The Pb isotopic record of historical to modern human lead exposure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kamenov, George D., E-mail: kamenov@ufl.edu [Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, 241 Williamson Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Gulson, Brian L. [Graduate School of the Environment, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 (Australia)

2014-08-15

Human teeth and bones incorporate trace amounts of lead (Pb) from the local environment during growth and remodeling. Anthropogenic activities have caused changes in the natural Pb isotopic background since historical times and this is reflected in the Pb isotopes of historical European teeth. Lead mining and use increased exponentially during the last century and the isotopic compositions of modern human teeth reflect the modern anthropogenic Pb. USA teeth show the most radiogenic Pb and Australian teeth show the least radiogenic Pb, a result of different Pb ores used in the two regions. During the last century the Australian Pb was exported to Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa, resulting in swamping of the local environmental Pb signal by the imported Pb. As a result, the modern human teeth in Europe show a significant drop to lower isotopic values compared with historical times. Similarly, modern human teeth in other regions of the world show similar Pb isotopic ratios to modern European teeth reflecting the Pb imports. The specific pattern of human Pb exposure allows us to use the Pb isotopic signal recorded in the skeleton as a geo-referencing tool. As historical European teeth show a distinct Pb signal, we can identify early European skeletal remains in the New World and likely elsewhere. In modern forensic investigations we can discriminate to some extent Eastern Europeans from Western and Northern Europeans. Australians can be identified to some extent in any region in the world, although there is some overlap with Western European individuals. Lead isotopes can be used to easily identify foreigners in the USA, as modern USA teeth are distinct from any other region of the world. By analogy, USA individuals can be identified virtually in any other region of the world. - Highlights: • We present high-precision Pb isotope data for historical and modern human teeth. • Human teeth reflect human Pb exposure since historical times. • Modern teeth show

Climatic change during historical times in japan : reconstruction from climatic hazard records

OpenAIRE

Maejima, Ikuo; Tagami, Yoshio

1986-01-01

A synoptic analysis of climatic hazard records in historical times of Japan is presented. The cool age (7-9c.), the warm age (10-14c.) and the cold age (15-19c.) are indicated. The relationship between summer and winter conditions in the climatic change is also shown. Thus, the knowledge of the climatic change in Japan from the 7th to the 19th century was systematically summarized.

The Sun Recorded Through History Scientific Data Extracted from Historical Documents

CERN Document Server

Vázquez, M

2009-01-01

The Sun Recorded Through History is a text that reconstructs past solar activity based on information from historical documents, complementing studies using other techniques. Historical accounts describing phenomena related to solar activity, such as aurorae, sunspots, and corona observed during solar eclipses can be used as a proxy of solar activity in the past. These descriptions are reviewed, on the one hand providing primary material for the history of astronomy and, on the other, verifying or refuting current ideas concerning the time variability of the Sun on the scale of centuries. Documents predating the discovery of photography (around 1840) that contain information on these topics are highlighted, but modern drawings are also included. The lower temporal limit of study is set by the archaeoastronomy of prehistoric sources. In addition, the necessary background on the Sun is provided, with special emphasis on observing techniques and the influences of telescopes and the Earth's atmosphere on the data...

Effect of recent climate change on Arctic Pb pollution: A comparative study of historical records in lake and peat sediments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Xiaodong; Jiang Shan; Zhang Pengfei; Xu Liqiang

2012-01-01

Historical changes of anthropogenic Pb pollution were reconstructed based on Pb concentrations and isotope ratios in lake and peat sediment profiles from Ny-Ålesund of Arctic. The calculated excess Pb isotope ratios showed that Pb pollution largely came from west Europe and Russia. The peat profile clearly reflected the historical changes of atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic Pb into Ny-Ålesund, and the result showed that anthropogenic Pb peaked at 1960s–1970s, and thereafter a significant recovery was observed by a rapid increase of 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratios and a remarkable decrease in anthropogenic Pb contents. In contrast to the peat record, the longer lake record showed relatively high anthropogenic Pb contents and a persistent decrease of 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratios within the uppermost samples, suggesting that climate-sensitive processes such as catchment erosion and meltwater runoff might have influenced the recent change of Pb pollution record in the High Arctic lake sediments. - Highlights: ► Historical changes of anthropogenic Pb pollution in Ny-Ålesund were reconstructed. ► Anthropogenic Pb in Ny-Ålesund was largely originated from W. European and Russia. ► Anthropogenic Pb recorded in peat sediments peaked at 1960–1970s and then declined. ► High anthropogenic fluxes were found in recent change of Pb record from lake sediments. ► Climate-sensitive processes might have influenced recent Pb accumulation rate in lakes. - This manuscript reports the effects of climate-sensitive processes on historical records of Pb pollution in sediments of Arctic lakes.

Unbiased analysis of geomagnetic data sets and comparison of historical data with paleomagnetic and archeomagnetic records

Science.gov (United States)

Arneitz, Patrick; Egli, Ramon; Leonhardt, Roman

2017-03-01

Reconstructions of the past geomagnetic field provide fundamental constraints for understanding the dynamics of the Earth's interior, as well as serving as basis for magnetostratigraphic and archeomagnetic dating tools. Such reconstructions, when extending over epochs that precede the advent of instrumental measurements, rely exclusively on magnetic records from archeological artifacts, and, further in the past, from rocks and sediments. The most critical component of such indirect records is field intensity because of possible biases introduced by material properties and by laboratory protocols, which do not reproduce exactly the original field recording conditions. Large biases are usually avoided by the use of appropriate checking procedures; however, smaller ones can remain undetected in individual studies and might significantly affect field reconstructions. We introduce a new general approach for analyzing geomagnetic databases in order to investigate the reliability of indirect records. This approach is based on the comparison of historical records with archeomagnetic and volcanic data, considering temporal and spatial mismatches with adequate weighting functions and error estimation. A good overall agreement is found between indirect records and historical measurements, while for several subsets systematic bias is detected (e.g., inclination shallowing of lava records). We also demonstrate that simple approaches to analyzing highly inhomogeneous and internally correlated paleomagnetic data sets can lead to incorrect conclusions about the efficiency of quality checks and corrections. Consistent criteria for selecting and weighting data are presented in this review and can be used to improve current geomagnetic field modeling techniques.

An Abstract Model of Historical Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Poulshock

2017-06-01

Full Text Available A theoretical model is presented which provides a way to simulate, at a very abstract level, power struggles in the social world. In the model, agents can benefit or harm each other, to varying degrees and with differing levels of influence. The agents interact over time, using the power they have to try to get more of it, while being constrained in their strategic choices by social inertia. The outcomes of the model are probabilistic. More research is needed to determine whether the model has any empirical validity.

76 FR 71601 - Record of Decision, Long Walk National Historic Trail Feasibility Study/Abbreviated Final...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-18

... fully meet the criteria for national historic trails. The overall nature of public comments during the... support the no action alternative as the selected action is based on the lack of support for designation... Record of Decision because the study involved no park resources. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon...

Arctic development and historical analysis: the use of historical methodology in addressing current issues in the Arctic.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Vasiliki Kravariotis

2008-06-01

To demonstrate the applicability of historical methodology to current issues in the Canadian Arctic. This is a literature-based analytical historical study, which draws on material from database searches of MEDLINE, Anthropology Plus, POLARInfo, the Arctic Blue Books and Historical Abstracts. Material was also obtained from physical searches of the University of Alberta Libraries and Library and Archives Canada collections, as well as from field research in the records of the Inuulitsivik Maternities. The historical technique of tracing epistemological change over time, pioneered by Michel Foucault and further developed by Ian Hacking, was applied to the history of Canadian authority in the Arctic. This was linked with epistemological changes occurring throughout Western/Southern culture in this period. The applicability of this historical analysis for current issues in the region was then evaluated. An epistemological shift in Western society has moved authority from traditional human actors in government, medicine and, increasingly, science to statistics, which is seen as both impartial and accurate. Human authorities now routinely appeal to statistical authority to validate policy decisions. This change is as apparent in the Arctic as elsewhere, but it has also opened a space for Inuit practices, rooted in traditional Inuit epistemology, to reassert themselves, provided they can satisfy demands for statistical validity. Historical analysis provides a means to identify the spaces which epistemological change and historical contingency have opened in which social and cultural change can occur.

Written records of historical tsunamis in the northeastern South China Sea – challenges associated with developing a new integrated database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Y. A. Lau

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Comprehensive analysis of 15 previously published regional databases incorporating more than 100 sources leads to a newly revised historical tsunami database for the northeastern (NE region of the South China Sea (SCS including Taiwan. The validity of each reported historical tsunami event listed in our database is assessed by comparing and contrasting the information and descriptions provided in the other databases. All earlier databases suffer from errors associated with inaccuracies in translation between different languages, calendars and location names. The new database contains 205 records of "events" reported to have occurred between AD 1076 and 2009. We identify and investigate 58 recorded tsunami events in the region. The validity of each event is based on the consistency and accuracy of the reports along with the relative number of individual records for that event. Of the 58 events, 23 are regarded as "valid" (confirmed events, three are "probable" events and six are "possible". Eighteen events are considered "doubtful" and eight events "invalid". The most destructive tsunami of the 23 valid events occurred in 1867 and affected Keelung, northern Taiwan, killing at least 100 people. Inaccuracies in the historical record aside, this new database highlights the occurrence and geographical extent of several large tsunamis in the NE SCS region and allows an elementary statistical analysis of annual recurrence intervals. Based on historical records from 1951–2009 the probability of a tsunami (from any source affecting the region in any given year is relatively high (33.4%. However, the likelihood of a tsunami that has a wave height >1 m, and/or causes fatalities and damage to infrastructure occurring in the region in any given year is low (1–2%. This work indicates the need for further research using coastal stratigraphy and inundation modeling to help validate some of the historical accounts of tsunamis as well as adequately evaluate

Design of operating rules in complex water resources systems using historical records, expert criteria and fuzzy logic

Science.gov (United States)

Pulido-Velazquez, Manuel; Macian-Sorribes, Hector; María Benlliure-Moreno, Jose; Fullana-Montoro, Juan

2015-04-01

Water resources systems in areas with a strong tradition in water use are complex to manage by the high amount of constraints that overlap in time and space, creating a complicated framework in which past, present and future collide between them. In addition, it is usual to find "hidden constraints" in system operations, which condition operation decisions being unnoticed by anyone but the river managers and users. Being aware of those hidden constraints requires usually years of experience and a degree of involvement in that system's management operations normally beyond the possibilities of technicians. However, their impact in the management decisions is strongly imprinted in the historical data records available. The purpose of this contribution is to present a methodology capable of assessing operating rules in complex water resources systems combining historical records and expert criteria. Both sources are coupled using fuzzy logic. The procedure stages are: 1) organize expert-technicians preliminary meetings to let the first explain how they manage the system; 2) set up a fuzzy rule-based system (FRB) structure according to the way the system is managed; 3) use the historical records available to estimate the inputs' fuzzy numbers, to assign preliminary output values to the FRB rules and to train and validate these rules; 4) organize expert-technician meetings to discuss the rule structure and the input's quantification, returning if required to the second stage; 5) once the FRB structure is accepted, its output values must be refined and completed with the aid of the experts by using meetings, workshops or surveys; 6) combine the FRB with a Decision Support System (DSS) to simulate the effect of those management decisions; 7) compare its results with the ones offered by the historical records and/or simulation or optimization models; and 8) discuss with the stakeholders the model performance returning, if it's required, to the fifth or the second stage

Concrete and abstract visualizations in history learning tasks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prangsma, M.E.; van Boxtel, C.A.M.; Kanselaar, G.; Kirschner, P.A.

2009-01-01

Background: History learning requires that students understand historical phenomena, abstract concepts and the relations between them. Students have problems grasping, using and relating complex historical developments and structures. Aims: A study was conducted to determine the effects of tasks

The historical supernovae

CERN Document Server

Clark, David H

1977-01-01

The Historical Supernovae is an interdisciplinary study of the historical records of supernova. This book is composed of 12 chapters that particularly highlight the history of the Far East. The opening chapter briefly describes the features of nova and supernova, stars which spontaneously explode with a spectacular and rapid increase in brightness. The succeeding chapter deals with the search for the historical records of supernova from Medieval European monastic chronicles, Arabic chronicles, astrological works etc., post renaissance European scientific writings, and Far Eastern histories and

Reconstructing Historical Changes in Watersheds from Environmental Records: An Information Theory Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Guerrero, F. J.; Hatten, J. A.; Ruddell, B.; Penaranda, V.; Murillo, P.

2015-12-01

A 20% of the world's population is living in watersheds that suffer from water shortage. This situation has complex causes associated with historical changes in watersheds. However, disentangling the role of key drivers of water availability like climate change or land use practices is challenging. Part of the difficulty resides in that historical analysis is basically a process of empirical reconstruction from available environmental records (e.g. sediment cores or long-term hydrologic time series). We developed a mathematical approach, based on information theory, for historical reconstructions in watersheds. We analyze spectral entropies calculated directly or indirectly for sediment cores or long-term hydrologic time series respectively. Spectral entropy measures changes in Shannon's information of natural patterns (e.g. particle size distributions in lake bottoms or streamflow regimes) as they respond to different drivers. We illustrate the application of our approach with two case studies: a reconstruction of a time series of historical changes from a sediment core, and the detection of hydrologic alterations in watersheds associated to climate and forestry activities. In the first case we calculated spectral entropies from 700 sediment layers encompassing 1500 years of history in Loon Lake (Southern Oregon). In the second case, we calculated annual spectral entropies from daily discharge for the last 45 years in two experimental watersheds in the H. J. Andrews LTER site (Oregon Cascades). In Loon Lake our approach separated, without supervision, earthquakes from landslides and floods. It can also help to improve age models for sedimentary layers. At H. J. Andrews's sites our approach was able to identify hydrological alterations following a complete clear cut in 1975. It is also helpful to identify potential long-term impacts of these forestry activities, enhanced by climate change. Our results suggest that spectral entropy is central for translating between

Interpreting land records

CERN Document Server

Wilson, Donald A

2014-01-01

Base retracement on solid research and historically accurate interpretation Interpreting Land Records is the industry's most complete guide to researching and understanding the historical records germane to land surveying. Coverage includes boundary retracement and the primary considerations during new boundary establishment, as well as an introduction to historical records and guidance on effective research and interpretation. This new edition includes a new chapter titled "Researching Land Records," and advice on overcoming common research problems and insight into alternative resources wh

Abstract Film and Beyond.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Grice, Malcolm

A theoretical and historical account of the main preoccupations of makers of abstract films is presented in this book. The book's scope includes discussion of nonrepresentational forms as well as examination of experiments in the manipulation of time in films. The ten chapters discuss the following topics: art and cinematography, the first…

The historic surface ozone record, 1896-1975, and its relation to modern measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Galbally, I. E.; Tarasick, D. W.; Stähelin, J.; Wallington, T. J.; Steinbacher, M.; Schultz, M.; Cooper, O. R.

2017-12-01

Tropospheric ozone is a greenhouse gas, a key component of atmospheric chemistry, and is detrimental to human health and plant productivity. The historic surface ozone record 1896-1975 has been constructed from measurements selected for (a) instrumentation whose ozone response can be traced to modern tropospheric ozone measurement standards, (b) samples taken when there is low probability of chemical interference and (c) sampling locations, heights and times when atmospheric mixing will minimise vertical gradients of ozone in the planetary boundary layer above and around the measurement location. Early measurements with the Schönbein filter paper technique cannot be related to modern methods with any degree of confidence. The potassium iodide-arsenite technique used at Montsouris for 1876-1910 is valid for measuring ozone; however, due to the presence of the interfering gases sulfur dioxide, ammonia and nitrogen oxides, the measured ozone concentrations are not representative of the regional atmosphere. The use of these data sets for trend analyses is not recommended. In total, 58 acceptable sets of measurements are currently identified, commencing in Europe in 1896, Greenland in 1932 and globally by the late 1950's. Between 1896 and 1944 there were 21 studies (median duration 5 days) with a median mole fraction of 23 nmol mol-1 (range of study averages 15-62 nmol mol-1). Between 1950 and 1975 there were 37 studies (median duration approx. 21 months) with a median mole fraction of 22 nmol mol-1 (range of study averages 13-49 nmol mol-1), all measured under conditions likely to give ozone mole fractions similar to those in the planetary boundary layer. These time series are matched with modern measurements from the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR) Ozone Database and used to examine changes between the historic and modern observations. These historic ozone levels are higher than previously accepted for surface ozone in the late 19th early 20th Century

Reconstructions of Fire Activity in North America and Europe over the Past 250 Years: A comparison of the Global Charcoal Database with Historical Records

Science.gov (United States)

Magi, B. I.; Marlon, J. R.; Mouillot, F.; Daniau, A. L.; Bartlein, P. J.; Schaefer, A.

2017-12-01

Fire is intertwined with climate variability and human activities in terms of both its causes and consequences, and the most complete understanding will require a multidisciplinary approach. The focus in this study is to compare data-based records of variability in climate and human activities, with fire and land cover change records over the past 250 years in North America and Europe. The past 250 years is a critical period for contextualizing the present-day impact of human activities on climate. Data are from the Global Charcoal Database and from historical reconstructions of past burning. The GCD is comprised of sediment records of charcoal accumulation rates collected around the world by dozens of researchers, and facilitated by the PAGES Global Paleofire Working Group. The historical reconstruction extends back to 1750 CE is based on literature and government records when available, and completed with non-charcoal proxies including tree ring scars or storylines when data are missing. The key data sets are independent records, and the methods and results are independent of any climate or fire-model simulations. Results are presented for Europe, and subsets of North America. Analysis of fire trends from GCD and the historical reconstruction shows broad agreement, with some regional variations as expected. Western USA and North America in general show the best agreement, with departures in the GCD and historical reconstruction fire trends in the present day that may reflect limits in the data itself. Eastern North America shows agreement with an increase in fire from 1750 to 1900, and a strong decreasing trend thereafter. We present ideas for why the trends agree and disagree relative to historical events, and to the sequence of land-cover change in the regions of interest. Together with careful consideration of uncertainties in the data, these results can be used to constrain Earth System Model simulations of both past fire, which explicitly incorporate

Effect of recent climate change on Arctic Pb pollution: a comparative study of historical records in lake and peat sediments.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaodong; Jiang, Shan; Zhang, Pengfei; Xu, Liqiang

2012-01-01

Historical changes of anthropogenic Pb pollution were reconstructed based on Pb concentrations and isotope ratios in lake and peat sediment profiles from Ny-Ålesund of Arctic. The calculated excess Pb isotope ratios showed that Pb pollution largely came from west Europe and Russia. The peat profile clearly reflected the historical changes of atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic Pb into Ny-Ålesund, and the result showed that anthropogenic Pb peaked at 1960s-1970s, and thereafter a significant recovery was observed by a rapid increase of (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratios and a remarkable decrease in anthropogenic Pb contents. In contrast to the peat record, the longer lake record showed relatively high anthropogenic Pb contents and a persistent decrease of (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratios within the uppermost samples, suggesting that climate-sensitive processes such as catchment erosion and meltwater runoff might have influenced the recent change of Pb pollution record in the High Arctic lake sediments. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Compiled records of carbon isotopes in atmospheric CO2 for historical simulations in CMIP6

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Graven

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The isotopic composition of carbon (Δ14C and δ13C in atmospheric CO2 and in oceanic and terrestrial carbon reservoirs is influenced by anthropogenic emissions and by natural carbon exchanges, which can respond to and drive changes in climate. Simulations of 14C and 13C in the ocean and terrestrial components of Earth system models (ESMs present opportunities for model evaluation and for investigation of carbon cycling, including anthropogenic CO2 emissions and uptake. The use of carbon isotopes in novel evaluation of the ESMs' component ocean and terrestrial biosphere models and in new analyses of historical changes may improve predictions of future changes in the carbon cycle and climate system. We compile existing data to produce records of Δ14C and δ13C in atmospheric CO2 for the historical period 1850–2015. The primary motivation for this compilation is to provide the atmospheric boundary condition for historical simulations in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6 for models simulating carbon isotopes in the ocean or terrestrial biosphere. The data may also be useful for other carbon cycle modelling activities.

Compiled records of carbon isotopes in atmospheric CO2 for historical simulations in CMIP6

Science.gov (United States)

Graven, Heather; Allison, Colin E.; Etheridge, David M.; Hammer, Samuel; Keeling, Ralph F.; Levin, Ingeborg; Meijer, Harro A. J.; Rubino, Mauro; Tans, Pieter P.; Trudinger, Cathy M.; Vaughn, Bruce H.; White, James W. C.

2017-12-01

The isotopic composition of carbon (Δ14C and δ13C) in atmospheric CO2 and in oceanic and terrestrial carbon reservoirs is influenced by anthropogenic emissions and by natural carbon exchanges, which can respond to and drive changes in climate. Simulations of 14C and 13C in the ocean and terrestrial components of Earth system models (ESMs) present opportunities for model evaluation and for investigation of carbon cycling, including anthropogenic CO2 emissions and uptake. The use of carbon isotopes in novel evaluation of the ESMs' component ocean and terrestrial biosphere models and in new analyses of historical changes may improve predictions of future changes in the carbon cycle and climate system. We compile existing data to produce records of Δ14C and δ13C in atmospheric CO2 for the historical period 1850-2015. The primary motivation for this compilation is to provide the atmospheric boundary condition for historical simulations in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) for models simulating carbon isotopes in the ocean or terrestrial biosphere. The data may also be useful for other carbon cycle modelling activities.

ISLSCP II Historical Croplands Cover, 1700-1992

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: The Historical Croplands Cover data set was developed to understand the consequences of historical changes in land use and land cover for ecosystem goods...

Far-Field Tsunami Hazard Assessment Along the Pacific Coast of Mexico by Historical Records and Numerical Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz-Huerta, Laura G.; Ortiz, Modesto; García-Gastélum, Alejandro

2018-03-01

Historical records of the Chile (22 May 1960), Alaska (27 March 1964), and Tohoku (11 March 2011) tsunamis recorded along the Pacific Coast of Mexico are used to investigate the goodness of far-field tsunami modeling using a focal mechanism consisting in a uniform slip distribution on large thrust faults around the Pacific Ocean. The Tohoku 2011 tsunami records recorded by Deep ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) stations, and at coastal tide stations, were used to validate transoceanic tsunami models applicable to the harbors of Ensenada, Manzanillo, and Acapulco on the coast of Mexico. The amplitude resulting from synthetic tsunamis originated by M w 9.3 earthquakes around the Pacific varies from 1 to 2.5 m, depending on the tsunami origin region and on the directivity due to fault orientation and waveform modification by prominent features of sea bottom relief.

Far-Field Tsunami Hazard Assessment Along the Pacific Coast of Mexico by Historical Records and Numerical Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz-Huerta, Laura G.; Ortiz, Modesto; García-Gastélum, Alejandro

2018-04-01

Historical records of the Chile (22 May 1960), Alaska (27 March 1964), and Tohoku (11 March 2011) tsunamis recorded along the Pacific Coast of Mexico are used to investigate the goodness of far-field tsunami modeling using a focal mechanism consisting in a uniform slip distribution on large thrust faults around the Pacific Ocean. The Tohoku 2011 tsunami records recorded by Deep ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) stations, and at coastal tide stations, were used to validate transoceanic tsunami models applicable to the harbors of Ensenada, Manzanillo, and Acapulco on the coast of Mexico. The amplitude resulting from synthetic tsunamis originated by M w 9.3 earthquakes around the Pacific varies from 1 to 2.5 m, depending on the tsunami origin region and on the directivity due to fault orientation and waveform modification by prominent features of sea bottom relief.

Webinar Training: an acceptable, feasible and effective approach for multi-site medical record abstraction: the BOWII experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

St Charles Meaghan

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Abstractor training is a key element in creating valid and reliable data collection procedures. The choice between in-person vs. remote or simultaneous vs. sequential abstractor training has considerable consequences for time and resource utilization. We conducted a web-based (webinar abstractor training session to standardize training across six individual Cancer Research Network (CRN sites for a study of breast cancer treatment effects in older women (BOWII. The goals of this manuscript are to describe the training session, its participants and participants' evaluation of webinar technology for abstraction training. Findings A webinar was held for all six sites with the primary purpose of simultaneously training staff and ensuring consistent abstraction across sites. The training session involved sequential review of over 600 data elements outlined in the coding manual in conjunction with the display of data entry fields in the study's electronic data collection system. Post-training evaluation was conducted via Survey Monkey©. Inter-rater reliability measures for abstractors within each site were conducted three months after the commencement of data collection. Ten of the 16 people who participated in the training completed the online survey. Almost all (90% of the 10 trainees had previous medical record abstraction experience and nearly two-thirds reported over 10 years of experience. Half of the respondents had previously participated in a webinar, among which three had participated in a webinar for training purposes. All rated the knowledge and information delivered through the webinar as useful and reported it adequately prepared them for data collection. Moreover, all participants would recommend this platform for multi-site abstraction training. Consistent with participant-reported training effectiveness, results of data collection inter-rater agreement within sites ranged from 89 to 98%, with a weighted average of

Introductory modern algebra a historical approach

CERN Document Server

Stahl, Saul

2013-01-01

Praise for the First Edition ""Stahl offers the solvability of equations from the historical point of view...one of the best books available to support a one-semester introduction to abstract algebra.""-CHOICE Introductory Modern Algebra: A Historical Approach, Second Edition presents the evolution of algebra and provides readers with the opportunity to view modern algebra as a consistent movement from concrete problems to abstract principles. With a few pertinent excerpts from the writings of some of the greatest mathematicians, the Second Edition uniquely facilitates the understanding of pi

Pulmonary toxicology of respirable particles. [Lead abstract

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanders, C.L.; Cross, F.T.; Dagle, G.E.; Mahaffey, J.A. (eds.)

1980-09-01

Separate abstracts were prepared for the 44 papers presented in these proceedings. The last paper (Stannard) in the proceedings is an historical review of the field of inhalation toxicology and is not included in the analytics. (DS)

Evaluating the effects of alternative forest management plans under various physiographic settings using historical records as a reference

Science.gov (United States)

Yangjian Zhang; Hong S. He; Stephen R. Shifley; Jian Yang; Brian J. Palik

2011-01-01

Using historical General Land Office record as a reference, this study employed a landscape-scale disturbance and succession model to estimate the future cumulative effects of six alternative management plans on the tree species composition for various physiographic settings for the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. The results indicate that over a 200-year...

Selected Translated Abstracts of Chinese-Language Climate Change Publications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cushman, R.M.; Burtis, M.D.

1999-05-01

This report contains English-translated abstracts of important Chinese-language literature concerning global climate change for the years 1995-1998. This body of literature includes the topics of adaptation, ancient climate change, climate variation, the East Asia monsoon, historical climate change, impacts, modeling, and radiation and trace-gas emissions. In addition to the biological citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Chinese. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest.

Les rapports de l’art abstrait (Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian avec les tendances d’abstraction de l’art sacré / The Connections of Abstract Art (Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian with the Abstractization Tendencies of Sacred Art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Badea

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this paper is to study the connections that can be established between the modern abstractionism and the abstract tendencies from other historical eras. In the first part I will present three distinct interpretations: the first direction is based on authors as Mircea Eliade and Roger Lipsey, who see modern art through the links still alive between art and religion, from a syncretic perspective, or, after Eliade’s expression, based on a creative hermeneutics. The second direction is represented by the work of Adorno, Compagnon, Greenberg, Lyotard, for whom the modern art is a manifestation of radical discontinuity in relation to the art of the past, and the emergence of abstractionism is due primarily to a historical necessity (the increasing rupture between form and content, the increased autonomy of the sensible over the intelligible. The third direction is represented to Wilhelm Worringer, whose work (Abstraktion und Einfühlung, 1907 predates the emergence of the first abstract paintings, but relying on the German aesthetic tradition, manages to go beyond the threshold distinction between figurative and abstract, thus identifying a type of Einfühlung art and another of abstract type, namely the predominance of one or the other in different historical contexts and civilizational patterns. In the second part of the paper I will refer to instances of the spirit of abstraction in the case of Byzantine sacred art, especially in the footsteps of Plotinian aesthetics and as a result of the iconoclastic crisis. In the last part, I will present the key ideas for three major representatives of abstractionism (Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian and the survival of the concepts of sacred art in their works and art theories.

The HISTMAG database: combining historical, archaeomagnetic and volcanic data

Science.gov (United States)

Arneitz, Patrick; Leonhardt, Roman; Schnepp, Elisabeth; Heilig, Balázs; Mayrhofer, Franziska; Kovacs, Peter; Hejda, Pavel; Valach, Fridrich; Vadasz, Gergely; Hammerl, Christa; Egli, Ramon; Fabian, Karl; Kompein, Niko

2017-09-01

Records of the past geomagnetic field can be divided into two main categories. These are instrumental historical observations on the one hand, and field estimates based on the magnetization acquired by rocks, sediments and archaeological artefacts on the other hand. In this paper, a new database combining historical, archaeomagnetic and volcanic records is presented. HISTMAG is a relational database, implemented in MySQL, and can be accessed via a web-based interface (http://www.conrad-observatory.at/zamg/index.php/data-en/histmag-database). It combines available global historical data compilations covering the last ∼500 yr as well as archaeomagnetic and volcanic data collections from the last 50 000 yr. Furthermore, new historical and archaeomagnetic records, mainly from central Europe, have been acquired. In total, 190 427 records are currently available in the HISTMAG database, whereby the majority is related to historical declination measurements (155 525). The original database structure was complemented by new fields, which allow for a detailed description of the different data types. A user-comment function provides the possibility for a scientific discussion about individual records. Therefore, HISTMAG database supports thorough reliability and uncertainty assessments of the widely different data sets, which are an essential basis for geomagnetic field reconstructions. A database analysis revealed systematic offset for declination records derived from compass roses on historical geographical maps through comparison with other historical records, while maps created for mining activities represent a reliable source.

Cultural Anthropology Study on Historical Narrative and Jade Mythological Concepts in Records of the Great Historian: Annals of the First Emperor of Qin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JUAN WU

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This paper takes Records of the Great Historian: Annals of the First Emperor of Qin, an essential historical narrative at the dawning of Chinese civilization, as a case to illustrate the causality of historical incidents and the underlying mythological concepts, reveal the underlying mythological concepts that dominate the ritual behaviors and narrative expressions, and highlight the prototype function of mythological concepts in the man’s behavior and ideology construction. Once the prototype of certain cultural community is revealed, the evolvement track of its historical cultural texts and the operative relations between coding and re-coding will be better understood.

Selected Translated Abstracts of Chinese-Language Climate Change Publications; TOPICAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cushman, R.M.; Burtis, M.D.

1999-01-01

This report contains English-translated abstracts of important Chinese-language literature concerning global climate change for the years 1995-1998. This body of literature includes the topics of adaptation, ancient climate change, climate variation, the East Asia monsoon, historical climate change, impacts, modeling, and radiation and trace-gas emissions. In addition to the biological citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Chinese. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest

Grounding abstractness: Abstract concepts and the activation of the mouth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna M Borghi

2016-10-01

Full Text Available One key issue for theories of cognition is how abstract concepts, such as freedom, are represented. According to the WAT (Words As social Tools proposal, abstract concepts activate both sensorimotor and linguistic/social information, and their acquisition modality involves the linguistic experience more than the acquisition of concrete concepts. We report an experiment in which participants were presented with abstract and concrete definitions followed by concrete and abstract target-words. When the definition and the word matched, participants were required to press a key, either with the hand or with the mouth. Response times and accuracy were recorded. As predicted, we found that abstract definitions and abstract words yielded slower responses and more errors compared to concrete definitions and concrete words. More crucially, there was an interaction between the target-words and the effector used to respond (hand, mouth. While responses with the mouth were overall slower, the advantage of the hand over the mouth responses was more marked with concrete than with abstract concepts. The results are in keeping with grounded and embodied theories of cognition and support the WAT proposal, according to which abstract concepts evoke linguistic-social information, hence activate the mouth. The mechanisms underlying the mouth activation with abstract concepts (re-enactment of acquisition experience, or re-explanation of the word meaning, possibly through inner talk are discussed. To our knowledge this is the first behavioral study demonstrating with real words that the advantage of the hand over the mouth is more marked with concrete than with abstract concepts, likely because of the activation of linguistic information with abstract concepts.

Electronic health records: what does your signature signify?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoroff MD Michael S

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Electronic health records serve multiple purposes, including clinical communication, legal documentation, financial transaction capture, research and analytics. Electronic signatures attached to entries in EHRs have different logical and legal meanings for different users. Some of these are vestiges from historic paper formats that require reconsideration. Traditionally accepted functions of signatures, such as identity verification, attestation, consent, authorization and non-repudiation can become ambiguous in the context of computer-assisted workflow processes that incorporate functions like logins, auto-fill and audit trails. This article exposes the incompatibility of expectations among typical users of electronically signed information.

Historical and Documentary Data Sets

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Records of past climate and environment from historical references and documentary evidence such as church records, harvest dates, and diaries. Parameter keywords...

Historic records of organic compounds from a high Alpine glacier: influences of biomass burning, anthropogenic emissions, and dust transport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Müller-Tautges

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Historic records of α-dicarbonyls (glyoxal, methylglyoxal, carboxylic acids (C6–C12 dicarboxylic acids, pinic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, phthalic acid, 4-methylphthalic acid, and ions (oxalate, formate, calcium were determined with annual resolution in an ice core from Grenzgletscher in the southern Swiss Alps, covering the time period from 1942 to 1993. Chemical analysis of the organic compounds was conducted using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC coupled to electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (ESI-HRMS for dicarbonyls and long-chain carboxylic acids and ion chromatography for short-chain carboxylates. Long-term records of the carboxylic acids and dicarbonyls, as well as their source apportionment, are reported for western Europe. This is the first study comprising long-term trends of dicarbonyls and long-chain dicarboxylic acids (C6–C12 in Alpine precipitation. Source assignment of the organic species present in the ice core was performed using principal component analysis. Our results suggest biomass burning, anthropogenic emissions, and transport of mineral dust to be the main parameters influencing the concentration of organic compounds. Ice core records of several highly correlated compounds (e.g., p-hydroxybenzoic acid, pinic acid, pimelic, and suberic acids can be related to the forest fire history in southern Switzerland. P-hydroxybenzoic acid was found to be the best organic fire tracer in the study area, revealing the highest correlation with the burned area from fires. Historical records of methylglyoxal, phthalic acid, and dicarboxylic acids adipic acid, sebacic acid, and dodecanedioic acid are comparable with that of anthropogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs. The small organic acids, oxalic acid and formic acid, are both highly correlated with calcium, suggesting their records to be affected by changing mineral dust transport to the drilling site.

The use of taxation records in assessing historical floods in South Moravia, Czech Republic

Science.gov (United States)

Brázdil, R.; Chromá, K.; Řezníčková, L.; Valášek, H.; Dolák, L.; Stachoň, Z.; Soukalová, E.; Dobrovolný, P.

2014-10-01

Since the second half of the 17th century, tax relief has been available to farmers and landowners to offset flood damage to property (buildings) and land (fields, meadows, pastures, gardens) in South Moravia, Czech Republic. Historically, the written applications for this were supported by a relatively efficient bureaucratic process that left a clear data trail of documentation, preserved at several levels: in the communities affected, in regional offices, and in the Moravian Land Office, all of which are to be found in estate and family collections in the Moravian Land Archives in the city of Brno, the provincial capital. As well as detailed information about damage done and administrative responses to it, data are often preserved as to the flood event itself, the time of its occurrence and its impacts, sometimes together with causes and stages. The final flood database based on taxation records is used here to describe the temporal and spatial density of both flood events and the records themselves. The information derived is used to help create long-term flood chronologies for the rivers Dyje, Jihlava, Svratka and Morava, combining floods interpreted from taxation records with other documentary data and floods derived from later systematic hydrological measurements (water levels, discharges). Common periods of higher flood frequency appear largely in the periods 1821-1850 and 1921-1950, although this shifts to several other decades for individual rivers. A number of uncertainties are inseparable from flood data taxation records: their spatial and temporal incompleteness; the inevitable limitation to larger-scale damage and restriction to the summer half-year; and the different characters of rivers, including land-use changes and channel modifications. Taxation data have considerable potential for extending our knowledge of past floods for the rest of the Czech Republic, not to mention other European countries in which records have survived.

Probable historical record of the Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris in the Czech Republic on the Moravian-Silesian territory

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Hudeček Jiří J.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris is a worldwide endangered bird species on the brink of extintion. For the last time it nested in Siberia, Russia. It flew trought Europe regulary in the 19th century. Because its records are unrepeatable, each date has a high scientific value. This article describes the historical record probably of the Czech Republic, probably in north-eastern Moravia in the environment of Místek in Lachia, probably between the years 1884 and 1897. This record might come from the collection of J. Bednař from the school in Místek (now Frýdek-Místek. These indirect data are provable and it is not possible to agree with the conclusion of the Czech Faunistic Committee which considers the location and date as unknown.

The medical ethics of Dr J Marion Sims: a fresh look at the historical record.

Science.gov (United States)

Wall, L L

2006-06-01

Vesicovaginal fistula was a catastrophic complication of childbirth among 19th century American women. The first consistently successful operation for this condition was developed by Dr J Marion Sims, an Alabama surgeon who carried out a series of experimental operations on black slave women between 1845 and 1849. Numerous modern authors have attacked Sims's medical ethics, arguing that he manipulated the institution of slavery to perform ethically unacceptable human experiments on powerless, unconsenting women. This article reviews these allegations using primary historical source material and concludes that the charges that have been made against Sims are largely without merit. Sims's modern critics have discounted the enormous suffering experienced by fistula victims, have ignored the controversies that surrounded the introduction of anaesthesia into surgical practice in the middle of the 19th century, and have consistently misrepresented the historical record in their attacks on Sims. Although enslaved African American women certainly represented a "vulnerable population" in the 19th century American South, the evidence suggests that Sims's original patients were willing participants in his surgical attempts to cure their affliction-a condition for which no other viable therapy existed at that time.

ISLSCP II Historical Land Cover and Land Use, 1700-1990

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: The Historical Land Cover and Land Use data set was developed to provide the global change community with historical land use estimates. The data set...

Historical consciousness and Culture of Students in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haue, Harry

2007-01-01

In this article the use of historical consciousnes is beeing discussed in relation to the teaching of history in the primary school. The point is that the capacity of the children to do abstract thinking is a necessary condition for being able to understand the use of historical consciousness...

SPR 2015. Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

The volume contains the abstracts of the SPR (society for pediatric radiology) 2015 meeting covering the following issues: fetal imaging, muscoskeletal imaging, cardiac imaging, chest imaging, oncologic imaging, tools for process improvement, child abuse, contrast enhanced ultrasound, image gently - update of radiation dose recording/reporting/monitoring - meaningful or useless meaning?, pediatric thoracic imaging, ALARA.

SPR 2015. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2015-04-01

The volume contains the abstracts of the SPR (society for pediatric radiology) 2015 meeting covering the following issues: fetal imaging, muscoskeletal imaging, cardiac imaging, chest imaging, oncologic imaging, tools for process improvement, child abuse, contrast enhanced ultrasound, image gently - update of radiation dose recording/reporting/monitoring - meaningful or useless meaning?, pediatric thoracic imaging, ALARA.

Daily Weather Records

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — These daily weather records were compiled from a subset of stations in the Global Historical Climatological Network (GHCN)-Daily dataset. A weather record is...

Use of recent and historical records to estimate status and trends of a rare and imperiled stream fish, Percina jenkinsi (Percidae)

Science.gov (United States)

Hagler, Megan M.; Freeman, Mary C.; Wenger, Seth J.; Freeman, Byron J.; Rakes, Patrick L.; Shute, J.R.

2011-01-01

Rarely encountered animals may be present but undetected, potentially leading to incorrect assumptions about the persistence of a local population or the conservation priority of a particular area. The federally endangered and narrowly endemic Conasauga logperch (Percina jenkinsi) is a good example of a rarely encountered fish species of conservation concern, for which basic population statistics are lacking. We evaluated the occurrence frequency for this species using surveys conducted with a repeat-observation sampling approach during the summer of 2008. We also analyzed museum records since the late 1980s to evaluate the trends in detected status through time. The results of these analyses provided support for a declining trend in this species over a portion of its historical range, despite low estimated detection probability. We used the results to identify the expected information return for a given level of monitoring where the sampling approach incorporates incomplete detection. The method applied here may be of value where historic occurrence records are available, provided that the assumption of constant capture efficiency is reasonable.

Principle and engineering implementation of 3D visual representation and indexing of medical diagnostic records (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Liehang; Sun, Jianyong; Yang, Yuanyuan; Ling, Tonghui; Wang, Mingqing; Zhang, Jianguo

2017-03-01

Purpose: Due to the generation of a large number of electronic imaging diagnostic records (IDR) year after year in a digital hospital, The IDR has become the main component of medical big data which brings huge values to healthcare services, professionals and administration. But a large volume of IDR presented in a hospital also brings new challenges to healthcare professionals and services as there may be too many IDRs for each patient so that it is difficult for a doctor to review all IDR of each patient in a limited appointed time slot. In this presentation, we presented an innovation method which uses an anatomical 3D structure object visually to represent and index historical medical status of each patient, which is called Visual Patient (VP) in this presentation, based on long term archived electronic IDR in a hospital, so that a doctor can quickly learn the historical medical status of the patient, quickly point and retrieve the IDR he or she interested in a limited appointed time slot. Method: The engineering implementation of VP was to build 3D Visual Representation and Index system called VP system (VPS) including components of natural language processing (NLP) for Chinese, Visual Index Creator (VIC), and 3D Visual Rendering Engine.There were three steps in this implementation: (1) an XML-based electronic anatomic structure of human body for each patient was created and used visually to index the all of abstract information of each IDR for each patient; (2)a number of specific designed IDR parsing processors were developed and used to extract various kinds of abstract information of IDRs retrieved from hospital information systems; (3) a 3D anatomic rendering object was introduced visually to represent and display the content of VIO for each patient. Results: The VPS was implemented in a simulated clinical environment including PACS/RIS to show VP instance to doctors. We setup two evaluation scenario in a hospital radiology department to evaluate whether

Data on introduced plants in Zimbabwe: Floristic changes and patterns of collection based on historical herbarium records.

Science.gov (United States)

Maroyi, Alfred

2017-12-01

National herbaria with significant historical plant collections are critical to tracking floristic changes and patterns, which include the introduction and spread of non-native plant species. To explore the importance of herbarium specimen data in understanding floristic changes in Zimbabwe, the plant collections housed by the National Herbarium (SRGH) in Harare, Zimbabwe were utilized with historical specimens dating back to 1870. A list of naturalised plant taxa and collection data were compiled. A total of 2916 plant specimens were recorded, comprising of 401 taxa, 237 genera and 76 plant families. Twenty eight specimens (1.0%) were collected between 1870 and 1908, prior to the establishment of the National Herbarium in 1909 and 123 specimens (4.2%) were collected in the first 25 years of the establishment of the institute (1909-1934). Intensive collection of herbarium specimens of casual, naturalised and invasive alien plant species occurred between 1950 and 1970. This data demonstrates the utility of plant species data housed in the National Herbaria and how such data can be used to map floristic changes and patterns.

Taxation records as a source of information for the study of historical floods in Southern Moravia, Czech Republic

Science.gov (United States)

Brázdil, Rudolf; Valášek, Hubert; Chromá, Kateřina; Dolák, Lukáš; Řezníčková, Ladislava; Dobrovolný, Petr

2014-05-01

The taxation system in Moravia allowed farmers to request tax relief if their crop yields had been negatively affected by hydrometeorological extremes. Firstly, the owners of land or individual farmers sent basic information about what had taken place, together with a detailed description of the damage, to the state executive (regional offices). After this, commissioners appointed by the regional administrator were obliged to inspect the places affected personally (in situ) and make records. Finally, the state executive made its decision as to whether to allow or reject the tax relief requested. The whole process was reflected in various surviving archival documents which contain information about the type of extreme event and the date of its occurrence, while the impact on crops may often be derived. Taxation documents of 201 estates in Southern Moravia, Czech Republic, prevailingly located in Moravian Land Archives in Brno, were studied to find information about hydrometeorological extremes. Such information is included for 84 of them. These data covering mainly the 18th-19th centuries were used for the study of historical floods (flash floods) complemented by other documentary sources and systematic hydrological observations (water stages, discharges) in the instrumental period (from the 1880s). Obtained flood data are analysed with respect to their temporal (frequency, seasonality) and spatial changes. Finally, uncertainties related to taxation records, such as their temporal and spatial incompleteness, the limits of the period of outside agricultural work (i.e. mainly May-August) and the purpose for which they were originally collected (primarily tax alleviation, i.e. information about hydrometeorological extremes was of secondary importance) are discussed with respect to results obtained. Taxation records constitute an important source of data for the study of historical floods with a great potential to be used in many European countries.

Real Analysis A Historical Approach

CERN Document Server

Stahl, Saul

2011-01-01

A provocative look at the tools and history of real analysis This new edition of Real Analysis: A Historical Approach continues to serve as an interesting read for students of analysis. Combining historical coverage with a superb introductory treatment, this book helps readers easily make the transition from concrete to abstract ideas. The book begins with an exciting sampling of classic and famous problems first posed by some of the greatest mathematicians of all time. Archimedes, Fermat, Newton, and Euler are each summoned in turn, illuminating the utility of infinite, power, and trigonome

Abstract Cauchy problems three approaches

CERN Document Server

Melnikova, Irina V

2001-01-01

Although the theory of well-posed Cauchy problems is reasonably understood, ill-posed problems-involved in a numerous mathematical models in physics, engineering, and finance- can be approached in a variety of ways. Historically, there have been three major strategies for dealing with such problems: semigroup, abstract distribution, and regularization methods. Semigroup and distribution methods restore well-posedness, in a modern weak sense. Regularization methods provide approximate solutions to ill-posed problems. Although these approaches were extensively developed over the last decades by many researchers, nowhere could one find a comprehensive treatment of all three approaches.Abstract Cauchy Problems: Three Approaches provides an innovative, self-contained account of these methods and, furthermore, demonstrates and studies some of the profound connections between them. The authors discuss the application of different methods not only to the Cauchy problem that is not well-posed in the classical sense, b...

Historic Eastern Canadian earthquakes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asmis, G.J.K.; Atchinson, R.J.

1981-01-01

Nuclear power plants licensed in Canada have been designed to resist earthquakes: not all plants, however, have been explicitly designed to the same level of earthquake induced forces. Understanding the nature of strong ground motion near the source of the earthquake is still very tentative. This paper reviews historical and scientific accounts of the three strongest earthquakes - St. Lawrence (1925), Temiskaming (1935), Cornwall (1944) - that have occurred in Canada in 'modern' times, field studies of near-field strong ground motion records and their resultant damage or non-damage to industrial facilities, and numerical modelling of earthquake sources and resultant wave propagation to produce accelerograms consistent with the above historical record and field studies. It is concluded that for future construction of NPP's near-field strong motion must be explicitly considered in design

Data on introduced plants in Zimbabwe: Floristic changes and patterns of collection based on historical herbarium records

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfred Maroyi

2017-12-01

Full Text Available National herbaria with significant historical plant collections are critical to tracking floristic changes and patterns, which include the introduction and spread of non-native plant species. To explore the importance of herbarium specimen data in understanding floristic changes in Zimbabwe, the plant collections housed by the National Herbarium (SRGH in Harare, Zimbabwe were utilized with historical specimens dating back to 1870. A list of naturalised plant taxa and collection data were compiled. A total of 2916 plant specimens were recorded, comprising of 401 taxa, 237 genera and 76 plant families. Twenty eight specimens (1.0% were collected between 1870 and 1908, prior to the establishment of the National Herbarium in 1909 and 123 specimens (4.2% were collected in the first 25 years of the establishment of the institute (1909–1934. Intensive collection of herbarium specimens of casual, naturalised and invasive alien plant species occurred between 1950 and 1970. This data demonstrates the utility of plant species data housed in the National Herbaria and how such data can be used to map floristic changes and patterns. Keywords: Casual, Floristic changes, Invasive, Naturalised, National herbarium, Zimbabwe

Reprocessing the Historical Satellite Passive Microwave Record at Enhanced Spatial Resolutions using Image Reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Hardman, M.; Brodzik, M. J.; Long, D. G.; Paget, A. C.; Armstrong, R. L.

2015-12-01

Beginning in 1978, the satellite passive microwave data record has been a mainstay of remote sensing of the cryosphere, providing twice-daily, near-global spatial coverage for monitoring changes in hydrologic and cryospheric parameters that include precipitation, soil moisture, surface water, vegetation, snow water equivalent, sea ice concentration and sea ice motion. Currently available global gridded passive microwave data sets serve a diverse community of hundreds of data users, but do not meet many requirements of modern Earth System Data Records (ESDRs) or Climate Data Records (CDRs), most notably in the areas of intersensor calibration, quality-control, provenance and consistent processing methods. The original gridding techniques were relatively primitive and were produced on 25 km grids using the original EASE-Grid definition that is not easily accommodated in modern software packages. Further, since the first Level 3 data sets were produced, the Level 2 passive microwave data on which they were based have been reprocessed as Fundamental CDRs (FCDRs) with improved calibration and documentation. We are funded by NASA MEaSUREs to reprocess the historical gridded data sets as EASE-Grid 2.0 ESDRs, using the most mature available Level 2 satellite passive microwave (SMMR, SSM/I-SSMIS, AMSR-E) records from 1978 to the present. We have produced prototype data from SSM/I and AMSR-E for the year 2003, for review and feedback from our Early Adopter user community. The prototype data set includes conventional, low-resolution ("drop-in-the-bucket" 25 km) grids and enhanced-resolution grids derived from the two candidate image reconstruction techniques we are evaluating: 1) Backus-Gilbert (BG) interpolation and 2) a radiometer version of Scatterometer Image Reconstruction (SIR). We summarize our temporal subsetting technique, algorithm tuning parameters and computational costs, and include sample SSM/I images at enhanced resolutions of up to 3 km. We are actively

THE CONCEPTION CULTURAL-HISTORICAL OF LITERACY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meire dos Santos Dangió

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The article on screen calls into question the cultural-historical conception of literacy in order to point out the relationship between it and the psychic development process of individuals, arguing - in accordance with the theoretical assumptions of historical-cultural psychology, that literacy takes place within a broader process of cultural development and, consequently, a developmental education from an early age. Thus, we defend the thesis that the teacher literacy needs to know the internal connections between literacy, oral language development and the abstractive leap required for its conversion into written language.

6 CFR 7.29 - Documents of permanent historical value.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 6 Domestic Security 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Documents of permanent historical value. 7.29... NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION Classified Information § 7.29 Documents of permanent historical value. The... contained in records determined to have permanent historical value under 44 U.S.C. 2107 before they are...

Historical research in the Hanford site waste cleanup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerber, Michele S.

1992-01-01

This paper will acquaint the audience with role of historical research in the Hanford Site waste cleanup - the largest waste cleanup endeavor ever undertaken in human history. There were no comparable predecessors to this massive waste remediation effort, but the Hanford historical record can provide a partial road map and guide. It can be, and is, a useful tool in meeting the goal of a successful, cost-effective, safe and technologically exemplary waste cleanup. The Hanford historical record is rich and complex. Yet, it poses difficult challenges, in that no central and complete repository or data base exists, records contain obscure code words and code numbers, and the measurement systems and terminology used in the records change many times over the years. Still, these records are useful to the current waste cleanup in technical ways, and in ways that extend beyond a strictly scientific aspect. Study and presentations of Hanford Site history contribute to the huge educational and outreach tasks of helping the Site's work force deal with 'culture change' and become motivated for the cleanup work that is ahead, and of helping the public and the regulators to place the events at Hanford in the context of WWII and the Cold War. This paper traces historical waste practices and policies as they changed over the years at the Hanford Site, and acquaints the audience with the generation of the major waste streams of concern in Hanford Site cleanup today. It presents original, primary-source research into the waste history of the Hanford Site. The earliest, 1940s knowledge base, assumptions and calculations about radioactive and chemical discharges, as discussed in the memos, correspondence and reports of the original Hanford Site (then Hanford Engineer Works) builders and operators, are reviewed. The growth of knowledge, research efforts, and subsequent changes in Site waste disposal policies and practices are traced. Examples of the strengths and limitations of the

Records of Wenchengia (Lamiaceae) from Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Phillipson, Peter B; Suddee, Somran

2016-01-01

Abstract Background The monotypic genus Wenchengia (Lamiaceae) has been thought to be endemic to Hainan, China. This paper reports on historic records of Wenchengia alternifolia collected from Vietnam. The recent recuration and modernisation of the Paris herbarium greatly facilitated this discovery. New information During preparatory work supporting the account for the Lamiaceae of the Flora of Thailand, three specimens of Wenchengia from central Vietnam were found in the Herbarium of the Musuem National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris (P), and subsequently two duplicates were found in the Herbarium at Kew (K, abbreviations following Thiers 2016). The specimens were collected in and before 1927 and it is not known if the species is still extant in Vietnam. Searches for extant populations should focus in the Ba Na Hills or Bach Ma National Park, central Vietnam. PMID:27660535

Performance of automated and manual coding systems for occupational data: a case study of historical records.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Mehul D; Rose, Kathryn M; Owens, Cindy R; Bang, Heejung; Kaufman, Jay S

2012-03-01

Occupational data are a common source of workplace exposure and socioeconomic information in epidemiologic research. We compared the performance of two occupation coding methods, an automated software and a manual coder, using occupation and industry titles from U.S. historical records. We collected parental occupational data from 1920-40s birth certificates, Census records, and city directories on 3,135 deceased individuals in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Unique occupation-industry narratives were assigned codes by a manual coder and the Standardized Occupation and Industry Coding software program. We calculated agreement between coding methods of classification into major Census occupational groups. Automated coding software assigned codes to 71% of occupations and 76% of industries. Of this subset coded by software, 73% of occupation codes and 69% of industry codes matched between automated and manual coding. For major occupational groups, agreement improved to 89% (kappa = 0.86). Automated occupational coding is a cost-efficient alternative to manual coding. However, some manual coding is required to code incomplete information. We found substantial variability between coders in the assignment of occupations although not as large for major groups.

Historic Methods for Capturing Magnetic Field Images

Science.gov (United States)

Kwan, Alistair

2016-01-01

I investigated two late 19th-century methods for capturing magnetic field images from iron filings for historical insight into the pedagogy of hands-on physics education methods, and to flesh out teaching and learning practicalities tacit in the historical record. Both methods offer opportunities for close sensory engagement in data-collection…

Assessing historical fish community composition using surveys, historical collection data, and species distribution models.

Science.gov (United States)

Labay, Ben; Cohen, Adam E; Sissel, Blake; Hendrickson, Dean A; Martin, F Douglas; Sarkar, Sahotra

2011-01-01

Accurate establishment of baseline conditions is critical to successful management and habitat restoration. We demonstrate the ability to robustly estimate historical fish community composition and assess the current status of the urbanized Barton Creek watershed in central Texas, U.S.A. Fish species were surveyed in 2008 and the resulting data compared to three sources of fish occurrence information: (i) historical records from a museum specimen database and literature searches; (ii) a nearly identical survey conducted 15 years earlier; and (iii) a modeled historical community constructed with species distribution models (SDMs). This holistic approach, and especially the application of SDMs, allowed us to discover that the fish community in Barton Creek was more diverse than the historical data and survey methods alone indicated. Sixteen native species with high modeled probability of occurrence within the watershed were not found in the 2008 survey, seven of these were not found in either survey or in any of the historical collection records. Our approach allowed us to more rigorously establish the true baseline for the pre-development fish fauna and then to more accurately assess trends and develop hypotheses regarding factors driving current fish community composition to better inform management decisions and future restoration efforts. Smaller, urbanized freshwater systems, like Barton Creek, typically have a relatively poor historical biodiversity inventory coupled with long histories of alteration, and thus there is a propensity for land managers and researchers to apply inaccurate baseline standards. Our methods provide a way around that limitation by using SDMs derived from larger and richer biodiversity databases of a broader geographic scope. Broadly applied, we propose that this technique has potential to overcome limitations of popular bioassessment metrics (e.g., IBI) to become a versatile and robust management tool for determining status of

Proposal of analytical records for choreographic compositions in gymnastics for all

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Letícia Abud SCARABELIM

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Gymnastics for All (GfA is a practice found in the wide world of gymnastics and its greatest form of expression is through choreographic compositions (CC due to historical and pedagogical reasons, among other factors. In addition, in the international arena, gymnastics festivals have become a privileged forum to perform CC as they take place in different contexts of social intervention, such as schools, clubs, associations, NGOs, and universities. In this context, our objective is to provide a tool to register and analyze GfA choreographic compositions by means of analytical record system. Based on bibliographical and documentary research, we propose a set of eight aspects that address general and specific aspects of CC in GfA. We conclude that the proposed tool displays a didactic and very detailed structure that is based on the theoretical prerogatives of the area. Not only it is useful to professionals and practitioners with different profiles, but it also holds the power of being of great value to all those involved in the processes of CC in GfA as a tool for recording data (including historical data, which is a catalyst for processes of reflection and changes (whenever they are required.

On the origin of smallpox: correlating variola phylogenics with historical smallpox records.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yu; Carroll, Darin S; Gardner, Shea N; Walsh, Matthew C; Vitalis, Elizabeth A; Damon, Inger K

2007-10-02

Human disease likely attributable to variola virus (VARV), the etiologic agent of smallpox, has been reported in human populations for >2,000 years. VARV is unique among orthopoxviruses in that it is an exclusively human pathogen. Because VARV has a large, slowly evolving DNA genome, we were able to construct a robust phylogeny of VARV by analyzing concatenated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from genome sequences of 47 VARV isolates with broad geographic distributions. Our results show two primary VARV clades, which likely diverged from an ancestral African rodent-borne variola-like virus either approximately 16,000 or approximately 68,000 years before present (YBP), depending on which historical records (East Asian or African) are used to calibrate the molecular clock. One primary clade was represented by the Asian VARV major strains, the more clinically severe form of smallpox, which spread from Asia either 400 or 1,600 YBP. Another primary clade included both alastrim minor, a phenotypically mild smallpox described from the American continents, and isolates from West Africa. This clade diverged from an ancestral VARV either 1,400 or 6,300 YBP, and then further diverged into two subclades at least 800 YBP. All of these analyses indicate that the divergence of alastrim and variola major occurred earlier than previously believed.

From savanna to campus woodlot: the historical ecology of farm woodlots in southern Illinois

Science.gov (United States)

C. M. Ruffner; A. Trieu; S. Chandy; M. D. Davis; D. Fishel; G. Gipson; J. Lhotka; K. Lynch; P. Perkins; S. van de Gevel; W. Watson; E. White

2003-01-01

The historical ecology of Thompson Woods, a 4.1 ha forest remnant on the campus of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, was investigated through stand structure analysis, dendroecology, and historical records. Historical records indicate the area was a savanna ecosystem prior to European settlement dominated by large, open grown mixed oak-hickory trees. No trees in...

Historical records of the electric power and cooling water systems for the experimental facilities in the I.P.P. (1964-1983)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitajima, Miyoshi.

1984-01-01

Twenty years have passed, since experimental studies began in the IPP. This is a status report on the electric power and cooling water systems in this Institute. Historical records on consumption of the electric power and cooling water for experimental facilities are summarized, also. Valuable stories obtained through operation, control and periodic inspection of these systems are described, which will be helpful for construction of new systems in future. Finally problems on safety, reliability, and economy are commented. (author)

Use of molecular genetics and historical records to reconstruct the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Recent advances in molecular genetics made the inference of past demographic events through the analysis of gene pools from modern populations possible. The technology uses genetic markers to provide previously unavailable resolution into questions of human evolution, migration and the historical relationship of ...

Beyond the Historical Record? Henry James in “The Master at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Ogliari

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The article analyses the short-story “The Master at St Bartholomew’s Hospital 1914–1916” by Joyce Carol Oates (2007 in the broader context of the Jamesian biofiction, a series of novels and tales featuring Henry James as their protagonist. The addition of the prefix “bio-” to “fiction” points out the hybrid nature of these texts, which are a melange of biography, autobiography, criticism and fiction. Oates’s story not only epitomizes this hybridity, but it also proves to be an exploration of the potentiality of this subgenre to penetrate the mystery surrounding James’s persona and saturate the lacunae in his biography by resorting to what David Lodge defined as “the novelist’s licence”. The short-story is yet another evidence of Oates’s fascination with the unsaid in James’s life and prose, because it revolves around the silence into which he sank at the outbreak of the Great War, when he did not write anything in his pocket diaries for three months. In an attempt to go beyond the limits of the historical record, Oates gives insights into the mind of the author by depicting a Henry James in crisis – nagged by doubts about his artistic legacy – in an atmosphere of uncertainty enhanced by a complex intertextual play. The result is ‘a Henry James’ slightly divergent from the historical one: thus, the tale advocates the inaccessibility of the private life of a real individual. Nonetheless, the acknowledgement of this limit spurs the celebration of fictional imagination.

Cultural Historical Activity Theory, Expansive Learning and Agency ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. This paper reports on how Cultural Historical Activity Theory was used to identify and analyse ..... marketing and transport and the contradiction here is between the (surplus) production – ... We thought you could start by educating the.

Perception of music performance on historical and modern commercial recordings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Timmers, R.

2007-01-01

Performing styles as well as recording styles have changed considerably within the 20th century. To what extent do the age of a recording, the unfamiliarity with performing style, and the quality of a reproduction of a recording systematically influence how we perceive performances on record? Four

[Criminal process record Winckelmann (Triest, 1768). Comments on the criminal process dealing with the murder of Johann Joachim Winckelmann from the forensic historical and legal medicine viewpoint].

Science.gov (United States)

Risse, M; Weiler, G

2001-01-01

Johann Joachim Winckelmann, German historian of ancient art and archaeologist, was born on 9 December 1717 in Stendal, a town in Saxony-Anhalt. At the age of 50 he was murdered on 8 June 1768 in a Trieste hotel. The voluminous original record of the criminal proceedings against his murderer, Francesco Arcangeli, was presumed lost for about 150 years. A new edition in the wording of the original text appeared in 1964. This long sought historical document gives cause for forensic-historical reflections under consideration of the autopsy protocol about Winckelmann, which is likewise a historical document. A considerable change of paradigm in comparison to current autopsy protocols is observed with regard to the evaluation of injuries and the circumstances of death.

Recording, monitoring and managing the conservation of historic sites: a new application for BGS·SIGMA

Science.gov (United States)

Tracey, Emily; Smith, Nichola; Lawrie, Ken

2017-04-01

The principles behind, and the methods of, digital data capture can be applied across many scientific, and other, disciplines, as can be demonstrated by the use of a custom modified version of the British Geological Survey's System for Integrated Geoscience Mapping, (BGS·SIGMA), for the capture of data for use in the conservation of Scottish built heritage. Historic Environment Scotland (HES), an executive agency of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation's historic environment, is directly responsible for 345 sites of national significance, most of which are built from stone. In common with many other heritage organisations, HES needs a system that can capture, store and present conservation, maintenance and condition indicator information for single or multiple historic sites; this system would then be used to better target and plan effective programmes of maintenance and repair. To meet this need, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has worked with HES to develop an integrated digital site assessment system that provides a refined survey process for stone-built (and other) historic sites. Based on BGS·SIGMA—an integrated workflow underpinned by a geo-spatial platform for data capture and interpretation—the new system is built on top of ESRI's ArcGIS software, and underpinned by a relational database. Users can, in the field or in the office, populate custom-built data entry forms to record maintenance issues and repair specifications for architectural elements ranging from individual blocks of stone to entire building elevations. Photographs, sketches, and digital documents can be linked to architectural elements to enhance the usability of the data. Predetermined data fields and supporting dictionaries constrain the input parameters, ensuring a high degree of standardisation in the datasets and, therefore, enabling highly consistent data extraction and querying. The GIS presentation of the data provides a powerful and versatile

Historical Romanian meteorites: emendations of official catalogue records

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dana Lüttge-Pop

2013-12-01

Full Text Available With its more than 50,000 valid official and provisory meteorite entries, the online catalogue of The Meteoritical Society, i.e., the Meteoritical Bulletin Database (MBDB represents the most authorized and primary source of information in the field. Unfortunately, this official reference contains some erroneous geographical information in the case of five historical Romanian meteorites. For Zsadany, the current country information is “Hungary, Bekes county” instead of Romania, Timiş County. For Mezö-Madaras and Tauti, the county affiliations “Harghita” and respectively “Cluj” have to be corrected into Mureş and Arad, respectively. Geographical coordinates for Kakowa and Ohaba require minor corrections, only. The source of these errors resides in changes of names and administrative affiliations of the localities of the fall/find, while the formal nomenclature protocol requires the meteorite name in the original description to be preserved. The example of the historical Romanian meteorites illustrates the challenges that a researcher unfamiliar with a region faces when locating old specimens, in general. This requires knowledge of regional history and geography, and sometimes access to the original references - usually not written in English, or having a somehow limited circulation. Additionally, in the last two decades several new publications provided more detailed classification information on Sopot, Ohaba, Tauti and Mocs meteorites. Sopot was classified as H5, with shock stage S3. The studied Ohaba and Tauti samples also attested S3 shock stages. Variable shock stages (S3-5 were identified in Mocs samples, the most well-known Romanian meteorite. This new information should be added to the corresponding MBDB entries.

Historical events of the Chemical Processing Department

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lane, W.A.

1965-11-12

The purpose of this report is to summarize and document the significant historical events pertinent to the operation of the Chemical Processing facilities at Hanford. The report covers, in chronological order, the major construction activities and historical events from 1944 to September, 1965. Also included are the production records achieved and a history of the department`s unit cost performance.

Research Abstracts of 1982.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-12-01

Third Molars in Naval Personnel,- (Abstract #1430) 7. A. SEROWSKI* and F. AKER --"The Effect of Marine and Fresh-Water Atmospheric Environments on...record to determine changes in surface coverage or other outcomes -- extraction, endodontic therapy , crown placement -- which occurred over time. The...MR0412002-0443. 0 e5 History of Retention and Extraction of Third Molars in Naval Personnel. D. C. SCHROEDER*, J. C. CECIL and M. E. COHEN. Naval

Hunter-gatherer dental pathology: Do historic accounts of Aboriginal Australians correspond to the archeological record of dental disease?

Science.gov (United States)

Littleton, Judith

2018-03-01

Studies of hunter-gatherer oral pathology, particularly in Australia, often focus upon dental wear and caries or assume that historic studies of Aboriginal people reflect the precontact past. Consequently the range of population variation has been underestimated. In this paper dental pathology from human remains from Roonka are compared with a model of dental pathology derived from historic studies. The aim is to identify aspects of dental pathology indicative of regional or intra-population diversity. Adult dentitions (n = 115) dating from the mid to late Holocene were recorded for the following conditions: dental wear, caries, periapical voids, calculus, periodontal disease and antemortem tooth loss. Statistical analysis was used to identify patterns of dental pathology and to identify causal relationships between conditions. Dental wear is marked while dental caries rates are extremely low. Other indications of dental pathology are uncommon (<7% of teeth affected). Temporal heterogeneity is apparent: there are 3 young adults with caries who died in the postcontact period. There is also a small group of middle age to old adults with disproportionate abscessing and pulp exposure who may represent temporal variation or heterogeneity in individual frailty. The results confirm dental wear as the major cause of dental pathology in this group and that, at a general level, historic accounts do correspond with this archeological sample. However, intra-sample heterogeneity is apparent while 2 dental conditions, calculus and periodontal disease, along with the pattern of sex differences deviate from expectation, demonstrating that to identify regional variation attention needs to be paid to the dentoalveolar complex as a whole. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reconstructing Historical Riparian Conditions of Two River Basins in Eastern Oregon, USA

Science.gov (United States)

McAllister, Lynne S.

2008-09-01

As land use continues to alter riparian areas, historical information is increasingly needed to help establish reference conditions for monitoring and assessment. I developed and applied a procedure in the John Day and Deschutes river basins of eastern Oregon for synthesizing historical documentary records available across broad spatial areas to reconstruct 19th-century riparian conditions. The study area was stratified by ecoregion and stream physical characteristics to partition regional variability. Three primary data sources—General Land Office survey notes, historical photographs, and written accounts—provided descriptive records, which were grouped by topic to develop common riparian attributes. The number of records for each attribute was tallied by stratum to compare and contrast riparian structure and composition across strata and ecoregions. Detailed descriptions of historical riparian conditions using the original documentary records further illustrated the unique riparian conditions in each stratum. Similarities and differences in historical riparian structure and composition at the stratum and ecoregion levels were evident based on the distributional pattern and numbers of records of attributes across strata. A high number of repeated observations within and among primary data sources helped to corroborate descriptive data. Although these reference data cannot provide the detail needed for rigorous quantitative assessments, they do describe a range of conditions approaching a minimally disturbed condition and provide an important perspective for conducting riparian assessments in highly disturbed regions where least-disturbed reference sites are often poor examples of a desired condition.

Learners as Historians: Making History Come Alive through Historical Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Pappas, Marjorie L.

2007-01-01

Historians explore historical accounts, memoirs, diaries, letters, newspaper articles, speeches, historical documents, relevant legislation, maps, ship manifests, genealogical records, official certificates, photographs, and paintings. In short, historians examine any official or unofficial document that might provide relevant information about…

76. German radiology congress. Book of abstracts and posters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

This issue presents the abstracts and posters of the 76th German radiology congress held from 24-27 May 1995. The session topics are the abdomen, general radiology and interventional radiology, the thorax, cardiovascular system, neck, head, mamma, muscles and skeleton, neuroradiology, pediatrics, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, computer applications, diagnostic techniques, physics, and radiobiology. Further information given includes videos, a multimedia forum, a historical poster session, and an author index. (VHE) [de

Historical droughts in northern Vietnam captured by variability in speleothem δ18O

Science.gov (United States)

Hardt, B. F.; McGee, D.; Burns, S. J.; Hieu, N.; Hieu, D. T.

2015-12-01

Speleothem records overlapping with the historical period offer valuable comparisons of documentary evidence with speleothem proxy data. These records provide opportunities to 'ground-truth' the paleo-record, fill in gaps in the historical record, and more confidently extent the paleo-record into deeper time. Here we present isotopic results from a stalagmite collected in northern Vietnam spanning 1200 to 1950 CE, a period with a rich historical record in Vietnam. This sample adds significantly to the relatively sparse paleoclimate record from Southeast Asia. The record includes several multi-decadal positive excursions of ≥1 per mille in calcite δ18O. A preliminary age model, based on six U/Th ages, suggests possible correspondence to noted droughts from the historical record, including the Angkor Droughts, the Ming Dynasty Drought, the Strange Parallels Drought, and the Victorian Holocaust Drought. As modeling studies indicate a strong correlation between rainfall δ18O and both the intensity of summer monsoon winds and summer rainfall over northern Vietnam (e.g., Liu et al., 2014), these excursions are consistent with a decrease in regional precipitation. The Vietnam record shows an overall negative trend during the Little Ice Age. The study site is located well south of the westerly wind belt, ruling out a shift between monsoonal and mid-latitude circulation systems as a likely explanation for the northern Vietnam record. We explore the correspondence between our record and other proxy data from Southeast Asia and suggest possible implications of the differences between Vietnamese and Chinese speleothem records during the Little Ice Age. References cited: Liu Z., Wen X., Brady E. C., Otto-Bliesner B., Yu G., Lu H., Cheng H., Wang Y., Zheng W., Ding Y., Edwards R. L., Cheng J., Liu W. and Yang H. (2014) Chinese cave records and the East Asia Summer Monsoon. Quaternary Science Reviews 83, 115-128.

Taxation records as a source of information for the study of historical floods in South Moravia, Czech Republic

Science.gov (United States)

Brázdil, R.; Chromá, K.; Řezníčková, L.; Valášek, H.; Dolák, L.; Stachoň, Z.; Soukalová, E.; Dobrovolný, P.

2014-07-01

Since the second half of the 17th century, tax relief has been available to farmers and landowners to offset flood damage to property (buildings) and land (fields, meadows, pastures, gardens) in South Moravia, Czech Republic. Historically, the written applications for this were supported by a relatively efficient bureaucratic process that left a clear data trail of documentation, preserved at several levels: in the communities affected, in regional offices, and in the Moravian Land Office, all of which are to be found in estate and family collections in the Moravian Land Archives in the city of Brno, the provincial capital. As well as detailed information about damage done and administrative responses to it, data is often preserved as to the flood event itself, the time of its occurrence and its impacts, sometimes together with causes and stages. The final flood database based on taxation records is used here to describe the temporal and spatial density of both flood events and the records themselves. The information derived is used to help create long-term flood chronologies for the Rivers Dyje, Jihlava, Svratka and Morava, combining floods interpreted from taxation records with other documentary data and floods derived from later systematic hydrological measurements (water levels, discharges). Common periods of higher flood frequency appear largely in 1821-1850 and 1921-1950, although this shifts to several other decades for individual rivers. Certain uncertainties are inseparable from flood data taxation records: their spatial and temporal incompleteness; the inevitable limitation to larger-scale damage and to the summer half-year; and the different characters of rivers, including land-use changes and channel modifications. Taxation data has great potential for extending our knowledge of past floods for the rest of the Czech Republic as well, not to mention other European countries in which records have survived.

A new radiation exposure record system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lyon, M.; Berndt, V.L.; Trevino, G.W.; Oakley, B.M.

1993-04-01

The Hanford Radiological Records Program (HRRP) serves all Hanford contractors as the single repository for radiological exposure for all Hanford employees, subcontractors, and visitors. The program administers and preserves all Hanford radiation exposure records. The program also maintains a Radiation Protection Historical File which is a historical file of Hanford radiation protection and dosimetry procedures and practices. Several years ago DOE declared the existing UNIVAC mainframe computer obsolete and the existing Occupational Radiation Exposure (ORE) system was slated to be redeveloped. The new system named the Radiological Exposure (REX) System is described in this document

The Influence of Art Expertise and Training on Emotion and Preference Ratings for Representational and Abstract Artworks.

Science.gov (United States)

van Paasschen, Jorien; Bacci, Francesca; Melcher, David P

2015-01-01

Across cultures and throughout recorded history, humans have produced visual art. This raises the question of why people report such an emotional response to artworks and find some works more beautiful or compelling than others. In the current study we investigated the interplay between art expertise, and emotional and preference judgments. Sixty participants (40 novices, 20 art experts) rated a set of 150 abstract artworks and portraits during two occasions: in a laboratory setting and in a museum. Before commencing their second session, half of the art novices received a brief training on stylistic and art historical aspects of abstract art and portraiture. Results showed that art experts rated the artworks higher than novices on aesthetic facets (beauty and wanting), but no group differences were observed on affective evaluations (valence and arousal). The training session made a small effect on ratings of preference compared to the non-trained group of novices. Overall, these findings are consistent with the idea that affective components of art appreciation are less driven by expertise and largely consistent across observers, while more cognitive aspects of aesthetic viewing depend on viewer characteristics such as art expertise.

The Influence of Art Expertise and Training on Emotion and Preference Ratings for Representational and Abstract Artworks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorien van Paasschen

Full Text Available Across cultures and throughout recorded history, humans have produced visual art. This raises the question of why people report such an emotional response to artworks and find some works more beautiful or compelling than others. In the current study we investigated the interplay between art expertise, and emotional and preference judgments. Sixty participants (40 novices, 20 art experts rated a set of 150 abstract artworks and portraits during two occasions: in a laboratory setting and in a museum. Before commencing their second session, half of the art novices received a brief training on stylistic and art historical aspects of abstract art and portraiture. Results showed that art experts rated the artworks higher than novices on aesthetic facets (beauty and wanting, but no group differences were observed on affective evaluations (valence and arousal. The training session made a small effect on ratings of preference compared to the non-trained group of novices. Overall, these findings are consistent with the idea that affective components of art appreciation are less driven by expertise and largely consistent across observers, while more cognitive aspects of aesthetic viewing depend on viewer characteristics such as art expertise.

Modeling Patient Treatment With Medical Records: An Abstraction Hierarchy to Understand User Competencies and Needs.

Science.gov (United States)

St-Maurice, Justin D; Burns, Catherine M

2017-07-28

Health care is a complex sociotechnical system. Patient treatment is evolving and needs to incorporate the use of technology and new patient-centered treatment paradigms. Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is an effective framework for understanding complex systems, and work domain analysis (WDA) is useful for understanding complex ecologies. Although previous applications of CWA have described patient treatment, due to their scope of work patients were previously characterized as biomedical machines, rather than patient actors involved in their own care. An abstraction hierarchy that characterizes patients as beings with complex social values and priorities is needed. This can help better understand treatment in a modern approach to care. The purpose of this study was to perform a WDA to represent the treatment of patients with medical records. The methods to develop this model included the analysis of written texts and collaboration with subject matter experts. Our WDA represents the ecology through its functional purposes, abstract functions, generalized functions, physical functions, and physical forms. Compared with other work domain models, this model is able to articulate the nuanced balance between medical treatment, patient education, and limited health care resources. Concepts in the analysis were similar to the modeling choices of other WDAs but combined them in as a comprehensive, systematic, and contextual overview. The model is helpful to understand user competencies and needs. Future models could be developed to model the patient's domain and enable the exploration of the shared decision-making (SDM) paradigm. Our work domain model links treatment goals, decision-making constraints, and task workflows. This model can be used by system developers who would like to use ecological interface design (EID) to improve systems. Our hierarchy is the first in a future set that could explore new treatment paradigms. Future hierarchies could model the patient as a

JEDDAH HISTORICAL BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING "JHBIM" OLD JEDDAH – SAUDI ARABIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Baik

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The historic city of Jeddah faces serious issues in the conservation, documentation and recording of its valuable building stock. Terrestrial Laser Scanning and Architectural Photogrammetry have already been used in many Heritage sites in the world. The integration of heritage recording and Building Information Modelling (BIM has been introduced as HBIM and is now a method to document and manage these buildings. In the last decade many traditional surveying methods were used to record the buildings in Old Jeddah. However, these methods take a long time, can sometimes provide unreliable information and often lack completeness. This paper will look at another approach for heritage recording by using the Jeddah Historical Building Information Modelling (JHBIM.

Historical Tsunami Records on Russian Island, the Sea of Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Razjigaeva, N. G.; Ganzey, L. A.; Grebennikova, T. A.; Arslanov, Kh. A.; Ivanova, E. D.; Ganzey, K. S.; Kharlamov, A. A.

2018-03-01

In this article, we provide data evidencing tsunamis on Russian Island over the last 700 years. Reconstructions are developed based on the analyses of peat bog sections on the coast of Spokoynaya Bay, including layers of tsunami sands. Ancient beach sands under peat were deposited during the final phase of transgression of the Medieval Warm Period. We used data on diatoms and benthic foraminifers to identify the marine origin of the sands. The grain size compositions of the tsunami deposits were used to determine the sources of material carried by the tsunamis. The chronology of historical tsunamis was determined based on the radiocarbon dating of the underlying organic deposits. There was a stated difference between the deposition environments during tsunamis and large storms during the Goni (2015) and Lionrock (2016) typhoons. Tsunami deposits from 1983 and 1993 were found in the upper part of the sections. The inundation of the 1993 tsunami did not exceed 20 m or a height of 0.5 m a.m.s.l. (0.3 above high tide). The more intensive tsunami of 1983 had a run-up of 0.65 m a.m.s.l. and penetrated inland from the shoreline up to 40 m. Sand layer of tsunami 1940 extend in land up to 50 m from the present shoreline. Evidence of six tsunamis was elicited from the peat bog sections, the deposits of which are located 60 m from the modern coastal line. The deposits of strong historic tsunamis in the Japan Sea region in 1833, 1741, 1614 (or 1644), 1448, the XIV-XV century and 1341 were also identified on Russian Island. Their run-ups and inundation distances were also determined. The strong historic tsunamis appeared to be more intensive than those of the XX century, and considering the sea level drop during the Little Ice Age, the inundation distances were as large as 250 m.

Historical Tsunami Records on Russian Island, the Sea of Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Razjigaeva, N. G.; Ganzey, L. A.; Grebennikova, T. A.; Arslanov, Kh. A.; Ivanova, E. D.; Ganzey, K. S.; Kharlamov, A. A.

2018-04-01

In this article, we provide data evidencing tsunamis on Russian Island over the last 700 years. Reconstructions are developed based on the analyses of peat bog sections on the coast of Spokoynaya Bay, including layers of tsunami sands. Ancient beach sands under peat were deposited during the final phase of transgression of the Medieval Warm Period. We used data on diatoms and benthic foraminifers to identify the marine origin of the sands. The grain size compositions of the tsunami deposits were used to determine the sources of material carried by the tsunamis. The chronology of historical tsunamis was determined based on the radiocarbon dating of the underlying organic deposits. There was a stated difference between the deposition environments during tsunamis and large storms during the Goni (2015) and Lionrock (2016) typhoons. Tsunami deposits from 1983 and 1993 were found in the upper part of the sections. The inundation of the 1993 tsunami did not exceed 20 m or a height of 0.5 m a.m.s.l. (0.3 above high tide). The more intensive tsunami of 1983 had a run-up of 0.65 m a.m.s.l. and penetrated inland from the shoreline up to 40 m. Sand layer of tsunami 1940 extend in land up to 50 m from the present shoreline. Evidence of six tsunamis was elicited from the peat bog sections, the deposits of which are located 60 m from the modern coastal line. The deposits of strong historic tsunamis in the Japan Sea region in 1833, 1741, 1614 (or 1644), 1448, the XIV-XV century and 1341 were also identified on Russian Island. Their run-ups and inundation distances were also determined. The strong historic tsunamis appeared to be more intensive than those of the XX century, and considering the sea level drop during the Little Ice Age, the inundation distances were as large as 250 m.

Mathematical Abstraction: Constructing Concept of Parallel Coordinates

Science.gov (United States)

Nurhasanah, F.; Kusumah, Y. S.; Sabandar, J.; Suryadi, D.

2017-09-01

Mathematical abstraction is an important process in teaching and learning mathematics so pre-service mathematics teachers need to understand and experience this process. One of the theoretical-methodological frameworks for studying this process is Abstraction in Context (AiC). Based on this framework, abstraction process comprises of observable epistemic actions, Recognition, Building-With, Construction, and Consolidation called as RBC + C model. This study investigates and analyzes how pre-service mathematics teachers constructed and consolidated concept of Parallel Coordinates in a group discussion. It uses AiC framework for analyzing mathematical abstraction of a group of pre-service teachers consisted of four students in learning Parallel Coordinates concepts. The data were collected through video recording, students’ worksheet, test, and field notes. The result shows that the students’ prior knowledge related to concept of the Cartesian coordinate has significant role in the process of constructing Parallel Coordinates concept as a new knowledge. The consolidation process is influenced by the social interaction between group members. The abstraction process taken place in this group were dominated by empirical abstraction that emphasizes on the aspect of identifying characteristic of manipulated or imagined object during the process of recognizing and building-with.

Lead isotope ratios in six lake sediment cores from Japan Archipelago: Historical record of trans-boundary pollution sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosono, Takahiro; Alvarez, Kelly; Kuwae, Michinobu

2016-01-01

Sediment cores from six lakes situated from north to south on the Japanese Archipelago were collected during 2009–2010 to investigate the hypothesis that deposition of lead (Pb) was coming from East Asia (including China, South Korea and eastern part of Russia). Accumulation rates and ages of the lake sediment were estimated by the "2"1"0Pb constant rate of supply model and "1"3"7Cs inputs to reconstruct the historical trends of Pb accumulation. Cores from four lakes located in the north and central Japan, showed clear evidence of Pb pollution with a change in the "2"0"6Pb/"2"0"7Pb and "2"0"8Pb/"2"0"7Pb ratios in the recent sediment as compared to the deeper sediment. Among the six studied lakes, significant inputs of anthropogenic lead emissions were observed at Lake Mikazuki (north Hokkaido in north Japan), Lake Chokai (north of Honshu), and Lake Mikuriga (central part of Honshu). Pb isotopic comparison of collected core sediment and previously reported data for wet precipitation and aerosols from different Asian regions indicate that, before 1900, Pb accumulated in these three lakes was not affected by trans-boundary sources. Lake Mikazuki started to receive Pb emissions from Russia in early 1900s, and during the last two decades, this lake has been affected by trans-boundary Pb pollution from northern China. Lake Chokai has received Pb pollutant from northern China since early 1900s until 2009, whereas for the Lake Mikuriga the major Pb contaminant was transported from southern China during the past 100 years. The results of our study demonstrate that Japan Archipelago has received trans-boundary Pb emissions from different parts of East Asian region depending on location, and the major source region has changed historically. - Highlights: • Historical trend of Pb pollution was recorded in six Japanese Lakes. • Pb concentration and Pb isotope ratios were determined for sediment cores. • High [Pb] and less radiogenic Pb isotope ratios were observed since

Lead isotope ratios in six lake sediment cores from Japan Archipelago: Historical record of trans-boundary pollution sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hosono, Takahiro, E-mail: hosono@kumamoto-u.ac.jp [Priority Organization for Innovation and Excellence, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan); Alvarez, Kelly [Priority Organization for Innovation and Excellence, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan); Kuwae, Michinobu [Senior Research Fellow Center, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama 790-8577 (Japan)

2016-07-15

Sediment cores from six lakes situated from north to south on the Japanese Archipelago were collected during 2009–2010 to investigate the hypothesis that deposition of lead (Pb) was coming from East Asia (including China, South Korea and eastern part of Russia). Accumulation rates and ages of the lake sediment were estimated by the {sup 210}Pb constant rate of supply model and {sup 137}Cs inputs to reconstruct the historical trends of Pb accumulation. Cores from four lakes located in the north and central Japan, showed clear evidence of Pb pollution with a change in the {sup 206}Pb/{sup 207}Pb and {sup 208}Pb/{sup 207}Pb ratios in the recent sediment as compared to the deeper sediment. Among the six studied lakes, significant inputs of anthropogenic lead emissions were observed at Lake Mikazuki (north Hokkaido in north Japan), Lake Chokai (north of Honshu), and Lake Mikuriga (central part of Honshu). Pb isotopic comparison of collected core sediment and previously reported data for wet precipitation and aerosols from different Asian regions indicate that, before 1900, Pb accumulated in these three lakes was not affected by trans-boundary sources. Lake Mikazuki started to receive Pb emissions from Russia in early 1900s, and during the last two decades, this lake has been affected by trans-boundary Pb pollution from northern China. Lake Chokai has received Pb pollutant from northern China since early 1900s until 2009, whereas for the Lake Mikuriga the major Pb contaminant was transported from southern China during the past 100 years. The results of our study demonstrate that Japan Archipelago has received trans-boundary Pb emissions from different parts of East Asian region depending on location, and the major source region has changed historically. - Highlights: • Historical trend of Pb pollution was recorded in six Japanese Lakes. • Pb concentration and Pb isotope ratios were determined for sediment cores. • High [Pb] and less radiogenic Pb isotope ratios

Using Historical Simulations to Teach Political Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Gorton, William; Havercroft, Jonathan

2012-01-01

As teachers of political theory, our goal is not merely to help students understand the abstract reasoning behind key ideas and texts of our discipline. We also wish to convey the historical contexts that informed these ideas and texts, including the political aims of their authors. But the traditional lecture-and-discussion approach tends to…

Overcoming restoration paradigms: value of the historical record and metapopulation dynamics in native oyster restoration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romuald N. Lipcius

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Restoration strategies for native oyster populations rely on multiple sources of information, which often conflict due to time- and space-varying patterns in abundance and distribution. For instance, strategies based on population connectivity and disease resistance can differ, and extant and historical records of abundance and distribution are often at odds, such that the optimal strategy is unclear and valuable restoration sites may be excluded from consideration. This was the case for the Lynnhaven River subestuary of lower Chesapeake Bay, which was deemed unsuitable for Eastern Oyster restoration based on physical conditions, disease challenge, and extant oyster abundance. Consequently, we (i evaluated previously unknown historical data from the 1800s, (ii quantified extant oyster recruitment and abundance, physical conditions, and disease presence on constructed restoration reefs and alternative substrates, and (iii assessed simulations from biophysical models to identify potential restoration sites in the metapopulation. The collective data distinguished numerous restoration sites (i in the polyhaline zone (salinity 18.4-22.2 where disease resistance is evolving, (ii where oysters were abundant in the late 1800s-early 1900s, (iii of recent high recruitment, abundance and survival, despite consistent and elevated disease challenge, and (iv interconnected as a metapopulation via larval dispersal. Moreover, a network of constructed restoration reefs met size structure, abundance and biomass standards of restoration success. These findings demonstrate that assumptions about the suitability of sites for oyster restoration based on individual processes can be severely flawed, and that in-depth examination of multiple processes and sources of information are required for oyster reef restoration plans to maximize success. We use these findings and previous information to recommend a strategy for successful restoration of subtidal oyster reefs

Modern Time as Historical Artifact

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nye, David Edwin

2015-01-01

Explores different aspects of how Americans have understood and used time since the late eighteenth century through the historical transition that has led to the present 24/7 world, where time-keeping is built into a myriad of devices that record and to some degree direct our actions....

My Work in the NASA Glenn History Office and Records Management Office

Science.gov (United States)

Mate, Robert C.

2004-01-01

This is my fourth summer working with my mentor, Kevin P. Coleman, who is the Center History Coordinator, Center Records Manager, and Center Forms Manager. I am working in the GRC History Office with some overlap in the Records Management Office. I have three major projects this summer. First, I am assisting in the documentation of historic facilities. Second, I am involved in a project to organize files and create an archives at Plum Brook Station. Third, I have helped the records management office with its inventory of stored records at Plum Brook. Also, I received an award this summer for research work I had done for NASA in the past. First, my primary project is to help assemble documentation for historic facilities at Glenn. This is somewhat of an extension of my project from last summer. Last summer, I worked to compile a complete list of all of NASA s historic sites and landmarks (as designated by the National Park Service, as well as several private organizations) throughout the country. Then, I briefly researched the significance of historic designation under federal law. Finally, I put my findings into a report which was submitted to NASA Headquarters. Upon review by the NASA History Office and several center-level history officials, it was decided that NASA should work to update its documentation of its historic sites and landmarks since some of the documentation was outdated or unavailable. Until recently, many project managers and facility managers working at historic facilities were not even aware that their surroundings had been designated as historic under federal law (most specifically, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and its amendments). Therefore, they were unaware of the legal obligations for historic preservation. This summer, my project is to research some of Glenn s historic sites and landmarks in more detail. The goal is to put together a template for documenting historic NASA facilities. The hope is that this template of

FEH Local: Improving flood estimates using historical data

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Prosdocimi Ilaria

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The traditional approach to design flood estimation (for example, to derive the 100-year flood is to apply a statistical model to time series of peak river flow measured by gauging stations. Such records are typically not very long, for example in the UK only about 10% of the stations have records that are more than 50 years in length. Along-explored way to augment the data available from a gauging station is to derive information about historical flood events and paleo-floods, which can be obtained from careful exploration of archives, old newspapers, flood marks or other signs of past flooding that are still discernible in the catchment, and the history of settlements. The inclusion of historical data in flood frequency estimation has been shown to substantially reduce the uncertainty around the estimated design events and is likely to provide insight into the rarest events which might have pre-dated the relatively short systematic records. Among other things, the FEH Local project funded by the Environment Agency aims to develop methods to easily incorporate historical information into the standard method of statistical flood frequency estimation in the UK. Different statistical estimation procedures are explored, namely maximum likelihood and partial probability weighted moments, and the strengths and weaknesses of each method are investigated. The project assesses the usefulness of historical data and aims to provide practitioners with useful guidelines to indicate in what circumstances the inclusion of historical data is likely to be beneficial in terms of reducing both the bias and the variability of the estimated flood frequency curves. The guidelines are based on the results of a large Monte Carlo simulation study, in which different estimation procedures and different data availability scenarios are studied. The study provides some indication of the situations under which different estimation procedures might give a better performance.

Use of historical information in extreme storm surges frequency analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hamdi, Yasser; Duluc, Claire-Marie; Deville, Yves; Bardet, Lise; Rebour, Vincent

2013-04-01

The prevention of storm surge flood risks is critical for protection and design of coastal facilities to very low probabilities of failure. The effective protection requires the use of a statistical analysis approach having a solid theoretical motivation. Relating extreme storm surges to their frequency of occurrence using probability distributions has been a common issue since 1950s. The engineer needs to determine the storm surge of a given return period, i.e., the storm surge quantile or design storm surge. Traditional methods for determining such a quantile have been generally based on data from the systematic record alone. However, the statistical extrapolation, to estimate storm surges corresponding to high return periods, is seriously contaminated by sampling and model uncertainty if data are available for a relatively limited period. This has motivated the development of approaches to enlarge the sample extreme values beyond the systematic period. The nonsystematic data occurred before the systematic period is called historical information. During the last three decades, the value of using historical information as a nonsystematic data in frequency analysis has been recognized by several authors. The basic hypothesis in statistical modeling of historical information is that a perception threshold exists and that during a giving historical period preceding the period of tide gauging, all exceedances of this threshold have been recorded. Historical information prior to the systematic records may arise from high-sea water marks left by extreme surges on the coastal areas. It can also be retrieved from archives, old books, earliest newspapers, damage reports, unpublished written records and interviews with local residents. A plotting position formula, to compute empirical probabilities based on systematic and historical data, is used in this communication paper. The objective of the present work is to examine the potential gain in estimation accuracy with the

BIM applied in historical building documentation and refurbishing

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, H.-M.; Yang, W.-B.; Yen, Y.-N.

2015-08-01

Historical building conservation raises two important issues which are documentation and refurbishing. For the recording and documentation, we already have developed 3d laser scanner and such photogrammetry technology those represent a freeze object of virtual reality by digital documentation. On the other hand, the refurbished engineering of historic building is a challenge for conservation heritage which are not only reconstructing the damage part but also restoring tangible cultural heritage. 3D digital cultural heritage models has become a topic of great interest in recent years. One reason for this is the more widespread use of laser scanning and photogrammetry for recording cultural heritage sites. These technologies have made it possible to efficiently and accurately record complex structures remotely that would not have been possible with previous survey methods. In addition to these developments, digital information systems are evolving for the presentation, analysis and archival of heritage documentation.

Historical abundance and morphology of Didymosphenia species in Naknek Lake, Alaska

OpenAIRE

Pite, Danielle P.; Lane, Kelly A.; Hermann, Anna K.; Spaulding, Sarah A.; Finney, Bruce P.

2009-01-01

Since the 1980s, nuisance blooms of Didymosphenia geminata (Lyngbye) M. Schmidt have been documented in sites that are warmer and more mesotrophic than historical records indicate. While the invasion of D. geminata in New Zealand is well documented, it is less clear whether nuisance blooms in North America are a new phenomenon. In order to test the hypothesis that D. geminata blooms have increased in recent years, we examined the historical record of this species in sediments of Naknek Lake, ...

Development of a Historical Hydrological online research and application platform for Switzerland - Historical Hydrological Atlas of Switzerland (HHAS)

Science.gov (United States)

Wetter, Oliver

2017-04-01

It is planned to develop and maintain a historical hydrological online platform for Switzerland, which shall be specially designed for the needs of research and federal, cantonal or private institutions being interested in hydrological risk assessment and protection measures. The aim is on the one hand to facilitate the access to raw data which generally is needed for further historical hydrological reconstruction and quantification, so that future research will be achieved in significantly shorter time. On the other hand, new historical hydrological research results shall be continuously included in order to establish this platform as a useful tool for the assessment of hydrological risk by including the long term experience of reconstructed pre-instrumental hydrological extreme events like floods and droughts. Meteorological parameters that may trigger extreme hydrological events, like monthly or seasonally resolved reconstructions of temperature and precipitation shall be made accessible in this platform as well. The ultimate goal will be to homogenise the reconstructed hydrological extreme events which usually appeared in the pre anthropogenic influence period under different climatological as well as different hydrological regimes and topographical conditions with the present day state. Long term changes of reconstructed small- to extreme flood seasonality, based on municipal accounting records, will be included in the platform as well. This helps - in combination with the before mentioned meteorological parameters - to provide an increased understanding of the major changes in the generally complex overall system that finally causes hydrological extreme events. The goal of my presentation at the Historical Climatology session is to give an overview about the applied historical climatological and historical hydrological methodologies that are applied on the historical raw data (evidence) to reconstruct pre instrumental hydrological events and meteorological

Research, records and responsibility ten years of PARADISEC

CERN Document Server

Harris, Amanda

2015-01-01

Research, records and responsibility' explores developments in collaborative archiving practice between archives and the communities they serve and represent, incorporating case studies of historical recordings, visual data and material culture.

Novel characterization of landscape-level variability in historical vegetation structure

Science.gov (United States)

Brandon M. Collins; Jamie M. Lydersen; Richard G. Everett; Danny L. Fry; Scott L. Stephens

2015-01-01

We analyzed historical timber inventory data collected systematically across a large mixed-conifer-dominated landscape to gain insight into the interaction between disturbances and vegetation structure and composition prior to 20th century land management practices. Using records from over 20 000 trees, we quantified historical vegetation structure and composition for...

302 Historical Background, Development and Standard of Public ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

Abstract. It has been observed that public libraries in Nigeria have not developed as expected. Instead of moving forward, they are still very backward in terms of development. This paper examines the historical background development and standard of public libraries services in Nigeria. It looks at the roles and the sources ...

Simultaneous auroral observations described in the historical records of China, Japan and Korea from ancient times to AD 1700

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. M. Willis

Full Text Available Early auroral observations recorded in various oriental histories are examined in order to search for examples of strictly simultaneous and indisputably independent observations of the aurora borealis from spatially separated sites in East Asia. In the period up to ad 1700, only five examples have been found of two or more oriental auroral observations from separate sites on the same night. These occurred during the nights of ad 1101 January 31, ad 1138 October 6, ad 1363 July 30, ad 1582 March 8 and ad 1653 March 2. The independent historical evidence describing observations of mid-latitude auroral displays at more than one site in East Asia on the same night provides virtually incontrovertible proof that auroral displays actually occurred on these five special occasions. This conclusion is corroborated by the good level of agreement between the detailed auroral descriptions recorded in the different oriental histories, which furnish essentially compatible information on both the colour (or colours of each auroral display and its approximate position in the sky. In addition, the occurrence of auroral displays in Europe within two days of auroral displays in East Asia, on two (possibly three out of these five special occasions, suggests that a substantial number of the mid-latitude auroral displays recorded in the oriental histories are associated with intense geomagnetic storms.

Key words. Magnetospheric physics (auroral phenomena; storms and substorms

The Art and Science of Acoustic Recording: Re-enacting Arthur Nikisch and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra’s landmark 1913 recording of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr Aleks Kolkowski

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The Art and Science of Acoustic Recording was a collaborative project between the Royal College of Music and the Science Museum that saw an historic orchestral recording from 1913 re-enacted by musicians, researchers and sound engineers at the Royal College of Music (RCM in 2014. The original recording was an early attempt to capture the sound of a large orchestra without re-scoring or substituting instruments and represents a step towards phonographic realism. Using replicated recording technology, media and techniques of the period, the re-enactment recorded two movements of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on to wax discs – the first orchestral acoustic recordings made since 1925. The aims were primarily to investigate the processes and practices of acoustic sound recording, developed largely through tacit knowledge, and to derive insights into the musicians’ experience of recording acoustically. Furthermore, the project sought to discover what the acoustic recordings of the past do – and don't – communicate to listeners today. Archival sources, historic apparatus and early photographic evidence served as groundwork for the re-enactment and guided its methodology, while the construction of replicas, wax manufacture and sound engineering were carried out by an expert in the field of acoustic recording. The wax recordings were digitised and some processed to produce disc copies playable on gramophone, thus replicating the entire course of recording, processing, duplication and reproduction. It is suggested that the project has contributed to a deeper understanding of early recordings and has provided a basis for further reconstructions of historical recording sessions.

Introduction to thematic collection “Historical and geological studies of earthquakes”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenji Satake

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract This thematic collection contains eight papers mostly presented at the 2016 AOGS meeting in Beijing. Four papers describe historical earthquake studies in Europe, Japan, and China; one paper uses modern instrumental data to examine the effect of giant earthquakes on the seismicity rate; and three papers describe paleoseismological studies using tsunami deposit in Japan, marine terraces in Philippines, and active faults in Himalayas. Hammerl (Geosci Lett 4:7, 2017 introduced historical seismological studies in Austria, starting from methodology which is state of the art in most European countries, followed by a case study for an earthquake of July 17, 1670 in Tyrol. Albini and Rovida (Geosci Lett 3:30, 2016 examined 114 historical records for the earthquake on April 6, 1667 on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea, compiled 37 Macroseismic Data Points, and estimated the epicenter and the size of the earthquake. Matsu’ura (Geosci Lett 4:3, 2017 summarized historical earthquake studies in Japan which resulted in about 8700 Intensity Data Points, assigned epicenters for 214 earthquakes between AD 599 and 1872, and estimated focal depth and magnitudes for 134 events. Wang et al. (Geosci Lett 4:4, 2017 introduced historical seismology in China, where historical earthquake archives include about 15,000 sources, and parametric catalogs include about 1000 historical earthquakes between 2300 BC and AD 1911. Ishibe et al. (Geosci Lett 4:5, 2017 tested the Coulomb stress triggering hypothesis for three giant (M~9 earthquakes that occurred in recent years, and found that at least the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman and 2011 Tohoku earthquakes caused the seismicity rate change. Ishimura (2017 re-estimated the ages of 11 tsunami deposits in the last 4000 years along the Sanriku coast of northern Japan and found that the average recurrence interval of those tsunamis as 350–390 years. Ramos et al. (2017 studied ~ 1000-year-old marine terraces on the west

The historical and recent distribution and status of mammals in Portugal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margarida Santos-Reis

1996-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Historical and recent data on Portuguese mammals are presented in this paper, occurring on the mainland and/or in the Azores and Madeira Atlantic islands. Nowadays, 95 species of mammals are known in Portugal, of which only one (Nyctalus azoreum is an endemic species and three others (Pipistrellus maderensis, Microtus cabrerae and Lynx pardina are exclusive for Portugal and Spain. Moreover, two other species, Mustela vison and Sciurus vulgaris are recent records for the Portuguese fauna, the first due to an accidental introduction and the second resulting from a recolonization by Spanish populations. Of the remaining species, around 50% (46 species are threatened in different degrees, 34.8% (16 species being considered endangered or vulnerable. Mammals extinct in Portugal are the Gerês goat (Capra pyrenaica lusitanica and the bear (Ursus arctos.

Enhancements to the NASA Astrophysics Science Information and Abstract Service

Science.gov (United States)

Kurtz, M. J.; Eichhorn, G.; Accomazzi, A.; Grant, C. S.; Murray, S. S.

1995-05-01

The NASA Astrophysics Data System Astrophysics Science Information and Abstract Service, the extension of the ADS Abstract Service continues rapidly to expand in both use and capabilities. Each month the service is used by about 4,000 different people, and returns about 1,000,000 pieces of bibliographic information. Among the recent additions to the system are: 1. Whole Text Access. In addition to the ApJ Letters we now have whole text for the ApJ on-line, soon we will have AJ and Rev. Mexicana. Discussions with other publishers are in progress. 2. Space Instrumentation Database. We now provide a second abstract service, covering papers related to space instruments. This is larger than the astronomy and astrophysics database in terms of total abstracts. 3. Reference Books and Historical Journals. We have begun putting the SAO Annals and the HCO Annals on-line. We have put the Handbook of Space Astronomy and Astrophysics by M.V. Zombeck (Cambridge U.P.) on-line. 4. Author Abstracts. We can now include original abstracts in addition to those we get from the NASA STI Abstracts Database. We have included abstracts for A&A in collaboration with the CDS in Strasbourg, and are collaborating with the AAS and the ASP on others. We invite publishers and editors of journals and conference proceedings to include their original abstracts in our service; send inquiries via e-mail to ads@cfa.harvard.edu. 5. Author Notes. We now accept notes and comments from authors of articles in our database. These are arbitrary html files and may contain pointers to other WWW documents, they are listed along with the abstracts, whole text, and data available in the index listing for every reference. The ASIAS is available at: http://adswww.harvard.edu/

From Abstract Art to Abstracted Artists

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romi Mikulinsky

2016-11-01

Full Text Available What lineage connects early abstract films and machine-generated YouTube videos? Hans Richter’s famous piece Rhythmus 21 is considered to be the first abstract film in the experimental tradition. The Webdriver Torso YouTube channel is composed of hundreds of thousands of machine-generated test patterns designed to check frequency signals on YouTube. This article discusses geometric abstraction vis-à-vis new vision, conceptual art and algorithmic art. It argues that the Webdriver Torso is an artistic marvel indicative of a form we call mathematical abstraction, which is art performed by computers and, quite possibly, for computers.

Historical Analyses of Disordered Handwriting

Science.gov (United States)

Schiegg, Markus; Thorpe, Deborah

2016-01-01

Handwritten texts carry significant information, extending beyond the meaning of their words. Modern neurology, for example, benefits from the interpretation of the graphic features of writing and drawing for the diagnosis and monitoring of diseases and disorders. This article examines how handwriting analysis can be used, and has been used historically, as a methodological tool for the assessment of medical conditions and how this enhances our understanding of historical contexts of writing. We analyze handwritten material, writing tests and letters, from patients in an early 20th-century psychiatric hospital in southern Germany (Irsee/Kaufbeuren). In this institution, early psychiatrists assessed handwriting features, providing us novel insights into the earliest practices of psychiatric handwriting analysis, which can be connected to Berkenkotter’s research on medical admission records. We finally consider the degree to which historical handwriting bears semiotic potential to explain the psychological state and personality of a writer, and how future research in written communication should approach these sources. PMID:28408774

National Energy Software Center: compilation of program abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, J.M.; Butler, M.K.; De Bruler, M.M.

1979-05-01

This is the third complete revision of program abstracts undertaken by the Center. Programs of the IBM 7040, 7090, and CDC 3600 vintage have been removed. Historical data and information on abstract format, program package contents, and subject classification are given. The following subject areas are included in the library: cross section and resonance integral calculations; spectrum calculations, generation of group constants, lattice and cell problems; static design studies; depletion, fuel management, cost analysis, and power plant economics; space-independent kinetics; space--time kinetics, coupled neutronics--hydrodynamics--thermodynamics and excursion simulations; radiological safety, hazard and accident analysis; heat transfer and fluid flow; deformation and stress distribution computations, structural analysis and engineering design studies; gamma heating and shield design; reactor systems analysis; data preparation; data management; subsidiary calculations; experimental data processing; general mathematical and computing system routines; materials; environmental and earth sciences; electronics, engineering equipment, and energy systems studies; chemistry; particle accelerators and high-voltage machines; physics; magnetic fusion research; data. (RWR)

National Energy Software Center: compilation of program abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, J.M.; Butler, M.K.; De Bruler, M.M.

1979-05-01

This is the third complete revision of program abstracts undertaken by the Center. Programs of the IBM 7040, 7090, and CDC 3600 vintage have been removed. Historical data and information on abstract format, program package contents, and subject classification are given. The following subject areas are included in the library: cross section and resonance integral calculations; spectrum calculations, generation of group constants, lattice and cell problems; static design studies; depletion, fuel management, cost analysis, and power plant economics; space-independent kinetics; space--time kinetics, coupled neutronics--hydrodynamics--thermodynamics and excursion simulations; radiological safety, hazard and accident analysis; heat transfer and fluid flow; deformation and stress distribution computations, structural analysis and engineering design studies; gamma heating and shield design; reactor systems analysis; data preparation; data management; subsidiary calculations; experimental data processing; general mathematical and computing system routines; materials; environmental and earth sciences; electronics, engineering equipment, and energy systems studies; chemistry; particle accelerators and high-voltage machines; physics; magnetic fusion research; data

Christoph Hein's Horns Ende. Historical Revisionism: A Process of Renewal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heinz Bulmahn

1991-06-01

Full Text Available In light of recent developments, the historical record of the German Democratic Republic will be closely reexamined as the two Germanies merge into one country. Christoph Hein's novel Horns Ende undoubtedly will play a role in the debate about the GDR past, because it is a clear repudiation of official historical mythmaking. The novel examines in detail the political and social fiber of a small town in the GDR during the fifties. Horn returns to the town some thirty years after his death, and entices the townspeople to recount their lives during the early years of the socialist republic. These recollections initiate a dialogue between author, reader and the townspeople. The outcome of these exchanges is a skillful dissection of the effects of Stalinism on ordinary citizens, and it revises perceptions of a period in GDR history that officially had been touted as politically and socially harmonious. Hein challenges the reader to reconstruct a historical record that more closely reflects the experiences of ordinary people, and in doing so he exposes past official historical mythmaking. He is convinced that a society's survival is dependent upon the accuracy of its history; historical revision therefore must not be left to those in power.

Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Testing of Manned Spacecraft: Historical Precedent

Science.gov (United States)

Lemke, Paul R.; Tuma, Margaret L.; Askins, Bruce R.

2008-01-01

For the first time in nearly 30 years, NASA is developing a new manned space flight launch system. The Ares I will carry crew and cargo to not only the International Space Station, but onward for the future exploration of the Moon and Mars. The Ares I control system and structural designs use complex computer models for their development. An Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Test (IVGVT) will validate the efficacy of these computer models. The IVGVT will reduce the technical risk of unexpected conditions that could place the vehicle or crew in jeopardy. The Ares Project Office's Flight and Integrated Test Office commissioned a study to determine how historical programs, such as Saturn and Space Shuttle, validated the structural dynamics of an integrated flight vehicle. The study methodology was to examine the historical record and seek out members of the engineering community who recall the development of historic manned launch vehicles. These records and interviews provided insight into the best practices and lessons learned from these historic development programs. The information that was gathered allowed the creation of timelines of the historic development programs. The timelines trace the programs from the development of test articles through test preparation, test operations, and test data reduction efforts. These timelines also demonstrate how the historical tests fit within their overall vehicle development programs. Finally, the study was able to quantify approximate staffing levels during historic development programs. Using this study, the Flight and Integrated Test Office was able to evaluate the Ares I Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Test schedule and workforce budgets in light of the historical precedents to determine if the test had schedule or cost risks associated with it.

Performer rights and responsibilities in historical performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irving John

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In April 2014, fortepianist and Mozart specialist John Irving recorded a CD of solo keyboard sonatas by Joseph Haydn, using a modern copy of a Viennese fortepiano of Haydn’s era. This is an account of the project written from the performer’s perspective, examining some relevant issues of historical performance practice, organology, and detailed reflections upon the performer’s preparations (of various musical and technical kinds for the recording.

Chronology and Ideology. Temporal Structuring in Israeli Historical Documentary Series

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Garami, Bosmat

2013-01-01

abstractThis paper examines two major Israeli historic-documentary television series, Pillar of Fire (POF), product of the 1970's, and Revival (RL), product of the 1990's.The series deal with the Zionist enterprise and its realization. The research applies Gerard Genette's central narratological

The neighborhood food environment: sources of historical data on retail food stores

OpenAIRE

Gonzalez Alma A; Wang May C; Ritchie Lorrene D; Winkleby Marilyn A

2006-01-01

Abstract With the rapidly increasing prevalence of obesity in the United States, and the minimal success of education-based interventions, there is growing interest in understanding the role of the neighborhood food environment in determining dietary behavior. This study, as part of a larger study, identifies historical data on retail food stores, evaluates strengths and limitations of the data for research, and assesses the comparability of historical retail food store data from a government...

Sequential planning of flood protection infrastructure under limited historic flood record and climate change uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Dittes, Beatrice; Špačková, Olga; Straub, Daniel

2017-04-01

Flood protection is often designed to safeguard people and property following regulations and standards, which specify a target design flood protection level, such as the 100-year flood level prescribed in Germany (DWA, 2011). In practice, the magnitude of such an event is only known within a range of uncertainty, which is caused by limited historic records and uncertain climate change impacts, among other factors (Hall & Solomatine, 2008). As more observations and improved climate projections become available in the future, the design flood estimate changes and the capacity of the flood protection may be deemed insufficient at a future point in time. This problem can be mitigated by the implementation of flexible flood protection systems (that can easily be adjusted in the future) and/or by adding an additional reserve to the flood protection, i.e. by applying a safety factor to the design. But how high should such a safety factor be? And how much should the decision maker be willing to pay to make the system flexible, i.e. what is the Value of Flexibility (Špačková & Straub, 2017)? We propose a decision model that identifies cost-optimal decisions on flood protection capacity in the face of uncertainty (Dittes et al. 2017). It considers sequential adjustments of the protection system during its lifetime, taking into account its flexibility. The proposed framework is based on pre-posterior Bayesian decision analysis, using Decision Trees and Markov Decision Processes, and is fully quantitative. It can include a wide range of uncertainty components such as uncertainty associated with limited historic record or uncertain climate or socio-economic change. It is shown that since flexible systems are less costly to adjust when flood estimates are changing, they justify initially lower safety factors. Investigation on the Value of Flexibility (VoF) demonstrates that VoF depends on the type and degree of uncertainty, on the learning effect (i.e. kind and quality of

Knee disarticulation : Survival, wound healing and ambulation. A historic cohort study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ten Duis, K.; Bosmans, J. C.; Voesten, H. G. J.; Geertzen, J. H. B.; Dijkstra, P. U.

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to analyze survival, wound healing and ambulation after knee disarticulation (KD). A historic cohort study using medical records and nursing home records was performed. Data included demographics, reason for amputation, concomitant diseases, survival, wound healing,

The studies of historical seismicity in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levret, A.

1987-11-01

Since 1975 in order to be in conformity with the requirements of the French nuclear program, a review of historical seismicity was undertaken in France. The method adopted for reviewing historical earthquakes who entails a systematic consultation of the original sources and their critical analysis in order to obtain a new interpretation, led to compile a computer file covering a period of time of about a millenary. The abundant contributions result of continuous researches involve annualy up-date of the file where macroseismic data each one assigned with a degree of reliability are recorded [fr

Historical trends and current state of heating and cooling degree days in Italy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Rosa, Mattia; Bianco, Vincenzo; Scarpa, Federico; Tagliafico, Luca A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A comparison among methods for calculating heating degree-days (HDD) is provided. • ASHRAE method is used for analyze the historical trends of HDD and CDD in Italy. • The HDD historical profile for Rome is decomposed in its characterizing components. - Abstract: Degree days (DD) represent a versatile climatic indicator which is commonly used in the analysis of building energy performance, as e.g. (i) to perform energetic assessment of existent and new buildings, (ii) to analyze the territory energy consumption, (iii) to develop scenario analyses in terms of energy consumption forecasting, and so on. Different methods can be used for determining the DD values, depending on the available climatic data of each location. In the present paper, the simplified methods based on reduced climatic data set have been compared assuming the mean daily degree-hours method (MDDH) as reference. Hourly temperature profiles recorded by the meteorological station located at the University of Genoa have been used for these analyses. In the second part of the present work, the ASHRAE method has been selected to calculate heating (HDD) and cooling (CDD) degree days for several Italian cities. In particular, daily meteorological data of several Italian cities (covering the whole climatic conditions which occur in Italy) have been used to calculate heating and cooling degree days in the period 1978–2013, in order to analyze their trends in the last years. Finally, the historical profiles of Rome and Milan have been treated as time-series and analyzed in the frequency domain, performing a decomposition of the original data set into different characterizing components. This simplified approach permits to deeply analyze the historical profile of DD and represents a simple starting point method for future analyses with forecasting perspectives

Knowledge retrieval from PubMed abstracts and electronic medical records with the Multiple Sclerosis Ontology.

Science.gov (United States)

Malhotra, Ashutosh; Gündel, Michaela; Rajput, Abdul Mateen; Mevissen, Heinz-Theodor; Saiz, Albert; Pastor, Xavier; Lozano-Rubi, Raimundo; Martinez-Lapiscina, Elena H; Martinez-Lapsicina, Elena H; Zubizarreta, Irati; Mueller, Bernd; Kotelnikova, Ekaterina; Toldo, Luca; Hofmann-Apitius, Martin; Villoslada, Pablo

2015-01-01

In order to retrieve useful information from scientific literature and electronic medical records (EMR) we developed an ontology specific for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The MS Ontology was created using scientific literature and expert review under the Protégé OWL environment. We developed a dictionary with semantic synonyms and translations to different languages for mining EMR. The MS Ontology was integrated with other ontologies and dictionaries (diseases/comorbidities, gene/protein, pathways, drug) into the text-mining tool SCAIView. We analyzed the EMRs from 624 patients with MS using the MS ontology dictionary in order to identify drug usage and comorbidities in MS. Testing competency questions and functional evaluation using F statistics further validated the usefulness of MS ontology. Validation of the lexicalized ontology by means of named entity recognition-based methods showed an adequate performance (F score = 0.73). The MS Ontology retrieved 80% of the genes associated with MS from scientific abstracts and identified additional pathways targeted by approved disease-modifying drugs (e.g. apoptosis pathways associated with mitoxantrone, rituximab and fingolimod). The analysis of the EMR from patients with MS identified current usage of disease modifying drugs and symptomatic therapy as well as comorbidities, which are in agreement with recent reports. The MS Ontology provides a semantic framework that is able to automatically extract information from both scientific literature and EMR from patients with MS, revealing new pathogenesis insights as well as new clinical information.

Abstract processing and observer vantage perspective in dysphoria.

Science.gov (United States)

Hart-Smith, Ly; Moulds, Michelle L

2018-05-07

processing and observer vantage perspective have been associated with negative consequences in depression. We investigated the relationship between mode of processing and vantage perspective bidirectionally in high and low dysphoric individuals, using abstract and concrete descriptions of experimenter-provided everyday actions. When vantage perspective was manipulated and processing mode was measured (Study 1a), participants who adopted a field perspective did not differ from those who adopted an observer perspective in their preference for abstract descriptions, irrespective of dysphoria status. When processing mode was manipulated and vantage perspective was measured (Study 1b), participants provided with abstract descriptions had a greater tendency to adopt an observer perspective than those provided with concrete descriptions, irrespective of dysphoria status. These results were replicated in larger online samples (Studies 2a and 2b). Together, they indicate a unidirectional causal relationship, whereby processing mode causally influences vantage perspective, in contrast to the bidirectional relationship previously reported in an unselected sample (Libby, Shaeffer, & Eibach, 2009). Further, these findings demonstrate that abstract processing increases the likelihood of adopting an observer perspective, and support targeting abstract processing in the treatment of depression to address the negative consequences associated with both abstract processing and recalling/imagining events from an observer perspective. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

THE DOCUMENTATION OF HISTORIC MAPS OF WORLD HERITAGE SITE CITY SUZHOU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Guangwei

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Documentation and analysis of historic maps enhance understanding of temporal and spatial interactions between events and the evolution of physical canals upon which they occurred. And the challenge of this work lies on carefully sifting of information through the maps drawn with relative accuracy by traditional cartographical principles before the emergence of scientific survey. This research project focuses on sorting out the evolution of historic city Suzhou in a spatio-temporal view. The investigation was conducted through an in-depth analysis of historic maps. Re-projection of the geographical elements of the city to one single georeference, that is to say a standard map BASE, help acquiring an actual sense of the scale and facilitate the recognition of the city's evolution in clear details. It is an important contribution of this thesis in coordination of variously distorted geographical information contained in nineteen periods span from 1229 to 2013 into a single research resource. Through the work both quantitative and qualitative, a clear vision of the evolution and characteristics of the urban structure of ancient Suzhou is achieved. Meanwhile, in the process of projecting the historical geometrical information onto the topographic map, historical bibliographic and cartographic records is key to the data coordination and readjustment, this inspire as well on the cautious utilization of historical materials from ancient time in the recording, documentation work.

How to compare cultures? The case of historical thinking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Rüsen

2005-07-01

Full Text Available Comparative studies in historiography are rare. In most cases authors use a pre-given idea of the essentials of historical thinking and historiography to compare Western with non-Western phenomena in the field of historical representation in general, and historiography in particular. This approach to comparison is very problematic since the presupposed paradigm of historiography is an abstraction in the Western tradition. As a consequence this comparison brings about knowledge on non-Western historical thinking and historio-graphy in so far as it is similar to or different from the Western one. Difference normally imply deviation or a lack of historicity. However, comparing Western historiography with Chinese historiography, does not bring about such a big difference as we witness in the case of for example India. Nevertheless, a cultural bias in the comparative work exists that makes the results of comparative work problematic. The article proposes a theoretical means of intercultural comparison that is grounded in a general theory of historical thinking, presented in the form of its matrix. This matrix is explicated, discussed and differentiated into a set of items which can be used as criteria of comparison.

The dental calculus metabolome in modern and historic samples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Velsko, Irina M.; Overmyer, Katherine A.; Speller, Camilla

2017-01-01

Introduction: Dental calculus is a mineralized microbial dental plaque biofilm that forms throughout life by precipitation of salivary calcium salts. Successive cycles of dental plaque growth and calcification make it an unusually well-preserved, long-term record of host-microbial interaction...... in the archaeological record. Recent studies have confirmed the survival of authentic ancient DNA and proteins within historic and prehistoric dental calculus, making it a promising substrate for investigating oral microbiome evolution via direct measurement and comparison of modern and ancient specimens. Objective: We...... present the first comprehensive characterization of the human dental calculus metabolome using a multi-platform approach. Methods: Ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS/MS) quantified 285 metabolites in modern and historic (200 years old) dental calculus, including...

Elemental signature of terrigenous sediment runoff as recorded in coastal salt ponds: US Virgin Islands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larson, Rebekka A.; Brooks, Gregg R.; Devine, Barry; Schwing, Patrick T.; Holmes, Charles W.; Jilbert, Tom; Reichart, Gert-Jan

2015-01-01

A high-resolution, multi-proxy approach is utilized on mm- to cm-scale laminated coastal salt pond sediments from St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, to determine: (1) the sedimentological signature of depositional events/processes, (2) link this sedimentological signature with known depositional events/processes in the historical (past ∼100 years) record; and, (3) project back into the recent geologic past (past ∼1400 years) to investigate the natural variability of depositional events/processes. High-resolution, short-lived radioisotope geochronology ("2"1"0Pb, "1"3"7Cs, "7Be) combined with high-resolution elemental scanning techniques (scanning XRF and scanning LA-ICP-MS) allows for the direct comparison of well-preserved salt pond deposits to historical records of depositional events (e.g., runoff/rainfall, tropical cyclones, tsunamis) to identify the sedimentary signature of each type of event. There is a robust sedimentary record of terrigenous sediment runoff linked to the frequency of rainfall events that exceed a threshold of ∼12 mm/day (minimum to mobilize and transport sediment) for study sites. This is manifested in the sedimentary record as increases in terrigenous indicator elements (%Al, %Fe, %Ti, %Si), which agree well with rainfall records over the past ∼50 years. Variability in the sedimentary record over the past ∼100 years reflects decadal-scale fluctuations between periods of increased frequency of rainfall events, and decreased frequency of rainfall events. Dm-scale variability in terrigenous indicator elements over the past ∼1400 years represents the natural system variability on a decadal–centennial scale, and provides a high-resolution, long-term baseline of natural variability of rainfall/runoff events. A period of increased terrigenous sediment delivery during the 1700s and 1800s likely indicates increased erosion in response to anthropogenic activities associated with the island’s plantation era, and perhaps increased

Estimating trends in the global mean temperature record

Science.gov (United States)

Poppick, Andrew; Moyer, Elisabeth J.; Stein, Michael L.

2017-06-01

Given uncertainties in physical theory and numerical climate simulations, the historical temperature record is often used as a source of empirical information about climate change. Many historical trend analyses appear to de-emphasize physical and statistical assumptions: examples include regression models that treat time rather than radiative forcing as the relevant covariate, and time series methods that account for internal variability in nonparametric rather than parametric ways. However, given a limited data record and the presence of internal variability, estimating radiatively forced temperature trends in the historical record necessarily requires some assumptions. Ostensibly empirical methods can also involve an inherent conflict in assumptions: they require data records that are short enough for naive trend models to be applicable, but long enough for long-timescale internal variability to be accounted for. In the context of global mean temperatures, empirical methods that appear to de-emphasize assumptions can therefore produce misleading inferences, because the trend over the twentieth century is complex and the scale of temporal correlation is long relative to the length of the data record. We illustrate here how a simple but physically motivated trend model can provide better-fitting and more broadly applicable trend estimates and can allow for a wider array of questions to be addressed. In particular, the model allows one to distinguish, within a single statistical framework, between uncertainties in the shorter-term vs. longer-term response to radiative forcing, with implications not only on historical trends but also on uncertainties in future projections. We also investigate the consequence on inferred uncertainties of the choice of a statistical description of internal variability. While nonparametric methods may seem to avoid making explicit assumptions, we demonstrate how even misspecified parametric statistical methods, if attuned to the

Dangers of noncritical use of historical plague databases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roosen, J.; Curtis, D.R.

2018-01-01

Researchers have published several articles using historical data sets on plague epidemics using impressive digital databases that contain thousands of recorded outbreaks across Europe over the past several centuries. Through the digitization of preexisting data sets, scholars have unprecedented

Aromatherapy and nursing: historical and theoretical conception

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Rizzo Gnatta

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Aromatherapy is a Practical or Complementary Health Therapy that uses volatile concentrates extracted from plants called essential oils, in order to improve physical, mental and emotional well-being. Aromatherapy has been practiced historically and worldwide by nurses and, as in Brazil is supported by the Federal Nursing Council, it is relevant to discuss this practice in the context of Nursing through Theories of Nursing. This study of theoretical reflection, exploratory and descriptive, aims to discuss the pharmacognosy of essential oils, the historical trajectory of Aromatherapy in Nursing and the conceptions to support Aromatherapy in light of eight Nursing Theorists (Florence Nightingale, Myra Levine, Hildegard Peplau, Martha Rogers, Callista Roy, Wanda Horta, Jean Watson and Katharine Kolcaba, contributing to its inclusion as a nursing care practice.

Aromatherapy and nursing: historical and theoretical conception

OpenAIRE

Gnatta, Juliana Rizzo; Kurebayashi, Leonice Fumiko Sato; Turrini, Ruth Natalia Teresa; Silva, Maria Júlia Paes da

2016-01-01

Abstract Aromatherapy is a Practical or Complementary Health Therapy that uses volatile concentrates extracted from plants called essential oils, in order to improve physical, mental and emotional well-being. Aromatherapy has been practiced historically and worldwide by nurses and, as in Brazil is supported by the Federal Nursing Council, it is relevant to discuss this practice in the context of Nursing through Theories of Nursing. This study of theoretical reflection, exploratory and descrip...

Process mining on databases: Unearthing historical data from redo logs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

González-López de Murillas, E.; van der Aalst, W.M.P.; Reijers, H.A.

2015-01-01

Process Mining techniques rely on the existence of event data. However, in many cases it is far from trivial to obtain such event data. Considerable efforts may need to be spent on making IT systems record historic data at all. But even if such records are available, it may not be possible to derive

Computerization and records manangement - historical review and prospects

OpenAIRE

Eržišnik, Davorin

2001-01-01

This article outlines general development of use information technologies in the Republic of Croatia. In the framework of this general development, is described development of use information tehnologies in records management, in particular. The first steps in information tehnologies refer to statistical process, or concretely, on the census from 1971. Therefore, it is stated, these first steps are done in processes a great number of data, so pioneer‘s role of statistical services is espec...

The Relationship between Self-rated Health and Hospital Records

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Torben Heien

hospital records. I use both measures separately to control for health in a regression of mortality on wealth. Using only historical and current hospitalization controls for health yields the common result, that SRH is a stronger predictor of mortality than objective health measures. The addition of future...... hospitalizations as controls shows that the estimated gradient on wealth is similar to one in which SRH is the control. The results suggest that SRH is able to capture diseases at prodromal stages and that with a sufficiently long time series of individual records, objective health measures can predict mortality......This paper investigates whether self-rated health (SRH) co-varies with individual hospital records. By linking the Danish Longitudinal Survey on Aging with individual hospital records covering all hospital admissions from 1995-2006, I show that SRH is correlated to historical, current, and future...

The Relationship between Self-Rated Health and Hospital Records

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Torben Heien

2013-01-01

hospital records. I use both measures separately to control for health in a regression of mortality on wealth. Using only historical and current hospitalization controls for health yields the common result, that SRH is a stronger predictor of mortality than objective health measures. The addition of future...... hospitalizations as controls shows that the estimated gradient on wealth is similar to one in which SRH is the control. The results suggest that SRH is able to capture diseases at prodromal stages and that with a sufficiently long time series ofindividual records, objective health measures can predict mortality......This paper investigates whether self-rated health (SRH) co-varies with individual hospital records. By linking the Danish Longitudinal Survey on Aging with individual hospital records covering all hospital admissions from 1995-2006, I show that SRH is correlated to historical, current, and future...

The Relationship between Self-rated Health and Hospital Records

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Torben Heien

2016-01-01

, and future hospital records. I use both measures separately to control for health in a regression of mortality on wealth. Using only historical and current hospitalization controls for health yields the common result that SRH is a stronger predictor of mortality than objective health measures. The addition...... of future hospitalizations as controls shows that the estimated gradient on wealth is similar to one in which SRH is the control. The results suggest that with a sufficiently long time series of individual records, objective health measures can predict mortality to the same extent as global self......This paper investigates whether self-rated health (SRH) covaries with individual hospital records. By linking the Danish Longitudinal Survey on Ageing with individual hospital records covering all hospital admissions from 1995 to 2006, I show that SRH is correlated to historical, current...

Trait-Dependent Biogeography: (Re)Integrating Biology into Probabilistic Historical Biogeographical Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Sukumaran, Jeet; Knowles, L Lacey

2018-04-20

The development of process-based probabilistic models for historical biogeography has transformed the field by grounding it in modern statistical hypothesis testing. However, most of these models abstract away biological differences, reducing species to interchangeable lineages. We present here the case for reintegration of biology into probabilistic historical biogeographical models, allowing a broader range of questions about biogeographical processes beyond ancestral range estimation or simple correlation between a trait and a distribution pattern, as well as allowing us to assess how inferences about ancestral ranges themselves might be impacted by differential biological traits. We show how new approaches to inference might cope with the computational challenges resulting from the increased complexity of these trait-based historical biogeographical models. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Armagh Observatory - Historic Building Information Modelling for Virtual Learning in Building Conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, M.; Chenaux, A.; Keenaghan, G.; GIbson, V..; Butler, J.; Pybusr, C.

2017-08-01

In this paper the recording and design for a Virtual Reality Immersive Model of Armagh Observatory is presented, which will replicate the historic buildings and landscape with distant meridian markers and position of its principal historic instruments within a model of the night sky showing the position of bright stars. The virtual reality model can be used for educational purposes allowing the instruments within the historic building model to be manipulated within 3D space to demonstrate how the position measurements of stars were made in the 18th century. A description is given of current student and researchers activities concerning on-site recording and surveying and the virtual modelling of the buildings and landscape. This is followed by a design for a Virtual Reality Immersive Model of Armagh Observatory use game engine and virtual learning platforms and concepts.

Differential emotional processing in concrete and abstract words.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Bo; Keitel, Anne; Bruce, Gillian; Scott, Graham G; O'Donnell, Patrick J; Sereno, Sara C

2018-02-12

Emotion (positive and negative) words are typically recognized faster than neutral words. Recent research suggests that emotional valence, while often treated as a unitary semantic property, may be differentially represented in concrete and abstract words. Studies that have explicitly examined the interaction of emotion and concreteness, however, have demonstrated inconsistent patterns of results. Moreover, these findings may be limited as certain key lexical variables (e.g., familiarity, age of acquisition) were not taken into account. We investigated the emotion-concreteness interaction in a large-scale, highly controlled lexical decision experiment. A 3 (Emotion: negative, neutral, positive) × 2 (Concreteness: abstract, concrete) design was used, with 45 items per condition and 127 participants. We found a significant interaction between emotion and concreteness. Although positive and negative valenced words were recognized faster than neutral words, this emotion advantage was significantly larger in concrete than in abstract words. We explored potential contributions of participant alexithymia level and item imageability to this interactive pattern. We found that only word imageability significantly modulated the emotion-concreteness interaction. While both concrete and abstract emotion words are advantageously processed relative to comparable neutral words, the mechanisms of this facilitation are paradoxically more dependent on imageability in abstract words. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Review of The Earl of Abergavenny. Historical Record and Wreck Excavation CD-Rom

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Petts

2003-06-01

Full Text Available In early February 1805 a small fleet of East Indiamen accompanied by the frigate Weymouth set sail from Portsmouth heading first for Bengal and ultimately for China. However, barely had the voyage began when, following bad weather and confusion, one of the boats, the Earl of Abergavenny, struck the Shambles bank just off Portland Bill. Although the crew managed to free it, it was so badly damaged it sank while trying to make for the safety of Weymouth. Over 250 crew and passengers drowned. The wreck has until now been best known for causing the death of John Wordsworth, the ship's commander and brother of the poet William Wordsworth. This excellent CD report of archaeological investigations on the wreck site carried out since 1980 by the Weymouth Underwater Archaeological Group (WUAG brings us the full picture of the events leading up to the wreck, and a record of the remains found by the team of divers (Fig.1. The complex campaigns of diving have been carried out alongside extensive documentary and historical work. The huge amount of data created by this project has inevitably led to challenges for the WUAG regarding its publication (Cumming 2002. The decision to publish via a CD-ROM has allowed very large quantities of data and discussion to be published. The current version of the CD contains over 100,000 words of text, 1560 files and over 1000 illustrations (JPEGS. All for the grand price of 10 GBP. The volume can be browsed using a commercially available browser but is also supplied as compiled file using Web Compiler, which has the advantage of a search facility.

Extracting key information from historical data to quantify the transmission dynamics of smallpox

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brockmann Stefan O

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Quantification of the transmission dynamics of smallpox is crucial for optimizing intervention strategies in the event of a bioterrorist attack. This article reviews basic methods and findings in mathematical and statistical studies of smallpox which estimate key transmission parameters from historical data. Main findings First, critically important aspects in extracting key information from historical data are briefly summarized. We mention different sources of heterogeneity and potential pitfalls in utilizing historical records. Second, we discuss how smallpox spreads in the absence of interventions and how the optimal timing of quarantine and isolation measures can be determined. Case studies demonstrate the following. (1 The upper confidence limit of the 99th percentile of the incubation period is 22.2 days, suggesting that quarantine should last 23 days. (2 The highest frequency (61.8% of secondary transmissions occurs 3–5 days after onset of fever so that infected individuals should be isolated before the appearance of rash. (3 The U-shaped age-specific case fatality implies a vulnerability of infants and elderly among non-immune individuals. Estimates of the transmission potential are subsequently reviewed, followed by an assessment of vaccination effects and of the expected effectiveness of interventions. Conclusion Current debates on bio-terrorism preparedness indicate that public health decision making must account for the complex interplay and balance between vaccination strategies and other public health measures (e.g. case isolation and contact tracing taking into account the frequency of adverse events to vaccination. In this review, we summarize what has already been clarified and point out needs to analyze previous smallpox outbreaks systematically.

Using Historical Data to Automatically Identify Air-Traffic Control Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Lauderdale, Todd A.; Wu, Yuefeng; Tretto, Celeste

2014-01-01

This project seeks to develop statistical-based machine learning models to characterize the types of errors present when using current systems to predict future aircraft states. These models will be data-driven - based on large quantities of historical data. Once these models are developed, they will be used to infer situations in the historical data where an air-traffic controller intervened on an aircraft's route, even when there is no direct recording of this action.

Evaluating Data Abstraction Assistant, a novel software application for data abstraction during systematic reviews: protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ian J. Saldanha

2016-11-01

abstraction approaches. Trial registration The trial is registered at National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR under Registration # HSRP20152269: https://wwwcf.nlm.nih.gov/hsr_project/view_hsrproj_record.cfm?NLMUNIQUE_ID=20152269&SEARCH_FOR=Tianjing%20Li . All items from the World Health Organization Trial Registration Data Set are covered at various locations in this protocol. Protocol version and date: This is version 2.0 of the protocol, dated September 6, 2016. As needed, we will communicate any protocol amendments to the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHBSPH and Brown University. We also will make appropriate as-needed modifications to the NICHSR website in a timely fashion.

IEEE conference record -- Abstracts: 1996 IEEE international conference on plasma science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1996-01-01

This meeting covered the following topics: space plasmas; non-equilibrium plasma processing; computer simulation of vacuum power tubes; vacuum microelectronics; microwave systems; basic phenomena in partially ionized gases -- gaseous electronics, electrical discharges; ball lightning/spherical plasma configuration; plasma diagnostics; plasmas for lighting; dense plasma focus; intense ion and electron beams; plasma, ion, and electron sources; flat panel displays; fast z-pinches and x-ray lasers; environmental/energy issues in plasma science; thermal plasma processing; computational plasma physics; magnetic confinement fusion; microwave-plasma interactions; space plasma engineering; EM and ETH launchers; fast wave devices; intense beam microwaves; slow wave devices; space plasma measurements; basic phenomena in fully ionized plasma -- waves, instabilities, plasma theory, etc; plasma closing switches; fast opening switches; and laser-produced plasma. Separate abstracts were prepared for most papers in this conference

Intensity estimation of historical earthquakes through seismic analysis of wooden house

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, I. K.; Soe, J. M.

1999-01-01

The intensity of historical earthquake records related with house collapses are estimated by the seismic analyses of traditional three-bay-straw-roof house. Eighteen artificial time histories for magnitudes 6-8, epicentral distances 5 km - 350 km and hard and soft soil condition were generated for the analyses. Nonlinear dynamic analyses were performed for a traditional three-bay-roof house. Damage level of the wooden house according to the input earthquake motions and the MM intensity were estimated by maximum displacement response at the top of columns. Considering the structural characteristics of the three-bay-straw-roof house, the largest historical earthquake record related to the house collapse is about MMI VIII

Single neurons in prefrontal cortex encode abstract rules.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallis, J D; Anderson, K C; Miller, E K

2001-06-21

The ability to abstract principles or rules from direct experience allows behaviour to extend beyond specific circumstances to general situations. For example, we learn the 'rules' for restaurant dining from specific experiences and can then apply them in new restaurants. The use of such rules is thought to depend on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) because its damage often results in difficulty in following rules. Here we explore its neural basis by recording from single neurons in the PFC of monkeys trained to use two abstract rules. They were required to indicate whether two successively presented pictures were the same or different depending on which rule was currently in effect. The monkeys performed this task with new pictures, thus showing that they had learned two general principles that could be applied to stimuli that they had not yet experienced. The most prevalent neuronal activity observed in the PFC reflected the coding of these abstract rules.

Visualization index for image-enabled medical records

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Wenjie; Zheng, Weilin; Sun, Jianyong; Zhang, Jianguo

2011-03-01

With the widely use of healthcare information technology in hospitals, the patients' medical records are more and more complex. To transform the text- or image-based medical information into easily understandable and acceptable form for human, we designed and developed an innovation indexing method which can be used to assign an anatomical 3D structure object to every patient visually to store indexes of the patients' basic information, historical examined image information and RIS report information. When a doctor wants to review patient historical records, he or she can first load the anatomical structure object and the view the 3D index of this object using a digital human model tool kit. This prototype system helps doctors to easily and visually obtain the complete historical healthcare status of patients, including large amounts of medical data, and quickly locate detailed information, including both reports and images, from medical information systems. In this way, doctors can save time that may be better used to understand information, obtain a more comprehensive understanding of their patients' situations, and provide better healthcare services to patients.

Clustering, Hierarchical Organization, and the Topography of Abstract and Concrete Nouns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joshua eTroche

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The empirical study of language has historically relied heavily upon concrete word stimuli. By definition, concrete words evoke salient perceptual associations that fit well within feature-based, sensorimotor models of word meaning. In contrast, many theorists argue that abstract words are disembodied in that their meaning is mediated through language. We investigated word meaning as distributed in multidimensional space using hierarchical cluster analysis. Participants (N=365 rated target words (n=400 English nouns across 12 cognitive dimensions (e.g., polarity, ease of teaching, emotional valence. Factor reduction revealed three latent factors, corresponding roughly to perceptual salience, affective association, and magnitude. We plotted the original 400 words for the three latent factors. Abstract and concrete words showed overlap in their topography but also differentiated themselves in semantic space. This topographic approach to word meaning offers a unique perspective to word concreteness.

Clustering, hierarchical organization, and the topography of abstract and concrete nouns.

Science.gov (United States)

Troche, Joshua; Crutch, Sebastian; Reilly, Jamie

2014-01-01

The empirical study of language has historically relied heavily upon concrete word stimuli. By definition, concrete words evoke salient perceptual associations that fit well within feature-based, sensorimotor models of word meaning. In contrast, many theorists argue that abstract words are "disembodied" in that their meaning is mediated through language. We investigated word meaning as distributed in multidimensional space using hierarchical cluster analysis. Participants (N = 365) rated target words (n = 400 English nouns) across 12 cognitive dimensions (e.g., polarity, ease of teaching, emotional valence). Factor reduction revealed three latent factors, corresponding roughly to perceptual salience, affective association, and magnitude. We plotted the original 400 words for the three latent factors. Abstract and concrete words showed overlap in their topography but also differentiated themselves in semantic space. This topographic approach to word meaning offers a unique perspective to word concreteness.

Managing Records for the Long Term - 12363

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Montgomery, John V. [U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management, Morgantown, West Virginia (United States); Gueretta, Jeanie [U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management, Grand Junction, Colorado (United States)

2012-07-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for managing vast amounts of information documenting historical and current operations. This information is critical to the operations of the DOE Office of Legacy Management. Managing legacy records and information is challenging in terms of accessibility and changing technology. The Office of Legacy Management is meeting these challenges by making records and information management an organizational priority. The Office of Legacy Management mission is to manage DOE post-closure responsibilities at former Cold War weapons sites to ensure the future protection of human health and the environment. These responsibilities include environmental stewardship and long-term preservation and management of operational and environmental cleanup records associated with each site. A primary organizational goal for the Office of Legacy Management is to 'Preserve, Protect, and Share Records and Information'. Managing records for long-term preservation is an important responsibility. Adequate and dedicated resources and management support are required to perform this responsibility successfully. Records tell the story of an organization and may be required to defend an organization in court, provide historical information, identify lessons learned, or provide valuable information for researchers. Loss of records or the inability to retrieve records because of poor records management processes can have serious consequences and even lead to an organisation's downfall. Organizations must invest time and resources to establish a good records management program because of its significance to the organization as a whole. The Office of Legacy Management will continue to research and apply innovative ways of doing business to ensure that the organization stays at the forefront of effective records and information management. DOE is committed to preserving records that document our nation's Cold War legacy, and the

Beyond the dichotomy of figurative and abstract art in hospitals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Stine Maria Louring; Mullins, Michael Finbarr

2017-01-01

from two experimental case studies on 98 patients’ well-being in relation to their experience and use of visual art during hospitalization. The case studies employed a mixed-method approach, including interviews and observations informed by thermal video recording, surveys and psychophysiological......Within the evidence-based design discourse, and deriving particularly from the theory of emotional congruence, abstract art has been indicated as unsuitable for hospitals. As patients may often experience unfamiliarity, vulnerability, stress, unpredictability and uneasiness in hospitals......, these negative factors in terms of patients’ well-being are predicted to be detrimentally reinforced by abstract art, but alleviated by particular forms of figurative art. The present paper focuses particularly on this question of the suitability of abstract art in Danish hospital settings and presents findings...

Ferromagnetic resonance and transverse susceptibility measurements on particulate recording media (abstract)

Science.gov (United States)

Orth, Th.; Pelzl, J.; Chantrell, R. W.; Veitch, R.; Jakusch, H.

1993-05-01

The FMR absorption of different particulate recording tapes was investigated at microwave frequencies in the X band and Q band using temperatures from 70 to 400 K. The FMR spectra as a function of the external magnetic field were recorded for four different orientations of the static and high frequency magnetic fields with respect to the tape. Particular interest of the experimental and theoretical study was devoted to the interaction fields between the particles, texture effects within the tape sample and the effective anisotropy fields. Tape samples with different particle materials, varying packing densities and orientation ratios were prepared. The shape and line position of the FMR spectra obtained are strongly dependent on the pigment material and the tape parameters mentioned above. The experimental data are compared with theoretical calculations, based on a phenomenological model and a computer simulation. This comparison gives information on the orientational distribution of the particles, which is the most important source for inhomogeneous line broadening, the mean interaction, and anisotropy fields which govern the line position, the effective magnetization of the tape, and the relaxation time. The influence of the crystalline anisotropy can be investigated via temperature dependent measurements. The results are proved by additional transverse susceptibility measurements.

The use of historical data storage and retrieval systems at nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langen, P.A.

1984-01-01

In order to assist the nuclear plant operator in the assessment of useful historical plant information, C-E has developed the Historical Data Storage and Retrieval (HDSR) system, which will record, store, recall, and display historical information as it is needed by plant personnel. The system has been designed to respond to the user's needs under a variety of situations. The user is offered the choice of viewing historical data on color video displays as groups or on computer printouts as logs. The graphical representation is based upon a sectoring concept that provides a zoom-in enlargement of sections of the HDSR graphs

Digital recording system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandra, A.K.; Deshpande, S.V.; Iyer, A.; Vaidya, U.W.

1987-01-01

A large number of critical process parameters in nuclear power plants have hitherto been monitored using electromechanical chart recorders. The reducing costs of electronics systems have led to a trend towards modernizing power plant control rooms by computerizing all the panel instrumentation. As a first step, it has been decided to develop a digital recording system to record the values of 48 process parameters. The system as developed and described in this report is more than a replacement for recorders; it offers substantial advantages in terms of lower overall system cost, excellent time resolution, accurate data and absolute synchronization for correlated signals. The system provides high speed recording of 48 process parameters, maintains historical records and permits retrieval and display of archival information on a colour monitor, a plotter and a printer. It is implemented using a front end data acquisition unit connected on a serial link to a PC-XT computer with 20 MB Winchester. The system offers an extremely user friendly man machine interaction, based on a hierarchical paged menu driven scheme. Softwre development for this system has been carried out using the C language. (author). 9 figs

An automatic method to generate domain-specific investigator networks using PubMed abstracts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gwinn Marta

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Collaboration among investigators has become critical to scientific research. This includes ad hoc collaboration established through personal contacts as well as formal consortia established by funding agencies. Continued growth in online resources for scientific research and communication has promoted the development of highly networked research communities. Extending these networks globally requires identifying additional investigators in a given domain, profiling their research interests, and collecting current contact information. We present a novel strategy for building investigator networks dynamically and producing detailed investigator profiles using data available in PubMed abstracts. Results We developed a novel strategy to obtain detailed investigator information by automatically parsing the affiliation string in PubMed records. We illustrated the results by using a published literature database in human genome epidemiology (HuGE Pub Lit as a test case. Our parsing strategy extracted country information from 92.1% of the affiliation strings in a random sample of PubMed records and in 97.0% of HuGE records, with accuracies of 94.0% and 91.0%, respectively. Institution information was parsed from 91.3% of the general PubMed records (accuracy 86.8% and from 94.2% of HuGE PubMed records (accuracy 87.0. We demonstrated the application of our approach to dynamic creation of investigator networks by creating a prototype information system containing a large database of PubMed abstracts relevant to human genome epidemiology (HuGE Pub Lit, indexed using PubMed medical subject headings converted to Unified Medical Language System concepts. Our method was able to identify 70–90% of the investigators/collaborators in three different human genetics fields; it also successfully identified 9 of 10 genetics investigators within the PREBIC network, an existing preterm birth research network. Conclusion We successfully created a

ARMAGH OBSERVATORY – HISTORIC BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING FOR VIRTUAL LEARNING IN BUILDING CONSERVATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Murphy

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper the recording and design for a Virtual Reality Immersive Model of Armagh Observatory is presented, which will replicate the historic buildings and landscape with distant meridian markers and position of its principal historic instruments within a model of the night sky showing the position of bright stars. The virtual reality model can be used for educational purposes allowing the instruments within the historic building model to be manipulated within 3D space to demonstrate how the position measurements of stars were made in the 18th century. A description is given of current student and researchers activities concerning on-site recording and surveying and the virtual modelling of the buildings and landscape. This is followed by a design for a Virtual Reality Immersive Model of Armagh Observatory use game engine and virtual learning platforms and concepts.

Adjusting forest density estimates for surveyor bias in historical tree surveys

Science.gov (United States)

Brice B. Hanberry; Jian Yang; John M. Kabrick; Hong S. He

2012-01-01

The U.S. General Land Office surveys, conducted between the late 1700s to early 1900s, provide records of trees prior to widespread European and American colonial settlement. However, potential and documented surveyor bias raises questions about the reliability of historical tree density estimates and other metrics based on density estimated from these records. In this...

Invisible inventors. A historical overview of creative midwives and nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiestand, W C

1999-01-01

This historical overview documents women's inventions for providing nursing care dating from 1608 to 1928. The word invention is broadly defined and includes ideas that created therapeutic activities, caregiving environments, and specific devices for care. It focuses on the creative contributions of early outstanding midwives and other practicing nurses around the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sources include illustrations of patented items, practical hints published in early issues of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), published translations of original documents from Europe, original historical research on women in Europe and America, and records from the U.S. Government Patent Office. The role of nurses in creating and developing tools and methods for providing nursing care has gone unrecognized. It is important to clarify the record of women's and nurses' inventiveness.

Is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Jimmy

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background With the growing availability of full-text articles online, scientists and other consumers of the life sciences literature now have the ability to go beyond searching bibliographic records (title, abstract, metadata to directly access full-text content. Motivated by this emerging trend, I posed the following question: is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts? This question is answered by comparing text retrieval algorithms on MEDLINE® abstracts, full-text articles, and spans (paragraphs within full-text articles using data from the TREC 2007 genomics track evaluation. Two retrieval models are examined: bm25 and the ranking algorithm implemented in the open-source Lucene search engine. Results Experiments show that treating an entire article as an indexing unit does not consistently yield higher effectiveness compared to abstract-only search. However, retrieval based on spans, or paragraphs-sized segments of full-text articles, consistently outperforms abstract-only search. Results suggest that highest overall effectiveness may be achieved by combining evidence from spans and full articles. Conclusion Users searching full text are more likely to find relevant articles than searching only abstracts. This finding affirms the value of full text collections for text retrieval and provides a starting point for future work in exploring algorithms that take advantage of rapidly-growing digital archives. Experimental results also highlight the need to develop distributed text retrieval algorithms, since full-text articles are significantly longer than abstracts and may require the computational resources of multiple machines in a cluster. The MapReduce programming model provides a convenient framework for organizing such computations.

Abstraction Mechanisms in the BETA Programming Language

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Bent Bruun; Madsen, Ole Lehrmann; Møller-Pedersen, Birger

1983-01-01

. It is then necessary that the abstraction mechanisms are powerful in order to define more specialized constructs. BETA is an object oriented language like SIMULA 67 ([SIMULA]) and SMALLTALK ([SMALLTALK]). By this is meant that a construct like the SIMULA class/subclass mechanism is fundamental in BETA. In contrast......]) --- covering both data, procedural and control abstractions, substituting constructs like class, procedure, function and type. Correspondingly objects, procedure activation records and variables are all regarded as special cases of the basic building block of program executions: the entity. A pattern thus......The BETA programming language is developed as part of the BETA project. The purpose of this project is to develop concepts, constructs and tools in the field of programming and programming languages. BETA has been developed from 1975 on and the various stages of the language are documented in [BETA...

Historical and paleo-tsunami deposits on Kamchatka, Russia: long-term chronologies and long-distance correlations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. K. Pinegina

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Along the eastern coast of Kamchatka, at a number of localities, we have identified and attempted to assign ages to deposits of both historic and prehistoric (paleo- tsunamis. These deposits are dated and correlated using tephrochronology from Holocene marker tephra and local volcanic ash layers. Because the historical record of earthquakes and tsunamis on Kamchatka is so short, these investigations can make important contributions to evaluating tsunami hazards. Moreover, because even the historical record is spotty, our work helps add to and evaluate tsunami catalogues for Kamchatka. Furthermore, tsunami deposits provide a proxy record for large earthquakes and thus are important paleoseismological tools. The combined, preserved record of tsunami deposits and of numerous marker tephra on Kamchatka offers an unprecedented opportunity to study tsunami frequency. Using combined stratigraphic sections, we can examine both the average frequency of events for each locality, and also changes in frequency through time. Moreover, using key marker tephra as time lines, we can compare tsunami frequency and intensity records along the Kamchatka subduction zone. Preliminary results suggest real variations in frequency on a millennial time scale, with the period from about 0 to 1000 A.D. being particularly active at some localities.

Dramatic decreases in runoff and sediment load in the Huangfuchuan Basin of the Middle Yellow River, China: historical records and future projections

Science.gov (United States)

LI, E.; Li, D.; Wang, Y.; Fu, X.

2017-12-01

The Yellow River is well known for its high sediment load and serious water shortage. The long-term averaged sediment load is about 1.6´103 million tons per year, resulting in aggrading and perched lower reaches. In recent years, however, dramatic decreases in runoff and sediment load have been observed. The annual sediment load has been less than 150 million tons in the last ten years. Extrapolation of this trend into the future would motivate substantial change in the management strategies of the Lower Yellow River. To understand the possible trend and its coevolving drivers, we performed a case study of the Huangfuchuang River, which is a tributary to the Middle Yellow River, with a drainage area of 3246 km2 and an annual precipitation of 365 mm. Statistical analysis of historical data from 1960s to 2015 showed a significantly decreasing trend in runoff and sediment load since 1984. As potential drivers, the precipitation does not show an obvious change in annual amount, while the vegetation cover and the number of check dams have been increased gradually as a result of the national Grain for Green project. A simulation with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) reproduced the historical evolution processes, and showed that human activities dominated the reduction in runoff and sediment load, with a contribution of around 80%. We then projected the runoff and sediment load for the next 50 years (2016-2066), considering typical scenarios of climate change and accounting for vegetation cover development subject to climate conditions and storage capacity loss of check dams due to sediment deposition. The differences between the projected trend and the historical record were analyzed, so as to highlight the coevolving processes of climate, vegetation, and check dam retention on a time scale of decades. Keywords: Huangfuchuan River Basin, sediment load, vegetation cover, check dams, annual precipitation, SWAT.

FEH Local: improving flood estimates using historical data

OpenAIRE

Prosdocimi, Ilaria; Stewart, Lisa; Faulkner, Duncan; Mitchell, Chrissy

2016-01-01

The traditional approach to design flood estimation (for example, to derive the 100-year flood) is to apply a statistical model to time series of peak river flow measured by gauging stations. Such records are typically not very long, for example in the UK only about 10% of the stations have records that are more than 50 years in length. Along-explored way to augment the data available from a gauging station is to derive information about historical flood events and paleo-floods, which can be ...

Tide-surge historical assessment of extreme water levels for the St. Johns River: 1928-2017

Science.gov (United States)

Bacopoulos, Peter

2017-10-01

An historical storm population is developed for the St. Johns River, located in northeast Florida-US east coast, via extreme value assessment of an 89-year-long record of hourly water-level data. Storm surge extrema and the corresponding (independent) storm systems are extracted from the historical record as well as the linear and nonlinear trends of mean sea level. Peaks-over-threshold analysis reveals the top 16 most-impactful (storm surge) systems in the general return-period range of 1-100 years. Hurricane Matthew (2016) broke the record with a new absolute maximum water level of 1.56 m, although the peak surge occurred during slack tide level (0.00 m). Hurricanes and tropical systems contribute to return periods of 10-100 years with water levels in the approximate range of 1.3-1.55 m. Extratropical systems and nor'easters contribute to the historical storm population (in the general return-period range of 1-10 years) and are capable of producing extreme storm surges (in the approximate range of 1.15-1.3 m) on par with those generated by hurricanes and tropical systems. The highest astronomical tide is 1.02 m, which by evaluation of the historical record can contribute as much as 94% to the total storm-tide water level. Statically, a hypothetical scenario of Hurricane Matthew's peak surge coinciding with the highest astronomical tide would yield an overall storm-tide water level of 2.58 m, corresponding to an approximate 1000-year return period by historical comparison. Sea-level trends (linear and nonlinear) impact water-level return periods and constitute additional risk hazard for coastal engineering designs.

Digital Recording and Non-Destructive Techniques for the Understanding of Structural Performance for Rehabilitating Historic Structures at the Kathmandu Valley after Gorkha Earthquake 2015

Science.gov (United States)

Shrestha, S.; Reina Ortiz, M.; Gutland, M.; Napolitano, R.; Morris, I. M.; Santana Quintero, M.; Erochko, J.; Kawan, S.; Shrestha, R. G.; Awal, P.; Suwal, S.; Duwal, S.; Maharjan, D. K.

2017-08-01

On 25 April 2015, the Gorkha earthquake of magnitude 7.8, severely damaged the cultural heritage sites of Nepal. In particular, the seven monument zones of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site suffered extensive damage. Out of 195 surveyed monuments, 38 have completely collapsed and 157 partially damaged (DoA, 2015). In particular, the world historic city of Bhaktapur was heavily affected by the earthquake. There is, in general, a lack of knowledge regarding the traditional construction technology used in many of the most important temple monuments in Bhaktapur. To address this limitation and to assist in reconstruction and rehabilitation of the area, this study documents the existing condition of different historic structures in the Kathmandu Valley. In particular, the Nyatapola Temple is studied in detail. To record and document the condition of this temple, a combination of laser scanning and terrestrial and aerial photogrammetry are used. By also including evaluation of the temple and its supporting plinth structure using non-destructive evaluation techniques like geo-radar and micro-tremor dynamic analysis, this study will form the basis of a structural analysis study to assess the anticipated future seismic performance of the Nyatapola Temple.

Reconstruction of historical changes in northern fur seal prey availability and diversity in the western North Pacific through individual-based analysis of dietary records

Science.gov (United States)

Kiyota, Masashi; Yonezaki, Shiroh

2017-06-01

We analyzed long-term dietary records of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) to reconstruct historical changes in prey availability and diversity in the western North Pacific off northeastern Japan. The nominal relationships between the occurrence frequencies of fishes or squids in fur seal stomachs and the sampling locations reflected the spatial heterogeneity of fish and squid distributions along the shelf-slope-offshore continuum off northeastern Japan, whereas changes in the temporal occurrence frequencies reflected mainly the migration and foraging patterns of the fur seals. The occurrence probabilities of fishes and squids in fur seal stomachs were standardized by using generalized linear models to compensate for sampling biases in space and time. The reconstructed historical trends revealed decadal shifts in relatively high prey abundance-from mackerels in the 1970s to Japanese sardine in the 1980s and myctophids/sparkling enope squids in the 1990s-that were related to decadal shifts in the oceanographic regime. The sequential increase in mackerel and Japanese sardine abundances coincided with the annual catch trends of commercial fisheries. The index of overall prey availability calculated from the standardized occurrence probabilities of fishes and squids in fur seal stomachs was fairly stable over the decades.

Olivia Records: The Production of a Movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Bonnie

2015-01-01

This article looks at the early years of Olivia Records, setting the context for the historic release of the album Where Would I Be Without You. From its origins as a Washington, D.C.-based activist collective in 1973, Olivia became a hugely successful recording company, marketing radical lesbian recordings and performances that soon defined the "women's music" movement. Both artistically and politically, Olivia's woman-identified albums became the soundtrack for a generation awakening to lesbian activism. Pat Parker and Judy Grahn's 1976 spoken-word recording is a unique demonstration of Olivia's radical production values and expanding catalog.

The interaction between schema matching and record matching in data integration (extended abstract)

KAUST Repository

Gu, Binbin; Li, Zhixu; Zhang, Xiangliang; Liu, An; Liu, Guanfeng; Zheng, Kai; Zhao, Lei; Zhou, Xiaofang

2017-01-01

Schema Matching (SM) and Record Matching (RM) are two necessary steps in integrating multiple relational tables of different schemas, where SM unifies the schemas and RM detects records referring to the same real-world entity. The two processes have been thoroughly studied separately, but few attention has been paid to the interaction of SM and RM. In this work we find that, even alternating them in a simple manner, SM and RM can benefit from each other to reach a better integration performance (i.e., in terms of precision and recall). Therefore, combining SM and RM is a promising solution for improving data integration.

The interaction between schema matching and record matching in data integration (extended abstract)

KAUST Repository

Gu, Binbin

2017-05-18

Schema Matching (SM) and Record Matching (RM) are two necessary steps in integrating multiple relational tables of different schemas, where SM unifies the schemas and RM detects records referring to the same real-world entity. The two processes have been thoroughly studied separately, but few attention has been paid to the interaction of SM and RM. In this work we find that, even alternating them in a simple manner, SM and RM can benefit from each other to reach a better integration performance (i.e., in terms of precision and recall). Therefore, combining SM and RM is a promising solution for improving data integration.

How Sustainable is Groundwater Abstraction? A Global Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

de Graaf, I.; Van Beek, R.; Gleeson, T. P.; Sutanudjaja, E.; Wada, Y.; Bierkens, M. F.

2017-12-01

Groundwater is the world's largest accessible freshwater resource and is of critical importance for irrigation, and thus for global food security. For regions with high demands, groundwater abstractions often exceed recharge and persistent groundwater depletion occurs. The direct effects of depletion are falling groundwater levels, increased pumping costs, land subsidence, and reduced baseflows to rivers. Water demands are expected to increase further due to growing population, economic development, and climate change, posing the urgent question how sustainable current water abstractions are worldwide and where and when these abstractions approach conceivable economic and environmental limits. In this study we estimated trends over 1960-2100 in groundwater levels, resulting from changes in demand and climate. We explored the limits of groundwater abstraction by predicting where and when groundwater levels drop that deep that groundwater gets unattainable for abstraction (economic limit) or, that groundwater baseflows to rivers drop below environmental requirements (environmental limit). We used a global hydrological model coupled to a groundwater model, meaning lateral groundwater flows, river infiltration and drainage, and infiltration and capillary-rise are simulated dynamically. Historical data and projections are used to prescribe water demands and climate forcing to the model. For the near future we used RCP8.5 and applied globally driest, average, and wettest GCM to test climate sensitivity. Results show that in general environmental limits are reached before economic limits, for example starting as early as the 1970s compared to the 1980s for economic limits in the upper Ganges basin. Economic limits are mostly related to regions with depletion, while environmental limits are reached also in regions were groundwater and surface water withdrawals are significant but depletion is not taking place (yet), for example in Spain and Portugal. In the near future

Flood frequency analysis of historical flood data under stationary and non-stationary modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Machado, M. J.; Botero, B. A.; López, J.; Francés, F.; Díez-Herrero, A.; Benito, G.

2015-06-01

Historical records are an important source of information on extreme and rare floods and fundamental to establish a reliable flood return frequency. The use of long historical records for flood frequency analysis brings in the question of flood stationarity, since climatic and land-use conditions can affect the relevance of past flooding as a predictor of future flooding. In this paper, a detailed 400 yr flood record from the Tagus River in Aranjuez (central Spain) was analysed under stationary and non-stationary flood frequency approaches, to assess their contribution within hazard studies. Historical flood records in Aranjuez were obtained from documents (Proceedings of the City Council, diaries, chronicles, memoirs, etc.), epigraphic marks, and indirect historical sources and reports. The water levels associated with different floods (derived from descriptions or epigraphic marks) were computed into discharge values using a one-dimensional hydraulic model. Secular variations in flood magnitude and frequency, found to respond to climate and environmental drivers, showed a good correlation between high values of historical flood discharges and a negative mode of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. Over the systematic gauge record (1913-2008), an abrupt change on flood magnitude was produced in 1957 due to constructions of three major reservoirs in the Tagus headwaters (Bolarque, Entrepeñas and Buendia) controlling 80% of the watershed surface draining to Aranjuez. Two different models were used for the flood frequency analysis: (a) a stationary model estimating statistical distributions incorporating imprecise and categorical data based on maximum likelihood estimators, and (b) a time-varying model based on "generalized additive models for location, scale and shape" (GAMLSS) modelling, which incorporates external covariates related to climate variability (NAO index) and catchment hydrology factors (in this paper a reservoir index; RI). Flood frequency

Large historical growth in global terrestrial gross primary production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Campbell, J. E.; Berry, J. A.; Seibt, U.; Smith, S. J.; Montzka, S. A.; Launois, T.; Belviso, S.; Bopp, L.; Laine, M.

2017-04-05

Growth in terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) may provide a feedback for climate change, but there is still strong disagreement on the extent to which biogeochemical processes may suppress this GPP growth at the ecosystem to continental scales. The consequent uncertainty in modeling of future carbon storage by the terrestrial biosphere constitutes one of the largest unknowns in global climate projections for the next century. Here we provide a global, measurement-based estimate of historical GPP growth using long-term atmospheric carbonyl sulfide (COS) records derived from ice core, firn, and ambient air samples. We interpret these records using a model that relates changes in the COS concentration to changes in its sources and sinks, the largest of which is proportional to GPP. The COS history was most consistent with simulations that assume a large historical GPP growth. Carbon-climate models that assume little to no GPP growth predicted trajectories of COS concentration over the anthropogenic era that differ from those observed. Continued COS monitoring may be useful for detecting ongoing changes in GPP while extending the ice core record to glacial cycles could provide further opportunities to evaluate earth system models.

Coupling Radar Rainfall to Hydrological Models for Water Abstraction Management

Science.gov (United States)

Asfaw, Alemayehu; Shucksmith, James; Smith, Andrea; MacDonald, Ken

2015-04-01

The impacts of climate change and growing water use are likely to put considerable pressure on water resources and the environment. In the UK, a reform to surface water abstraction policy has recently been proposed which aims to increase the efficiency of using available water resources whilst minimising impacts on the aquatic environment. Key aspects to this reform include the consideration of dynamic rather than static abstraction licensing as well as introducing water trading concepts. Dynamic licensing will permit varying levels of abstraction dependent on environmental conditions (i.e. river flow and quality). The practical implementation of an effective dynamic abstraction strategy requires suitable flow forecasting techniques to inform abstraction asset management. Potentially the predicted availability of water resources within a catchment can be coupled to predicted demand and current storage to inform a cost effective water resource management strategy which minimises environmental impacts. The aim of this work is to use a historical analysis of UK case study catchment to compare potential water resource availability using modelled dynamic abstraction scenario informed by a flow forecasting model, against observed abstraction under a conventional abstraction regime. The work also demonstrates the impacts of modelling uncertainties on the accuracy of predicted water availability over range of forecast lead times. The study utilised a conceptual rainfall-runoff model PDM - Probability-Distributed Model developed by Centre for Ecology & Hydrology - set up in the Dove River catchment (UK) using 1km2 resolution radar rainfall as inputs and 15 min resolution gauged flow data for calibration and validation. Data assimilation procedures are implemented to improve flow predictions using observed flow data. Uncertainties in the radar rainfall data used in the model are quantified using artificial statistical error model described by Gaussian distribution and

Novel applications of the temporal kernel method: Historical and future radiative forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Portmann, R. W.; Larson, E.; Solomon, S.; Murphy, D. M.

2017-12-01

We present a new estimate of the historical radiative forcing derived from the observed global mean surface temperature and a model derived kernel function. Current estimates of historical radiative forcing are usually derived from climate models. Despite large variability in these models, the multi-model mean tends to do a reasonable job of representing the Earth system and climate. One method of diagnosing the transient radiative forcing in these models requires model output of top of the atmosphere radiative imbalance and global mean temperature anomaly. It is difficult to apply this method to historical observations due to the lack of TOA radiative measurements before CERES. We apply the temporal kernel method (TKM) of calculating radiative forcing to the historical global mean temperature anomaly. This novel approach is compared against the current regression based methods using model outputs and shown to produce consistent forcing estimates giving confidence in the forcing derived from the historical temperature record. The derived TKM radiative forcing provides an estimate of the forcing time series that the average climate model needs to produce the observed temperature record. This forcing time series is found to be in good overall agreement with previous estimates but includes significant differences that will be discussed. The historical anthropogenic aerosol forcing is estimated as a residual from the TKM and found to be consistent with earlier moderate forcing estimates. In addition, this method is applied to future temperature projections to estimate the radiative forcing required to achieve those temperature goals, such as those set in the Paris agreement.

Evidence, exaggeration, and error in historical accounts of chaparral wildfires in California.

Science.gov (United States)

Goforth, Brett R; Minnich, Richard A

2007-04-01

For more than half a century, ecologists and historians have been integrating the contemporary study of ecosystems with data gathered from historical sources to evaluate change over broad temporal and spatial scales. This approach is especially useful where ecosystems were altered before formal study as a result of natural resources management, land development, environmental pollution, and climate change. Yet, in many places, historical documents do not provide precise information, and pre-historical evidence is unavailable or has ambiguous interpretation. There are similar challenges in evaluating how the fire regime of chaparral in California has changed as a result of fire suppression management initiated at the beginning of the 20th century. Although the firestorm of October 2003 was the largest officially recorded in California (approximately 300,000 ha), historical accounts of pre-suppression wildfires have been cited as evidence that such a scale of burning was not unprecedented, suggesting the fire regime and patch mosaic in chaparral have not substantially changed. We find that the data do not support pre-suppression megafires, and that the impression of large historical wildfires is a result of imprecision and inaccuracy in the original reports, as well as a parlance that is beset with hyperbole. We underscore themes of importance for critically analyzing historical documents to evaluate ecological change. A putative 100 mile long by 10 mile wide (160 x 16 km) wildfire reported in 1889 was reconstructed to an area of chaparral approximately 40 times smaller by linking local accounts to property tax records, voter registration rolls, claimed insurance, and place names mapped with a geographical information system (GIS) which includes data from historical vegetation surveys. We also show that historical sources cited as evidence of other large chaparral wildfires are either demonstrably inaccurate or provide anecdotal information that is immaterial in the

Records and good governance: Running away from accountability ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Records and good governance: Running away from accountability. The case of Zambia. ... Abstract. Records are created as a by-product of the business activities taking place as an organization in carry out its mandated activities. Subsequently, these records will provide the ultimate proof or evidence of the activities being ...

Is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts?

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jimmy

2009-02-03

With the growing availability of full-text articles online, scientists and other consumers of the life sciences literature now have the ability to go beyond searching bibliographic records (title, abstract, metadata) to directly access full-text content. Motivated by this emerging trend, I posed the following question: is searching full text more effective than searching abstracts? This question is answered by comparing text retrieval algorithms on MEDLINE abstracts, full-text articles, and spans (paragraphs) within full-text articles using data from the TREC 2007 genomics track evaluation. Two retrieval models are examined: bm25 and the ranking algorithm implemented in the open-source Lucene search engine. Experiments show that treating an entire article as an indexing unit does not consistently yield higher effectiveness compared to abstract-only search. However, retrieval based on spans, or paragraphs-sized segments of full-text articles, consistently outperforms abstract-only search. Results suggest that highest overall effectiveness may be achieved by combining evidence from spans and full articles. Users searching full text are more likely to find relevant articles than searching only abstracts. This finding affirms the value of full text collections for text retrieval and provides a starting point for future work in exploring algorithms that take advantage of rapidly-growing digital archives. Experimental results also highlight the need to develop distributed text retrieval algorithms, since full-text articles are significantly longer than abstracts and may require the computational resources of multiple machines in a cluster. The MapReduce programming model provides a convenient framework for organizing such computations.

The dental calculus metabolome in modern and historic samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Velsko, Irina M; Overmyer, Katherine A; Speller, Camilla; Klaus, Lauren; Collins, Matthew J; Loe, Louise; Frantz, Laurent A F; Sankaranarayanan, Krithivasan; Lewis, Cecil M; Martinez, Juan Bautista Rodriguez; Chaves, Eros; Coon, Joshua J; Larson, Greger; Warinner, Christina

2017-01-01

Dental calculus is a mineralized microbial dental plaque biofilm that forms throughout life by precipitation of salivary calcium salts. Successive cycles of dental plaque growth and calcification make it an unusually well-preserved, long-term record of host-microbial interaction in the archaeological record. Recent studies have confirmed the survival of authentic ancient DNA and proteins within historic and prehistoric dental calculus, making it a promising substrate for investigating oral microbiome evolution via direct measurement and comparison of modern and ancient specimens. We present the first comprehensive characterization of the human dental calculus metabolome using a multi-platform approach. Ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) quantified 285 metabolites in modern and historic (200 years old) dental calculus, including metabolites of drug and dietary origin. A subset of historic samples was additionally analyzed by high-resolution gas chromatography-MS (GC-MS) and UPLC-MS/MS for further characterization of metabolites and lipids. Metabolite profiles of modern and historic calculus were compared to identify patterns of persistence and loss. Dipeptides, free amino acids, free nucleotides, and carbohydrates substantially decrease in abundance and ubiquity in archaeological samples, with some exceptions. Lipids generally persist, and saturated and mono-unsaturated medium and long chain fatty acids appear to be well-preserved, while metabolic derivatives related to oxidation and chemical degradation are found at higher levels in archaeological dental calculus than fresh samples. The results of this study indicate that certain metabolite classes have higher potential for recovery over long time scales and may serve as appropriate targets for oral microbiome evolutionary studies.

Historically low mitochondrial DNA diversity in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsangaras Kyriakos

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus is an arboreal marsupial that was historically widespread across eastern Australia until the end of the 19th century when it suffered a steep population decline. Hunting for the fur trade, habitat conversion, and disease contributed to a precipitous reduction in koala population size during the late 1800s and early 1900s. To examine the effects of these reductions in population size on koala genetic diversity, we sequenced part of the hypervariable region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA in koala museum specimens collected in the 19th and 20th centuries, hypothesizing that the historical samples would exhibit greater genetic diversity. Results The mtDNA haplotypes present in historical museum samples were identical to haplotypes found in modern koala populations, and no novel haplotypes were detected. Rarefaction analyses suggested that the mtDNA genetic diversity present in the museum samples was similar to that of modern koalas. Conclusions Low mtDNA diversity may have been present in koala populations prior to recent population declines. When considering management strategies, low genetic diversity of the mtDNA hypervariable region may not indicate recent inbreeding or founder events but may reflect an older historical pattern for koalas.

77 FR 53921 - Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-04

... after the agency no longer needs them to conduct its business. Some schedules are comprehensive and... records or indicates agency- wide applicability in the case of schedules that cover records that may be..., sustainability reports and plans, and historically significant incident response files. 7. Department of the...

High-rise construction in historical cities through the example of Saint Petersburg

Science.gov (United States)

Granstrem, Maria; Zolotareva, Milena; Slavina, Tatyana

2018-03-01

The article sets forth results of the landscape visual analysis of the interaction of high-rise construction facilities with the environment of historical urban spaces. A toxic connection of high-rise construction facilities with the established urban landscape was analyzed and recorded. One of the latest stages of the reconstruction of historical cities, which penetrated many European countries at the end of the 20th century, also started in the beginning of the 21st century in Russia, where the reconstruction of historical facilities and territories became one of the leading trends of architectural activity. Therefore, problems of the interaction between the old city and new high-rise construction nearby historical centers are extremely relevant for Russian architects. Specific features of Russian high-rise construction within visual borders of historical cities, developed at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries, repeat past urban-planning mistakes spread in Europe in the second half of the 20th century. High-rise construction in close proximity to historical centers of cities violates an established scale and destroys a historical city silhouette.

History, Historical and Historicity in Heidegger

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Manuel CHILLÓN

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In order to the “Historie” is possible as “Geschichte”, that is, so that the events are more than mere collections of past vestiges, it is necessary that the historical (geschichtlich of history is understood as enshrined in the historicity, in Geschichtlichkeit. In § 6 of the Introduction to ‘Being and Time’ Heidegger understands that the historicity refers to the temporality of Dasein, to its finitude. Thiking of the historicity requires, as its main task, overcoming history as history of entities, in terms of history of forgotten being. And, of course, to think the being, the happening of being and Dasein which, as such event, is being, is occurring , it is historicizing .

Teleconnection among Asian Summer Monsoon, ENSO and PDO revealed by instrumental and historic records as well as an annual resolution stalagmite record from Lianhua Cave, northwestern Hunan, China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, H.; Yin, J.; Yuan, D.; Li, T.

2013-12-01

A 33-cm long aragonite stalagmite, LHN-1, from Lianhua Cave (29°09'N, 109°33'E , 459m a.s.l.) in NW Hunan Province of China has been dated by ICP-MS 230Th/U method. The 14 230Th/U dates with less than ×37 years uncertainties yield excellent chronology, showing that the stalagmite grew continuously over the past 3400 years. The 0.1-mm sampling interval for stable isotope analyses provides annual resolution δ18O and δ13C records of the LHN-1 stalagmite. Up-to-dated, a total of 887 measurements for δ18O and δ13C have been made, which reveal detailed monsoonal climatic changes during the past 1000 years. The average values of δ18O and δ13C are -5.83 (‰, PDB) and -3.29 (‰, PDB), respectively. For the youngest part of the δ18O record, we have compared with the instrumentally meteorological records and historical dryness/wetness indexes from the studying area, indicating that stalagmite δ18O on annual-to-decadal scales reflects mainly rainfall change in the monsoonal area, with lighter δ18O reflecting wetter condition. The comparison of the δ18O with the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) index since AD 1850 adopted by IPCC (2007) illustrates that lighter stalagmite δ18O corresponds to stronger EASM. Taking the average δ18O value of the 1000-yr record as an average climatic condition, we have found that the δ18O values during AD 1050~1100, 1125~1225, 1300~1350, 1430~1630 and 1900~1960 are lighter than the average, reflecting stronger EASM and wetter condition. The δ18O values during AD 1100~1125, 1225~1300, 1350~1430, 1630~1900 and 1960 to the present are heavier than the average, indicating weak EASM and drier condition. On decadal-to-centennial scales, the δ13C variations generally follow that of δ18O which probably demonstrates that vegetation above the cave controls the δ13C variations. Further comparisons of the δ18O, EASM, ENSO and PDO show that a negative SOI (El Nino phase) correlates warm PDO phase and higher N. Pacific pressure, resulting

Historically low mitochondrial DNA diversity in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)

OpenAIRE

Tsangaras, Kyriakos; Ávila-Arcos, María C; Ishida, Yasuko; Helgen, Kristofer M; Roca, Alfred L; Greenwood, Alex D

2012-01-01

Abstract Background The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an arboreal marsupial that was historically widespread across eastern Australia until the end of the 19th century when it suffered a steep population decline. Hunting for the fur trade, habitat conversion, and disease contributed to a precipitous reduction in koala population size during the late 1800s and early 1900s. To examine the effects of these reductions in population size on koala genetic diversity, we sequenced part of the hyp...

Temporal dynamics of categorization: Forgetting as the basis of abstraction and generalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haley eVlach

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Historically, models of categorization have focused on how learners track frequencies and co-occurrence information to abstract relevant category features for generalization. The current study takes a different approach by examining how the temporal dynamics of categorization affect abstraction and generalization. In the learning phase of the experiment, all relevant category features were presented an equal number of times across category exemplars. However, the relevant features were presented on one of two learning schedules: massed or interleaved. At a series of immediate and delayed tests, learners were asked to generalize to novel exemplars that contained massed features, interleaved features, or all novel features. The results of this experiment revealed that, at an immediate test, learners more readily generalized based upon features presented on a massed schedule. Conversely, at a delayed test, learners more readily generalized based upon features presented on an interleaved schedule, until information was no longer readily retrievable from memory. These findings suggest that forgetting and retrieval processes engendered by the temporal dynamics of learning are used as a basis of abstraction, implicating forgetting as a central mechanism of generalization.

Conversion rates of abstracts presented at the Canadian Rheumatology Association Annual Meetings into full-text journal articles.

Science.gov (United States)

Yacyshyn, Elaine A; Soong, Laura C

2017-06-01

Dissemination of research studies is important for research ideas to be transformed from initial abstracts to full publications. Analyses of the scientific impact and publication record of the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) Annual meeting have not been previously described. This study determines the publication rate of abstracts presented at the CRA Annual Meetings 2005-2013 to full-text journal articles and the factors associated with publication. Program records of previous CRA meetings from 2005 to 2013 were obtained. Abstracts were searched for corresponding full-text publication in Google Scholar and PubMed using a search algorithm. Abstracts and subsequent published articles were evaluated for type of abstract, time to publication, study type, publishing journal, and journal impact factor. A total of 1401 abstracts were included in the study, 567 of which were converted to full publications. The average time to publication was 19.7 months, with 89% of abstracts published within 3 years of being presented. Eighty-three percent of abstracts were clinical in nature, and 58% of published studies were observational in design. Articles were published in a wide range of journals, with the top publisher being the Journal of Rheumatology (31%). Average time to publication was 19.7 months. Eighty-six percent of articles had a Journal Impact Factor > 2. Overall, 40.5% of abstracts presented at the CRA Annual Meetings 2005-2013 were published. Further research is needed to determine barriers and reasons for abstracts not being published as full-text articles.

ONTOLOGICAL STANDARDIZATION FOR HISTORICAL MAP COLLECTIONS: STUDYING THE GREEK BORDERLINES OF 1881

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Gkadolou

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Historical maps deliver valuable historical information which is applicable in several domains while they document the spatiotemporal evolution of the geographical entities that are depicted therein. In order to use the historical cartographic information effectively, the maps' semantic documentation becomes a necessity for restoring any semantic ambiguities and structuring the relationship between historical and current geographical space. This paper examines cartographic ontologies as a proposed methodology and presents the first outcomes of the methodology applied for the historical map series «Carte de la nouvelle frontière Turco-Grecque» that sets the borderlines between Greece and Ottoman Empire in 1881. The map entities were modelled and compared to the current ones so as to record the changes in their spatial and thematic attributes and an ontology was developed in Protégé OWL Editor 3.4.4 for the attributes that thoroughly define a historical map and the digitised spatial entities. Special focus was given on the Greek borderline and the changes that it caused to other geographic entities.

Ontological Standardization for Historical Map Collections: Studying the Greek Borderlines of 1881

Science.gov (United States)

Gkadolou, E.; Tomai, E.; Stefanakis, E.; Kritikos, G.

2012-07-01

Historical maps deliver valuable historical information which is applicable in several domains while they document the spatiotemporal evolution of the geographical entities that are depicted therein. In order to use the historical cartographic information effectively, the maps' semantic documentation becomes a necessity for restoring any semantic ambiguities and structuring the relationship between historical and current geographical space. This paper examines cartographic ontologies as a proposed methodology and presents the first outcomes of the methodology applied for the historical map series «Carte de la nouvelle frontière Turco-Grecque» that sets the borderlines between Greece and Ottoman Empire in 1881. The map entities were modelled and compared to the current ones so as to record the changes in their spatial and thematic attributes and an ontology was developed in Protégé OWL Editor 3.4.4 for the attributes that thoroughly define a historical map and the digitised spatial entities. Special focus was given on the Greek borderline and the changes that it caused to other geographic entities.

75 FR 57985 - Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-23

... audiovisual recordings and photographs, and court order and report files including Indian Fiduciary Trust... Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation, reference materials, office Web site content...

An Integrated 3S and Historical Materials Analysis of the Keriya Paleoriver, NW China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Lei; Wang, Xinyuan; Cai, Heng

2014-01-01

Combining analysis of 3S (RS, GIS and GPS) and historical materials (historical records, ancient map and academic and literary writings) allows mapping of the Keriya Paleoriver of Southern Xinjiang, NW China. Keriya Paleoriver, one of the ancient Four Green Corridors which passes through the Taklimakan Desert from south to north in the Tarim Basin, recorded changes of the climate-environment in the ancient Silk Road of the region. According to the archaeological data, historical materials and paleoclimates information, its eco-environment and climate have had great changes since the 1.09Ma B.P., especially during the last 2,000 years, which has led to many famous ancient cities to be abandoned and the route of the ancient Silk Road to be moved southward. Using RS (optical and radar imagery), GIS (mapping and spatial analysis) and GPS (study area investigation), we mapped a major paleodrainage system of Keriya River, which have linked the Kunlun Mountains to the Tienshan Mountains through the Taklimakan Desert, possibly as far back as the early Pleistocene. This study illustrates the capability of the 3S and historical materials, in mapping the Keriya Paleoriver drainage networks and archaeological study on the ancient Silk Road

An Integrated 3S and Historical Materials Analysis of the Keriya Paleoriver, NW China

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Lei; Wang, Xinyuan; Cai, Heng

2014-03-01

Combining analysis of 3S (RS, GIS and GPS) and historical materials (historical records, ancient map and academic and literary writings) allows mapping of the Keriya Paleoriver of Southern Xinjiang, NW China. Keriya Paleoriver, one of the ancient Four Green Corridors which passes through the Taklimakan Desert from south to north in the Tarim Basin, recorded changes of the climate-environment in the ancient Silk Road of the region. According to the archaeological data, historical materials and paleoclimates information, its eco-environment and climate have had great changes since the 1.09Ma B.P., especially during the last 2,000 years, which has led to many famous ancient cities to be abandoned and the route of the ancient Silk Road to be moved southward. Using RS (optical and radar imagery), GIS (mapping and spatial analysis) and GPS (study area investigation), we mapped a major paleodrainage system of Keriya River, which have linked the Kunlun Mountains to the Tienshan Mountains through the Taklimakan Desert, possibly as far back as the early Pleistocene. This study illustrates the capability of the 3S and historical materials, in mapping the Keriya Paleoriver drainage networks and archaeological study on the ancient Silk Road.

Historical, observed, and modeled wildfire severity in montane forests of the Colorado Front Range.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherriff, Rosemary L; Platt, Rutherford V; Veblen, Thomas T; Schoennagel, Tania L; Gartner, Meredith H

2014-01-01

Large recent fires in the western U.S. have contributed to a perception that fire exclusion has caused an unprecedented occurrence of uncharacteristically severe fires, particularly in lower elevation dry pine forests. In the absence of long-term fire severity records, it is unknown how short-term trends compare to fire severity prior to 20th century fire exclusion. This study compares historical (i.e. pre-1920) fire severity with observed modern fire severity and modeled potential fire behavior across 564,413 ha of montane forests of the Colorado Front Range. We used forest structure and tree-ring fire history to characterize fire severity at 232 sites and then modeled historical fire-severity across the entire study area using biophysical variables. Eighteen (7.8%) sites were characterized by low-severity fires and 214 (92.2%) by mixed-severity fires (i.e. including moderate- or high-severity fires). Difference in area of historical versus observed low-severity fire within nine recent (post-1999) large fire perimeters was greatest in lower montane forests. Only 16% of the study area recorded a shift from historical low severity to a higher potential for crown fire today. An historical fire regime of more frequent and low-severity fires at low elevations (historically and continue to be so today. Thinning treatments at higher elevations of the montane zone will not return the fire regime to an historic low-severity regime, and are of questionable effectiveness in preventing severe wildfires. Based on present-day fuels, predicted fire behavior under extreme fire weather continues to indicate a mixed-severity fire regime throughout most of the montane forest zone. Recent large wildfires in the Front Range are not fundamentally different from similar events that occurred historically under extreme weather conditions.

Information field for historical research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sviatets, Yu. A.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the main information collision of historical knowledge, which consists in physical inaccessibility of events and phenomena of the past as an object of historical science for a historian as an investigator. The aim of the research is to formulate and discuss a working hypothesis about the information field of historical science. The article provides an analytical background on the main ideas and approaches in the field of modern information field theory. The author carries out the projection of the main provisions of the information field theory on historical research. It is shown that the information field is a really existing information carrier that provides its acquisition, transportation, storage and visualization, as well as provides information and knowledge recorded in various forms, realizes cultural communications. One of the manifestations of such a culture is the sign systems, which determine certain contexts. Signs are characterized by polysemy. Despite artificial origin, semiotic reality is objective. Simultaneously, signs provide intellectual activity of people. Mental signs in the historical process of use by society acquire additional meanings, generating new symbols. Polysemy shapes the problem of epistemological uncertainty of two stages – identifying the problem and solving it. Historians as researchers resort to cognitive models, which, thanks to the translational function, ensure the transfer of information from the known to the unknown. One of the explanations of polysemy is the theory of conceptual integration, according to which the structures of the original mental spaces are projected onto a new, constructed, mental space – blend. This is the result of a personʼs intellectual ability to create new meanings on the basis of the available ones. Since signs and symbols are multi-valued, they form a multiplicity of retrospective scenarios of historical research at the stage of problem formulation

Retrieving Historical Electrorefining Data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wheeler, Meagan Daniella [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-08-18

Pyrochemical Operations began at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) during 1962 (1). Electrorefining (ER) has been implemented as a routine process since the 1980’s. The process data that went through the ER operation was recorded but had never been logged in an online database. Without a database new staff members are hindered in their work by the lack of information. To combat the issue a database in Access was created to collect the historical data. The years from 2000 onward were entered and queries were created to analyze trends. These trends will aid engineering and operations staff to reach optimal performance for the startup of the new lines.

Characterisation of a Proto-historic bronze collection by micro-EDXRF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Figueiredo, Elin; Araújo, M. Fátima; Silva, Rui J.C.; Vilaça, Raquel

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A collection of Proto-historic metal artefacts was analysed by micro-EDXRF. ► Composition of major and minor elements has been determined. ► Artefacts were manufactured in a bronze alloy with a low impurity pattern. ► The alloy shows parallels with indigenous Late Bronze Age Iberian productions. -- Abstract: Studies concerning European Proto-historic metallic artefacts can provide important clues about technological transfers during a period of time characterised by diverse cultural interactions. A collection of Proto-historic metallic artefacts from Medronhal (western Iberian Peninsula) composed by rings, bracelets and a fibula related to different cultural affiliations were investigated by micro-EDXRF to provide a major and a minor elemental characterisation. Results show that the Medronhal collection was manufactured in a Cu–Sn alloy (binary bronze) with similar Sn contents among the various types of artefacts and a low impurity pattern. Results of the type and quality of metal were compared to other artefact collections to infer about metallurgical parallels. Strong parallels with indigenous Late Bronze Age Iberian metallurgical productions were found

Characterisation of a Proto-historic bronze collection by micro-EDXRF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Figueiredo, Elin, E-mail: elin@itn.pt [IST/ITN, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, 2686-953 Sacavém (Portugal); CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Araújo, M. Fátima [IST/ITN, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, 2686-953 Sacavém (Portugal); Silva, Rui J.C. [CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Vilaça, Raquel [CEAUCP-FCT, Instituto de Arqueologia, Departamento de História, Arqueologia e Artes, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade de Coimbra, Palácio de Sub-Ripas, 3000-395 Coimbra (Portugal)

2013-02-01

Highlights: ► A collection of Proto-historic metal artefacts was analysed by micro-EDXRF. ► Composition of major and minor elements has been determined. ► Artefacts were manufactured in a bronze alloy with a low impurity pattern. ► The alloy shows parallels with indigenous Late Bronze Age Iberian productions. -- Abstract: Studies concerning European Proto-historic metallic artefacts can provide important clues about technological transfers during a period of time characterised by diverse cultural interactions. A collection of Proto-historic metallic artefacts from Medronhal (western Iberian Peninsula) composed by rings, bracelets and a fibula related to different cultural affiliations were investigated by micro-EDXRF to provide a major and a minor elemental characterisation. Results show that the Medronhal collection was manufactured in a Cu–Sn alloy (binary bronze) with similar Sn contents among the various types of artefacts and a low impurity pattern. Results of the type and quality of metal were compared to other artefact collections to infer about metallurgical parallels. Strong parallels with indigenous Late Bronze Age Iberian metallurgical productions were found.

78 FR 68098 - Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-13

... the creation, maintenance, and content of the agency Web site. 16. Administrative Office of the United..., audiovisual records, historic apprentice yearbooks, Superintendent of Documents subject files, legislative...

Blunder, Error, Mistake, Pitfall: Trawling the OED with the Help of the Historical Thesaurus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jane Roberts

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the lexis of error and examines its use across time in relation to the writing and spelling of English, to grammar and pronunciation. Discussion focuses first on the earliest records of notions of correctness in English language usage, from Ælfric forwards to the emergence of standard English, from the sixteenth century’s growing worries about copiousness and purity of diction to eighteenth-century concerns to prescribe and rule the language. The historical overview is complemented by consideration of the data drawn together by the Glasgow Historical Thesaurus project, its evidence taken from the Oxford English Dictionary and the Dictionary of Old English Corpus. For earlier centuries, there are by far fewer relevant citations, often buried within words wide in reference. With the help of the Historical Thesaurus we drill down to view how views of language mistakes and errors have changed over the centuries of the recorded history of English.

Identification and classification of Serbia's historic floods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prohaska Stevan

2009-01-01

Full Text Available River flooding in Serbia is a natural phenomenon which largely exceeds the scope of water management and hydraulic engineering, and has considerable impact on the development of Serbian society. Today, the importance and value of areas threatened by floods are among the key considerations of sustainable development. As a result, flood protection techniques and procedures need to be continually refined and updated, following innovations in the fields of science and technology. Knowledge of high flows is key for sizing hydraulic structures and for gauging the cost-effectiveness and safety of the component structures of flood protection systems. However, sizing of hydraulic structures based on computed high flows does not ensure absolute safety; there is a residual flood risk and a risk of structural failure, if a flood exceeds computed levels. In hydrological practice, such floods are often referred to as historic/loads. The goal of this paper is to present a calculation procedure for the objective identification of historic floods, using long, multiple-year series of data on high flows of natural watercourses in Serbia. At its current stage of development, the calculation procedure is based on maximum annual discharges recorded at key monitoring stations of the Hydro-Meteorological Service of Serbia (HMS Serbia. When applied, the procedure results in the identification of specific historic maximum stages/floods (if any at all gauge sites included in the analysis. The probabilistic theory is then applied to assess the statistical significance of each identified historic flood and to classify the historic flood, as appropriate. At the end of the paper, the results of the applied methodology are shown in tabular and graphic form for various Serbian rivers. All identified historic floods are ranked based on their probability of occurrence (i.e., return period.

USING VERTICAL PANORAMIC IMAGES TO RECORD A HISTORIC CEMETERY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. M. G. Tommaselli

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In 1919, during colonization of the West Region of São Paulo State, Brazil, the Ogassawara family built a cemetery and a school with donations received from the newspaper Osaka Mainichi Shimbum, in Osaka, Japan. The cemetery was closed by President Getúlio Vargas in 1942, during the Second World War. The architecture of the Japanese cemetery is a unique feature in Latin America. Even considering its historical and cultural relevance, there is a lack of geometric documentation about the location and features of the tombs and other buildings within the cemetery. As an alternative to provide detailed and fast georeferenced information about the area, it is proposed to use near vertical panoramic images taken with a digital camera with fisheye lens as the primary data followed by bundle adjustment and photogrammetric restitution. The aim of this paper is to present a feasibility study on the proposed technique with the assessment of the results with a strip of five panoramic images, taken over some graves in the Japanese cemetery. The results showed that a plant in a scale of 1 : 200 can be produced with photogrammetric restitution at a very low cost, when compared to topographic surveying or laser scanning. The paper will address the main advantages of this technique as well as its drawbacks, with quantitative analysis of the results achieved in this experiment.

Using Vertical Panoramic Images to Record a Historic Cemetery

Science.gov (United States)

Tommaselli, A. M. G.; Polidori, L.; Hasegawa, J. K.; Camargo, P. O.; Hirao, H.; Moraes, M. V. A.; Rissate, E. A., Jr.; Henrique, G. R.; Abreu, P. A. G.; Berveglieri, A.; Marcato, J., Jr.

2013-07-01

In 1919, during colonization of the West Region of São Paulo State, Brazil, the Ogassawara family built a cemetery and a school with donations received from the newspaper Osaka Mainichi Shimbum, in Osaka, Japan. The cemetery was closed by President Getúlio Vargas in 1942, during the Second World War. The architecture of the Japanese cemetery is a unique feature in Latin America. Even considering its historical and cultural relevance, there is a lack of geometric documentation about the location and features of the tombs and other buildings within the cemetery. As an alternative to provide detailed and fast georeferenced information about the area, it is proposed to use near vertical panoramic images taken with a digital camera with fisheye lens as the primary data followed by bundle adjustment and photogrammetric restitution. The aim of this paper is to present a feasibility study on the proposed technique with the assessment of the results with a strip of five panoramic images, taken over some graves in the Japanese cemetery. The results showed that a plant in a scale of 1 : 200 can be produced with photogrammetric restitution at a very low cost, when compared to topographic surveying or laser scanning. The paper will address the main advantages of this technique as well as its drawbacks, with quantitative analysis of the results achieved in this experiment.

Estimation of historical earthquake intensities and intensity-PGA relationship for wooden house damages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, In-Kil; Seo, Jeong-Moon

2002-01-01

A series of tests and dynamic analyses on Korean traditional wooden houses was performed for the intensity estimation of the typical large historical earthquake records. Static and cyclic lateral load tests on the wooden frames were performed to assess the lateral load capacity of wooden frames. The shaking table tests on two 1:4 scaled models of a Korean ancient commoner's house made of fresh pine lumber were performed. Typical earthquake time histories recorded on soil and rock sites were used as input for the tests. The prototypical wooden house was analyzed for multiple time histories which match Ohsaki's ground response spectra. Seismic analyses comprise the aging of lumber and different soil condition. The relationship between the earthquake intensity and the peak ground acceleration (PGA) is proposed for the wooden house damages based on the results of this study. The intensity of major Korean historical earthquake records related with house collapses was quantitatively estimated to be MM VIII

Historical atmospheric pollution trends in Southeast Asia inferred from lake sediment records.

Science.gov (United States)

Engels, S; Fong, L S R Z; Chen, Q; Leng, M J; McGowan, S; Idris, M; Rose, N L; Ruslan, M S; Taylor, D; Yang, H

2018-04-01

Fossil fuel combustion leads to increased levels of air pollution, which negatively affects human health as well as the environment. Documented data for Southeast Asia (SEA) show a strong increase in fossil fuel consumption since 1980, but information on coal and oil combustion before 1980 is not widely available. Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) and heavy metals, such as mercury (Hg), are emitted as by-products of fossil fuel combustion and may accumulate in sediments following atmospheric fallout. Here we use sediment SCP and Hg records from several freshwater lentic ecosystems in SEA (Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore) to reconstruct long-term, region-wide variations in levels of these two key atmospheric pollution indicators. The age-depth models of Philippine sediment cores do not reach back far enough to date first SCP presence, but single SCP occurrences are first observed between 1925 and 1950 for a Malaysian site. Increasing SCP flux is observed at our sites from 1960 onward, although individual sites show minor differences in trends. SCP fluxes show a general decline after 2000 at each of our study sites. While the records show broadly similar temporal trends across SEA, absolute SCP fluxes differ between sites, with a record from Malaysia showing SCP fluxes that are two orders of magnitude lower than records from the Philippines. Similar trends in records from China and Japan represent the emergence of atmospheric pollution as a broadly-based inter-region environmental problem during the 20th century. Hg fluxes were relatively stable from the second half of the 20th century onward. As catchment soils are also contaminated with atmospheric Hg, future soil erosion can be expected to lead to enhanced Hg flux into surface waters. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOCUMENTING FOR POSTERITY: ADVOCATING THE USE OF ADVANCED RECORDING TECHNIQUES FOR DOCUMENTATION IN THE FIELD OF BUILDING ARCHAEOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. J. De Vos

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Since the new millennium, living in historic cities has become extremely popular in the Netherlands. As a consequence, historic environments are being adapted to meet modern living standards. Houses are constantly subjected to development, restoration and renovation. Although most projects are carried out with great care and strive to preserve and respect as much historic material as possible, nevertheless a significant amount of historical fabric disappears. This puts enormous pressure on building archaeologists that struggle to rapidly and accurately capture in situ authentic material and historical evidence in the midst of construction works. In Leiden, a medieval city that flourished during the seventeenth century and that today counts over 3,000 listed monuments, a solution to the problem has been found with the implementation of advanced recording techniques. Since 2014, building archaeologists of the city council have experienced first-hand that new recording techniques, such as laser scanning and photogrammetry, have dramatically decreased time spent on site with documentation. Time they now use to uncover, analyse and interpret the recovered historical data. Nevertheless, within building archaeology education, a strong case is made for hand drawing as a method for understanding a building, emphasising the importance of close observation and physical contact with the subject. In this paper, the use of advanced recording techniques in building archaeology is being advocated, confronting traditional educational theory with practise, and research tradition with the rapid rise of new recording technologies.

Documenting for Posterity: Advocating the Use of Advanced Recording Techniques for Documentation in the Field of Building Archaeology

Science.gov (United States)

De Vos, P. J.

2017-08-01

Since the new millennium, living in historic cities has become extremely popular in the Netherlands. As a consequence, historic environments are being adapted to meet modern living standards. Houses are constantly subjected to development, restoration and renovation. Although most projects are carried out with great care and strive to preserve and respect as much historic material as possible, nevertheless a significant amount of historical fabric disappears. This puts enormous pressure on building archaeologists that struggle to rapidly and accurately capture in situ authentic material and historical evidence in the midst of construction works. In Leiden, a medieval city that flourished during the seventeenth century and that today counts over 3,000 listed monuments, a solution to the problem has been found with the implementation of advanced recording techniques. Since 2014, building archaeologists of the city council have experienced first-hand that new recording techniques, such as laser scanning and photogrammetry, have dramatically decreased time spent on site with documentation. Time they now use to uncover, analyse and interpret the recovered historical data. Nevertheless, within building archaeology education, a strong case is made for hand drawing as a method for understanding a building, emphasising the importance of close observation and physical contact with the subject. In this paper, the use of advanced recording techniques in building archaeology is being advocated, confronting traditional educational theory with practise, and research tradition with the rapid rise of new recording technologies.

The use of taxation records in assessing historical floods in South Moravia, Czech Republic

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Brázdil, Rudolf; Chromá, Kateřina; Řezníčková, Ladislava; Valášek, H.; Dolák, Lukáš; Stachoň, Z.; Soukalová, E.; Dobrovolný, Petr

2014-01-01

Roč. 18, č. 10 (2014), s. 3873-3889 ISSN 1027-5606 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-19831S Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : taxation system * historical floods * South Moravia * Czech Republic Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sci ences, Meteorology Impact factor: 3.535, year: 2014 http://www.hydrol-earth-syst- sci .net/18/3873/2014/hess-18-3873-2014.pdf

[Freud's abstract of "A contribution to the option of neurosis" (1913). Publication and commentary].

Science.gov (United States)

May, Ulrike

2011-01-01

The text, which is published here for the first time, summarizes the paper Freud presented to the IPA congress in Munich. A short commentary highlights the circumstances under which the paper was written and the reasons why the abstract remained unpublished. It also sketches the historical significance of the paper in terms of the problem of the option of neurosis, in particular obsessional neurosis, of the development of Freud's sexual theory and of the relation of his views to those of Ernest Jones.

Measuring past glacier fluctuations from historic photographs geolocated using Structure from Motion

Science.gov (United States)

Vargo, L.; Anderson, B.; Horgan, H. J.; Mackintosh, A.; Lorrey, A.; Thornton, M.

2017-12-01

Quantifying glacier fluctuations is important for understanding how the cryosphere responds to climate variability and change. Photographs of past ice extents have become iconic images of climate change, but until now incorporating these images into quantitative estimates of glacier change has been problematic. We present a new method to quantitatively measure past glacier fluctuations from historic images. The method uses a large set of modern geolocated photographs and Structure from Motion (SfM) to calculate the camera parameters for the historic images, including the location from which they were taken. We initially apply this method to a small maritime New Zealand glacier (Brewster Glacier, 44°S, 2 km2), and quantify annual equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) and length changes from historic oblique aerial photographs (1981 - 2017). Results show that Brewster has retreated 364 ± 12 m since 1981 and, using independent field measurements of terminus positions (2005 - 2014), we show that this SfM-derived length record accurately captures glacier change. We calculate the uncertainties associated with this method using known coordinates of bedrock features surrounding the glacier. Mean uncertainties in the ELA and length records are 7 m and 11 m, respectively. In addition to Brewster, 49 other New Zealand glaciers have been monitored by aerial photographs since 1978. However, the length records for these glaciers only include years of relative advance or retreat, and no length changes have been quantified. We will ultimately apply this method to all 50 glaciers, expanding the database of New Zealand glacier fluctuations that until now included only a few glaciers. This method can be further applied to any glacier with historic images, and can be used to measure past changes in glacier width, area, and surface elevation in addition to ELA and length.

The Qatar National Historic Environment Record: a Platform for the Development of a Fully-Integrated Cultural Heritage Management Application

Science.gov (United States)

Cuttler, R. T. H.; Tonner, T. W. W.; Al-Naimi, F. A.; Dingwall, L. M.; Al-Hemaidi, N.

2013-07-01

The development of the Qatar National Historic Environment Record (QNHER) by the Qatar Museums Authority and the University of Birmingham in 2008 was based on a customised, bilingual Access database and ArcGIS. While both platforms are stable and well supported, neither was designed for the documentation and retrieval of cultural heritage data. As a result it was decided to develop a custom application using Open Source code. The core module of this application is now completed and is orientated towards the storage and retrieval of geospatial heritage data for the curation of heritage assets. Based on MIDAS Heritage data standards and regionally relevant thesauri, it is a truly bilingual system. Significant attention has been paid to the user interface, which is userfriendly and intuitive. Based on a suite of web services and accessed through a web browser, the system makes full use of internet resources such as Google Maps and Bing Maps. The application avoids long term vendor ''tie-ins'' and as a fully integrated data management system, is now an important tool for both cultural resource managers and heritage researchers in Qatar.

Overview of Historical Earthquake Document Database in Japan and Future Development

Science.gov (United States)

Nishiyama, A.; Satake, K.

2014-12-01

In Japan, damage and disasters from historical large earthquakes have been documented and preserved. Compilation of historical earthquake documents started in the early 20th century and 33 volumes of historical document source books (about 27,000 pages) have been published. However, these source books are not effectively utilized for researchers due to a contamination of low-reliability historical records and a difficulty for keyword searching by characters and dates. To overcome these problems and to promote historical earthquake studies in Japan, construction of text database started in the 21 century. As for historical earthquakes from the beginning of the 7th century to the early 17th century, "Online Database of Historical Documents in Japanese Earthquakes and Eruptions in the Ancient and Medieval Ages" (Ishibashi, 2009) has been already constructed. They investigated the source books or original texts of historical literature, emended the descriptions, and assigned the reliability of each historical document on the basis of written age. Another database compiled the historical documents for seven damaging earthquakes occurred along the Sea of Japan coast in Honshu, central Japan in the Edo period (from the beginning of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century) and constructed text database and seismic intensity data base. These are now publicized on the web (written only in Japanese). However, only about 9 % of the earthquake source books have been digitized so far. Therefore, we plan to digitize all of the remaining historical documents by the research-program which started in 2014. The specification of the data base will be similar for previous ones. We also plan to combine this database with liquefaction traces database, which will be constructed by other research program, by adding the location information described in historical documents. Constructed database would be utilized to estimate the distributions of seismic intensities and tsunami

An automatic method to generate domain-specific investigator networks using PubMed abstracts

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Wei; Yesupriya, Ajay; Wulf, Anja; Qu, Junfeng; Gwinn, Marta; Khoury, Muin J

2007-01-01

Background Collaboration among investigators has become critical to scientific research. This includes ad hoc collaboration established through personal contacts as well as formal consortia established by funding agencies. Continued growth in online resources for scientific research and communication has promoted the development of highly networked research communities. Extending these networks globally requires identifying additional investigators in a given domain, profiling their research interests, and collecting current contact information. We present a novel strategy for building investigator networks dynamically and producing detailed investigator profiles using data available in PubMed abstracts. Results We developed a novel strategy to obtain detailed investigator information by automatically parsing the affiliation string in PubMed records. We illustrated the results by using a published literature database in human genome epidemiology (HuGE Pub Lit) as a test case. Our parsing strategy extracted country information from 92.1% of the affiliation strings in a random sample of PubMed records and in 97.0% of HuGE records, with accuracies of 94.0% and 91.0%, respectively. Institution information was parsed from 91.3% of the general PubMed records (accuracy 86.8%) and from 94.2% of HuGE PubMed records (accuracy 87.0). We demonstrated the application of our approach to dynamic creation of investigator networks by creating a prototype information system containing a large database of PubMed abstracts relevant to human genome epidemiology (HuGE Pub Lit), indexed using PubMed medical subject headings converted to Unified Medical Language System concepts. Our method was able to identify 70–90% of the investigators/collaborators in three different human genetics fields; it also successfully identified 9 of 10 genetics investigators within the PREBIC network, an existing preterm birth research network. Conclusion We successfully created a web-based prototype

Perpendicular magnetic recording-Its development and realization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iwasaki, Shun-ichi, E-mail: iwasaki@tohtech.ac.jp [Tohoku Institute of Technology, 35-1 Yagiyamakasumi-cho, Taihaku-ku, Sendai 982-8577 (Japan)

2012-02-15

Development of perpendicular magnetic recording is summarized along with learning from the research study. The early stage of perpendicular recording was conducted with the research philosophy of complementarity between perpendicular and horizontal recordings. Although present production of the perpendicular recording HDDs exceeds 600 million per year, development of perpendicular recording experienced the valley of death in the 1990s. The difficult period was overcome by the collaboration system of industrial and academic communities. The research on perpendicular recording brought about development of new research model as well as the historical view of the development of technology and innovation. The huge influence of perpendicular recording on society also taught us the relationship between science and technology with culture and civilization. - Research Highlights: > Discovery of circular magnetization led to idea of perpendicular recording. > SPT head and Co-Cr media were realized for practical perpendicular recording. > The complementarity between perpendicular and in-plane recording helped progress. > Death valley of research has been overcome by cooperation with potent companies. > Present mass production of HDDs is making a new civilization of the society.

Characterising Record Flooding in the United Kingdom

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, A.; Bates, P. D.; Smith, J. A.

2017-12-01

Though the most notable floods in history have been carefully explained, there remains a lack of literature that explores the nature of record floods as a whole in the United Kingdom. We characterise the seasonality, statistical and spatial distribution, and meteorological causes of peak river flows for 521 gauging stations spread across the British Isles. We use annual maximum data from the National River Flow Archive, catchment descriptors from the Flood Estimation Handbook, and historical records of large floods. What we aim to find is in what ways, if any, the record flood for a station is different from more 'typical' floods. For each station, we calculate two indices: the seasonal anomaly and the flood index. Broadly, the seasonal anomaly is the degree to which a station's record flood happens at a different time of year compared to typical floods at that site, whilst the flood index is a station's record flood discharge divided by the discharge of the 1-in-10-year return period event. We find that while annual maximum peaks are dominated by winter frontal rainfall, record floods are disproportionately caused by summer convective rainfall. This analysis also shows that the larger the seasonal anomaly, the higher the flood index. Additionally, stations across the country have record floods that occur in the summer with no notable spatial pattern, yet the most seasonally anomalous record events are concentrated around the south and west of the British Isles. Catchment descriptors tell us little about the flood index at a particular station, but generally areas with lower mean annual precipitation have a higher flood index. The inclusion of case studies from recent and historical examples of notable floods across the UK supplements our analysis and gives insight into how typical these events are, both statistically and meteorologically. Ultimately, record floods in general happen at relatively unexpected times and with unpredictable magnitudes, which is a

Abstract

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Getachew

realistic distribution of no-show data in modeling the cost function was considered using data collected from the .... the paper models the cost function based on a realistic probability distributions based on the historical data is a .... Plot of Revenue generated vs. overbooking for two class case (at $500. Compensation Cost ...

New records and range extensions of several species of native bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) from Mississippi

Science.gov (United States)

Griswold, Terry; Ikerd, Harold W; Orr, Michael Christopher

2018-01-01

Abstract Background The native bee fauna of Mississippi, USA has been historically poorly sampled, but is of particular relevance to determine range limits for species that occur in the southern United States. Currently published literature includes 184 species of bees that occur within the state of Mississippi. Additions to the list of native bees known for Mississippi are reported with notes on range, ecology and resources for identification. New information The geographic ranges of seven additional species are extended into the state of Mississippi: Andrena (Melandrena) obscuripennis Smith, 1853, Anthemurgus passiflorae Robertson, 1902, Dieunomia bolliana (Cockerell 1910), Diadasia (Diadasia) enavata (Cresson 1872), Peponapis crassidentata (Cockerell 1949), Triepeolus subnitens Cockerell and Timberlake, 1929 and Brachynomada nimia (Snelling and Rozen 1987). These records raise the total number of published species known from the state to 191. Anthemurgus and Brachynomada are also genera new to Mississippi. PMID:29853776

A global geomagnetic model based on historical and paleomagnetic data

Science.gov (United States)

Arneitz, P.; Leonhardt, R.; Fabian, K.

2015-12-01

Two main types of data are available to reconstruct the temporal and spatial geomagnetic field evolution. Historical instrumental measurements (direct data) extend from present day to the late Middle Age, and, prior the 19th century, consist mainly of declination values. Further back in the past, field reconstructions rely exclusively on the magnetization acquired by archaeological artefacts and rocks or sediments (indirect data). The major challenges for a reliable inversion approach are the inhomogeneous data distribution, the highly variable data quality, and inconsistent quality parameters. Available historical, archeomagnetic and volcanic records have been integrated into a single database together with corresponding metadata. This combination of compilations enables a joint evaluation of geomagnetic field records from different origins. In particular, data reliability and quality of indirect records are investigated using a detailed comparison with their direct counterparts. The collection forms the basis for combined inverse modeling of the geomagnetic field evolution. The iterative Bayesian inversion approach targets the implementation of reliable error treatments, which allow to combine data from different sources. Furthermore, a verification method scrutinizing the limitations of the applied inversion scheme and the used datasets is developed. Here, we will present strategies for the integration of different data types into the modeling procedure. The obtained modeling results and their validity will be discussed.

Recent Vs. Historical Seismicity Analysis For Banat Seismic Region (Western Part Of Romania)

OpenAIRE

Oros Eugen; Diaconescu Mihai

2015-01-01

The present day seismic activity from a region reflects the active tectonics and can confirm the seismic potential of the seismogenic sources as they are modelled using the historical seismicity. This paper makes a comparative analysis of the last decade seismicity recorded in the Banat Seismic Region (western part of Romania) and the historical seismicity of the region (Mw≥4.0). Four significant earthquake sequences have been recently localized in the region, three of them nearby the city of...

5. ITER International Summer School - Programme and Abstract book

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Dam, J.W.; Gorelenkov, N.N.; Pueschel, M.J.; Berk, H.L.; Nazikian, R.; Pustovitov, V.D.; Lin, Z.; Koenis, A.; White, R.B.; Lilley, M.; Kiptily, V.G.; Sharapov, S.E.; Fisch, N.J.; Ganesh, R.; Putvinski, S.; Toi, Kazuo; Guimaraes-Filho, Z.O.; Todo, Y.; Bader, A.; Bonoli, P.; Granetz, R.; Harvey, R.W.; Jaeger, E.F.; Parker, R.; Wukitch, S.; Bass, E.M.; Waltz, R.E.; Bellintani, V.; Ozono, E.M.; Severo, J.H.F.; Kusnetzov, Y.; Galvao, R.M.O.; Botrugno, A.; Buratti, P.; Fusco, V.; Pucella, G.; Zonca, F.; Guimaraes, Z.; Di Troia, C.; Divin, A.; Lapenta, G.; Markidis, S.; Dong, Yunbo; Liu, Y.; Deng, W.; Rao, J.; Zhou, J.; Yang, Q.W.; Huang, Y.; Zhou, Y.; Li, W.; Song, X.M.; Dong, J.Q.; Cao, J.Y.; Garcia-Martinez, P.L.; Firpo, M.C.; Lifchitz, A.F.; Ferrari, H.E.; Farengo, R.; Ghantous, K.; Berk, H.L.; Gorelenkov, N.N.; Haskey, S.R.; Blackwell, B.D.; Hole, M.J.; Pretty, D.G.; Howard, J.; Iatsenko, N.; Iatsenko, E.; James, A.N.; Kappatou, A.; Delabie, E.; Jaspers, R.J.E.; Von Hellermann, M.G.; King, J.D.; La Haye, R.J.; Petty, C.C.; Osborne, T.H.; Lasnier, C.J.; Groebner, R.J.; Volpe, F.; Lanctot, M.J.; Makowski, M.A.; Holcomb, C.T.; Allen, S.L.; Luce, T.C.; Austin, M.E.; Meyer, W.H.; Morse, E.C.; Koliner, J.J.; Forest, C.B.; Sarff, J.S.; Oliva, S.; Anderson, J.K.; Almagri, A.R.; Koskela, T.; Kurki-Suonio, T.; Akaslompolo, S.; Asunta, O.; Hirvijoki, E.; Snicker, A.; Sipila, S.; Kumar, Sachin; Kumar, Sanjay; Sharma, R.P.; Lanctot, M.J.; Reimerdes, H.; Garofalo, A.M.; Chu, M.S.; Hanson, J.M.; Liu, Y.Q.; Navratil, G.A.; Bogatu, I.N.; In, Y.; Jackson, G.L.; La Haye, R.J.; Okayabashi, M.; Park, J.K.; Schaffer, M.J.; Schmitz, O.; Strait, E.J.; Lauret, M.; Monnier, A.; Fuhr, G.; Beyer, P.; Benkadda, S.; Garbet, X.; Muscatello, C.M.; Heidbrink, W.W.; Kolesnichenko, Y.I.; Lutsenko, V.V.; Van Zeeland, M.A.; Yakovenko, Y.V.; Ogawa, K.; Isobe, M.; Toi, K.; Spong, D.A.; Osakabe, M.; Papp, G.; Drevlak, M.; Fulop, T.; Helander, P.; Pokol, G.I.; Paz-Soldan, C.; Bergerson, W.F.; Brookhart, M.I.; Hannum, D.A.; Sarff, J.S.; Hegna, C.C.; Forest, C.B.; Saito, Seiki; Takayama, Arimichi; Ito, Atsushi; Nakamura, Hiroaki; Sears, J.; Parker, R.R.; Bader, A.; Golfinopoulos, T.; Kramer, G.J.; Singh, S.K.; Mattoo, S.K.; Awasthi, L.M.; Singh, R.; Kaw, P.K.; Boukhalfa, S.; Tribeche, M.; Zerguini, T.H.; Sversut Arsioli, B.; Ryter, F.; Tarasov, M.I.; Tarasov, I.K.; Sitnikov, D.A.; Slavnyj, A.S.; Kulaga, A.E.; Pavlichenko, R.O.; Berezhnyj, V.L.; Goncharov, I.G.; Prokopendo, A.V.; Shapoval, A.N.; Konovalov, V.G.; Volkov, E.D.; Lozin, A.V.; Tsybenko, S.A.; Pashnev, V.K.; Olshansky, V.V.; Stepanov, K.N.; Thomas, E.; Hopkins, D.; Betton, F.; Tobias, B.J.; Boom, J.E.; Che, S.; Classen, I.G.J.; Domier, C.W.; Donne, A.J.H.; Kong, X.; Kramer, G.J.; Luhmann, N.C.

2013-01-01

This conference provides an overview of MHD (Magneto Hydro-Dynamics) interacting with energetic particles (EP) with regard to the ITER project. The topics covered include: -) key energetic-particles issues for ITER, -) theory of EP-driven modes and associated transport, -) historical review of kinetic MHD, -) kinetic linear stability of EP-MHD modes, -) turbulent transport of fast particles, -) diagnostics of EP-MHD modes, -) experimental observation of EP-driven modes, -) diagnostics for EP-driven modes, -) the use of fast particle driven modes for MHD spectroscopy, -) modelling of EP-MHD modes, -) MHD modes driven by fast electrons: theory, -) MHD modes driven by fast electrons: experiment, -) nonlinear dynamics of EP-driven modes, and -) hybrid simulations of EP-MHD modes. This document puts together the program of the conference, a few abstracts and some posters

Historical abundance and morphology of Didymosphenia species in Naknek Lake, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Pite, D.P.; Lane, K.A.; Hermann, A.K.; Spaulding, S.A.; Finney, B.P.

2009-01-01

Since the 1980s, nuisance blooms of Didymosphenia geminata (Lyngbye) M. Schmidt have been documented in sites that are warmer and more mesotrophic than historical records indicate. While the invasion of D. geminata in New Zealand is well documented, it is less clear whether nuisance blooms in North America are a new phenomenon. In order to test the hypothesis that D. geminata blooms have increased in recent years, we examined the historical record of this species in sediments of Naknek Lake, in Katmai National Park, Alaska. Chronological control was established by relating the presence of two ash layers to known volcanic eruptions. We identified two species of Didymosphenia within the sediment record: D. geminata and D. clavaherculis (Ehrenberg) Metzeltin et Lange-Bertalot. This is the first published record of D. clavaherculis in North America. We found no statistically significant change in the numerical presence of D. geminata or D. clavaherculis, as a group, in Naknek Lake between the years 1218 and 2003. While there has been no sudden, or recent, increase in abundance of Didymosphenia in Naknek Lake, morphological features of D. geminata populations in Naknek Lake are distinct compared to morphological features of D. geminata in streams containing nuisance blooms from sites in North America and New Zealand. Variance in the morphology of Didymosphenia cells may help determine relationships between distinct sub-populations and establish the history of habitat invasion.

Development of an optical character recognition pipeline for handwritten form fields from an electronic health record.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen, Luke V; Peissig, Peggy L; McCarty, Catherine A; Starren, Justin

2012-06-01

Although the penetration of electronic health records is increasing rapidly, much of the historical medical record is only available in handwritten notes and forms, which require labor-intensive, human chart abstraction for some clinical research. The few previous studies on automated extraction of data from these handwritten notes have focused on monolithic, custom-developed recognition systems or third-party systems that require proprietary forms. We present an optical character recognition processing pipeline, which leverages the capabilities of existing third-party optical character recognition engines, and provides the flexibility offered by a modular custom-developed system. The system was configured and run on a selected set of form fields extracted from a corpus of handwritten ophthalmology forms. The processing pipeline allowed multiple configurations to be run, with the optimal configuration consisting of the Nuance and LEADTOOLS engines running in parallel with a positive predictive value of 94.6% and a sensitivity of 13.5%. While limitations exist, preliminary experience from this project yielded insights on the generalizability and applicability of integrating multiple, inexpensive general-purpose third-party optical character recognition engines in a modular pipeline.

Historic Building Inventory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

installation into compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act of i9bo ana its amendments, and related federal laws and regulations. To this ena, the...century. OLD BALTIMORE The first formal authorization for the establishment of a Court House was the 1674 Act of Assembly for the construction of a Court...official recorded meeting at the Court House was in 1692, at which Thomas Heath, innkeeper , filed suit for expenses incurreo by tne Justices at the 1687

A Historical Analysis of the Relationship of Faith and Science and its Significance within Education

Science.gov (United States)

Yegge, John G.

Science curriculum and pedagogy are at the center of a centuries-long debate concerning the appropriate relationship of faith and science. The difficulties that science educators face seem to be based in misinformation about the historical roots of this conflict. To address that conflict, the goals of this research were to separate myth from reality and to provide a necessary context to the current tensions that are disrupting science pedagogy and curriculum content within American public schools. Working within a theoretical framework of historical literacy, this qualitative, historical analysis was a comprehensive examination of the relationship of faith and science from ancient times through the Renascence to the emergence and development of Darwinism. The historical approach methodology was utilized as a means to document the systematic examination of past events, in order to illuminate and interpret the meaning of those events. The historical record revealed that science and religion are not necessarily incompatible and that the early Christian religion provided a fertile environment in which modern science could emerge. Also noted were many instances where the record was inconsistent with what educators have commonly taught as historical fact. Finally, the complex sources of tension between modern fundamentalist Christianity and Darwinism, which has appeared as a flashpoint in public discourse within science education, were examined in depth. Based on this analysis, the study includes recommendations for educators in their approach to addressing these challenges and teaching science. This analysis can produce positive social change for educators and their students, as this information is advanced as a means to enhance historical literacy among educators and their students.

The Likelihood of Recent Record Warmth.

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Michael E; Rahmstorf, Stefan; Steinman, Byron A; Tingley, Martin; Miller, Sonya K

2016-01-25

2014 was nominally the warmest year on record for both the globe and northern hemisphere based on historical records spanning the past one and a half centuries. It was the latest in a recent run of record temperatures spanning the past decade and a half. Press accounts reported odds as low as one-in-650 million that the observed run of global temperature records would be expected to occur in the absence of human-caused global warming. Press reports notwithstanding, the question of how likely observed temperature records may have have been both with and without human influence is interesting in its own right. Here we attempt to address that question using a semi-empirical approach that combines the latest (CMIP5) climate model simulations with observations of global and hemispheric mean temperature. We find that individual record years and the observed runs of record-setting temperatures were extremely unlikely to have occurred in the absence of human-caused climate change, though not nearly as unlikely as press reports have suggested. These same record temperatures were, by contrast, quite likely to have occurred in the presence of anthropogenic climate forcing.

Historical model evaluation data requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simpson, B.C.; McCain, D.J.

1995-01-01

Several studies about tank waste contents have been published using historical records of tank transactions and various analytical measurements. While these records offer a wealth of information, the results are questionable until error estimates associated with the results can be established. However, they do provide a direction for investigation. Two principal observations from the studies are: (1) Large quantities of individual waste types from the various separations processes were widely distributed throughout the tank farms, and (2) The compositions of many of these waste types are quite distinct from one another. A key assumption associated with these observations is that the effects of time and location on the tank wastes are either nominal or not discernable. Since each waste type has a distinct composition, it would benefit all programs to better quantify that composition, and establish an uncertainty for each element of that composition. Various process, disposal, or other decisions could then be made based on current information reducing the need for extended sampling and analysis

Field Surveys of Rare Plants on Santa Cruz Island, California, 2003-2006: Historical Records and Current Distributions

Science.gov (United States)

McEachern, A. Kathryn; Chess, Katherine A.; Niessen, Ken

2010-01-01

Santa Cruz Island is the largest of the northern Channel Islands located off the coast of California. It is owned and managed as a conservation reserve by The Nature Conservancy and the Channel Islands National Park. The island is home to nine plant taxa listed in 1997 as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, because of declines related to nearly 150 years of ranching on the island. Feral livestock were removed from the island as a major conservation step, which was part of a program completed in early 2007 with the eradication of pigs and turkeys. For the first time in more than a century, the rare plants of Santa Cruz Island have a chance to recover in the wild. This study provides survey information and living plant materials needed for recovery management of the listed taxa. We developed a database containing information about historical collections of the nine taxa and used it to plan a survey strategy. Our objectives were to relocate as many of the previously known populations as possible, with emphasis on documenting sites not visited in several decades, sites that were poorly documented in the historical record, and sites spanning the range of environmental conditions inhabited by the taxa. From 2003 through 2006, we searched for and found 39 populations of the taxa, indicating that nearly 80 percent of the populations known earlier in the 1900s still existed. Most populations are small and isolated, occupying native-dominated habitat patches in a highly fragmented and invaded landscape; they are still at risk of declining through population losses. Most are not expanding beyond the edges of their habitat patches. However, most taxa appeared to have good seed production and a range of size classes in populations, indicating a good capacity for plant recruitment and population growth in these restricted sites. For these taxa, seed collection and outplanting might be a good strategy to increase numbers of populations for species

The historical development of academic journals in occupational medicine, 1901-2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Derek R

2009-01-01

Academic journals in a specialist field provide an interesting historical record of its development and progression over time. This article describes the evolution of some major international journals of occupational medicine, including some historical background on their editorial board. As North America, the United Kingdom, and Northern Europe are known to have the highest contribution to scientific production, it was considered appropriate to investigate the main occupational medicine periodicals in these regions. Given the remarkable improvements in Japanese occupational health following the Second World War, it was also considered worthwhile to investigate the two English-language journals of occupational medicine from this country.

Spatially resolved element analysis of historical violin varnishes by use of muPIXE.

Science.gov (United States)

von Bohlen, Alex; Röhrs, Stefan; Salomon, Joseph

2007-02-01

External muPIXE has been used for characterisation of small samples of varnish from historical violins, and pieces of varnished wood from historical and modern stringed instruments. To obtain spatially resolved information about the distribution of elements across the varnish layers single-spot analysis, line-scans, and area-mapping were performed. Local resolution of approximately 20 mum was obtained from the 3 MeV, 1 nA proton micro-probe. Results from simultaneous multi-element determination of Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Br, Rb, Sr, Ag, Cd, Sn, Ba, and Pb in historical varnishes are presented. Semi-quantitative evaluation of line-scans recorded on diverse historical varnishes is reported. The applied method is discussed in detail and the results obtained are critically reviewed and compared with those in the literature.

Climate reconstructions derived from global glacier length records

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klok, E.J.; Oerlemans, J.

2004-01-01

As glacier length fluctuations provide useful information about past climate, we derived historic fluctuations in the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) on the basis of 19 glacier length records from different parts of the world. We used a model that takes into account the geometry of the glacier,

Programme and abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

Abstracts of 25 papers presented at the congress are given. The abstracts cover various topics including radiotherapy, radiopharmaceuticals, radioimmunoassay, health physics, radiation protection and nuclear medicine

2018 Congress Podium Abstracts

Science.gov (United States)

2018-02-21

Each abstract has been indexed according to first author. Abstracts appear as they were submitted and have not undergone editing or the Oncology Nursing Forum’s review process. Only abstracts that will be presented appear here. For Congress scheduling information, visit congress.ons.org or check the Congress guide. Data published in abstracts presented at the ONS 43rd Annual Congress are embargoed until the conclusion of the presentation. Coverage and/or distribution of an abstract, poster, or any of its supplemental material to or by the news media, any commercial entity, or individuals, including the authors of said abstract, is strictly prohibited until the embargo is lifted. Promotion of general topics and speakers is encouraged within these guidelines.

2018 Congress Poster Abstracts

Science.gov (United States)

2018-02-21

Each abstract has been indexed according to the first author. Abstracts appear as they were submitted and have not undergone editing or the Oncology Nursing Forum’s review process. Only abstracts that will be presented appear here. Poster numbers are subject to change. For updated poster numbers, visit congress.ons.org or check the Congress guide. Data published in abstracts presented at the ONS 43rd Annual Congress are embargoed until the conclusion of the presentation. Coverage and/or distribution of an abstract, poster, or any of its supplemental material to or by the news media, any commercial entity, or individuals, including the authors of said abstract, is strictly prohibited until the embargo is lifted. Promotion of general topics and speakers is encouraged within these guidelines.

Improving the use of historical written sources in paleopathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Piers D

2017-12-01

The texts written by the people of past societies can provide key information that enhances our understanding of disease in the past. Written sources and art can describe cultural contexts that not only help us interpret lesions in excavated human remains, but also provide evidence for past disease events themselves. However, in recent decades many biohistorical articles have been published that claim to diagnose diseases present in past celebrities or well known individuals, often using less than scholarly methodology. This article aims to help researchers use historical written sources and artwork responsibly, thus improving our understanding of health and disease in the past. It explores a broad range of historical sources, from medical texts and histories to legal documents and tax records, and it highlights how the key to interpreting any past text is to understand who wrote it, when it was written, and why it was written. Case studies of plague epidemics, crucifixion, and the spinal deformity of King Richard III are then used to highlight how we might better integrate archaeological and historical evidence. When done well, integrating evidence from both archaeological and historical sources increases the probability of a complete and well-balanced understanding of disease in past societies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Historical record of lead accumulation and source in the tidal flat of Haizhou Bay, Yellow Sea: Insights from lead isotopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Rui; Guan, Minglei; Shu, Yujie; Shen, Liya; Chen, Xixi; Zhang, Fan; Li, Tiegang

2016-01-01

In order to investigate the historical records of lead contamination and source in coastal region of Haizhou Bay, Yellow Sea, a sediment core was collected from tidal flat, dated by 210 Pb and 137 Cs. Lead and its stable isotopic ratios were determined. The profiles of enrichment factor (EF) and Pb isotope ratios showed increasing trend upward throughout the core, correlating closely with the experience of a rapid economic and industrial development of the catchment. According to Pb isotopic ratios, coal combustion emission mainly contributed to the Pb burden in sediments. Based on end-member model, coal combustion emission dominated anthropogenic Pb sources in recent decades contributing from 48% to 67% in sediment. And the contribution of leaded gasoline was lower than 20%. A stable increase of coal combustion source was found in sediment core, while the contribution of leaded gasoline had declined recently, with the phase-out of leaded gasoline in China. - Highlights: •Pb contamination in tidal flat of Haizhou Bay was chronicled by a sediment core. •The coal combustion source dominated Pb contamination of Haizhou Bay. •Coal combustion source showed an increasing trend in four decades in Haizhou Bay.

Relationship between abstract thinking and eye gaze pattern in patients with schizophrenia

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Effective integration of visual information is necessary to utilize abstract thinking, but patients with schizophrenia have slow eye movement and usually explore limited visual information. This study examines the relationship between abstract thinking ability and the pattern of eye gaze in patients with schizophrenia using a novel theme identification task. Methods Twenty patients with schizophrenia and 22 healthy controls completed the theme identification task, in which subjects selected which word, out of a set of provided words, best described the theme of a picture. Eye gaze while performing the task was recorded by the eye tracker. Results Patients exhibited a significantly lower correct rate for theme identification and lesser fixation and saccade counts than controls. The correct rate was significantly correlated with the fixation count in patients, but not in controls. Conclusions Patients with schizophrenia showed impaired abstract thinking and decreased quality of gaze, which were positively associated with each other. Theme identification and eye gaze appear to be useful as tools for the objective measurement of abstract thinking in patients with schizophrenia. PMID:24739356

Implementing Solar PV Projects on Historic Buildings and in Historic Districts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kandt, A.; Hotchkiss, E.; Walker, A.; Buddenborg, J; Lindberg, J.

2011-09-01

Many municipalities, particularly in older communities of the United States, have a large amount of historic buildings and districts. In addition to preserving these historic assets, many municipalities have goals or legislative requirements to procure a certain amount of energy from renewable sources and to become more efficient in their energy use; often, these requirements do not exempt historic buildings. This paper details findings from a workshop held in Denver, Colorado, in June 2010 that brought together stakeholders from both the solar and historic preservation industries. Based on these findings, this paper identifies challenges and recommends solutions for developing solar photovoltaic (PV) projects on historic buildings and in historic districts in such a way as to not affect the characteristics that make a building eligible for historic status.

Combined Flow Abstraction and Climate Change Impacts on an Aggrading Alpine River

Science.gov (United States)

Bakker, M.; Costa, A.; Silva, T. A.; Stutenbecker, L.; Girardclos, S.; Loizeau, J.-L.; Molnar, P.; Schlunegger, F.; Lane, S. N.

2018-01-01

Recent climatic warming and associated glacial retreat may have a large impact on sediment release and transfer in Alpine river basins. Concurrently, the sediment transport capacity of many European Alpine streams is affected by hydropower exploitation, notably where flow is abstracted but the sediment supply downstream is maintained. Here, we investigate the combined effects of climate change and flow abstraction on morphodynamics and sediment transfer in the Borgne River, Switzerland. From photogrammetrically derived historical Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), we find considerable net aggradation of the braided river bed (up to 5 m) since the onset of flow abstraction in 1963. Reaches responded through bed level steepening which was strongest in the upper most reach. Widespread aggradation however did not commence until the onset of glacier retreat in the late 1980s and the dry and warm years of the early 1990s. Upstream flow intake data shows that this aggradation coincided with an increase in sediment supply, although aggradation accounts for no more than 25% of supplied material. The remainder was transferred through the studied reaches. Estimations of bed load transport capacity indicate that flow abstraction reduces transport capacity by 1-2 orders of magnitude. While residual transport rates vary with morphological evolution, they are in the same order of magnitude as the sediment supply rates, which is why significant transport remains. However, the reduction in transport capacity makes the system more sensitive to short-term (annual) changes in climate-driven hydrological variability and climate-induced changes in intake management and sediment delivery rates.

The Hunger Stones: a new source for more objective identification of historical droughts

Science.gov (United States)

Elleder, Libor

2016-04-01

Extreme droughts recorded recently more frequently in different parts of the world represent the most serious environmental problem. Our contribution identifies periods of hydrological drought. The extreme drought period in summer 2015 enabled the levelling of historical watermarks on the „Hunger Stone" (Hungerstein) in the Elbe in Czech town of Děčín. The comparison of the obtained levels of earlier palaeographic records with systematic measurements in the Děčín profile confirmed the hypothesis that the old watermarks represent the minimal water levels. Moreover, we present a review of so far known Hunger Stones in the Elbe River with their low-level watermarks. For identification of the drought period duration we used the oldest water level records from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) database archive: Magdeburg (since 1727), Dresden (since 1801), Prague (since 1825) and Decin (since 1851) time-series. We obtained more objective and complex information on all historical droughts between 1727 and 2015. The low water-marks on Hunger Stones give us a possibility for augmentation of systematic records and extended our knowledge's back to 1616. The Hunger Stones in the Elbe River with old watermarks are unique testimony for studying of hydrological extremes, and last but not least also of anthropogenic changes in the riverbed of the Elbe.

Extreme Drought Events Revealed in Amazon Tree Ring Records

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, H. S.; Baker, P. A.; Guilderson, T. P.

2010-12-01

The Amazon basin is a center of deep atmospheric convection and thus acts as a major engine for global hydrologic circulation. Yet despite its significance, a full understanding of Amazon rainfall variability remains elusive due to a poor historical record of climate. Temperate tree rings have been used extensively to reconstruct climate over the last thousand years, however less attention has been given to the application of dendrochronology in tropical regions, in large part due to a lower frequency of tree species known to produce annual rings. Here we present a tree ring record of drought extremes from the Madre de Dios region of southeastern Peru over the last 190 years. We confirm that tree ring growth in species Cedrela odorata is annual and show it to be well correlated with wet season precipitation. This correlation is used to identify extreme dry (and wet) events that have occurred in the past. We focus on drought events identified in the record as drought frequency is expected to increase over the Amazon in a warming climate. The Cedrela chronology records historic Amazon droughts of the 20th century previously identified in the literature and extends the record of drought for this region to the year 1816. Our analysis shows that there has been an increase in the frequency of extreme drought (mean recurrence interval = 5-6 years) since the turn of the 20th century and both Atlantic and Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) forcing mechanisms are implicated.

New Floristic Records of Ranunculaceae Family

OpenAIRE

Özçelik, Hasan; Korkmaztürk, Mahmut

2012-01-01

Abstract: A study has been made about the revision of Ranunculaceae family between 2009-2011 years. Turkiye's important and major herbariums (especially Hb. GUL) have been visited and related family patterns were revised. In end of the study; it is determined that 55 taxa as new records for 78 geographical squares in Flora of Türkiye. In this study, the taxa of Ranunculaceae that have new records and spreading in an interesting way are declared.Key words: Ranunculaceae, Türkiye, New reco...

Digi-Clima Grid: image processing and distributed computing for recovering historical climate data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Nesmachnow

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article describes the Digi-Clima Grid project, whose main goals are to design and implement semi-automatic techniques for digitalizing and recovering historical climate records applying parallel computing techniques over distributed computing infrastructures. The specific tool developed for image processing is described, and the implementation over grid and cloud infrastructures is reported. A experimental analysis over institutional and volunteer-based grid/cloud distributed systems demonstrate that the proposed approach is an efficient tool for recovering historical climate data. The parallel implementations allow to distribute the processing load, achieving accurate speedup values.

Program and abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1975-01-01

Abstracts of the papers given at the conference are presented. The abstracts are arranged under sessions entitled:Theoretical Physics; Nuclear Physics; Solid State Physics; Spectroscopy; Physics Education; SANCGASS; Astronomy; Plasma Physics; Physics in Industry; Applied and General Physics.

Program and abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

Abstracts of the papers given at the conference are presented. The abstracts are arranged under sessions entitled:Theoretical Physics; Nuclear Physics; Solid State Physics; Spectroscopy; Physics Education; SANCGASS; Astronomy; Plasma Physics; Physics in Industry; Applied and General Physics

Islamic geometric patterns their historical development and traditional methods of construction

CERN Document Server

Bonner, Jay

2017-01-01

The main focus of this unique book is an in-depth examination of the polygonal technique; the primary method used by master artists of the past in creating Islamic geometric patterns. The author details the design methodology responsible for this all-but-lost art form and presents evidence for its use from the historical record, both of which are vital contributions to the understanding of this ornamental tradition. Additionally, the author examines the historical development of Islamic geometric patterns, the significance of geometric design within the broader context of Islamic ornament as a whole, the formative role that geometry plays throughout the Islamic ornamental arts (including calligraphy, the floral idiom, dome decoration, geometric patterns, and more), and the underexamined question of pattern classification. Featuring over 600 beautiful color images, Islamic Geometric Patterns: Their Historical Development and Traditional Methods of Construction is a valuable addition to the literature of Islam...

Genomic timetree and historical biogeography of Caribbean island ameiva lizards (Pholidoscelis: Teiidae)

OpenAIRE

Tucker, Derek B.; Hedges, Stephen Blair; Colli, Guarino R.; Pyron, Robert Alexander; Sites, Jack W.

2017-01-01

Abstract The phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history of Caribbean island ameivas (Pholidoscelis) are not well?known because of incomplete sampling, conflicting datasets, and poor support for many clades. Here, we use phylogenomic and mitochondrial DNA datasets to reconstruct a well?supported phylogeny and assess historical colonization patterns in the group. We obtained sequence data from 316 nuclear loci and one mitochondrial marker for 16 of 19 extant species of the Caribbean e...

Sophisticated Search Capabilities in the ADS Abstract Service

Science.gov (United States)

Eichhorn, G.; Accomazzi, A.; Grant, C. S.; Henneken, E.; Kurtz, M. J.; Murray, S. S.

2003-12-01

The ADS provides access to over 940,000 references from astronomy and planetary sciences publications and 1.5 million records from physics publications. It is funded by NASA and provides free access to these references, as well as to 2.4 million scanned pages from the astronomical literature. These include most of the major astronomy and several planetary sciences journals, as well as many historical observatory publications. The references now include the abstracts from all volumes of the Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR) since the beginning of 2002. We get these abstracts on a regular basis. The Kluwer journal Solar Physics has been scanned back to volume 1 and is available through the ADS. We have extracted the reference lists from this and many other journals and included them in the reference and citation database of the ADS. We have recently scanning Earth, Moon and Planets, another Kluwer journal, and will scan other Kluwer journals in the future as well. We plan on extracting references from these journals as well in the near future. The ADS has many sophisticated query features. These allow the user to formulate complex queries. Using results lists to get further information about the selected articles provide the means to quickly find important and relevant articles from the database. Three advanced feedback queries are available from the bottom of the ADS results list (in addition to regular feedback queries already available from the abstract page and from the bottom of the results list): 1. Get reference list for selected articles: This query returns all known references for the selected articles (or for all articles in the first list). The resulting list will be ranked according to how often each article is referred to and will show the most referenced articles in the field of study that created the first list. It presumably shows the most important articles in that field. 2. Get citation list for selected articles: This returns all known articles

Historical economic and environmental policies influencing trace metal inputs in Montevideo Bay, Río de la Plata

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bueno, C.; Brugnoli, E.; Figueira, R.C.L.; Muniz, P.; Ferreira, P.A.L.

2016-01-01

Montevideo Bay is located in the middle zone of the Rio de la Plata, and since the foundation of the city, several key economic and environmental policies affected the industry, and thus, metal inputs into this ecosystem. The aim of this study is to evaluate the sedimentary geochemical record of Montevideo Bay, in order to determine the historical inputs of anthropogenic metals to the system. In addition, environmental and economic policies of the country were taken into account to infer the relationship between them and the historic metal input. Concentrations of aluminum, chromium, copper, lead, scandium and zinc were analyzed and the EF and SPI indices were calculated. The analysis showed that since Montevideo foundation, metal concentrations increased in accordance with industry development, and the indices as well as the metal concentration represent a reliable footprint of the history of different economic and environmental policies influencing historical industrial activities. - Highlights: • Trace metal record of a sediment core of Montevideo Bay/harbor was studied. • The historic inputs of metals in the area were inferred. • System degradation evolved from anthropogenic impacts. • A relationship between pollution and environmental/economic policies was discussed.

Program and abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

Abstracts of the papers given at the conference are presented. The abstracts are arranged under sessions entitled: Theoretical Physics; Nuclear Physics; Solid State Physics; Spectroscopy; Plasma Physics; Solar-Terrestrial Physics; Astrophysics and Astronomy; Radioastronomy; General Physics; Applied Physics; Industrial Physics

Mixed metaphors: Electrophysiological brain responses to (un)expected concrete and abstract prepositional phrases.

Science.gov (United States)

Zane, Emily; Shafer, Valerie

2018-02-01

Languages around the world use spatial terminology, like prepositions, to describe non-spatial, abstract concepts, including time (e.g., in the moment). The Metaphoric Mapping Theory explains this pattern by positing that a universal human cognitive process underlies it, whereby abstract concepts are conceptualized via the application of concrete, three-dimensional space onto abstract domains. The alternative view is that the use of spatial propositions in abstract phrases is idiomatic, and thus does not trigger metaphoric mapping. In the current study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to examine the time-course of neural processing of concrete and abstract phrases consisting of the prepositions in or on followed by congruent and incongruent nouns (e.g., in the bowl/plate and in the moment/mend). ERPs were recorded from the onset of reference nouns in 28 adult participants using a 128-channel electrode net. Results show that congruency has differential effects on neural measures, depending on whether the noun is concrete or abstract. Incongruent reference nouns in concrete phrases (e.g., on the bowl) elicited a significant central negativity (an N400 effect), while incongruent reference nouns in abstract phrases (e.g., on the moment) did not. These results suggest that spatially incongruent concrete nouns are semantically unexpected (N400 effect). A P600 effect, which might indicate rechecking, reanalysis and/or reconstruction, was predicted for incongruent abstract nouns, but was not observed, possibly due to the variability in abstract stimuli. Findings cast doubt on accounts claiming that abstract uses of prepositions are cognitively and metaphorically linked to their spatial sense during natural, on-line processing. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Introduction to abstract algebra

CERN Document Server

Nicholson, W Keith

2012-01-01

Praise for the Third Edition ". . . an expository masterpiece of the highest didactic value that has gained additional attractivity through the various improvements . . ."-Zentralblatt MATH The Fourth Edition of Introduction to Abstract Algebra continues to provide an accessible approach to the basic structures of abstract algebra: groups, rings, and fields. The book's unique presentation helps readers advance to abstract theory by presenting concrete examples of induction, number theory, integers modulo n, and permutations before the abstract structures are defined. Readers can immediately be

Abstracting Concepts and Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Borko, Harold; Bernier, Charles L.

This text provides a complete discussion of abstracts--their history, production, organization, publication--and of indexing. Instructions for abstracting are outlined, and standards and criteria for abstracting are stated. Management, automation, and personnel are discussed in terms of possible economies that can be derived from the introduction…

The Golden Horde Ethnology of Tatars: 1. The Epic and Historical “Golden Throne” (“Altyn Tәkhet”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D.M. Iskhakov

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The author of this article seeks to identify the historical origins of particular patronal place characteristic for the ulus of Jochi and later Turko-Tatar States established on its territory in the 15th–16th centuries. This patronal place was known as the “golden throne” and has been recorded by the Turko-Tatar (epics, chronicles, historical works and some Russian sources. An overview of historical sources reveals that according to the Turko-Tatar traditions of the 16th–18th centuries, the “golden throne” was a place, where the ruler (Khan, king was sitting in the Golden Horde and at the post-Horde political space. The author of this article emphasizes the important fact: in historical sources the “golden throne” was always associated with the place of enthronement of the Tatar ruler. As a result of detailed analysis of the available historical material, the author found that the often mentioned “golden throne” existed not only in the ulus of Jochi, but throughout the Mongol Empire. Moreover, further analysis of the available historical material (including a comparison with information contained in the parallel Persian, Chinese, and Latin sources showed that the “golden throne” was connected to another symbol of power, common in all Chinggisid States and recorded by a number of historical sources, that is, with special tent (yurt known as the “Great Golden horde”. This tent together with the throne seat symbolized the focus of the khan authority in the Mongol Empire and the subsequent Chinggisid States.

78 FR 13624 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Age Search Service

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-28

...- 3434; or: [email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION I. Abstract Age Search is a service... necessary information to conduct a search of historical population decennial census records in order to... Found'', advises the applicant that the search for information from the census records was unsuccessful...

Birth Settings and the Validation of Neonatal Seizures Recorded in Birth Certificates Compared to Medicaid Claims and Hospital Discharge Abstracts Among Live Births in South Carolina, 1996-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qing; Jenkins, Dorothea D; Kinsman, Stephen L

2017-05-01

Objective Neonatal seizures in the first 28 days of life often reflect underlying brain injury or abnormalities, and measure the quality of perinatal care in out-of-hospital births. Using the 2003 revision of birth certificates only, three studies reported more neonatal seizures recorded among home births ​or planned out-of-hospital births compared to hospital births. However, the validity of recording neonatal seizures or serious neurologic dysfunction across birth settings in birth certificates has not been evaluated. We aimed to validate seizure recording in birth certificates across birth settings using multiple datasets. Methods We examined checkbox items "seizures" and "seizure or serious neurologic dysfunction" in the 1989 and 2003 revisions of birth certificates in South Carolina from 1996 to 2013. Gold standards were ICD-9-CM codes 779.0, 345.X, and 780.3 in either hospital discharge abstracts or Medicaid encounters jointly. Results Sensitivity, positive predictive value, false positive rate, and the kappa statistic of neonatal seizures recording were 7%, 66%, 34%, and 0.12 for the 2003 revision of birth certificates in 547,177 hospital births from 2004 to 2013 and 5%, 33%, 67%, and 0.09 for the 1998 revision in 396,776 hospital births from 1996 to 2003, and 0, 0, 100%, -0.002 among 660 intended home births from 2004 to 2013 and 920 home births from 1996 to 2003, respectively. Conclusions for Practice Despite slight improvement across revisions, South Carolina birth certificates under-reported or falsely reported seizures among hospital births and especially home births. Birth certificates alone should not be used to measure neonatal seizures or serious neurologic dysfunction.

Short Note Some additional breeding records for birds in Angola ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Short Note Some additional breeding records for birds in Angola. W Richard J Dean, Suzanne J Milton. Abstract. No abstract. Ostrich 2007, 78(3): 645–647. Full Text: EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · http://dx.doi.org/10.2989/OSTRICH.2007.78.3.13.324.

Estimation of Source Parameters of Historical Major Earthquakes from 1900 to 1970 around Asia and Analysis of Their Uncertainties

Science.gov (United States)

Han, J.; Zhou, S.

2017-12-01

Asia, located in the conjoined areas of Eurasian, Pacific, and Indo-Australian plates, is the continent with highest seismicity. Earthquake catalogue on the bases of modern seismic network recordings has been established since around 1970 in Asia and the earthquake catalogue before 1970 was much more inaccurate because of few stations. With a history of less than 50 years of modern earthquake catalogue, researches in seismology are quite limited. After the appearance of improved Earth velocity structure model, modified locating method and high-accuracy Optical Character Recognition technique, travel time data of earthquakes from 1900 to 1970 can be included in research and more accurate locations can be determined for historical earthquakes. Hence, parameters of these historical earthquakes can be obtained more precisely and some research method such as ETAS model can be used in a much longer time scale. This work focuses on the following three aspects: (1) Relocating more than 300 historical major earthquakes (M≥7.0) in Asia based on the Shide Circulars, International Seismological Summary and EHB Bulletin instrumental records between 1900 and 1970. (2) Calculating the focal mechanisms of more than 50 events by first motion records of P wave of ISS. (3) Based on the geological data, tectonic stress field and the result of relocation, inferring focal mechanisms of historical major earthquakes.

Saved from the Teeth of Time. Folk music on historical sound recordings

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kratochvíl, Matěj

2007-01-01

Roč. 10, č. 3 (2007), s. 24-26 ISSN 1211-0264 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z90580513 Keywords : traditional music * recording * wax cylinders * Bohemian music * Moravian music Subject RIV: AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology

Completeness of Lyapunov Abstraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Wisniewski

2013-08-01

Full Text Available In this work, we continue our study on discrete abstractions of dynamical systems. To this end, we use a family of partitioning functions to generate an abstraction. The intersection of sub-level sets of the partitioning functions defines cells, which are regarded as discrete objects. The union of cells makes up the state space of the dynamical systems. Our construction gives rise to a combinatorial object - a timed automaton. We examine sound and complete abstractions. An abstraction is said to be sound when the flow of the time automata covers the flow lines of the dynamical systems. If the dynamics of the dynamical system and the time automaton are equivalent, the abstraction is complete. The commonly accepted paradigm for partitioning functions is that they ought to be transversal to the studied vector field. We show that there is no complete partitioning with transversal functions, even for particular dynamical systems whose critical sets are isolated critical points. Therefore, we allow the directional derivative along the vector field to be non-positive in this work. This considerably complicates the abstraction technique. For understanding dynamical systems, it is vital to study stable and unstable manifolds and their intersections. These objects appear naturally in this work. Indeed, we show that for an abstraction to be complete, the set of critical points of an abstraction function shall contain either the stable or unstable manifold of the dynamical system.

Abstract algebra

CERN Document Server

Garrett, Paul B

2007-01-01

Designed for an advanced undergraduate- or graduate-level course, Abstract Algebra provides an example-oriented, less heavily symbolic approach to abstract algebra. The text emphasizes specifics such as basic number theory, polynomials, finite fields, as well as linear and multilinear algebra. This classroom-tested, how-to manual takes a more narrative approach than the stiff formalism of many other textbooks, presenting coherent storylines to convey crucial ideas in a student-friendly, accessible manner. An unusual feature of the text is the systematic characterization of objects by universal

Abstracts and abstracting a genre and set of skills for the twenty-first century

CERN Document Server

Koltay, Tibor

2010-01-01

Despite their changing role, abstracts remain useful in the digital world. Highly beneficial to information professionals and researchers who work and publish in different fields, this book summarizes the most important and up-to-date theory of abstracting, as well as giving advice and examples for the practice of writing different kinds of abstracts. The book discusses the length, the functions and basic structure of abstracts, outlining a new approach to informative and indicative abstracts. The abstractors' personality, their linguistic and non-linguistic knowledge and skills are also discu

Nineteenth Century Long-Term Instrumental Records, Examples From the Southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

Mock, C. J.

2001-12-01

Early instrumental records in the United States, defined as those operating before 1892 which is regarded the period prior to the modern climate record, provide a longer perspective of climatic variability at decadal and interannual timescales. Such reconstructions also provide a means of verification for other proxy data. This paper provides a American perspective of historical climatic research, emphasizing the urgent need to properly evaluate data quality and provide necessary corrections to make them compatible with the modern record. Different fixed observation times, different practices of weather instrument exposures, and statistical methods for calibration are the main issues in applying corrections and conducting proper climatic interpretations. I illustrate several examples on methodologies of this historical climatic research, focusing on the following in the Southeastern United States: daily reconstructed temperature time-series centered on Charleston SC and Natchez MS back to the late eighteenth century, and precipitation frequency reconstructions during the antebellum period for the Gulf Coast and coastal Southeast Atlantic states. Results indicate several prominent extremes unprecedented as compared to the modern record, such as the widespread warm winter of 1827-28, and the severe cold winters of 1856 and 1857. The reconstructions also yield important information concerning responses to past ENSO events, the PNA, NAO, and the PDO, particularly when compared with instrumental data from other regions. A high potential also exists for applying the climate reconstructions to assess historical climatic impacts on society in the Southeast, such as to understand climatic linkages to famous case studies of Yellow Fever epidemics and severe drought.

Truthful Monadic Abstractions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brock-Nannestad, Taus; Schürmann, Carsten

2012-01-01

indefinitely, finding neither a proof nor a disproof of a given subgoal. In this paper we characterize a family of truth-preserving abstractions from intuitionistic first-order logic to the monadic fragment of classical first-order logic. Because they are truthful, these abstractions can be used to disprove...

Historical record of concentrations of atmospheric trace components deduced from a glacier in the Alps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doescher, A.

1996-07-01

A 109 m ice core from a high-alpine glacier (Colle Gnifetti, Monte Rosa massif, 4440 m a.s.l., Switzerland) was used to reconstruct the history of atmospheric trace components. Concentrations of the anions chloride, nitrate, sulfate and the cations sodium, ammonium, potassium, magnesium and calcium were measured with 2.5-5.0 cm resolution in the top 70 m of a 109 m long of the ice core. Dating of the ice core was performed using stratigraphic markers such as historically known Saharan dust events, the atomic bomb horizon and volcanic eruptions and supplemented with the 210 Pb nuclear dating. The record covers the time period from about 1755-1981. The concentrations of nitrate and sulfate show an exponential increase from 1930 and 1870 until 1965, respectively. The factors of increase were 2.3±0.3 and 5.8±0.9, respectively. The chloride concentrations remained constant during this period. A good agreement between the concentrations of sulfate, which were corrected for the contribution of seasalt and mineral dust and the European SO 2 -emissions was found for the last 100 years. The concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium did not show a trend. The concentrations of ammonium increased exponentially between 1870 and 1960 by a factor of 2.2±0.4. The different sources of the trace components were identified using correlation analysis. Sodium and chloride originated from seasalt, magnesium and calcium from geologic erosion. For both, the industrial and pre-industrial period, the dominant source of ammonium and nitrate was conversion of the gaseous precursors NH 3 and HNO 3 . Sulfate concentrations in the industrial period originated from the anthropogenically emitted SO 2 , whereas in the pre-industrial period the geologic source dominated. The Colle Gnifetti accumulates mainly summer snow, and therefore, several test drillings were performed to find a new site with higher accumulation rate. (author) figs., 17 tabs., 50 refs

What Just Happened? A Historical Evaluation of Project CHECO

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-01

official training on the equipment either, which resulted in several roles of unusable film . The AFHRA historical record contains countless...infamous rescue of Bat 21, which became the subject of a best-selling work of non-fiction and the basis for a Hollywood blockbuster film , the...products of its genre in which “the central message was lost in the medium of its transmittal.” 26 The CHECO reports were united in their critical

Historical Tank Content Estimate for the Northwest Quandrant of the Hanford 200 East Area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brevick, C.H.; Gaddis, L.A.; Pickett, W.W.

1994-06-01

Historical Tank Content Estimate of the Northeast Quadrant provides historical evaluations on a tank by tank basis of the radioactive mixed wastes stored in the underground single-shell tanks of the Hanford 200 East area. This report summaries historical information such at waste history, temperature, tank integrity, inventory estimates and tank level history on a tank by tank basis. Tank Farm aerial photos and in-tank photos of each tank are provided. A brief description of instrumentation methods used for waste tank surveillance, along with the components of the data management effort, such as waste status and Transaction Record Summary, Tank Layering Model, Defined Waste Types, and Inventory Estimates to generate these tank content estimates are also given in this report.

Historical Tank Content Estimate for the Northwest Quandrant of the Hanford 200 East Area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brevick, C.H.; Gaddis, L.A.; Pickett, W.W.

1994-06-01

Historical Tank Content Estimate of the Northeast Quadrant provides historical evaluations on a tank by tank basis of the radioactive mixed wastes stored in the underground single-shell tanks of the Hanford 200 East area. This report summaries historical information such at waste history, temperature, tank integrity, inventory estimates and tank level history on a tank by tank basis. Tank Farm aerial photos and in-tank photos of each tank are provided. A brief description of instrumentation methods used for waste tank surveillance, along with the components of the data management effort, such as waste status and Transaction Record Summary, Tank Layering Model, Defined Waste Types, and Inventory Estimates to generate these tank content estimates are also given in this report

Luminescence dating of some historical/pre-historical natural hazards of India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gartia, R.K.

2008-01-01

The Indian sub-continent is characterized by host of natural hazards like earthquake, tsunami, cyclones, floods, landslides/mudflows. It is necessary to build-up a database of historical/pre-historical natural hazards for planning scenarios for emergency response to various them. In short, there is a vast scope of providing chronology to hazardous events by using known techniques of dating including luminescence dating which has an excellent window span down from few hundred years to one hundred thousand years. In this work we report the dates of some historical/pre-historical natural hazards of India. In particular we focus on three kinds of natural hazards namely, earthquakes, tsunami, and mudflows. For example of earthquake we cover a historical earthquake of Manipur that created two massive fissures at Kumbi, 25 km from the state capital, Imphal. For pre-historical ones, we cover Assam-Shillong area known for its highest levels of seismicity in India. We demonstrate the evidence of a paleo-tsunami that devastated Mahabalipuram near Chennai. Incidentally, Mahabalipuram was badly affected by the great tsunami of 26th Dec 2004. Finally, luminescence dating technique has been applied to some historical/pre-historical mudflows of Manipur. A recent mudflow on 10th July 2004 damaged more than 90 houses, block National Highway-39, the life-line of Manipur for more than a fort-night. (author)

Construct on Digital Rights Management for Historical Newspaper Archives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shien-chiang Yu

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Newspaper is one of the most important media as it contains the records that input the cultural data and social events, progress of national and international economical and political developments, the world’s circumstances of the time, so as transmitting information and sharing knowledge of particular regions or around the globe. However, the copyright is limited to cover the transformed entity to digital contents. In order to protect the rights of digitized-contents and restrict the scope of on-line grant of historical newspaper, it is necessary to clarify the concepts and practices. This study reveals the concepts of digital rights management via literature review that will work on both mentioned issues, so as to identify the fair use to assure the profit of digitized archive of historical newspaper. [Article content in Chinese

New Features in the ADS Abstract Service

Science.gov (United States)

Eichhorn, G.; Accomazzi, A.; Grant, C. S.; Kurtz, M. J.; ReyBacaicoa, V.; Murray, S. S.

2001-11-01

The ADS Abstract Service contains over 2.3 million references in four databases: Astronomy/Astrophysics/Planetary Sciences, Instrumentation, Physics/Geophysics, and Preprints. We provide abstracts and articles free to the astronomical community for all major and many smaller astronomy journals, PhD theses, conference proceedings, and technical reports. These four databases can be queried either separately of jointly. The ADS also has scanned 1.3 million pages in 180,000 articles in the ADS Article Service. This literature archive contains all major Astronomy journals and many smaller journals, as well as conference proceedings, including the abstract books from all the LPSCs back to volume 2. A new feature gives our users the ability to see list of articles that were also read by the readers of a given article. This is a powerful tool to find out what current articles are relevant in a particular field of study. We have recently expanded the citation and reference query capabilities. It allows our users to select papers for which they want to see references or citations and then retrieve these citations/references. Another new capability is the ability to sort a list of articles by their citation count. As usual, users should be reminded that the citations in ADS are incomplete because we do not obtain reference lists from all publishers. In addition, we cannot match all references (e.g. in press, private communications, author errors, some conference papers, etc.). Anyone using the citations for analysis of publishing records should keep this in mind. More work on expanding the citation and reference features is planned over the next year. ADS Home Page http://ads.harvard.edu/

Historicity and theology, and the quest for historical Jesus1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. A. Geyser

1999-12-01

Full Text Available The issue of history and historicity is reviewed in this article. The efforts of New Historicism is brought to bear on this question in an effort to find a way out of the impasse created by the modernist demand for objectivity and the postmodern resignation to radical relativism. The possibility of historiography is explored in conjunction with the pragmatic approach and leads to the conclusion that a kind of historical knowledge is attainable which can be described as useful even if not perfect. The author concurs with Crossan and his working definition of history as the past reconstructed interactively by the present through argued evidence in public discourse. The intersubjective nature of any historical enterprise leads the author to the conclusion that the search for the historical Jesus can only be done in the dialectical approach of a both ... and: both the historical Jesus and the kerygmatic Christ

Trends and associated uncertainty in the global mean temperature record

Science.gov (United States)

Poppick, A. N.; Moyer, E. J.; Stein, M.

2016-12-01

Physical models suggest that the Earth's mean temperature warms in response to changing CO2 concentrations (and hence increased radiative forcing); given physical uncertainties in this relationship, the historical temperature record is a source of empirical information about global warming. A persistent thread in many analyses of the historical temperature record, however, is the reliance on methods that appear to deemphasize both physical and statistical assumptions. Examples include regression models that treat time rather than radiative forcing as the relevant covariate, and time series methods that account for natural variability in nonparametric rather than parametric ways. We show here that methods that deemphasize assumptions can limit the scope of analysis and can lead to misleading inferences, particularly in the setting considered where the data record is relatively short and the scale of temporal correlation is relatively long. A proposed model that is simple but physically informed provides a more reliable estimate of trends and allows a broader array of questions to be addressed. In accounting for uncertainty, we also illustrate how parametric statistical models that are attuned to the important characteristics of natural variability can be more reliable than ostensibly more flexible approaches.

Using weather data to determine dry and wet periods relative to ethnographic records

Science.gov (United States)

Felzer, B. S.; Jiang, M.; Cheng, R.; Ember, C. R.

2017-12-01

Ethnographers record flood or drought events that affect a society's food supply and can be interpreted in terms of a society's ability to adapt to extreme events. Using daily weather station data from the Global Historical Climatology Network for wet events, and monthly gridded climatic data from the Climatic Research Unit for drought events, we determine if it is possible to relate these measured data to the ethnographic records. We explore several drought and wetness indices based on temperature and precipitation, as well as the Colwell method to determine the predictability, seasonality, and variability of these extreme indices. Initial results indicate that while it is possible to capture the events recorded in the ethnographic records, there are many more "false" captures of events that are not recorded in these records. Although extreme precipitation is a poor indicator of floods due to antecedent moisture conditions, even using streamflow for selected sites produces false captures. Relating drought indices to actual food supply as measured in crop yield only related to minimum crop yield in half the cases. Further mismatches between extreme precipitation and drought indices and ethnographic records may relate to the fact that only extreme events that affect food supply are recorded in the ethnographic records or that not all events are recorded by the ethnographers. We will present new results on how predictability measures relate to the ethnographic disasters. Despite the highlighted technical challenges, our results provide a historic perspective linking environmental stressors with socio-economic impacts, which in turn, will underpin the current efforts of risk assessment in a changing environment.

Abstracts

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2011-01-01

The Western Theories of War Ethics and Contemporary Controversies Li Xiaodong U Ruijing （4） [ Abstract] In the field of international relations, war ethics is a concept with distinct westem ideological color. Due to factors of history and reality, the in

New Coleoptera records from New Brunswick, Canada: Cerambycidae

OpenAIRE

Webster,Reginald; Sweeney,Jon; DeMerchant,Ian; Silk,Peter; Mayo,Peter

2012-01-01

Abstract Five species of Cerambycidae, Acmaeops discoideus (Haldeman), Anelaphus villosus (Fabricius), Phymatodes species (CNC sp. n. #1), Sarosesthes fulminans (Fabricius), and Urgleptus signatus (LeConte) are newly recorded for New Brunswick, Canada. All but Acmaeops villosus are new to the Maritime provinces. Phymatodes testaceus (Linnaeus) is removed from the faunal list of the province as a result of mislabeled specimens, records of Phymatodes maculicollis LeConte are presented confirmin...

Towards a fully self-consistent inversion combining historical and paleomagnetic data for geomagnetic field reconstructions

Science.gov (United States)

Arneitz, P.; Leonhardt, R.; Fabian, K.; Egli, R.

2017-12-01

Historical and paleomagnetic data are the two main sources of information about the long-term geomagnetic field evolution. Historical observations extend to the late Middle Ages, and prior to the 19th century, they consisted mainly of pure declination measurements from navigation and orientation logs. Field reconstructions going back further in time rely solely on magnetization acquired by rocks, sediments, and archaeological artefacts. The combined dataset is characterized by a strongly inhomogeneous spatio-temporal distribution and highly variable data reliability and quality. Therefore, an adequate weighting of the data that correctly accounts for data density, type, and realistic error estimates represents the major challenge for an inversion approach. Until now, there has not been a fully self-consistent geomagnetic model that correctly recovers the variation of the geomagnetic dipole together with the higher-order spherical harmonics. Here we present a new geomagnetic field model for the last 4 kyrs based on historical, archeomagnetic and volcanic records. The iterative Bayesian inversion approach targets the implementation of reliable error treatment, which allows different record types to be combined in a fully self-consistent way. Modelling results will be presented along with a thorough analysis of model limitations, validity and sensitivity.

Formation of the Russian Federation as a secular state (XVII century - beginning of the XXI century: historical and theoretical aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor Pibaev

2015-10-01

 Abstract: The article examines main stages of formation of the secular state in the Russian Federation. The author provides historical and legal overview of the development of secularism in Russia in the period starting from 1701 to the present days.

76 FR 13444 - Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation; Notice of Charter Renewal

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-11

... the Foreign Relations of the United States series as well as on the Department's responsibility under statute (22 U.S.C. 4351, et seq.) to open its 30-year-old and older records for public review at the... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice: 7241] Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic...

Check Sample Abstracts.

Science.gov (United States)

Alter, David; Grenache, David G; Bosler, David S; Karcher, Raymond E; Nichols, James; Rajadhyaksha, Aparna; Camelo-Piragua, Sandra; Rauch, Carol; Huddleston, Brent J; Frank, Elizabeth L; Sluss, Patrick M; Lewandrowski, Kent; Eichhorn, John H; Hall, Janet E; Rahman, Saud S; McPherson, Richard A; Kiechle, Frederick L; Hammett-Stabler, Catherine; Pierce, Kristin A; Kloehn, Erica A; Thomas, Patricia A; Walts, Ann E; Madan, Rashna; Schlesinger, Kathie; Nawgiri, Ranjana; Bhutani, Manoop; Kanber, Yonca; Abati, Andrea; Atkins, Kristen A; Farrar, Robert; Gopez, Evelyn Valencerina; Jhala, Darshana; Griffin, Sonya; Jhala, Khushboo; Jhala, Nirag; Bentz, Joel S; Emerson, Lyska; Chadwick, Barbara E; Barroeta, Julieta E; Baloch, Zubair W; Collins, Brian T; Middleton, Owen L; Davis, Gregory G; Haden-Pinneri, Kathryn; Chu, Albert Y; Keylock, Joren B; Ramoso, Robert; Thoene, Cynthia A; Stewart, Donna; Pierce, Arand; Barry, Michelle; Aljinovic, Nika; Gardner, David L; Barry, Michelle; Shields, Lisa B E; Arnold, Jack; Stewart, Donna; Martin, Erica L; Rakow, Rex J; Paddock, Christopher; Zaki, Sherif R; Prahlow, Joseph A; Stewart, Donna; Shields, Lisa B E; Rolf, Cristin M; Falzon, Andrew L; Hudacki, Rachel; Mazzella, Fermina M; Bethel, Melissa; Zarrin-Khameh, Neda; Gresik, M Vicky; Gill, Ryan; Karlon, William; Etzell, Joan; Deftos, Michael; Karlon, William J; Etzell, Joan E; Wang, Endi; Lu, Chuanyi M; Manion, Elizabeth; Rosenthal, Nancy; Wang, Endi; Lu, Chuanyi M; Tang, Patrick; Petric, Martin; Schade, Andrew E; Hall, Geraldine S; Oethinger, Margret; Hall, Geraldine; Picton, Avis R; Hoang, Linda; Imperial, Miguel Ranoa; Kibsey, Pamela; Waites, Ken; Duffy, Lynn; Hall, Geraldine S; Salangsang, Jo-Anne M; Bravo, Lulette Tricia C; Oethinger, Margaret D; Veras, Emanuela; Silva, Elvia; Vicens, Jimena; Silva, Elvio; Keylock, Joren; Hempel, James; Rushing, Elizabeth; Posligua, Lorena E; Deavers, Michael T; Nash, Jason W; Basturk, Olca; Perle, Mary Ann; Greco, Alba; Lee, Peng; Maru, Dipen; Weydert, Jamie Allen; Stevens, Todd M; Brownlee, Noel A; Kemper, April E; Williams, H James; Oliverio, Brock J; Al-Agha, Osama M; Eskue, Kyle L; Newlands, Shawn D; Eltorky, Mahmoud A; Puri, Puja K; Royer, Michael C; Rush, Walter L; Tavora, Fabio; Galvin, Jeffrey R; Franks, Teri J; Carter, James Elliot; Kahn, Andrea Graciela; Lozada Muñoz, Luis R; Houghton, Dan; Land, Kevin J; Nester, Theresa; Gildea, Jacob; Lefkowitz, Jerry; Lacount, Rachel A; Thompson, Hannis W; Refaai, Majed A; Quillen, Karen; Lopez, Ana Ortega; Goldfinger, Dennis; Muram, Talia; Thompson, Hannis

2009-02-01

The following abstracts are compiled from Check Sample exercises published in 2008. These peer-reviewed case studies assist laboratory professionals with continuing medical education and are developed in the areas of clinical chemistry, cytopathology, forensic pathology, hematology, microbiology, surgical pathology, and transfusion medicine. Abstracts for all exercises published in the program will appear annually in AJCP.

Identification of possible intense historical geomagnetic storms using combined sunspot and auroral observations from East Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. M. Willis

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Comprehensive catalogues of ancient sunspot and auroral observations from East Asia are used to identify possible intense historical geomagnetic storms in the interval 210 BC-AD 1918. There are about 270 entries in the sunspot catalogue and about 1150 entries in the auroral catalogue. Special databases have been constructed in which the scientific information in these two catalogues is placed in specified fields. For the purposes of this study, an historical geomagnetic storm is defined in terms of an auroral observation that is apparently associated with a particular sunspot observation, in the sense that the auroral observation occurred within several days of the sunspot observation. More precisely, a selection criterion is formulated for the automatic identification of such geomagnetic storms, using the oriental records stored in the sunspot and auroral databases. The selection criterion is based on specific assumptions about the duration of sunspot visibility with the unaided eye, the likely range of heliographic longitudes of an energetic solar feature, and the likely range of transit times for ejected solar plasma to travel from the Sun to the Earth. This selection criterion results in the identification of nineteen putative historical geomagnetic storms, although two of these storms are spurious in the sense that there are two examples of a single sunspot observation being associated with two different auroral observations separated by more than half a (synodic solar rotation period. The literary and scientific reliabilities of the East Asian sunspot and auroral records that define the nineteen historical geomagnetic storms are discussed in detail in a set of appendices. A possible time sequence of events is presented for each geomagnetic storm, including possible dates for both the central meridian passage of the sunspot and the occurrence of the energetic solar feature, as well as likely transit times for the ejected solar plasma

Recent and historical recombination in the admixed Norwegian Red cattle breed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grove Harald

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Comparison of recent patterns of recombination derived from linkage maps to historical patterns of recombination from linkage disequilibrium (LD could help identify genomic regions affected by strong artificial selection, appearing as reduced recent recombination. Norwegian Red cattle (NRF make an interesting case study for investigating these patterns as it is an admixed breed with an extensively recorded pedigree. NRF have been under strong artificial selection for traits such as milk and meat production, fertility and health. While measures of LD is also crucial for determining the number of markers required for association mapping studies, estimates of recombination rate can be used to assess quality of genomic assemblies. Results A dataset containing more than 17,000 genome-wide distributed SNPs and 2600 animals was used to assess recombination rates and LD in NRF. Although low LD measured by r2 was observed in NRF relative to some of the breeds from which this breed originates, reports from breeds other than those assessed in this study have described more rapid decline in r2 at short distances than what was found in NRF. Rate of decline in r2 for NRF suggested that to obtain an expected r2 between markers and a causal polymorphism of at least 0.5 for genome-wide association studies, approximately one SNP every 15 kb or a total of 200,000 SNPs would be required. For well known quantitative trait loci (QTLs for milk production traits on Bos Taurus chromosomes 1, 6 and 20, map length based on historic recombination was greater than map length based on recent recombination in NRF. Further, positions for 130 previously unpositioned contigs from assembly of the bovine genome sequence (Btau_4.0 found using comparative sequence analysis were validated by linkage analysis, and 28% of these positions corresponded to extreme values of population recombination rate. Conclusion While LD is reduced in NRF compared to some of the

Abstract Datatypes in PVS

Science.gov (United States)

Owre, Sam; Shankar, Natarajan

1997-01-01

PVS (Prototype Verification System) is a general-purpose environment for developing specifications and proofs. This document deals primarily with the abstract datatype mechanism in PVS which generates theories containing axioms and definitions for a class of recursive datatypes. The concepts underlying the abstract datatype mechanism are illustrated using ordered binary trees as an example. Binary trees are described by a PVS abstract datatype that is parametric in its value type. The type of ordered binary trees is then presented as a subtype of binary trees where the ordering relation is also taken as a parameter. We define the operations of inserting an element into, and searching for an element in an ordered binary tree; the bulk of the report is devoted to PVS proofs of some useful properties of these operations. These proofs illustrate various approaches to proving properties of abstract datatype operations. They also describe the built-in capabilities of the PVS proof checker for simplifying abstract datatype expressions.

Endurance in speed skating : The development of world records

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuper, GH; Sterken, E

2003-01-01

We analyse the development of world records speed skating from 1893 to 2000 for both men and women. The historical data show that it is likely that the relation between skating speed and distance of the various events is non-linear and converges to a limit value. We pay special attention to

Herbarium specimens reveal a historical shift in phylogeographic structure of common ragweed during native range disturbance.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Michael D; Zimmer, Elizabeth A; Olsen, Morten T; Foote, Andrew D; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Brush, Grace S

2014-04-01

Invasive plants provide ample opportunity to study evolutionary shifts that occur after introduction to novel environments. However, although genetic characters pre-dating introduction can be important determinants of later success, large-scale investigations of historical genetic structure have not been feasible. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) is an invasive weed native to North America that is known for its allergenic pollen. Palynological records from sediment cores indicate that this species was uncommon before European colonization of North America, and ragweed populations expanded rapidly as settlers deforested the landscape on a massive scale, later becoming an aggressive invasive with populations established globally. Towards a direct comparison of genetic structure now and during intense anthropogenic disturbance of the late 19th century, we sampled 45 natural populations of common ragweed across its native range as well as historical herbarium specimens collected up to 140 years ago. Bayesian clustering analyses of 453 modern and 473 historical samples genotyped at three chloroplast spacer regions and six nuclear microsatellite loci reveal that historical ragweed's spatial genetic structure mirrors both the palaeo-record of Ambrosia pollen deposition and the historical pattern of agricultural density across the landscape. Furthermore, for unknown reasons, this spatial genetic pattern has changed substantially in the intervening years. Following on previous work relating morphology and genetic expression between plants collected from eastern North America and Western Europe, we speculate that the cluster associated with humans' rapid transformation of the landscape is a likely source of these aggressive invasive populations. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

BASIC LAWS OF FORMATION OF INNOVATION HISTORICAL ARCHITECTURE AND TOWN PLANNING FACILITIES IN URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SMIRNOVA O. V.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract. Formulation of the problem. Innovative buildings and structures are architectural objects, the distinguishing feature of which is the presence of certain levels of their formation - material and functional (provided certain functional purpose object and its material embodiment, art-shaped (the presence of an individual artistic image structural and process (use of new technologies and fundamentally new design; communication and of environmental (harmonious integration of the object in the environment. Absence of analogues - a prerequisite for innovative buildings. Innovative architectural and urban objects created in the development of civilization. Innovations in design and construction of architectural and urban facilities - this is the final result of the creation (design and development (implementation of a fundamentally new or modified facility satisfies human needs. Purpose. Consider the historical features of formation of innovative architectural and urban facilities in the urban environment. The main objectives - to identify the main types of innovative historical objects and identify patterns of their formation. Conclusions. The main historical innovative architectural and urban facilities were buildings and structures formed during two periods of historical development: in the pre-industrial period and during the industrial revolution.

Full Text Searching and Customization in the NASA ADS Abstract Service

Science.gov (United States)

Eichhorn, G.; Accomazzi, A.; Grant, C. S.; Kurtz, M. J.; Henneken, E. A.; Thompson, D. M.; Murray, S. S.

2004-01-01

The NASA-ADS Abstract Service provides a sophisticated search capability for the literature in Astronomy, Planetary Sciences, Physics/Geophysics, and Space Instrumentation. The ADS is funded by NASA and access to the ADS services is free to anybody worldwide without restrictions. It allows the user to search the literature by author, title, and abstract text. The ADS database contains over 3.6 million references, with 965,000 in the Astronomy/Planetary Sciences database, and 1.6 million in the Physics/Geophysics database. 2/3 of the records have full abstracts, the rest are table of contents entries (titles and author lists only). The coverage for the Astronomy literature is better than 95% from 1975. Before that we cover all major journals and many smaller ones. Most of the journal literature is covered back to volume 1. We now get abstracts on a regular basis from most journals. Over the last year we have entered basically all conference proceedings tables of contents that are available at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics library. This has greatly increased the coverage of conference proceedings in the ADS. The ADS also covers the ArXiv Preprints. We download these preprints every night and index all the preprints. They can be searched either together with the other abstracts or separately. There are currently about 260,000 preprints in that database. In January 2004 we have introduced two new services, full text searching and a personal notification service called "myADS". As all other ADS services, these are free to use for anybody.

78 FR 12134 - Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation; Notice of Charter Renewal

Science.gov (United States)

2013-02-21

... Relations of the United States series as well as on the Department's responsibility under statute (22 U.S.C. 4351, et seq.) to open its 30-year old and older records for public review at the National Archives and... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8192] Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation...

Short and long-term effects of an historic blizzard in Asturias (Northern Spain)

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Hernandez, Cristina; Ruiz-Fernández, Jesús; Gallinar, David

2016-04-01

This research has combined the consult of several historical sources (historic newspapers, church records, meteorological records) with fieldwork (geographical checking and interviews) and the application of statistical techniques for data processing in order to define, locate and analyze the causes and physical, social, economic and demographic effects (both short- and long-term) of an historic natural disaster that concerned the territory of Asturias (Northern Spain). The storm that hit the Spanish northwest in the winter of 1888 consisted of a four snowstorms concatenation occurred between 14th February 1888 and 8th April 1888. It was a phenomenon that, by its magnitude and rarity, was especially harmful because of the triggering of avalanches of snow and landslides; the generation of large snow deposits (up to 9 meters depth), and the floods related with the effects of the snow thawing. The first results of this research point to 36 people dead and 23 injured, more than 1,000 buildings ruined and more than 19,000 head of cattle lost as a result of all these events. However, the personal and material losses increase if we investigate the long-term consequences and, in this aspect, we have identified several singularities in the 1888 mortality patterns (ie an increase in neonatal mortality rate), and a clear increase in overall mortality in the two years following this episode, affecting to women more than to men.

Herbarium specimens reveal a historical shift in phylogeographic structure of common ragweed during native range disturbance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martin, Michael David; Zimmer, Elizabeth A.; Olsen, Morten Tange

2014-01-01

Invasive plants provide ample opportunity to study evolutionary shifts that occur after introduction to novel environments. However, although genetic characters pre-dating introduction can be important determinants of later success, large-scale investigations of historical genetic structure have......'s spatial genetic structure mirrors both the palaeo-record of Ambrosia pollen deposition and the historical pattern of agricultural density across the landscape. Furthermore, for unknown reasons, this spatial genetic pattern has changed substantially in the intervening years. Following on previous work...

Sediment cores as archives of historical changes in floodplain lake hydrology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lintern, Anna; Leahy, Paul J; Zawadzki, Atun; Gadd, Patricia; Heijnis, Henk; Jacobsen, Geraldine; Connor, Simon; Deletic, Ana; McCarthy, David T

2016-02-15

Anthropogenic activities are contributing to the changing hydrology of rivers, often resulting in their degradation. Understanding the drivers and nature of these changes is critical for the design and implementation of effective mitigation strategies for these systems. However, this can be hindered by gaps in historical measured flow data. This study therefore aims to use sediment cores to identify historical hydrological changes within a river catchment. Sediment cores from two floodplain lakes (billabongs) in the urbanised Yarra River catchment (Melbourne, South-East Australia) were collected and high resolution images, trends in magnetic susceptibility and trends in elemental composition through the sedimentary records were obtained. These were used to infer historical changes in river hydrology to determine both average trends in hydrology (i.e., coarse temporal resolution) as well as discrete flood layers in the sediment cores (i.e., fine temporal resolution). Through the 20th century, both billabongs became increasingly disconnected from the river, as demonstrated by the decreasing trends in magnetic susceptibility, particle size and inorganic matter in the cores. Additionally the number of discrete flood layers decreased up the cores. These reconstructed trends correlate with measured flow records of the river through the 20th century, which validates the methodology that has been used in this study. Not only does this study provide evidence on how natural catchments can be affected by land-use intensification and urbanisation, but it also introduces a general analytical framework that could be applied to other river systems to assist in the design of hydrological management strategies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensory Intelligence for Extraction of an Abstract Auditory Rule: A Cross-Linguistic Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xiao-Tao; Wang, Xiao-Dong; Liang, Xiu-Yuan; Wang, Ming; Chen, Lin

2018-02-21

In a complex linguistic environment, while speech sounds can greatly vary, some shared features are often invariant. These invariant features constitute so-called abstract auditory rules. Our previous study has shown that with auditory sensory intelligence, the human brain can automatically extract the abstract auditory rules in the speech sound stream, presumably serving as the neural basis for speech comprehension. However, whether the sensory intelligence for extraction of abstract auditory rules in speech is inherent or experience-dependent remains unclear. To address this issue, we constructed a complex speech sound stream using auditory materials in Mandarin Chinese, in which syllables had a flat lexical tone but differed in other acoustic features to form an abstract auditory rule. This rule was occasionally and randomly violated by the syllables with the rising, dipping or falling tone. We found that both Chinese and foreign speakers detected the violations of the abstract auditory rule in the speech sound stream at a pre-attentive stage, as revealed by the whole-head recordings of mismatch negativity (MMN) in a passive paradigm. However, MMNs peaked earlier in Chinese speakers than in foreign speakers. Furthermore, Chinese speakers showed different MMN peak latencies for the three deviant types, which paralleled recognition points. These findings indicate that the sensory intelligence for extraction of abstract auditory rules in speech sounds is innate but shaped by language experience. Copyright © 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Hanford waste and the role of historic modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simpson, B.C.; Eberlein, S.J.; Brown, T.M.; Brevick, C.H.; Angew, S.F.

1996-02-01

The tank waste characterization process is an integral part of the overall effort to identify, quantify and control the hazards associated with radioactive wastes stored in underground tanks at the Hanford Reservation. Characterization of the current waste tank contents through the use of waste sampling is only partly effective. The historic records must be exploited as much as possible. A model generates an estimate of the current contents of each tank, built up from the estimated volumes of each of the defined waste components. The model combines the best estimate of the waste stream composition for each of the major waste generating processes. All available waste transfer records were compiled and integrated to track waste tank fill history. The behavior of the waste materials in the tanks was modeled, based on general scientific principles augmented with specific measurement data. Sample analysis results were not used directly to generate any of the tank contents estimates, but were used to determine the values of variable parameters such as the solubility. By considering all available information first (including historical model estimates, surveillance data, and past sample analysis results), future sampling resources and other characterization efforts can best be spent on tanks that will provide the largest returns of information

Validation of the diagnosis of autism in general practitioner records

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smith Peter G

2004-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We report on the validity of the computerized diagnoses of autism in a large case-control study investigating the possible association between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in the UK using the General Practitioner Research Database (GPRD. We examined anonymized copies of all relevant available clinical reports, including general practitioners' (GP notes, consultant, speech therapy and educational psychologists reports, on 318 subjects born between 1973 and 1997 with a diagnosis of autism or a related disorder recorded in their electronic general practice record. Methods Data were abstracted to a case validation form allowing for the identification of developmental symptoms relevant to the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs. Information on other background clinical and familial features was also abstracted. A subset of 50 notes was coded independently by 2 raters to derive reliability estimates for key clinical characteristics. Results For 294 subjects (92.5% the diagnosis of PDD was confirmed after review of the records. Of these, 180 subjects (61.2% fulfilled criteria for autistic disorder. The mean age at first recording of a PDD diagnosis in the GPRD database was 6.3 years (SD = 4.6. Consistent with previous estimates, the proportion of subjects experiencing regression in the course of their development was 19%. Inter-rater reliability for the presence of a PDD diagnosis was good (kappa = .73, and agreement on clinical features such as regression, age of parental recognition of first symptoms, language delay and presence of epilepsy was also good (kappas ranging from .56 to 1.0. Conclusions This study provides evidence that the positive predictive value of a diagnosis of autism recorded in the GPRD is high.

78 FR 17386 - Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-21

... System name: Historical Airman Promotion Master Test File (MTF) (June 11, 1997, 62 FR 31793). Changes... of Senior Airman (E-4) to Senior Master Sergeant (E-8).'' Categories of records in the system: Delete... Infrastructure (PKI)/ Common Access Card (CAC) authentication to lock out unauthorized access. Access to the...

Understanding Political Influence in Modern-Era Conflict:A Qualitative Historical Analysis of Hassan Nasrallah’s Speeches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reem Abu-Lughod

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Understanding Political Influence in Modern-Era Conflict: A Qualitative Historical Analysis of Hassan Nasrallah’s Speeches 'Abstract' 'This research examines and closely analyzes speeches delivered by Hezbollah’s secretary general and spokesman, Hassan Nasrallah, from a content analysis perspective. We reveal that several significant political phenomena that have occurred in Lebanon were impacted by the intensity of speeches delivered by Nasrallah; these three events being the 2006 War, the Doha Agreement, and the 2008 prisoner exchange. Data has been collected from transcribed speeches and analyzed using a qualitative historical analysis. Furthermore, we use latent analysis to assess Nasrallah’s underlying implications of his speeches and identify the themes he uses to influence his audience.'

Analysis of subsequent publication and impact of abstracts presented at the Sir Peter Freyer Surgical Symposium: Focus on the Plenary Session.

Science.gov (United States)

O' Connor, D J; Lowery, A J; Kearney, D; McAnena, O J; Sweeney, K J; Kerin, M J

2015-09-01

The quality of abstracts presented at a conference reflects the academic activity and research productivity of the surgical/scientific association concerned. The abstract to publication rate (44.5 % internationally), is an important indicator of the quality of presented research. To evaluate the publication rate and impact of abstracts presented at the plenary session of the Sir Peter Freyer Surgical Symposium over a 25-year period (1989-2014), and identify factors influencing publication. Plenary abstracts were identified from abstract books of the Symposium from 1989-2014. The authors, institution, subspecialty and research subject were recorded. A Medline search with name of the first and last author, key words and content of all abstracts was conducted to identify related publications. The impact factor (IF) of the journal and the time to publication was recorded. 298 presented abstracts resulted in 168 publications (publication rate: 56 %). Basic Science research accounted for 80 % (n = 237) of the total number of presentations with the remaining 20 % (n = 61) being categorised as clinical research. Overall, cancer research accounted for 48 % of presented work. The average time to publication was 2 ± 7 years, while 11 % of all published studies achieved publication in the year of the symposium. The median impact factor for published research was 3.558 (IF range 0-39). These results indicate that the quality of papers presented at the Sir Peter Freyer Surgical Symposium compares favourably with international equivalents, making this meeting an important forum for Irish Academic Surgery.

Study on Reverse Engineering of Historical Architecture Based on 3D Laser Scanner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, X J; Jin, W

2006-01-01

Repair and maintenance of historical architecture includes reinforcement of configuration, repair of figure and so on. All these need surveying information such as blueprint etc. 3D laser scanning technology is one of the important technique methods to acquire spatial data. It scans the architecture point by point quickly; registers and joints point cloud to simulate the shape by computer; reconstructs 3D model accurately finally. It also produces construction drawing including ichnography, elevation, and cutaway. In addition, detail structure and vignette can be got by close-range photogrammetry method, which produces the orthoimage and linear drawing. This method is especially fit for surveying historical architecture that lacks construction records

National Register Historic Districts

Data.gov (United States)

Iowa State University GIS Support and Research Facility — The National Register Historic District layer is a shape file showing the boundaries of Historic Districts that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Earth's Interaction With the Sun Over the Millennia From Analyses of Historical Sunspot, Auroral and Climate Records

Science.gov (United States)

Yau, K.

2001-12-01

spell, dated to {ca} 700 by Dansgaard [{Nature} {255}, 1974, 24]. Using records of advances and retreats of glaciers, previous researchers have linked it to a cold spell in the previous two centuries instead, thus requiring an offset in timescales. Our literature search has yielded more records of sunspot sightings, and established the fifth century as a minimum of solar activity, ending in a maximum at {ca} 500. These features and the minimum at 700 match contemporary deviations of atmospheric C 14 from a secular trend, due primarily to long-term changes in the strength of the Earth's magnetic moment [Stuiver, {Radiocarbon} {35}, 215]. Pang has shown that the climate of Eurasia was cold in the 5th century, due partly to volcanic cooling [{Eos} {80}, #46, 1999, F220]. Reduced solar luminosity may have contributed to that too. The cold apparently forced massive southward migrations of Teutonic and Asian barbarians into the Roman Empire, ending it in 476. Europe was plunged into the Dark Age, from which it did not recover until the climate warmed up again toward the end of the millennium. Finally, climate changes can also be produced by greenhouse warming, reorganization of ocean current systems "Dansgaard-Oeschger events," the Earth's orbital variations "Milankovitch effects," {etc}. Continued analysis of historical records, in conjunction with other proxy data, can help shed light on the nature of the Earth's interactions with the Sun, and the causes of past climate changes.

Recent Vs. Historical Seismicity Analysis For Banat Seismic Region (Western Part Of Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oros Eugen

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The present day seismic activity from a region reflects the active tectonics and can confirm the seismic potential of the seismogenic sources as they are modelled using the historical seismicity. This paper makes a comparative analysis of the last decade seismicity recorded in the Banat Seismic Region (western part of Romania and the historical seismicity of the region (Mw≥4.0. Four significant earthquake sequences have been recently localized in the region, three of them nearby the city of Timisoara (January 2012 and March 2013 and the fourth within Hateg Basin, South Carpathians (October 2013. These sequences occurred within the epicentral areas of some strong historical earthquakes (Mw≥5.0. The main events had some macroseismic effects on people up to some few kilometers from the epicenters. Our results update the Romanian earthquakes catalogue and bring new information along the local seismic hazard sources models and seismotectonics.

Abstraction and art.

Science.gov (United States)

Gortais, Bernard

2003-07-29

In a given social context, artistic creation comprises a set of processes, which relate to the activity of the artist and the activity of the spectator. Through these processes we see and understand that the world is vaster than it is said to be. Artistic processes are mediated experiences that open up the world. A successful work of art expresses a reality beyond actual reality: it suggests an unknown world using the means and the signs of the known world. Artistic practices incorporate the means of creation developed by science and technology and change forms as they change. Artists and the public follow different processes of abstraction at different levels, in the definition of the means of creation, of representation and of perception of a work of art. This paper examines how the processes of abstraction are used within the framework of the visual arts and abstract painting, which appeared during a period of growing importance for the processes of abstraction in science and technology, at the beginning of the twentieth century. The development of digital platforms and new man-machine interfaces allow multimedia creations. This is performed under the constraint of phases of multidisciplinary conceptualization using generic representation languages, which tend to abolish traditional frontiers between the arts: visual arts, drama, dance and music.

Removing the impact of water abstractions on flow duration curves

Science.gov (United States)

Masoero, Alessandro; Ganora, Daniele; Galeati, Giorgio; Laio, Francesco; Claps, Pierluigi

2015-04-01

Changes and interactions between human system and water cycle are getting increased attention in the scientific community. Commonly discharge data needed for water resources studies were collected close to urban or industrial settlements, thus in environments where the interest for surveying was not merely scientific, but also for socio-economical purposes. Working in non-natural environments we must take into account human impacts, like the one due to water intakes for irrigation or hydropower generation, while assessing the actual water availability and variability in a river. This can became an issue in alpine areas, where hydropower exploitation is heavy and it is common to have water abstraction before a gauge station. To have a gauge station downstream a water intake can be useful to survey the environmental flow release and to record the maximum flood values, which should not be affected by the water abstraction. Nevertheless with this configuration we are unable to define properly the water volumes available in the river, information crucial to assess low flows and investigate drought risk. This situation leads to a substantial difference between observed data (affected by the human impact) and natural data (as would have been without abstraction). A main issue is how to correct these impacts and restore the natural streamflow values. The most obvious and reliable solution would be to ask for abstraction data to water users, but these data are hard to collect. Usually they are not available, because not public or not even collected by the water exploiters. A solution could be to develop a rainfall-run-off model of the basin upstream the gauge station, but this approach needs a great number of data and parameters Working in a regional framework and not on single case studies, our goal is to provide a consistent estimate of the non-impacted statistics of the river (i.e. mean value, L-moments of variation and skewness). We proposed a parsimonious method, based

Archiving, sharing, processing and publishing historical earthquakes data: the IT point of view

Science.gov (United States)

Locati, Mario; Rovida, Andrea; Albini, Paola

2014-05-01

Digital tools devised for seismological data are mostly designed for handling instrumentally recorded data. Researchers working on historical seismology are forced to perform their daily job using a general purpose tool and/or coding their own to address their specific tasks. The lack of out-of-the-box tools expressly conceived to deal with historical data leads to a huge amount of time lost in performing tedious task to search for the data and, to manually reformat it in order to jump from one tool to the other, sometimes causing a loss of the original data. This reality is common to all activities related to the study of earthquakes of the past centuries, from the interpretations of past historical sources, to the compilation of earthquake catalogues. A platform able to preserve the historical earthquake data, trace back their source, and able to fulfil many common tasks was very much needed. In the framework of two European projects (NERIES and SHARE) and one global project (Global Earthquake History, GEM), two new data portals were designed and implemented. The European portal "Archive of Historical Earthquakes Data" (AHEAD) and the worldwide "Global Historical Earthquake Archive" (GHEA), are aimed at addressing at least some of the above mentioned issues. The availability of these new portals and their well-defined standards makes it easier than before the development of side tools for archiving, publishing and processing the available historical earthquake data. The AHEAD and GHEA portals, their underlying technologies and the developed side tools are presented.

Predicting healthcare trajectories from medical records: A deep learning approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Trang; Tran, Truyen; Phung, Dinh; Venkatesh, Svetha

2017-05-01

Personalized predictive medicine necessitates the modeling of patient illness and care processes, which inherently have long-term temporal dependencies. Healthcare observations, stored in electronic medical records are episodic and irregular in time. We introduce DeepCare, an end-to-end deep dynamic neural network that reads medical records, stores previous illness history, infers current illness states and predicts future medical outcomes. At the data level, DeepCare represents care episodes as vectors and models patient health state trajectories by the memory of historical records. Built on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), DeepCare introduces methods to handle irregularly timed events by moderating the forgetting and consolidation of memory. DeepCare also explicitly models medical interventions that change the course of illness and shape future medical risk. Moving up to the health state level, historical and present health states are then aggregated through multiscale temporal pooling, before passing through a neural network that estimates future outcomes. We demonstrate the efficacy of DeepCare for disease progression modeling, intervention recommendation, and future risk prediction. On two important cohorts with heavy social and economic burden - diabetes and mental health - the results show improved prediction accuracy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A New Revision of the Solar Irradiance Climate Data Record Incorporates Recent Research into Proxies of Sunspot Darkening and the Sunspot Number Record

Science.gov (United States)

Coddington, O.; Lean, J.; Pilewskie, P.; Baranyi, T.; Snow, M. A.; Kopp, G.; Richard, E. C.; Lindholm, C.

2017-12-01

An operational climate data record (CDR) of total and spectral solar irradiance became available in November 2015 as part of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information Climate Data Record Program. The data record, which is updated quarterly, is available from 1610 to the present as yearly-average values and from 1882 to the present as monthly- and daily-averages, with associated time and wavelength-dependent uncertainties. It was developed jointly by the University of Colorado at Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and the Naval Research Laboratory, and, together with the source code and supporting documentation, is available at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdr/. In the Solar Irradiance CDR, total solar irradiance (TSI) and solar spectral irradiance (SSI) are estimated from models that determine the changes from quiet Sun conditions arising from bright faculae and dark sunspots on the solar disk. The models are constructed using linear regression of proxies of solar sunspot and facular features with the approximately decade-long irradiance observations from the SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment. A new revision of this data record was recently released in an ongoing effort to reduce solar irradiance uncertainties in two ways. First, the sunspot darkening proxy was revised using a new cross calibration of the current sunspot region observations made by the Solar Observing Optical Network with the historical records of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. This implementation affects modeled irradiances from 1882 - 1978. Second, the impact of a revised record of sunspot number by the Sunspot Index and Long-term Solar Observations center on modeled irradiances was assessed. This implementation provides two different reconstructions of historical, yearly-averaged irradiances from 1610-1881. Additionally, we show new, preliminary results that demonstrate improvements in modeled TSI by using

Publication rate of abstracts presented at the 2010 Canadian Ophthalmological Society Annual Meeting.

Science.gov (United States)

Basilious, Alfred; Benavides Vargas, Ana Maria; Buys, Yvonne M

2017-08-01

To evaluate the publication rate of submitted abstracts accepted for presentation at the 2010 Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS) Annual Meeting in peer-reviewed journals. A retrospective analysis and literature search of abstracts presented at the 2010 COS Annual Meeting. Abstracts accepted as an oral presentation or poster from the 2010 COS Annual Meeting were tabulated by type of presentation (oral vs poster), subspecialty, study design, number of authors, and principal investigator's institution. A PubMed search was conducted for each abstract by key word, first author, and last author. The year of publication, journal, and impact factor were recorded for identified publications. Publication rate was calculated by type of presentation, subspecialty, study design, number of authors, and institution. A total of 175 abstracts were presented at the 2010 COS Annual Meeting. There were 105 oral (60%) and 70 poster (40%) presentations. The overall publication rate was 45.7%; 49.5% for oral presentations and 40.0% for posters. Cornea (57.6%) and public health (54.5%) had the highest publication rates of all subspecialties. Randomized control trials (71.4%) and cohort studies (70.0%) had higher publication rates than other study designs. Overall, 28.8% of abstracts were published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. The average impact factor of all publications was 2.73. Of abstracts presented at the 2010 COS Annual Meeting, 45.7% were published within 5 years after the conference. This publication rate is within the upper end of previously reported meeting publication rates for medical societies. Copyright © 2017 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring historical trends using taxonomic name metadata

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schenk Ryan

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Authority and year information have been attached to taxonomic names since Linnaean times. The systematic structure of taxonomic nomenclature facilitates the ability to develop tools that can be used to explore historical trends that may be associated with taxonomy. Results From the over 10.7 million taxonomic names that are part of the uBio system 4, approximately 3 million names were identified to have taxonomic authority information from the years 1750 to 2004. A pipe-delimited file was then generated, organized according to a Linnaean hierarchy and by years from 1750 to 2004, and imported into an Excel workbook. A series of macros were developed to create an Excel-based tool and a complementary Web site to explore the taxonomic data. A cursory and speculative analysis of the data reveals observable trends that may be attributable to significant events that are of both taxonomic (e.g., publishing of key monographs and societal importance (e.g., world wars. The findings also help quantify the number of taxonomic descriptions that may be made available through digitization initiatives. Conclusion Temporal organization of taxonomic data can be used to identify interesting biological epochs relative to historically significant events and ongoing efforts. We have developed an Excel workbook and complementary Web site that enables one to explore taxonomic trends for Linnaean taxonomic groupings, from Kingdoms to Families.

Completeness of Lyapunov Abstraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wisniewski, Rafal; Sloth, Christoffer

2013-01-01

the vector field, which allows the generation of a complete abstraction. To compute the functions that define the subdivision of the state space in an algorithm, we formulate a sum of squares optimization problem. This optimization problem finds the best subdivisioning functions, with respect to the ability......This paper addresses the generation of complete abstractions of polynomial dynamical systems by timed automata. For the proposed abstraction, the state space is divided into cells by sublevel sets of functions. We identify a relation between these functions and their directional derivatives along...

Use of historical sources in a study of the 1895 floods on the Danube River and its tributaries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melo Marián

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Hydrological data series that are measured on the Danube River are temporally limited. Instrumental flow data can be prolonged by documentary data from historical sources in archives. This paper deals with knowledge gained by studies of historical materials regarding the 1895 catastrophic floods on the Danube River and its tributaries as reflected in the contemporary local press and also in studies of other historical records (flood marks, chronicles, books and photos. Records from the newspapers (Wiener Zeitung, Preßburger Zeitung, The New York Times and Komáromi Lapok and other analysed sources show the relatively large territorial impact of the floods in March and April 1895, which affected not only the Danube and its tributaries, but also some neighboring basins. Catastrophic consequences of the flood were especially reported from the lower parts of the Danube River (from its confluence with the Drava River up to the mouth of the Black Sea and the tributaries of the Tisza and Sava rivers. In 1895, the second highest flood after the 2006 flood on the Lower Danube was observed since 1841.

Detecting Inappropriate Access to Electronic Health Records Using Collaborative Filtering.

Science.gov (United States)

Menon, Aditya Krishna; Jiang, Xiaoqian; Kim, Jihoon; Vaidya, Jaideep; Ohno-Machado, Lucila

2014-04-01

Many healthcare facilities enforce security on their electronic health records (EHRs) through a corrective mechanism: some staff nominally have almost unrestricted access to the records, but there is a strict ex post facto audit process for inappropriate accesses, i.e., accesses that violate the facility's security and privacy policies. This process is inefficient, as each suspicious access has to be reviewed by a security expert, and is purely retrospective, as it occurs after damage may have been incurred. This motivates automated approaches based on machine learning using historical data. Previous attempts at such a system have successfully applied supervised learning models to this end, such as SVMs and logistic regression. While providing benefits over manual auditing, these approaches ignore the identity of the users and patients involved in a record access. Therefore, they cannot exploit the fact that a patient whose record was previously involved in a violation has an increased risk of being involved in a future violation. Motivated by this, in this paper, we propose a collaborative filtering inspired approach to predicting inappropriate accesses. Our solution integrates both explicit and latent features for staff and patients, the latter acting as a personalized "finger-print" based on historical access patterns. The proposed method, when applied to real EHR access data from two tertiary hospitals and a file-access dataset from Amazon, shows not only significantly improved performance compared to existing methods, but also provides insights as to what indicates an inappropriate access.

The gastropod Phorcus sauciatus (Koch, 1845) along the north-west Iberian Peninsula: filling historical gaps

Science.gov (United States)

Rubal, Marcos; Veiga, Puri; Moreira, Juan; Sousa-Pinto, Isabel

2014-03-01

The intertidal gastropod Phorcus sauciatus is a subtropical grazer that reaches its northern boundary in the Iberian Peninsula. Distribution of P. sauciatus along the Iberian Peninsula shows, however, gaps in its distribution. The present study was aimed at detecting possible recent changes on the population structure and distribution of P. sauciatus along the north-west Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula. To achieve this aim, we adopted a qualitative sampling design to explore the presence of P. sauciatus along a region within its historical gap of distribution (north Portuguese coast). In addition, a quantitative sampling design was adopted to test hypotheses about the abundance and size structure of P. sauciatus populations among regions with different historical records of its abundance and among shores with different exposure. Results showed that P. sauciatus was present along the north Portuguese coast. However, the abundance and size structure of the newly settled populations were significantly different to those of the historically recorded populations. Moreover, P. sauciatus was able to establish populations at sheltered shores. Considering these results, we propose models for the distribution of P. sauciatus along the Iberian Peninsula, based on effects of sea surface temperature, and to explain the size-frequency of their populations based on their density.

Metaphor: Bridging embodiment to abstraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamrozik, Anja; McQuire, Marguerite; Cardillo, Eileen R; Chatterjee, Anjan

2016-08-01

Embodied cognition accounts posit that concepts are grounded in our sensory and motor systems. An important challenge for these accounts is explaining how abstract concepts, which do not directly call upon sensory or motor information, can be informed by experience. We propose that metaphor is one important vehicle guiding the development and use of abstract concepts. Metaphors allow us to draw on concrete, familiar domains to acquire and reason about abstract concepts. Additionally, repeated metaphoric use drawing on particular aspects of concrete experience can result in the development of new abstract representations. These abstractions, which are derived from embodied experience but lack much of the sensorimotor information associated with it, can then be flexibly applied to understand new situations.

Technical abstracts: Mechanical engineering, 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broesius, J.Y.

1991-01-01

This document is a compilation of the published, unclassified abstracts produced by mechanical engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) during the calendar year 1990. Many abstracts summarize work completed and published in report form. These are UCRL-JC series documents, which include the full text of articles to be published in journals and of papers to be presented at meetings, and UCID reports, which are informal documents. Not all UCIDs contain abstracts: short summaries were generated when abstracts were not included. Technical Abstracts also provides descriptions of those documents assigned to the UCRL-MI (miscellaneous) category. These are generally viewgraphs or photographs presented at meetings. An author index is provided at the back of this volume for cross referencing

Democracy and Historical Writing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Baets, Antoon

2015-01-01

In this essay, we try to clarify the relationship between democracy and historical writing. The strategy is first exploring the general relationship between democracy and historical awareness, and then, studying the relationship between democracy and historical writing itself to find out whether

The triconnected abstraction of process models

OpenAIRE

Polyvyanyy, Artem; Smirnov, Sergey; Weske, Mathias

2009-01-01

Contents: Artem Polyvanny, Sergey Smirnow, and Mathias Weske The Triconnected Abstraction of Process Models 1 Introduction 2 Business Process Model Abstraction 3 Preliminaries 4 Triconnected Decomposition 4.1 Basic Approach for Process Component Discovery 4.2 SPQR-Tree Decomposition 4.3 SPQR-Tree Fragments in the Context of Process Models 5 Triconnected Abstraction 5.1 Abstraction Rules 5.2 Abstraction Algorithm 6 Related Work and Conclusions

Molecular and Isotopic Records of Combustion Inputs to the Environment Over the Last 250 Years

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

DeLima, Ana

2004-01-01

.... This study generated a high-resolution historical record of pyrogenic PAR emissions since pre-industrial times from anoxic aquatic sediments, allowing for detailed comparison with energy consumption data...

Supporting document for the Southeast Quadrant historical tank content estimate report for SY-tank farm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brevick, C.H.; Gaddis, L.A.; Consort, S.D.

1995-01-01

Historical Tank Content Estimate of the Southeast Quadrant provides historical evaluations on a tank by tank basis of the radioactive mixed wastes stored in the underground double-shell tanks of the Hanford 200 East and West Areas. This report summarizes historical information such as waste history, temperature profiles, psychrometric data, tank integrity, inventory estimates and tank level history on a tank by tank basis. Tank Farm aerial photos and in-tank photos of each tank are provided. A brief description of instrumentation methods used for waste tank surveillance are included. Components of the data management effort, such as Waste Status and Transaction Record Summary, Tank Layer Model, Supernatant Mixing Model, Defined Waste Types, and Inventory Estimates which generate these tank content estimates, are also given in this report

Interpreting transnational infrastructure vulnerability: European blackout and the historical dynamics of transnational electricity governance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vleuten, Erik van der; Lagendijk, Vincent

2010-01-01

Recent transnational blackouts exposed two radically opposed interpretations of Europe's electricity infrastructure, which inform recent and ongoing negotiations on transnational electricity governance. To EU policy makers such blackouts revealed the fragility of Europe's power grids and the need of a more centralized form of governance, thus legitimizing recent EU interventions. Yet to power sector spokespersons, these events confirmed the reliability of transnational power grids and the traditional decentralized governance model: the disturbances were quickly contained and repaired. This paper inquires the historic legacies at work in these conflicting interpretations and associated transnational governance preferences. It traces the power sector's interpretation to its building of a secure transnational power grid from the 1950s through the era of neoliberalization. Next it places the EU interpretation and associated policy measures against the historical record of EU attempts at transnational infrastructure governance. Uncovering the historical roots and embedding of both interpretations, we conclude that their divergence is of a surprisingly recent date and relates to the current era of security thinking. Finally we recommend transnational, interpretative, and historical analysis to the field of critical infrastructure studies.

Geological and historical evidence of irregular recurrent earthquakes in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Satake, Kenji

2015-10-28

Great (M∼8) earthquakes repeatedly occur along the subduction zones around Japan and cause fault slip of a few to several metres releasing strains accumulated from decades to centuries of plate motions. Assuming a simple 'characteristic earthquake' model that similar earthquakes repeat at regular intervals, probabilities of future earthquake occurrence have been calculated by a government committee. However, recent studies on past earthquakes including geological traces from giant (M∼9) earthquakes indicate a variety of size and recurrence interval of interplate earthquakes. Along the Kuril Trench off Hokkaido, limited historical records indicate that average recurrence interval of great earthquakes is approximately 100 years, but the tsunami deposits show that giant earthquakes occurred at a much longer interval of approximately 400 years. Along the Japan Trench off northern Honshu, recurrence of giant earthquakes similar to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake with an interval of approximately 600 years is inferred from historical records and tsunami deposits. Along the Sagami Trough near Tokyo, two types of Kanto earthquakes with recurrence interval of a few hundred years and a few thousand years had been recognized, but studies show that the recent three Kanto earthquakes had different source extents. Along the Nankai Trough off western Japan, recurrence of great earthquakes with an interval of approximately 100 years has been identified from historical literature, but tsunami deposits indicate that the sizes of the recurrent earthquakes are variable. Such variability makes it difficult to apply a simple 'characteristic earthquake' model for the long-term forecast, and several attempts such as use of geological data for the evaluation of future earthquake probabilities or the estimation of maximum earthquake size in each subduction zone are being conducted by government committees. © 2015 The Author(s).

A Modal-Logic Based Graph Abstraction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bauer, J.; Boneva, I.B.; Kurban, M.E.; Rensink, Arend; Ehrig, H; Heckel, R.; Rozenberg, G.; Taentzer, G.

2008-01-01

Infinite or very large state spaces often prohibit the successful verification of graph transformation systems. Abstract graph transformation is an approach that tackles this problem by abstracting graphs to abstract graphs of bounded size and by lifting application of productions to abstract

Seismic Consequence Abstraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gross, M.

2004-01-01

The primary purpose of this model report is to develop abstractions for the response of engineered barrier system (EBS) components to seismic hazards at a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and to define the methodology for using these abstractions in a seismic scenario class for the Total System Performance Assessment - License Application (TSPA-LA). A secondary purpose of this model report is to provide information for criticality studies related to seismic hazards. The seismic hazards addressed herein are vibratory ground motion, fault displacement, and rockfall due to ground motion. The EBS components are the drip shield, the waste package, and the fuel cladding. The requirements for development of the abstractions and the associated algorithms for the seismic scenario class are defined in ''Technical Work Plan For: Regulatory Integration Modeling of Drift Degradation, Waste Package and Drip Shield Vibratory Motion and Seismic Consequences'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171520]). The development of these abstractions will provide a more complete representation of flow into and transport from the EBS under disruptive events. The results from this development will also address portions of integrated subissue ENG2, Mechanical Disruption of Engineered Barriers, including the acceptance criteria for this subissue defined in Section 2.2.1.3.2.3 of the ''Yucca Mountain Review Plan, Final Report'' (NRC 2003 [DIRS 163274])

Seismic Consequence Abstraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

M. Gross

2004-10-25

The primary purpose of this model report is to develop abstractions for the response of engineered barrier system (EBS) components to seismic hazards at a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, and to define the methodology for using these abstractions in a seismic scenario class for the Total System Performance Assessment - License Application (TSPA-LA). A secondary purpose of this model report is to provide information for criticality studies related to seismic hazards. The seismic hazards addressed herein are vibratory ground motion, fault displacement, and rockfall due to ground motion. The EBS components are the drip shield, the waste package, and the fuel cladding. The requirements for development of the abstractions and the associated algorithms for the seismic scenario class are defined in ''Technical Work Plan For: Regulatory Integration Modeling of Drift Degradation, Waste Package and Drip Shield Vibratory Motion and Seismic Consequences'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171520]). The development of these abstractions will provide a more complete representation of flow into and transport from the EBS under disruptive events. The results from this development will also address portions of integrated subissue ENG2, Mechanical Disruption of Engineered Barriers, including the acceptance criteria for this subissue defined in Section 2.2.1.3.2.3 of the ''Yucca Mountain Review Plan, Final Report'' (NRC 2003 [DIRS 163274]).

Modal abstractions of concurrent behavior

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielson, Flemming; Nanz, Sebastian; Nielson, Hanne Riis

2011-01-01

We present an effective algorithm for the automatic construction of finite modal transition systems as abstractions of potentially infinite concurrent processes. Modal transition systems are recognized as valuable abstractions for model checking because they allow for the validation as well...... as refutation of safety and liveness properties. However, the algorithmic construction of finite abstractions from potentially infinite concurrent processes is a missing link that prevents their more widespread usage for model checking of concurrent systems. Our algorithm is a worklist algorithm using concepts...... from abstract interpretation and operating upon mappings from sets to intervals in order to express simultaneous over- and underapprox-imations of the multisets of process actions available in a particular state. We obtain a finite abstraction that is 3-valued in both states and transitions...

Fiberglass Grids as Sustainable Reinforcement of Historic Masonry

Science.gov (United States)

Righetti, Luca; Edmondson, Vikki; Corradi, Marco; Borri, Antonio

2016-01-01

Fiber-reinforced composite (FRP) materials have gained an increasing success, mostly for strengthening, retrofitting and repair of existing historic masonry structures and may cause a significant enhancement of the mechanical properties of the reinforced members. This article summarizes the results of previous experimental activities aimed at investigating the effectiveness of GFRP (Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers) grids embedded into an inorganic mortar to reinforce historic masonry. The paper also presents innovative results on the relationship between the durability and the governing material properties of GFRP grids. Measurements of the tensile strength were made using specimens cut off from GFRP grids before and after ageing in aqueous solution. The tensile strength of a commercially available GFRP grid has been tested after up 450 days of storage in deionized water and NaCl solution. A degradation in tensile strength and Young’s modulus up to 30.2% and 13.2% was recorded, respectively. This degradation indicated that extended storage in a wet environment may cause a decrease in the mechanical properties. PMID:28773725

Public and Private Intelligence: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth Delaforce

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Intelligence is often regarded as information that is special or different, which must be safely kept. When sought, collected or used by the private sector, as opposed to public agencies, concerns are raised on the purpose and propriety of such an activity. However, in an historical context, intelligence collection or sharing between public and private interests for the purpose of national security was not unusual, particularly during the Cold War. Case studies from this era indicate that overlapping concerns were economic success combined with political strategy. Glimpses of these shared interests between the state and business can also be identified in the immediate post-Cold War era, and the aftermath of terrorist attacks in 2001. Perhaps the greatest contemporary change is not that “private” and “public” intelligence is shared between business and state, but the extent of such an enterprise. Further issues related to this change are: state dominance in the public-private relationship; potential fragmentation in the intelligence process; gaps in the historical record; and implications for future generations of intelligence professionals.

The climatic effect of explosive volcanic activity: Analysis of the historical data

Science.gov (United States)

Bryson, R. A.; Goodman, B. M.

1982-01-01

By using the most complete available records of direct beam radiation and volcanic eruptions, an historical analysis of the role of the latter in modulating the former was made. A very simple fallout and dispersion model was applied to the historical chronology of explosive eruptions. The resulting time series explains about 77 percent of the radiation variance, as well as suggests that tropical and subpolar eruptions are more important than mid-latitude eruptions in their impact on the stratospheric aerosol optical depth. The simpler climatic models indicate that past hemispheric temperature can be stimulated very well with volcanic and CO2 inputs and suggest that climate forecasting will also require volcano forecasting. There is some evidence that this is possible some years in advance.

The use of historical information for regional frequency analysis of extreme skew surge

Science.gov (United States)

Frau, Roberto; Andreewsky, Marc; Bernardara, Pietro

2018-03-01

The design of effective coastal protections requires an adequate estimation of the annual occurrence probability of rare events associated with a return period up to 103 years. Regional frequency analysis (RFA) has been proven to be an applicable way to estimate extreme events by sorting regional data into large and spatially distributed datasets. Nowadays, historical data are available to provide new insight on past event estimation. The utilisation of historical information would increase the precision and the reliability of regional extreme's quantile estimation. However, historical data are from significant extreme events that are not recorded by tide gauge. They usually look like isolated data and they are different from continuous data from systematic measurements of tide gauges. This makes the definition of the duration of our observations period complicated. However, the duration of the observation period is crucial for the frequency estimation of extreme occurrences. For this reason, we introduced here the concept of credible duration. The proposed RFA method (hereinafter referenced as FAB, from the name of the authors) allows the use of historical data together with systematic data, which is a result of the use of the credible duration concept.

IMPROVING TRADITIONAL BUILDING REPAIR CONSTRUCTION QUALITY USING HISTORIC BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING CONCEPT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. C. Wu

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In addition to the repair construction project following the repair principles contemplated by heritage experts, the construction process should be recorded and measured at any time for monitoring to ensure the quality of repair. The conventional construction record methods mostly depend on the localized shooting of 2D digital images coupled with text and table for illustration to achieve the purpose of monitoring. Such methods cannot fully and comprehensively record the 3D spatial relationships in the real world. Therefore, the construction records of traditional buildings are very important but cannot function due to technical limitations. This study applied the 3D laser scanning technology to establish a 3D point cloud model for the repair construction of historical buildings. It also broke down the detailed components of the 3D point cloud model by using the concept of the historic building information modeling, and established the 3D models of various components and their attribute data in the 3DGIS platform database. In the construction process, according to the time of completion of each stage as developed on the construction project, this study conducted the 3D laser scanning and database establishment for each stage, also applied 3DGIS spatial information and attribute information comparison and analysis to propose the analysis of differences in completion of various stages for improving the traditional building repair construction quality. This method helps to improve the quality of repair construction work of tangible cultural assets of the world. The established 3DGIS platform can be used as a power tool for subsequent management and maintenance.

The deleuzian abstract machines

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werner Petersen, Erik

2005-01-01

To most people the concept of abstract machines is connected to the name of Alan Turing and the development of the modern computer. The Turing machine is universal, axiomatic and symbolic (E.g. operating on symbols). Inspired by Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari extended the concept of abstract...

Typesafe Abstractions for Tensor Operations

OpenAIRE

Chen, Tongfei

2017-01-01

We propose a typesafe abstraction to tensors (i.e. multidimensional arrays) exploiting the type-level programming capabilities of Scala through heterogeneous lists (HList), and showcase typesafe abstractions of common tensor operations and various neural layers such as convolution or recurrent neural networks. This abstraction could lay the foundation of future typesafe deep learning frameworks that runs on Scala/JVM.

Caspian Sea level changes during the last millennium: historical and geological evidences from the south Caspian Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Naderi Beni, A.; Lahijani, H.; Mousavi Harami, R.; Arpe, K.; Leroy, S. A. G.; Marriner, N.; Berberian, M.; Andrieu-Ponel, V.; Djamali, M.; Mahboubi, A.

2013-03-01

Historical literature may constitute a valuable source of information to reconstruct sea level changes. Here, historical documents and geological records have been combined to reconstruct Caspian sea-level (CSL) changes during the last millennium. In addition to a literature survey, new data from two short sediment cores were obtained from the south-eastern Caspian coast to identify coastal change driven by water-level changes. Two articulated bivalve shells from the marine facies were radiocarbon dated and calibrated to establish a chronology and to compare them with historical findings. The overall results indicate a high-stand during the Little Ice Age, up to -19 m, with a -28 m low-stand during the Medieval Climate Anomaly, while presently the CSL stands at -26.5 m. A comparison of the CSL curve with other lake systems and proxy records suggests that the main sea-level oscillations are essentially paced by solar irradiance. Although the major controller of the long-term CSL changes is driven by climatological factors, the seismicity of the basin could create locally changes in base level. These local base-level changes should be considered in any CSL reconstruction.

Caspian sea-level changes during the last millennium: historical and geological evidence from the south Caspian Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Naderi Beni, A.; Lahijani, H.; Mousavi Harami, R.; Arpe, K.; Leroy, S. A. G.; Marriner, N.; Berberian, M.; Andrieu-Ponel, V.; Djamali, M.; Mahboubi, A.; Reimer, P. J.

2013-07-01

Historical literature may constitute a valuable source of information to reconstruct sea-level changes. Here, historical documents and geological records have been combined to reconstruct Caspian sea-level (CSL) changes during the last millennium. In addition to a comprehensive literature review, new data from two short sediment cores were obtained from the south-eastern Caspian coast to identify coastal change driven by water-level changes and to compare the results with other geological and historical findings. The overall results indicate a high-stand during the Little Ice Age, up to -21 m (and extra rises due to manmade river avulsion), with a -28 m low-stand during the Medieval Climate Anomaly, while presently the CSL stands at -26.5 m. A comparison of the CSL curve with other lake systems and proxy records suggests that the main sea-level oscillations are essentially paced by solar irradiance. Although the major controller of the long-term CSL changes is driven by climatological factors, the seismicity of the basin creates local changes in base level. These local base-level changes should be considered in any CSL reconstruction.

Inventory Abstraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leigh, C.

2000-01-01

The purpose of the inventory abstraction as directed by the development plan (CRWMS M and O 1999b) is to: (1) Interpret the results of a series of relative dose calculations (CRWMS M and O 1999c, 1999d). (2) Recommend, including a basis thereof, a set of radionuclides that should be modeled in the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR) and the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (TSPA-FEIS). (3) Provide initial radionuclide inventories for the TSPA-SR and TSPA-FEIS models. (4) Answer the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)'s Issue Resolution Status Report ''Key Technical Issue: Container Life and Source Term'' (CLST IRSR) (NRC 1999) key technical issue (KTI): ''The rate at which radionuclides in SNF [Spent Nuclear Fuel] are released from the EBS [Engineered Barrier System] through the oxidation and dissolution of spent fuel'' (Subissue 3). The scope of the radionuclide screening analysis encompasses the period from 100 years to 10,000 years after the potential repository at Yucca Mountain is sealed for scenarios involving the breach of a waste package and subsequent degradation of the waste form as required for the TSPA-SR calculations. By extending the time period considered to one million years after repository closure, recommendations are made for the TSPA-FEIS. The waste forms included in the inventory abstraction are Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel (CSNF), DOE Spent Nuclear Fuel (DSNF), High-Level Waste (HLW), naval Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF), and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plutonium waste. The intended use of this analysis is in TSPA-SR and TSPA-FEIS. Based on the recommendations made here, models for release, transport, and possibly exposure will be developed for the isotopes that would be the highest contributors to the dose given a release to the accessible environment. The inventory abstraction is important in assessing system performance because

Historical Slovenian Language Resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomaž Erjavec

2013-09-01

Full Text Available EXTENDED ABSTRACT:The paper presents three language resources enabling better full-text access to digitised printed historical Slovenian texts: a hand-annotated corpus, a hand-annotated lexicon of historical words and a collection of transcribed texts. The aim of the resources is twofold: on one hand they support empirical linguistic research (corpus, collection and represent a reference tool for the research of historical Slovenian (lexicon while on the other hand they may serve as training data for the development of Human Language Technologies enabling better full-text search in digital libraries containing Slovenian written cultural heritage, modernisation of historical texts, and the development of better technological solutions for text recognition and scanning. The hand annotated corpus of historical Slovenian contains the text from 1,000 pages sampled from the years 1750 to 1900, two texts date to the end of the 16th or 17th century. The corpus contains a little more than 250,000 word tokens; each of them being annotated with hand validated linguistic features: modernised form, lemma or base form, and morhpo-syntactic description. Thus the word token »ajfram« is annotated with the normalised form »ajfrom«, by the lemma »ajfer« and morphosyntactic description »Som« or »Samostalnik« (noun, »občni« (common, »moški« (masculine and a modernised form »gorečnost« (fervour. At first the corpus was annotated automatically and then manually verified and corrected. The lexicon was created automatically from the hand-annotated corpus. It contains only attested word-forms and examples of use. The word-forms are ordered under their modern equivalents. All the modern forms of a particular word constitute a dictionary entry, defined by its lemma with conjoint information i.e. the morpho-syntactic description and the closest contemporary synonyms. Thus the entry »ajfrer/Som/gorečnost« is annotated by two modernised words »ajfra �

Application of laser scanning technique in earthquake protection of Istanbul's historical heritage buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Çaktı, Eser; Ercan, Tülay; Dar, Emrullah

2017-04-01

Istanbul's vast historical and cultural heritage is under constant threat of earthquakes. Historical records report repeated damages to the city's landmark buildings. Our efforts towards earthquake protection of several buildings in Istanbul involve earthquake monitoring via structural health monitoring systems, linear and non-linear structural modelling and analysis in search of past and future earthquake performance, shake-table testing of scaled models and non-destructive testing. More recently we have been using laser technology in monitoring structural deformations and damage in five monumental buildings which are Hagia Sophia Museum and Fatih, Sultanahmet, Süleymaniye and Mihrimah Sultan Mosques. This presentation is about these efforts with special emphasis on the use of laser scanning in monitoring of edifices.

Energy information data base. Guide to abstracting and indexing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-02-01

The Technical Information Center (TIC) acquires and brings under bibliographic control information related to the administrative and research, development, and demonstration activities of the Department of Energy (DOE). Three major data bases are being created and maintained: the Energy Information Data Base (EDB) containing scientific and technical information covering all areas of energy as well as quasi-technical information in the area of energy policy and management; the General and Practical Information Base (GAP) containing mass-distribution information on energy, ''how-to'' information primarily in the areas of energy conservation and solar energy utilization, and information on energy-related legislation and standards; and the Research in Progress Information Base (RIP), which describes current research and development programs in the field of energy. Two smaller, classified data bases are also produced, one on weapons data and the second containing other information that must be given limited distribution. Two of the more significant components of the document records stored are abstracts and subject descriptors. This manual contains the guidelines used in abstract writing and editing and in subject descriptor selection. The associated acquisition and subject categorization functions are also addressed

Reconstruction of spatio-temporal temperature from sparse historical records using robust probabilistic principal component regression

OpenAIRE

Tipton, John; Hooten, Mevin; Goring, Simon

2017-01-01

Scientific records of temperature and precipitation have been kept for several hundred years, but for many areas, only a shorter record exists. To understand climate change, there is a need for rigorous statistical reconstructions of the paleoclimate using proxy data. Paleoclimate proxy data are often sparse, noisy, indirect measurements of the climate process of interest, making each proxy uniquely challenging to model statistically. We reconstruct spatially explicit temper...

River archaeology - a new tool for historical hydrology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toth, Attila J

2008-01-01

River archaeology consists of underwater research on the rivers themselves. It is also concerned with the archaeology of the valleys/floodplains with special attention to human-environmental interactions (reconstructing landscape, the environment, economy and society from material culture and traces of human impact on their surroundings). As historical hydrology is concerned with similar questions, from the hydrologist's point of view, the combination of different approaches offers the possibilities for fruitful cooperation for both disciplines. The intent of this paper is to present the type, nature and limitations of this part of the archaeological record through recent work in the Drava River basin.

A Tale of Two Transcriptions. Machine-Assisted Transcription of Historical Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gunnar Thorvaldsen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article explains how two projects implement semi-automated transcription routines: for census sheets in Norway and marriage protocols from Barcelona. The Spanish system was created to transcribe the marriage license books from 1451 to 1905 for the Barcelona area; one of the world’s longest series of preserved vital records. Thus, in the Project “Five Centuries of Marriages” (5CofM at the Autonomous University of Barcelona’s Center for Demographic Studies, the Barcelona Historical Marriage Database has been built. More than 600,000 records were transcribed by 150 transcribers working online. The Norwegian material is cross-sectional as it is the 1891 census, recorded on one sheet per person. This format and the underlining of keywords for several variables made it more feasible to semi-automate data entry than when many persons are listed on the same page. While Optical Character Recognition (OCR for printed text is scientifically mature, computer vision research is now focused on more difficult problems such as handwriting recognition. In the marriage project, document analysis methods have been proposed to automatically recognize the marriage licenses. Fully automatic recognition is still a challenge, but some promising results have been obtained. In Spain, Norway and elsewhere the source material is available as scanned pictures on the Internet, opening up the possibility for further international cooperation concerning automating the transcription of historic source materials. Like what is being done in projects to digitize printed materials, the optimal solution is likely to be a combination of manual transcription and machine-assisted recognition also for hand-written sources.

Bothered by abstractness or engaged by cohesion? Experts' explanations enhance novices' deep-learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachner, Andreas; Nückles, Matthias

2015-03-01

Experts' explanations have been shown to better enhance novices' transfer as compared with advanced students' explanations. Based on research on expertise and text comprehension, we investigated whether the abstractness or the cohesion of experts' and intermediates' explanations accounted for novices' learning. In Study 1, we showed that the superior cohesion of experts' explanations accounted for most of novices' transfer, whereas the degree of abstractness did not impact novices' transfer performance. In Study 2, we investigated novices' processing while learning with experts' and intermediates' explanations. We found that novices studying experts' explanations actively self-regulated their processing of the explanations, as they showed mainly deep-processing activities, whereas novices learning with intermediates' explanations were mainly engaged in shallow-processing activities by paraphrasing the explanations. Thus, we concluded that subject-matter expertise is a crucial prerequisite for instructors. Despite the abstract character of experts' explanations, their subject-matter expertise enables them to generate highly cohesive explanations that serve as a valuable scaffold for students' construction of flexible knowledge by engaging them in deep-level processing. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Historical consciousness - Contemporary history and the problem of historical perception

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Den Hollander, JC

2002-01-01

Historical consciousness is an elusive concept, as long as we try to understand it from the narrow perspective of professional historians. Therefore, a wider perspective is needed. If we accept that historical understanding has become a general trait of modern culture, we may try to explain it in

Nuclear medicine. Abstracts; Nuklearmedizin 2000. Abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

2000-07-01

This issue of the journal contains the abstracts of the 183 conference papers as well as 266 posters presented at the conference. Subject fields covered are: Neurology, psychology, oncology, pediatrics, radiopharmacy, endocrinology, EDP, measuring equipment and methods, radiological protection, cardiology, and therapy. (orig./CB) [German] Die vorliegende Zeitschrift enthaelt die Kurzfassungen der 183 auf der Tagung gehaltenen Vortraege sowie der 226 praesentierten Poster, die sich mit den folgenden Themen befassten: Neurologie, Psychiatrie, Onkologie, Paediatrie, Radiopharmazie, Endokrinologie, EDV, Messtechnik, Strahlenschutz, Kardiologie sowie Therapie. (MG)

HMI - historical flashback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weiss, B.

1993-01-01

This brochure is based on a paper read at a HMI colloquium on 14 Juni 1993. The historical information is based on a detailed historical study published in book form under the title ''Industrial-scale Research in Berlin''. (orig./HSCH) [de

Mechanical Engineering Department technical abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denney, R.M.

1982-01-01

The Mechanical Engineering Department publishes listings of technical abstracts twice a year to inform readers of the broad range of technical activities in the Department, and to promote an exchange of ideas. Details of the work covered by an abstract may be obtained by contacting the author(s). Overall information about current activities of each of the Department's seven divisions precedes the technical abstracts

Applying Metrological Techniques to Satellite Fundamental Climate Data Records

Science.gov (United States)

Woolliams, Emma R.; Mittaz, Jonathan PD; Merchant, Christopher J.; Hunt, Samuel E.; Harris, Peter M.

2018-02-01

Quantifying long-term environmental variability, including climatic trends, requires decadal-scale time series of observations. The reliability of such trend analysis depends on the long-term stability of the data record, and understanding the sources of uncertainty in historic, current and future sensors. We give a brief overview on how metrological techniques can be applied to historical satellite data sets. In particular we discuss the implications of error correlation at different spatial and temporal scales and the forms of such correlation and consider how uncertainty is propagated with partial correlation. We give a form of the Law of Propagation of Uncertainties that considers the propagation of uncertainties associated with common errors to give the covariance associated with Earth observations in different spectral channels.

Abstract representations of associated emotions in the human brain.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Junsuk; Schultz, Johannes; Rohe, Tim; Wallraven, Christian; Lee, Seong-Whan; Bülthoff, Heinrich H

2015-04-08

Emotions can be aroused by various kinds of stimulus modalities. Recent neuroimaging studies indicate that several brain regions represent emotions at an abstract level, i.e., independently from the sensory cues from which they are perceived (e.g., face, body, or voice stimuli). If emotions are indeed represented at such an abstract level, then these abstract representations should also be activated by the memory of an emotional event. We tested this hypothesis by asking human participants to learn associations between emotional stimuli (videos of faces or bodies) and non-emotional stimuli (fractals). After successful learning, fMRI signals were recorded during the presentations of emotional stimuli and emotion-associated fractals. We tested whether emotions could be decoded from fMRI signals evoked by the fractal stimuli using a classifier trained on the responses to the emotional stimuli (and vice versa). This was implemented as a whole-brain searchlight, multivoxel activation pattern analysis, which revealed successful emotion decoding in four brain regions: posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), precuneus, MPFC, and angular gyrus. The same analysis run only on responses to emotional stimuli revealed clusters in PCC, precuneus, and MPFC. Multidimensional scaling analysis of the activation patterns revealed clear clustering of responses by emotion across stimulus types. Our results suggest that PCC, precuneus, and MPFC contain representations of emotions that can be evoked by stimuli that carry emotional information themselves or by stimuli that evoke memories of emotional stimuli, while angular gyrus is more likely to take part in emotional memory retrieval. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/355655-09$15.00/0.

Information on blinding in registered records of clinical trials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viergever Roderik F

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Information on blinding is part of the data that should be provided upon registration of a trial at a clinical trials registry. Reporting of blinding is often absent or of low quality in published articles of clinical trials. This study researched the presence and quality of information on blinding in registered records of clinical trials and highlights the important role of data-recording formats at clinical trial registries in ensuring high-quality registration.

Unveiling the geography of historical patents in the United States from 1836 to 1975

Science.gov (United States)

Petralia, Sergio; Balland, Pierre-Alexandre; Rigby, David L.

2016-01-01

It is clear that technology is a key driver of economic growth. Much less clear is where new technologies are produced and how the geography of U.S. invention has changed over the last two hundred years. Patent data report the geography, history, and technological characteristics of invention. However, those data have only recently become available in digital form and at the present time there exists no comprehensive dataset on the geography of knowledge production in the United States prior to 1975. The database presented in this paper unveils the geography of historical patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from 1836 to 1975. This historical dataset, HistPat, is constructed using digitalized records of original patent documents that are publicly available. We describe a methodological procedure that allows recovery of geographical information on patents from the digital records. HistPat can be used in different disciplines ranging from geography, economics, history, network science, and science and technology studies. Additionally, it is easily merged with post-1975 USPTO digital patent data to extend it until today. PMID:27576103

Introduction to thematic collection "Historical and geological studies of earthquakes"

Science.gov (United States)

Satake, Kenji; Wang, Jian; Hammerl, Christa; Malik, Javed N.

2017-12-01

This thematic collection contains eight papers mostly presented at the 2016 AOGS meeting in Beijing. Four papers describe historical earthquake studies in Europe, Japan, and China; one paper uses modern instrumental data to examine the effect of giant earthquakes on the seismicity rate; and three papers describe paleoseismological studies using tsunami deposit in Japan, marine terraces in Philippines, and active faults in Himalayas. Hammerl (Geosci Lett 4:7, 2017) introduced historical seismological studies in Austria, starting from methodology which is state of the art in most European countries, followed by a case study for an earthquake of July 17, 1670 in Tyrol. Albini and Rovida (Geosci Lett 3:30, 2016) examined 114 historical records for the earthquake on April 6, 1667 on the east coast of the Adriatic Sea, compiled 37 Macroseismic Data Points, and estimated the epicenter and the size of the earthquake. Matsu'ura (Geosci Lett 4:3, 2017) summarized historical earthquake studies in Japan which resulted in about 8700 Intensity Data Points, assigned epicenters for 214 earthquakes between AD 599 and 1872, and estimated focal depth and magnitudes for 134 events. Wang et al. (Geosci Lett 4:4, 2017) introduced historical seismology in China, where historical earthquake archives include about 15,000 sources, and parametric catalogs include about 1000 historical earthquakes between 2300 BC and AD 1911. Ishibe et al. (Geosci Lett 4:5, 2017) tested the Coulomb stress triggering hypothesis for three giant (M 9) earthquakes that occurred in recent years, and found that at least the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman and 2011 Tohoku earthquakes caused the seismicity rate change. Ishimura (2017) re-estimated the ages of 11 tsunami deposits in the last 4000 years along the Sanriku coast of northern Japan and found that the average recurrence interval of those tsunamis as 350-390 years. Ramos et al. (2017) studied 1000-year-old marine terraces on the west coast of Luzon Island, Philippines

Historizing epistemology in psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Jovanović, Gordana

2010-12-01

The conflict between the psychometric methodological framework and the particularities of human experiences reported in psychotherapeutic context led Michael Schwarz to raise the question whether psychology is based on a methodological error. I take this conflict as a heuristic tool for the reconstruction of the early history of psychology, which bears witness to similar epistemological conflicts, though the dominant historiography of psychology has largely forgotten alternative conceptions and their valuable insights into complexities of psychic phenomena. In order to work against the historical amnesia in psychology I suggest to look at cultural-historical contexts which decisively shaped epistemological choices in psychology. Instead of keeping epistemology and history of psychology separate, which nurtures individualism and naturalism in psychology, I argue for historizing epistemology and for historical psychology. From such a historically reflected perspective psychology in contemporary world can be approached more critically.

Expanding the Notion of Historical Text through Historic Building Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Baron, Christine; Dobbs, Christina

2015-01-01

Among the disciplinary skills necessary for understanding in the social studies classroom is the ability to determine context and build meaning from past events. Historical buildings are an important component of historical study, and they serve as a type of nontraditional text that students can decode and use to construct meaning about multiple…

Using Augmented Reality and Virtual Environments in Historic Places to Scaffold Historical Empathy

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeney, Sara K.; Newbill, Phyllis; Ogle, Todd; Terry, Krista

2018-01-01

The authors explore how 3D visualizations of historical sites can be used as pedagogical tools to support historical empathy. They provide three visualizations created by a team at Virginia Tech as examples. They discuss virtual environments and how the digital restoration process is applied. They also define historical empathy, explain why it is…

Food selection among Atlantic Coast seaducks in relation to historic food habits

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, M.C.; Osenton, P.C.; Wells-Berlin, A. M.; Kidwell, D.M.

2005-01-01

Food selection among Atlantic Coast seaducks during 1999-2005 was determined from hunter-killed ducks and compared to data from historic food habits file (1885-1985) for major migrational and wintering areas in the Atlantic Flyway. Food selection was determined by analyses of the gullet (esophagus and proventriculus) and gizzard of 860 ducks and summarized by aggregate percent for each species. When sample size was adequate comparisons were made among age and sex groupings and also among local sites in major habitat areas. Common eiders in Maine and the Canadian Maritimes fed predominantly (53%) on the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis). Scoters in Massachusetts, Maine, and the Canadian Maritimes fed predominantly on the blue mussel (46%), Atlantic jackknife clam (Ensis directus; 19%), and Atlantic surf clam (Spisula solidissima; 15%), whereas scoters in the Chesapeake Bay fed predominantly on hooked mussel (Ischadium recurvum; 42%), the stout razor clam (Tagelus plebeius; 22%), and dwarf surf clam (Mulinia lateralis; 15%). The amethyst gem clam (Gemma gemma) was the predominant food (45%) of long-tailed ducks in Chesapeake Bay. Buffleheads and common goldeneyes fed on a mixed diet of mollusks and soft bodied invertebrates (amphipods, isopods and polychaetes). No major differences were noticed between the sexes in regard to food selection in any of the wintering areas. Comparisons to historic food habits in all areas failed to detect major differences. However, several invertebrate species recorded in historic samples were not found in current samples and two invasive species (Atlantic Rangia, Rangia cuneata and green crab, Carcinas maenas) were recorded in modem samples, but not in historic samples. Benthic sampling in areas where seaducks were collected showed a close correlation between consumption and availability. Each seaduck species appears to fill a unique niche in regard to feeding ecology, although there is much overlap of prey species selected. Understanding

Constraint-Based Abstract Semantics for Temporal Logic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Banda, Gourinath; Gallagher, John Patrick

2010-01-01

Abstract interpretation provides a practical approach to verifying properties of infinite-state systems. We apply the framework of abstract interpretation to derive an abstract semantic function for the modal mu-calculus, which is the basis for abstract model checking. The abstract semantic funct...

EBS Radionuclide Transport Abstraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schreiner, R.

2001-01-01

The purpose of this work is to develop the Engineered Barrier System (EBS) radionuclide transport abstraction model, as directed by a written development plan (CRWMS M and O 1999a). This abstraction is the conceptual model that will be used to determine the rate of release of radionuclides from the EBS to the unsaturated zone (UZ) in the total system performance assessment-license application (TSPA-LA). In particular, this model will be used to quantify the time-dependent radionuclide releases from a failed waste package (WP) and their subsequent transport through the EBS to the emplacement drift wall/UZ interface. The development of this conceptual model will allow Performance Assessment Operations (PAO) and its Engineered Barrier Performance Department to provide a more detailed and complete EBS flow and transport abstraction. The results from this conceptual model will allow PA0 to address portions of the key technical issues (KTIs) presented in three NRC Issue Resolution Status Reports (IRSRs): (1) the Evolution of the Near-Field Environment (ENFE), Revision 2 (NRC 1999a), (2) the Container Life and Source Term (CLST), Revision 2 (NRC 1999b), and (3) the Thermal Effects on Flow (TEF), Revision 1 (NRC 1998). The conceptual model for flow and transport in the EBS will be referred to as the ''EBS RT Abstraction'' in this analysis/modeling report (AMR). The scope of this abstraction and report is limited to flow and transport processes. More specifically, this AMR does not discuss elements of the TSPA-SR and TSPA-LA that relate to the EBS but are discussed in other AMRs. These elements include corrosion processes, radionuclide solubility limits, waste form dissolution rates and concentrations of colloidal particles that are generally represented as boundary conditions or input parameters for the EBS RT Abstraction. In effect, this AMR provides the algorithms for transporting radionuclides using the flow geometry and radionuclide concentrations determined by other

Article Abstract

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. Simple learning tools to improve clinical laboratory practical skills training. B Taye, BSc, MPH. Addis Ababa University, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa, ... concerns about the competence of medical laboratory science graduates. ... standardised practical learning guides and assessment checklists would.

Understanding extreme rainfall events in Australia through historical data

Science.gov (United States)

Ashcroft, Linden; Karoly, David John

2016-04-01

Historical climate data recovery is still an emerging field in the Australian region. The majority of Australia's instrumental climate analyses begin in 1900 for rainfall and 1910 for temperature, particularly those focussed on extreme event analysis. This data sparsity for the past in turn limits our understanding of long-term climate variability, constraining efforts to predict the impact of future climate change. To address this need for improved historical data in Australia, a new network of recovered climate observations has recently been developed, centred on the highly populated southeastern Australian region (Ashcroft et al., 2014a, 2014b). The dataset includes observations from more than 39 published and unpublished sources and extends from British settlement in 1788 to the formation of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in 1908. Many of these historical sources provide daily temperature and rainfall information, providing an opportunity to improve understanding of the multidecadal variability of Australia's extreme events. In this study we combine the historical data for three major Australian cities - Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide - with modern observations to examine extreme rainfall variability over the past 174 years (1839-2013). We first explore two case studies, combining instrumental and documentary evidence to support the occurrence of severe storms in Sydney in 1841 and 1844. These events appear to be at least as extreme as Sydney's modern 24-hour rainfall record. Next we use a suite of rainfall indices to assess the long-term variability of rainfall in southeastern Australia. In particular, we focus on the stationarity of the teleconnection between the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon and extreme rainfall events. Using ENSO reconstructions derived from both palaeoclimatic and documentary sources, we determine the historical relationship between extreme rainfall in southeastern Australia and ENSO, and examine whether or not this

Is It Worth Saving?: The Condition of Archaeological Documentary Record and Strategies for Preservation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas R. Givens

1992-11-01

Full Text Available "[Historical] objects are events which have finished happening, and conditions [are] no longer in existence. Only when they are no longer perceptible do they become objects of historical thought" (Collingwood 1946:233. Scholars engaged in research in the history of anthropology and archaeology have long been aware of the deplorable conditions in which records as to anthropology's development in time are found and stored. All too often the researcher finds records in individual and institutional hands that are physically degrading because of the lack of proper storage facilities, the fiscal inability to hire professional archivists, the usage of improper methods of acquisition and curation, and dwindling financial resources to properly care for materials. It is now the time to ask if anthropological records are worth saving, and if they are, what are the best strategies to be employed to ensure their survival and protection now and into the future. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the records of the subdiscipline of archaeology are worth saving and that there is a great sense of urgency to get about the business of identification and preservation before archaeological documentary records are further destroyed due to neglect and the lack of means to ensure their future existence.  This paper will define the problems of identification and preservation of archaeological records as they exist now and suggest strategies to rectify those problems.

Water Pollution Abstracts. Volume 43, Number 4, Abstracts 645-849.

Science.gov (United States)

WATER POLLUTION, *ABSTRACTS, PURIFICATION, WASTES(INDUSTRIAL), CONTROL, SEWAGE, WATER SUPPLIES, PUBLIC HEALTH, PETROLEUM PRODUCTS, DEGRADATION, DAMS...ESTUARIES, PLANKTON, PHOTOSYNTHESIS, VIRUSES, SEA WATER , MICROBIOLOGY, UNITED KINGDOM.

75 FR 21034 - Notice of Availability of Record of Decision for the Agua Fria National Monument and Bradshaw...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-22

....241A] Notice of Availability of Record of Decision for the Agua Fria National Monument and Bradshaw... availability of the Record of Decision (ROD)/Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Agua Fria National... of the planning area during prehistoric or historic times. The Agua Fria National Monument includes...

Historical ecology: past, present and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Szabó, Péter

2015-11-01

The term 'historical ecology' has been used with various meanings since the first half of the 20th century. Studies labelled as historical ecology have been produced in at least four academic disciplines: history, ecology, geography and anthropology. Although all those involved seem to agree that historical ecology concerns the historical interconnectedness of nature and human culture, this field of study has no unified methodology, specialized institutional background and common publication forums. Knowledge of the development of historical ecology is also limited. As a result, the current multitude of definitions of historical ecology is accompanied by divergent opinions as to where the origins of the field are to be sought. In this review, I follow the development of historical ecology from the 18th century to the present. In the first part, I briefly describe some early examples of historical ecological investigations, followed by a description of the various scientific strands in the 20th century that contributed to the formation of historical ecology. In the second part, I discuss the past five decades of historical ecological investigations in more detail, focusing mostly (but not exclusively) on works that their respective authors identified as historical ecology. I also examine the appearance and interconnectedness of the two main trends (ecological and anthropological) in historical ecological research. In the last part, I attempt to outline the future of historical ecology based on common features in existing research. It appears that at present historical ecology is at a crossroads. With rapidly growing interest in historical ecological research, it may move towards institutionalization or remain an umbrella term. © 2014 The Authors. Biological Reviews © 2014 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

Historical Experiments and Physics Teaching: adding considerations from a Bibliographic Review and the Cultural History of Science

Science.gov (United States)

Jardim, W. T.; Guerra, A.

2017-12-01

In this paper, a discussion about the purposes of historical experiments in science teaching found in the literature will be presented. As a starting point, we carried out a bibliographic review, on the websites of six relevant periodicals for the area of Science Teaching and, especially for Physics Teaching. The search was based, at first, on works published between the years 2001 and 2016, from terms like "historical experiments", "museums" and "experience". Thereon, due to the large number of publications found, a screening process was developed based on the analysis of titles, abstracts, keywords and, whether necessary, the whole text, aiming to identify which searches emphasize working with historical experiments in Physics teaching, from a theoretical perspective or based on manipulation of a replica of historical apparatus. The selected proposals were arranged in categories adapted from the work of Heering and Höttecke (2014) which allowed us to draw a parallel between the national and international publication that presented resembling scopes. Furthermore, the analysis of the results leads us to infer that, in general, extralab factors, inherent to science, when not neglected, are placed in a peripheral perspective. Thus, we draw theoretical considerations based on Historians of Science, which develop their researches based on the bias of the Cultural History of Science, seeking to add reflections to what has been developed about historical experiments in teaching up to now.

INVENTORY ABSTRACTION

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ragan, G.

2001-01-01

The purpose of the inventory abstraction, which has been prepared in accordance with a technical work plan (CRWMS M andO 2000e for/ICN--02 of the present analysis, and BSC 2001e for ICN 03 of the present analysis), is to: (1) Interpret the results of a series of relative dose calculations (CRWMS M andO 2000c, 2000f). (2) Recommend, including a basis thereof, a set of radionuclides that should be modeled in the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Site Recommendation (TSPA-SR) and the Total System Performance Assessment in Support of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (TSPA-FEIS). (3) Provide initial radionuclide inventories for the TSPA-SR and TSPA-FEIS models. (4) Answer the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)'s Issue Resolution Status Report ''Key Technical Issue: Container Life and Source Term'' (CLST IRSR) key technical issue (KTI): ''The rate at which radionuclides in SNF [spent nuclear fuel] are released from the EBS [engineered barrier system] through the oxidation and dissolution of spent fuel'' (NRC 1999, Subissue 3). The scope of the radionuclide screening analysis encompasses the period from 100 years to 10,000 years after the potential repository at Yucca Mountain is sealed for scenarios involving the breach of a waste package and subsequent degradation of the waste form as required for the TSPA-SR calculations. By extending the time period considered to one million years after repository closure, recommendations are made for the TSPA-FEIS. The waste forms included in the inventory abstraction are Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel (CSNF), DOE Spent Nuclear Fuel (DSNF), High-Level Waste (HLW), naval Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF), and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plutonium waste. The intended use of this analysis is in TSPA-SR and TSPA-FEIS. Based on the recommendations made here, models for release, transport, and possibly exposure will be developed for the isotopes that would be the highest contributors to the dose given a release

Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment for Himalayan-Tibetan Region from Historical and Instrumental Earthquake Catalogs

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, M. Moklesur; Bai, Ling; Khan, Nangyal Ghani; Li, Guohui

2018-02-01

The Himalayan-Tibetan region has a long history of devastating earthquakes with wide-spread casualties and socio-economic damages. Here, we conduct the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis by incorporating the incomplete historical earthquake records along with the instrumental earthquake catalogs for the Himalayan-Tibetan region. Historical earthquake records back to more than 1000 years ago and an updated, homogenized and declustered instrumental earthquake catalog since 1906 are utilized. The essential seismicity parameters, namely, the mean seismicity rate γ, the Gutenberg-Richter b value, and the maximum expected magnitude M max are estimated using the maximum likelihood algorithm assuming the incompleteness of the catalog. To compute the hazard value, three seismogenic source models (smoothed gridded, linear, and areal sources) and two sets of ground motion prediction equations are combined by means of a logic tree on accounting the epistemic uncertainties. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) and spectral acceleration (SA) at 0.2 and 1.0 s are predicted for 2 and 10% probabilities of exceedance over 50 years assuming bedrock condition. The resulting PGA and SA maps show a significant spatio-temporal variation in the hazard values. In general, hazard value is found to be much higher than the previous studies for regions, where great earthquakes have actually occurred. The use of the historical and instrumental earthquake catalogs in combination of multiple seismogenic source models provides better seismic hazard constraints for the Himalayan-Tibetan region.

Defining malaria burden from morbidity and mortality records, self ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract: Malaria morbidity and mortality data from clinical records provide essential information .... Babati District is one of the eight sentinel sites in Tanzania for monitoring anti- ... treatment given before leaving the health facility was documented. ..... Targett, G. (1999) Vaccine efficacy, and immunity affecting transmission.

Data Abstraction in GLISP.

Science.gov (United States)

Novak, Gordon S., Jr.

GLISP is a high-level computer language (based on Lisp and including Lisp as a sublanguage) which is compiled into Lisp. GLISP programs are compiled relative to a knowledge base of object descriptions, a form of abstract datatypes. A primary goal of the use of abstract datatypes in GLISP is to allow program code to be written in terms of objects,…

Historical Phenological Observations: Past Climate Impact Analyses and Climate Reconstructions

Science.gov (United States)

Rutishauser, T.; Luterbacher, J.; Meier, N.; Jeanneret, F.; Pfister, C.; Wanner, H.

2007-12-01

Plant phenological observations have been found an important indicator of climate change impacts on seasonal and interannual vegetation development for the late 20th/early 21st century. Our contribution contains three parts that are essential for the understanding (part 1), the analysis (part 2) and the application (part 3) of historical phenological observations in global change research. First, we propose a definition for historical phenonolgy (Rutishauser, 2007). We shortly portray the first appearance of phenological observations in Medieval philosophical and literature sources, the usage and application of this method in the Age of Enlightenment (Carl von Linné, Charles Morren), as well as the development in the 20th century (Schnelle, Lieth) to present-day networks (COST725, USA-NPN) Second, we introduce a methodological approach to estimate 'Statistical plants' from historical phenological observations (Rutishauser et al., JGR-Biogeoscience, in press). We combine spatial averaging methods and regression transfer modeling to estimate 'statistical plant' dates from historical observations that often contain gaps, changing observers and changing locations. We apply the concept to reconstruct a statistical 'Spring plant' as the weighted mean of the flowering date of cherry and apple tree and beech budburst of Switzerland 1702- 2005. Including dating total data uncertainty we estimate 10 at interannual and 3.4 days at decadal time scales. Third, we apply two long-term phenological records to describe plant phenological response to spring temperature and reconstruct warm-season temperatures from grape harvest dates (Rutishauser et al, submitted; Meier et al, GRL, in press).

Analysis of bank failures during financial tumult in Africa-Zimbabwe: A historical review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shewangu Dzomira

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The paper describes the analysis of the bank failures phenomenon in Africa with a deep analysis of Zimbabwe scenario. The paper is based on historical research design which used analytical and comparative research approaches to study the bank failures phenomenon. To obtain the historical evidence the researcher consulted primary sources, secondary sources and running records. It was discovered and concluded that the failing of banks was attributed to liquidity and solvency problems as a result of flawed corporate governance standards, inadequate risk management, high levels of non-performing loans and speculative activities among a confluence of factors. It was therefore recommended that enterprise-wide risk management framework should be implemented without failing and adoption of Basel II/III on banking supervision and surveillance.

Knowledge acquisition for temporal abstraction.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, A; Musen, M A; Shahar, Y

1996-01-01

Temporal abstraction is the task of detecting relevant patterns in data over time. The knowledge-based temporal-abstraction method uses knowledge about a clinical domain's contexts, external events, and parameters to create meaningful interval-based abstractions from raw time-stamped clinical data. In this paper, we describe the acquisition and maintenance of domain-specific temporal-abstraction knowledge. Using the PROTEGE-II framework, we have designed a graphical tool for acquiring temporal knowledge directly from expert physicians, maintaining the knowledge in a sharable form, and converting the knowledge into a suitable format for use by an appropriate problem-solving method. In initial tests, the tool offered significant gains in our ability to rapidly acquire temporal knowledge and to use that knowledge to perform automated temporal reasoning.

Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) in southeastern Oregon: A survey of historical localities, 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Pearl, Chistopher A.; Galvan, Stephanie K.; Adams, Michael J.; McCreary, Brome

2010-01-01

The Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) occupies a large range in western North America and is comprised of at least three genetic units. Concern exists regarding the status of the Great Basin populations in Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada. We surveyed target and nearby alternate sites on public lands in southeastern Oregon where there was evidence that Columbia spotted frogs were historically present. We found the species at 59.5 percent (25 of 42) of target or nearby alternate sites. They were in 15 of 23 permanent streams and 8 of 13 intermittent streams. Our surveys do not provide evidence of widespread population losses in our sites. Interpretation of status of Columbia spotted frogs in this study is limited by a lack of precision in some of the historical locations and by our inability to determine if locations where only adults were indicated in the historical record once had breeding populations. Our results support the need for continued investigation of these populations.

PHILOSOPHICAL AND PEDAGOGICAL PRECONDITIONS AND DEVELOPMENT ALGORITHM OF THE ASCENT FROM THE ABSTRACT TO THE CONCRETE IN V. V. DAVIDOV’S DIDACTICS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. K. Chapayev

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the problem of implementing the method of the ascent from the abstract to the concrete in education. The author emphasizes the interrelation between pedagogy and philosophy, as well as the need for their cooperation especially at the time of considerable changes in social and educational spheres.The poly-modal conceptual nature of the abstract and concrete makes it possible to attribute to them respectively the positive and negative values. By analogy with the «bad infinity», the author introduces the concepts of «bad abstract» and «abstract pedagogy» typical for the modern educational practices disregarding the specifics of the concrete areas.The historical and logical analysis of implementing the method in the Russian pedagogy demonstrates that, in spite of its fairly long development history, a systematic technological formalization can be found only in V. V. Davydov's didactics.Based on V. V. Davydov’s concept of developing education, the author makes the following conclusion: as a cognitive method, the ascent from the abstract to the concrete develops theoretical thinking, in-depth understanding, personal attitude to the acquired knowledge and adequate behavior strategies. Therefore, the given method facilitates harmonious personal development. 

Government's Paper Empire: Historical Perspectives on Measuring Student Achievement in British Columbia Schools, 1872-1999

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Thomas; Raptis, Helen

2005-01-01

Few historical studies of government's interest in student achievement exist and, of those that do, most concern themselves with relatively short periods of time, a decade or two in general. This discussion takes a longer view of measurement practices in one jurisdiction, British Columbia. Based on archival records, it examines testing and…

Nuclear code abstracts (1975 edition)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akanuma, Makoto; Hirakawa, Takashi

1976-02-01

Nuclear Code Abstracts is compiled in the Nuclear Code Committee to exchange information of the nuclear code developments among members of the committee. Enlarging the collection, the present one includes nuclear code abstracts obtained in 1975 through liaison officers of the organizations in Japan participating in the Nuclear Energy Agency's Computer Program Library at Ispra, Italy. The classification of nuclear codes and the format of code abstracts are the same as those in the library. (auth.)

Lagos Historical Review

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Lagos Historical Review is an international and interdisciplinary journal publishing papers with a historical focus. The journal generates and participates in debates to advance the discipline of history and promote its relevance to development. The journal aims to serve the academic community with a bias towards ...

Falls documentation in nursing homes: agreement between the minimum data set and chart abstractions of medical and nursing documentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill-Westmoreland, Elizabeth E; Gruber-Baldini, Ann L

2005-02-01

To assess the agreement between falls as recorded in the Minimum Data Set (MDS) and fall events abstracted from chart documentation of elderly nursing home (NH) residents. Secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal panel study. Fifty-six randomly selected NHs in Maryland stratified by facility size and geographic region. Four hundred sixty-two NH residents, aged 65 and older, in NHs for 1 year. Falls were abstracted from resident charts and compared with MDS fall variables. Fall events data obtained from other sources of chart documentation were matched for the corresponding periods of 30 and 180 days before the 1-year MDS assessment date. For a 30-day period, concordance between the MDS and chart abstractions of falls occurred in 65% of cases, with a kappa coefficient of 0.29 (Pfalls the MDS missed indicated that these residents had significantly more activity of daily living impairment and significantly less unsteady gait and cane/walker use. The MDS underreported falls. Nurses completing MDS assessments must carefully review residents' medical records for falls documentation. Future studies should use caution when employing MDS data as the only indicator of falls.

Supporting document for the historical tank content estimate for SY-tank farm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brevick, C.H.

1997-08-12

The purpose of this historical characterization document is to present the synthesized summaries of the historical records concerning the physical characteristics, radiological, and chemical composition of mixed wastes stored in underground double-shell tanks and the physical condition of these tanks. The double-shell tanks are located on the United States Department of Energy`s Hanford Site, approximately 25 miles northwest or Richland, Washington. The document will be used to assist in characterizing the waste in the tanks in conjunction with the current program of sampling and analyzing the tank wastes. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) developed computer models that used the historical data to attempt to characterize the wastes and to generate estimates of each tank`s inventory. A historical review of the tanks may reveal anomalies or unusual contents that could be critical to characterization and post characterization activities. This document was developed by reviewing the operating plant process histories, waste transfer data, and available physical and chemical data from numerous resources. These resources were generated by numerous contractors from 1945 to the present. Waste characterization, the process of describing the character or quality of a waste, is required by Federal law (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act [RCRA]) and state law (Washington Administrative Code [WAC] 173-303, Dangerous Waste Regulations). Characterizing the waste is necessary to determine methods to safely retrieve, transport, and/or treat the wastes.

Supporting document for the historical tank content estimate for SY-tank farm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brevick, C.H.

1997-01-01

The purpose of this historical characterization document is to present the synthesized summaries of the historical records concerning the physical characteristics, radiological, and chemical composition of mixed wastes stored in underground double-shell tanks and the physical condition of these tanks. The double-shell tanks are located on the United States Department of Energy's Hanford Site, approximately 25 miles northwest or Richland, Washington. The document will be used to assist in characterizing the waste in the tanks in conjunction with the current program of sampling and analyzing the tank wastes. Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) developed computer models that used the historical data to attempt to characterize the wastes and to generate estimates of each tank's inventory. A historical review of the tanks may reveal anomalies or unusual contents that could be critical to characterization and post characterization activities. This document was developed by reviewing the operating plant process histories, waste transfer data, and available physical and chemical data from numerous resources. These resources were generated by numerous contractors from 1945 to the present. Waste characterization, the process of describing the character or quality of a waste, is required by Federal law (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act CRA and state law (Washington Administrative Code AC 173-303, Dangerous Waste Regulations). Characterizing the waste is necessary to determine methods to safely retrieve, transport, and/or treat the wastes

Abstract Interpretation and Attribute Gramars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosendahl, Mads

The objective of this thesis is to explore the connections between abstract interpretation and attribute grammars as frameworks in program analysis. Abstract interpretation is a semantics-based program analysis method. A large class of data flow analysis problems can be expressed as non-standard ...... is presented in the thesis. Methods from abstract interpretation can also be used in correctness proofs of attribute grammars. This proof technique introduces a new class of attribute grammars based on domain theory. This method is illustrated with examples....

Scour hole ('wielen') sediments as historical archive of floods, vegetation, and air and water quality in lowlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cremer, Holger; van Hoof, Thomas; Bunnik, Frans; Donders, Timme

2010-01-01

The sediment record from a maximum 18 m deep scour hole lake (Haarsteegse Wiel) near the embanked Meuse River in the Netherlands was studied for past changes in flooding frequency, water quality, and landscape change using a combined geochemical, geobiological and historical approach. The results

Is the Abstract a Mere Teaser? Evaluating Generosity of Article Abstracts in the Environmental Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liana Ermakova

2018-05-01

Full Text Available An abstract is not only a mirror of the full article; it also aims to draw attention to the most important information of the document it summarizes. Many studies have compared abstracts with full texts for their informativeness. In contrast to previous studies, we propose to investigate this relation based not only on the amount of information given by the abstract but also on its importance. The main objective of this paper is to introduce a new metric called GEM to measure the “generosity” or representativeness of an abstract. Schematically speaking, a generous abstract should have the best possible score of similarity for the sections important to the reader. Based on a questionnaire gathering information from 630 researchers, we were able to weight sections according to their importance. In our approach, seven sections were first automatically detected in the full text. The accuracy of this classification into sections was above 80% compared with a dataset of documents where sentences were assigned to sections by experts. Second, each section was weighted according to the questionnaire results. The GEM score was then calculated as a sum of weights of sections in the full text corresponding to sentences in the abstract normalized over the total sum of weights of sections in the full text. The correlation between GEM score and the mean of the scores assigned by annotators was higher than the correlation between scores from different experts. As a case study, the GEM score was calculated for 36,237 articles in environmental sciences (1930–2013 retrieved from the French ISTEX database. The main result was that GEM score has increased over time. Moreover, this trend depends on subject area and publisher. No correlation was found between GEM score and citation rate or open access status of articles. We conclude that abstracts are more generous in recent publications and cannot be considered as mere teasers. This research should be pursued

21 CFR 610.48 - Hepatitis C virus (HCV) “lookback” requirements based on review of historical testing records.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... blood components, including Source Plasma and Source Leukocytes, must complete the following actions by... Source Plasma and Source Leukocytes, you must establish, maintain, and follow an appropriate system for... computerized electronic records, and to January 1, 1988, for all other records. Record review, quarantine...

Efficient abstraction selection in reinforcement learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seijen, H. van; Whiteson, S.; Kester, L.

2013-01-01

This paper introduces a novel approach for abstraction selection in reinforcement learning problems modelled as factored Markov decision processes (MDPs), for which a state is described via a set of state components. In abstraction selection, an agent must choose an abstraction from a set of

Indico CONFERENCE: Define the Call for Abstracts

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; Ferreira, Pedro

2017-01-01

In this tutorial, you will learn how to define and open a call for abstracts. When defining a call for abstracts, you will be able to define settings related to the type of questions asked during a review of an abstract, select the users who will review the abstracts, decide when to open the call for abstracts, and more.

Historical trends in tank 241-SY-101 waste temperatures and levels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antoniak, Z.I.

1993-09-01

The gas release and fluctuating level of the waste in tank 241-SY-101 have prompted more detailed interest in its historical behavior, in hopes of achieving a better understanding of its current status. To examine the historical behavior, essentially all of the tank waste temperature and level data record has been retrieved, examined, and plotted in various ways. To aid in interpreting the data, the depth of the non-convective waste layer was estimated by using a least-squares Chebyshev approximation to the temperatures. This report documents the retrieval critical examination, and graphic presentation of 241-SY-101 temperature and waste level histories. The graphic presentations clearly indicate a tank cooling trend that has become precipitous since late 1991. The plots also clearly show the decreasing frequency of waste gas release events, increasing height of the non-convective layer, and larger level drops per event

Introduction to abstract algebra, solutions manual

CERN Document Server

Nicholson, W Keith

2012-01-01

Praise for the Third Edition ". . . an expository masterpiece of the highest didactic value that has gained additional attractivity through the various improvements . . ."-Zentralblatt MATH The Fourth Edition of Introduction to Abstract Algebra continues to provide an accessible approach to the basic structures of abstract algebra: groups, rings, and fields. The book's unique presentation helps readers advance to abstract theory by presenting concrete examples of induction, number theory, integers modulo n, and permutations before the abstract structures are defined. Readers can immediately be

PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE HISTORICAL CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL OF PSYCHOLOGY HISTORICAL-CULTURAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ligia Marcia Martins

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents the theoretical and methodological unity between the historical-critical pedagogy and cultural-historical psychology. It highlights, in addition to the membership of both theories to historical-dialectical materialism, the basic premises that point toward the affirmation of school education as a condition of humanization of individuals, as well as the transmission of historically systematized knowledge as one of the requirements for the achieving this purpose. In this direction, we aim to demonstrate that the historical-critical pedagogy contains, in its innerness, a solid psychological foundation, consistently built by a cultural-historical conception of man, society and educative nature that guides the relationship between them through the human vital activity, that is, through the work. It is in the core of those fundamentals that the alliance between this pedagogical theory and cultural-historical psychology is evident.

75 FR 6406 - National Register of Historic Places; Weekly Listing of Historic Properties

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-09

... County Asbury Grove Historic District, Around Asbury St., Hamilton, 09000935, Listed, 11/18/09 Middlesex County Middlesex Canal Historic and Archaeological District, Address Restricted, Boston vicinity...

VT Historic Preservation Grant

Data.gov (United States)

Vermont Center for Geographic Information — The State-funded Historic Preservation Grant Program helps municipalities and non-profit organizations rehabilitate the historic buildings that are a vital part of...

Abstracts of contributed papers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-08-01

This volume contains 571 abstracts of contributed papers to be presented during the Twelfth US National Congress of Applied Mechanics. Abstracts are arranged in the order in which they fall in the program -- the main sessions are listed chronologically in the Table of Contents. The Author Index is in alphabetical order and lists each paper number (matching the schedule in the Final Program) with its corresponding page number in the book.

A Study of the Historical Earthquake Catalog and Gutenberg-richter Parameter Values of the Korean Peninsula

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Jeong Moon; Choi, In Kil; Rhee, Hyun Me

2010-01-01

The KIER's Korean historical earthquake catalog was revised for MMI≥VI events recorded from the years 27 A.D. to 1904. The magnitude of each event was directly determined from the criteria suggested by Seo. The criteria incorporated the damage phenomena of the Japanese historical earthquake catalog, recent seismological studies, and the results of tests performed on ancient structures in Korea. Thus, the uncertainty of the magnitudes of the Korean historical earthquakes can be reduced. Also, the Gutenberg-Richter parameter values were estimated based on the revised catalog of this study. It was determined that the magnitudes of a maximum inland and minimum offshore event were approximately 6.3 and 6.5, respectively. The Gutenberg-Richter parameter pairs of the historical earthquake catalog were estimated to be a=5.32±0.21, b=0.95±0.19, which were somewhat lower than those obtained from recent complete instrumental earthquakes. No apparent change in the Gutenberg-Richter parameter is observed for the 16 th -17 th centuries of the seismically active period

Validation of a Consensus Method for Identifying Delirium from Hospital Records

Science.gov (United States)

Kuhn, Elvira; Du, Xinyi; McGrath, Keith; Coveney, Sarah; O'Regan, Niamh; Richardson, Sarah; Teodorczuk, Andrew; Allan, Louise; Wilson, Dan; Inouye, Sharon K.; MacLullich, Alasdair M. J.; Meagher, David; Brayne, Carol; Timmons, Suzanne; Davis, Daniel

2014-01-01

Background Delirium is increasingly considered to be an important determinant of trajectories of cognitive decline. Therefore, analyses of existing cohort studies measuring cognitive outcomes could benefit from methods to ascertain a retrospective delirium diagnosis. This study aimed to develop and validate such a method for delirium detection using routine medical records in UK and Ireland. Methods A point prevalence study of delirium provided the reference-standard ratings for delirium diagnosis. Blinded to study results, clinical vignettes were compiled from participants' medical records in a standardised manner, describing any relevant delirium symptoms recorded in the whole case record for the period leading up to case-ascertainment. An expert panel rated each vignette as unlikely, possible, or probable delirium and disagreements were resolved by consensus. Results From 95 case records, 424 vignettes were abstracted by 5 trained clinicians. There were 29 delirium cases according to the reference standard. Median age of subjects was 76.6 years (interquartile range 54.6 to 82.5). Against the original study DSM-IV diagnosis, the chart abstraction method gave a positive likelihood ratio (LR) of 7.8 (95% CI 5.7–12.0) and the negative LR of 0.45 (95% CI 0.40–0.47) for probable delirium (sensitivity 0.58 (95% CI 0.53–0.62); specificity 0.93 (95% CI 0.90–0.95); AUC 0.86 (95% CI 0.82–0.89)). The method diagnosed possible delirium with positive LR 3.5 (95% CI 2.9–4.3) and negative LR 0.15 (95% CI 0.11–0.21) (sensitivity 0.89 (95% CI 0.85–0.91); specificity 0.75 (95% CI 0.71–0.79); AUC 0.86 (95% CI 0.80–0.89)). Conclusions This chart abstraction method can retrospectively diagnose delirium in hospitalised patients with good accuracy. This has potential for retrospectively identifying delirium in cohort studies where routine medical records are available. This example of record linkage between hospitalisations and epidemiological data may lead to

Validation of a consensus method for identifying delirium from hospital records.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elvira Kuhn

Full Text Available Delirium is increasingly considered to be an important determinant of trajectories of cognitive decline. Therefore, analyses of existing cohort studies measuring cognitive outcomes could benefit from methods to ascertain a retrospective delirium diagnosis. This study aimed to develop and validate such a method for delirium detection using routine medical records in UK and Ireland.A point prevalence study of delirium provided the reference-standard ratings for delirium diagnosis. Blinded to study results, clinical vignettes were compiled from participants' medical records in a standardised manner, describing any relevant delirium symptoms recorded in the whole case record for the period leading up to case-ascertainment. An expert panel rated each vignette as unlikely, possible, or probable delirium and disagreements were resolved by consensus.From 95 case records, 424 vignettes were abstracted by 5 trained clinicians. There were 29 delirium cases according to the reference standard. Median age of subjects was 76.6 years (interquartile range 54.6 to 82.5. Against the original study DSM-IV diagnosis, the chart abstraction method gave a positive likelihood ratio (LR of 7.8 (95% CI 5.7-12.0 and the negative LR of 0.45 (95% CI 0.40-0.47 for probable delirium (sensitivity 0.58 (95% CI 0.53-0.62; specificity 0.93 (95% CI 0.90-0.95; AUC 0.86 (95% CI 0.82-0.89. The method diagnosed possible delirium with positive LR 3.5 (95% CI 2.9-4.3 and negative LR 0.15 (95% CI 0.11-0.21 (sensitivity 0.89 (95% CI 0.85-0.91; specificity 0.75 (95% CI 0.71-0.79; AUC 0.86 (95% CI 0.80-0.89.This chart abstraction method can retrospectively diagnose delirium in hospitalised patients with good accuracy. This has potential for retrospectively identifying delirium in cohort studies where routine medical records are available. This example of record linkage between hospitalisations and epidemiological data may lead to further insights into the inter-relationship between acute

MESSENGER H XRS 5 REDUCED DATA RECORD (RDR) FOOTPRINTS V1.0

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Abstract ======== This data set consists of the MESSENGER XRS reduced data record (RDR) footprints which are derived from the navigational meta-data for each...

Dealing with Historical Discrepancies: The Recovery of National Research Experiment (NRX) Reactor Fuel Rods at Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) - 13324

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vickerd, Meggan

2013-01-01

Following the 1952 National Research Experiment (NRX) Reactor accident, fuel rods which had short irradiation histories were 'temporarily' buried in wooden boxes at the 'disposal grounds' during the cleanup effort. The Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program (NLLP), funded by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), strategically retrieves legacy waste and restores lands affected by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) early operations. Thus under this program the recovery of still buried NRX reactor fuel rods and their relocation to modern fuel storage was identified as a priority. A suspect inventory of NRX fuels was compiled from historical records and various research activities. Site characterization in 2005 verified the physical location of the fuel rods and determined the wooden boxes they were buried in had degraded such that the fuel rods were in direct contact with the soil. The fuel rods were recovered and transferred to a modern fuel storage facility in 2007. Recovered identification tags and measured radiation fields were used to identify the inventory of these fuels. During the retrieval activity, a discrepancy was discovered between the anticipated number of fuel rods and the number found during the retrieval. A total of 32 fuel rods and cans of cut end pieces were recovered from the specified site, which was greater than the anticipated 19 fuel rods and cans. This discovery delayed the completion of the project, increased the associated costs, and required more than anticipated storage space in the modern fuel storage facility. A number of lessons learned were identified following completion of this project, the most significant of which was the potential for discrepancies within the historical records. Historical discrepancies are more likely to be resolved by comprehensive historical record searches and site characterizations. It was also recommended that a complete review of the wastes generated, and the total affected lands as a result of this historic

75 FR 1075 - National Register of Historic Places; Weekly Listing of Historic Properties

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-08

...: January 4, 2010. J. Paul Loether, Chief, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic Landmarks... VIRGINIA Logan County Blair Mountain Battlefield, Address Restricted, Logan vicinity, 08000496, REMOVED...

Publication Rates of Abstracts Presented at the 2006 Meeting of the American Academy of Optometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakkum, Barclay W; Trachimowicz, Ruth

2015-11-01

The purposes of this study were to investigate the publication rates of presentations at the 2006 meeting of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), differences in the publication rates of platform versus poster presentations, consistency of the meeting abstract compared with the full-length journal article, whether abstracts were clinical or basic science, and when and in which journals articles appeared. Abstracts were obtained directly from the AAO. Literature searches using PubMed and VisionCite were performed to locate peer-reviewed journal articles based on those abstracts. Whether the article was based on a poster or platform presentation, congruence of the information in the abstract and the article (i.e., authorship, title, methods, and conclusions), type of study (clinical or basic science), subject category, and journal and year in which the article appeared were recorded. We identified 518 proceeding abstracts, 108 of which ultimately were published between 2006 and 2013, giving an overall publication rate of 21%. Thirty-three percent of platform presentations eventually were published versus 18% of posters. Congruency showed that 17% of articles had the same title as the meeting abstract, 36% had the same authorship, and 53% had the same methods. Eighty-one percent of articles were clinical in nature, whereas 19% of them were basic science. Thirty-seven percent of articles dealt with the subjects of cornea and contact lenses. Articles were found in 39 different journals, with 34% of them appearing in Optometry and Vision Science. Eighty-eight percent of articles were published within 4 years after the meeting. The publication rate from the 2006 AAO meeting was 21%. Platform presentations were more likely to be published than posters. Congruency rates of abstracts to articles are lower than national meetings in other fields. The vast majority of articles were published within 4 years after the meeting.

Historic halo displays as weather indicator: Criteria and examples

Science.gov (United States)

Neuhäuser, Dagmar L.; Neuhäuser, Ralph

2016-04-01

There are numerous celestial signs reported in historic records, many of them refer to atmospheric ("sub-lunar") phenomena, such as ice halos and aurorae. In an interdisciplinary collaboration between astrophysics and cultural astronomy, we noticed that celestial observations including meteorological phenomena are often misinterpreted, mostly due to missing genuine criteria: especially ice crystal halos were recorded frequently in past centuries for religious reasons, but are mistaken nowadays often for other phenomena like aurorae. Ice halo displays yield clear information on humidity and temperature in certain atmospheric layers, and thereby indicate certain weather patterns. Ancient so-called rain makers used halo observations for weather forecast; e.g., a connection between certain halo displays and rain a few day later is statistically significant. Ice halos exist around sun and moon and are reported for both (they can stay for several days): many near, middle, and far eastern records from day- and night-time include such observations with high frequency. (Partly based on publications on halos by D.L. Neuhäuser & R. Neuhäuser, available at http://www.astro.uni-jena.de/index.php/terra-astronomy.html)

Eco-monitoring of highly contaminated areas: historic heavy metal contamination in tree ring records

Science.gov (United States)

Baross, Norbert; Jordán, Győző; Albert, Julianna; Abdaal, Ahmed; Anton, Attila

2014-05-01

This study examines and compares tree rings of trees grown in a mining area highly contaminated with heavy metals. Tree rings offers an excellent opportunity for eco-monitoring polluted areas. Contamination dispersion from the source to the receptors can be studied in time and space. The sampled area is located in the eastern part of the Matra Mts. of the Inner-Carpathian calc-alkaline Volcanic Arc (Hungary) with abundant historical ore (Pb, Zn, Cu, etc.) mining in the area. Dense forests are composed of the most typical association of the Turkey oak (Quercus cerris). Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), European black pine (Pinus nigra), oak (Quercus robur), beech (Fagus sylvatica), and hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) also occurs in the landscape. Sampled trees are located within a 1km radius of the abandoned historic ore mines. Sample sites were located above the old mines and waste rock heaps, under the waste rock heaps and on the floodplain of the Ilona Creek. The sampled trees were selected by the following criteria: the tree should be healthy, showing no signs of thunderbolt or diseases and having a minimum diameter of 50 cm. Samples were taken with a tree borer at the height of 150 cm. At the same time, soil samples were also taken near the trees in a 25 cm depth. Prior to laboratory analysis, the samples measured and air dried. Every fifth years tree ring was taken from the samples under microscope, working backwards from the most recent outer ring (2012, the year of the sampling). Samples were digested with a mixture of H2SO4 and H2O2m in Teflon vessels in a microwave unit. The samples were analyzed by ICP-OES instrument. The results were evaluated with statistical method. Results revealed a consistent picture showing distinct locations and years of the contamination history in the former mining area. Some elements are built into the trees more efficiently than other elements depending on mobility in the soil solution that is influenced by soil chemical properties

İlköğretim Düzeyinde Okutulan Türkçe Tarih Metinlerinde Adlaştırma Temel Alınarak Sözbilimsel Kipin Saptanması (Defining Preferred Rhetorical Mode in Primary School Historical Texts via Nominalisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bilge TÜRKKAN

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The Technology of History, which is used in coding historical texts, aiming at distancing the recoverable past from story, evolves these texts from narrative to argumentation rhetorical mode, or from more concrete to more abstract. This study questions whether or not this evolution function and the rhetorical modes preferred in historical texts can be defined taking nominalisation, which is the most common means of coding abstraction and distancing, as a criterion. The results of the study show that, the frequency and the functions of the nominalisations which were analysed within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistic and in the scope of a sampling comprising of texts obtained from the textbooks used in primary education in Turkey, can be used as a criterion in defining the preferred rhetorical mode in the historical texts.

Advance Organizers: Concret Versus Abstract.

Science.gov (United States)

Corkill, Alice J.; And Others

1988-01-01

Two experiments examined the relative effects of concrete and abstract advance organizers on students' memory for subsequent prose. Results of the experiments are discussed in terms of the memorability, familiarity, and visualizability of concrete and abstract verbal materials. (JD)

75 FR 8109 - National Register of Historic Places; Weekly Listing of Historic Properties

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-23

.... Paul Loether, Chief, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic Landmarks Program. KEY.... Cherry Ln., Greensboro vicinity, 09000963, LISTED, 12/02/09 Leverton, Jacob and Hannah, House, 3531...

Anthropogenic effects on sediment quality offshore southwestern Taiwan: Assessing the sediment core geochemical record

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Selvaraj, K.; Parthiban, G.; Chen, C.T.A.; Lou, J.Y.

-Fernández, A.C., Páez-Osuna, F., Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J., Preda, M., Rehault, I., 2004. Historical trace metal fluxes in the Mexico City Metropolitan Zone as evidenced by a sedimentary record from the Espejo de los Lirios lake. Journal of Environmental...

Variations of sulfur isotope ratios in a single lichen thallus: A potential historical archive for sulfur pollution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yun, Misuk, E-mail: yun@cc.umanitoba.c [Department of Earth Sciences and Environmental Science Program, Memorial University, St. John' s, NL, A1B 3X5 (Canada); Wadleigh, Moire A. [Department of Earth Sciences and Environmental Science Program, Memorial University, St. John' s, NL, A1B 3X5 (Canada); Mayer, Bernhard [Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 (Canada)

2010-12-15

Utilizing the analytical capability to measure S isotope ratios of small quantities of S in biological material without any chemical pretreatment, the variation of {delta}{sup 34}S within a lichen thallus was investigated using old and young segments of fruticose lichen thalli (Alectoria sarmentosa) from an oil refinery area in Come-By-Chance and two coastal areas, Newfoundland, Canada. Old segments of lichen samples from the oil refinery area showed significantly higher {delta}{sup 34}S values (1.0-2.5 per mille) than their corresponding young segments. Lichen samples from two coastal areas showed no noticeable differences in {delta}{sup 34}S values between old and young segments. These results demonstrate that lichen thalli record temporal changes in the isotopic composition of atmospheric S and hence constitute a historical archive of atmospheric S pollution. - Lichen thalli record temporal changes in the isotopic composition of atmospheric S and hence constitute a suitable historical archive for biomonitoring.

Variations of sulfur isotope ratios in a single lichen thallus: A potential historical archive for sulfur pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, Misuk; Wadleigh, Moire A.; Mayer, Bernhard

2010-01-01

Utilizing the analytical capability to measure S isotope ratios of small quantities of S in biological material without any chemical pretreatment, the variation of δ 34 S within a lichen thallus was investigated using old and young segments of fruticose lichen thalli (Alectoria sarmentosa) from an oil refinery area in Come-By-Chance and two coastal areas, Newfoundland, Canada. Old segments of lichen samples from the oil refinery area showed significantly higher δ 34 S values (1.0-2.5 per mille ) than their corresponding young segments. Lichen samples from two coastal areas showed no noticeable differences in δ 34 S values between old and young segments. These results demonstrate that lichen thalli record temporal changes in the isotopic composition of atmospheric S and hence constitute a historical archive of atmospheric S pollution. - Lichen thalli record temporal changes in the isotopic composition of atmospheric S and hence constitute a suitable historical archive for biomonitoring.

Critique of historical reason

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David B. Richardson

2009-03-01

Full Text Available El enfoque aquí desarrollado presupone una nueva visión del mundo civilizado (Weltanschauungen. La idea del historiador de los hechos históricos presupone una visión global del mundo, a excepción de las sociedades que carecen de un lenguaje escrito. Por eso, la razón histórica discutida aquí se limita al tipo de historia que trata de civilizaciones más elevadas. El análisis de visiones del mundo aquí utilizado presupone que los símbolos son muy importantes y que pierden su poder simbólico si se cristalizan en un único sentido. Como en la teoría de Jung, un símbolo tiene la capacidad de estar activo en la mente como un transformador de la conciencia, libre de asociarse con nuevas experiencias y pensamientos. Esta teoría presta especial atención al problema de Dilthey: es decir, el problema de la calidad racional de los hechos históricos. Las visiones del mundo, que dan un significado profundo a muchos hechos históricos, se componen de símbolos y metáforas, incluyendo ideas, imágenes, valores y emociones. Estos tipos de visiones son casi todos instintivos. Es cierto que los historiadores pueden haber formulado, consciente definiciones de estos tipos de visiones del mundo así como ocurrió por las civilizaciones griega y china. Dado que la actual Weltbilt es mucho más compleja e inconsciente, se necesita algo más que una definición lógica para entenderla. Este artículo indica la forma en que puede ser alcanzada una comprensión racional de estas visiones del mundo._____________ABSTRACT:The approach here entertained presupposes a fresh theory of world pictures (Weltanschauungen of higher civilizations. For the historian's idea of historical facts presupposes a world picture, except for societies which lack a written language. That is why the historical reason discussed here is limited to the kind of history which deals with higher civilizations. The analysis of world pictures used here itself presupposes that symbols are

The role of historical operations information for supporting remedial investigation work at the former Harshaw Chemical Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, R.; Peterson, J.; Picel, K.; Kolhoff, A.; Devaughn, J.

2008-01-01

In the early stages of hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste (HTRW) site investigations, basic record searches are performed to help direct the agencies investigating contaminated sites to areas of concern and to identify contaminants of interest (COI). Plans developed on the basis of this preliminary research alone are often incomplete and result in unexpected discoveries either while in the field investigating the site or after the reports have been written. Many of the sites investigated under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action program (FUSRAP) have complex histories that are slowly uncovered over the life of the project. Because of programmatic constraints, nuances of these sites are often discovered late in their programs and result in increased expenditures in order to fully characterize the site, perform a robust feasibility study, and recommend appropriate alternatives for remediation. By identifying resources for public records, classified records, historic aerial photographs, and other sources of site-specific historical information, a process can be established to optimize the collection of information and to develop efficient and complete project plans. In many cases, interviews with past site employees are very useful tools. In combining what is found in the records, observed on historic aerial photographs, and heard from former employees and family members, teams investigating these sites can begin to compile sound and more complete conceptual site models (CSMs). The former Harshaw Chemical Site (HCS) illustrates this discovery process. HCS is part of FUSRAP. Preliminary investigations by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in the 1970s provided an initial CSM of activities that had taken place that may have resulted in contamination. The remedial investigation (RI) conducted by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was designed around this CSM. The RI work, however, identified a number of site conditions that were unexpected, including new

The National Commitment Towards Conserving the Heritage (documentation of Historical and Cultural Sites in Gcc Countries)

Science.gov (United States)

AlSulaiti, F.

2013-07-01

The five Arab Gulf countries of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman possess many shared characteristics and historical ties across their common peninsula. The prime factor uniting them is the historical nature of their entwined involvement with peoples and nations beyond the region. That the Gulf has been an important water passageway since ancient times suggests that the inhabitants of its shores met early on with other civilizations. The knowledge of one's roots, history, and traditional arts supports awareness of inherited culture and can help contextualize and illuminate community reflection and identification. The intricacy of the recording and understanding processes of documentation requires skilled professionals, with knowledge and awareness for the associated tasks. Responsible of cultural heritage should provide the adequate documentations, recording and updating of the records. Collaboration of different individuals such as specialist heritage, archaeologists, surveyors, conservators, researchers, architectural historians, and many other expert personnel is the golden key of successful documentation. The purpose of this document is to show the authorities of Gulf Arab countries and their planning measures, management and sharing effect of recording the cultural heritage. This essay identifies key points in the approach to contextualizing and developing cultural identity in a way that respects organic qualities. Through highlighting a number of archeological ruins and outlining management plans, the essay explores frameworks that can be applied to promote and preserve integral identity of important sites and their greater surrounding communities.

THE NATIONAL COMMITMENT TOWARDS CONSERVING THE HERITAGE (DOCUMENTATION OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SITES IN GCC COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. AlSulaiti

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The five Arab Gulf countries of Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman possess many shared characteristics and historical ties across their common peninsula. The prime factor uniting them is the historical nature of their entwined involvement with peoples and nations beyond the region. That the Gulf has been an important water passageway since ancient times suggests that the inhabitants of its shores met early on with other civilizations. The knowledge of one’s roots, history, and traditional arts supports awareness of inherited culture and can help contextualize and illuminate community reflection and identification. The intricacy of the recording and understanding processes of documentation requires skilled professionals, with knowledge and awareness for the associated tasks. Responsible of cultural heritage should provide the adequate documentations, recording and updating of the records. Collaboration of different individuals such as specialist heritage, archaeologists, surveyors, conservators, researchers, architectural historians, and many other expert personnel is the golden key of successful documentation. The purpose of this document is to show the authorities of Gulf Arab countries and their planning measures, management and sharing effect of recording the cultural heritage. This essay identifies key points in the approach to contextualizing and developing cultural identity in a way that respects organic qualities. Through highlighting a number of archeological ruins and outlining management plans, the essay explores frameworks that can be applied to promote and preserve integral identity of important sites and their greater surrounding communities.

Historic Storminess Changes in North Atlantic Region

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, A. G.; Elliott, L.; Noone, S.; Hickey, K.; Foster, I.; Wadhams, P.; Mayewski, P.

2001-05-01

Reconstructed patterns of historic storminess (1870-1990 AD) for North Atlantic region as indicated by measurements from selected stations in Iceland, Faeroes, Scotland and Ireland show clear links with the climate "seesaw" winters first described by Van Loon and Rogers. The stormiest winters appear to have occurred during periods when measured Greenland air temperatures at Jacobshavn and reconstructed air temperatures from the Summit ice core site have been exceptionally low and when air temperature across northern Europe have been well above average. Maxima and minima of recorded winter storms for the various stations are also in agreement with the Sodium chronology from GISP2 that points to increased sea salt precipitation on Greenland ice at Summit during Greenland "below" periods of the climate seesaw.

75 FR 17766 - National Register of Historic Places; Weekly Listing of Historic Properties

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-07

.... Paul Loether, Chief, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic Landmarks Program. KEY..., LISTED, 1/21/10 (World War II Home Front Efforts in Arkansas, MPS) Logan County Liberty Schoolhouse...

Generic phylogeny, historical biogeography and character evolution of the cosmopolitan aquatic plant family Hydrocharitaceae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Ling-Yun

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Hydrocharitaceae is a fully aquatic monocot family, consists of 18 genera with approximately 120 species. The family includes both fresh and marine aquatics and exhibits great diversity in form and habit including annual and perennial life histories; submersed, partially submersed and floating leaf habits and linear to orbicular leaf shapes. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution and is well represented in the Tertiary fossil record in Europe. At present, the historical biogeography of the family is not well understood and the generic relationships remain controversial. In this study we investigated the phylogeny and biogeography of Hydrocharitaceae by integrating fossils and DNA sequences from eight genes. We also conducted ancestral state reconstruction for three morphological characters. Results Phylogenetic analyses produced a phylogeny with most branches strongly supported by bootstrap values greater than 95 and Bayesian posterior probability values of 1.0. Stratiotes is the first diverging lineage with the remaining genera in two clades, one clade consists of Lagarosiphon, Ottelia, Blyxa, Apalanthe, Elodea and Egeria; and the other consists of Hydrocharis-Limnobium, Thalassia, Enhalus, Halophila, Najas, Hydrilla, Vallisneria, Nechamandra and Maidenia. Biogeographic analyses (DIVA, Mesquite and divergence time estimates (BEAST resolved the most recent common ancestor of Hydrocharitaceae as being in Asia during the Late Cretaceous and Palaeocene (54.7-72.6 Ma. Dispersals (including long-distance dispersal and migrations through Tethys seaway and land bridges probably played major roles in the intercontinental distribution of this family. Ancestral state reconstruction suggested that in Hydrocharitaceae evolution of dioecy is bidirectional, viz., from dioecy to hermaphroditism, and from hermaphroditism to dioecy, and that the aerial-submerged leaf habit and short-linear leaf shape are the ancestral states. Conclusions

Automata Learning through Counterexample Guided Abstraction Refinement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aarts, Fides; Heidarian, Faranak; Kuppens, Harco

2012-01-01

to a small set of abstract events that can be handled by automata learning tools. In this article, we show how such abstractions can be constructed fully automatically for a restricted class of extended finite state machines in which one can test for equality of data parameters, but no operations on data...... are allowed. Our approach uses counterexample-guided abstraction refinement: whenever the current abstraction is too coarse and induces nondeterministic behavior, the abstraction is refined automatically. Using Tomte, a prototype tool implementing our algorithm, we have succeeded to learn – fully......Abstraction is the key when learning behavioral models of realistic systems. Hence, in most practical applications where automata learning is used to construct models of software components, researchers manually define abstractions which, depending on the history, map a large set of concrete events...

75 FR 10814 - National Register of Historic Places; Weekly Listing of Historic Properties

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-09

..., 2010. J. Paul Loether, Chief, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic Landmarks Program...., Garner vicinity, 09001106, LISTED, 12/16/09 UTAH San Juan County Neck and Cabin Spings Grazing Area...

Analysis of complex networks using aggressive abstraction.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colbaugh, Richard; Glass, Kristin.; Willard, Gerald

2008-10-01

This paper presents a new methodology for analyzing complex networks in which the network of interest is first abstracted to a much simpler (but equivalent) representation, the required analysis is performed using the abstraction, and analytic conclusions are then mapped back to the original network and interpreted there. We begin by identifying a broad and important class of complex networks which admit abstractions that are simultaneously dramatically simplifying and property preserving we call these aggressive abstractions -- and which can therefore be analyzed using the proposed approach. We then introduce and develop two forms of aggressive abstraction: 1.) finite state abstraction, in which dynamical networks with uncountable state spaces are modeled using finite state systems, and 2.) onedimensional abstraction, whereby high dimensional network dynamics are captured in a meaningful way using a single scalar variable. In each case, the property preserving nature of the abstraction process is rigorously established and efficient algorithms are presented for computing the abstraction. The considerable potential of the proposed approach to complex networks analysis is illustrated through case studies involving vulnerability analysis of technological networks and predictive analysis for social processes.

Disentangling natural and anthropogenic signals in lacustrine records: An example from the Ilan Plain, NE Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jyh-Jaan Huang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The impact of human activities has been increasing to a degree where humans now outcompete many natural processes. When interpreting environmental and climatic changes recorded in natural archives on historical time scales, it is therefore important to be able to disentangle the relative contribution of natural and anthropogenic processes. Lake Meihua on the Ilan Plain in northeastern Taiwan offers a particularly suitable opportunity to test how human activities known from historical records can be recorded in lacustrine sediment. For this purpose, three cores from Lake Meihua have been studied by a multiproxy approach, providing the first decadal-resolution lacustrine records covering the past 150 years in Taiwan. Profiles of excess 210Pb, 137Cs and 239,240Pu from two short cores (MHL-09-01 and MHL-11-02 allowed a precise chronology to be established. The presence of a yellow, earthy layer with lower levels of organic material coincide with the record of land development associated with the construction of the San-Chin-Gong Temple during AD 1970-1982. Furthermore, in the lower part of the cores, the upwards increasing trend of inc/coh, TOC, TOC/TN, and grain size, coupled with the palynological data (increase of Alnus, Mallotus, Trema and herbs from the nearby core MHL-5A with radiocarbon chronology, suggest that the area surrounding the lake has been significantly affected by agricultural activities since the arrival of Chinese settlers around ~AD 1874. In sum, this study demonstrates that this suite of lacustrine sediments in northeastern Taiwan has recorded human activities in agreement with historical documents, and that different human activities will leave distinct sedimentological, geochemical, and palynological signatures in the sedimentary archives. Therefore, multiproxy reconstructions are important to capture the complex nature of human-environmental interactions. A better understanding of the weathering and erosion response to human

Disentangling natural and anthropogenic signals in lacustrine records: An example from the Ilan Plain, NE Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jyh-Jaan; Huh, Chih-An; Wei, Kuo-Yen; Löwemark, Ludvig; Lin, Shu-Fen; Liao, Wen-Hsuan; Yang, Tien-Nan; Song, Sheng-Rong; Lee, Meng-Yang; Su, Chih-Chieh; Lee, Teh-Quei

2016-11-01

The impact of human activities has been increasing to a degree where humans now outcompete many natural processes. When interpreting environmental and climatic changes recorded in natural archives on historical time scales, it is therefore important to be able to disentangle the relative contribution of natural and anthropogenic processes. Lake Meihua on the Ilan Plain in northeastern Taiwan offers a particularly suitable opportunity to test how human activities known from historical records can be recorded in lacustrine sediment. For this purpose, three cores from Lake Meihua have been studied by a multiproxy approach, providing the first decadal-resolution lacustrine records covering the past 150 years in Taiwan. Profiles of excess 210Pb, 137Cs and 239,240Pu from two short cores (MHL-09-01 and MHL-11-02) allowed a precise chronology to be established. The presence of a yellow, earthy layer with lower levels of organic material coincide with the record of land development associated with the construction of the San-Chin-Gong Temple during AD 1970-1982. Furthermore, in the lower part of the cores, the upwards increasing trend of inc/coh, TOC, TOC/TN, and grain size, coupled with the palynological data (increase of Alnus, Mallotus, Trema and herbs) from the nearby core MHL-5A with radiocarbon chronology, suggest that the area surrounding the lake has been significantly affected by agricultural activities since the arrival of Chinese settlers around AD 1874. In sum, this study demonstrates that this suite of lacustrine sediments in northeastern Taiwan has recorded human activities in agreement with historical documents, and that different human activities will leave distinct sedimentological, geochemical, and palynological signatures in the sedimentary archives. Therefore, multiproxy reconstructions are important to capture the complex nature of human-environmental interactions. A better understanding of the weathering and erosion response to human activities can

32 CFR 174.18 - Historic preservation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Historic preservation. 174.18 Section 174.18... Historic preservation. (a) The transfer, lease, or sale of National Register-eligible historic property to... the regulations implementing the National Historic Preservation Act (36 CFR 800.5(a)(2)(vii)). One way...

Trends in literature on new oilseed crops and related species: Seeking evidence of increasing or waning interest

Science.gov (United States)

Bibliographic records on eight new crop species Camelina, Crambe, Cuphea, Physaria, Limnanthes, Stokesia, Thlaspi, and Vernonia from Agricola, CAB Abstracts, Scopus, and Web of Science were analyzed for historical and recent trends in the areas of research, author distribution, and quantity and impa...

A reconstructed database of historic bluefin tuna captures in the Gibraltar Strait and Western Mediterranean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josué M. Polanco-Martínez

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This data paper presents a reconstruction of a compilation of a small but consistent database of historical capture records of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus; BFT hereafter from the Gibraltar Strait and Western Mediterranean (Portugal, Spain and Italy. The compilation come from diverse historical and documentary sources and span the time interval from 1525 to 1936 covering a period of 412 years. There is a total of 3074 datum, which reach up to 67.83% of the total implying a 32.17% of missing data. However, we have only reconstructed the captures for the time interval 1700–1936 and we provide these reconstructions only for this time interval and for 9 out of 11 series due to the scarcity and inhomogeneity of the two oldest capture time series. This reconstructed database provides an invaluable opportunity for fisheries and marine research as well as for multidisciplinary research in climate change. Keywords: Data reconstructions, DINEOF, Missing data, Historic Bluefin tuna captures, Gibraltar Strait and Western Mediterranean

Argonne Code Center: compilation of program abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butler, M.K.; DeBruler, M.; Edwards, H.S.

1976-08-01

This publication is the tenth supplement to, and revision of, ANL-7411. It contains additional abstracts and revisions to some earlier abstracts and other pages. Sections of the document are as follows: preface; history and acknowledgements; abstract format; recommended program package contents; program classification guide and thesaurus; and abstract collection. (RWR)

Argonne Code Center: compilation of program abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, M.K.; DeBruler, M.; Edwards, H.S.

1976-08-01

This publication is the tenth supplement to, and revision of, ANL-7411. It contains additional abstracts and revisions to some earlier abstracts and other pages. Sections of the document are as follows: preface; history and acknowledgements; abstract format; recommended program package contents; program classification guide and thesaurus; and abstract collection

Intermediate Genre Study. Historical Fiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Novelli, Joan; Lasky, Kathryn

1996-01-01

Students can learn to appreciate history as readers and writers of historical fiction. This section presents an introduction to historical fiction, a display idea, a mystery history game, discussion of character-building, charts for students to fill in with information on historical characters, suggestions for customizing writing centers and for…

Unfinished Business: The Uneven Past and Uncertain Future of One Historically Black University's Archives--A Personal Reflection

Science.gov (United States)

Pevar, Susan Gunn

2011-01-01

This article presents a perspective on how the restructuring of a historically black university's library and resulting closure of its special collections and archives puts important records pertaining to African American history in jeopardy. This article traces the recent history of special collections and archives at the Lincoln University…

Abstraction by Set-Membership

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mödersheim, Sebastian Alexander

2010-01-01

The abstraction and over-approximation of protocols and web services by a set of Horn clauses is a very successful method in practice. It has however limitations for protocols and web services that are based on databases of keys, contracts, or even access rights, where revocation is possible, so...... that the set of true facts does not monotonically grow with the transitions. We extend the scope of these over-approximation methods by defining a new way of abstraction that can handle such databases, and we formally prove that the abstraction is sound. We realize a translator from a convenient specification...... language to standard Horn clauses and use the verifier ProVerif and the theorem prover SPASS to solve them. We show by a number of examples that this approach is practically feasible for wide variety of verification problems of security protocols and web services....

Abstract Objects of Verbs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Robering, Klaus

2014-01-01

Verbs do often take arguments of quite different types. In an orthodox type-theoretic framework this results in an extreme polysemy of many verbs. In this article, it is shown that this unwanted consequence can be avoided when a theory of "abstract objects" is adopted according to which these obj......Verbs do often take arguments of quite different types. In an orthodox type-theoretic framework this results in an extreme polysemy of many verbs. In this article, it is shown that this unwanted consequence can be avoided when a theory of "abstract objects" is adopted according to which...... these objects represent non-objectual entities in contexts from which they are excluded by type restrictions. Thus these objects are "abstract'' in a functional rather than in an ontological sense: they function as representatives of other entities but they are otherwise quite normal objects. Three examples...

Historical floods in flood frequency analysis: Is this game worth the candle?

Science.gov (United States)

Strupczewski, Witold G.; Kochanek, Krzysztof; Bogdanowicz, Ewa

2017-11-01

In flood frequency analysis (FFA) the profit from inclusion of historical information on the largest historical pre-instrumental floods depends primarily on reliability of the information, i.e. the accuracy of magnitude and return period of floods. This study is focused on possible theoretical maximum gain in accuracy of estimates of upper quantiles, that can be obtained by incorporating the largest historical floods of known return periods into the FFA. We assumed a simple case: N years of systematic records of annual maximum flows and either one largest (XM1) or two largest (XM1 and XM2) flood peak flows in a historical M-year long period. The problem is explored by Monte Carlo simulations with the maximum likelihood (ML) method. Both correct and false distributional assumptions are considered. In the first case the two-parameter extreme value models (Gumbel, log-Gumbel, Weibull) with various coefficients of variation serve as parent distributions. In the case of unknown parent distribution, the Weibull distribution was assumed as estimating model and the truncated Gumbel as parent distribution. The return periods of XM1 and XM2 are determined from the parent distribution. The results are then compared with the case, when return periods of XM1 and XM2 are defined by their plotting positions. The results are presented in terms of bias, root mean square error and the probability of overestimation of the quantile with 100-year return period. The results of the research indicate that the maximal profit of inclusion of pre-instrumental foods in the FFA may prove smaller than the cost of reconstruction of historical hydrological information.

Factors predicting publication of sexual medicine abstracts presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association.

Science.gov (United States)

Berookhim, Boback M; Kaya, Yekta; Deveci, Serkan; Nelson, Christian J; Mulhall, John P

2013-10-01

At sexual medicine meetings throughout the world, hundreds of scientific abstracts are presented each year. To our knowledge, no previous studies have looked at the rate of publication of these studies in a peer-reviewed journal. To define the fate of abstracts presented at sexual medicine sessions at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) and to describe the factors predicting ultimate publication in scientific journals. All abstracts presented at the 2006 and 2007 AUA annual meeting were surveyed to find sexual medicine abstracts. Publication status as of October 2009 was assessed using the Medline database. Abstract parameters were recorded including number of authors, country of origin, clinical or basic research, and area of sexual research. Predictors of publication were analyzed using a multivariable model. Publication status of all sexual medicine abstracts presented at the 2006 and 2007 AUA annual meetings. A total of 208 sexual medicine abstracts were presented in 2006 and 2007. Fifty-one percent of these were published by October 2009. On univariate analysis, the predictors of publication in a peer-reviewed journal included the number of authors (r=0.22, Pacademic centers (RR 2.7, CI 1.7-4.3, Pacademic center (OR 5.9, CI 2.8-12.7, Pmedicine abstracts presented at the 2006 and 2007 annual AUA meetings have been published within 2 to 3 years of the date of presentation. Studies originating from academic centers were six times more likely to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. © 2013 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Full text publication rates of research abstracts presented at the European Society of Endodontology (ESE) Congresses in the last 20 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Tzanetakis, G N; Tzimpoulas, N; Floratos, S; Agrafioti, A; Kontakiotis, E G; Shemesh, H

2017-06-26

To evaluate the full-text publication rates of scientific research abstracts presented at the European Society of Endodontology (ESE) Congresses held between 1993 and 2013 (a total of 11 occasions) and to determine factors associated with the manuscripts. An electronic database search was conducted from January 2015 to December 2016 to identify full text English written publications of the research abstracts presented at the last 11 ESE Biennial Congresses from 1993 to 2013. For each occasion, research abstract information were retrieved from the International Endodontic Journal (IEJ) through the official website of the ESE and the following parameters for each abstract presentation were recorded: Year of presentation, first author's affiliation, geographic origin, and type of study. Following full-text article identification, additional information was recorded such as: Year and journal of publication, elapsed time until full publication and number of authors per presentation and publication. A total of 1165 research abstracts were presented, of which 401 (34.4%) were finally published as full-length articles. Overall 235 articles (58.6%) were published either in the International Endodontic Journal (IEJ, 35.7%) or Journal of Endodontics (JOE, 22.9%). The mean time between abstract presentation and full-text publication was 18.95 months. Munich (2001) had the highest publication rate (44%) whereas Lisbon (2013) had the highest number of published articles (77). Turkey was the country with the highest number of published abstracts (56). However, the Netherlands was the country with the highest number of publications related to the number of presentations (21/26) (80.7%). Differences in authorship between presentation and full publication were found in 179 (44.6%) articles. A substantial number of research abstracts presented at ESE congresses were not published in peer reviewed journals. Authors prefer to publish their research papers in international journals with

A Cold War Battlefield: Frenchman Flat Historic District, Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, William Gray [DRI; Holz, Barbara A [DRI; Jones, Robert [DRI

2000-08-01

This report provides the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office with the documentation necessary to establish the Frenchman Flat Historic District on the Nevada Test Site (NTS). It includes a list of historic properties that contribute to the eligibility of the district for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and provides contextual information establishing its significance. The list focuses on buildings, structures and features associated with the period of atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons on the NTS between 1951 and 1962. A total of 157 locations of buildings and structures were recorded of which 115 are considered to be eligible for the NRHP. Of these, 28 have one or more associated features which include instrumentation supports, foundations, etc. The large majority of contributing structures are buildings built to study the blast effects of nuclear weaponry. This has resulted in a peculiar accumulation of deteriorated structures that, unlike most historic districts, is best represented by those that are the most damaged. Limitations by radiological control areas, surface exposure and a focus on the concentration of accessible properties on the dry lake bed indicate additional properties exist which could be added to the district on a case-by-case basis.

Argonne Code Center: compilation of program abstracts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butler, M.K.; DeBruler, M.; Edwards, H.S.; Harrison, C. Jr.; Hughes, C.E.; Jorgensen, R.; Legan, M.; Menozzi, T.; Ranzini, L.; Strecok, A.J.

1977-08-01

This publication is the eleventh supplement to, and revision of, ANL-7411. It contains additional abstracts and revisions to some earlier abstracts and other pages. Sections of the complete document ANL-7411 are as follows: preface, history and acknowledgements, abstract format, recommended program package contents, program classification guide and thesaurus, and the abstract collection. (RWR)

Argonne Code Center: compilation of program abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, M.K.; DeBruler, M.; Edwards, H.S.; Harrison, C. Jr.; Hughes, C.E.; Jorgensen, R.; Legan, M.; Menozzi, T.; Ranzini, L.; Strecok, A.J.

1977-08-01

This publication is the eleventh supplement to, and revision of, ANL-7411. It contains additional abstracts and revisions to some earlier abstracts and other pages. Sections of the complete document ANL-7411 are as follows: preface, history and acknowledgements, abstract format, recommended program package contents, program classification guide and thesaurus, and the abstract collection

Abstract concepts in grounded cognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lakens, D.

2010-01-01

When people think about highly abstract concepts, they draw upon concrete experiences to structure their thoughts. For example, black knights in fairytales are evil, and knights in shining armor are good. The sensory experiences black and white are used to represent the abstract concepts of good and

Seismic rotation waves: basic elements of theory and recording

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Palangio

2003-06-01

Full Text Available Returning to the old problem of observed rotation effects, we present the recording system and basic elements of the theory related to the rotation fi eld and its association with seismic waves. There can be many different causes leading to observed/recorded rotation effects; we can group them as follows: generation of micro-displacement motion due to asymmetry of source processes and/or due to interaction between seismic body/surface waves and medium structure; interaction between incident seismic waves and objects situated on the ground surface. New recording techniques and advanced theory of deformation in media with defects and internal (e.g., granular structure make it possible to focus our attention on the fi rst group, related to microdisplacement motion recording, which includes both rotation and twist motions. Surface rotations and twists caused directly by the action of emerging seismic waves on some objects situated on the ground surface are considered here only in the historical aspects of the problem. We present some examples of experimental results related to recording of rotation and twist components at the Ojcow Observatory, Poland, and L'Aquila Observatory, Italy, and we discuss some prospects for further research.

75 FR 4415 - National Register of Historic Places; Weekly Listing of Historic Properties

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-27

.... Paul Loether, Chief, National Register of Historic Places/National Historic Landmarks Program. KEY.... by W. Cherry on the South by W. Court, on the E. by S. Throgmorton and the W. by Clay, Piggott...

Reconstructing historical trends in metal input in heavily-disturbed, contaminated estuaries: studies from Bilbao, Southampton Water and Sicily

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cundy, A.B.; Croudace, I.W.; Cearreta, A.; Irabien, M.J.

2003-01-01

Estuaries may be important reservoirs for contaminants as they tend to act as sinks for fine, contaminant-reactive sediments, and, historically, they have acted as centres for industrial and urban development. Analysis of dated sediment cores from these areas may allow historical trends in heavy metal input to be reconstructed, and recent and historical inputs of metal contaminants to be compared. Undisturbed saltmarsh settings have been used widely in the reconstruction of historical trends in metal input as saltmarshes provide a stable, vegetated substrate of dominantly fine sediments, and are less prone to erosion and reworking than adjacent mudflat areas. In comparison, much less research on historical pollution trends has been undertaken at estuarine sites which are prone to severe local disturbance, such as intertidal areas which are routinely dredged or where sedimentary processes have been modified by human activities such as shipping, salt working, port activities, land claim etc. This paper assesses the usefulness of 210 Pb and 137 Cs dating, combined with geochemical studies, in reconstructing historical trends in heavy metal input and sediment accretion in 3 heavily-modified, industrialised estuarine areas in Europe: the Bilbao estuary (Spain), Southampton Water (UK), and the Mulinello estuary (Sicily). Of these sites, only a salt marsh core from the Mulinello estuary provides a high-resolution record of recent heavy metal inputs. In Southampton Water only a partial record of changing metal inputs over time is retained due to land-claim and possible early-diagenetic remobilisation, while at Bilbao the vertical distribution of heavy metals in intertidal flats is mainly controlled by input on reworked sediment particles and variations in sediment composition. Where 137 Cs and 210 Pb distributions with depth allow a chronology of sediment deposition to be established, and early-diagenetic remobilisation has been minimal, mudflat and saltmarsh cores from

Differences between Neural Activity in Prefrontal Cortex and Striatum during Learning of Novel Abstract Categories

OpenAIRE

Antzoulatos, Evan G.; Miller, Earl K.

2011-01-01

Learning to classify diverse experiences into meaningful groups, like categories, is fundamental to normal cognition. To understand its neural basis, we simultaneously recorded from multiple electrodes in the lateral prefrontal cortex and dorsal striatum, two interconnected brain structures critical for learning. Each day, monkeys learned to associate novel, abstract dot-based categories with a right vs. left saccade. Early on, when they could acquire specific stimulus-response associations, ...

Minicomputers. Vol. I. 1964--June, 1975 (a bibliography with abstracts). Report for 1964--Jun 1975

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grooms, D.W.

1976-08-01

The bibliography cites research on the design and applications of minicomputers. A few of the areas of application include audio recorders, chemical analysis, radiation detection, process control, reactor control, production control, ocean sciences, and tracking systems. Citations include supporting software for solving the problems and processing the data in the many areas of application. (This updated bibliography contains 258 abstracts, none of which are new entries to the previous edition.)

A definition for influenza pandemics based on historical records.

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, Chris W; Jennings, Roy

2011-10-01

To analyse the records of past influenza outbreaks to determine a definition for pandemics. Analysis of publications of large outbreaks of influenza which have occurred since 1889/90, and to match the results against the current definitions of an influenza pandemic. According to the general understanding of a pandemic, nine outbreaks of influenza since 1889/90 satisfy the definition; however, for two of these, occurring in 1900 and 1933, the data are limited. The special condition for an influenza pandemic requires, in one definition, that the virus strain responsible could not have arisen from the previous circulating strain by mutation; and in the second, that the new strain be a different subtype to the previously circulating strain. Both these restrictions deny pandemic status to two, and possibly three, influenza outbreaks which were pandemics according to the more general understanding of the term. These observations suggest that a re-evaluation of the criteria which define influenza pandemics should be carried out. The contradiction outlined above brings the previous definitions of an influenza pandemic into question; however, this can be resolved by defining an influenza pandemic by the following criteria. Thus, an influenza pandemic arises at a single, specific place and spreads rapidly to involve numerous countries. The haemagglutinin (HA) of the emergent virus does not cross-react serologically with the previously dominant virus strain(s), and there is a significant lack of immunity in the population against the emergent virus. These three criteria are interlinked and can be determined early to alert authorities who could respond appropriately. Other criteria associated with pandemics are necessarily retrospective, although important and valid. The implications of this definition are discussed. Copyright © 2011 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ghana Science Abstracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Entsua-Mensah, C.

2004-01-01

This issue of the Ghana Science Abstracts combines in one publication all the country's bibliographic output in science and technology. The objective is to provide a quick reference source to facilitate the work of information professionals, research scientists, lecturers and policy makers. It is meant to give users an idea of the depth and scope and results of the studies and projects carried out. The scope and coverage comprise research outputs, conference proceedings and periodical articles published in Ghana. It does not capture those that were published outside Ghana. Abstracts reported have been grouped under the following subject areas: Agriculture, Biochemistry, Biodiversity conservation, biological sciences, biotechnology, chemistry, dentistry, engineering, environmental management, forestry, information management, mathematics, medicine, physics, nuclear science, pharmacy, renewable energy and science education

Historical records of radioactive contamination in biota at the 200 Areas of the Hanford Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, A.R.; Markes, B.M.; Schmidt, J.W.; Shah, A.N.; Weiss, S.G.; Wilson, K.J.

1994-06-01

This document summarizes and reports a literature search of 85 environmental monitoring records of wildlife and vegetation (biota) at the 200 East Area and the 200 West Area of the Hanford Site since 1965. These records were published annually and provided the majority of the data in this report. Additional sources of data have included records of specific facilities, such as site characterization documents and preoperational environmental surveys. These documents have been released for public use. Records before 1965 were still being researched and therefore not included in this document. The intent of compiling these data into a single source was to identify past and current concentrations of radionuclides in biota at specific facilities and waste sites within each operable unit that may be used to help guide cleanup activities in the 200 Areas to be completed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response and Liability Act (CERCLA). The 200 East Area and 200 West Area were the locations of the Hanford Site separation and process facilities and waste management units. For the purposes of this document, a sample was of interest if a Geiger-Mueller counter equipped with a pancake probe-indicated beta/gamma emitting radioactivity above 200 counts per minute (cpm), or if laboratory radioanalyses indicated a radionuclide concentration equaled or exceeded 10 picocuries per gram (pCi/g). About 4,500 individual cases of monitoring for radionuclide uptake or transport in biota in the 200 Areas environs were included in the documents reviewed. About 1,900 (i.e., 42%) of these biota had radionuclide concentrations in excess of 10 pCi/g. These radionuclide transport or uptake cases were distributed among 45 species of wildlife (primarily small mammals and feces) and 30 species of vegetation. The wildlife species most commonly associated with radioactive contamination were the house mouse and the deer mouse and of vegetation species, the Russian thistle

Building Safe Concurrency Abstractions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Ole Lehrmann

2014-01-01

Concurrent object-oriented programming in Beta is based on semaphores and coroutines and the ability to define high-level concurrency abstractions like monitors, and rendezvous-based communication, and their associated schedulers. The coroutine mechanism of SIMULA has been generalized into the no......Concurrent object-oriented programming in Beta is based on semaphores and coroutines and the ability to define high-level concurrency abstractions like monitors, and rendezvous-based communication, and their associated schedulers. The coroutine mechanism of SIMULA has been generalized...

Contents, Abstracts and Keywords

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

2012-01-01

The Ethnic Minority Rights from the Angle of Multiculturalism Zhou Shaoqing（1） Abstract： Historically, multiculturalism was closely related to the ethnic minority rights. Currently there are two features in the research on multiculturalism and the ethnic minority rights. One is that most researchers do not strictly distinguish the different dimensions of multiculturalism, the other is that they tend to regard only multiculturalism as a theory of the ethnic minority rights, and less attach its importance to the multi-ethnie state construction. The thesis argues that multiculturalism has at least five dimensions, such as fact, theory, ideology, policy, and normative principle. The concept of the ethnic minority rights in each dimension has its special meaning and effect. The ethnic minority rights protection and the multi-ethnic state construction are two different aspects in the same historical process. Multiculturalism is not only a theory of the ethnic minority rights, but also an important supportive theory of the multi-ethnic state construction.

A summary of alcid records from Hawaii

Science.gov (United States)

Clapp, R.B.

1986-01-01

Abstract.-Four species of alcids have now been recorded frorn Hawaii. Two of them, the Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata and the Cassin's Auklet (Ptychoramchus aleuticus) have been found only once; the occurrence of the latter is reported here for the first time. two other alcids, the Horned Puffin (Fratercula arctica) and the Parakeet .Auklet (Cyclorrhynchus psittacula) have been recorded frorn Hawaii in greater numbers; the latter may be of regular occurrence in subtropical waters near the northwestern portion of the Hawaiian archipelago. Occurrence in Hawaii does not appear to be strongly related to size of populations to the north but instead to the extent to which the species are known to disperse.

Historical record of black carbon in urban soils and its environmental implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Yue; Zhang Ganlin

2009-01-01

Energy use in urbanization has fundamentally changed the pattern and fluxes of carbon cycling, which has global and local environmental impacts. Here we have investigated organic carbon (OC) and black carbon (BC) in six soil profiles from two contrast zones in an ancient city (Nanjing) in China. BC in soils was widely variable, from 0.22 to 32.19 g kg -1 . Its average concentration in an ancient residential area (Zone 1) was, 0.91 g kg -1 , whereas in Zone 2, an industrial and commercial area, the figure was 8.62 g kg -1 . The ratio of BC/OC ranged from 0.06 to 1.29 in soil profiles, with an average of 0.29. The vertical distribution of BC in soil is suggested to reflect the history of BC formation from burning of biomass and/or fossil fuel. BC in the surface layer of soils was mainly from traffic emission (especially from diesel vehicles). In contrast, in cultural layers BC was formed from historical coal use. The contents of BC and the ratio of BC/OC may reflect different human activities and pollution sources in the contrasting urban zones. In addition, the significant correlation of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Zn) with BC contents in some culture layers suggests the sorption of the metals by BC or their coexistence resulted from the coal-involved smelting. - Soil black carbon can reflect the pollution history of a city during urbanization.

Historical review of long-term soil sampling for environmental surveillance at the Hanford Site and vicinity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Price, K.R.; Rickard, W.H.

1997-08-01

Soil samples have been collected routinely from the environs of the Hanford Site and analyzed since 1971. Correct interpretation of results depends on samples being collected from the same locations, the locations remaining relatively undisturbed, and collection and analytical procedures remaining the same or being equivalent. Historical files, documents, and annual environmental reports were reviewed to evaluate these factors. It was determined that 20 soil sampling locations, 11 onsite and 9 offsite, were established between 1971 and 1977 and represent long-term sampling locations. Sample collection and analytical procedures have remained essentially the same since 1971. The physical ecological attributes of each long-term soil sampling location were evaluated. During the review of historical records, a few results for 1970, 1971, and 1972 were noted as previously unreported in annual or special reports. These results are included in Appendix A. To complete the record, results previously reported in annual environmental reports are given in Appendix B. Global Positioning System (GPS) reading for 20 long-term soil sampling locations are provided in Appendix C.

Historical review of long-term soil sampling for environmental surveillance at the Hanford Site and vicinity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, K.R.; Rickard, W.H.

1997-08-01

Soil samples have been collected routinely from the environs of the Hanford Site and analyzed since 1971. Correct interpretation of results depends on samples being collected from the same locations, the locations remaining relatively undisturbed, and collection and analytical procedures remaining the same or being equivalent. Historical files, documents, and annual environmental reports were reviewed to evaluate these factors. It was determined that 20 soil sampling locations, 11 onsite and 9 offsite, were established between 1971 and 1977 and represent long-term sampling locations. Sample collection and analytical procedures have remained essentially the same since 1971. The physical ecological attributes of each long-term soil sampling location were evaluated. During the review of historical records, a few results for 1970, 1971, and 1972 were noted as previously unreported in annual or special reports. These results are included in Appendix A. To complete the record, results previously reported in annual environmental reports are given in Appendix B. Global Positioning System (GPS) reading for 20 long-term soil sampling locations are provided in Appendix C

A new interpretation of the historical records of observing Venus in daytime with naked eye: Focusing on the meteorological factors in the astronomical observation records

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Junhyeok; Kwon, Young-Joo; Lee, Yong-Sam

2018-04-01

Observing Venus during the daytime is challenging. However, observational data of Venus during the daytime can be found in history books from East Asian countries such as Korea, China and Japan. In this study, we are focused on data from Korean history book, and using records left in the Joseon wangjo sillok, one of the Korean history books from the Joseon dynasty (CE 1392-1910), tries to prove whether the reported observations were actual observation data. We collected these 4663 records from the Joseon wangjo sillok to determine whether they were actual observations, and to confirm the scientific validity of the records. When we looked at the distribution of observations on a yearly basis, we noticed that there were more observations in the fall and winter, while there were only limited numbers of observations in the spring. This difference in distribution suggests that observations were strongly affected by atmospheric conditions due to the weather. From the 4663 data collected, we found a cycle of about 1.6 years. The cycle of about 1.6 years is assumed to be related to the conjunction cycle of Venus. And, we found a cycle of about 1.0 years. The cycle of about 1.0 years is assumed to reflect the indirect effects of the Asian dust phenomenon. Our research result verified the record as actual observational data. In addition, this result verified that meteorological factors were involved in the recorded astronomical observation data. We think that our data can be helpful to climate studies on the natural sources of key climate-affecting aerosols.

Historical records of organic matter supply and degradation status in the East Siberian Sea

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bröder, Lisa; Tesi, Tommaso; Andersson, August

2016-01-01

biomarkers were used to construct two centennial records in the East Siberian Sea. Differences in topsoil and Pleistocene Ice Complex Deposit permafrost concentrations, modeled using δ13C and δ14C, were larger between inner and outer shelf than the changes over time. Similarly, lignin-derived phenol...

Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Gunnison Basin: A Geographical Study of Current Versus Historical Distributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, J.; Townsend, A.; Alexander, K.

2005-05-01

We compared the stonefly diversity sampled from 11 selected sites in the Gunnison River Basin over the last three years to the stonefly diversity recorded by Knight (1965) from the same or nearby sites. The 11 sites in this study were chosen from the 22 sites reported by Knight (1965) because they represented mainstem Gunnison River sites that would be predicted to experience the most alteration due to anthropogenic changes such as the construction of impoundments, differences in land use patterns, and effects from the increase in human population of the region. We have been unable to locate ten of the stonefly species that were historically found and we presume that they have gone locally extinct or have become increasingly rare. We have also found six species present today that were not historically reported from Knight (1965). Maps showing current and historical stonefly diversity and distribution have been produced using ArcGIS and analyzed with relevant geographical data to form hypotheses to account for specific changes in the stonefly fauna of the basin.

Damaged goods: return to sender. A review of the historical medical records of repatriated Chinese miners.

Science.gov (United States)

Ndlovu, Ntombizodwa; Murray, Jill; Seopela, Simon

2006-01-01

After the Anglo-Boer (South African) War (1899-1902), there was a shortage of unskilled labor on the South African gold mines. Chinese men were imported to make up for the deficit. This article reviews the records of indentured Chinese mine workers examined for repatriation in 1905. The records tell of high proportions of social disorders, respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, opium addiction, and injury. These reflect the social and physical conditions to which these men were exposed in the mines.

Hydrogen abstraction reactions by amide electron adducts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sevilla, M.D.; Sevilla, C.L.; Swarts, S.

1982-01-01

Electron reactions with a number of peptide model compounds (amides and N-acetylamino acids) in aqueous glasses at low temperature have been investigated using ESR spectroscopy. The radicals produced by electron attachment to amides, RC(OD)NDR', are found to act as hydrogen abstracting agents. For example, the propionamide electron adduct is found to abstract from its parent propionamide. Electron adducts of other amides investigated show similar behavior except for acetamide electron adduct which does not abstract from its parent compound, but does abstract from other amides. The tendency toward abstraction for amide electron adducts are compared to electron adducts of several carboxylic acids, ketones, aldehydes and esters. The comparison suggests the hydrogen abstraction tendency of the various deuterated electron adducts (DEAs) to be in the following order: aldehyde DEA > acid DEA = approximately ester DEA > ketone DEA > amide DEA. In basic glasses the hydrogen abstraction ability of the amide electron adducts is maintained until the concentration of base is increased sufficiently to convert the DEA to its anionic form, RC(O - )ND 2 . In this form the hydrogen abstracting ability of the radical is greatly diminished. Similar results were found for the ester and carboxylic acid DEA's tested. (author)

Historical record of mercury contamination in sediments from the Babeni Reservoir in the Olt River, Romania.

Science.gov (United States)

Bravo, Andrea Garcia; Loizeau, Jean-Luc; Ancey, Lydie; Ungureanu, Viorel Gheorghe; Dominik, Janusz

2009-08-01

Mercury (Hg) is a ubiquitous and hazardous contaminant in the aquatic environment showing a strong biomagnification effect along the food chain. The most common transfer path of Hg to humans is contaminated fish consumption. In severely exposed humans, Hg poisoning may lead to damage in the central nervous system. Thus, it is important to examine current and past contamination levels of Hg in aquatic milieu. The Olt River is the largest Romanian tributary of the Danube River. The use of Hg as an electrode in a chlor-alkali plant contributed to the contamination of the aquatic environment in the Rm Valcea region. The purpose of this study was to compare the current state of Hg contamination with the past contamination using a historical record obtained from a dated sediment core from one of the Olt River reservoirs (Babeni) located downstream from the chlor-alkali plant. To our knowledge, no published data on Hg contamination in this region are available. The Babeni Reservoir was selected for this study because it is situated downstream from the chlor-alkali plant, whilst the other reservoirs only retain the pollutants coming from the upstream part of the watershed. Preliminary analyses (unpublished) showed high Hg concentrations in the surface sediment of the Babeni Reservoir. One core was taken in the upstream Valcea Reservoir to provide a local background level of Hg concentrations in sediments. Sediment texture was uniform in the cores from both reservoirs. Laminated sediment structure, without any obvious discontinuities, was observed. Hg concentrations in the sediment core from the Valcea Reservoir were low and constant (0.01-0.08 mg/kg). In Babeni Reservoir sediments, Hg concentrations were very high in the deeper core section (up to 45 mg/kg in the longest core) and decreased to lower concentrations toward the top of the cores (1.3-2.4 mg/kg). This decrease probably reflects technological progress in control of emissions from the Hg-cell-based chlor

Minimalism in architecture: Abstract conceptualization of architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasilski Dragana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Minimalism in architecture contains the idea of the minimum as a leading creative tend to be considered and interpreted in working through phenomena of empathy and abstraction. In the Western culture, the root of this idea is found in empathy of Wilhelm Worringer and abstraction of Kasimir Malevich. In his dissertation, 'Abstraction and Empathy' Worringer presented his thesis on the psychology of style through which he explained the two opposing basic forms: abstraction and empathy. His conclusion on empathy as a psychological basis of observation expression is significant due to the verbal congruence with contemporary minimalist expression. His intuition was enhenced furthermore by figure of Malevich. Abstraction, as an expression of inner unfettered inspiration, has played a crucial role in the development of modern art and architecture of the twentieth century. Abstraction, which is one of the basic methods of learning in psychology (separating relevant from irrelevant features, Carl Jung is used to discover ideas. Minimalism in architecture emphasizes the level of abstraction to which the individual functions are reduced. Different types of abstraction are present: in the form as well as function of the basic elements: walls and windows. The case study is an example of Sou Fujimoto who is unequivocal in its commitment to the autonomy of abstract conceptualization of architecture.

[How did the castratos sing? Historical observations].

Science.gov (United States)

von Deuster, Christian

2006-01-01

Historical observations In Church music from the early beginnings to the 19th century, women were not allowed to sing, because of a wrongly interpreted quote of the Apostle Paul. Paul had ordered women to keep silence in ecclesia, it means: in the community and in the congregation, but he himself never mentioned a ban on singing in church. The castratos gradually replaced the men singing falsetto due to the latter's weaker singing performance from the 17th century onwards. They originated mostly from simple social backgrounds. Many poor families in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries had up to 15 children and there was far too little work for the population. Some castratos were the stars of the opera. But as human beings they were discriminated. The castration took place mostly between the 7th and 12th years of their lives and many died as a result of the operation. The singing-lessons thereafter lasted 5-6 years. In the 18th century, the most famous castrato was Carlo Broschi, named Farinelli (1705-1782). Numerous arias sung by him are still in existence as scores, some are high quality concert pieces. There are modem versions on CD sung by a counter-tenor or a mezzo-soprano as soloists. Farinelli was able, during a visit to Spain, to improve with his singing the mood of two severely depressive kings. In the late 18th and in the 19th century, the castratos were increasingly replaced by tenors and women singers. The only historical sound recordings were sung by one of the last castratos, Alessandro Moreschi (1858-1922). The recordings were made in 1902 and 1904 in the Vatican. The arias are in the style of the end of the 19th century and contain no longer anything of the bravura arias so admired by the audiences in the 18th century. Since the end of World War II, the high male voices have experienced a renaissance.

Current State of the Art Historic Building Information Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Dore, C.; Murphy, M.

2017-08-01

In an extensive review of existing literature a number of observations were made in relation to the current approaches for recording and modelling existing buildings and environments: Data collection and pre-processing techniques are becoming increasingly automated to allow for near real-time data capture and fast processing of this data for later modelling applications. Current BIM software is almost completely focused on new buildings and has very limited tools and pre-defined libraries for modelling existing and historic buildings. The development of reusable parametric library objects for existing and historic buildings supports modelling with high levels of detail while decreasing the modelling time. Mapping these parametric objects to survey data, however, is still a time-consuming task that requires further research. Promising developments have been made towards automatic object recognition and feature extraction from point clouds for as-built BIM. However, results are currently limited to simple and planar features. Further work is required for automatic accurate and reliable reconstruction of complex geometries from point cloud data. Procedural modelling can provide an automated solution for generating 3D geometries but lacks the detail and accuracy required for most as-built applications in AEC and heritage fields.

The Complexity of Abstract Machines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beniamino Accattoli

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The lambda-calculus is a peculiar computational model whose definition does not come with a notion of machine. Unsurprisingly, implementations of the lambda-calculus have been studied for decades. Abstract machines are implementations schema for fixed evaluation strategies that are a compromise between theory and practice: they are concrete enough to provide a notion of machine and abstract enough to avoid the many intricacies of actual implementations. There is an extensive literature about abstract machines for the lambda-calculus, and yet—quite mysteriously—the efficiency of these machines with respect to the strategy that they implement has almost never been studied. This paper provides an unusual introduction to abstract machines, based on the complexity of their overhead with respect to the length of the implemented strategies. It is conceived to be a tutorial, focusing on the case study of implementing the weak head (call-by-name strategy, and yet it is an original re-elaboration of known results. Moreover, some of the observation contained here never appeared in print before.

Abstraction of man-made shapes

KAUST Repository

Mehra, Ravish; Zhou, Qingnan; Long, Jeremy; Sheffer, Alla; Gooch, Amy Ashurst; Mitra, Niloy J.

2009-01-01

Man-made objects are ubiquitous in the real world and in virtual environments. While such objects can be very detailed, capturing every small feature, they are often identified and characterized by a small set of defining curves. Compact, abstracted shape descriptions based on such curves are often visually more appealing than the original models, which can appear to be visually cluttered. We introduce a novel algorithm for abstracting three-dimensional geometric models using characteristic curves or contours as building blocks for the abstraction. Our method robustly handles models with poor connectivity, including the extreme cases of polygon soups, common in models of man-made objects taken from online repositories. In our algorithm, we use a two-step procedure that first approximates the input model using a manifold, closed envelope surface and then extracts from it a hierarchical abstraction curve network along with suitable normal information. The constructed curve networks form a compact, yet powerful, representation for the input shapes, retaining their key shape characteristics while discarding minor details and irregularities. © 2009 ACM.

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