital malformations in Moche ceramic art, cranio-facial clefts have been portrayed in pottery found in Moche burials. These pottery vessels were used as domestic items during lifetime and funerary offerings upon death. The aim of this study was to examine archeological evidence for representations of cranio-facial cleft malformations in Moche vessels. Pottery depicting malformations of the midface in Moche collections in Lima-Peru were studied. The malformations portrayed on pottery were analyzed using the Tessier classification. Photographs were authorized by the Larco Museo.Three vessels were observed to have median cranio-facial dysraphia in association with midline cleft of the lower lip with cleft of the mandible. ML001489 portrays a median cranio-facial dysraphia with an orbital cleft and a midline cleft of the lower lip extending to the mandible. ML001514 represents a median facial dysraphia in association with an orbital facial cleft and a vertical orbital dystopia. ML001491 illustrates a median facial cleft with a soft tissue cleft. Three cases of midline, orbital and lateral facial clefts have been portrayed in Moche full-figure portrait vessels. They represent the earliest registries of congenital cranio-facial malformations in ancient Peru. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Three-dimensional analysis of facial morphology.

PubMed

Liu, Yun; Kau, Chung How; Talbert, Leslie; Pan, Feng

2014-09-01

The objectives of this study were to evaluate sexual dimorphism for facial features within Chinese and African American populations and to compare the facial morphology by sex between these 2 populations. Three-dimensional facial images were acquired by using the portable 3dMDface System, which captured 189 subjects from 2 population groups of Chinese (n = 72) and African American (n = 117). Each population was categorized into male and female groups for evaluation. All subjects in the groups were aged between 18 and 30 years and had no apparent facial anomalies. A total of 23 anthropometric landmarks were identified on the three-dimensional faces of each subject. Twenty-one measurements in 4 regions, including 19 distances and 2 angles, were not only calculated but also compared within and between the Chinese and African American populations. The Student's t-test was used to analyze each data set obtained within each subgroup. Distinct facial differences were presented between the examined subgroups. When comparing the sex differences of facial morphology in the Chinese population, significant differences were noted in 71.43% of the parameters calculated, and the same proportion was found in the African American group. The facial morphologic differences between the Chinese and African American populations were evaluated by sex. The proportion of significant differences in the parameters calculated was 90.48% for females and 95.24% for males between the 2 populations. The African American population had a more convex profile and greater face width than those of the Chinese population. Sexual dimorphism for facial features was presented in both the Chinese and African American populations. In addition, there were significant differences in facial morphology between these 2 populations.

Recognizing Action Units for Facial Expression Analysis

PubMed Central

Tian, Ying-li; Kanade, Takeo; Cohn, Jeffrey F.

2010-01-01

Most automatic expression analysis systems attempt to recognize a small set of prototypic expressions, such as happiness, anger, surprise, and fear. Such prototypic expressions, however, occur rather infrequently. Human emotions and intentions are more often communicated by changes in one or a few discrete facial features. In this paper, we develop an Automatic Face Analysis (AFA) system to analyze facial expressions based on both permanent facial features (brows, eyes, mouth) and transient facial features (deepening of facial furrows) in a nearly frontal-view face image sequence. The AFA system recognizes fine-grained changes in facial expression into action units (AUs) of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), instead of a few prototypic expressions. Multistate face and facial component models are proposed for tracking and modeling the various facial features, including lips, eyes, brows, cheeks, and furrows. During tracking, detailed parametric descriptions of the facial features are extracted. With these parameters as the inputs, a group of action units (neutral expression, six upper face AUs and 10 lower face AUs) are recognized whether they occur alone or in combinations. The system has achieved average recognition rates of 96.4 percent (95.4 percent if neutral expressions are excluded) for upper face AUs and 96.7 percent (95.6 percent with neutral expressions excluded) for lower face AUs. The generalizability of the system has been tested by using independent image databases collected and FACS-coded for ground-truth by different research teams. PMID:25210210

[Surgical treatment in otogenic facial nerve palsy].

PubMed

Feng, Guo-Dong; Gao, Zhi-Qiang; Zhai, Meng-Yao; Lü, Wei; Qi, Fang; Jiang, Hong; Zha, Yang; Shen, Peng

2008-06-01

To study the character of facial nerve palsy due to four different auris diseases including chronic otitis media, Hunt syndrome, tumor and physical or chemical factors, and to discuss the principles of the surgical management of otogenic facial nerve palsy. The clinical characters of 24 patients with otogenic facial nerve palsy because of the four different auris diseases were retrospectively analyzed, all the cases were performed surgical management from October 1991 to March 2007. Facial nerve function was evaluated with House-Brackmann (HB) grading system. The 24 patients including 10 males and 14 females were analysis, of whom 12 cases due to cholesteatoma, 3 cases due to chronic otitis media, 3 cases due to Hunt syndrome, 2 cases resulted from acute otitis media, 2 cases due to physical or chemical factors and 2 cases due to tumor. All cases were treated with operations included facial nerve decompression, lesion resection with facial nerve decompression and lesion resection without facial nerve decompression, 1 patient's facial nerve was resected because of the tumor. According to HB grade system, I degree recovery was attained in 4 cases, while II degree in 10 cases, III degree in 6 cases, IV degree in 2 cases, V degree in 2 cases and VI degree in 1 case. Removing the lesions completely was the basic factor to the surgery of otogenic facial palsy, moreover, it was important to have facial nerve decompression soon after lesion removal.

Facial identity and facial expression are initially integrated at visual perceptual stages of face processing.

PubMed

Fisher, Katie; Towler, John; Eimer, Martin

2016-01-08

It is frequently assumed that facial identity and facial expression are analysed in functionally and anatomically distinct streams within the core visual face processing system. To investigate whether expression and identity interact during the visual processing of faces, we employed a sequential matching procedure where participants compared either the identity or the expression of two successively presented faces, and ignored the other irrelevant dimension. Repetitions versus changes of facial identity and expression were varied independently across trials, and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during task performance. Irrelevant facial identity and irrelevant expression both interfered with performance in the expression and identity matching tasks. These symmetrical interference effects show that neither identity nor expression can be selectively ignored during face matching, and suggest that they are not processed independently. N250r components to identity repetitions that reflect identity matching mechanisms in face-selective visual cortex were delayed and attenuated when there was an expression change, demonstrating that facial expression interferes with visual identity matching. These findings provide new evidence for interactions between facial identity and expression within the core visual processing system, and question the hypothesis that these two attributes are processed independently. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid Facial Reactions to Emotional Facial Expressions in Typically Developing Children and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beall, Paula M.; Moody, Eric J.; McIntosh, Daniel N.; Hepburn, Susan L.; Reed, Catherine L.

2008-01-01

Typical adults mimic facial expressions within 1000ms, but adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) do not. These rapid facial reactions (RFRs) are associated with the development of social-emotional abilities. Such interpersonal matching may be caused by motor mirroring or emotional responses. Using facial electromyography (EMG), this study…

An Assessment of How Facial Mimicry Can Change Facial Morphology: Implications for Identification.

PubMed

Gibelli, Daniele; De Angelis, Danilo; Poppa, Pasquale; Sforza, Chiarella; Cattaneo, Cristina

2017-03-01

The assessment of facial mimicry is important in forensic anthropology; in addition, the application of modern 3D image acquisition systems may help for the analysis of facial surfaces. This study aimed at exposing a novel method for comparing 3D profiles in different facial expressions. Ten male adults, aged between 30 and 40 years, underwent acquisitions by stereophotogrammetry (VECTRA-3D ® ) with different expressions (neutral, happy, sad, angry, surprised). The acquisition of each individual was then superimposed on the neutral one according to nine landmarks, and the root mean square (RMS) value between the two expressions was calculated. The highest difference in comparison with the neutral standard was shown by the happy expression (RMS 4.11 mm), followed by the surprised (RMS 2.74 mm), sad (RMS 1.3 mm), and angry ones (RMS 1.21 mm). This pilot study shows that the 3D-3D superimposition may provide reliable results concerning facial alteration due to mimicry. © 2016 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Acneiform facial eruptions

PubMed Central

Cheung, Melody J.; Taher, Muba; Lauzon, Gilles J.

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE To summarize clinical recognition and current management strategies for four types of acneiform facial eruptions common in young women: acne vulgaris, rosacea, folliculitis, and perioral dermatitis. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE Many randomized controlled trials (level I evidence) have studied treatments for acne vulgaris over the years. Treatment recommendations for rosacea, folliculitis, and perioral dermatitis are based predominantly on comparison and open-label studies (level II evidence) as well as expert opinion and consensus statements (level III evidence). MAIN MESSAGE Young women with acneiform facial eruptions often present in primary care. Differentiating between morphologically similar conditions is often difficult. Accurate diagnosis is important because treatment approaches are different for each disease. CONCLUSION Careful visual assessment with an appreciation for subtle morphologic differences and associated clinical factors will help with diagnosis of these common acneiform facial eruptions and lead to appropriate management. PMID:15856972

Mutual information-based facial expression recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hazar, Mliki; Hammami, Mohamed; Hanêne, Ben-Abdallah

2013-12-01

This paper introduces a novel low-computation discriminative regions representation for expression analysis task. The proposed approach relies on interesting studies in psychology which show that most of the descriptive and responsible regions for facial expression are located around some face parts. The contributions of this work lie in the proposition of new approach which supports automatic facial expression recognition based on automatic regions selection. The regions selection step aims to select the descriptive regions responsible or facial expression and was performed using Mutual Information (MI) technique. For facial feature extraction, we have applied Local Binary Patterns Pattern (LBP) on Gradient image to encode salient micro-patterns of facial expressions. Experimental studies have shown that using discriminative regions provide better results than using the whole face regions whilst reducing features vector dimension.

Social Use of Facial Expressions in Hylobatids

PubMed Central

Scheider, Linda; Waller, Bridget M.; Oña, Leonardo; Burrows, Anne M.; Liebal, Katja

2016-01-01

Non-human primates use various communicative means in interactions with others. While primate gestures are commonly considered to be intentionally and flexibly used signals, facial expressions are often referred to as inflexible, automatic expressions of affective internal states. To explore whether and how non-human primates use facial expressions in specific communicative interactions, we studied five species of small apes (gibbons) by employing a newly established Facial Action Coding System for hylobatid species (GibbonFACS). We found that, despite individuals often being in close proximity to each other, in social (as opposed to non-social contexts) the duration of facial expressions was significantly longer when gibbons were facing another individual compared to non-facing situations. Social contexts included grooming, agonistic interactions and play, whereas non-social contexts included resting and self-grooming. Additionally, gibbons used facial expressions while facing another individual more often in social contexts than non-social contexts where facial expressions were produced regardless of the attentional state of the partner. Also, facial expressions were more likely ‘responded to’ by the partner’s facial expressions when facing another individual than non-facing. Taken together, our results indicate that gibbons use their facial expressions differentially depending on the social context and are able to use them in a directed way in communicative interactions with other conspecifics. PMID:26978660

Facial Anthropometric Norms among Kosovo - Albanian Adults.

PubMed

Staka, Gloria; Asllani-Hoxha, Flurije; Bimbashi, Venera

2017-09-01

The development of an anthropometric craniofacial database is a necessary multidisciplinary proposal. The aim of this study was to establish facial anthropometric norms and to investigate into sexual dimorphism in facial variables among Kosovo Albanian adults. The sample included 204 students of Dental School, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pristina. Using direct anthropometry, a series of 8 standard facial measurements was taken on each subject with digital caliper with an accuracy of 0.01 mm (Boss, Hamburg-Germany). The normative data and percentile rankings were calculated. Gender differences in facial variables were analyzed using t- test for independent samples (p<0.05). The index of sexual dimorphism (ISD) and percentage of sexual dimorphism were calculated for each facial measurement. ormative data for all facial anthropometric measurements in males were higher than in females. Male average norms compared with the female average norms differed significantly from each other (p>0.05).The highest index of sexual dimorphism (ISD) was found for the lower facial height 1.120, for which the highest percentage of sexual dimorphism, 12.01%., was also found. The lowest ISD was found for intercanthal width, 1.022, accompanied with the lowest percentage of sexual dimorphism, 2.23%. The obtained results have established the facial anthropometric norms among Kosovo Albanian adults. Sexual dimorphism has been confirmed for each facial measurement.

Facial Specialty. Teacher Edition. Cosmetology Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oklahoma State Dept. of Vocational and Technical Education, Stillwater. Curriculum and Instructional Materials Center.

This publication is one of a series of curriculum guides designed to direct and support instruction in vocational cosmetology programs in the State of Oklahoma. It contains seven units for the facial specialty: identifying enemies of the skin, using aromatherapy on the skin, giving facials without the aid of machines, giving facials with the aid…

Oxidant enhancement in martian dust devils and storms: storm electric fields and electron dissociative attachment.

PubMed

Delory, Gregory T; Farrell, William M; Atreya, Sushil K; Renno, Nilton O; Wong, Ah-San; Cummer, Steven A; Sentman, Davis D; Marshall, John R; Rafkin, Scot C R; Catling, David C

2006-06-01

Laboratory studies, numerical simulations, and desert field tests indicate that aeolian dust transport can generate atmospheric electricity via contact electrification or "triboelectricity." In convective structures such as dust devils and dust storms, grain stratification leads to macroscopic charge separations and gives rise to an overall electric dipole moment in the aeolian feature, similar in nature to the dipolar electric field generated in terrestrial thunderstorms. Previous numerical simulations indicate that these storm electric fields on Mars can approach the ambient breakdown field strength of approximately 25 kV/m. In terrestrial dust phenomena, potentials ranging from approximately 20 to 160 kV/m have been directly measured. The large electrostatic fields predicted in martian dust devils and storms can energize electrons in the low pressure martian atmosphere to values exceeding the electron dissociative attachment energy of both CO2 and H2O, which results in the formation of the new chemical products CO/O- and OH/H-, respectively. Using a collisional plasma physics model, we present calculations of the CO/O- and OH/H- reaction and production rates. We demonstrate that these rates vary geometrically with the ambient electric field, with substantial production of dissociative products when fields approach the breakdown value of approximately 25 kV/m. The dissociation of H2O into OH/H- provides a key ingredient for the generation of oxidants; thus electrically charged dust may significantly impact the habitability of Mars.

Influence of gravity upon some facial signs.

PubMed

Flament, F; Bazin, R; Piot, B

2015-06-01

Facial clinical signs and their integration are the basis of perception than others could have from ourselves, noticeably the age they imagine we are. Facial modifications in motion and their objective measurements before and after application of skin regimen are essential to go further in evaluation capacities to describe efficacy in facial dynamics. Quantification of facial modifications vis à vis gravity will allow us to answer about 'control' of facial shape in daily activities. Standardized photographs of the faces of 30 Caucasian female subjects of various ages (24-73 year) were successively taken at upright and supine positions within a short time interval. All these pictures were therefore reframed - any bias due to facial features was avoided when evaluating one single sign - for clinical quotation by trained experts of several facial signs regarding published standardized photographic scales. For all subjects, the supine position increased facial width but not height, giving a more fuller appearance to the face. More importantly, the supine position changed the severity of facial ageing features (e.g. wrinkles) compared to an upright position and whether these features were attenuated or exacerbated depended on their facial location. Supine station mostly modifies signs of the lower half of the face whereas those of the upper half appear unchanged or slightly accentuated. These changes appear much more marked in the older groups, where some deep labial folds almost vanish. These alterations decreased the perceived ages of the subjects by an average of 3.8 years. Although preliminary, this study suggests that a 90° rotation of the facial skin vis à vis gravity induces rapid rearrangements among which changes in tensional forces within and across the face, motility of interstitial free water among underlying skin tissue and/or alterations of facial Langer lines, likely play a significant role. © 2015 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Société Fran

Recent Advances in Tsunami Research - the Devil Is in the Detail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goff, J. R.

2014-12-01

Over little more than a decade, tsunami research has gone from a few scientists using a range of over-used black and white and colour photographs to try and convince a largely disinterested audience of the perils of tsunamis, to a highly regarded branch of the natural hazard stable populated by a plethora of researchers and disciplines. What happened? Tsunamis happened, big ones, in 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2011. In many ways we now have more data than we know what to do with. We should therefore be forgiven for appearing just a little rushed off our feet. The past decade has seen a phenomenal increase in the number of publications and, as a result, significant advances have been made in our understanding of the geological and environmental impacts of tsunamis. In the quest to better understand tsunami geology, many of us are eternally searching for the Holy Grail - the one proxy that will tell us that a deposit was laid down by a tsunami and not by a storm. Well, the one thing that recent advances have told us is that it is not that simple - the devil is in the detail, and we have plenty of that. There has been a significantly improvement in our understanding of tsunami sediments, particularly at either end of the size spectrum, greater use of microfossil data, major advances in geochemistry and the introduction of new studies such as magnetic fabric. What has been particularly satisfying for me to see has been the improved incorporation and study of proxies that are often viewed as tangential to geological data such as geomorphology, archaeology, anthropology and contextual environmental changes. The take home message is that this is a truly multi-disciplinary topic and we do ourselves a disservice if we do not embrace all the innovations available to us. Yes, in many cases we can tell the difference between a storm and a tsunami, it is just that the difference is different every time. The devil is in the detail.

[Idiopathic facial paralysis in children].

PubMed

Achour, I; Chakroun, A; Ayedi, S; Ben Rhaiem, Z; Mnejja, M; Charfeddine, I; Hammami, B; Ghorbel, A

2015-05-01

Idiopathic facial palsy is the most common cause of facial nerve palsy in children. Controversy exists regarding treatment options. The objectives of this study were to review the epidemiological and clinical characteristics as well as the outcome of idiopathic facial palsy in children to suggest appropriate treatment. A retrospective study was conducted on children with a diagnosis of idiopathic facial palsy from 2007 to 2012. A total of 37 cases (13 males, 24 females) with a mean age of 13.9 years were included in this analysis. The mean duration between onset of Bell's palsy and consultation was 3 days. Of these patients, 78.3% had moderately severe (grade IV) or severe paralysis (grade V on the House and Brackmann grading). Twenty-seven patients were treated in an outpatient context, three patients were hospitalized, and seven patients were treated as outpatients and subsequently hospitalized. All patients received corticosteroids. Eight of them also received antiviral treatment. The complete recovery rate was 94.6% (35/37). The duration of complete recovery was 7.4 weeks. Children with idiopathic facial palsy have a very good prognosis. The complete recovery rate exceeds 90%. However, controversy exists regarding treatment options. High-quality studies have been conducted on adult populations. Medical treatment based on corticosteroids alone or combined with antiviral treatment is certainly effective in improving facial function outcomes in adults. In children, the recommendation for prescription of steroids and antiviral drugs based on adult treatment appears to be justified. Randomized controlled trials in the pediatric population are recommended to define a strategy for management of idiopathic facial paralysis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Reconstruction of facial nerve injuries in children.

PubMed

Fattah, Adel; Borschel, Gregory H; Zuker, Ron M

2011-05-01

Facial nerve trauma is uncommon in children, and many spontaneously recover some function; nonetheless, loss of facial nerve activity leads to functional impairment of ocular and oral sphincters and nasal orifice. In many cases, the impediment posed by facial asymmetry and reduced mimetic function more significantly affects the child's psychosocial interactions. As such, reconstruction of the facial nerve affords great benefits in quality of life. The therapeutic strategy is dependent on numerous factors, including the cause of facial nerve injury, the deficit, the prognosis for recovery, and the time elapsed since the injury. The options for treatment include a diverse range of surgical techniques including static lifts and slings, nerve repairs, nerve grafts and nerve transfers, regional, and microvascular free muscle transfer. We review our strategies for addressing facial nerve injuries in children.

Contemporary solutions for the treatment of facial nerve paralysis.

PubMed

Garcia, Ryan M; Hadlock, Tessa A; Klebuc, Michael J; Simpson, Roger L; Zenn, Michael R; Marcus, Jeffrey R

2015-06-01

After reviewing this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Understand the most modern indications and technique for neurotization, including masseter-to-facial nerve transfer (fifth-to-seventh cranial nerve transfer). 2. Contrast the advantages and limitations associated with contiguous muscle transfers and free-muscle transfers for facial reanimation. 3. Understand the indications for a two-stage and one-stage free gracilis muscle transfer for facial reanimation. 4. Apply nonsurgical adjuvant treatments for acute facial nerve paralysis. Facial expression is a complex neuromotor and psychomotor process that is disrupted in patients with facial paralysis breaking the link between emotion and physical expression. Contemporary reconstructive options are being implemented in patients with facial paralysis. While static procedures provide facial symmetry at rest, true 'facial reanimation' requires restoration of facial movement. Contemporary treatment options include neurotization procedures (a new motor nerve is used to restore innervation to a viable muscle), contiguous regional muscle transfer (most commonly temporalis muscle transfer), microsurgical free muscle transfer, and nonsurgical adjuvants used to balance facial symmetry. Each approach has advantages and disadvantages along with ongoing controversies and should be individualized for each patient. Treatments for patients with facial paralysis continue to evolve in order to restore the complex psychomotor process of facial expression.

Improving posttraumatic facial scars.

PubMed

Ardeshirpour, Farhad; Shaye, David A; Hilger, Peter A

2013-10-01

Posttraumatic soft-tissue injuries of the face are often the most lasting sequelae of facial trauma. The disfigurement of posttraumatic scarring lies in both their physical deformity and psychosocial ramifications. This review outlines a variety of techniques to improve facial scars and limit their lasting effects. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Facial Animations: Future Research Directions & Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alkawaz, Mohammed Hazim; Mohamad, Dzulkifli; Rehman, Amjad; Basori, Ahmad Hoirul

2014-06-01

Nowadays, computer facial animation is used in a significant multitude fields that brought human and social to study the computer games, films and interactive multimedia reality growth. Authoring the computer facial animation, complex and subtle expressions are challenging and fraught with problems. As a result, the current most authored using universal computer animation techniques often limit the production quality and quantity of facial animation. With the supplement of computer power, facial appreciative, software sophistication and new face-centric methods emerging are immature in nature. Therefore, this paper concentrates to define and managerially categorize current and emerged surveyed facial animation experts to define the recent state of the field, observed bottlenecks and developing techniques. This paper further presents a real-time simulation model of human worry and howling with detail discussion about their astonish, sorrow, annoyance and panic perception.

Facial animation on an anatomy-based hierarchical face model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yu; Prakash, Edmond C.; Sung, Eric

2003-04-01

In this paper we propose a new hierarchical 3D facial model based on anatomical knowledge that provides high fidelity for realistic facial expression animation. Like real human face, the facial model has a hierarchical biomechanical structure, incorporating a physically-based approximation to facial skin tissue, a set of anatomically-motivated facial muscle actuators and underlying skull structure. The deformable skin model has multi-layer structure to approximate different types of soft tissue. It takes into account the nonlinear stress-strain relationship of the skin and the fact that soft tissue is almost incompressible. Different types of muscle models have been developed to simulate distribution of the muscle force on the skin due to muscle contraction. By the presence of the skull model, our facial model takes advantage of both more accurate facial deformation and the consideration of facial anatomy during the interactive definition of facial muscles. Under the muscular force, the deformation of the facial skin is evaluated using numerical integration of the governing dynamic equations. The dynamic facial animation algorithm runs at interactive rate with flexible and realistic facial expressions to be generated.

The identification of unfolding facial expressions.

PubMed

Fiorentini, Chiara; Schmidt, Susanna; Viviani, Paolo

2012-01-01

We asked whether the identification of emotional facial expressions (FEs) involves the simultaneous perception of the facial configuration or the detection of emotion-specific diagnostic cues. We recorded at high speed (500 frames s-1) the unfolding of the FE in five actors, each expressing six emotions (anger, surprise, happiness, disgust, fear, sadness). Recordings were coded every 10 frames (20 ms of real time) with the Facial Action Coding System (FACS, Ekman et al 2002, Salt Lake City, UT: Research Nexus eBook) to identify the facial actions contributing to each expression, and their intensity changes over time. Recordings were shown in slow motion (1/20 of recording speed) to one hundred observers in a forced-choice identification task. Participants were asked to identify the emotion during the presentation as soon as they felt confident to do so. Responses were recorded along with the associated response times (RTs). The RT probability density functions for both correct and incorrect responses were correlated with the facial activity during the presentation. There were systematic correlations between facial activities, response probabilities, and RT peaks, and significant differences in RT distributions for correct and incorrect answers. The results show that a reliable response is possible long before the full FE configuration is reached. This suggests that identification is reached by integrating in time individual diagnostic facial actions, and does not require perceiving the full apex configuration.

Reconstruction of facial nerve after radical parotidectomy.

PubMed

Renkonen, Suvi; Sayed, Farid; Keski-Säntti, Harri; Ylä-Kotola, Tuija; Bäck, Leif; Suominen, Sinikka; Kanerva, Mervi; Mäkitie, Antti A

2015-01-01

Most patients benefitted from immediate facial nerve grafting after radical parotidectomy. Even weak movement is valuable and can be augmented with secondary static operations. Post-operative radiotherapy does not seem to affect the final outcome of facial function. During radical parotidectomy, the sacrifice of the facial nerve results in severe disfigurement of the face. Data on the principles and outcome of facial nerve reconstruction and reanimation after radical parotidectomy are limited and no consensus exists on the best practice. This study retrospectively reviewed all patients having undergone radical parotidectomy and immediate facial nerve reconstruction with a free, non-vascularized nerve graft at the Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland during the years 1990-2010. There were 31 patients (18 male; mean age = 54.7 years; range = 30-82) and 23 of them had a sufficient follow-up time. Facial nerve function recovery was seen in 18 (78%) of the 23 patients with a minimum of 2-year follow-up and adequate reporting available. Only slight facial movement was observed in five (22%), moderate or good movement in nine (39%), and excellent movement in four (17%) patients. Twenty-two (74%) patients received post-operative radiotherapy and 16 (70%) of them had some recovery of facial nerve function. Nineteen (61%) patients needed secondary static reanimation of the face.

Modeling 3D Facial Shape from DNA

PubMed Central

Claes, Peter; Liberton, Denise K.; Daniels, Katleen; Rosana, Kerri Matthes; Quillen, Ellen E.; Pearson, Laurel N.; McEvoy, Brian; Bauchet, Marc; Zaidi, Arslan A.; Yao, Wei; Tang, Hua; Barsh, Gregory S.; Absher, Devin M.; Puts, David A.; Rocha, Jorge; Beleza, Sandra; Pereira, Rinaldo W.; Baynam, Gareth; Suetens, Paul; Vandermeulen, Dirk; Wagner, Jennifer K.; Boster, James S.; Shriver, Mark D.

2014-01-01

Human facial diversity is substantial, complex, and largely scientifically unexplained. We used spatially dense quasi-landmarks to measure face shape in population samples with mixed West African and European ancestry from three locations (United States, Brazil, and Cape Verde). Using bootstrapped response-based imputation modeling (BRIM), we uncover the relationships between facial variation and the effects of sex, genomic ancestry, and a subset of craniofacial candidate genes. The facial effects of these variables are summarized as response-based imputed predictor (RIP) variables, which are validated using self-reported sex, genomic ancestry, and observer-based facial ratings (femininity and proportional ancestry) and judgments (sex and population group). By jointly modeling sex, genomic ancestry, and genotype, the independent effects of particular alleles on facial features can be uncovered. Results on a set of 20 genes showing significant effects on facial features provide support for this approach as a novel means to identify genes affecting normal-range facial features and for approximating the appearance of a face from genetic markers. PMID:24651127

How to Avoid Facial Nerve Injury in Mastoidectomy?

PubMed Central

Ryu, Nam-Gyu

2016-01-01

Unexpected iatrogenic facial nerve paralysis not only affects facial disfiguration, but also imposes a devastating effect on the social, psychological, and economic aspects of an affected person's life at once. The aims of this study were to postulate where surgeons had mistakenly drilled or where obscured by granulations or by fibrous bands and to look for surgical approach with focused on the safety of facial nerve in mastoid surgery. We had found 14 cases of iatrogenic facial nerve injury (IFNI) during mastoid surgery for 5 years in Korea. The medical records of all the patients were obtained and analyzed injured site of facial nerve segment with surgical technique of mastoidectomy. Eleven patients underwent facial nerve exploration and three patients had conservative management. 43% (6 cases) of iatrogenic facial nerve injuries had occurred in tympanic segment, 28.5% (4 cases) of injuries in second genu combined with tympanic segment, and 28.5% (4 cases) of injuries in mastoid segment. Surgeons should try to identify the facial nerve using available landmarks and be kept in mind the anomalies of the facial nerve. With use of intraoperative facial nerve monitoring, the avoidance of in order to avoid IFNI would be possible in more cases. Many authors emphasized the importance of intraoperative facial nerve monitoring, even in primary otologic surgery. However, anatomical understanding of intratemporal landmarks with meticulous dissection could not be emphasized as possible to prevent IFNI. PMID:27626078

Preservation of Facial Nerve Function Repaired by Using Fibrin Glue-Coated Collagen Fleece for a Totally Transected Facial Nerve during Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery

PubMed Central

Choi, Kyung-Sik; Kim, Min-Su; Jang, Sung-Ho

2014-01-01

Recently, the increasing rates of facial nerve preservation after vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery have been achieved. However, the management of a partially or completely damaged facial nerve remains an important issue. The authors report a patient who was had a good recovery after a facial nerve reconstruction using fibrin glue-coated collagen fleece for a totally transected facial nerve during VS surgery. And, we verifed the anatomical preservation and functional outcome of the facial nerve with postoperative diffusion tensor (DT) imaging facial nerve tractography, electroneurography (ENoG) and House-Brackmann (HB) grade. DT imaging tractography at the 3rd postoperative day revealed preservation of facial nerve. And facial nerve degeneration ratio was 94.1% at 7th postoperative day ENoG. At postoperative 3 months and 1 year follow-up examination with DT imaging facial nerve tractography and ENoG, good results for facial nerve function were observed. PMID:25024825

Measurement of facial movements with Photoshop software during treatment of facial nerve palsy.

PubMed

Pourmomeny, Abbas Ali; Zadmehr, Hassan; Hossaini, Mohsen

2011-10-01

Evaluating the function of facial nerve is essential in order to determine the influences of various treatment methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate and assess the agreement of Photoshop scaling system versus the facial grading system (FGS). In this semi-experimental study, thirty subjects with facial nerve paralysis were recruited. The evaluation of all patients before and after the treatment was performed by FGS and Photoshop measurements. The mean values of FGS before and after the treatment were 35 ± 25 and 67 ± 24, respectively (p < 0.001). In Photoshop assessment, mean changes of face expressions in the impaired side relative to the normal side in rest position and three main movements of the face were 3.4 ± 0.55 and 4.04 ± 0.49 millimeter before and after the treatment, respectively (p < 0.001). Spearman's correlation coefficient between different values in the two methods was 0.66 (p < 0.001). Evaluating the facial nerve palsy using Photoshop was more objective than using FGS. Therefore, it may be recommended to use this method instead.

Facial transplantation: A concise update

PubMed Central

Barrera-Pulido, Fernando; Gomez-Cia, Tomas; Sicilia-Castro, Domingo; Garcia-Perla-Garcia, Alberto; Gacto-Sanchez, Purificacion; Hernandez-Guisado, Jose-Maria; Lagares-Borrego, Araceli; Narros-Gimenez, Rocio; Gonzalez-Padilla, Juan D.

2013-01-01

Objectives: Update on clinical results obtained by the first worldwide facial transplantation teams as well as review of the literature concerning the main surgical, immunological, ethical, and follow-up aspects described on facial transplanted patients. Study design: MEDLINE search of articles published on “face transplantation” until March 2012. Results: Eighteen clinical cases were studied. The mean patient age was 37.5 years, with a higher prevalence of men. Main surgical indication was gunshot injuries (6 patients). All patients had previously undergone multiple conventional surgical reconstructive procedures which had failed. Altogether 8 transplant teams belonging to 4 countries participated. Thirteen partial face transplantations and 5 full face transplantations have been performed. Allografts are varied according to face anatomical components and the amount of skin, muscle, bone, and other tissues included, though all were grafted successfully and remained viable without significant postoperative surgical complications. The patient with the longest follow-up was 5 years. Two patients died 2 and 27 months after transplantation. Conclusions: Clinical experience has demonstrated the feasibility of facial transplantation as a valuable reconstructive option, but it still remains considered as an experimental procedure with unresolved issues to settle down. Results show that from a clinical, technical, and immunological standpoint, facial transplantation has achieved functional, aesthetic, and social rehabilitation in severely facial disfigured patients. Key words:Face transplantation, composite tissue transplantation, face allograft, facial reconstruction, outcomes and complications of face transplantation. PMID:23229268

Face Processing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Independent or Interactive Processing of Facial Identity and Facial Expression?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krebs, Julia F.; Biswas, Ajanta; Pascalis, Olivier; Kamp-Becker, Inge; Remschmidt, Helmuth; Schwarzer, Gudrun

2011-01-01

The current study investigated if deficits in processing emotional expression affect facial identity processing and vice versa in children with autism spectrum disorder. Children with autism and IQ and age matched typically developing children classified faces either by emotional expression, thereby ignoring facial identity or by facial identity…

Fractional CO2 laser resurfacing of photoaged facial and non-facial skin: histologic and clinical results and side effects.

PubMed

Sasaki, Gordon H; Travis, Heather M; Tucker, Barbara

2009-12-01

CO(2) fractional ablation offers the potential for facial and non-facial skin resurfacing with minimal downtime and rapid recovery. The purpose of this study was (i) to document the average depths and density of adnexal structures in non-lasered facial and non-facial body skin; (ii) to determine injury in ex vivo human thigh skin with varying fractional laser modes; and (iii) to evaluate the clinical safety and efficacy of treatments. Histologies were obtained from non-lasered facial and non-facial skin from 121 patients and from 14 samples of excised lasered thigh skin. Seventy-one patients were evaluated after varying energy (mJ) and density settings by superficial ablation, deeper penetration, and combined treatment. Skin thickness and adnexal density in non-lasered skin exhibited variable ranges: epidermis (47-105 mum); papillary dermis (61-105 mum); reticular dermis (983-1986 mum); hair follicles (2-14/ HPF); sebaceous glands (2-23/HPF); sweat glands (2-7/HPF). Histological studies of samples from human thigh skin demonstrated that increased fluencies in the superficial, deep and combined mode resulted in predictable deeper levels of ablations and thermal injury. An increase in density settings results in total ablation of the epidermis. Clinical improvement of rhytids and pigmentations in facial and non-facial skin was proportional to increasing energy and density settings. Patient assessments and clinical gradings by the Wilcoxon's test of outcomes correlated with more aggressive settings. Prior knowledge of normal skin depths and adnexal densities, as well as ex vivo skin laser-injury profiles at varying fluencies and densities, improve the safety and efficiency of fractional CO(2) for photorejuvenation of facial and non-facial skin.

Facial nerve paralysis in children

PubMed Central

Ciorba, Andrea; Corazzi, Virginia; Conz, Veronica; Bianchini, Chiara; Aimoni, Claudia

2015-01-01

Facial nerve palsy is a condition with several implications, particularly when occurring in childhood. It represents a serious clinical problem as it causes significant concerns in doctors because of its etiology, its treatment options and its outcome, as well as in little patients and their parents, because of functional and aesthetic outcomes. There are several described causes of facial nerve paralysis in children, as it can be congenital (due to delivery traumas and genetic or malformative diseases) or acquired (due to infective, inflammatory, neoplastic, traumatic or iatrogenic causes). Nonetheless, in approximately 40%-75% of the cases, the cause of unilateral facial paralysis still remains idiopathic. A careful diagnostic workout and differential diagnosis are particularly recommended in case of pediatric facial nerve palsy, in order to establish the most appropriate treatment, as the therapeutic approach differs in relation to the etiology. PMID:26677445

Enhanced Facial Symmetry Assessment in Orthodontists

PubMed Central

Jackson, Tate H.; Clark, Kait; Mitroff, Stephen R.

2013-01-01

Assessing facial symmetry is an evolutionarily important process, which suggests that individual differences in this ability should exist. As existing data are inconclusive, the current study explored whether a group trained in facial symmetry assessment, orthodontists, possessed enhanced abilities. Symmetry assessment was measured using face and non-face stimuli among orthodontic residents and two control groups: university participants with no symmetry training and airport security luggage screeners, a group previously shown to possess expert visual search skills unrelated to facial symmetry. Orthodontic residents were more accurate at assessing symmetry in both upright and inverted faces compared to both control groups, but not for non-face stimuli. These differences are not likely due to motivational biases or a speed-accuracy tradeoff—orthodontic residents were slower than the university participants but not the security screeners. Understanding such individual differences in facial symmetry assessment may inform the perception of facial attractiveness. PMID:24319342

Association of Frontal and Lateral Facial Attractiveness.

PubMed

Gu, Jeffrey T; Avilla, David; Devcic, Zlatko; Karimi, Koohyar; Wong, Brian J F

2018-01-01

Despite the large number of studies focused on defining frontal or lateral facial attractiveness, no reports have examined whether a significant association between frontal and lateral facial attractiveness exists. To examine the association between frontal and lateral facial attractiveness and to identify anatomical features that may influence discordance between frontal and lateral facial beauty. Paired frontal and lateral facial synthetic images of 240 white women (age range, 18-25 years) were evaluated from September 30, 2004, to September 29, 2008, using an internet-based focus group (n = 600) on an attractiveness Likert scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being least attractive and 10 being most attractive. Data analysis was performed from December 6, 2016, to March 30, 2017. The association between frontal and lateral attractiveness scores was determined using linear regression. Outliers were defined as data outside the 95% individual prediction interval. To identify features that contribute to score discordance between frontal and lateral attractiveness scores, each of these image pairs were scrutinized by an evaluator panel for facial features that were present in the frontal or lateral projections and absent in the other respective facial projections. Attractiveness scores obtained from internet-based focus groups. For the 240 white women studied (mean [SD] age, 21.4 [2.2] years), attractiveness scores ranged from 3.4 to 9.5 for frontal images and 3.3 to 9.4 for lateral images. The mean (SD) frontal attractiveness score was 6.9 (1.4), whereas the mean (SD) lateral attractiveness score was 6.4 (1.3). Simple linear regression of frontal and lateral attractiveness scores resulted in a coefficient of determination of r2 = 0.749. Eight outlier pairs were identified and analyzed by panel evaluation. Panel evaluation revealed no clinically applicable association between frontal and lateral images among outliers; however, contributory facial features were suggested