WorldWideScience

Sample records for angeles million-tree initiative

  1. Million trees Los Angeles canopy cover and benefit assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    E.G. McPherson; J.R. Simpson; Q. Xiao; C. Wu

    2011-01-01

    The Million Trees LA initiative intends to improve Los Angeles’s environment through planting and stewardship of 1 million trees. The purpose of this study was to measure Los Angeles’s existing tree canopy cover (TCC), determine if space exists for 1 million additional trees, and estimate future benefits from the planting. High-resolution QuickBird remote sensing data...

  2. Los Angeles 1-Million tree canopy cover assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory E. McPherson; James R. Simpson; Qingfu Xiao; Wu Chunxia

    2008-01-01

    The Million Trees LA initiative intends to chart a course for sustainable growth through planting and stewardship of trees. The purpose of this study was to measure Los Angeles's existing tree canopy cover (TCC), determine if space exists for 1 million additional trees, and estimate future benefits from the planting. High resolution QuickBird remote sensing data,...

  3. A life cycle carbon dioxide inventory of the Million Trees Los Angeles Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    E. Gregory McPherson; Alissa Kendall

    2014-01-01

    PurposeThis study seeks to answer the question, “Will the Million Trees LA (Million Trees Los Angeles, MTLA) program be a carbon dioxide (CO2) sink or source?” Because there has never been a full accounting of CO2 emissions, it is unclear if urban tree planting initiatives (TPIs) are likely to be...

  4. Million Trees Los Angeles: Carbon dioxide sink or source?

    Science.gov (United States)

    E.G. McPherson; A. Kendall; S. Albers

    2015-01-01

    This study seeks to answer the question, 'Will the Million Trees LA (MTLA) programme be a CO2 sink or source?' Using surveys, interviews, field sampling and computer simulation of tree growth and survival over a 40-year period, we developed the first process-based life cycle inventory of CO2 for a large tree...

  5. How many trees are enough? Tree death and the urban canopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara A. Roman

    2014-01-01

    Massive city tree planting campaigns have invigorated the urban forestry movement, and engaged politicians, planners, and the public in urban greening. Million tree initiatives have been launched in Los Angeles, CA; Denver, CO; New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA, and other cities. Sacramento, CA even has a five million tree program. These...

  6. Assessing urban forest effects and values, Los Angeles' urban forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    David J. Nowak; Robert E. III Hoehn; Daniel E. Crane; Lorraine Weller; Antonio. Davila

    2011-01-01

    An analysis of trees in Los Angeles, CA, reveals that this area has about 6 million trees with tree and shrub canopies that cover 24.9 percent of the city. The most common tree species are Italian cypress, scrub oak, laurel sumac, Mexican fan palm, and Indian laurel, Trees in Los Angeles currently store about 1.3 million tons of carbon (4.7 million tons CO2...

  7. Monitoring Million Trees LA: Tree performance during the early years and future benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    E. Gregory McPherson

    2014-01-01

    Million Trees LA (MTLA) is one of several large-scale mayoral tree planting initiatives striving to create more livable cities through urban forestry. This study combined field sampling of tree survival and growth with numerical modeling of future benefits to assess performance of MTLA plantings. From 2006 to 2010 MTLA planted a diverse mix of 91,786 trees....

  8. MillionTreesNYC, Green infrastructure, and urban ecology: building a research agenda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacqueline W.T. Lu; Megan Shane; Erika Svendsen; Lindsay Campbell; Cristiana Fragola; Marianne Krasny; Gina Lovasl; David Maddox; Simon McDonnell; P. Timon McPhearson; Franco Montalto; Andrew Newman; Ellen Pehek; Ruth A. Rae; Richard Stedman; Keith G. Tidball; Lynne Westphal; Tom Whitlow

    2009-01-01

    MillionTreesNYC is a citywide, public-private initiative with an ambitious goal: to plant and care for one million new trees across New York City's five boroughs by 2017. The Spring 2009 workshop MillionTreesNYC, Green Infrastructure, and Urban Ecology: Building a Research Agenda brought together more than 100 researchers, practitioners and New York City...

  9. MillionTreesNYC, Green Infrastructure and Urban Ecology Symposium March 5-6, 2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erika S. Svendsen

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The MillionTreesNYC Subcommittee on Research and Evaluation was formed shortly following the 2007 launch of MillionTreesNYC, a citywide, public-private initiative with an ambitious goal: to plant and care for one million new trees across New York City’s five boroughs by 2017. Members of this committee are comprised of academics, government researchers and local practitioners with experience in the fields of natural resource management and community development.On March 5-6, 2010, over two hundred researchers and practitioners came together at The New School to showcase scientific innovation in the field of urban forestry and greening. The MillionTreesNYC, Green Infrastructure and Urban Ecology Research Symposium engaged professionals from a broad range of disciplines including sociology, planning, epidemiology, earth sciences, hydrology, forestry, ecology, and design who were uniquely positioned to discuss new ideas.

  10. Million TreesNYC: the integration of research and practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay K. Campbell; Morgan Monaco; Nancy Falxa-Raymond; Jacqueline Lu; Andrew Newman; Ruth A. Rae; Erika S. Svendsen

    2014-01-01

    MillionTreesNYC is an ambitious campaign to plant and care for one million new trees in New York City. Implemented by the City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation and the nonprofit New York Restoration Project, this innovative, citywide effort crosses property jurisdictions and physical sites. The goal is to enhance the entire 'green matrix' of...

  11. Assessing the Effects of the Urban Forest Restoration Effort of MillionTreesNYC on the Structure and Functioning of New York City Ecosystems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Timon McPhearson

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Current forest restoration practices for New York City’s (NYC MillionTreesNYC Initiative on public parkland include site preparation with extensive invasive species removal and tree and shrub planting with the goal of creating new multi-layered forests. We have launched a long-term investigation of these sites in order to understand the primary physical, chemical, and biological responses of urban ecosystems to MillionTreesNYC forest restoration practices. This research will examine high and low diversity tree and understory planting combinations in permanent experimental forest restoration plots across NYC. The study assesses how the interactions between soil heterogeneity, plant population dynamics, and forest restoration management strategies drive urban forest ecosystem structure and functioning. Working in collaboration with the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks and the MillionTreesNYC tree planting campaign, we are examining different restoration strategies to assess how restoration practices affect the ecological development trajectories of newly established forests in NYC.

  12. STBase: one million species trees for comparative biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahon, Michelle M; Deepak, Akshay; Fernández-Baca, David; Boss, Darren; Sanderson, Michael J

    2015-01-01

    Comprehensively sampled phylogenetic trees provide the most compelling foundations for strong inferences in comparative evolutionary biology. Mismatches are common, however, between the taxa for which comparative data are available and the taxa sampled by published phylogenetic analyses. Moreover, many published phylogenies are gene trees, which cannot always be adapted immediately for species level comparisons because of discordance, gene duplication, and other confounding biological processes. A new database, STBase, lets comparative biologists quickly retrieve species level phylogenetic hypotheses in response to a query list of species names. The database consists of 1 million single- and multi-locus data sets, each with a confidence set of 1000 putative species trees, computed from GenBank sequence data for 413,000 eukaryotic taxa. Two bodies of theoretical work are leveraged to aid in the assembly of multi-locus concatenated data sets for species tree construction. First, multiply labeled gene trees are pruned to conflict-free singly-labeled species-level trees that can be combined between loci. Second, impacts of missing data in multi-locus data sets are ameliorated by assembling only decisive data sets. Data sets overlapping with the user's query are ranked using a scheme that depends on user-provided weights for tree quality and for taxonomic overlap of the tree with the query. Retrieval times are independent of the size of the database, typically a few seconds. Tree quality is assessed by a real-time evaluation of bootstrap support on just the overlapping subtree. Associated sequence alignments, tree files and metadata can be downloaded for subsequent analysis. STBase provides a tool for comparative biologists interested in exploiting the most relevant sequence data available for the taxa of interest. It may also serve as a prototype for future species tree oriented databases and as a resource for assembly of larger species phylogenies from precomputed

  13. STBase: one million species trees for comparative biology.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle M McMahon

    Full Text Available Comprehensively sampled phylogenetic trees provide the most compelling foundations for strong inferences in comparative evolutionary biology. Mismatches are common, however, between the taxa for which comparative data are available and the taxa sampled by published phylogenetic analyses. Moreover, many published phylogenies are gene trees, which cannot always be adapted immediately for species level comparisons because of discordance, gene duplication, and other confounding biological processes. A new database, STBase, lets comparative biologists quickly retrieve species level phylogenetic hypotheses in response to a query list of species names. The database consists of 1 million single- and multi-locus data sets, each with a confidence set of 1000 putative species trees, computed from GenBank sequence data for 413,000 eukaryotic taxa. Two bodies of theoretical work are leveraged to aid in the assembly of multi-locus concatenated data sets for species tree construction. First, multiply labeled gene trees are pruned to conflict-free singly-labeled species-level trees that can be combined between loci. Second, impacts of missing data in multi-locus data sets are ameliorated by assembling only decisive data sets. Data sets overlapping with the user's query are ranked using a scheme that depends on user-provided weights for tree quality and for taxonomic overlap of the tree with the query. Retrieval times are independent of the size of the database, typically a few seconds. Tree quality is assessed by a real-time evaluation of bootstrap support on just the overlapping subtree. Associated sequence alignments, tree files and metadata can be downloaded for subsequent analysis. STBase provides a tool for comparative biologists interested in exploiting the most relevant sequence data available for the taxa of interest. It may also serve as a prototype for future species tree oriented databases and as a resource for assembly of larger species phylogenies

  14. TREE-RING INDICES AND ISOTOPE SIGNATURES OF PINUS PONDEROSA RELATED TO HISTORIC OZONE CHANGES OUTSIDE LOS ANGELES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozone concentrations in the Los Angeles (LA) basin were at historic highs in the late 1970s. Since that time Clean Air regulations have helped lower ozone, but little is known of the long-term vegetation responses. Extensive research has used tree-ring indices together with the...

  15. MillionTreesNYC, green infrastructure and urban ecology symposium March 5-6, 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erika S. Svendsen; Jacqueline W.T. Lu

    2010-01-01

    On March 5-6, 2010, over two hundred researchers and practitioners came together at The New School to showcase scientific innovation in the field of urban forestry and greening. The MillionTreesNYC, Green Infrastructure and Urban Ecology Research Symposium engaged professionals from a broad range of disciplines including sociology, planning,...

  16. How to select the best tree planting locations to enhance air pollution removal in the MillionTreesNYC initiative

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morani, Arianna; Nowak, David J.; Hirabayashi, Satoshi; Calfapietra, Carlo

    2011-01-01

    Highest priority zones for tree planting within New York City were selected by using a planting priority index developed combining three main indicators: pollution concentration, population density and low canopy cover. This new tree population was projected through time to estimate potential air quality and carbon benefits. Those trees will likely remove more than 10 000 tons of air pollutants and a maximum of 1500 tons of carbon over the next 100 years given a 4% annual mortality rate. Cumulative carbon storage will be reduced through time as carbon loss through tree mortality outweighs carbon accumulation through tree growth. Model projections are strongly affected by mortality rate whose uncertainties limit estimations accuracy. Increasing mortality rate from 4 to 8% per year produce a significant decrease in the total pollution removal over a 100 year period from 11 000 tons to 3000 tons. - Highlights: → The manuscript is part of the IUFRO Special section 'Adaptation of Forest Ecosystems to Air Pollution and Climate Change' (Elena Paoletti and Yusuf Serengil Eds.) approved by William J. Manning. → It has been already peer-reviewed and accepted outside EES. → The reference number of this manuscript is IUFRO49. - Carbon and air pollutant uptake by urban forests are highly influenced by mortality rates.

  17. How to select the best tree planting locations to enhance air pollution removal in the MillionTreesNYC initiative

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morani, Arianna [Institute of Agro-Environmental and Forest Biology (IBAF), National Research Council (CNR) Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo Scalo, Roma (Italy); Nowak, David J.; Hirabayashi, Satoshi [USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, 5 Moon Library, SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, NY 13210 (United States); Calfapietra, Carlo, E-mail: carlo.calfapietra@ibaf.cnr.it [Institute of Agro-Environmental and Forest Biology (IBAF), National Research Council (CNR) Via Salaria km 29300, 00015 Monterotondo Scalo, Roma (Italy)

    2011-05-15

    Highest priority zones for tree planting within New York City were selected by using a planting priority index developed combining three main indicators: pollution concentration, population density and low canopy cover. This new tree population was projected through time to estimate potential air quality and carbon benefits. Those trees will likely remove more than 10 000 tons of air pollutants and a maximum of 1500 tons of carbon over the next 100 years given a 4% annual mortality rate. Cumulative carbon storage will be reduced through time as carbon loss through tree mortality outweighs carbon accumulation through tree growth. Model projections are strongly affected by mortality rate whose uncertainties limit estimations accuracy. Increasing mortality rate from 4 to 8% per year produce a significant decrease in the total pollution removal over a 100 year period from 11 000 tons to 3000 tons. - Highlights: > The manuscript is part of the IUFRO Special section 'Adaptation of Forest Ecosystems to Air Pollution and Climate Change' (Elena Paoletti and Yusuf Serengil Eds.) approved by William J. Manning. > It has been already peer-reviewed and accepted outside EES. > The reference number of this manuscript is IUFRO49. - Carbon and air pollutant uptake by urban forests are highly influenced by mortality rates.

  18. Should we plant trees to offset greenhouse gas emissions in semi-arid environments?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pataki, D. E.; Pincetl, S.; Gillespie, T. W.; Li, W.; McCarthy, H. R.; Saatchi, S.; Saphores, J.

    2008-12-01

    Urban tree planting programs have been gaining popularity in the United States. Urban trees have been associated with a variety of environmental benefits, including improvements in air quality, mitigation of urban heat island effects, reductions in stormwater runoff, and more recently, carbon sequestration. There are also other potential aesthetic and economic benefits of urban forests, which have been shown to affect real estate values. However, there may also be significant economic and environmental costs of planting and maintaining trees in urban areas, particularly in semi-arid environments where trees are not native and require irrigation and fertilization. We are conducting an analysis of the Million Tree Initiative in the city of Los Angeles, which has committed to a major tree planting program. Los Angeles currently has a low tree canopy cover relative to other cities, particularly in its low income neighborhoods. We are evaluating the decision-making processes associated with the new tree planting program, its perceived benefits, and its actual benefits based on measurements of plant and ecosystem processes such as transpiration, photosynthesis, and water use efficiency; remote sensing analyses of tree cover and surface temperature; and economic analyses. We have found great variability in the interpretation of the program by its various participants, but also significant institutional learning as the program has evolved. Our datasets have challenged some of the common assumptions of the program, for example, the assumption that native species use less water than imported species and are therefore more environmentally beneficial in terms of water resources. We have also found significant impacts of the urban forest on air temperature, which may reduce energy use during the summer due to reductions in air conditioning. This is likely to be a larger effect of urban trees on greenhouse gas emissions than direct carbon sequestration alone, which is a very

  19. Angels or demons? You decide!

    CERN Multimedia

    2009-01-01

    The new film Angels & Demons starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard is being premiered worldwide on 15 May, but you could see it 10 days earlier at a special preview screening as the CERN Press Office has a limited number of tickets to give away. Preview of the new CERN website to be published on 5 May. Opinion is split among CERNois when talking about Dan Brown’s book Angels & Demons. Should he be praised for bringing particle physics into the spotlight or should he be demonised for the ‘creative liberties’ he took - for example, although it would be useful for the international collaborations, CERN doesn’t actually have its own private airport and supersonic jet. But love it or hate it, with the upcoming release of the multi-million dollar Hollywood film adaptation, Angels & Demons will introduce a huge new audience to CERN. "Guess what? – CERN really exists!" said...

  20. LOSP-initiated event tree analysis for BWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, Norio; Kondo, Masaaki; Uno, Kiyotaka; Chigusa, Takeshi; Harami, Taikan

    1989-03-01

    As a preliminary study of 'Japanese Model Plant PSA', a LOSP (loss of off-site power)-initiated Event Tree Analysis for a Japanese typical BWR was carried out solely based on the open documents such as 'Safety Analysis Report'. The objectives of this analysis are as follows; - to delineate core-melt accident sequences initiated by LOSP, - to evaluate the importance of core-melt accident sequences in terms of occurrence frequency, and - to develop a foundation of plant information and analytical procedures for efficiently performing further 'Japanese Model Plant PSA'. This report describes the procedure and results of the LOSP-initiated Event Tree Analysis. In this analysis, two types of event trees, Functional Event Tree and Systemic Event Tree, were developed to delineate core-melt accident sequences and to quantify their frequencies. Front-line System Event Tree was prepared as well to provide core-melt sequence delineation for accident progression analysis of Level 2 PSA which will be followed in a future. Applying U.S. operational experience data such as component failure rates and a LOSP frequency, we obtained the following results; - The total frequency of core-melt accident sequences initiated by LOSP is estimated at 5 x 10 -4 per reactor-year. - The dominant sequences are 'Loss of Decay Heat Removal' and 'Loss of Emergency Electric Power Supply', which account for more than 90% of the total core-melt frequency. In this analysis, a higher value of 0.13/R·Y was used for the LOSP frequency than experiences in Japan and any recovery action was not considered. In fact, however, there has been no experience of LOSP event in Japanese nuclear power plants so far and it is also expected that offsite power and/or PCS would be recovered before core melt. Considering Japanese operating experience and recovery factors will reduce the total core-melt frequency to less than 10 -6 per reactor-year. (J.P.N.)

  1. Undergraduate Students’ Initial Ability in Understanding Phylogenetic Tree

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sa'adah, S.; Hidayat, T.; Sudargo, Fransisca

    2017-04-01

    The Phylogenetic tree is a visual representation depicts a hypothesis about the evolutionary relationship among taxa. Evolutionary experts use this representation to evaluate the evidence for evolution. The phylogenetic tree is currently growing for many disciplines in biology. Consequently, learning about the phylogenetic tree has become an important part of biological education and an interesting area of biology education research. Skill to understanding and reasoning of the phylogenetic tree, (called tree thinking) is an important skill for biology students. However, research showed many students have difficulty in interpreting, constructing, and comparing among the phylogenetic tree, as well as experiencing a misconception in the understanding of the phylogenetic tree. Students are often not taught how to reason about evolutionary relationship depicted in the diagram. Students are also not provided with information about the underlying theory and process of phylogenetic. This study aims to investigate the initial ability of undergraduate students in understanding and reasoning of the phylogenetic tree. The research method is the descriptive method. Students are given multiple choice questions and an essay that representative by tree thinking elements. Each correct answer made percentages. Each student is also given questionnaires. The results showed that the undergraduate students’ initial ability in understanding and reasoning phylogenetic tree is low. Many students are not able to answer questions about the phylogenetic tree. Only 19 % undergraduate student who answered correctly on indicator evaluate the evolutionary relationship among taxa, 25% undergraduate student who answered correctly on indicator applying concepts of the clade, 17% undergraduate student who answered correctly on indicator determines the character evolution, and only a few undergraduate student who can construct the phylogenetic tree.

  2. Understanding the challenges of municipal tree planting

    Science.gov (United States)

    E.G. McPherson; R. Young

    2010-01-01

    Nine of the twelve largest cities in the U.S. have mayoral tree planting initiatives (TPIs), with pledges to plant nearly 20 million trees. Although executive-level support for trees has never been this widespread, many wonder if this support will endure as administrations change and budgets tighten. In an effort to share lessons learned from successes and setbacks, a...

  3. Laying the Foundation for a Solar America: The Million Solar Roofs Initiative

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strahs, G.; Tombari, C.

    2006-10-01

    As the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technology Program embarks on the next phase of its technology acceptance efforts under the Solar America Initiative, there is merit to examining the program's previous market transformation effort, the Million Solar Roofs Initiative. Its goal was to transform markets for distributed solar technologies by facilitating the installation of solar systems.

  4. Angels and IPOs: Policies for Sustainable Equity Financing of Irish Small Businesses

    OpenAIRE

    Mulcahy, Diane

    2005-01-01

    Angels and IPOs: Policies for Sustainable Equity Financing of Irish Small Businesses explores the rationale for the Irish government?s investments of more than 300 million Euro in Irish companies and the domestic venture capital industry. It challenges the conventional wisdom that there is an `equity gap? of early stage risk capital in Ireland. In the context of the equity financing cycle, it discusses the limited supply of angel capital available to Irish firms as well as the `exit gap? resu...

  5. Electrical Tree Initiation and Growth in Silicone Rubber under Combined DC-Pulse Voltage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tao Han

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Electrical tree is a serious threat to silicone rubber (SIR insulation and can even cause breakdown. Electrical trees under alternating current (AC and direct current (DC voltage have been widely researched. While there are pulses in high-voltage direct current (HVDC cables under operating conditions caused by lightning and operating overvoltage in the power system, little research has been reported about trees under combined DC-pulse voltage. Their inception and growth mechanism is still not clear. In this paper, electrical trees are studied under several types of combined DC-pulse voltage. The initiation and growth process was recorded by a digital microscope system. The experimental results indicate that the inception pulse voltage is different under each voltage type and is influenced by the combined DC. The initial tree has two structures, determined by the pulse polarity. With increased DC prestressing time, tree inception pulse voltage with the same polarity is clearly decreased. Moreover, a special initial bubble tree was observed after the prestressing DC.

  6. Trees grow on money: Urban tree canopy cover and environmental justice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirsten Schwarz; Michail Fragkias; Christopher G. Boone; Weiqi Zhou; Melissa McHale; J. Morgan Grove; Jarlath O' Neil-Dunne; Joseph P. McFadden; Geoffrey L. Buckley; Dan Childers; Laura Ogden; Stephanie Pincetl; Diane Pataki; Ali Whitmer; Mary L. Cadenasso; Steven Arthur. Loiselle

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the distributional equity of urban tree canopy (UTC) cover for Baltimore, MD, Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Raleigh, NC, Sacramento, CA, and Washington, D.C. using high spatial resolution land cover data and census data. Data are analyzed at the Census Block Group levels using Spearman’s correlation, ordinary least squares...

  7. Angel for Hire

    OpenAIRE

    Flynn, Mary K

    2011-01-01

    Angel For Hire explores the implications of signing away one’s bodily rights to bear a stranger’s child. As Angel, a surrogate mother, nears the end of her pregnancy, a complication emerges. Angel faces the possibility of a contract-mandated c-section against her wishes. Also unfolding is the story of a pioneering Michigan-based attorney, Noel Keane. Keane wrote the first surrogacy contract in 1976, a time when the concept of a “surrogate mother” seemed outrageous. That contract lau...

  8. Apocryphal Angels in Nun Convents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Ávila Vivar

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The preponderance of studies about viceregal angelic series, and the widespread belief that the representation of apocryphal angels is a specific peculiarity of viceregal angelology, have created such a close relation between it and the apocryphal angels, that they are even considered as synonymous. However, both the texts and the presence of this angels in the spanish convents of the XVII century, evidence that the apocryphal angels appeared and they were represented in Spain long before that in its american viceregal. Therefore, it is here where their origins and their meaning should be sought.

  9. Summary of findings from the Great Plains Tree and Forest Invasives Initiative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dacia M. Meneguzzo; Andrew J. Lister; Cody. Sullivan

    2018-01-01

    The Great Plains Tree and Forest Invasives Initiative (GPI) was a cooperative effort of the U.S. Forest Service and state forestry agencies in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, with a primary goal of evaluating the tree resources throughout the four-state region as a preparedness measure for the arrival of invasive pests, such as the emerald ash borer...

  10. Urban trees and forests of the Chicago region

    Science.gov (United States)

    David J. Nowak; Robert E. III Hoehn; Allison R. Bodine; Daniel E. Crane; John F. Dwyer; Veta Bonnewell; Gary Watson

    2013-01-01

    An analysis of trees in the Chicago region of Illinois reveals that this area has about 157,142,000 trees with tree and shrub canopy that covers 21.0 percent of the region. The most common tree species are European buckthorn, green ash, boxelder, black cherry, and American elm. Trees in the Chicago region currently store about 16.9 million tons of carbon (61.9 million...

  11. ESPRIT-Tree: hierarchical clustering analysis of millions of 16S rRNA pyrosequences in quasilinear computational time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Yunpeng; Sun, Yijun

    2011-08-01

    Taxonomy-independent analysis plays an essential role in microbial community analysis. Hierarchical clustering is one of the most widely employed approaches to finding operational taxonomic units, the basis for many downstream analyses. Most existing algorithms have quadratic space and computational complexities, and thus can be used only for small or medium-scale problems. We propose a new online learning-based algorithm that simultaneously addresses the space and computational issues of prior work. The basic idea is to partition a sequence space into a set of subspaces using a partition tree constructed using a pseudometric, then recursively refine a clustering structure in these subspaces. The technique relies on new methods for fast closest-pair searching and efficient dynamic insertion and deletion of tree nodes. To avoid exhaustive computation of pairwise distances between clusters, we represent each cluster of sequences as a probabilistic sequence, and define a set of operations to align these probabilistic sequences and compute genetic distances between them. We present analyses of space and computational complexity, and demonstrate the effectiveness of our new algorithm using a human gut microbiota data set with over one million sequences. The new algorithm exhibits a quasilinear time and space complexity comparable to greedy heuristic clustering algorithms, while achieving a similar accuracy to the standard hierarchical clustering algorithm.

  12. Atmospheric carbon reduction by urban trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nowak, D.J.

    1993-01-01

    Trees, because they sequester atmospheric carbon through their growth process and conserve energy in urban areas, have been suggested as one means to combat increasing levels of atmospheric carbon. Analysis of the urban forest in Oakland, California (21% tree cover), reveals a tree carbon storage level of 11·0 metric tons/hectare. Trees in the area of the 1991 fire in Oakland stored approximately 14,500 metric tons of carbon, 10% of the total amount stored by Oakland's urban forest. National urban forest carbon storage in the United States (28% tree cover) is estimated at between 350 and 750 million metric tons. Establishment of 10 million urban trees annually over the next 10 years is estimated to sequester and offset the production of 363 million metric tons of carbon over the next 50 years-less than 1% of the estimated carbon emissions in the United States over the same time period. Advantages and limitations of managing urban trees to reduce atmospheric carbon are discussed. 36 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs

  13. Cyber-Cops: Angels on the Net.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Educom Review, 1996

    1996-01-01

    Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels citizens' safety patrol, discusses the development of the Cyber Angels, an online citizens' patrol group that monitors Internet communication. Cyber Angels voluntarily look for and report any illegal activity conducted over the Internet, such as pyramid scams, transmission of stolen credit card and…

  14. Application in Down-hole Milling Operations In Niger Delta.

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ENGINEERS

    were measured using appropriate field measurement techniques. ... nature, providing nutrients for plant to grow as well as habitat for millions of micro- .... respectively (i.e. the angel of the tree was measured using the Abney level while the.

  15. Carbon storage and sequestration by trees in urban and community areas of the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nowak, David J.; Greenfield, Eric J.; Hoehn, Robert E.; Lapoint, Elizabeth

    2013-01-01

    Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States was quantified to assess the magnitude and role of urban forests in relation to climate change. Urban tree field data from 28 cities and 6 states were used to determine the average carbon density per unit of tree cover. These data were applied to statewide urban tree cover measurements to determine total urban forest carbon storage and annual sequestration by state and nationally. Urban whole tree carbon storage densities average 7.69 kg C m −2 of tree cover and sequestration densities average 0.28 kg C m −2 of tree cover per year. Total tree carbon storage in U.S. urban areas (c. 2005) is estimated at 643 million tonnes ($50.5 billion value; 95% CI = 597 million and 690 million tonnes) and annual sequestration is estimated at 25.6 million tonnes ($2.0 billion value; 95% CI = 23.7 million to 27.4 million tonnes). -- Highlights: •Total tree carbon storage in U.S. urban areas (c. 2005) is estimated at 643 million tonnes. •Total tree carbon storage in U.S. urban and community areas is estimated at 1.36 billion tonnes. •Net carbon sequestration in U.S. urban areas varies by state and is estimated at 18.9 million tonnes per year. •Overlap between U.S. forest and urban forest carbon estimates is between 247 million and 303 million tonnes. -- Field and tree cover measurements reveal carbon storage and sequestration by trees in U.S. urban and community areas

  16. The Development of Winged Angels in Early Christian Art

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Therese Martin

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available The first representations of angels in Early Christian art showed a being visually indistinguishable from man. This study undertakes to explain the sudden apperarance of winged angels in the late fourth century within its religious and historical contexts The model for winged angels was Nike, an unusual choice given that Victory was conceived of as a female, while angels were decidedly male.Las primeras representaciones de angeles en el art paleocristianno fueron de un ser visualmente indiferenciado del hombre. Este estudio pretende explicar la aparicion subita de angeles con alas, a fines del siglo IV, dentro de ese particular contexto historicoreligioso. El modelo de angel con alas fue Nike, una eleccion inusual si se tiene en cuenta que la Victoria fue concebida como mujer, mientras que los angeles eran indudablemente masculinos.

  17. The Ghost-Angel. On the spiritualitation of the angel and divinization of men in the islamic medieval mystic.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Kalmy Bolton

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This essay is the first part of an arqueology on governmentality in islam. Identifying the quran´s assimilation of angel Gabriel and the Holy Ghost I think that islamic medieval mystic develop an spiritualization of the angel where pneumatology and angelology seems to be the same, because the angel is not a simple server of God but a manager of man´s soul. In this way the Ghost-Angel would be consider as a dispositiv of soul´s salvation (the divinization of men and the condition of a government of itself. That´s why it challenge the formalization proposes by the islamic law (fiqh.

  18. Carbon storage and sequestration by trees in urban and community areas of the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowak, David J; Greenfield, Eric J; Hoehn, Robert E; Lapoint, Elizabeth

    2013-07-01

    Carbon storage and sequestration by urban trees in the United States was quantified to assess the magnitude and role of urban forests in relation to climate change. Urban tree field data from 28 cities and 6 states were used to determine the average carbon density per unit of tree cover. These data were applied to statewide urban tree cover measurements to determine total urban forest carbon storage and annual sequestration by state and nationally. Urban whole tree carbon storage densities average 7.69 kg C m(-2) of tree cover and sequestration densities average 0.28 kg C m(-2) of tree cover per year. Total tree carbon storage in U.S. urban areas (c. 2005) is estimated at 643 million tonnes ($50.5 billion value; 95% CI = 597 million and 690 million tonnes) and annual sequestration is estimated at 25.6 million tonnes ($2.0 billion value; 95% CI = 23.7 million to 27.4 million tonnes). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  19. Los Angeles and Its Mistress Machine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marx, Wesley

    1973-01-01

    Los Angeles city has acute air pollution problems because of lack of an adequate mass transit system and the type of local industries. Air pollution in Los Angeles has affected agricultural production, vegetation, and public health in nearby areas. (PS)

  20. Do business angels alter the risk-return equation in early stage investments? Business angels as seen by venture capitalists in the German speaking countries

    OpenAIRE

    Heukamp, Franz; Liechtenstein, Heinrich; Wakeling, Nick

    2006-01-01

    Venture capitalists in German-speaking countries do not value the contribution of business angels in co-invested deals. Business angels do not reduce the risk perceived by venture capitalists in early-stage deals, even if the business angels have what venture capitalists regard as an ideal profile. Venture capitalists also refute that deals with business angels typically generate higher internal rates of return than deals without business angels.

  1. The Role and Place of Governing Angels in Bible

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sayyed hesam aldin Hosseini

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Angels have allocated a considerable part of Bible's discussions to themselves and since one of the dogmatic principles of the revealed religions is the belief in angels, depiction of the place and attributes of angels can be the indicator of the quality of attitude and worldview and the strength of dogmatic principles of Bible's followers and justify their thought and ideas; For this subject is related with the issues such as: transcendent unity of divine acts and essence and attributes and even unity in obedience, how to record the actions and investigate them in Purgatory and Resurrection and believe in the unseen world and how to connect to that world and how to manage the world by God and the definition of the Kingdom of Heaven and how to divide people's sustenance and their reward and punishment which is the indicator and representative of the position of each religion as compared to other religions. Like Muslims, the followers of Bible regard the existence of angels as one of the articles of faith and among the most important elements of the world of being. And whereas the Old Testament has described the revelation of One God using figures who appear in the Eastern mythological stories, it can be seen that in many cases the Kingdom of Heaven has been depicted by metaphors which match the similes used in Quran like angel's march before God (Fajr, 22 as if God is one of the kings from East. The angels are mentioned a lot in the Bible. In Hebrews it has been said that the numbers of angels is countless and in fact, they cannot be enumerated. Angels also do many things including: the report of the Birth of John… the most important task which is assigned to the angels is worshipping God. (1 Enoch, 40 The other significant task undertaken by angels is mediating between God and man. Intercession is another role assigned to angels. (1 Enoch, 2: 4, 4:9 Sometimes man asks the angels beseechingly to convey his/her request to Divinity. The angels

  2. The Role and Place of Governing Angels in Bible

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sayyed hesam aldin Hosseini

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Angels have allocated a considerable part of Bible's discussions to themselves and since one of the dogmatic principles of the revealed religions is the belief in angels, depiction of the place and attributes of angels can be the indicator of the quality of attitude and worldview and the strength of dogmatic principles of Bible's followers and justify their thought and ideas; For this subject is related with the issues such as: transcendent unity of divine acts and essence and attributes and even unity in obedience, how to record the actions and investigate them in Purgatory and Resurrection and believe in the unseen world and how to connect to that world and how to manage the world by God and the definition of the Kingdom of Heaven and how to divide people's sustenance and their reward and punishment which is the indicator and representative of the position of each religion as compared to other religions. Like Muslims, the followers of Bible regard the existence of angels as one of the articles of faith and among the most important elements of the world of being. And whereas the Old Testament has described the revelation of One God using figures who appear in the Eastern mythological stories, it can be seen that in many cases the Kingdom of Heaven has been depicted by metaphors which match the similes used in Quran like angel's march before God (Fajr, 22 as if God is one of the kings from East. The angels are mentioned a lot in the Bible. In Hebrews it has been said that the numbers of angels is countless and in fact, they cannot be enumerated. Angels also do many things including: the report of the Birth of John… the most important task which is assigned to the angels is worshipping God. (1 Enoch, 40 The other significant task undertaken by angels is mediating between God and man. Intercession is another role assigned to angels. (1 Enoch, 2: 4, 4:9 Sometimes man asks the angels beseechingly to convey his/her request to Divinity. The angels

  3. The "sugar pack" health marketing campaign in Los Angeles County, 2011-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barragan, Noel C; Noller, Ali J; Robles, Brenda; Gase, Lauren N; Leighs, Michael S; Bogert, Suzanne; Simon, Paul A; Kuo, Tony

    2014-03-01

    As part of a comprehensive approach to combating the obesity epidemic, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health launched the "Sugar Pack" health marketing campaign in fall 2011. Carried out in three stages, the campaign sought to educate and motivate the public to reduce excess calorie intake from sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. The primary Sugar Pack creative concepts provided consumers with information about the number of sugar packs contained in sugary drinks. Data from formative market research as well as lessons from previous campaigns in other U.S. jurisdictions informed the development of the materials. These materials were disseminated through a multipronged platform that included paid outdoor media on transit and billboards and messaging using social media (i.e., Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and sendable e-cards). Initial findings from a postcampaign assessment indicate that the Sugar Pack campaign reached broadly into targeted communities, resulting in more than 515 million impressions. Lessons learned from the campaign suggest that employing health marketing to engage the public can lead to increased knowledge, favorable recognition of health messages, and self-reported intention to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, potentially complementing other obesity prevention strategies in the field.

  4. Structure, function and value of street trees in California, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    E. Gregory McPherson; Natalie van Doorn; John de Goede

    2016-01-01

    This study compiled recent inventory data from 929,823 street trees in 50 cities to determine trends in tree number and density, identify priority investments and create baseline data against which the efficacy of future practices can be evaluated. The number of street trees increased from 5.9 million in 1988 to 9.1 million in 2014, about one for every four residents....

  5. Angel Investors” in Entrepreneurship: An Assessment on Turkey Model

    OpenAIRE

    Hidayet Tiftik; Mustafa Zincirkıran

    2014-01-01

    Since the subject of angel investors is a new concept for the researches of our country there is little if any in Turkey regarding of scientific research. As well as any quantitative research not exist on the field, the searches carried out are discussed as qualitative and literature study. The concept is ranked among the titles such as business angels, angel capital, angel investment, angel financing in the international literature. The search involves the entrepreneurship concept, the st...

  6. BUSINESS ANGELS AND INVESTMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CLAUDIA ISAC

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we have synthesized a part of legislative and conceptual elements linked to a new model of investors which is increasingly publicized in Romania, business angels. In the first part of the paper we have presented theoretical notions related to the concept of investments and to the importance of the investment decision at managerial level. Modern investments regarding, in particular, the launch of some products and services as well as the start-up of companies are dependent on the source of funding that can take many forms, one of them being that of business angels. Thus, the legislative framework in Romania represents an opportunity not only for those looking for sources of financing but also for investors seeking more flexible and more advantageous ways to place capital. Thus, at the end of the paper we have tried to reveal the main fiscal facilities from EU member countries in order to be studied by any business angel and the most important organizations offering information on the business angels’ portfolio.

  7. Angel Investors” in Entrepreneurship: An Assessment on Turkey Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hidayet Tiftik

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Since the subject of angel investors is a new concept for the researches of our country there is little if any in Turkey regarding of scientific research. As well as any quantitative research not exist on the field, the searches carried out are discussed as qualitative and literature study. The concept is ranked among the titles such as business angels, angel capital, angel investment, angel financing in the international literature. The search involves the entrepreneurship concept, the study results hereof in our country, the literature about angel investment and the studies carried out in other countries regarding of the subject matter. In consequences of the searches, the subject discussed from a different point of view and headed by the literature offers a number of suggestions and advices to entrepreneurships, the whole parts mod eled by angel investment and researches.

  8. Public Reactions to New Street Tree Planting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth A. Rae

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available MillionTreesNYC, which has the goal of planting one million trees in New York City by 2017, is intended to make New York City a greener, more sustainable city and is part of the Mayor’s comprehensive long term strategic plan, PlaNYC. Through planting a tree at every suitable sidewalk location in the city, the City of New York is transforming blocks and communities, and providing a variety of environmental, social and aesthetic benefits. This article examines the large scale municipal planting of new street trees and the reaction by some of the pubic to this planting.Trees offer benefits to the city overall, but the public may not understand these benefits or the street tree planting process. Between 2007 and 2009, the Department of Parks & Recreation planted 53,235 new street trees, and received 4,108 items of correspondence from the public. The majority of this correspondence consisted of public comments about the City’s new street tree planting policies and processes including placement objections, maintenance concerns, reports of resultant damage from tree planting operations, requests for new street trees and reports of tree conditions.This study describes the operational policies that guide New York City's municipal street tree planting, and results of content and spatial analysis of the correspondence. Qualitative analysis of the correspondence revealed the public perceptions and concerns related to the MillionTreesNYC program. Spatial analysis explored the relationship between the planting locations of new street trees and the locations of the citizen correspondence.Public reactions to this large scale municipal planting are related to the dual public and private nature of the sidewalk, issues of territoriality, responsibility, aesthetics and place attachment. Correspondence volume was associated with the scale of the new street tree block planting program, and the effectiveness of NYC’s 311 Customer Service Center. The discussion

  9. Meteorological Factors and Tree Characteristics Influencing the Initiation and Rate of Stemflow from Deciduous Trees in an Urban Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schooling, J. T.; Carlyle-Moses, D. E.

    2013-12-01

    Stemflow, SF, represents that portion of precipitation that is intercepted by a tree's canopy and diverted to the ground at the tree base by flowing along branches and down the bole. The focused input of water and nutrients associated with SF have been shown to be of hydrological and biogeochemical importance in a number of plant communities and forest environments. Although the concentrated water volume and the nutrient / pollutant fluxes associated with SF in urban areas may be highly relevant for stormwater quantity and quality management, they have received only minor study in built environments. In an urban park in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, SF volumes generated from 40 deciduous trees representing 22 species were sampled on a precipitation event basis over a period of 16 months. Using this data, we derived the threshold rainfall depth required for SF initiation from each tree by taking the absolute value of the y-intercept of the linear regression of SF volume versus rainfall depth divided by the slope of that regression. The SF discharge rate once the threshold rainfall depth had been reached was taken as the slope of the linear regression equation. Thus, a simplified SF equation was developed: SFv = QSF x (Pg = Pg''), where SFv is stemflow volume (litres), QSF is the discharge rate (litres / mm), and Pg and Pg' represent the precipitation depth and the threshold precipitation depth, respectively. We then examined the influence of meteorological factors (precipitation type [rain / snow / rain + snow], precipitation depth, rainfall intensity, wind speed and direction, and vapour pressure deficit), and tree characteristics (tree diameter at breast height, tree height, leaf size and orientation, bark roughness, crown projection area, leaf area index, canopy cover fraction, branching angle, the proportion of the crown that was comprised of branches, and overlap with other tree canopies) on QSF and Pg' in order to expand on the simplified model and

  10. Oxygen and Hydrogen Stable Isotope Composition of Eocene ( ~45 million year old) Fossil Tree Cellulose

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahren, H.

    2001-05-01

    I report on \\delta18O and \\deltaD values gained from unusually old tree fossils, collected on Axel Heiberg Island of the Canadian High Arctic. A variety of workers have measured the δ ^{18}O value of cellulose and the δ D value of cellulose nitrate isolated from modern trees and compared it to various environmental parameters (esp. Epstein et al., 1977: 14 tree species sampled at 16 sites ranging from 18 \\deg to 62 \\deg North latitude; \\delta18O of cellulose ranged from +20 to +33 \\permil; \\deltaD of cellulose nitrate ranged from -181 to +18). To date the paleoenvironmental interpretations resulting from these studies have been restricted to application in recent and Quaternary earth history due to the lack of sufficiently preserved cellulose and tree ring structure in older tree fossils. An exception to this generalization are the middle Eocene (\\sim45 my old) fossil forests of Axel Heiberg Island, which contain abundant stumps, branches, twigs, cones and leaves of Metasequoia trees in exquisite preservational condition. These deciduous trees grew at a paleolatitude of 80 ° North, and endured prolonged periods of continuous daylight in the summer and continuous darkness in the winter, making the ecosystem completely unlike any forest community existing today. Fossil wood samples from the site have been slightly compressed, but otherwise exhibit minimal alteration: %C and % cellulose (by mass) are similar to modern Metasequoia wood. δ ^{18}O analyses on cellulose isolated from 14 fossil individuals has yielded the following results: range = +17 to +20 ‰ ; mean = +19 ‰ ; variability within an individual = 0.5 to 1.0 ‰ . In presentation, I will complement these results with δ D determinations on cellulose nitrate isolated from the same individuals, as well as from small plants presently growing in the arctic. I will also discuss the surprising result that Axel Heiberg fossil trees appear to have stable isotope composition as low or lower than trees

  11. Portfolio District Reform Meets School Turnaround: Early Implementation Findings from the Los Angeles Public School Choice Initiative

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marsh, Julie A.; Strunk, Katharine O.; Bush, Susan

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Despite the popularity of school "turnaround" and "portfolio district" management as solutions to low performance, there has been limited research on these strategies. The purpose of this paper is to address this gap by exploring the strategic case of Los Angeles Unified School District's Public School Choice…

  12. Tree diversity in southern California’s urban forest: the interacting roles of social and environmental variables

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meghan eAvolio

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Socio-economic and environmental drivers are important determinants urban plant richness patterns. The scale at which these patterns are observed in different regions, however, has not been explored. In arid regions, where forests are not native, the majority of the urban forest is planted, and trees are presumably chosen for specific attributes. Here, we investigate the role of spatial scales and the relative importance of environmental versus socio-economic drivers in determining the community structure of southern California’s urban forest. Second, we assess the usefulness of ecosystem service-based traits for understanding patterns of urban biodiversity, compared with species composition data. Third, we test whether resident preferences for specific tree attributes are important for understanding patterns of species composition and diversity. We studied tree communities in 37 neighborhoods in three southern California counties (Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside. The urban forest in southern California is very diverse with 114 species. Using multiple regression analyses we found socio-economic drivers were generally more important than environmental and the strength of the relationship between urban forest community structure and socio-economic drivers depended on whether we were analyzing within or across counties. There was greater tree richness in wealthier neighborhoods compared with less affluent neighborhoods across all counties and Orange County, but not in Los Angeles or Riverside counties alone. We also found a greater proportion of residential shade trees in hotter neighborhoods than in cooler neighborhoods, which corresponds with survey results of residents’ preferences for tree attributes. Ultimately our study demonstrates that the species richness and functional traits of urban tree communities are influenced by managers’ and residents’ preferences and perceptions of urban tree traits.

  13. A review for identification of initiating events in event tree development process on nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riyadi, Eko H.

    2014-01-01

    Initiating event is defined as any event either internal or external to the nuclear power plants (NPPs) that perturbs the steady state operation of the plant, if operating, thereby initiating an abnormal event such as transient or loss of coolant accident (LOCA) within the NPPs. These initiating events trigger sequences of events that challenge plant control and safety systems whose failure could potentially lead to core damage or large early release. Selection for initiating events consists of two steps i.e. first step, definition of possible events, such as by evaluating a comprehensive engineering, and by constructing a top level logic model. Then the second step, grouping of identified initiating event's by the safety function to be performed or combinations of systems responses. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss initiating events identification in event tree development process and to reviews other probabilistic safety assessments (PSA). The identification of initiating events also involves the past operating experience, review of other PSA, failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), feedback from system modeling, and master logic diagram (special type of fault tree). By using the method of study for the condition of the traditional US PSA categorization in detail, could be obtained the important initiating events that are categorized into LOCA, transients and external events

  14. 75 FR 3981 - National Angel Island Day, 2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-26

    ...--from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean to Russian, German, and Urdu. These etchings remain on Angel Island... learn more about the history of Angel Island and to observe this anniversary with appropriate ceremonies...

  15. A review for identification of initiating events in event tree development process on nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Riyadi, Eko H., E-mail: e.riyadi@bapeten.go.id [Center for Regulatory Assessment of Nuclear Installation and Materials, Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (BAPETEN), Jl. Gajah Mada 8 Jakarta 10120 (Indonesia)

    2014-09-30

    Initiating event is defined as any event either internal or external to the nuclear power plants (NPPs) that perturbs the steady state operation of the plant, if operating, thereby initiating an abnormal event such as transient or loss of coolant accident (LOCA) within the NPPs. These initiating events trigger sequences of events that challenge plant control and safety systems whose failure could potentially lead to core damage or large early release. Selection for initiating events consists of two steps i.e. first step, definition of possible events, such as by evaluating a comprehensive engineering, and by constructing a top level logic model. Then the second step, grouping of identified initiating event's by the safety function to be performed or combinations of systems responses. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss initiating events identification in event tree development process and to reviews other probabilistic safety assessments (PSA). The identification of initiating events also involves the past operating experience, review of other PSA, failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), feedback from system modeling, and master logic diagram (special type of fault tree). By using the method of study for the condition of the traditional US PSA categorization in detail, could be obtained the important initiating events that are categorized into LOCA, transients and external events.

  16. THE GREAT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SHAKEOUT: Earthquake Science for 22 Million People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, L.; Cox, D.; Perry, S.; Hudnut, K.; Benthien, M.; Bwarie, J.; Vinci, M.; Buchanan, M.; Long, K.; Sinha, S.; Collins, L.

    2008-12-01

    Earthquake science is being communicated to and used by the 22 million residents of southern California to improve resiliency to future earthquakes through the Great Southern California ShakeOut. The ShakeOut began when the USGS partnered with the California Geological Survey, Southern California Earthquake Center and many other organizations to bring 300 scientists and engineers together to formulate a comprehensive description of a plausible major earthquake, released in May 2008, as the ShakeOut Scenario, a description of the impacts and consequences of a M7.8 earthquake on the Southern San Andreas Fault (USGS OFR2008-1150). The Great Southern California ShakeOut was a week of special events featuring the largest earthquake drill in United States history. The ShakeOut drill occurred in houses, businesses, and public spaces throughout southern California at 10AM on November 13, 2008, when southern Californians were asked to pretend that the M7.8 scenario earthquake had occurred and to practice actions that could reduce the impact on their lives. Residents, organizations, schools and businesses registered to participate in the drill through www.shakeout.org where they could get accessible information about the scenario earthquake and share ideas for better reparation. As of September 8, 2008, over 2.7 million confirmed participants had been registered. The primary message of the ShakeOut is that what we do now, before a big earthquake, will determine what our lives will be like after. The goal of the ShakeOut has been to change the culture of earthquake preparedness in southern California, making earthquakes a reality that are regularly discussed. This implements the sociological finding that 'milling,' discussing a problem with loved ones, is a prerequisite to taking action. ShakeOut milling is taking place at all levels from individuals and families, to corporations and governments. Actions taken as a result of the ShakeOut include the adoption of earthquake

  17. Conceptions of warlike angels in literature of the late Second Temple period

    OpenAIRE

    Michalak, Aleksander Roman

    2011-01-01

    The work begins with a chapter that presents the various traditions concerning "angelic" warriors in the Hebrew Bible. In this context, we have investigated the two main biblical traditions: the council of gods and the Angel of Yahweh. It can be demonstrated that both these traditions were connected with martiality, which might have influenced later speculations about warlike angels. The second chapter deals with the various Second Temple beliefs concerning the principal angels, angelic hiera...

  18. Trouble Brewing in Los Angeles. Policy Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buck, Stuart

    2010-01-01

    The city of Los Angeles will face enormous budgetary pressures from the growing deficits in public pensions, both at a state and local level. In this policy brief, the author estimates that Los Angeles faces a total $152.6 billion liability for pensions that are underfunded--including $49.1 billion for the city pension systems, $2.4 billion for…

  19. The Charismatic Entrepreneur - Personal behaviors in entrepreneurs for attracting angel investment

    OpenAIRE

    Roaldsnes, Tomas

    2017-01-01

    Does the entrepreneur’s personal behavior play a major role when attracting angel investment? To answer this question, the opinions and experiences of two angel investors, a business developer for an angel investor network and a successful entrepreneur are gathered and analyzed. The thesis builds on theories from leadership, behavioral psychology and studies on angel investment to give the reader an understanding of the different personal behaviors and their effect. The findings indicate that...

  20. Tree and impervious cover change in U.S

    Science.gov (United States)

    David J. Nowak; Eric J. Greenfield

    2012-01-01

    Paired aerial photographs were interpreted to assess recent changes in tree, impervious and other cover types in 20 U.S. cities as well as urban land within the conterminous United States. National results indicate that tree cover in urban areas of the United States is on the decline at a rate of about 7900 ha/yr or 4.0 million trees per year. Tree cover in 17 of the...

  1. Business Angels - A Subspecies of the homo oeconomicus ludens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hüsler, Laurenz; Platzer, Erich M

    2014-12-01

    Business Angels invest in start-up companies in their early stage. This type of investor usually has a good knowledge of the start-up's industry sector, and in addition to the funds he invests, his management experience and his network can be useful for start-ups. Business Angel involvement has shown to improve the success rate and the profitability of start-ups. The article depicts the relationship between entrepreneurs and Business Angels in four case examples.

  2. Estimating tree cavity distributions from historical FIA data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark D. Nelson; Charlotte. Roy

    2012-01-01

    Tree cavities provide important habitat features for a variety of wildlife species. We describe an approach for using historical FIA data to estimate the number of trees containing cavities during the 1990s in seven states of the Upper Midwest. We estimated a total of 280 million cavity-containing trees. Iowa and Missouri had the highest percentages of cavity-...

  3. Integrating sodium reduction strategies in the procurement process and contracting of food venues in the County of Los Angeles government, 2010-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cummings, Patricia L; Kuo, Tony; Gase, Lauren N; Mugavero, Kristy

    2014-01-01

    Since sodium is ubiquitous in the food supply, recent approaches to sodium reduction have focused on increasing the availability of lower-sodium products through system-level and environmental changes. This article reviews integrated efforts by the Los Angeles County Sodium Reduction Initiative to implement these strategies at food venues in the County of Los Angeles government. The review used mixed methods, including a scan of the literature, key informant interviews, and lessons learned during 2010-2012 to assess program progress. Leveraging technical expertise and shared resources, the initiative strategically incorporated sodium reduction strategies into the overall work plan of a multipartnership food procurement program in Los Angeles County. To date, 3 County departments have incorporated new or updated nutrition requirements that included sodium limits and other strategies. The strategic coupling of sodium reduction to food procurement and general health promotion allowed for simultaneous advancement and acceleration of the County's sodium reduction agenda.

  4. Angels and Demons in the Book of Jubilees

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruiten, Jacques van; Reiterer, F.V.; Nicklas, T.; Schöpflin, K.

    2007-01-01

    Jacques van Ruiten, “Angels and Demons in the Book of Jubilees,” in Angels: The Concept of Celestial Beings – Origins, Development and Reception (ed. Friedrich V. Reiterer, Tobias Nicklas, and Karin Schöpflin; Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Yearbook 2007; Berlin and New York: de Gruyter,

  5. 40 CFR 81.17 - Metropolitan Los Angeles Air Quality Control Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Quality Control Regions § 81.17 Metropolitan Los Angeles Air Quality Control Region. The Metropolitan Los Angeles Air Quality Control Region consists of the following territorial area (including the territorial... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Metropolitan Los Angeles Air Quality...

  6. Should government support business angel networks? The tale of Danish business angels network

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Jesper Lindgaard

    2011-01-01

    . This article discusses the possible rationale for governments to support BANs and what criteria to apply when evaluating such networks. The article is based on an in-depth observation study of the whole life cycle of a national BAN – the Danish Business Angel Network (DBAN) – and a comparison with a similar......Policies promoting informal venture capital generally and business angel networks (BANs) in particular have gained increased attention in recent years. As a consequence, BANs are now widespread across Europe. However, there continues to be a debate whether BANs should be supported with public money...... whether to provide continuing support to BANs they should evaluate not only their immediate effectiveness but also whether BANs should be considered a part of the general small business support infrastructure....

  7. Angels and Demons in the Book of Jubilees

    OpenAIRE

    Ruiten, Jacques van; Reiterer, F.V.; Nicklas, T.; Schöpflin, K.

    2007-01-01

    Jacques van Ruiten, “Angels and Demons in the Book of Jubilees,” in Angels: The Concept of Celestial Beings – Origins, Development and Reception (ed. Friedrich V. Reiterer, Tobias Nicklas, and Karin Schöpflin; Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Yearbook 2007; Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 2007), 585-609.

  8. Initial growth of Bauhinia variegata trees under different colored shade nets and light conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Bachin Mazzini-Guedes

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Bauhinia variegata and B. variegata var. candida, commonly known as orchid trees, are small sized trees widely used for urban forestry and landscaping. Adult plants grow under full sun; in Brazil, however, seedlings are generally cultivated in commercial nurseries under natural half-shading. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of different colored shade nets and light conditions on the initial growth of B. variegata and B. variegata var. candida. The influence of six light conditions (red net with 50% shading; blue net with 50% shading; black net with 70% shading; black net with 50% shading; black net with 30% shading; and full sun on the initial growth of B. variegata and B. variegata var. candida were evaluated along 160 days, and growth relationships were calculated. Seedlings showed more efficiency on the use of photoassimilated compounds when grown under full sun. Such condition is the most appropriate for seedling production of B. variegata and B. variegata var. candida, contradicting what has been performed in practice.

  9. Angels or demons?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-06-01

    A fringe meeting at this year's RCN congress, 'Angels and demons… dignity at the heart of nursing', debated the issue of the media portrayal of nurses. Nurses are often depicted at polarised ends of the continuum and the event generated ideas and discussion about how nurses can influence the media portrayal of the profession.

  10. Urban trees reduce nutrient leaching to groundwater.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nidzgorski, Daniel A; Hobbie, Sarah E

    2016-07-01

    Many urban waterways suffer from excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), feeding algal blooms, which cause lower water clarity and oxygen levels, bad odor and taste, and the loss of desirable species. Nutrient movement from land to water is likely to be influenced by urban vegetation, but there are few empirical studies addressing this. In this study, we examined whether or not urban trees can reduce nutrient leaching to groundwater, an important nutrient export pathway that has received less attention than stormwater. We characterized leaching beneath 33 trees of 14 species, and seven open turfgrass areas, across three city parks in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. We installed lysimeters at 60 cm depth to collect soil water approximately biweekly from July 2011 through October 2013, except during winter and drought periods, measured dissolved organic carbon (C), N, and P in soil water, and modeled water fluxes using the BROOK90 hydrologic model. We also measured soil nutrient pools (bulk C and N, KCl-extractable inorganic N, Brays-P), tree tissue nutrient concentrations (C, N, and P of green leaves, leaf litter, and roots), and canopy size parameters (leaf biomass, leaf area index) to explore correlations with nutrient leaching. Trees had similar or lower N leaching than turfgrass in 2012 but higher N leaching in 2013; trees reduced P leaching compared with turfgrass in both 2012 and 2013, with lower leaching under deciduous than evergreen trees. Scaling up our measurements to an urban subwatershed of the Mississippi River (~17 400 ha, containing ~1.5 million trees), we estimated that trees reduced P leaching to groundwater by 533 kg in 2012 (0.031 kg/ha or 3.1 kg/km 2 ) and 1201 kg in 2013 (0.069 kg/ha or 6.9 kg/km 2 ). Removing these same amounts of P using stormwater infrastructure would cost $2.2 million and $5.0 million per year (2012 and 2013 removal amounts, respectively). © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

  11. Project whole tree utilization. Final summary report 1977

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1977-01-01

    The emerging shortage of wood fiber and the energy crisis in 1973 initiated this study to analyze the prospect of fuller utilization of the wood fiber resources. At a foreseen gross removal 75 million m/sup 3/sk, corresponding to around 62 million m/sup 3/ solid merchantable wood under bark, around 50 million m/sup 3/ solid volume, including needles, leaves, etc., is left in the forest, corresponding to around 30 million m/sup 3/ wood fiber. In general, these additional quantities are relatively more expensive than the normal wood, and of an inferior quality. Continued developments of machines and systems are urgent if the cost of harvesting is to be reduced. The ecological impact is varied. Stump extraction involves favorable soil preparation and diminishes the risk of insect infestations. Wood residues and stumps should not be removed on unfertile soils, poor in organic matter. On other forest soils it is unlikely that whole tree utilization will have any long term negative effect on soil fertility. However, needles, leaves, small branches, and roots should preferably be left since they are especially rich in nutrients. It was concluded that the short rotation energy forest will produce a fuel which is more expensive than available logging waste.

  12. Integrating Sodium Reduction Strategies in the Procurement Process and Contracting of Food Venues in the County of Los Angeles Government, 2010–2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cummings, Patricia L.; Kuo, Tony; Gase, Lauren N.; Mugavero, Kristy

    2015-01-01

    Since sodium is ubiquitous in the food supply, recent approaches to sodium reduction have focused on increasing the availability of lower-sodium products through system-level and environmental changes. This article reviews integrated efforts by the Los Angeles County Sodium Reduction Initiative to implement these strategies at food venues in the County of Los Angeles government. The review used mixed methods, including a scan of the literature, key informant interviews, and lessons learned during 2010–2012 to assess program progress. Leveraging technical expertise and shared resources, the initiative strategically incorporated sodium reduction strategies into the overall work plan of a multipartnership food procurement program in Los Angeles County. To date, 3 County departments have incorporated new or updated nutrition requirements that included sodium limits and other strategies. The strategic coupling of sodium reduction to food procurement and general health promotion allowed for simultaneous advancement and acceleration of the County’s sodium reduction agenda. PMID:24322811

  13. The Los Angeles basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rintoul, W.

    1991-01-01

    In the early 1890s, Edward L Doheny, a mining prospector down on his luck, observed residents of Los Angeles gathering brea from the area's tar pits for use as fuel in coal-scarce California. Realizing that this crude tar was petroleum that had congealed upon contact with the open air, Doheny explored the residential neighborhood near Westlake Park, pooled resources with Charles A Canfield, an old mining crony, and purchased a city lot for $400. This paper reports that drilling wells in the Los Angeles City field posed the problem of making oil production compatible with urban living. Residents had to deal with noise, dirt, traffic, odors, and waste disposal. At least one solution to the waste disposal problem proved unique. A homeowner with a rig in his backyard had no place for a sump in which to run waste water and mud. However, his house had a basement, and that's where the mud went

  14. Cost of near-roadway and regional air pollution-attributable childhood asthma in Los Angeles County

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandt, Sylvia; Perez, Laura; Künzli, Nino; Lurmann, Fred; Wilson, John; Pastor, Manuel; McConnell, Rob

    2014-01-01

    Background Emerging evidence suggests that near-roadway air pollution (NRP) exposure causes childhood asthma. Associated costs are not well documented. Objective We estimated the cost of childhood asthma attributable to residential NRP exposure and regional ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Los Angeles County. We developed a novel approach to apportion the costs between these exposures under different pollution scenarios. Methods We integrated results from a study of willingness to pay to reduce the burden of asthma with studies of health care utilization and charges to estimate the costs of an asthma case and exacerbation. We applied those costs to the number of asthma cases and exacerbations due to regional pollution in 2007 and to hypothetical scenarios of a 20% reduction in regional pollution in combination with a 20% reduction or increase in the proportion of the total population living within 75m of a major roadway. Results Cost of air pollution-related asthma in Los Angeles County in 2007 was $441 million for O3 and $202 million for NO2 in 2010 dollars. Cost of routine care (care in absence of exacerbation) accounted for 18% of the combined NRP and O3 cost and 39% of the combined NRP and NO2 cost—costs not recognized in previous analyses. NRP-attributable asthma accounted for 43% (O3) to 51% (NO2) of the total annual cost of exacerbations and routine care associated with pollution. Hypothetical scenarios showed that costs from increased NRP exposure may offset savings from reduced regional pollution. Conclusions Our model disaggregates the costs of regional pollution and NRP exposure and illustrates how they might vary under alternative exposure scenarios. The cost of air pollution is a substantial burden on families and an economic loss for society. PMID:25439228

  15. Fault tree handbook

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haasl, D.F.; Roberts, N.H.; Vesely, W.E.; Goldberg, F.F.

    1981-01-01

    This handbook describes a methodology for reliability analysis of complex systems such as those which comprise the engineered safety features of nuclear power generating stations. After an initial overview of the available system analysis approaches, the handbook focuses on a description of the deductive method known as fault tree analysis. The following aspects of fault tree analysis are covered: basic concepts for fault tree analysis; basic elements of a fault tree; fault tree construction; probability, statistics, and Boolean algebra for the fault tree analyst; qualitative and quantitative fault tree evaluation techniques; and computer codes for fault tree evaluation. Also discussed are several example problems illustrating the basic concepts of fault tree construction and evaluation

  16. Coca-Cola Hispanic Education Fund: Los Angeles Program Description.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coca Cola Bottling Co. of Los Angeles, CA.

    The Coca-Cola Hispanic Education Fund was created in response to the high school dropout problem in Los Angeles. The Fund enables the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Los Angeles to build upon the successful relationship it has developed in the Hispanic community and maximizes the effectiveness of existing student support programs by directing needy…

  17. Avaliação eletroforética, cromatográfica e molecular da Hb D Los Angeles no Brasil Electrophoretical, chromatographic and molecular valuations of Hb D Los Angeles in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana R. Chinelato-Fernandes

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available A variante de hemoglobina (Hb D mais comum, Hb D Los Angeles ou D Punjab, é originada de uma transversão GAA->CAA no códon 121 da globina beta; essa mutação resulta na substituição do ácido glutâmico por glutamina na proteína. É a terceira variante de hemoglobina mais freqüente da população brasileira. Como as hemoglobinas D apresentam migração similar à hemoglobina S em pH alcalino, e com a hemoglobina A em pH ácido, são necessários vários testes para o correto diagnóstico. No presente estudo objetivou-se relacionar os diferentes procedimentos laboratoriais de rotina diagnóstica, além da análise molecular, para estabelecer o perfil de Hb D Los Angeles no Brasil. Foram analisados 47 indivíduos da população brasileira com provável Hb D Los Angeles, por vários procedimentos eletroforéticos em diferentes condições de pH, além da cromatografia líquida de alta pressão, e testes moleculares para confirmação da mutação. Foram encontrados quatro tipos de combinações de hemoglobinas: 42 indivíduos portadores de hemoglobina AD Los Angeles, dois indivíduos com doença de Hb S/D Los Angeles, dois indivíduos com Hb D Los Angeles e talassemia beta e um indivíduo com Hb D Los Angeles e Hb Lepore. Os indivíduos heterozigotos para D Los Angeles são assintomáticos, entretanto, em associação com outras variantes e talassemias podem apresentar graus variáveis de manifestações clínicas. Os resultados apresentados enfatizaram a necessidade da associação de várias metodologias para a identificação da Hb D Los Angeles, além de auxiliar na elucidação de combinações raras.The most common Hb D variant, the Hb D-Los Angeles, also know as Hb D-Punjab, originates through a GAA->CAA change at the 121 codon of the beta globin gene; this mutation results in the replacement of glutamic acid for glutamine in the protein. It is the third most common hemoglobin variant in the Brazilian population. This variant has

  18. Preliminary Investigation into Tree Dryness in Hevea brasiliensis (Wild. Ex Adr. De Juss Muell. Arg. by Path Analysis of Tree Dryness and Latex Parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Omokhafe, KO.

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available The correlative path analysis between tree dryness and four latex parameters was studied in eleven clones of Hevea brasiliensis. The latex parameters used for evaluation were initial volume, initial flow rate, final volume and plugging index with tree dryness as the dependent factor. Estimates of direct and indirect effects of each of the latex parameters on tree dryness were calculated through linear correlation and path analysis. The correlation coefficient between initial volume and initial flow rate was 1.00 and both characters had the same correlation coefficients with other latex parameters and tree dryness. This implies that initial volume and initial flow rate are alternatives for evaluation of correlation between latex parameters and tree dryness. There was significant correlation between initial volume, initial flow rate and tree dryness at V = -0.52 and high indirect effect of initial volume and initial flow rate through final volume. In addition, despite the low correlation coefficient of V = -0.20 between final volume and tree dryness, the direct effect of final volume on tree dryness was high at 0.812. Final volume is therefore an important factor in the incidence of tree dryness.

  19. A method for locating potential tree-planting sites in urban areas: a case study of Los Angeles, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chunxia Wua; Qingfu Xiaoa; Gregory E. McPherson

    2008-01-01

    A GIS-based method for locating potential tree-planting sites based on land cover data is introduced. Criteria were developed to identify locations that are spatially available for potential tree planting based on land cover, sufficient distance from impervious surfaces, a minimum amount of pervious surface, and no crown overlap with other trees. In an ArcGIS...

  20. Professional Identity at Los Angeles College of Chiropractic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimura, Melissa Nagare; Russell, Robb; Scaringe, John

    2016-12-01

    The objective of this article is to describe chiropractic professional identity as espoused by the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic. Professional identity is a construct that begins formation prior to career selection, can be considered the backbone of health care education, and has been linked to career success. Los Angeles College of Chiropractic's professional identity is shaped by a philosophy of health care that is focused on vitalism, holism, naturalism, therapeutic conservatism, critical rationalism, phenomenology, humanism, and interprofessionalism. Other distinguishing aspects include portal-of-entry professionals with broad diagnostic skills; a focus on spine care; promotion of public-health; and delivery of manual treatments. The chiropractic professional identity at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic focuses on serving the needs of the people who entrust their health to its graduates and will continue to evolve on the basis of many factors, such as politics, social perceptions, and economic conditions.

  1. Cancer risk among Los Angeles women with cosmetic breast implants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deapen, Dennis M; Hirsch, Elliot M; Brody, Garry S

    2007-06-01

    As the first generation of women who received cosmetic breast implants ages, questions remain about cancer risk. This study is an update of the Los Angeles Augmentation Mammaplasty Study and examines cancer risk among women with long-term exposure to breast implants. The authors conducted a record linkage cohort study of patients with cosmetic breast implants by abstracting from records of the private practices of 35 board-certified plastic surgeons in Los Angeles County, California. They included 3139 Caucasian women who received cosmetic breast implants between 1953 and 1980. Spanish-surnamed women, nonresidents of Los Angeles County, and patients with prior subcutaneous mastectomy or breast cancer were excluded. Cancer outcomes through 1994 were ascertained through record linkage with the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program. With a mean follow-up period of 15.5 years, 43 cases of breast cancer were observed, compared with 62.6 expected, based on Los Angeles County population-based incidence rates (standardized incidence ratio, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.50 to 0.93). Significant increases were observed for cancer of the lung and bronchus (standardized incidence ratio, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.42 to 3.09) and vulvar cancer (standardized incidence ratio, 3.47; 95% CI, 1.39 to 7.16). The breast cancer results of this study are consistent with the previous reports of the Los Angeles study as well as with several other long-term cohort studies. Lung cancer has previously been found to be increased in this cohort and also in some, but not most, other studies. The increased risk of vulva cancer has previously been observed in this cohort and just one other.

  2. Air quality effects of urban trees and parks

    Science.gov (United States)

    David Nowak; Gordon Heisler

    2010-01-01

    Parks are significant parts of the urban landscape and comprise about 6% of city and town areas in the conterminous United States. These urban parks are estimated to contain about 370 million trees with a structural value of approximately $300 billion. The number of park trees varies by region of the country, but they can produce significant air quality effects in and...

  3. Starting school healthy and ready to learn: using social indicators to improve school readiness in Los Angeles County.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wold, Cheryl; Nicholas, Will

    2007-10-01

    School readiness is an important public health outcome, determined by a set of interdependent health and developmental trajectories and influenced by a child's family, school, and community environments. The same factors that influence school readiness also influence educational success and health throughout life. A California cigarette tax ballot initiative (Proposition 10) created new resources for children aged 0 to 5 years and their families statewide through county-level First 5 commissions, including First 5 LA in Los Angeles County. An opportunity to define and promote school readiness indicators was facilitated by collaborative relationships with a strong emphasis on data among First 5 LA, the Children's Planning Council, and the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, and other child-serving organizations. A workgroup developed school readiness goals and indicators based on recommendations of the National Education Goals Panel and five key domains of child well-being: 1) good health, 2) safety and survival, 3) economic well-being, 4) social and emotional well-being, and 5) education/workforce readiness. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and First 5 LA Commission adopted the school readiness indicators. First 5 LA incorporated the indicators into the results-based accountability framework for its strategic plan and developed a community-oriented report designed to educate and spur school readiness-oriented action. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a countywide consensus-building plan designed to engage key stakeholders in the use of the indicators for planning, evaluation, and community-building activities. School readiness indicators in Los Angeles County represent an important step forward for public health practice, namely, the successful blending of an expanded role for assessment with the ecological model.

  4. Climate Change and Adaptation Planning on the Los Angeles Aqueduct

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, S. B.; Bales, R. C.; Costa-Cabral, M. C.; Chen, L.; Maurer, E. P.; Miller, N. L.; Mills, W. B.

    2009-12-01

    This study provides an assessment of the potential impacts of climate change on the Eastern Sierra Nevada snowpack and snowmelt timing, using a combination of empirical (i.e., data-based) models, and computer simulation models forced by GCM-projected 21st century climatology (IPCC 2007 AR4 projections). Precipitation from the Eastern Sierra Nevada is one of the main water sources for Los Angeles' more than 4 million people - a source whose future availability is critical to the city's growing population and large economy. Precipitation in the region falls mostly in winter and is stored in the large natural reservoir that is the snowpack. Meltwater from the Eastern Sierra is delivered to the city by the 340-mile long Los Angeles Aqueducts. The analysis is focused on the nature of the impact to the LAA water supplies over the 21st century due to potential climate change, including volume of precipitation, the mix of snowfall and rainfall, shifts in the timing of runoff, interannual variability and multi-year droughts. These impacts further affect the adequacy of seasonal and annual carryover water storage, and potentially water treatment. Most of the snow in the 10,000 km^2 Mono-Owens basins that feed the LAA occurs in a relatively narrow, 10-20 km wide, high-elevation band on the steep slopes of 20 smaller basins whose streams drain into the Owens River and thence LAA. Extending over 240 km in the north-south direction, these basins present special challenges for estimating snowpack amounts and downscaling climate-model data. In addition, there are few meteorological stations and snow measurements in the snow-producing parts of the basins to drive physically based hydrologic modeling.

  5. Tohoku Women's Hurdling Project: Science Angels (abstract)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mizuki, Kotoe; Watanabe, Mayuko

    2009-04-01

    Tohoku University was the first National University to admit three women students in Japan in 1913. To support the university's traditional ``open-door'' policy, various projects have been promoted throughout the university since its foundation. A government plan, the Third-Stage Basic Plan for Science and Technology, aims to increase the women scientist ratio up to 25% nationwide. In order to achieve this goal, the Tohoku Women's Hurdling Project, funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), was adopted in 2006. This project is threefold: support for child/family, improvement of facilities, and support for the next generation, which includes our Science Angels program. ``Science Angels'' are women PhD students appointed by the university president, with the mission to form a strong support system among each other and to become role-models to inspire younger students who want to become researchers. Currently, 50 women graduate students of the natural sciences are Science Angels and are encouraged to design and deliver lectures in their areas of specialty at their alma maters. Up to now, 12 lectures have been delivered and science events for children in our community have been held-all with great success.

  6. Misuse of prescription and illicit drugs among high-risk young adults in Los Angeles and New York

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen E. Lankenau

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Background. Prescription drug misuse among young adults is increasingly viewed as a public health concern, yet most research has focused on student populations and excluded high-risk groups. Furthermore, research on populations who report recent prescription drug misuse is limited. This study examined patterns of prescription drug misuse among high-risk young adults in Los Angeles (LA and New York (NY, which represent different local markets for illicit and prescription drugs. Design and Methods. Between 2009 and 2011, 596 young adults (16 to 25 years old who had misused prescription drugs within the past 90 days were interviewed in Los Angeles and New York. Sampling was stratified to enroll three groups of high-risk young adults: injection drug users (IDUs; homeless persons; and polydrug users. Results. In both sites, lifetime history of receiving a prescription for an opioid, tranquilizer, or stimulant was high and commonly preceded misuse. Moreover, initiation of opioids occurred before heroin and initiation of prescription stimulants happened prior to illicit stimulants. NY participants more frequently misused oxycodone, heroin, and cocaine, and LA participants more frequently misused codeine, marijuana, and methamphetamine. Combining prescription and illicit drugs during drug using events was commonly reported in both sites. Opioids and tranquilizers were used as substitutes for other drugs, e.g., heroin, when these drugs were not available. Conclusion. Patterns of drug use among high-risk young adults in Los Angeles and New York appear to be linked to differences in local markets in each city for illicit drugs and diverted prescription drugs.

  7. A Method to Quantify Plant Availability and Initiating Event Frequency Using a Large Event Tree, Small Fault Tree Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kee, Ernest J.; Sun, Alice; Rodgers, Shawn; Popova, ElmiraV; Nelson, Paul; Moiseytseva, Vera; Wang, Eric

    2006-01-01

    South Texas Project uses a large fault tree to produce scenarios (minimal cut sets) used in quantification of plant availability and event frequency predictions. On the other hand, the South Texas Project probabilistic risk assessment model uses a large event tree, small fault tree for quantifying core damage and radioactive release frequency predictions. The South Texas Project is converting its availability and event frequency model to use a large event tree, small fault in an effort to streamline application support and to provide additional detail in results. The availability and event frequency model as well as the applications it supports (maintenance and operational risk management, system engineering health assessment, preventive maintenance optimization, and RIAM) are briefly described. A methodology to perform availability modeling in a large event tree, small fault tree framework is described in detail. How the methodology can be used to support South Texas Project maintenance and operations risk management is described in detail. Differences with other fault tree methods and other recently proposed methods are discussed in detail. While the methods described are novel to the South Texas Project Risk Management program and to large event tree, small fault tree models, concepts in the area of application support and availability modeling have wider applicability to the industry. (authors)

  8. Reversing a tree regeneration crisis in an endangered ecoregion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Joern; Stott, Jenny; Zerger, Andre; Warren, Garth; Sherren, Kate; Forrester, Robert I

    2009-06-23

    Global food demand is growing rapidly. Livestock grazing can provide a valuable source of protein, but conventional grazing is often unsustainable. We studied an 800,000-ha section of a threatened ecoregion in southeastern Australia. Conventional management in the region involves continuous livestock grazing with few rest periods and regular fertilizer application. By using remotely sensed data on tree cover and extensive field data on livestock grazing regimes, soil chemistry, tree diameters, and tree regeneration, we show that the region is facing a tree regeneration crisis. Under conventional management, across the region, millions of hectares of land currently supporting tens of millions of trees will be treeless within decades from now. This would have severe negative ramifications for biodiversity and key ecosystem services, including water infiltration and shade provision for livestock. However, we identified an unexpected win-win solution for tree regeneration and commercial grazing. A relatively new practice in the region is fast-rotational grazing, characterized by prolonged rest periods in between short, intensive grazing events. The probability of regeneration under fast-rotational grazing was up to 4-fold higher than under conventional grazing, and it did not differ significantly from the probability of regeneration in ungrazed areas. In addition, trees were more likely to regenerate where soil nutrient levels were low. These findings suggest that the tree regeneration crisis can be reversed by applying low-input, fast-rotational grazing. New policy settings supporting these practices could signal a turning point for the region, from ecological decline to ecological recovery.

  9. Is tree loss associated with cardiovascular-disease risk in the Women's Health Initiative? A natural experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geoffrey H. Donovan; Yvonne L. Michael; Demetrios Gatziolis; Jeffrey P. Prestemon; Eric A. Whitsel

    2015-01-01

    Data from the Women's Health Initiative were used to quantify the relationship between the loss of trees to an invasive forest pest—the emerald ash borer—and cardiovascular disease. We estimated semi- parametric Cox proportional hazards model of time to cardiovascular disease, adjusting for confounders. We defined the incidence of cardiovascular disease as acute...

  10. Does Sodium Knowledge Affect Dietary Choices and Health Behaviors? Results From a Survey of Los Angeles County Residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewey, George; Wickramasekaran, Ranjana N; Kuo, Tony; Robles, Brenda

    2017-11-22

    In 2010, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health launched a local sodium-reduction initiative to address the rising prevalence of high blood pressure (hypertension) and related cardiovascular conditions in the population. To inform this effort, we evaluated self-reported knowledge and health behaviors related to sodium intake among Los Angeles County residents. We administered 3 cross-sectional Internet panel surveys on knowledge about dietary sodium to a sample of Los Angeles County adults, at intervals from December 2014 through August 2016. Multinomial and logistic regression models were constructed to describe associations between sodium knowledge and self-reported health behaviors. A total of 7,067 panel subjects clicked into the online survey, and 2,862 completed the survey (adjusted response rate = 40.5%). Only 102 respondents (3.6%) were able to accurately report the recommended milligrams of sodium that an average adult should consume daily (1,500 mg to 2300 mg). Knowing about daily sodium intake recommendations was associated with increased odds of using Nutrition Facts labels to make food purchase decisions (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 3.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59-7.60) and with decreased odds of taking measures to prevent hypertension (AOR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.19-0.74). Los Angeles County residents had a limited knowledge of recommended daily sodium intake. Efforts to increase understanding of these recommendations may encourage wider engagement in healthy behaviors. Health agencies should integrate sodium reduction messages in their diet and nutrition educational efforts.

  11. Los Angeles Area Permit Holder Estimated Trash Load Reduction, Los Angeles CA, 2012, US EPA Region 9

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Los Angeles River has been designated as an impaired waterbody due to the large volume of trash it receives from the watershed. To address this problem a Total...

  12. The Sexuality Education Initiative: a programme involving teenagers, schools, parents and sexual health services in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marques, Magaly; Ressa, Nicole

    2013-05-01

    In response to abstinence-only programmes in the United States that promote myths and misconceptions about sexuality and sexual behaviour, the comprehensive sexuality education community has been sidetracked from improving the sexuality education available in US schools for almost two decades now. Much work is still needed to move beyond fear-based approaches and the one-way communication of information that many programmes still use. Starting in 2008 Planned Parenthood Los Angeles developed and launched a teen-centred sexuality education programme based on critical thinking, human rights, gender equality, and access to health care that is founded on a theory of change that recognises the complex relationship between the individual and broader environment of cultural norms, socio-economic inequalities, health disparities, legal and institutional factors. The Sexuality Education Initiative is comprised of a 12-session classroom sexuality education curriculum for ninth grade students; workshops for parents; a peer advocacy training programme; and access to sexual health services. This paper describes that experience and presents the rights-based framework that was used, which seeks to improve the learning experience of students, strengthen the capacity of schools, teachers and parents to help teenagers manage their sexuality effectively and understand that they have the right to health care, education, protection, dignity and privacy. Copyright © 2013 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Estimation of Methane Emissions in the Los Angeles Basin using CLARS-FTS Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sander, S.; Zeng, Z. C.; Pongetti, T.; Duren, R. M.; Shia, R. L.; Yung, Y. L.; He, L.; Gurney, K. R.

    2017-12-01

    The Los Angeles Basin (LA Basin), covering almost 10,743 square miles, is home to over 16.8 million people - about half the population of the state of California. It is also the second most populated urban area in the United States and one of the major source of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Using FTIR observations from the California Laboratory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing (CLARS) located on Mount Wilson at an altitude of 1673m, we measure the reflected near infrared sunlight from 33 surface targets in the Los Angeles megacity including the direct solar beam which gives the free tropospheric background. We then retrieve the excess slant column abundances of important trace gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in the LA basin. Using atmospheric tracer - tracer correlations for CH4 and CO2 to eliminate the effect of aerosol scattering in the retrieval, we infer methane emissions based on the ratio of XCH4 excess to XCO2 excess. Significant variability is observed in the spatial distributions of excess CH4. Methane emissions in the LA basin show consistent peaks in late summer and winter during the period from Sep 2011 to the present. The strong correlation between natural gas usage data and derived CLARS methane emissions (r2 = 0.5) implies that natural gas leakage during transmission and/or consumption accounts for a significant fraction of the inferred seasonal variability of methane emissions in the LA basin. We will report updated annual trends in CH4 emissions from 2011 to the present. Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.

  14. HIV transmission in the adult film industry--Los Angeles, California, 2004.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-09-23

    In April 2004, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LACDHS) received reports of work-related exposure to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the heterosexual segment of the adult film industry in California. This report summarizes an investigation by LACDHS into four work-related HIV-transmission cases among adult film industry workers. The investigation was initiated April 20, 2004, and joined by the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) on April 21, 2004, and by CDC on May 18, 2004. This investigation identified important and remediable gaps in the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the adult film industry.

  15. DeepSAT: A Deep Learning Approach to Tree-cover Delineation in 1-m NAIP Imagery for the Continental United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguly, S.; Basu, S.; Nemani, R. R.; Mukhopadhyay, S.; Michaelis, A.; Votava, P.

    2016-12-01

    High resolution tree cover classification maps are needed to increase the accuracy of current land ecosystem and climate model outputs. Limited studies are in place that demonstrates the state-of-the-art in deriving very high resolution (VHR) tree cover products. In addition, most methods heavily rely on commercial softwares that are difficult to scale given the region of study (e.g. continents to globe). Complexities in present approaches relate to (a) scalability of the algorithm, (b) large image data processing (compute and memory intensive), (c) computational cost, (d) massively parallel architecture, and (e) machine learning automation. In addition, VHR satellite datasets are of the order of terabytes and features extracted from these datasets are of the order of petabytes. In our present study, we have acquired the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) dataset for the Continental United States at a spatial resolution of 1-m. This data comes as image tiles (a total of quarter million image scenes with 60 million pixels) and has a total size of 65 terabytes for a single acquisition. Features extracted from the entire dataset would amount to 8-10 petabytes. In our proposed approach, we have implemented a novel semi-automated machine learning algorithm rooted on the principles of "deep learning" to delineate the percentage of tree cover. Using the NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) initiative, we have developed an end-to-end architecture by integrating a segmentation module based on Statistical Region Merging, a classification algorithm using Deep Belief Network and a structured prediction algorithm using Conditional Random Fields to integrate the results from the segmentation and classification modules to create per-pixel class labels. The training process is scaled up using the power of GPUs and the prediction is scaled to quarter million NAIP tiles spanning the whole of Continental United States using the NEX HPC supercomputing cluster. An initial pilot over the

  16. DeepSAT: A Deep Learning Approach to Tree-Cover Delineation in 1-m NAIP Imagery for the Continental United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguly, Sangram; Basu, Saikat; Nemani, Ramakrishna R.; Mukhopadhyay, Supratik; Michaelis, Andrew; Votava, Petr

    2016-01-01

    High resolution tree cover classification maps are needed to increase the accuracy of current land ecosystem and climate model outputs. Limited studies are in place that demonstrates the state-of-the-art in deriving very high resolution (VHR) tree cover products. In addition, most methods heavily rely on commercial softwares that are difficult to scale given the region of study (e.g. continents to globe). Complexities in present approaches relate to (a) scalability of the algorithm, (b) large image data processing (compute and memory intensive), (c) computational cost, (d) massively parallel architecture, and (e) machine learning automation. In addition, VHR satellite datasets are of the order of terabytes and features extracted from these datasets are of the order of petabytes. In our present study, we have acquired the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) dataset for the Continental United States at a spatial resolution of 1-m. This data comes as image tiles (a total of quarter million image scenes with 60 million pixels) and has a total size of 65 terabytes for a single acquisition. Features extracted from the entire dataset would amount to 8-10 petabytes. In our proposed approach, we have implemented a novel semi-automated machine learning algorithm rooted on the principles of "deep learning" to delineate the percentage of tree cover. Using the NASA Earth Exchange (NEX) initiative, we have developed an end-to-end architecture by integrating a segmentation module based on Statistical Region Merging, a classification algorithm using Deep Belief Network and a structured prediction algorithm using Conditional Random Fields to integrate the results from the segmentation and classification modules to create per-pixel class labels. The training process is scaled up using the power of GPUs and the prediction is scaled to quarter million NAIP tiles spanning the whole of Continental United States using the NEX HPC supercomputing cluster. An initial pilot over the

  17. Enhancement of Pork Jerky Using Co-cultures of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Angel Yeast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Changqing; Lu, Ziyang; Huang, Jing; He, Sha; Tan, Hui; Wang, Gang; Liu, Dayu; Li, Yubin

    2016-09-01

    Strains of Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Angel Yeast were combined to ferment raw pork and make pork jerky. After fermentation, the jerky was dried and then tested for sensory evaluation, pH and free amino acid content. The results showed that the optimal conditions for fermentation using L. bulgaricus and Angel Yeast were: a pH of 6.5, a 1:1 (v/v) ratio of L. bulgaricus to Angel Yeast, a fermentation time of 42 h and temperature of 25 °C. The results showed that the pork jerky fermented with the combined strains was not very sour which was close to the pH of 7.0 and had a higher free amino acid content which was more than 68.3 mg/100 g compared with the pork jerky fermented by either L. bulgaricus or Angel Yeast alone. Overall, the results demonstrate that fermentation of raw pork with combined strains of L. bulgaricus and Angel Yeast improves the quality and flavor of pork jerky.

  18. Dante o anjeloch (Dante on Angels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jozef Žilinek

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Dante’s eternal Love was Bice Portinari who died in 1290. Dante saw her in Florence in 1274. She was his muse and her death was the reason to write Divine Comedy. We meet her in part of Divine Comedy calledParadise as a guide into Celestial Empire. I have ever been interested in structure of Celestial Empire and mesmerised by Dante. That was the reason to write this paper. I try to re-construct and complete Dante’s interpretation of the hierarchy of Celestial Empire with focusing on angels. Angels are also called Intellects or forms of the Heaven or substances between the Earth and Heaven or blissful Beings. I also try to find out the answer what happened to souls of people who died, especially to souls of innocent children. In memory of Michalka Režnáková (1984-1995.

  19. Hangar con alas, Los Angeles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Editorial, Equipo

    1961-04-01

    Full Text Available Formando parte de su programa, la TWA ha construido recientemente un hangar para servicio y reparaciones de su flota aérea de naves ordinarias y de aviones de reacción en el aeropuerto internacional de Los Angeles (Estados Unidos. El proyecto de esta obra se encargó a la empresa constructora Holmes & Narver, Inc.

  20. Environmental Assessment: Military Housing Privatization Initiative, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-11-01

    carrion , and other invertebrates. Breeding occurs in March to May. Although this species was not observed during a 1999 survey, the loggerhead...asbestosis (a lung disease ). Asbestos is a designated hazardous air pollutant under the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants under...trees at Fort MacArthur for pink rot disease (Sohn 2006). It is possible that residents may have stored and used household quantities of non

  1. Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Areas Cultural Resource Survey, Los Angeles County, California,

    Science.gov (United States)

    1978-04-01

    into nettles and stung by red ants while the adult the Panes or White-heded Eagle Maiden. hunters danced to deerbone flute music. Intriguing sand... combat excepting those in the Philippine Islands (Fort Mills, Fort Hughes, Fort Drum and Fort Frank). It was during the World War II conflict, the...Junior Pest President, Californ a History and Landmarks Club of Los Angeles, Inglewod, February, 1941). Statoments of Mr. Ralph Bandinl, Palo Verdes. Mrs

  2. Initial response to understory plant diversity and overstory tree diameter growth to a green tree retention harvest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malcolm North; Jiquan Chen; Gordon Smith; Lucy Krakowlak; Jerry Franklin

    1996-01-01

    The increasing use of harvest techniques other than clearcutting in forests west of the Cascade mountains has created an urgent need to understand the effects of these practices on ecosystem species composition and structure. One common alternative, "green tree retention" (GTR), leaves some live trees on a harvest site to more closely mimic a moderate-...

  3. Coded Splitting Tree Protocols

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jesper Hemming; Stefanovic, Cedomir; Popovski, Petar

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a novel approach to multiple access control called coded splitting tree protocol. The approach builds on the known tree splitting protocols, code structure and successive interference cancellation (SIC). Several instances of the tree splitting protocol are initiated, each...... instance is terminated prematurely and subsequently iterated. The combined set of leaves from all the tree instances can then be viewed as a graph code, which is decodable using belief propagation. The main design problem is determining the order of splitting, which enables successful decoding as early...

  4. El Proyecto Sismico "LARSE" - Trabajando Hacia un Futuro con Mas Seguridad para Los Angeles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henyey, Thomas L.; Fuis, Gary S.; Benthien, Mark L.; Burdette, Thomas R.; Christofferson, Shari A.; Clayton, Robert W.; Criley, Edward E.; Davis, Paul M.; Hendley, James W.; Kohler, Monica D.; Lutter, William J.; McRaney, John K.; Murphy, Janice M.; Okaya, David A.; Ryberg, Trond; Simila, Gerald W.; Stauffer, Peter H.

    1999-01-01

    La region de Los Angeles contiene una red de fallas activas, incluyendo muchas fallas por empuje que son profundas y no rompen la superficie de la tierra. Estas fallas ocultas incluyen la falla anteriormente desconocida que fue responsable por la devastacion que ocurrio durante el terremoto de Northridge en enero de 1994, el terremoto mas costoso en la historia de los Estados Unidos. El Experimento Sismico en la Region de Los Angeles (Los Angeles Region Seismic Experiment, LARSE), esta localizando los peligros ocultos de los terremotos debajo de la region de Los Angeles para mejorar la construccion de las estructuras que pueden apoyar terremotos que son inevitables en el futuro, y que ayudaran a los cientificos determinar donde occurira el sacudimento mas fuerte y poderoso.

  5. Performance of Point and Range Queries for In-memory Databases using Radix Trees on GPUs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alam, Maksudul [ORNL; Yoginath, Srikanth B [ORNL; Perumalla, Kalyan S [ORNL

    2016-01-01

    In in-memory database systems augmented by hardware accelerators, accelerating the index searching operations can greatly increase the runtime performance of database queries. Recently, adaptive radix trees (ART) have been shown to provide very fast index search implementation on the CPU. Here, we focus on an accelerator-based implementation of ART. We present a detailed performance study of our GPU-based adaptive radix tree (GRT) implementation over a variety of key distributions, synthetic benchmarks, and actual keys from music and book data sets. The performance is also compared with other index-searching schemes on the GPU. GRT on modern GPUs achieves some of the highest rates of index searches reported in the literature. For point queries, a throughput of up to 106 million and 130 million lookups per second is achieved for sparse and dense keys, respectively. For range queries, GRT yields 600 million and 1000 million lookups per second for sparse and dense keys, respectively, on a large dataset of 64 million 32-bit keys.

  6. Carotenoids of Sea Angels Clione limacina and Paedoclione doliiformis from the Perspective of the Food Chain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takashi Maoka

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Sea angels, Clione limacina and Paedoclione doliiformis, are small, floating sea slugs belonging to Gastropoda, and their gonads are a bright orange-red color. Sea angels feed exclusively on a small herbivorous sea snail, Limacina helicina. Carotenoids in C. limacina, P. doliiformis, and L. helicina were investigated for comparative biochemical points of view. β-Carotene, zeaxanthin, and diatoxanthin were found to be major carotenoids in L. helicina. L. helicina accumulated dietary algal carotenoids without modification. On the other hand, keto-carotenoids, such as pectenolone, 7,8-didehydroastaxanthin, and adonixanthin were identified as major carotenoids in the sea angels C. limacina and P. doliiformis. Sea angels oxidatively metabolize dietary carotenoids and accumulate them in their gonads. Carotenoids in the gonads of sea angels might protect against oxidative stress and enhance reproduction.

  7. Carotenoids of Sea Angels Clione limacina and Paedoclione doliiformis from the Perspective of the Food Chain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maoka, Takashi; Kuwahara, Takashi; Narita, Masanao

    2014-01-01

    Sea angels, Clione limacina and Paedoclione doliiformis, are small, floating sea slugs belonging to Gastropoda, and their gonads are a bright orange-red color. Sea angels feed exclusively on a small herbivorous sea snail, Limacina helicina. Carotenoids in C. limacina, P. doliiformis, and L. helicina were investigated for comparative biochemical points of view. β-Carotene, zeaxanthin, and diatoxanthin were found to be major carotenoids in L. helicina. L. helicina accumulated dietary algal carotenoids without modification. On the other hand, keto-carotenoids, such as pectenolone, 7,8-didehydroastaxanthin, and adonixanthin were identified as major carotenoids in the sea angels C. limacina and P. doliiformis. Sea angels oxidatively metabolize dietary carotenoids and accumulate them in their gonads. Carotenoids in the gonads of sea angels might protect against oxidative stress and enhance reproduction. PMID:24633249

  8. Los Angeles and Its Influence on Professional and Popular Astronomy - A Hollywood Love Story, by Lewis Chilton, Past President, Optical Shop Director and Historian, Los Angeles Astronomical Society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chilton, Lew

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this presentation is to show through visualizations how the Los Angeles, California milieu of the early 20th century benefited the advancement of astronomy and captured the public consciousness through popular press accounts of these advancements and of the scientists who made them. The thesis of this presentation purports that a symbiosis developed between astronomers of Los Angeles-area scientific and educational institutions and a local community of interested laypersons, and was the catalyst that sparked future generations to enter the fields of astronomy, the allied sciences, education and technology. This presentation attempts to highlight the importance of continued public outreach by the professional astronomical community, for the ultimate benefit to itself, in Los Angeles and beyond.

  9. AnGel System for the diagnosis of generators in operation; Sistema AnGeL para el diagnostico de generadores en operacion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    De la Torre V, H. Octavio; Ramirez N, J. Tomas; Pascacio de los S, Alberth; Reyes M, Oscar A; Carrillo C, Jaime; Iturbe F, Marlene [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca, Morelos (Mexico); Ponce de Leon V, Eugenio [Comision Federal de Electricidad (Mexico)

    2005-07-01

    The continuous monitoring of the electrical variables of a generator allows the knowing of the operating status of the main components of the equipment, which is helpful at the time of emitting a diagnosis of the same one. System of diagnosis for generators of operation, denominated AnGel System (acronym of Analysis of Generators in Line). The system was developed by the Management of Electrical equipment of the Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas (IIE) and implemented in the six units of generation of the Manzanillo Thermoelectric Unit. The present article includes a description of the main components and functions. The world-wide tendency in monitoring systems of the fault statistics, were key elements in defining the variable to be monitored: Partial discharges (PD), Shaft current (SC), Neutral current (NC), Tangential Magnetic (TM) flux, Voltages and currents of line (as reference to the operation point). The main processes of deterioration that are intended to be observed with each one of these variables are described with greater thoroughness in the article Sistema AnGel: Aspectos teorico-practicos para el diagnostico de generadores en operacion (AnGel System: Theoretical-practical aspects for the diagnosis of generators in operation), contained in the section of Research Activities in this same issue of the IIE bulletin. [Spanish] La monitorizacion continua de las variables electricas de un generador permite conocer el estado operativo de los principales componentes del equipo, lo que es de ayuda a la hora de emitir un diagnostico del mismo. Sistema de diagnostico para generadores de operacion, denominado Sistema AnGeL (acronimo de Analisis de Generadores en Linea). El sistema fue desarrollado por la Gerencia de Equipos Electricos del IIE e implementado en las seis unidades de generacion del Complejo Termoelectrico Manzanillo. El presente articulo incluye una descripcion de los principales componentes y funciones. La tendencia mundial en sistemas de

  10. Insecticidal properties of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica): it’s for the birds!

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veldkamp, J.F.

    1986-01-01

    New Scientist (6 June 1985, p. 10) reported that Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae), the Indian neem tree, would be a ’new’ wonder plant. Its medical properties have been known for ages to local people and western botanists (e.g. Garcia de Orta, 1567). In India about 14 million trees, typically planted

  11. Biogeochemical processes on tree islands in the greater everglades: Initiating a new paradigm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wetzel, P.R.; Sklar, Fred H.; Coronado, C.A.; Troxler, T.G.; Krupa, S.L.; Sullivan, P.L.; Ewe, S.; Price, R.M.; Newman, S.; Orem, W.H.

    2011-01-01

    Scientists' understanding of the role of tree islands in the Everglades has evolved from a plant community of minor biogeochemical importance to a plant community recognized as the driving force for localized phosphorus accumulation within the landscape. Results from this review suggest that tree transpiration, nutrient infiltration from the soil surface, and groundwater flow create a soil zone of confluence where nutrients and salts accumulate under the head of a tree island during dry periods. Results also suggest accumulated salts and nutrients are flushed downstream by regional water flows during wet periods. That trees modulate their environment to create biogeochemical hot spots and strong nutrient gradients is a significant ecological paradigm shift in the understanding of the biogeochemical processes in the Everglades. In terms of island sustainability, this new paradigm suggests the need for distinct dry-wet cycles as well as a hydrologic regime that supports tree survival. Restoration of historic tree islands needs further investigation but the creation of functional tree islands is promising. Copyright ?? 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

  12. Factors affecting the survival of ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees infested by emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kathleen S. Knight; John P. Brown; Robert P. Long

    2013-01-01

    Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) (EAB), an Asian woodboring beetle accidentally introduced in North America, has killed millions of ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees and is spreading rapidly. This study examined the effects of tree- and site-level factors on the mortality of ash trees in stands infested by EAB in OH, USA. Our data...

  13. Million Hearts: Key to Collaboration to Reduce Heart Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brinkman, Patricia

    2016-01-01

    Extension has taught successful classes to address heart disease, yet heart disease remains the number one killer in the United States. The U.S. government's Million Hearts initiative seeks collaboration among colleges, local and state health departments, Extension and other organizations, and medical providers in imparting a consistent message…

  14. "Angels & Demons" - Distinguishing truth from fiction

    CERN Multimedia

    2005-01-01

    Dan Brown's best-selling novel "Angels & Demons" was published in French on 2 March. A web page on CERN's public site is dedicated to separating truth from fiction in this novel. After the extraordinary success of Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code", one of his earlier novels "Angels & Demons", published in 2000, has now become a best seller and has generated a flood of questions about CERN. This detective story is about a secret society, the Illuminati, who wish to destroy the Vatican with an antimatter bomb stolen from - wait for it - CERN! Inevitably, CERN has been bombarded with calls about the technologies described in the novel that are supposed to be under development in the Laboratory. The Press Office has always explained that, even if the novel appears to be very informative, it is in fact a mixture of fact and fiction. For instance, according to the novel CERN is supposed to own a plane that can cover the distance between Massachusetts in the United States and Switzerland in just over an hour! ...

  15. The feasibility of remotely sensed data to estimate urban tree dimensions and biomass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jun-Hak Lee; Yekang Ko; E. Gregory McPherson

    2016-01-01

    Accurately measuring the biophysical dimensions of urban trees, such as crown diameter, stem diameter, height, and biomass, is essential for quantifying their collective benefits as an urban forest. However, the cost of directly measuring thousands or millions of individual trees through field surveys can be prohibitive. Supplementing field surveys with remotely sensed...

  16. Shortening and Thickening of Metropolitan Los Angeles Measured and Inferred Using Geodesy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argus, D.; Heflin, M.; Donnellan, A.; Webb, F.; Dong, D.; Hurst, K.; Jefferson, D.; Lyzenga, G.; Watkins, M.; Zumberge, J.

    1999-01-01

    Geodetic measurements using the Global Positioning System and other techniques show north-south shortening near Los Angeles to be fastest across the northern part of the metropolitan area, where an ESE-striking, 5- to 40-km-wide belt lying to the south of San Gabriel Mountains and to the north of downtown and West Los Angeles is shortening at 5 mm/yr.

  17. The effect of contaminated groundwater on tree growth: A tree-ring analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LeBlanc, D.C.; Loehle, C.

    1990-10-01

    A study was conducted on the effect of contaminated groundwater seepage on tree growth downslope from F- and H-Area seepage basins of the Savannah River Site. Trees in wetlands along Four Mile Creek began to show localized stress and mortality in the late 1970s. Extreme winter temperatures and high rainfall were ruled out as potential causal factors of tree stress. Drought was shown to affect trees in both contaminated and uncontaminated zones, but trees in uncontaminated areas exhibit better recovery after drought than trees in contaminated areas. Pollution-mediated alteration of soil acidity and aluminum, sodium, and heavy metal concentrations likely acted to predispose trees to decline, with severe drought acting as the trigger for decline initiation and tree death. Thus, a moderate pollution loading, not sufficient to cause visible damage of itself, may create conditions in which sudden, severe decline could result from natural stresses. This mechanism of forest decline is common, and should be considered in evaluations of the impact of pollution on wetland forest systems. 28 refs., 4 figs., 6 tabs

  18. Due Diligence and the Evaluation of Teachers: A Review of the Value-Added Analysis Underlying the Effectiveness Rankings of Los Angeles Unified School District Teachers by the "Los Angeles Times"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briggs, Derek; Domingue, Ben

    2011-01-01

    On August 14, 2010, the "Los Angeles Times" published the results of a statistical analysis of student test data to provide information about elementary schools and teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The analysis, covering the period from 2003 to 2009, was put forward as an evaluation of the effects of schools…

  19. Advocacy Coalition for Safer Sex in the Adult Film Industry: The Case of Los Angeles County's Measure B.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Adam Carl; Tavrow, Paula; McGrath, Mark Roy

    2018-05-01

    Performers in the adult film industry are routinely exposed to bloodborne pathogens. In 2012, public health advocates in Los Angeles County convinced voters to pass a ballot initiative-Measure B-to mandate condom use on adult film sets. This article presents a case study of the advocacy coalition's strategies used to achieve greater workplace safety using the advocacy coalition framework. The authors were given access to all memoranda, market research, and campaign tools used to promote Measure B. To reconstruct adult film industry counterefforts, the authors reviewed trade publications, social media, and blog posts. When legislative efforts failed, advocates engaged in a step-by-step strategy built around voters to achieve passage of a ballot initiative mandating condom use for all adult films produced in Los Angeles County. Although the industry immediately filed a lawsuit after passage of Measure B, its constitutionality has been upheld. Measure B passed because public health advocates were able to assemble scientific evidence, build public support, counter false claims, and maintain consistent messages throughout the campaign. The adult film industry lacked social capital, cohesion, and nimbleness. To bolster regulatory efforts, appealing to voters to favor safe workplaces may be an effective advocacy strategy for other industries.

  20. Become One In A Million: Partnership Updates. Million Solar Roofs and Interstate Renewable Energy Council Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., October 2005

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tombari, C.

    2005-09-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy's Million Solar Roofs Initiative (MSR) is a unique public-private partnership aimed at overcoming market barriers for photovoltaics (PV), solar water heating, transpired solar collectors, solar space heating and cooling, and pool heating. This report contains annual progress reports from 866 partners across the United States.

  1. Initial development of passion fruit trees (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa, P. edulis f. edulis and P. alata grafted onto Passiflora cincinnata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valdir Zucareli

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The present work aimed to evaluate the initial growth and leaf mineral levels in passion fruit trees (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Deg., P. edulis f. edulis Sims. and P. alata Dryander grafted onto Passiflora cincinnata. To obtain seedlings, seeds were sown in plastic bags (500 mL and hypocotyl grafting was performed when seedlings reached the stage of two fully expanded leaves. Fifteen days after grafting, plants were transplanted to 10L pots filled with previously limed and fertilized soil. Each pot contained two plants and corresponded to one plot. For each commercial species studied as rootstock, experimental design was completely randomized, in 3x5 (plant type x time of harvest factorial arrangement, with four replicates of two plants per plot and five destructive harvests. Plant types were ungrafted P. cincinnata, ungrafted commercial passion fruit tree and commercial passion fruit tree grafted onto P. cincinnata. The first harvest was performed at 15 days after transplanting and the remaining ones at 14-day intervals (60, 74, 88, 102 and 116 DAS. At each harvest, the number of leaves per plant was counted, and leaf area, stem length, and stem, root, leaf and total dry matter were estimated. At the last harvest, the mineral composition (macro and micronutrients of plants was analyzed. In general, it was observed that grafting onto P. cincinnata did not interfere negatively with the initial development and mineral levels of commercial passion fruit trees, and this interference varied according to the used canopy.

  2. ASSESSING ANGELS IN THE NURSERY: A PILOT STUDY OF CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF BENEVOLENT CAREGIVING AS PROTECTIVE INFLUENCES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayan, Angela J; Ippen, Chandra Ghosh; Harris, William W; Lieberman, Alicia F

    2017-07-01

    This pilot study provides the first empirical test of the concept of "Angels in the Nursery" by examining whether childhood memories of benevolent caregiving experiences protect against heightened levels of psychopathology in high-risk mothers. The study hypothesized that (a) elaborated childhood memories of feeling loved by a caregiver ("angel memories") would moderate adulthood posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in mothers with childhood maltreatment histories, and (b) spontaneous traumatic intrusions ("ghost memories") would mediate childhood maltreatment and adulthood PTSD symptoms. Participants were 54 mothers (M = 32.79 years, SD = 8.91; 59.2% African American, 13.0% Caucasian, 5.6% Latina, 22.2% biracial/multiracial) who completed standardized assessments of childhood maltreatment and adulthood PTSD symptoms, and a novel instrument, the Angels in the Nursery Interview ("Angels Interview," Van Horn, Lieberman, & Harris, 2008). Results showed that angel memories significantly moderated childhood maltreatment and adulthood PTSD symptoms, consistent with a protective effect. Higher levels of ghost memories during the Angels Interview were significantly associated with more extensive childhood maltreatment, but did not mediate maltreatment and PTSD symptoms. Findings indicate that the Angels Interview can identify pathogenic intrusions rooted in childhood maltreatment and protective factors to promote maternal mental health and buffer the intergenerational transmission of trauma. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  3. Fragmentation of random trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalay, Z; Ben-Naim, E

    2015-01-01

    We study fragmentation of a random recursive tree into a forest by repeated removal of nodes. The initial tree consists of N nodes and it is generated by sequential addition of nodes with each new node attaching to a randomly-selected existing node. As nodes are removed from the tree, one at a time, the tree dissolves into an ensemble of separate trees, namely, a forest. We study statistical properties of trees and nodes in this heterogeneous forest, and find that the fraction of remaining nodes m characterizes the system in the limit N→∞. We obtain analytically the size density ϕ s of trees of size s. The size density has power-law tail ϕ s ∼s −α with exponent α=1+(1/m). Therefore, the tail becomes steeper as further nodes are removed, and the fragmentation process is unusual in that exponent α increases continuously with time. We also extend our analysis to the case where nodes are added as well as removed, and obtain the asymptotic size density for growing trees. (paper)

  4. User survey of Nanny Angel Network, a free childcare service for mothers with cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, L; Schwartz, N; Guth, A; Kiss, A; Warner, E

    2017-08-01

    The purpose of the present study was to determine user satisfaction with Nanny Angel Network (nan), a free childcare service for mothers undergoing cancer treatment. All 243 living mothers who had used the nan service were invited by telephone to participate in an online research survey; 197 mothers (81%) consented to participate. The survey, sent by e-mail, consisted of 39 items divided into these categories: demographics, supports, use, satisfaction, and general comments. Of the 197 mothers who consented to receive the e-mailed survey, 104 (53%) completed it. More than 90% of the mothers were very satisfied with the help and support from their Nanny Angel. Many mothers mentioned that the Nanny Angel was most helpful during treatment and medical appointments, with 75% also mentioning that their Nanny Angel helped them to adhere to their scheduled medical appointments. However, 64% felt that they had not received enough visits from their Nanny Angel. Satisfaction with the nan childcare provider was high, but mothers wished the service had been available to them more often. Our study highlights the importance of providing childcare to mothers with inadequate support systems, so as to allow for greater adherence to treatment and medical appointments, and for more time to recover.

  5. Widespread Amazon forest tree mortality from a single cross-basin squall line event

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negrón-Juárez, Robinson I.; Chambers, Jeffrey Q.; Guimaraes, Giuliano; Zeng, Hongcheng; Raupp, Carlos F. M.; Marra, Daniel M.; Ribeiro, Gabriel H. P. M.; Saatchi, Sassan S.; Nelson, Bruce W.; Higuchi, Niro

    2010-08-01

    Climate change is expected to increase the intensity of extreme precipitation events in Amazonia that in turn might produce more forest blowdowns associated with convective storms. Yet quantitative tree mortality associated with convective storms has never been reported across Amazonia, representing an important additional source of carbon to the atmosphere. Here we demonstrate that a single squall line (aligned cluster of convective storm cells) propagating across Amazonia in January, 2005, caused widespread forest tree mortality and may have contributed to the elevated mortality observed that year. Forest plot data demonstrated that the same year represented the second highest mortality rate over a 15-year annual monitoring interval. Over the Manaus region, disturbed forest patches generated by the squall followed a power-law distribution (scaling exponent α = 1.48) and produced a mortality of 0.3-0.5 million trees, equivalent to 30% of the observed annual deforestation reported in 2005 over the same area. Basin-wide, potential tree mortality from this one event was estimated at 542 ± 121 million trees, equivalent to 23% of the mean annual biomass accumulation estimated for these forests. Our results highlight the vulnerability of Amazon trees to wind-driven mortality associated with convective storms. Storm intensity is expected to increase with a warming climate, which would result in additional tree mortality and carbon release to the atmosphere, with the potential to further warm the climate system.

  6. Basin-Wide Amazon Forest Tree Mortality From a Large 2005 Storm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negron Juarez, R. I.; Chambers, J. Q.; Guimaraes, G.; Zeng, H.; Raupp, C.; Marra, D. M.; Ribeiro, G.; Saatchi, S. S.; Higuchi, N.

    2010-12-01

    Blowdowns are a recurrent characteristic of Amazon forests and are produced, among others, by squall lines. Squall lines are aligned clusters (typical length of 1000 km, width of 200 km) of deep convective cells that produce heavy rainfall during the dry season and significant rainfall during the wet season. These squall lines (accompanied by intense downbursts from convective cells) have been associated with large blowdowns characterized by uprooted, snapped trees, and trees being dragged down by other falling trees. Most squall lines in Amazonia form along the northeastern coast of South America as sea breeze-induced instability lines and propagate inside the continent. They occur frequently (~4 times per month), and can reach the central and even extreme western parts of Amazonia. Squall lines can also be generated inside the Amazon and propagate toward the equator. In January 2005 a squall line propagated from south to north across the entire Amazon basin producing widespread forest tree mortality and contributed to the elevated mortality observed that year. Over the Manaus region (3.4 x104 km2), disturbed forest patches generated by the squall produced a mortality of 0.3-0.5 million trees, equivalent to 30% of the observed annual deforestation reported in 2005 over the same area. The elevated mortality observed in the Central Amazon in 2005 is unlikely to be related to the 2005 Amazon drought since drought did not affect Central or Eastern Amazonia. Assuming a similar rate of forest mortality across the basin, the squall line could have potentially produced tree mortality estimated at 542 ± 121 million trees, equivalent to 23% of the mean annual biomass accumulation estimated for these forests. Our results highlight the vulnerability of Amazon trees to wind-driven mortality associated with convective storms. This vulnerability is likely to increase in a warming climate with models projecting an increase in storm intensity.

  7. An Analysis Of Symbols In Dan Brown’s Novel Angels And Demons

    OpenAIRE

    Savrizal, Muhammad

    2014-01-01

    Skripsi ini yang berjudul An Analysis Of Symbols In Dan Brown’s Novel Angels And Demons merupakan sebuah analisis mengenai simbol-simbol dalam novel “Angels and Demons” dan pembagian simbol kedalam bagian-bagian tertentu serta mengidentifikasi makna makna simbol tersebut. Beberapa simbol dalam novel ini merupakan simbol Illuminati yang merupakan bagian dari proses komunikasi yang dilakukan setiap anggota didalam Illuminati untuk sesama anggota. Tujuan penulis menganalisis si...

  8. The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project — A Community-Level, Public Health Initiative to Build Community Disaster Resilience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Eisenman

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Public health officials need evidence-based methods for improving community disaster resilience and strategies for measuring results. This methods paper describes how one public health department is addressing this problem. This paper provides a detailed description of the theoretical rationale, intervention design and novel evaluation of the Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project (LACCDR, a public health program for increasing community disaster resilience. The LACCDR Project utilizes a pretest–posttest method with control group design. Sixteen communities in Los Angeles County were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental community resilience group or the comparison group. Community coalitions in the experimental group receive training from a public health nurse trained in community resilience in a toolkit developed for the project. The toolkit is grounded in theory and uses multiple components to address education, community engagement, community and individual self-sufficiency, and partnerships among community organizations and governmental agencies. The comparison communities receive training in traditional disaster preparedness topics of disaster supplies and emergency communication plans. Outcome indicators include longitudinal changes in inter-organizational linkages among community organizations, community member responses in table-top exercises, and changes in household level community resilience behaviors and attitudes. The LACCDR Project is a significant opportunity and effort to operationalize and meaningfully measure factors and strategies to increase community resilience. This paper is intended to provide public health and academic researchers with new tools to conduct their community resilience programs and evaluation research. Results are not yet available and will be presented in future reports.

  9. Constructing New York City's urban forest. The politics and governance of the MillionTreesNYC campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsay K. Campbell

    2014-01-01

    In 2005-2006, bureaucrats at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) began to marshal quantitative evidence to argue for investment in tree planting as part of Mayor Bloomberg's long-term sustainability plan, PlaNYC 2030, launched in 2007. Concurrently, Bette Midler—the celebrity founder of the non-profit New York Restoration Project (...

  10. Industria cinematografica e turismo nell’immaginario collettivo: Los Angeles tra mito e creatività / Film industry and tourism in collective imagination: Los Angeles between myth and creativity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franca Miani

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Obiettivo del contributo è quello di proporre alcuni spunti di riflessione sul caso della città di celluloide più nota al mondo: Los Angeles. Più in particolare s’intende analizzare la stretta relazione che intercorre tra l’attrattività turistica della metropoli e l’industria cinematografica.  Come ben noto, Los Angeles continua da quasi un secolo a suggestionare l’immaginario collettivo in quanto mecca del cinema e patria di Hollywood, l’industria che ha creato il sogno americano. Tuttavia LA, oggi, è anche una delle prime dieci città mondiali. Rappresenta l’esempio di come l’industria creativa (e il cinema è creatività per definizione sia riuscita a realizzare un sistema economico e d’innovazione tecnologica che funziona come polo di attrazione sia per tutti coloro che intendono sviluppare nuove attività, non possibili in altre parti del mondo, sia per visitatori e turisti attirati da un insieme di fattori emozionali legati alla notorietà dei luoghi del sistema cinematografico e dello spettacolo. Sulla base dell’analisi della letteratura e facendo seguito a esperienze di studio sul campo, il contributo vuole evidenziare la stretta connessione costruita nel corso di più di un secolo tra Hollywood, il luogo, e Hollywood, l’industria, per dimostrare come il luogo di produzione rappresenti una componente unica del prodotto finale, un’autenticazione di qualità soggettive e simboliche in grado di amplificare il valore economico intrinseco e di provocare un’attrazione crescente di attività e persone verso l’area metropolitana di Los Angeles.   This paper discusses Los Angeles as the best-known celluloid city in the world, and focuses particularly on the close relationship between its attractiveness for tourists and the film industry. For almost a century Los Angeles has exerted influence over the collective imagination as the mecca of cinema and home of Hollywood, the industry that created the American dream

  11. Port Angeles, Washington Tsunami Forecast Grids for MOST Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Port Angeles, Washington Forecast Model Grids provides bathymetric data strictly for tsunami inundation modeling with the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST)...

  12. Los Angeles, California Tsunami Forecast Grids for MOST Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Los Angeles, California Forecast Model Grids provides bathymetric data strictly for tsunami inundation modeling with the Method of Splitting Tsunami (MOST)...

  13. Los Angeles - Long Beach Harbors, California. Los Angeles Harbor Deepening Project. Final Phase 2. General Design Memorandum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1980-01-01

    land- marks are the San Pedro Breakwater and Angels Gate Lighthouse, the Termial Island Schoolhouse, and the Municipal Fish Market. Descriptions of...MILES, Chairman Navigation and Ocean Development Commission I, Marty Mercado , Secretary of the Navigation and Ocean Development Commission, do hereby...officials who have authority or responsibility in this area. STAN1&’.~LIMCara NAVIGATION AND OCEAN DEVELOPMENT COIISSION I, Marty Mercado , Secretary

  14. "USA Today": Comparative Analysis with Two National and Two Los Angeles Daily Newspapers. Research Bulletin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ames, Steve; And Others

    Sections of the newspaper "USA Today" were compared with corresponding sections of four major newspapers--the "New York Times," the "Wall Street Journal," the "Los Angeles Herald Examiner," and the "Los Angeles Times"--to determine what editorial components made "USA Today" different and…

  15. Human decision error (HUMDEE) trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ostrom, L.T.

    1993-01-01

    Graphical presentations of human actions in incident and accident sequences have been used for many years. However, for the most part, human decision making has been underrepresented in these trees. This paper presents a method of incorporating the human decision process into graphical presentations of incident/accident sequences. This presentation is in the form of logic trees. These trees are called Human Decision Error Trees or HUMDEE for short. The primary benefit of HUMDEE trees is that they graphically illustrate what else the individuals involved in the event could have done to prevent either the initiation or continuation of the event. HUMDEE trees also present the alternate paths available at the operator decision points in the incident/accident sequence. This is different from the Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP) event trees. There are many uses of these trees. They can be used for incident/accident investigations to show what other courses of actions were available and for training operators. The trees also have a consequence component so that not only the decision can be explored, also the consequence of that decision

  16. Angelic and Crepuscular in Alexandru Sever’s Drama

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena IANCU

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The illustration of a world, apparently drifting, the (demystification of the transcendent and of the act of creation, as idea and textual strategy, seem to Alexandru Sever (1921-2010 a means for another beginning. The impossibility of action in Înger bătrîn/ The Old Angel (1977 and the pact-making in Îngerul slut/ The Miscreated Angel (1982, imply metamorphosis in essence, supported by the dialogue with the great texts of the world, by intertextuality (the biblical text, Shakespeare's texts -Hamlet -Yorick, texts written by Göethe, Beckett, Marlowe, Dostoevsky, J. P. Sartre, Mikhail Bulgakov and others. The projection of Auschwitz, as a Siberia of the spirit, and that of Faustianism, result in a detailed analysis of the human, both as individuality and as community, in an attempt to illustrate the (inintelligible inaction, death involving catharsis in the mundane and the theatre alike.

  17. Aeropuerto internacional de Los Angeles: Edificio "Theme"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Editorial, Equipo

    1961-10-01

    Full Text Available Recientemente, se ha terminado un nuevo edificio en el aeropuerto de Los Angeles, que constituye una estación aérea, moderna por su forma y servicios de que está dotada, en la que se ha dado cabida a todas las necesidades actuales que el servicio de aeronaves reactores requiere.

  18. 75 FR 57857 - Safety Zone; Blue Angels at Kaneohe Bay Air Show, Oahu, HI

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 165 [Docket No. USCG-2010-0705] RIN 1625-AA00 Safety Zone; Blue Angels at Kaneohe Bay Air Show, Oahu, HI AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION...; Blue Angels at Kaneohe Bay Air Show, Oahu, HI in the Federal Register (75 FR 159). We received no...

  19. UCLA's outreach program of science education in the Los Angeles schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palacio-Cayetano, J; Kanowith-Klein, S; Stevens, R

    1999-04-01

    The UCLA School of Medicine's Interactive Multi-media Exercises (IMMEX) Project began its outreach into pre-college education in the Los Angeles area in 1993. The project provides a model in which software and technology are effectively intertwined with teaching, learning, and assessment (of both students' and teachers' performances) in the classroom. The project has evolved into a special collaboration between the medical school and Los Angeles teachers. UCLA faculty and staff work with science teachers and administrators from elementary, middle, and high schools. The program benefits ethnically and racially diverse groups of students in schools ranging from the inner city to the suburbs. The project's primary goal is to use technology to increase students' achievement and interest in science, including medicine, and thus move more students into the medical school pipeline. Evaluations from outside project evaluators (West Ed) as well as from teachers and IMMEX staff show that the project has already had a significant effect on teachers' professional development, classroom practice, and students' achievement in the Los Angeles area.

  20. Intentional, Inadvertent, or Inevitable? James Burrill Angell and Secularization at the University of Michigan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouman, Jeffrey Paul

    The history of James Burrill Angell as the president of the University of Michigan presents a case study of the role of 19th century liberal Protestant university builders in the eventual marginalization of religion from the mainstream of U.S. higher education. Angell's tenure, which began in 1871, encompassed the period in which the modern…

  1. Modeling smog along the Los Angeles-Palm Springs trajectory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanna, S.R.

    1976-01-01

    Observations of smog concentrations and wind patterns during the summer of 1973 in Los Angeles, Pomona, Riverside, Banning, and Palm Springs, California are presented which show that high oxidant concentrations at Banning and Palm Springs are often due to advection of smog from source regions in the more densely populated western part of the Los Angeles basin. At Pomona and Riverside, advection from upwind source regions combines with the effects of local emissions to cause long durations of high oxidant concentrations with peak times in the mid afternoon. An empirical model for the diurnal oxidant variation is suggested which satisfactorily simulates observed concentrations. More complex models which include chemical kinetics systems do not perform very satisfactorily at the rural stations of Banning and Palm Springs, especially at night when observed oxidant concentrations remain high

  2. 33 CFR 165.1319 - Safety Zone Regulations, Seafair Blue Angels Air Show Performance, Seattle, WA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Blue Angels Air Show Performance, Seattle, WA. 165.1319 Section 165.1319 Navigation and Navigable... Thirteenth Coast Guard District § 165.1319 Safety Zone Regulations, Seafair Blue Angels Air Show Performance... Peninsula; thence northerly along the shore of Mercer Island to the point of origin. [Datum: NAD 1983] (c...

  3. Electrical treeing behaviors in silicone rubber under an impulse voltage considering high temperature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yunxiao, ZHANG; Yuanxiang, ZHOU; Ling, ZHANG; Zhen, LIN; Jie, LIU; Zhongliu, ZHOU

    2018-05-01

    In this paper, work was conducted to reveal electrical tree behaviors (initiation and propagation) of silicone rubber (SIR) under an impulse voltage with high temperature. Impulse frequencies ranging from 10 Hz to 1 kHz were applied and the temperature was controlled between 30 °C and 90 °C. Experimental results show that tree initiation voltage decreases with increasing pulse frequency, and the descending amplitude is different in different frequency bands. As the pulse frequency increases, more frequent partial discharges occur in the channel, increasing the tree growth rate and the final shape intensity. As for temperature, the initiation voltage decreases and the tree shape becomes denser as the temperature gets higher. Based on differential scanning calorimetry results, we believe that partial segment relaxation of SIR at high temperature leads to a decrease in the initiation voltage. However, the tree growth rate decreases with increasing temperature. Carbonization deposition in the channel under high temperature was observed under microscope and proven by Raman analysis. Different tree growth models considering tree channel characteristics are proposed. It is believed that increasing the conductivity in the tree channel restrains the partial discharge, holding back the tree growth at high temperature.

  4. Modeled PM2.5 removal by trees in ten U.S. cities and associated health effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nowak, David J.; Hirabayashi, Satoshi; Bodine, Allison; Hoehn, Robert

    2013-01-01

    Urban particulate air pollution is a serious health issue. Trees within cities can remove fine particles from the atmosphere and consequently improve air quality and human health. Tree effects on PM 2.5 concentrations and human health are modeled for 10 U.S. cities. The total amount of PM 2.5 removed annually by trees varied from 4.7 tonnes in Syracuse to 64.5 tonnes in Atlanta, with annual values varying from $1.1 million in Syracuse to $60.1 million in New York City. Most of these values were from the effects of reducing human mortality. Mortality reductions were typically around 1 person yr −1 per city, but were as high as 7.6 people yr −1 in New York City. Average annual percent air quality improvement ranged between 0.05% in San Francisco and 0.24% in Atlanta. Understanding the impact of urban trees on air quality can lead to improved urban forest management strategies to sustain human health in cities. -- Highlights: •Paper provides the first broad-scale estimates of city-wide tree impacts on PM 2.5 . •Trees improve overall air quality by intercepting particulate matter. •Particle resuspension can lead to short-term increases in pollutant concentrations. •Urban trees produce substantial health improvements and values. -- Air pollution modeling reveals broad-scale impacts of pollution removal by urban trees on PM 2.5 concentrations and human health

  5. Track treeing mechanism and plastic zone in solid Part 1: Initial development of plastic zone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Boyang

    2008-01-01

    After neutron exposure and chemical etching in advance, latent tracks of recoil nucleon develop into pits on CR39 surface. During electrochemical etching, plastic zone is formed at top of pits. Some pits develop into tree cracks in the initial stage of plastic zone development. Physical and mathematical model of crack and plastic zone is proposed; parameter of development free path of plastic zone is presented. Based on integration of elementary theories the stress analysis is build up; based on analyses of measured parameters, a set of common relations between parameters is obtained. Integrate parameter analysis and stress analysis, depth of plastic zone development, law and phenomenon in experimental data can be interpreted completely

  6. Synthesis of phylogeny and taxonomy into a comprehensive tree of life

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinchliff, Cody E.; Smith, Stephen A.; Allman, James F.; Burleigh, J. Gordon; Chaudhary, Ruchi; Coghill, Lyndon M.; Crandall, Keith A.; Deng, Jiabin; Drew, Bryan T.; Gazis, Romina; Gude, Karl; Hibbett, David S.; Katz, Laura A.; Laughinghouse, H. Dail; McTavish, Emily Jane; Midford, Peter E.; Owen, Christopher L.; Ree, Richard H.; Rees, Jonathan A.; Soltis, Douglas E.; Williams, Tiffani; Cranston, Karen A.

    2015-01-01

    Reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships that unite all lineages (the tree of life) is a grand challenge. The paucity of homologous character data across disparately related lineages currently renders direct phylogenetic inference untenable. To reconstruct a comprehensive tree of life, we therefore synthesized published phylogenies, together with taxonomic classifications for taxa never incorporated into a phylogeny. We present a draft tree containing 2.3 million tips—the Open Tree of Life. Realization of this tree required the assembly of two additional community resources: (i) a comprehensive global reference taxonomy and (ii) a database of published phylogenetic trees mapped to this taxonomy. Our open source framework facilitates community comment and contribution, enabling the tree to be continuously updated when new phylogenetic and taxonomic data become digitally available. Although data coverage and phylogenetic conflict across the Open Tree of Life illuminate gaps in both the underlying data available for phylogenetic reconstruction and the publication of trees as digital objects, the tree provides a compelling starting point for community contribution. This comprehensive tree will fuel fundamental research on the nature of biological diversity, ultimately providing up-to-date phylogenies for downstream applications in comparative biology, ecology, conservation biology, climate change, agriculture, and genomics. PMID:26385966

  7. Micrometeorological simulations to predict the impacts of heat mitigation strategies on pedestrian thermal comfort in a Los Angeles neighborhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taleghani, Mohammad; Sailor, David; Ban-Weiss, George A.

    2016-02-01

    The urban heat island impacts the thermal comfort of pedestrians in cities. In this paper, the effects of four heat mitigation strategies on micrometeorology and the thermal comfort of pedestrians were simulated for a neighborhood in eastern Los Angeles County. The strategies investigated include solar reflective ‘cool roofs’, vegetative ‘green roofs’, solar reflective ‘cool pavements’, and increased street-level trees. A series of micrometeorological simulations for an extreme heat day were carried out assuming widespread adoption of each mitigation strategy. Comparing each simulation to the control simulation assuming current land cover for the neighborhood showed that additional street-trees and cool pavements reduced 1.5 m air temperature, while cool and green roofs mostly provided cooling at heights above pedestrian level. However, cool pavements increased reflected sunlight from the ground to pedestrians at a set of unshaded receptor locations. This reflected radiation intensified the mean radiant temperature and consequently increased physiological equivalent temperature (PET) by 2.2 °C during the day, reducing the thermal comfort of pedestrians. At another set of receptor locations that were on average 5 m from roadways and underneath preexisting tree cover, cool pavements caused significant reductions in surface air temperatures and small changes in mean radiant temperature during the day, leading to decreases in PET of 1.1 °C, and consequent improvements in thermal comfort. For improving thermal comfort of pedestrians during the afternoon in unshaded locations, adding street trees was found to be the most effective strategy. However, afternoon thermal comfort improvements in already shaded locations adjacent to streets were most significant for cool pavements. Green and cool roofs showed the lowest impact on the thermal comfort of pedestrians since they modify the energy balance at roof level, above the height of pedestrians.

  8. Micrometeorological simulations to predict the impacts of heat mitigation strategies on pedestrian thermal comfort in a Los Angeles neighborhood

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taleghani, Mohammad; Ban-Weiss, George A; Sailor, David

    2016-01-01

    The urban heat island impacts the thermal comfort of pedestrians in cities. In this paper, the effects of four heat mitigation strategies on micrometeorology and the thermal comfort of pedestrians were simulated for a neighborhood in eastern Los Angeles County. The strategies investigated include solar reflective ‘cool roofs’, vegetative ‘green roofs’, solar reflective ‘cool pavements’, and increased street-level trees. A series of micrometeorological simulations for an extreme heat day were carried out assuming widespread adoption of each mitigation strategy. Comparing each simulation to the control simulation assuming current land cover for the neighborhood showed that additional street-trees and cool pavements reduced 1.5 m air temperature, while cool and green roofs mostly provided cooling at heights above pedestrian level. However, cool pavements increased reflected sunlight from the ground to pedestrians at a set of unshaded receptor locations. This reflected radiation intensified the mean radiant temperature and consequently increased physiological equivalent temperature (PET) by 2.2 °C during the day, reducing the thermal comfort of pedestrians. At another set of receptor locations that were on average 5 m from roadways and underneath preexisting tree cover, cool pavements caused significant reductions in surface air temperatures and small changes in mean radiant temperature during the day, leading to decreases in PET of 1.1 °C, and consequent improvements in thermal comfort. For improving thermal comfort of pedestrians during the afternoon in unshaded locations, adding street trees was found to be the most effective strategy. However, afternoon thermal comfort improvements in already shaded locations adjacent to streets were most significant for cool pavements. Green and cool roofs showed the lowest impact on the thermal comfort of pedestrians since they modify the energy balance at roof level, above the height of pedestrians. (letter)

  9. Steiner trees in industry

    CERN Document Server

    Du, Ding-Zhu

    2001-01-01

    This book is a collection of articles studying various Steiner tree prob­ lems with applications in industries, such as the design of electronic cir­ cuits, computer networking, telecommunication, and perfect phylogeny. The Steiner tree problem was initiated in the Euclidean plane. Given a set of points in the Euclidean plane, the shortest network interconnect­ ing the points in the set is called the Steiner minimum tree. The Steiner minimum tree may contain some vertices which are not the given points. Those vertices are called Steiner points while the given points are called terminals. The shortest network for three terminals was first studied by Fermat (1601-1665). Fermat proposed the problem of finding a point to minimize the total distance from it to three terminals in the Euclidean plane. The direct generalization is to find a point to minimize the total distance from it to n terminals, which is still called the Fermat problem today. The Steiner minimum tree problem is an indirect generalization. Sch...

  10. Fates of trees damaged by logging in Amazonian Bolivia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shenkin, A.; Bolker, B.; Peña Claros, M.; Licona, J.C.; Putz, F.E.

    2015-01-01

    Estimation of carbon losses from trees felled and incidentally-killed during selective logging of tropical forests is relatively straightforward and well-documented, but less is known about the fates of collaterally-damaged trees that initially survive. Tree response to logging damage is an

  11. Tree-level correlations in the strong field regime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelis, François

    2017-09-01

    We consider the correlation function of an arbitrary number of local observables in quantum field theory, in situations where the field amplitude is large. Using a quasi-classical approximation (valid for a highly occupied initial mixed state, or for a coherent initial state if the classical dynamics has instabilities), we show that at tree level these correlations are dominated by fluctuations at the initial time. We obtain a general expression of the correlation functions in terms of the classical solution of the field equation of motion and its derivatives with respect to its initial conditions, that can be arranged graphically as the sum of labeled trees where the nodes are the individual observables, and the links are pairs of derivatives acting on them. For 3-point (and higher) correlation functions, there are additional tree-level terms beyond the quasi-classical approximation, generated by fluctuations in the bulk.

  12. Predicting Los Angeles abrasion loss of rock aggregates from ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    WINTEC

    For this reason, to investigate the possibility of predicting the Los Angeles ... Different rocks have extensively been used as an aggregate .... men weight to the specimen volume. .... thesis is rejected and that there is a real relation between.

  13. The PST Project, Willie Herron's Street Mural Asco East of No West (2011 and the Mural Remix Tour: Power Relations on the Los Angeles Art Scene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Zetterman

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This article departs from the huge art-curating project Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A., 1945-1980, a Getty funded initiative running in Southern California from October 2011 to April 2012 with a collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions coming together to celebrate the birth of the L.A. art scene. One of the Pacific Standard Time (PST exhibitions was Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective, 1972-1987, running from September to December 2011 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA. This was the first retrospective of a conceptual performance group of Chicanos from East Los Angeles, who from the early 1970s to the mid 1980s acted out critical interventions in the politically contested urban space of Los Angles. In conjunction with the Asco retrospective at LACMA, the Getty Foundation co-sponsored a new street mural by the Chicano artist Willie Herron, paying homage to his years in the performance group Asco. The PST exhibition program also included so-called Mural Remix Tours, taking fine art audiences from LACMA to Herron's place-specific new mural in City Terrace in East Los Angeles. This article analyze the inclusion in the PST project of Herron's site-specific mural in City Terrace and the Mural Remix Tours to East Los Angeles with regard to the power relations of fine art and critical subculture, center and periphery, the mainstream and the marginal. As a physical monument dependent on a heavy sense of the past, Herron's new mural, titled Asco: East of No West, transforms the physical and social environment of City Terrace, changing its public space into an official place of memory. At the same time, as an art historical monument officially added to the civic map of Los Angeles, the mural becomes a permanent reminder of the segregation patterns that still exist in the urban space of Los Angeles.

  14. Intermediate tree cover can maximize groundwater recharge in the seasonally dry tropics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ilstedt, U.; Bargués Tobella, A.; Bazié, H. R.; Bayala, J.; Verbeeten, E.; Nyberg, G.; Sanou, J.; Benegas, L.; Murdiyarso, D.; Laudon, H.; Sheil, D.; Malmer, A.

    2016-01-01

    Water scarcity contributes to the poverty of around one-third of the world’s people. Despite many benefits, tree planting in dry regions is often discouraged by concerns that trees reduce water availability. Yet relevant studies from the tropics are scarce, and the impacts of intermediate tree cover remain unexplored. We developed and tested an optimum tree cover theory in which groundwater recharge is maximized at an intermediate tree density. Below this optimal tree density the benefits from any additional trees on water percolation exceed their extra water use, leading to increased groundwater recharge, while above the optimum the opposite occurs. Our results, based on groundwater budgets calibrated with measurements of drainage and transpiration in a cultivated woodland in West Africa, demonstrate that groundwater recharge was maximised at intermediate tree densities. In contrast to the prevailing view, we therefore find that moderate tree cover can increase groundwater recharge, and that tree planting and various tree management options can improve groundwater resources. We evaluate the necessary conditions for these results to hold and suggest that they are likely to be common in the seasonally dry tropics, offering potential for widespread tree establishment and increased benefits for hundreds of millions of people. PMID:26908158

  15. Glyoxal contribution to aerosols over Los Angeles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balcerak, Ernie

    2012-01-01

    Laboratory and field studies have indicated that glyoxal (chemical formula OCHCHO), an atmospheric oxidation product of isoprene and aromatic compounds, may contribute to secondary organic aerosols in the atmosphere, which can block sunlight and affect atmospheric chemistry. Some aerosols are primary aerosols, emitted directly into the atmosphere, while others are secondary, formed through chemical reactions in the atmosphere. Washenfelder et al. describe in situ glyoxal measurements from Pasadena, Calif., near Los Angeles, made during summer 2010. They used three different methods to calculate the contribution of glyoxal to secondary atmospheric aerosol and found that it is responsible for 0-0.2 microgram per cubic meter, or 0-4%, of the secondary organic aerosol mass. The researchers also compared their results to those of a previous study that calculated the glyoxal contribution to aerosol for Mexico City. Mexico City had higher levels of organic aerosol mass from glyoxal. They suggest that the lower contribution of glyoxal to aerosol concentrations for Los Angeles may be due to differences in the composition or water content of the aerosols above the two cities. (Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, doi:10.1029/2011JD016314, 2011)

  16. Shade tree selection and management practices by farmers in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There is a traditional practice of forest management in coffee producing communities in Ethiopian moist Afromontane forests to increase coffee production. The practice involves removal of big canopy trees with excessive shade and selectively retaining specific tree species as preferred shade trees. This study was initiated ...

  17. Modeling Ecosystem Services for Park Trees: Sensitivity of i-Tree Eco Simulations to Light Exposure and Tree Species Classification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rocco Pace

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Ecosystem modeling can help decision making regarding planting of urban trees for climate change mitigation and air pollution reduction. Algorithms and models that link the properties of plant functional types, species groups, or single species to their impact on specific ecosystem services have been developed. However, these models require a considerable effort for initialization that is inherently related to uncertainties originating from the high diversity of plant species in urban areas. We therefore suggest a new automated method to be used with the i-Tree Eco model to derive light competition for individual trees and investigate the importance of this property. Since competition depends also on the species, which is difficult to determine from increasingly used remote sensing methodologies, we also investigate the impact of uncertain tree species classification on the ecosystem services by comparing a species-specific inventory determined by field observation with a genus-specific categorization and a model initialization for the dominant deciduous and evergreen species only. Our results show how the simulation of competition affects the determination of carbon sequestration, leaf area, and related ecosystem services and that the proposed method provides a tool for improving estimations. Misclassifications of tree species can lead to large deviations in estimates of ecosystem impacts, particularly concerning biogenic volatile compound emissions. In our test case, monoterpene emissions almost doubled and isoprene emissions decreased to less than 10% when species were estimated to belong only to either two groups instead of being determined by species or genus. It is discussed that this uncertainty of emission estimates propagates further uncertainty in the estimation of potential ozone formation. Overall, we show the importance of using an individual light competition approach and explicitly parameterizing all ecosystem functions at the

  18. Tree-inception in PMMA with a barrier

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gefle, O S; Lebedev, S M; Pokholkov, Y P; Gockenbach, E; Borsi, H

    2004-01-01

    The experimental results of a study of the tree-inception phenomenon for three-layer dielectrics in a divergent field are presented in this paper. It is shown that the tree-inception time depends on both the position of the high-permittivity barrier in the insulating gap and the ratio of the permittivities of the barrier material and main dielectric, and that it has a maximum at the optimal barrier position. It is found that the tree-inception length has a minimum value at this barrier position. Good agreement between the coefficient of the local field non-uniformity and the tree-inception time or the initial tree length was found

  19. 77 FR 25128 - Amended Land Management Plans for the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino National...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-27

    ..., Los Padres, and San Bernardino National Forests, California AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION... amendment of the Land Management Plans for the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino National... Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino National Forests, collectively, ``four forests...

  20. An effective fractal-tree closure model for simulating blood flow in large arterial networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perdikaris, Paris; Grinberg, Leopold; Karniadakis, George Em

    2015-06-01

    The aim of the present work is to address the closure problem for hemodynamic simulations by developing a flexible and effective model that accurately distributes flow in the downstream vasculature and can stably provide a physiological pressure outflow boundary condition. To achieve this goal, we model blood flow in the sub-pixel vasculature by using a non-linear 1D model in self-similar networks of compliant arteries that mimic the structure and hierarchy of vessels in the meso-vascular regime (radii [Formula: see text]). We introduce a variable vessel length-to-radius ratio for small arteries and arterioles, while also addressing non-Newtonian blood rheology and arterial wall viscoelasticity effects in small arteries and arterioles. This methodology aims to overcome substantial cut-off radius sensitivities, typically arising in structured tree and linearized impedance models. The proposed model is not sensitive to outflow boundary conditions applied at the end points of the fractal network, and thus does not require calibration of resistance/capacitance parameters typically required for outflow conditions. The proposed model convergences to a periodic state in two cardiac cycles even when started from zero-flow initial conditions. The resulting fractal-trees typically consist of thousands to millions of arteries, posing the need for efficient parallel algorithms. To this end, we have scaled up a Discontinuous Galerkin solver that utilizes the MPI/OpenMP hybrid programming paradigm to thousands of computer cores, and can simulate blood flow in networks of millions of arterial segments at the rate of one cycle per 5 min. The proposed model has been extensively tested on a large and complex cranial network with 50 parent, patient-specific arteries and 21 outlets to which fractal trees where attached, resulting to a network of up to 4,392,484 vessels in total, and a detailed network of the arm with 276 parent arteries and 103 outlets (a total of 702,188 vessels

  1. How Do Communities Use a Participatory Public Health Approach to Build Resilience? The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bromley, Elizabeth; Eisenman, David P; Magana, Aizita; Williams, Malcolm; Kim, Biblia; McCreary, Michael; Chandra, Anita; Wells, Kenneth B

    2017-10-21

    Community resilience is a key concept in the National Health Security Strategy that emphasizes development of multi-sector partnerships and equity through community engagement. Here, we describe the advancement of CR principles through community participatory methods in the Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience (LACCDR) initiative. LACCDR, an initiative led by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health with academic partners, randomized 16 community coalitions to implement either an Enhanced Standard Preparedness or Community Resilience approach over 24 months. Facilitated by a public health nurse or community educator, coalitions comprised government agencies, community-focused organizations and community members. We used thematic analysis of data from focus groups ( n = 5) and interviews ( n = 6 coalition members; n = 16 facilitators) to compare coalitions' strategies for operationalizing community resilience levers of change (engagement, partnership, self-sufficiency, education). We find that strategies that included bidirectional learning helped coalitions understand and adopt resilience principles. Strategies that operationalized community resilience levers in mutually reinforcing ways (e.g., disseminating information while strengthening partnerships) also secured commitment to resilience principles. We review additional challenges and successes in achieving cross-sector collaboration and engaging at-risk groups in the resilience versus preparedness coalitions. The LACCDR example can inform strategies for uptake and implementation of community resilience and uptake of the resilience concept and methods.

  2. How Do Communities Use a Participatory Public Health Approach to Build Resilience? The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Bromley

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Community resilience is a key concept in the National Health Security Strategy that emphasizes development of multi-sector partnerships and equity through community engagement. Here, we describe the advancement of CR principles through community participatory methods in the Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience (LACCDR initiative. LACCDR, an initiative led by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health with academic partners, randomized 16 community coalitions to implement either an Enhanced Standard Preparedness or Community Resilience approach over 24 months. Facilitated by a public health nurse or community educator, coalitions comprised government agencies, community-focused organizations and community members. We used thematic analysis of data from focus groups (n = 5 and interviews (n = 6 coalition members; n = 16 facilitators to compare coalitions’ strategies for operationalizing community resilience levers of change (engagement, partnership, self-sufficiency, education. We find that strategies that included bidirectional learning helped coalitions understand and adopt resilience principles. Strategies that operationalized community resilience levers in mutually reinforcing ways (e.g., disseminating information while strengthening partnerships also secured commitment to resilience principles. We review additional challenges and successes in achieving cross-sector collaboration and engaging at-risk groups in the resilience versus preparedness coalitions. The LACCDR example can inform strategies for uptake and implementation of community resilience and uptake of the resilience concept and methods.

  3. Coalescent-based species tree inference from gene tree topologies under incomplete lineage sorting by maximum likelihood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yufeng

    2012-03-01

    Incomplete lineage sorting can cause incongruence between the phylogenetic history of genes (the gene tree) and that of the species (the species tree), which can complicate the inference of phylogenies. In this article, I present a new coalescent-based algorithm for species tree inference with maximum likelihood. I first describe an improved method for computing the probability of a gene tree topology given a species tree, which is much faster than an existing algorithm by Degnan and Salter (2005). Based on this method, I develop a practical algorithm that takes a set of gene tree topologies and infers species trees with maximum likelihood. This algorithm searches for the best species tree by starting from initial species trees and performing heuristic search to obtain better trees with higher likelihood. This algorithm, called STELLS (which stands for Species Tree InfErence with Likelihood for Lineage Sorting), has been implemented in a program that is downloadable from the author's web page. The simulation results show that the STELLS algorithm is more accurate than an existing maximum likelihood method for many datasets, especially when there is noise in gene trees. I also show that the STELLS algorithm is efficient and can be applied to real biological datasets. © 2011 The Author. Evolution© 2011 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  4. [Bedside implantation of a new temporary vena cava inferior filter : German results from the European ANGEL registry].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumann, S; Becher, T; Giannakopoulos, K; Jabbour, C; Fastner, C; El-Battrawy, I; Ansari, U; Lossnitzer, D; Behnes, M; Alonso, A; Kirschning, T; Dissmann, R; Kueck, O; Stern, D; Michels, G; Borggrefe, M; Akin, I

    2018-04-01

    Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a frequently occurring complication in critically ill patients, and the simultaneous occurrence of PE and life-threatening bleeding is a therapeutic dilemma. Inferior vena cava filters (IVCF) may represent an important therapeutic alternative in these cases. The Angel® catheter (Bio2 Medical Inc., San Antonio, TX, USA) is a novel IVCF that provides temporary protection from PE and is implanted at bedside without fluoroscopy. The European Angel® Catheter Registry is an observational, multicenter study. In our German substudy, we investigated patients from three German hospitals and four intensive care units, who underwent Angel® catheter implantation between February 2016 and December 2016. A total of 23 critically ill patients (68 ± 9 years, 43% male) were included. The main indication for implantation was a high risk for or an established PE, combined with contraindications for prophylactic or therapeutic anticoagulation due to either an increased risk of bleeding (81%) or active bleeding (13%). The Angel® catheter was successfully inserted in all patients at bedside. No PE occurred in patients with an indwelling Angel® catheter. Clots with a diameter larger the 20 mm, indicating clot migration, were detected in 5% of the patients by cavography before filter retrieval. Filter retrieval was uneventful in all of our cases, while filter dislocation occurred in 3% of the patients. The German data from the multicenter European Angel® Catheter Registry show that the Angel® catheter is a safe and effective approach for critically ill patients with a high risk for the development of PE or an established PE, when an anticoagulation therapy is contraindicated.

  5. Palaeoart at Two Million Years Ago? A Review of the Evidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James B. Harrod

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Current archaeological evidence supports the claim that symbolic behavior, including palaeoart, first emerged in human evolution around 1 million years ago. The purpose of this article is to review archaeological studies that might support the hypothesis that the earliest palaeoart actually is evident around 2 million years ago. This review identifies nine Oldowan artifacts that have been proposed as possible non-utilitarian and possibly symbolic behavior. Among seven stone tools, the three strongest candidates are the Olduvai Gorge, the FLK North grooved and pecked cobble, ~1.80 million years ago, and MNK Main subspheroid with hexagon shape framing an apparent natural dot-and-undulating-line motif, ~1.5–1.6 million years ago, both initially reported and described by Mary Leakey; and the curated Koobi Fora FxJj1 “broken core” with inner rhomboid shape, ~1.87 million years ago. All six stone tools from Olduvai Gorge need scientific re-examination to determine their chaîne opératoire and assess non-utilitarian features. If even one of the Olduvai Gorge artifacts were validated as symbolic behavior this would indicate the emergence of palaeoart one million years earlier than current proposals. It would also suggest that Homo habilis/rudolfensis or a very early Homo erectus had substantially more advanced cognitive, design and symbolic competencies than inferred in current theories. It would constitute a challenge to develop more advanced cognitive semiotic and art-theoretic analytical tools for illuminating the role of such palaeoart in hominin cultural evolution.

  6. Tree Survival and Growth Following Ice Storm Injury

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walter C. Shortle; Kevin T. Smith; Kenneth R. Dudzik

    2003-01-01

    Nearly 25 million acres of forest from northwestern New York and southern Quebec to the south-central Maine coast were coated with ice from a 3-day storm in early January 1998. This storm was unusual in its size and the duration of icing. Trees throughout the region were injured as branches and stems broke and forks split under the weight of the ice. These injuries...

  7. Hotel guest's $14.5 million jury verdict set aside on appeal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-08-20

    A Missouri Court of Appeals judge reversed a $14.5 million judgement against [name removed] Inc., which had been held liable for the beating and sexual assault of a guest in its hotel. The guest, identified as [name removed], had requested an upgrade to a concierge room, to increase her safety, but the hotel did not fill her request. When [name removed] opened her hotel room door the next morning, an assailant attacked, beat and raped her. The assailant escaped hotel security, but was later apprehended. The initial case against [name removed] and the assailant resulted in a $22.5 million judgement for [name removed] Both parties appealed. [Name removed] prevailed in its argument that the initial trial judge misinstructed the jury, and that [name removed] was unable to show clear and convincing evidence that the hotel's willful or conscious disregard for guest safety caused the situation. However, the court ruled against [name removed] on the basis of [name removed]'s fear-of-AIDS claim, because of her exposure to the virus.

  8. Algorithms for Decision Tree Construction

    KAUST Repository

    Chikalov, Igor

    2011-01-01

    The study of algorithms for decision tree construction was initiated in 1960s. The first algorithms are based on the separation heuristic [13, 31] that at each step tries dividing the set of objects as evenly as possible. Later Garey and Graham [28] showed that such algorithm may construct decision trees whose average depth is arbitrarily far from the minimum. Hyafil and Rivest in [35] proved NP-hardness of DT problem that is constructing a tree with the minimum average depth for a diagnostic problem over 2-valued information system and uniform probability distribution. Cox et al. in [22] showed that for a two-class problem over information system, even finding the root node attribute for an optimal tree is an NP-hard problem. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.

  9. Detecting influences on California drought intervals using isotopes in tree-ring cellulose

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanner, L. C.; Buenning, N. H.; Stott, L. D.; Stahle, D. W.

    2012-12-01

    Multi-decadal drought events have characterized climate variability in California over the last century. However, the causes of interannual precipitation variability and the origins of multi-decadal drought in California remain unclear. We utilize the oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of tree-ring cellulose in combination with previously developed ring-width measurements to trace the delivery of moisture to the region and investigate ocean-atmosphere patterns that might generate prolonged drought. Of the 36 Quercus douglasii (blue oak) sites in the California central valley, we have focused our work at two locations - one north of Los Angeles (34.74°N, 120°W, 1036 masl) and the other east of San Francisco (37.88°N 121.97°W, 182 masl). Using cores from at least five different trees at each location, tree-ring cellulose δ18O was measured for each year of growth from 1954 to 2004. The δ18O values of tree-ring cellulose range from 29‰ to 34‰ (VSMOW) at both sites and exhibit shared interannual variance (r = 0.43, p shifts in the moisture source region are of primary importance because moisture from high latitude sources has a lower isotopic composition compared to subtropical regions. Using NCAR reanalysis data, wind field anomalies suggest that moisture is derived from the north during dry years (low δ18O) and from the subtropics during wet years (high δ18O). Additional processes such as condensation height and post-condensation effects may also be important in controlling isotopic variability.

  10. The research of the style of angel lobster eye x-ray optical system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, HuaQi; Liu, YuJiao; Zhang, ShaoWei; Hou, LinBao; Li, XingLong

    2018-01-01

    This paper has developed the theory research of wide field Angel lobster eye X-ray optical system based on the principle of entirely incidence. Combine the configuration characteristic of lobster eye, recommend the conclusion of beam of light focus on the half of radius whether point or parallel light. Designed the microchannel through the principle of real ray trace and got the relationship among different parameters about it using numerical value emulation. Got pixels and illumination pictures validated the wide field focus characteristic of Angel lobster eye by simulating the optical system.

  11. Does tree planting pay us back? Lessons from Sacramento, CA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yekang Ko; Lara A. Roman; E. Gregory McPherson; Junhak. Lee

    2016-01-01

    The past decade could be called a renaissance of urban forestry, driven by mayoral tree planting initiatives and increased attention on city trees as green infrastructure. The political support for urban greening has been fueled by research that quantifies and projects the ecosystem services of planting initiatives (Young and McPherson 2013). Major cities have been...

  12. Neighborhood Food Environment, Diet, and Obesity Among Los Angeles County Adults, 2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mejia, Nelly; Lightstone, Amy S; Basurto-Davila, Ricardo; Morales, Douglas M; Sturm, Roland

    2015-09-03

    The objective of this study was to examine whether an association exists between the number and type of food outlets in a neighborhood and dietary intake and body mass index (BMI) among adults in Los Angeles County. We also assessed whether this association depends on the geographic size of the food environment. We analyzed data from the 2011 Los Angeles County Health Survey. We created buffers (from 0.25 to 3.0 miles in radius) centered in respondents' residential addresses and counted the number of food outlets by type in each buffer. Dependent variables were weekly intake of fruits and vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fast food; BMI; and being overweight (BMI ≥25.0 kg/m(2)) or obese (BMI ≥30.0 kg/m(2)). Explanatory variables were the number of outlets classified as fast-food outlets, convenience stores, small food stores, grocery stores, and supermarkets. Regressions were estimated for all sets of explanatory variables and buffer size combinations (150 total effects). Only 2 of 150 effects were significant after being adjusted for multiple comparisons. The number of fast-food restaurants in nonwalkable areas (in a 3.0-mile radius) was positively associated with fast-food consumption, and the number of convenience stores in a walkable distance (in a 0.25-mile radius) was negatively associated with obesity. Little evidence was found for associations between proximity of respondents' homes to food outlets and dietary intake or BMI among adults in Los Angeles County. A possible explanation for the null finding is that shopping patterns are weakly related to neighborhoods in Los Angeles County because of motorized transportation.

  13. Potentially induced earthquakes during the early twentieth century in the Los Angeles Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hough, Susan E.; Page, Morgan T.

    2016-01-01

    Recent studies have presented evidence that early to mid‐twentieth‐century earthquakes in Oklahoma and Texas were likely induced by fossil fuel production and/or injection of wastewater (Hough and Page, 2015; Frohlich et al., 2016). Considering seismicity from 1935 onward, Hauksson et al. (2015) concluded that there is no evidence for significant induced activity in the greater Los Angeles region between 1935 and the present. To explore a possible association between earthquakes prior to 1935 and oil and gas production, we first revisit the historical catalog and then review contemporary oil industry activities. Although early industry activities did not induce large numbers of earthquakes, we present evidence for an association between the initial oil boom in the greater Los Angeles area and earthquakes between 1915 and 1932, including the damaging 22 June 1920 Inglewood and 8 July 1929 Whittier earthquakes. We further consider whether the 1933 Mw 6.4 Long Beach earthquake might have been induced, and show some evidence that points to a causative relationship between the earthquake and activities in the Huntington Beach oil field. The hypothesis that the Long Beach earthquake was either induced or triggered by an foreshock cannot be ruled out. Our results suggest that significant earthquakes in southern California during the early twentieth century might have been associated with industry practices that are no longer employed (i.e., production without water reinjection), and do not necessarily imply a high likelihood of induced earthquakes at the present time.

  14. PM 10 and ozone control strategy to improve visibility in the los angeles basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farber, Robert J.; Welsing, Peter R.; Rozzi, Carlo

    The greater Los Angeles metropolitan area is in violation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) ambient standards for both ozone and PM 10. Accompanying these violations are hazy summer conditions, with current annual median visibility in the inland portions of Los Angeles running about 13 km, and visibilities decreasing to about 3 km on the 90th percentile days (worst days). The USEPA has given the local air pollution control agency until 2010 to bring the area into compliance with these standards. Because of continued population growth, accompanying light industry, dependence on private motor vehicles, and adverse natural meteorological conditions, emission reductions costing billions of dollars will be needed between now and 2010. The combination of emission reductions which will result in the fastest ozone and PM 10 cleanup at the lowest cost are presented. Substantial emission reductions in NO x, reactive hydrocarbons, SO x, ammonia, soot and fugitive dust will result in visibility improvements in the Los Angeles area. However, enactment of this comprehensive control strategy will only improve the annual median visibility to about 20 km and the 90th percentile days to 6.5 km. Significant changes in fine mass will result in relatively small changes in perceived visibility since the human eye is unable to differentiate visual range changes even as large as 40% in an urban landscape typical of Los Angeles.

  15. Scenario evolution: Interaction between event tree construction and numerical analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barr, G.E.; Barnard, R.W.; Dockery, H.A.; Dunn, E.; MacIntyre, A.T.

    1991-01-01

    Construction of well-posed scenarios for the range of conditions possible at any proposed repository site is a critical first step to assessing total system performance. Even tree construction is the method that is being used to develop potential failure scenarios for the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. An event tree begins with an initial event or condition. Subsequent events are listed in a sequence, leading eventually to release of radionuclides to the accessible environment. Ensuring the validity of the scenarios requires iteration between problems constructed using scenarios contained in the event tree sequence, experimental results, and numerical analyses. Details not adequately captured within the tree initially may become more apparent as a result of analyses. To illustrate this process, we discuss the iterations used to develop numerical analyses for PACE-90 using basaltic igneous activity and human-intrusion event trees

  16. Stewardship matters: Case studies in establishment success of urban trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lara A. Roman; Lindsey A. Walker; Catherine M. Martineau; David J. Muffly; Susan A. MacQueen; Winnie Harris

    2015-01-01

    Urban tree planting initiatives aim to provide ecosystem services that materialize decades after planting, therefore understanding tree survival and growth is essential to evaluating planting program performance. Tree mortality is relatively high during the establishment phase, the first few years after planting. Qualitative assessments of programs with particularly...

  17. Environmental Assessment. Proposed Air Force Space Division Housing Project, White Point, Los Angeles, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-07-01

    render any potential impactsnegligible. 5 E. Diking, Dredging and Shoreline Structures The project would have no effect on these areas of concern; see3...San Juan Capistrano Indians of Southern California [1812-1826]") and Hugo Reid’s letters I printed in the Los Angeles Star in the 1800’s ( Heizer 1968...California5 n.d. A Brief History of Fort MacArthur. Heizer , R. F. (ed.) 1968 The Indians of Los Angeles County: Hugo Reid’s Letters of 1852

  18. Electromagnetic Transient Response Analysis of DFIG under Cascading Grid Faults Considering Phase Angel Jumps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Yun; Wu, Qiuwei

    2014-01-01

    This paper analysis the electromagnetic transient response characteristics of DFIG under symmetrical and asymmetrical cascading grid fault conditions considering phaseangel jump of grid. On deriving the dynamic equations of the DFIG with considering multiple constraints on balanced and unbalanced...... conditions, phase angel jumps, interval of cascading fault, electromagnetic transient characteristics, the principle of the DFIG response under cascading voltage fault can be extract. The influence of grid angel jump on the transient characteristic of DFIG is analyzed and electromagnetic response...

  19. Angels as Mirrors of the Human: The Anthropologies of Rilke and Bonaventure through the Lenses of Hans Urs von Balthasar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yves De Maeseneer

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In this article we present a theological-anthropological exploration, interpreting the figure of the angel as a mirror of our human condition. The point of departure is an analysis of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s approach to two major sources of our imagination of the angel: Bonaventure (1221−1274 and Maria Rainer Rilke (1875−1926. A comparison of his accounts of the Franciscan theologian and the Modern poet, respectively, reveals remarkable parallels in discourse, clustered around the tensions between vulnerability and openness, immanence and transcendence, and love and loss. Both Rilke and Bonaventure reject the classical angel figure as a human ideal, as it cannot integrate the paradoxes of human existence. Their alternative visions of what it means to be human, have many terms in common: heart, vulnerability, mortality, openness, abyss, suspension, transparency, receptivity, descent (kenosis, humility, poverty, etc. However, their meaning is different because Rilke does not recognize an absolute transcendence as the source of love and the vis-a-vis of the human. This immanentism leaves him no other option than the vain attempt to exorcize the angel figure altogether, while Bonaventure’s vision preserves the angel as an anthropological mirror, albeit an angel radically transfigured by God’s wounded love.

  20. A Sustainability Initiative to Quantify Carbon Sequestration by Campus Trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, Helen M.

    2012-01-01

    Over 3,900 trees on a university campus were inventoried by an instructor-led team of geography undergraduates in order to quantify the carbon sequestration associated with biomass growth. The setting of the project is described, together with its logistics, methodology, outcomes, and benefits. This hands-on project provided a team of students…

  1. Letting Los Angeles Go: Lessons from Feral Landscapes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joan Woodward

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Los Angeles is home to numerous feral landscapes: designed gardens no longer receiving intentional care. These are cultivated gardens, usually composed of plants from myriad global climate types, which have been abandoned or neglected and have adapted to native rainfall or unintentional water sources such as broken irrigation systems. They are found in canyons and ridges swept by fire, along rights-of-way where properties were condemned for freeways, in once-glorious neighbourhoods fallen on hard times, and in places where speculation places properties on hold. They are found in all regions and are particularly vivid in Los Angeles, proclaimed as "Lurch City" by Cuff (2000, where disruptive urban convulsions are frequent. These sites are rich with information pertinent to conceivable futures in which supplemental resources and care may not be reliable. This article portrays selected feral landscapes, briefly describes their responses to pervasive urban forces over time, and extracts design attributes to consider when creating future resilient landscapes. Scrutiny of these landscapes' decline and tenacity reveals a telling view of a region's volatility and global context and reminds us to take into account probable neglect when shaping future landscapes.

  2. The Criminalization of Black Angeleno Women: Institutionalized Racism and Sexism in Los Angeles, 1928-1938

    OpenAIRE

    Boyd, Kaitlin Therese

    2012-01-01

    "The Criminalization of Black Angeleno Women" illuminates what happened in early 20th century Los Angeles when African American women, particularly working poor females, came into contact with the Los Angeles Police Department, the court system and the local, mainstream media. Individually, but especially collaboratively, these institutions lead to the overrepresentation of Black, statistically and in the public mind, in the local sex trade. Essentially, this thesis traces the biases of the...

  3. PORTRAIT IN LITERATURE AND GRAPHIC ART: THE CASE OF THE FIERY ANGEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia A. Drovaleva

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This essay analyzes portraits in several editions of The Fiery Angel published during This essay analyzes portraits in several editions of The Fiery Angel published during Bryusov’s lifetime and claims that the portrait was as a universal point of convergence for verbal and visual arts. The dialogue between literature and graphics in the context of the synthesis of arts sheds new light on the possibilities for interdisciplinary research. The time of the “beautiful book” was a time of great artists and illustrators who introduced the peculiarities of their own style and the manner of their artistic schools into their art. Books were commonly decorated with vignettes and famous paintings. Portraits, as well as plates in general, were of the highest quality. They were ornamental and illusory, with every minute detail finely drawn out. Yet, in the second edition of the novel Bryusov deliberately included medieval engravings and portraits. A comparative analysis of the verbal portraits in The Fiery Angel and engraved portraits in the book (Ruprecht, Heinrich, Faust, Mephistopheles, Renata, and Madiel demonstrates that both the main and the secondary characters of the novel are picturesque and multidimensional whereas the xylographic portraits rather reveal conventionality and simplicity of the medieval time. This way Bryusov was seeking to debase clichе’s, especially as regards Agrippa von Nettesheim and Faust: according to Bryusov, the character of Agrippa had already become a clichе’d image and so was the popular engraving of the scientist that he reproduced in the middle of the sixth chapter of the 1909 edition. Juxtaposing the verbal and the graphic portraits in The Fiery Angel helps us better understand the function of the verbal portrait in a Symbolist text that was determined by the author’s design, on the one hand, and by various “instruments” of different arts, on the other.

  4. Scenario evolution: Interaction between event tree construction and numerical analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barr, G.E.; Barnard, R.W.; Dockery, H.A.; Dunn, E.; MacIntyre, A.T.

    1990-01-01

    Construction of well-posed scenarios for the range of conditions possible at any proposed repository site is a critical first step to assessing total system performance. Event tree construction is the method that is being used to develop potential failure scenarios for the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. An event tree begins with an initial event or condition. Subsequent events are listed in a sequence, leading eventually to release of radionuclides to the accessible environment. Ensuring the validity of the scenarios requires iteration between problems constructed using scenarios contained in the event tree sequence, experimental results, and numerical analyses. Details not adequately captured within the tree initially may become more apparent as a result of analyses. To illustrate this process, the authors discuss the iterations used to develop numerical analyses for PACE-90 (Performance Assessment Calculational Exercises) using basaltic igneous activity and human-intrusion event trees

  5. Can acceptable quality angel food cakes be made using pasteurized shell eggs? The effects of processing factors on functional properties of angel food cakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Due to recent incidences of Salmonella contamination, the market for pasteurized shell eggs is rapidly growing. One objection to using pasteurized shell eggs is the belief that they will produce unacceptable baked product (e.g., angel food cakes). In the present study, shell eggs were pasteurized us...

  6. Soil cover by natural trees in agroforestry systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz-Ambrona, C. G. H.; Almoguera Millán, C.; Tarquis Alfonso, A.

    2009-04-01

    The dehesa is common agroforestry system in the Iberian Peninsula. These open oak parklands with silvo-pastoral use cover about two million hectares. Traditionally annual pastures have been grazed by cows, sheep and also goats while acorns feed Iberian pig diet. Evergreen oak (Quercus ilex L.) has other uses as fuelwood collection and folder after tree pruning. The hypothesis of this work is that tree density and canopy depend on soil types. We using the spanish GIS called SIGPAC to download the images of dehesa in areas with different soil types. True colour images were restoring to a binary code, previously canopy colour range was selected. Soil cover by tree canopy was calculated and number of trees. Processing result was comparable to real data. With these data we have applied a dynamic simulation model Dehesa to determine evergreen oak acorn and annual pasture production. The model Dehesa is divided into five submodels: Climate, Soil, Evergreen oak, Pasture and Grazing. The first three require the inputs: (i) daily weather data (maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation and solar radiation); (ii) the soil input parameters for three horizons (thickness, field capacity, permanent wilting point, and bulk density); and (iii) the tree characterization of the dehesa (tree density, canopy diameter and height, and diameter of the trunk). The influence of tree on pasture potential production is inversely proportional to the canopy cover. Acorn production increase with tree canopy cover until stabilizing itself, and will decrease if density becomes too high (more than 80% soil tree cover) at that point there is competition between the trees. Main driving force for dehesa productivity is soil type for pasture, and tree cover for acorn production. Highest pasture productivity was obtained on soil Dystric Planosol (Alfisol), Dystric Cambisol and Chromo-calcic-luvisol, these soils only cover 22.4% of southwest of the Iberian peninssula. Lowest productivity was

  7. Computer vision applied to herbarium specimens of German trees: testing the future utility of the millions of herbarium specimen images for automated identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unger, Jakob; Merhof, Dorit; Renner, Susanne

    2016-11-16

    Global Plants, a collaborative between JSTOR and some 300 herbaria, now contains about 2.48 million high-resolution images of plant specimens, a number that continues to grow, and collections that are digitizing their specimens at high resolution are allocating considerable recourses to the maintenance of computer hardware (e.g., servers) and to acquiring digital storage space. We here apply machine learning, specifically the training of a Support-Vector-Machine, to classify specimen images into categories, ideally at the species level, using the 26 most common tree species in Germany as a test case. We designed an analysis pipeline and classification system consisting of segmentation, normalization, feature extraction, and classification steps and evaluated the system in two test sets, one with 26 species, the other with 17, in each case using 10 images per species of plants collected between 1820 and 1995, which simulates the empirical situation that most named species are represented in herbaria and databases, such as JSTOR, by few specimens. We achieved 73.21% accuracy of species assignments in the larger test set, and 84.88% in the smaller test set. The results of this first application of a computer vision algorithm trained on images of herbarium specimens shows that despite the problem of overlapping leaves, leaf-architectural features can be used to categorize specimens to species with good accuracy. Computer vision is poised to play a significant role in future rapid identification at least for frequently collected genera or species in the European flora.

  8. Quantifying and Mapping the Supply of and Demand for Carbon Storage and Sequestration Service from Urban Trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Chang; Sander, Heather A.

    2015-01-01

    Studies that assess the distribution of benefits provided by ecosystem services across urban areas are increasingly common. Nevertheless, current knowledge of both the supply and demand sides of ecosystem services remains limited, leaving a gap in our understanding of balance between ecosystem service supply and demand that restricts our ability to assess and manage these services. The present study seeks to fill this gap by developing and applying an integrated approach to quantifying the supply and demand of a key ecosystem service, carbon storage and sequestration, at the local level. This approach follows three basic steps: (1) quantifying and mapping service supply based upon Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) processing and allometric models, (2) quantifying and mapping demand for carbon sequestration using an indicator based on local anthropogenic CO2 emissions, and (3) mapping a supply-to-demand ratio. We illustrate this approach using a portion of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minnesota, USA. Our results indicate that 1735.69 million kg carbon are stored by urban trees in our study area. Annually, 33.43 million kg carbon are sequestered by trees, whereas 3087.60 million kg carbon are emitted by human sources. Thus, carbon sequestration service provided by urban trees in the study location play a minor role in combating climate change, offsetting approximately 1% of local anthropogenic carbon emissions per year, although avoided emissions via storage in trees are substantial. Our supply-to-demand ratio map provides insight into the balance between carbon sequestration supply in urban trees and demand for such sequestration at the local level, pinpointing critical locations where higher levels of supply and demand exist. Such a ratio map could help planners and policy makers to assess and manage the supply of and demand for carbon sequestration. PMID:26317530

  9. Quantifying and Mapping the Supply of and Demand for Carbon Storage and Sequestration Service from Urban Trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Chang; Sander, Heather A

    2015-01-01

    Studies that assess the distribution of benefits provided by ecosystem services across urban areas are increasingly common. Nevertheless, current knowledge of both the supply and demand sides of ecosystem services remains limited, leaving a gap in our understanding of balance between ecosystem service supply and demand that restricts our ability to assess and manage these services. The present study seeks to fill this gap by developing and applying an integrated approach to quantifying the supply and demand of a key ecosystem service, carbon storage and sequestration, at the local level. This approach follows three basic steps: (1) quantifying and mapping service supply based upon Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) processing and allometric models, (2) quantifying and mapping demand for carbon sequestration using an indicator based on local anthropogenic CO2 emissions, and (3) mapping a supply-to-demand ratio. We illustrate this approach using a portion of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minnesota, USA. Our results indicate that 1735.69 million kg carbon are stored by urban trees in our study area. Annually, 33.43 million kg carbon are sequestered by trees, whereas 3087.60 million kg carbon are emitted by human sources. Thus, carbon sequestration service provided by urban trees in the study location play a minor role in combating climate change, offsetting approximately 1% of local anthropogenic carbon emissions per year, although avoided emissions via storage in trees are substantial. Our supply-to-demand ratio map provides insight into the balance between carbon sequestration supply in urban trees and demand for such sequestration at the local level, pinpointing critical locations where higher levels of supply and demand exist. Such a ratio map could help planners and policy makers to assess and manage the supply of and demand for carbon sequestration.

  10. Weathering the storm: how lodgepole pine trees survive mountain pine beetle outbreaks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erbilgin, Nadir; Cale, Jonathan A; Hussain, Altaf; Ishangulyyeva, Guncha; Klutsch, Jennifer G; Najar, Ahmed; Zhao, Shiyang

    2017-06-01

    Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks in western North America killed millions of lodgepole pine trees, leaving few survivors. However, the mechanism underlying the ability of trees to survive bark beetle outbreaks is unknown, but likely involve phytochemicals such as monoterpenes and fatty acids that can drive beetle aggregation and colonization on their hosts. Thus, we conducted a field survey of beetle-resistant lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) trees to retrospectively deduce whether these phytochemicals underlie their survival by comparing their chemistry to that of non-attacked trees in the same stands. We also compared beetle attack characteristics between resistant and beetle-killed trees. Beetle-killed trees had more beetle attacks and longer ovipositional galleries than resistant trees, which also lacked the larval establishment found in beetle-killed trees. Resistant trees contained high amounts of toxic and attraction-inhibitive compounds and low amounts of pheromone-precursor and synergist compounds. During beetle host aggregation and colonization, these compounds likely served three critical roles in tree survival. First, low amounts of pheromone-precursor (α-pinene) and synergist (mycrene, terpinolene) compounds reduced or prevented beetles from attracting conspecifics to residual trees. Second, high amounts of 4-allyanisole further inhibited beetle attraction to its pheromone. Finally, high amounts of toxic limonene, 3-carene, 4-allyanisole, α-linolenic acid, and linoleic acid inhibited beetle gallery establishment and oviposition. We conclude that the variation of chemotypic expression of local plant populations can have profound ecological consequences including survival during insect outbreaks.

  11. 2009 Tactical Wheeled Vehicles Conference (TWV)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-02-03

    fields. 5 ... Spent $265.2 Million in Reset of TWVs … or larger than the entire 2007 revenue of the Los Angeles Dodgers . ... Spent $265.2 Million in...Reset of T Vs or larger than the entire 2007 revenue of the Los Angeles Dodgers . ... Maintains over 29,000 Tactical Wheeled Vehicles in theater … or

  12. Media Outlet and Consumer Reactions to Promotional Activities of the Choose Health LA Restaurants Program in Los Angeles County.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gase, Lauren N; Montes, Christine; Robles, Brenda; Tyree, Rachel; Kuo, Tony

    2016-01-01

    This study sought to assess promotional activities undertaken to raise public awareness of the Choose Health LA Restaurants program in Los Angeles County, an environmental change strategy that recognizes restaurants for offering reduced-size and healthier menu options. We used multiple methods to assess public awareness of and reactions to the promotional activities, including an assessment of the reach of core promotional activities, a content analysis of earned media, and an Internet panel survey. The study was conducted in Los Angeles County, home to more than 10 million residents. An online survey firm recruited participants for an Internet panel survey; to facilitate generalization of results to the county's population, statistical weights were applied to analyses of the survey data. Promotional activities to raise awareness of the program included community engagement, in-store promotion, and a media campaign. Outcomes included media impressions, the number of people who reported seeing the Choose Health LA Restaurants logo, and a description of the themes present in earned media. Collectively, paid media outlets reported 335 587 229 total impressions. The Internet panel survey showed that 12% of people reported seeing the program logo. Common themes in earned media included the Choose Health LA Restaurants program aims to provide restaurant patrons with more choices, represents a new opportunity for restaurants and public health to work together, will benefit participating restaurants, and will positively impact health. Promotional activities for the Choose Health LA Restaurants program achieved modest reach and positive reactions from media outlets and consumers. The program strategy and lessons learned can help inform present and future efforts to combine environmental and individually focused strategies that target key influences of consumer food selection.

  13. Tree production in desert regions using effluent and water harvesting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin M. Karpiscak; Gerald J. Gottfried

    2000-01-01

    Treated municipal effluent combined with water harvesting can be used for land restoration and enhancing the growth of important riparian tree species. Paired studies in Arizona are assessing the potential of growing trees using mixtures of effluent and potable water. Trees are grown in the field and in containers. Initial results from the field show high survival for...

  14. Alcohol outlet density and alcohol consumption in Los Angeles county and southern Louisiana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthias Schonlau

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between alcohol availability, as measured by the density of off-premise alcohol outlets, and alcohol consumption in Los Angeles county and southern Louisiana, USA. Consumption information was collected through a telephone survey of 2,881 households in Los Angeles county and pre-Katrina southern Louisiana, nested within 220 census tracts. Respondents’ addresses were geo-coded and both neighbourhood (census tracts and buffers of varying sizes and individual (network distance to the closest alcohol outlet estimates of off-sale alcohol outlet density were computed. Alcohol outlet density was not associated with the percentage of people who were drinkers in either site. Alcohol outlet density was associated with the quantity of consumption among drinkers in Louisiana but not in Los Angeles. Outlet density within a one-mile buffer of the respondent’s home was more strongly associated with alcohol consumption than outlet density in the respondent’s census tract. The conclusion is that the relationship between neighbourhood alcohol outlet density and alcohol consumption is complex and may vary due to differences in neighbourhood design and travel patterns.

  15. The 50 million missing women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allahbadia, Gautam N

    2002-09-01

    The epidemic of gender selection is ravaging countries like India & China. Approximately fifty million women are "missing" in the Indian population. Generally three principle causes are given: female infanticide, better food and health care for boys and maternal death at childbirth. Prenatal sex determination and the abortion of female fetuses threatens to skew the sex ratio to new highs. Estimates of the number of female fetuses being destroyed every year in India vary from two million to five million. This review from India attempts to summarize all the currently available methods of sex selection and also highlights the current medical practice regards the subject in south-east Asia.

  16. Remotely sensed predictors of conifer tree mortality during severe drought

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brodrick, P. G.; Asner, G. P.

    2017-11-01

    Widespread, drought-induced forest mortality has been documented on every forested continent over the last two decades, yet early pre-mortality indicators of tree death remain poorly understood. Remotely sensed physiological-based measures offer a means for large-scale analysis to understand and predict drought-induced mortality. Here, we use laser-guided imaging spectroscopy from multiple years of aerial surveys to assess the impact of sustained canopy water loss on tree mortality. We analyze both gross canopy mortality in 2016 and the change in mortality between 2015 and 2016 in millions of sampled conifer forest locations throughout the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. On average, sustained water loss and gross mortality are strongly related, and year-to-year water loss within the drought indicates subsequent mortality. Both relationships are consistent after controlling for location and tree community composition, suggesting that these metrics may serve as indicators of mortality during a drought.

  17. Observations and modeling of aboveground tree carbon stocks and fluxes following a bark beetle outbreak in the western United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eric M. Pfeifer; Jeffrey A. Hicke; Arjan J.H. Meddens

    2011-01-01

    Bark beetle epidemics result in tree mortality across millions of hectares in North America. However, few studies have quantified impacts on carbon (C) cycling. In this study, we quantified the immediate response and subsequent trajectories of stand-level aboveground tree C stocks and fluxes using field measurements and modeling for a location in central Idaho, USA...

  18. DEMON/ANGEL - A SUITE OF PROGRAMS TO CARRY OUT DENSITY MODIFICATION

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    VELLIEUX, FMDAP; HUNT, JF; ROY, S; READ, RJ

    1995-01-01

    The DEMON/ANGEL suite of computer programs has been developed to carry out density modification by non-crystallographic symmetry-averaging, solvent-flattening and histogram-mapping techniques. This suite consists of programs that allow molecular envelopes to be defined and modified,

  19. The Relationship between On-Farm Shade Trees and Cocoa Yields in Ghana

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Asare, Richard

    Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is a crop that is widely cultivated across West Africa with Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria contributing about 70% of the global production. In Ghana cocoa contributes significantly to the national economy as over 20% of the world’s cocoa production comes from...... the country, making it the world’s second largest producer with an annual production level of over 700,000 metric tons, and an estimated cultivation area of ca. 1.6 million ha. Cocoa is mostly cultivated by smallholder farmers either as a monocrop or in association with other food crops, tree crops and under...... the cover of shade trees – cocoa agroforestry. This thesis hypothesizes that canopy cover of shade trees in low input (low-to-no fertilizer application) cocoa growing systems can contribute to cocoa yield improvements. The main theme deals with shade trees diversity and its effects on cocoa production...

  20. Energy transition or incremental change? Green policy agendas and the adaptability of the urban energy regime in Los Angeles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monstadt, Jochen; Wolff, Annika

    2015-01-01

    Drawing on recent research in urban policy studies and social studies of technology, this paper examines the capability of urban energy regimes in adapting to environmental policy pressures. Focusing on the case of the City of Los Angeles, we critically analyze the transformative capacity of the city's recent energy and climate policies and the innovation patterns of its urban infrastructure regime. This case study suggests that despite considerable success in switching from coal to renewable energies, the patterns of sociotechnical change in Los Angeles still tend to supplement and sustain the existing regime. Sociotechnical change in Los Angeles tends to unfold incrementally through adjustments within the established patterns of the existing regime. - Highlights: • Theory-guided case study on the transition of the urban energy regime in Los Angeles. • Evaluation of the transformative capacity of environmental policies. • Assessment of the adaptability and innovation patterns of urban infrastructure regimes. • The policy changes have sustained the existing regime and unfold incrementally

  1. Sexual and Gender Minority Youth in Foster Care: Assessing Disproportionality and Disparities in Los Angeles

    OpenAIRE

    Wilson, Bianca DM; Cooper, Khush; Kastanis, Angeliki; Nezhad, Sheila

    2014-01-01

    LGBTQ foster youth are twice as likely to report poor treatment and more likely to live in group homes and to have more foster care placements. Approximately 1 in 5, or 1,400 foster youth in Los Angeles County, home to the nation’s largest population of foster youth, identify as LGBTQ. The finding is twice the estimated percentage of youth not in foster care who are LGBTQ. Generally, LGBTQ foster youth mirror the racial/ethnic demographic of all foster youth in Los Angeles County. The majorit...

  2. Initial soil respiration response to biomass harvesting and green-tree retention in aspen-dominated forests of the Great Lakes region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurth, Valerie J.; Bradford, John B.; Slesak, Robert A.; D'Amato, Anthony W.

    2014-01-01

    Contemporary forest management practices are increasingly designed to optimize novel objectives, such as maximizing biomass feedstocks and/or maintaining ecological legacies, but many uncertainties exist regarding how these practices influence forest carbon (C) cycling. We examined the responses of soil respiration (Rs) to biomass harvesting and green-tree retention in an effort to empirically assess their impacts on C cycling. We measured Rs and soil microclimatic variables over four growing seasons following implementation of these management practices using a fully replicated, operational-scale experiment in aspen-dominated forests in northern Minnesota. Treatments included three levels of biomass removal within harvested areas: whole-tree harvest (no slash deliberately retained), 20% slash retained, and stem-only harvest (all slash retained), and two levels of green-tree retention: 0.1 ha aggregate or none. The relative amount of biomass removed had a negligible effect on Rs in harvested areas, but treatment effects were probably obscured by heterogeneous slash configurations and rapid post-harvest regeneration of aspen in all of the treatments. Discrete measurements of Rs and soil temperature within green-tree aggregates were not discernible from surrounding harvested areas or unharvested control stands until the fourth year following harvest, when Rs was higher in unharvested controls than in aggregates and harvested stands. Growing season estimates of Rs showed that unharvested control stands had higher Rs than both harvested stands and aggregates in the first and third years following harvest. Our results suggest that retention of larger forest aggregates may be necessary to maintain ecosystem-level responses similar to those in unharvested stands. Moreover, they highlight the innate complexity of operational-scale research and suggest that the initial impacts of biomass harvest on Rs may be indiscernible from traditional harvest in systems where incidental

  3. Diversity and Educational Challenges in Oslo and Los Angeles - A Metropolitan Perspective nr 2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamil ÖZERK

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Receiving, accommodation and education of children with immigrant background is one of the challenging issues in almost all the metropolitan areas in many countries. In our study we are exploring the impact of demographic changes on political agendas, legal frames, educational approaches, research findings and student achievement in the field of education of linguistic minorities in Oslo, Norway and Los Angeles, USA. Although there are significant historical and socio economical differences between Los Angeles and Oslo, many of the educational challenges facing the educational policy makers and the linguistic minority students are quite similar.

  4. MULTI-TEMPORAL ASSESSMENT OF LYCHEE TREE CROP STRUCTURE USING MULTI-SPECTRAL RPAS IMAGERY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Johansen

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The lychee tree is native to China and produce small fleshy fruit up to 5 cm in diameter. Lychee production in Australia is worth > $20 million annually. Pruning of trees encourages new growth, has a positive effect on fruiting of lychee, makes fruit-picking easier, and may increase yield, as it increases light interception and tree crown surface area. The objective of this research was to assess changes in tree structure, i.e. tree crown circumference, width, height and Plant Projective Cover (PPC using multi-spectral Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS imagery collected before and after pruning of a lychee plantation. A secondary objective was to assess any variations in the results as a function of various flying heights (30, 50 and 70 m. Pre- and post-pruning results showed significant differences in all measured tree structural parameters, including an average decrease in: tree crown circumference of 1.94 m; tree crown width of 0.57 m; tree crown height of 0.62 m; and PPC of 14.8 %. The different flying heights produced similar measurements of tree crown width and PPC, whereas tree crown circumference and height measurements decreased with increasing flying height. These results show that multi-spectral RPAS imagery can provide a suitable means of assessing pruning efforts undertaken by contractors based on changes in tree structure of lychee plantations and that it is important to collect imagery in a consistent manner, as varying flying heights may cause changes to tree structural measurements.

  5. Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority climate change adaptation pilot project report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-01

    This Climate Change Adaptation Pilot Project Report details the project background of the recently-completed Los Angeles County : Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Transit Climate Change Adaptation Pilot Project as well as the various wor...

  6. Protecting the forests while allowing removal of damaged trees may imperil saproxylic insect biodiversity in the Hyrcanian Beech Forests of Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller Jörg; Thorn Simon; Baier Roland; Sagheb-Talebi Khosro; Barimani Hassan V.; Seibold Sebastian; Michael D. Ulyshen; Gossner Martin M.

    2015-01-01

    The 1.8 million ha of forest south of the Caspian Sea represent a remarkably intact ecosystem with numerous old-growth features and unique species assemblages. To protect these forests, Iranian authorities recently passed a law which protects healthy trees but permits the removal of injured, dying and dead trees. To quantify the biodiversity effects of this strategy,...

  7. Unauthorized Mexican workers in the 1990 Los Angeles County labour force.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcelli, E A; Heer, D M

    1997-01-01

    "By analysing how unauthorized Mexicans compare with seven other ethno-racial groups in Los Angeles County, separately and collectively, by educational attainment and time spent in the U.S., we find that unauthorized Mexicans had relatively fewer years of formal education (either in the U.S. or in Mexico) and had been in the U.S. a relatively fewer number of years than in-migrants of other ethno-racial backgrounds in 1990. These findings are then used as proxies to compare the human capital endowments of different ethno-racial groups. We next estimate the number of unauthorized Mexicans by occupation, industry and class of worker, and compare these distributions with the total labour force and with the other ethno-racial groups in Los Angeles County.... Results show that amounts of human capital are positively related to the kinds of occupations filled." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) excerpt

  8. FTREX Testing Report (Fault Tree Reliability Evaluation eXpert) Version 1.5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Woo Sik

    2009-07-01

    In order to verify FTREX functions and to confirm the correctness of FTREX 1.5, various tests were performed 1.fault trees with negates 2.fault trees with house events 3.fault trees with multiple tops 4.fault trees with logical loops 5.fault trees with initiators, house events, negates, logical loops, and flag events By using the automated cutest propagation test, the FTREX 1.5 functions are verified. FTREX version 1.3 and later versions have capability to perform bottom-up cutset-propagation test in order check cutest status. FTREX 1.5 always generates the proper minimal cut sets. All the output cutsets of the tested problems are MCSs (Minimal Cut Sets) and have no non-minimal cutsets and improper cutsets. The improper cutsets are those that have no effect to top, have multiple initiators, or have disjoint events A * -A

  9. Tree growth studies on uranium mill tailings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murray, D.R.; Turcotte, M.

    1982-01-01

    Coniferous trees planted in 1974 and deciduous species that have volunteered since 1970 on uranium mill tailings that had been stabilized to varying degrees using limestone and vegetation were evaluated. Their survival and growth rates were compared with those from other investigations. Competition for light appears to be a major contributor to mortality. Differences in soil moisture conditions under a tree stand as compared to those under a grass sward are potentially significant enough to affect the tailings hydrology and effluent contamination. Recommendations include planting seeds of deciduous species or deciduous and coniferous seedlings on strips of freshly disturbed tailings. The disturbed strips would provide reduced competition for the initial year and assist in tree survival. The planting of block stands of coniferous or deciduous trees would be useful for evaluating the hydrological impact of the trees as compared to the present grass sward

  10. Rikaste klubi hindab Eesti reformikogemust / Angel Gurria ; interv. Sirje Rank

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Gurria, Angel, 1950-

    2008-01-01

    Majandusliku Koostöö ja Arengu Organisatsiooni (OECD) peasekretär Angel Gurria ütleb intervjuus Äripäevale, et Eesti on oodatud rikaste riikide klubisse eelkõige oma reformikogemuse tõttu, ette heitis ta aga Eesti tööturu jäikust. Kommenteerib välisminister Urmas Paet. Lisa: Taust

  11. Designing an Innovative Data Architecture for the Los Angeles Data Resource (LADR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Sukrit; Jenders, Robert A; Delta, Sebastien

    2015-01-01

    The Los Angeles Data Resource (LADR) is a joint project of major Los Angeles health care provider organizations. The LADR helps clinical investigators to explore the size of potential research study cohorts using operational clinical data across all participating institutions. The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) LADR team sought to develop an innovative data architecture that would aggregate de-identified clinical data from safety-net providers in the community into CDU LADR node. This in turn would be federated with the other nodes of LADR for a shared view in a way that was never available before. This led to a self-service system to assess patients matching study criteria at each medical center and to search patients by demographics, ICD-9 codes, lab results and medications.

  12. RE-Powering’s Electronic Decision Tree

    Science.gov (United States)

    Developed by US EPA's RE-Powering America's Land Initiative, the RE-Powering Decision Trees tool guides interested parties through a process to screen sites for their suitability for solar photovoltaics or wind installations

  13. Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel.Gösta Ohlin Vocal Ensemble / David J. Fanning

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Fanning, David J.

    1991-01-01

    Uuest heliplaadist "Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel.Gösta Ohlin Vocal Ensemble, Gothenburg Pro Musica Chamber Choir and Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi" DG CD 431 669-2 GH2 (two discs, nas:118 minutes:DDD)

  14. Categorizing ideas about trees: a tree of trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisler, Marie; Lecointre, Guillaume

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this study is to explore whether matrices and MP trees used to produce systematic categories of organisms could be useful to produce categories of ideas in history of science. We study the history of the use of trees in systematics to represent the diversity of life from 1766 to 1991. We apply to those ideas a method inspired from coding homologous parts of organisms. We discretize conceptual parts of ideas, writings and drawings about trees contained in 41 main writings; we detect shared parts among authors and code them into a 91-characters matrix and use a tree representation to show who shares what with whom. In other words, we propose a hierarchical representation of the shared ideas about trees among authors: this produces a "tree of trees." Then, we categorize schools of tree-representations. Classical schools like "cladists" and "pheneticists" are recovered but others are not: "gradists" are separated into two blocks, one of them being called here "grade theoreticians." We propose new interesting categories like the "buffonian school," the "metaphoricians," and those using "strictly genealogical classifications." We consider that networks are not useful to represent shared ideas at the present step of the study. A cladogram is made for showing who is sharing what with whom, but also heterobathmy and homoplasy of characters. The present cladogram is not modelling processes of transmission of ideas about trees, and here it is mostly used to test for proximity of ideas of the same age and for categorization.

  15. Between Gods and Humans: Angels, demons and others

    OpenAIRE

    Piffzmann, Fabien; Römer, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    The interdisciplinary symposium “Between Gods and Humans: Angels, Demons and Others” was held on 19 and 20 May 2014, within the framework of the Chair of the Hebrew Bible and its Contexts’ seminar. Astaroth, illustration by Louis Breton This symposium was an opportunity once again to bring together Biblicists, Assyriologists, Egyptologists, Hellenists, an Iranologist, and a Medievalist, who were invited by Prof. Römer to examine the question of the intermediaries that inhabit the spaces betw...

  16. Algorithms for Decision Tree Construction

    KAUST Repository

    Chikalov, Igor

    2011-01-01

    The study of algorithms for decision tree construction was initiated in 1960s. The first algorithms are based on the separation heuristic [13, 31] that at each step tries dividing the set of objects as evenly as possible. Later Garey and Graham [28

  17. A Distributed Spanning Tree Algorithm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Karl Erik; Jørgensen, Ulla Lundin; Nielsen, Sven Hauge

    We present a distributed algorithm for constructing a spanning tree for connected undirected graphs. Nodes correspond to processors and edges correspond to two-way channels. Each processor has initially a distinct identity and all processors perform the same algorithm. Computation as well...

  18. Finding Minimum-Power Broadcast Trees for Wireless Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arabshahi, Payman; Gray, Andrew; Das, Arindam; El-Sharkawi, Mohamed; Marks, Robert, II

    2004-01-01

    Some algorithms have been devised for use in a method of constructing tree graphs that represent connections among the nodes of a wireless communication network. These algorithms provide for determining the viability of any given candidate connection tree and for generating an initial set of viable trees that can be used in any of a variety of search algorithms (e.g., a genetic algorithm) to find a tree that enables the network to broadcast from a source node to all other nodes while consuming the minimum amount of total power. The method yields solutions better than those of a prior algorithm known as the broadcast incremental power algorithm, albeit at a slightly greater computational cost.

  19. Unlocking the forest inventory data: relating individual tree performance to unmeasured environmental factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeremy W. Lichstein; Jonathan Dushoff; Kiona Ogle; Anping Chen; Drew W. Purves; John P. Caspersen; Stephen W. Pacala

    2010-01-01

    Geographically extensive forest inventories, such as the USDA Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, contain millions of individual tree growth and mortality records that could be used to develop broad-scale models of forest dynamics. A limitation of inventory data, however, is that individual-level measurements of light (L) and other...

  20. The Prediction of Drought-Related Tree Mortality in Vegetation Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwinning, S.; Jensen, J.; Lomas, M. R.; Schwartz, B.; Woodward, F. I.

    2013-12-01

    Drought-related tree die-off events at regional scales have been reported from all wooded continents and it has been suggested that their frequency may be increasing. The prediction of these drought-related die-off events from regional to global scales has been recognized as a critical need for the conservation of forest resources and improving the prediction of climate-vegetation interactions. However, there is no conceptual consensus on how to best approach the quantitative prediction of tree mortality. Current models use a variety of mechanisms to represent demographic events. Mortality is modeled to represent a number of different processes, including death by fire, wind throw, extreme temperatures, and self-thinning, and each vegetation model differs in the emphasis they place on specific mechanisms. Dynamic global vegetation models generally operate on the assumption of incremental vegetation shift due to changes in the carbon economy of plant functional types and proportional effects on recruitment, growth, competition and mortality, but this may not capture sudden and sweeping tree death caused by extreme weather conditions. We tested several different approaches to predicting tree mortality within the framework of the Sheffield Dynamic Global Vegetation Model. We applied the model to the state of Texas, USA, which in 2011 experienced extreme drought conditions, causing the death of an estimated 300 million trees statewide. We then compared predicted to actual mortality to determine which algorithms most accurately predicted geographical variation in tree mortality. We discuss implications regarding the ongoing debate on the causes of tree death.

  1. No division and the set of periods for tree maps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alseda, L.; Ye Xiangdong.

    1992-06-01

    We extend the notion of no division for star maps to tree maps. It is proved that the set of periods of a tree map is cofinite if there exists some periodic orbit of the given map with period larger than one having no division. Using this result we get some simple proofs of known results for tree maps and show that if X is a tree then a union of initial segments of some finite linear orderings which depend only on the given tree minus a finite set is the set of periods for arbitrary maps from X into itself. (author). 18 refs

  2. Interactive wood combustion for botanical tree models

    KAUST Repository

    Pirk, Sören

    2017-11-22

    We present a novel method for the combustion of botanical tree models. Tree models are represented as connected particles for the branching structure and a polygonal surface mesh for the combustion. Each particle stores biological and physical attributes that drive the kinetic behavior of a plant and the exothermic reaction of the combustion. Coupled with realistic physics for rods, the particles enable dynamic branch motions. We model material properties, such as moisture and charring behavior, and associate them with individual particles. The combustion is efficiently processed in the surface domain of the tree model on a polygonal mesh. A user can dynamically interact with the model by initiating fires and by inducing stress on branches. The flames realistically propagate through the tree model by consuming the available resources. Our method runs at interactive rates and supports multiple tree instances in parallel. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through numerous examples and evaluate its plausibility against the combustion of real wood samples.

  3. A distributed spanning tree algorithm

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Karl Erik; Jørgensen, Ulla Lundin; Nielsen, Svend Hauge

    1988-01-01

    We present a distributed algorithm for constructing a spanning tree for connected undirected graphs. Nodes correspond to processors and edges correspond to two way channels. Each processor has initially a distinct identity and all processors perform the same algorithm. Computation as well as comm...

  4. The Evaluation of a Regional Faith Community Network's Million Hearts Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Jennifer; Zimmerman, Wendy

    2016-01-01

    The goal of the Million Hearts initiative is to prevent one million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. Maryland was one state in the Association of State and Territorial Health Official's Million Hearts State Learning Collaborative. Washington County, Maryland formed a collaboration between the County Health Department, Meritus Health System, and the Meritus Health Parish Nurse Coordinator to address hypertension in the county. Within a regional network of 52 faith communities, the Parish Nurse Coordinator recruited 25 faith community nurses to participate in a three-month program. Nurses were trained on proper blood pressure measurement and 22 nurses identified 58 participants engaged in blood pressure self-monitoring and coaching for lifestyle changes. Additionally, nurses took 1,729 blood pressures and provided health education to individuals within their congregations. Fifty-one participants participated in blood pressure self-monitoring and lifestyle coaching with faith community nurses. There was improvement in six out of seven lifestyle areas. Eight-two percent of participants (N = 42) decreased their systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure over three months. Coaching provided by faith community nurses can create an environment of sustained support to promote improved lifestyle and blood pressure changes over time. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. The rhetorical function of references to angels in the Main Letters of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Test

    2011-06-07

    Jun 7, 2011 ... (1984:245–247), Morland (1995:148–149), Kremendahl (2000:83) and ..... gender-related roles that he links to creation (cf. dia; tou`to ..... Carr, W., 1981, Angels and principalities: The background, meaning and development.

  6. Dynamic Event Tree advancements and control logic improvements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfonsi, Andrea; Rabiti, Cristian; Mandelli, Diego; Sen, Ramazan Sonat; Cogliati, Joshua Joseph

    2015-01-01

    The RAVEN code has been under development at the Idaho National Laboratory since 2012. Its main goal is to create a multi-purpose platform for the deploying of all the capabilities needed for Probabilistic Risk Assessment, uncertainty quantification, data mining analysis and optimization studies. RAVEN is currently equipped with three different sampling categories: Forward samplers (Monte Carlo, Latin Hyper Cube, Stratified, Grid Sampler, Factorials, etc.), Adaptive Samplers (Limit Surface search, Adaptive Polynomial Chaos, etc.) and Dynamic Event Tree (DET) samplers (Deterministic and Adaptive Dynamic Event Trees). The main subject of this document is to report the activities that have been done in order to: start the migration of the RAVEN/RELAP-7 control logic system into MOOSE, and develop advanced dynamic sampling capabilities based on the Dynamic Event Tree approach. In order to provide to all MOOSE-based applications a control logic capability, in this Fiscal Year an initial migration activity has been initiated, moving the control logic system, designed for RELAP-7 by the RAVEN team, into the MOOSE framework. In this document, a brief explanation of what has been done is going to be reported. The second and most important subject of this report is about the development of a Dynamic Event Tree (DET) sampler named 'Hybrid Dynamic Event Tree' (HDET) and its Adaptive variant 'Adaptive Hybrid Dynamic Event Tree' (AHDET). As other authors have already reported, among the different types of uncertainties, it is possible to discern two principle types: aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. The classical Dynamic Event Tree is in charge of treating the first class (aleatory) uncertainties; the dependence of the probabilistic risk assessment and analysis on the epistemic uncertainties are treated by an initial Monte Carlo sampling (MCDET). From each Monte Carlo sample, a DET analysis is run (in total, N trees). The Monte Carlo employs a pre

  7. 33 CFR 110.214 - Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors, California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Angeles Harbor). A circular area with a radius of 400 yards (approximately 366 meters), centered in... 400 Transportation Corridor. (C) Outer Harbor: The western boundary of Commercial Anchorage B. (2... Thence along a line described as an arc, radius of 460 meters (approximately 1509 feet) centered on 33...

  8. Terpenoid variations within and among half-sibling avocado trees, Persea americana Mill. (Lauraceae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerome Niogret

    Full Text Available Chemical analyses were conducted to determine the qualitative and quantitative differences in monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes in plant material from avocado trees, Persea americana Mill. (Lauraceae. The initial study analyzed plant material sampled from the trunk to the leaves through different branch diameters to quantify proximo-distal spatial differences within a tree. All trees were seedlings initiated from a single maternal tree. Two-way analysis of variance was conducted on 34 chemicals that comprised at least 3% of the total chemical content of at least one tree and/or location within a tree. There were significant interactions between genotype and location sampled for most chemicals. Parentage analysis using microsatellite molecular markers (SSR's determined that the four trees had three fathers and that they represented two full-siblings and two half-sibling trees. Descriptive discriminant analysis found that both genotype and location within a tree could be separated based on chemical content, and that the chemical content from full-siblings tended to be more similar than chemical content from half-siblings. To further explore the relationship between genetic background and chemical content, samples were analyzed from leaf material from 20 trees that included two sets of full-sibling seedling trees, the maternal tree and the surviving paternal tree. Descriptive discriminant analysis found good separation between the two full-sibling groups, and that the separation was associated with chemistry of the parental trees. Six groups of chemicals were identified that explained the variation among the trees. We discuss the results in relation to the discrimination process used by wood-boring insects for site-selection on host trees, for tree selection among potential host trees, and the potential use of terpenoid chemical content in chemotaxonomy of avocado trees.

  9. Terpenoid variations within and among half-sibling avocado trees, Persea americana Mill. (Lauraceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niogret, Jerome; Epsky, Nancy D; Schnell, Raymond J; Boza, Edward J; Kendra, Paul E; Heath, Robert R

    2013-01-01

    Chemical analyses were conducted to determine the qualitative and quantitative differences in monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes in plant material from avocado trees, Persea americana Mill. (Lauraceae). The initial study analyzed plant material sampled from the trunk to the leaves through different branch diameters to quantify proximo-distal spatial differences within a tree. All trees were seedlings initiated from a single maternal tree. Two-way analysis of variance was conducted on 34 chemicals that comprised at least 3% of the total chemical content of at least one tree and/or location within a tree. There were significant interactions between genotype and location sampled for most chemicals. Parentage analysis using microsatellite molecular markers (SSR's) determined that the four trees had three fathers and that they represented two full-siblings and two half-sibling trees. Descriptive discriminant analysis found that both genotype and location within a tree could be separated based on chemical content, and that the chemical content from full-siblings tended to be more similar than chemical content from half-siblings. To further explore the relationship between genetic background and chemical content, samples were analyzed from leaf material from 20 trees that included two sets of full-sibling seedling trees, the maternal tree and the surviving paternal tree. Descriptive discriminant analysis found good separation between the two full-sibling groups, and that the separation was associated with chemistry of the parental trees. Six groups of chemicals were identified that explained the variation among the trees. We discuss the results in relation to the discrimination process used by wood-boring insects for site-selection on host trees, for tree selection among potential host trees, and the potential use of terpenoid chemical content in chemotaxonomy of avocado trees.

  10. Diet and Obesity in Los Angeles County 2007–2012: Is there a measurable effect of the 2008 “Fast-Food Ban”?

    OpenAIRE

    Sturm, Roland; Hattori, Aiko

    2015-01-01

    We evaluate the impact of “Los Angeles Fast-Food Ban”, a zoning regulation that restricts opening/remodeling of standalone fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles since 2008. Food retail permits issued after the ban are more often for small food/convenience stores and less often for larger restaurants not part of a chain in South Los Angeles compared to other areas; there are no significant differences in the share of new fast-food chain outlets, other chain restaurants, or large food mark...

  11. The 50 Million Missing Women

    OpenAIRE

    Allahbadia, Gautam N.

    2002-01-01

    The epidemic of gender selection is ravaging countries like India & China. Approximately fifty million women are “missing” in the Indian population. Generally three principle causes are given: female infanticide, better food and health care for boys and maternal death at childbirth. Prenatal sex determination and the abortion of female fetuses threatens to skew the sex ratio to new highs. Estimates of the number of female fetuses being destroyed every year in India vary from two million to fi...

  12. Public Perceptions of Tsunamis and the NOAA TsunamiReady Program in Los Angeles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosati, A.

    2010-12-01

    After the devastating December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, California and other coastal states began installing "Tsunami Warning Zone" and "Evacuation Route" signs at beaches and major access roads. The geography of the Los Angeles area may not be conducive to signage alone for communication of the tsunami risk and safety precautions. Over a year after installation, most people surveyed did not know about or recognize the tsunami signs. More alarming is that many did not believe a tsunami could occur in the area even though earthquake generated waves have reached nearby beaches as recently as September 2009! UPDATE: FEB. 2010. Fifty two percent of the 147 people surveyed did not believe they would survive a natural disaster in Los Angeles. Given the unique geography of Los Angeles, how can the city and county improve the mental health of its citizens before and after a natural disaster? This poster begins to address the issues of community self-efficacy and resiliency in the face of tsunamis. Of note for future research, the data from this survey showed that most people believed climate change would increase the occurrence of tsunamis. Also, the public understanding of water inundation was disturbingly low. As scientists, it is important to understand the big picture of our research - how it is ultimately communicated, understood, and used by the public.

  13. Integrating Million Hearts into nursing and interprofessional educational curricula and community settings: a key strategy for improving population health across the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sustersic Gawlik, Kate; Mazurek Melnyk, Bernadette

    2015-01-01

    Million Hearts is a national initiative to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017 by screening and educating the public on the "ABCS" of cardiovascular health. Million Hearts is an innovative platform for educating nursing and health sciences students on the importance of population health and interprofessional teamwork. The National Interprofessional Education and Practice Consortium to Advance Million Hearts was created, and a free on-line educational module was developed to help health care professionals and health sciences faculty and students learn about the Million Hearts initiative, conduct community screenings, and refer people who screen positive to appropriate resources. After completion of the module, individuals receive certification as a Million Hearts Fellow. More than 2,500 individuals from 80 colleges across the United States have accessed the module. More than 20,000 people have been screened. The module and screenings have been incorporated into health sciences curricula and community activities. Academic institutions and health science professions partnering together as part of the National Interprofessional Education and Practice Consortium to Advance Million Hearts provide a unique opportunity to demonstrate the impact that a unified approach can have on improving population health through the use of screening, education, and prevention. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Analysis of the Steam Generator Tubes Rupture Initiating Event

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trillo, A.; Minguez, E.; Munoz, R.; Melendez, E.; Sanchez-Perea, M.; Izquierd, J.M.

    1998-01-01

    In PSA studies, Event Tree-Fault Tree techniques are used to analyse to consequences associated with the evolution of an initiating event. The Event Tree is built in the sequence identification stage, following the expected behaviour of the plant in a qualitative way. Computer simulation of the sequences is performed mainly to determine the allowed time for operator actions, and do not play a central role in ET validation. The simulation of the sequence evolution can instead be performed by using standard tools, helping the analyst obtain a more realistic ET. Long existing methods and tools can be used to automatism the construction of the event tree associated to a given initiator. These methods automatically construct the ET by simulating the plant behaviour following the initiator, allowing some of the systems to fail during the sequence evolution. Then, the sequences with and without the failure are followed. The outcome of all this is a Dynamic Event Tree. The work described here is the application of one such method to the particular case of the SGTR initiating event. The DYLAM scheduler, designed at the Ispra (Italy) JRC of the European Communities, is used to automatically drive the simulation of all the sequences constituting the Event Tree. Similarly to the static Event Tree, each time a system is demanded, two branches are open: one corresponding to the success and the other to the failure of the system. Both branches are followed by the plant simulator until a new system is demanded, and the process repeats. The plant simulation modelling allows the treatment of degraded sequences that enter into the severe accident domain as well as of success sequences in which long-term cooling is started. (Author)

  15. Automating the Technical Library at Los Angeles' Department of Information Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillette, Robert

    1992-01-01

    Description of the automation of the technical library of the City of Los Angeles Department of Information Services provides background information on the department and its library; lists the automation project goals and objectives; and describes the two software programs--ObjectVision and Paradox Engine--used as applications development tools…

  16. HERB RECOVERY IN DEGRADED CAATINGA SITES ENRICHED WITH NATIVE TREES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Matos Figueiredo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Herb recovery was evaluated in degraded Caatinga sites protected from grazing and enriched with native trees, in Patos-PB state, Brazil . Treatments were randomized according to a block design with five treatments (no tree planting –T 0 – or tree planting of three tree species in pure –T 1 = Poincianella pyramidalis , T 2 = Mimosa tenuiflora and T 3 = Cnidoscolus quercifolius – or mixed balanced stands –T 4 and five replications of squared-144-m 2 plots with 36 seedlings developing in planting holes enriched with manure and chemical fertilizers, arranged in a 2 m x 2 m grid. Data were collected from September 2008 to October 2009. After this period, natural tree regeneration was still not observed, and tree canopy covered 15 to 49% of the soil and did not affect herb growth and species composition. Initial and final herb cover were 16% and 100%, respectively. The number of dicot herbs increased from five, mainly two Sida species, to 13 species, monocots were represented by one species only (Aristida sp ., and quantity of herb forage reached 3 ton/ha (2:1, dicot:monocot. Adjacent overgrazed plots kept the initial low level of herb cover and species composition. Animal deferment during one year allowed the increase in soil cover and plant diversity in degraded Caatinga sites into which planted tree seedlings established successfully. This management practice could be implemented to avoid further environmental degradation and recover degraded areas.

  17. Treatment of external events in the linked event tree methodology NPP Goesgen - Daeniken example

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozlik, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    The NPP Goesgen-Daeniken uses a combined level 1 / level 2 PSA model for its event analyses. The model uses a linked event tree approach, using the software RISKMAN R . Each initiating event passes through a modularized event tree structure, consisting of external events pre-trees, alignment and support systems trees and front-line and containment response trees. This paper explains the structure of the linked event trees. Switches are used to bypass certain trees for specific initiating events. The screening process applied to possible external events is explained. The final scope of considered natural external events in the Goesgen PSA consists of earthquakes, seasonal events causing cooling water intake plugging or external floods. The structure of the natural external events pre-trees is explained. The treatment of external floods is explained in more detail. Floods at the Goesgen site are caused by extreme river flows into the old branch of the Aare river. A new model has been developed to analyse the probabilistic flood hazard using a bivariate distribution (water level and flood duration). Analysing the statistical data, the time trend had to be considered. The Goesgen PSA models 7 external flood initiating events, considering different water levels and durations at the flooded plant site. The building fragilities were developed in terms of resistance times. The RISKMAN R external flood pre-tree consists of top events for operator actions and failure of the building functions, which leads to the functional failure of equipment located at the lower elevation of the building. (author)

  18. Tritium cycling in a tree spiked with tritiated water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murphy, C.E. Jr.; Luvall, J.C.

    1979-01-01

    Transfer and turnover rates in forests are important to compute the residence time of tritiated water in an area following an accidental release. In this study tritium was injected in the base of 7 year old, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda, L) trees to determine the rate of transfer through the trees and the turnover in the trees independent of the soil. The results indicate the flow rates depend on the rate of water movement through the tree, which is influenced by the microclimate, and exchange of tritium with hydrogen exchange sites in the tree. The initial pulse of tritium appears to move through the tree in about four days. The descending portion of the curve can be described as a two compartment model with half-lives of 1.41 and 21.7 days. There is some evidence that a longer turnover compartment is associated with metabolically fixed tritium

  19. Remote Sensing of Spatial Distributions of Greenhouse Gases in the Los Angeles Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Dejian; Sander, Stanley P.; Pongetti, Thomas J.; Cheung, Ross; Stutz, Jochen

    2010-01-01

    The Los Angeles air basin is a significant anthropogenic source of greenhouse gasses and pollutants including CO2, CH4, N2O, and CO, contributing significantly to regional and global climate change. Recent legislation in California, the California Global Warning Solutions Act (AB32), established a statewide cap for greenhouse gas emissions for 2020 based on 1990 emissions. Verifying the effectiveness of regional greenhouse gas emissions controls requires high-precision, regional-scale measurement methods combined with models that capture the principal anthropogenic and biogenic sources and sinks. We present a novel approach for monitoring the spatial distribution of greenhouse gases in the Los Angeles basin using high resolution remote sensing spectroscopy. We participated in the CalNex 2010 campaign to provide greenhouse gas distributions for comparison between top-down and bottom-up emission estimates.

  20. Preventing the repetition: Or, what Los Angeles' experience in water management can teach Atlanta about urban water disputes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldman, David L.

    2009-04-01

    Southern California's water history is an epic story with larger-than-life characters and ambitions and abundant hubris. Students of water policy might reasonably ask: Does this story, while unique to greater Los Angeles, hold lessons for other metropolises experiencing water conflict caused by explosive growth? We examine this question by considering similarities between the challenges facing Atlanta, Georgia, one of the nation's fastest growing cities in the 21st century, with those of Los Angeles. We focus on junctures where important decisions regarding water were made and how these decisions continue to challenge both cities' futures. Atlanta's financial, cultural, and environmental imprint on its surrounding region share remarkable similarities with Los Angeles' influence trajectory: it is the largest city in the southeast, a principal transportation and business hub, and it is embroiled in water conflict with nearby communities and adjoining states.

  1. Transaction Costs: Valuation Disputes, Bi-Lateral Monopoly Bargaining and Third-Party Effects in Water Rights Exchanges. The Owens Valley Transfer to Los Angeles

    OpenAIRE

    Gary D. Libecap

    2004-01-01

    Between 1905 and 1934 over 869 farmers in Owens Valley, California sold their land and associated water rights to Los Angeles, 250 miles to the southwest. This agriculture-to-urban water transfer increased Los Angeles' water supply by over 4 times, making the subsequent dramatic growth of the semi-arid city possible, generating large economic returns. The exchange took water from a marginal agricultural area and transferred it via the Los Angeles Aqueduct. No other sources of water became ava...

  2. Utilizing forest tree genetic diversity for an adaptation of forest to climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schueler, Silvio; Lackner, Magdalena; Chakraborty, Debojyoti

    2017-04-01

    Since climate conditions are considered to be major determinants of tree species' distribution ranges and drivers of local adaptation, anthropogenic climate change (CC) is expected to modify the distribution of tree species, tree species diversity and the forest ecosystems connected to these species. The expected speed of environmental change is significantly larger than the natural migration and adaptation capacity of trees and makes spontaneous adjustment of forest ecosystems improbable. Planting alternative tree species and utilizing the tree species' intrinsic adaptive capacity are considered to be the most promising adaptation strategy. Each year about 900 million seedlings of the major tree species are being planted in Central Europe. At present, the utilization of forest reproductive material is mainly restricted to nationally defined ecoregions (seed/provenance zones), but when seedlings planted today become adult, they might be maladapted, as the climate conditions within ecoregions changed significantly. In the cooperation project SUSTREE, we develop transnational delineation models for forest seed transfer and genetic conservation based on species distribution models and available intra-specific climate-response function. These models are being connected to national registers of forest reproductive material in order support nursery and forest managers by selecting the appropriate seedling material for future plantations. In the long-term, European and national policies as well as regional recommendations for provenances use need to adapted to consider the challenges of climate change.

  3. The unauthorized Mexican immigrant population and welfare in Los Angeles County: a comparative statistical analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcelli, E A; Heer, D M

    1998-01-01

    "Using a unique 1994 Los Angeles County Household Survey of foreign-born Mexicans and the March 1994 and 1995 Current Population Surveys, we estimate the number of unauthorized Mexican immigrants (UMIs) residing in Los Angeles County, and compare their use of seven welfare programs with that of other non-U.S. citizens and U.S. citizens. Non-U.S. citizens were found to be no more likely than U.S. citizens to have used welfare, and UMIs were 11% (14%) less likely than other non-citizens (U.S.-born citizens).... We demonstrate how results differ depending on the unit of analysis employed, and on which programs constitute ¿welfare'." excerpt

  4. A Demographic Approach to Evaluating Tree Population Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Corey R. Halpin

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Quantitative criteria for assessing demographic sustainability of tree populations would be useful in forest conservation, as climate change and a growing complex of invasive pests are likely to drive forests outside their historic range of variability. In this paper, we used CANOPY, a spatially explicit, individual‐tree model, to examine the effects of initial size distributions on sustainability of tree populations for 70 northern hardwood stands under current environmental conditions. A demographic sustainability index was calculated as the ratio of future simulated basal area to current basal area, given current demographic structure and density‐dependent demographic equations. Only steeply descending size distributions were indicated to be moderately or highly sustainable (final basal area/initial basal area ≥0.7 over several tree generations. Five of the six principal species had demographic sustainability index values of <0.6 in 40%–84% of the stands. However, at a small landscape scale, nearly all species had mean index values >1. Simulation experiments suggested that a minimum sapling density of 300 per hectare was required to sustain the initial basal area, but further increases in sapling density did not increase basal area because of coincident increases in mortality. A variable slope with high q‐ratios in small size classes was needed to maintain the existing overstory of mature and old‐growth stands. This analytical approach may be useful in identifying stands needing restoration treatments to maintain existing species composition in situations where forests are likely to have future recruitment limitations.

  5. Relationships for Cost and Uncertainty of Decision Trees

    KAUST Repository

    Chikalov, Igor; Hussain, Shahid; Moshkov, Mikhail

    2013-01-01

    This chapter is devoted to the design of new tools for the study of decision trees. These tools are based on dynamic programming approach and need the consideration of subtables of the initial decision table. So this approach is applicable only to relatively small decision tables. The considered tools allow us to compute: 1. Theminimum cost of an approximate decision tree for a given uncertainty value and a cost function. 2. The minimum number of nodes in an exact decision tree whose depth is at most a given value. For the first tool we considered various cost functions such as: depth and average depth of a decision tree and number of nodes (and number of terminal and nonterminal nodes) of a decision tree. The uncertainty of a decision table is equal to the number of unordered pairs of rows with different decisions. The uncertainty of approximate decision tree is equal to the maximum uncertainty of a subtable corresponding to a terminal node of the tree. In addition to the algorithms for such tools we also present experimental results applied to various datasets acquired from UCI ML Repository [4]. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.

  6. Does initial spacing influence crown and hydraulic architecture of Eucalyptus marginata?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grigg, A H; Macfarlane, C; Evangelista, C; Eamus, D; Adams, M A

    2008-05-01

    Long-term declines in rainfall in south-western Australia have resulted in increased interest in the hydraulic characteristics of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Donn ex Smith) forest established in the region's drinking water catchments on rehabilitated bauxite mining sites. We hypothesized that in jarrah forest established on rehabilitated mine sites: (1) leaf area index (L) is independent of initial tree spacing; and (2) more densely planted trees have less leaf area for the same leaf mass, or the same sapwood area, and have denser sapwood. Initial stand densities ranged from about 600 to 9000 stems ha(-1), and trees were 18 years old at the time of sampling. Leaf area index was unaffected by initial stand density, except in the most sparsely stocked stands where L was 1.2 compared with 2.0-2.5 in stands at other spacings. The ratio of leaf area to sapwood area (A(l):A(s)) was unaffected by tree spacing or tree size and was 0.2 at 1.3 m height and 0.25 at the crown base. There were small increases in sapwood density and decreases in leaf specific area with increased spacing. Tree diameter or basal area was a better predictor of leaf area than sapwood area. At the stand scale, basal area was a good predictor of L (r(2) = 0.98, n = 15) except in the densest stands. We conclude that the hydraulic attributes of this forest type are largely independent of initial tree spacing, thus simplifying parameterization of stand and catchment water balance models.

  7. Heavy Metals (Cu, Pb and Cd) in Water and Angel Fish (Chelmon rostractus) from Batam Coastal, Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Ismarti Ismarti; Ramses Ramses; Suheryanto Suheryanto; Fitrah Amelia

    2017-01-01

    Fish play an important role in human nutrition and therefore need to be carefully and routinely monitored to ensure that there are no high levels of heavy metals being transferred to human through their consumption. This study has been carried out to determine level of heavy metals (Cu, Pb, and Cd) in water and angel fish, Chelmon rostractus collected from coast of Batam. We report levels of Cu, Cd and Pb in water and angel fish from Coast Batam using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Lev...

  8. The Work Experience of Undocumented Mexican Women Migrants in Los Angeles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Rita J.; DeLey, Margo

    1984-01-01

    Undocumented Mexican women workers in Los Angeles were interviewed about their work experience in the United States. Most of them work in factories, not in domestic service. Most earn a salary above minimum wage but below that earned by documented women, and 80 percent believe their treatment at work equals that of other workers. (KH)

  9. The Relation between the two Phenomenological Categories Initiation and Sacrifice as Exemplified by the Norse Myth of Óðinn on the Tree

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jens Peter Schjødt

    1993-01-01

    Full Text Available Many articles have been devoted to the Old Norse myth which relates how Odin was hanging from a tree for nine nights without being offered food or drink. The question we are going to investigate here is, as mentioned, whether we are facing a sacrifice or an initiation. Both possibilities have been proposed, and some scholars have even believed that the strophes deal with an exemplary myth which has served directly as a model for some ritual.

  10. Tree compression with top trees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bille, Philip; Gørtz, Inge Li; Landau, Gad M.

    2013-01-01

    We introduce a new compression scheme for labeled trees based on top trees [3]. Our compression scheme is the first to simultaneously take advantage of internal repeats in the tree (as opposed to the classical DAG compression that only exploits rooted subtree repeats) while also supporting fast...

  11. Tree compression with top trees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bille, Philip; Gørtz, Inge Li; Landau, Gad M.

    2015-01-01

    We introduce a new compression scheme for labeled trees based on top trees. Our compression scheme is the first to simultaneously take advantage of internal repeats in the tree (as opposed to the classical DAG compression that only exploits rooted subtree repeats) while also supporting fast...

  12. Statistical and Biophysical Models for Predicting Total and Outdoor Water Use in Los Angeles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mini, C.; Hogue, T. S.; Pincetl, S.

    2012-04-01

    Modeling water demand is a complex exercise in the choice of the functional form, techniques and variables to integrate in the model. The goal of the current research is to identify the determinants that control total and outdoor residential water use in semi-arid cities and to utilize that information in the development of statistical and biophysical models that can forecast spatial and temporal urban water use. The City of Los Angeles is unique in its highly diverse socio-demographic, economic and cultural characteristics across neighborhoods, which introduces significant challenges in modeling water use. Increasing climate variability also contributes to uncertainties in water use predictions in urban areas. Monthly individual water use records were acquired from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) for the 2000 to 2010 period. Study predictors of residential water use include socio-demographic, economic, climate and landscaping variables at the zip code level collected from US Census database. Climate variables are estimated from ground-based observations and calculated at the centroid of each zip code by inverse-distance weighting method. Remotely-sensed products of vegetation biomass and landscape land cover are also utilized. Two linear regression models were developed based on the panel data and variables described: a pooled-OLS regression model and a linear mixed effects model. Both models show income per capita and the percentage of landscape areas in each zip code as being statistically significant predictors. The pooled-OLS model tends to over-estimate higher water use zip codes and both models provide similar RMSE values.Outdoor water use was estimated at the census tract level as the residual between total water use and indoor use. This residual is being compared with the output from a biophysical model including tree and grass cover areas, climate variables and estimates of evapotranspiration at very high spatial resolution. A

  13. A life cycle greenhouse gas inventory of a tree production system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alissa Kendall; E. Gregory McPherson

    2012-01-01

    PurposeThis study provides a detailed, process-based life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory of an ornamental tree production system for urban forestry. The success of large-scale tree planting initiatives for climate protection depends on projects being net sinks for CO2 over their entire life cycle....

  14. Generalising tree traversals and tree transformations to DAGs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bahr, Patrick; Axelsson, Emil

    2017-01-01

    We present a recursion scheme based on attribute grammars that can be transparently applied to trees and acyclic graphs. Our recursion scheme allows the programmer to implement a tree traversal or a tree transformation and then apply it to compact graph representations of trees instead. The resul......We present a recursion scheme based on attribute grammars that can be transparently applied to trees and acyclic graphs. Our recursion scheme allows the programmer to implement a tree traversal or a tree transformation and then apply it to compact graph representations of trees instead...... as the complementing theory with a number of examples....

  15. Description of patients with bony tumors treated with prosthesis in reconstruction in the Servicio de Ortopedia at the Hospital Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia 2000-2006

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jimenez Quiros, Lisandro Antonio

    2007-01-01

    The use of prosthesis in reconstruction for the management of extensive tumor bone lesions. The study of six patients treated is performed at the Hospital Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia, who were treated for aggressive tumors in the period 2001-2006. Bony tumors are conceptualized, as well as fundamental aspects of cell biology in its development and the classification of the same. Also, relevant information is included with relation to the most frequent indications and possible treatments. In all six cases was placed the rescue prosthesis, four of them has been obtained excellent results. Limb amputation has been the only alternative until the decade of the 70 and survival rates with this treatment were 10 to 20% survival at 5 years. Today, with advances in chemotherapy and limb salvage prosthesis, patients without metastases at diagnosis have a survival of 65 to 75% at five years. The study has made it possible to simultaneously to analyze some aspects of care to these patients; such as: time of biopsy, time of diagnosis, time of initiation of chemotherapy and surgical intervention time. Through this study has concluded that when referring to a malignant tumor of bone is absolutely essential that the process of diagnosis and initiation of treatment of limb salvage surgery are addressed as soon as possible. Finally, some recommendations are raised to strengthen the treatment of malignant tumors in the Hospital Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia. (author) [es

  16. Dynamic Event Tree advancements and control logic improvements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alfonsi, Andrea [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Rabiti, Cristian [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Mandelli, Diego [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Sen, Ramazan Sonat [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Cogliati, Joshua Joseph [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-09-01

    The RAVEN code has been under development at the Idaho National Laboratory since 2012. Its main goal is to create a multi-purpose platform for the deploying of all the capabilities needed for Probabilistic Risk Assessment, uncertainty quantification, data mining analysis and optimization studies. RAVEN is currently equipped with three different sampling categories: Forward samplers (Monte Carlo, Latin Hyper Cube, Stratified, Grid Sampler, Factorials, etc.), Adaptive Samplers (Limit Surface search, Adaptive Polynomial Chaos, etc.) and Dynamic Event Tree (DET) samplers (Deterministic and Adaptive Dynamic Event Trees). The main subject of this document is to report the activities that have been done in order to: start the migration of the RAVEN/RELAP-7 control logic system into MOOSE, and develop advanced dynamic sampling capabilities based on the Dynamic Event Tree approach. In order to provide to all MOOSE-based applications a control logic capability, in this Fiscal Year an initial migration activity has been initiated, moving the control logic system, designed for RELAP-7 by the RAVEN team, into the MOOSE framework. In this document, a brief explanation of what has been done is going to be reported. The second and most important subject of this report is about the development of a Dynamic Event Tree (DET) sampler named “Hybrid Dynamic Event Tree” (HDET) and its Adaptive variant “Adaptive Hybrid Dynamic Event Tree” (AHDET). As other authors have already reported, among the different types of uncertainties, it is possible to discern two principle types: aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. The classical Dynamic Event Tree is in charge of treating the first class (aleatory) uncertainties; the dependence of the probabilistic risk assessment and analysis on the epistemic uncertainties are treated by an initial Monte Carlo sampling (MCDET). From each Monte Carlo sample, a DET analysis is run (in total, N trees). The Monte Carlo employs a pre-sampling of the

  17. Diet and obesity in Los Angeles County 2007-2012: Is there a measurable effect of the 2008 "Fast-Food Ban"?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturm, Roland; Hattori, Aiko

    2015-05-01

    We evaluate the impact of the "Los Angeles Fast-Food Ban", a zoning regulation that has restricted opening/remodeling of standalone fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles since 2008. Food retail permits issued after the ban are more often for small food/convenience stores and less often for larger restaurants not part of a chain in South Los Angeles compared to other areas; there are no significant differences in the share of new fast-food chain outlets, other chain restaurants, or large food markets. About 10% of food outlets are new since the regulation, but there is little evidence that the composition has changed differentially across areas. Data from the California Health Interview Survey show that fast-food consumption and overweight/obesity rates have increased from 2007 to 2011/2012 in all areas. The increase in the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity since the ban has been significantly larger in South Los Angeles than elsewhere. A positive development has been a drop in soft drink consumption since 2007, but that drop is of similar magnitude in all areas. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Contested Campuses: Politics, race, and the battles over public education in the Greater Los Angeles Area, 1949-1972

    OpenAIRE

    Kovalesky, Brian Robert

    2017-01-01

    In the late 1950s and early 1960s, during the height of protests and actions by civil rights activists against de facto school segregation in the Los Angeles area, the residents of a group of small cities fought to break away from the Los Angeles City Schools and create a new, independent school district. If established, the district would serve white pupils nearly exclusively, preserving and reinforcing racially segregated schools in the area. Proponents of the plan were residents of the maj...

  19. Surface tree languages and parallel derivation trees

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Engelfriet, Joost

    1976-01-01

    The surface tree languages obtained by top-down finite state transformation of monadic trees are exactly the frontier-preserving homomorphic images of sets of derivation trees of ETOL systems. The corresponding class of tree transformation languages is therefore equal to the class of ETOL languages.

  20. Soltherm Europe Initiative: Joining forces to expand solar markets, fast

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leun, K. van der

    2001-01-01

    The article describes the partnership formed by the European Commission and the Europe-wide Soltherm Europe Initiative. The Initiative was formed in response to the Commission's aims to extend the use of solar energy. Ten countries and two international bodies make-up membership of the Initiative. For the Commission's target of 100 million square metres of solar collectors to be installed by 2010, a rapid growth in the market will need to occur. The potential savings in energy and carbon dioxide (through solar water heaters) are discussed, and figures given. The market development options for achieving the short-term goal of 15 million square metres of collector surface by 2004, and the longer-term aim of 100 million square metres by 2010 are discussed. The Initiative aims to be a platform for integration and promoting co-operation between all parties with an interest in achieving the Commission's solar objectives. Interested parties are invited to join the Initiative

  1. Geomorphology and petrography of the Angeles lava flow and the Monte de la Cruz cinder cone, Barva Volcano, Costa Rica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rojas, Vanessa; Barahona, Dione; Alvarado, Guillermo E

    2017-01-01

    A geomorphological and pretrographic study was carried out at the lava flow Angeles and the Monte de la Cruz cone in the foothills of the Volcan Barva in Costa Rica. The 1967 aerial photographs at scale 1: 17,000 and 1: 13,000, 1992 at scale 1: 60,000 and TERRA 1997 at scale 1: 40,000 were used for the photogeological study, supplemented with the analysis of the eastern sector of the Hoja Topografica Barva (1: 50 000) of the Instituto Geografico Nacional (IGN) and other topographic maps at different scales (1: 25 000 and 1: 10 000), in addition to the digital elevation models developed through Sistemas de Informacion Geografica (SIG). The information extracted from the wells of the Sistema Nacional de Aguas Subterraneas, Riego y Avenamiento (SENARA) for underground control was reinterpreted. In the field work thicknesses were measured and an estimation of the volumes, dimensions of the cast and other associated geoforms was made. Likewise, 9 samples of rock were selected for the elaboration of thin sections and for their respective petrographic analysis, which allowed to define the main lava flow units and their possible flows. As a result of the volcanic activity of the cone, two flow units of the Angeles wash were identified, the Lower Angels unit and the Superior Angels unit. Petrographically, Angeles Inferior was reciprocated with an andesitic vesical basaltic lava with a porphyritic to slightly glomeroporphyric hypocrystalline texture, with plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, olivine and opaque phenocrysts. On the other hand, Superior Angeles has been vesicular andesitic with a hypocrystalline texture, glomeroporfiritica to serial glomeroporfiritica, with plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, olivine and opaque phenocrysts. Morphologically, kipukas and levees were observed. Regionally, it was observed that the Monte de la Cruz cone, along with other smaller satellite cones, are aligned N19 O W along 8.5 km, evidencing an origin associated with a

  2. TreePics: visualizing trees with pictures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas Puillandre

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available While many programs are available to edit phylogenetic trees, associating pictures with branch tips in an efficient and automatic way is not an available option. Here, we present TreePics, a standalone software that uses a web browser to visualize phylogenetic trees in Newick format and that associates pictures (typically, pictures of the voucher specimens to the tip of each branch. Pictures are visualized as thumbnails and can be enlarged by a mouse rollover. Further, several pictures can be selected and displayed in a separate window for visual comparison. TreePics works either online or in a full standalone version, where it can display trees with several thousands of pictures (depending on the memory available. We argue that TreePics can be particularly useful in a preliminary stage of research, such as to quickly detect conflicts between a DNA-based phylogenetic tree and morphological variation, that may be due to contamination that needs to be removed prior to final analyses, or the presence of species complexes.

  3. Seeking solace in West Hollywood: sexual orientation-based hate crimes in Los Angeles County.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stotzer, Rebecca L

    2010-01-01

    Many thriving "gay communities" across the United States report high levels of sexual orientation-based hate crimes every year, raising questions about the level of safety in these gay communities and neighborhoods. This study examines hate crime data from 2002-2006 in Los Angeles County and the relationship those hate crimes have to West Hollywood, the best known gay community of Los Angeles County. Results suggest that although West Hollywood does consistently report high numbers of hate crimes, this does not reflect a greatly increased risk to any one lesbian, gay, or bisexual person. Results suggest that we need to consider other variables as predictors (such as poverty, business density, and population density) in determining safe versus unsafe space, rather than just the percentage of lesbians, gay, and bisexuals in a population.

  4. Whole tree chips for fuel and pulp can cut mill energy costs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morey, J

    1979-01-01

    Wood that is decaying and going to waste amounts to over 5 billion tons, enough to replace the present oil consumption of the United States. Environmental thinning--removal of dead, dying, and less desirable trees--leaves room for other trees to grow. Environmental thinning should be acceptable to private landowners, making almost every stand of timber available for energy harvest. Environmental thinning uses a small feller buncher shear, a small to medium grapple skidder, and a whole tree chipper. Five or six men, two or three feller bunchers, two grapple skidders, and a whole tree chipper can produce 250 to 300 green tons of whole tree chips per day and deliver it to an energy plant for $10 to $12 per ton. Demand for wood for energy will raise pulpwood prices unless industry adopts whole tree utilization and environmental thinning. Wood energy provides a market for low grade wood. The whole tree chipper can separate stem chips for pulping and top chips, with bark and foliage, for energy uses. A dirt separator available on the Morbark total Chiparvestor helps remove sand, about 40% of the bark, and about 50% of twigs and foliage. Because the fiber has a value as energy, it will be economical to build better screening systems, providing cleaner pulp chips. After screening, bark will remain, but some mills are converting to 100% bark chips. A study indicates that converting from oil to wood and from roundwood to whole tree chips can result in a savings of $4 to $8 million per year for a 1,000 tpd pulp and paper mill.

  5. One Million Bones: Measuring the Effect of Human Rights Participation in the Social Work Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    McPherson, Jane; Cheatham, Leah P.

    2015-01-01

    This article describes the integration of human rights content and a national arts-activism initiative--One Million Bones--into a bachelor's-level macro practice class as a human rights teaching strategy. Two previously validated scales, the Human Rights Exposure (HRX) in Social Work and the Human Rights Engagement (HRE) in Social Work (McPherson…

  6. Modelling of electric tree progression due to space charge modified fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seralathan, K E; Mahajan, A; Gupta, Nandini

    2008-01-01

    Tree initiation and growth require localized field enhancement that results in material erosion and formation of tree channels. Tree progression is linked to partial discharges within the tree tubules, characterized by recurrent periods of activity followed by quiescent states. Charge builds up across the non-conducting tree channels during the inactive regime, and discharge follows. In this work, the role of the space charge modified field during the non-discharging regime in deciding the site of subsequent discharges and thereby shaping tree structures is studied. A simple stochastic model was developed, in order to understand the respective effects of charges trapped on the walls of tree tubules, at channel tips, or in the volume of the dielectric. While some charge distributions are seen to arrest tree growth, others encourage axial growth towards the other electrode, and some aid in producing bushy trees clustered around the needle tip. The effect of carbon deposition within tree channels, making them effectively conducting, was also investigated. The insights gained from the simulations were successfully used to explain tree growth in the laboratory under high- and low-field conditions

  7. Australian toon planted in Hawaii: tree quality, growth, and stocking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbert L. Wick; Robert E. Nelson; Libert K. Landgraf

    1971-01-01

    Tree quality and rates of growth and survival were higher in 5- to 8-year-old Australian toon (Toona australis) plantations on sites with deep soils, good drainage, and as or broken pahoehoe rock than in plantations on sites with poor drainage or unbroken pahoehoe rock. Stocking averaged 236 trees per acre. Spacing in initial plants should be about 6...

  8. Effects of the emerald ash borer invasion on the community composition of arthropods associated with ash tree boles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire is an invasive non-native wood-boring beetle that has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) in North America, and threatens to extirpate the ecological services provided by the genus. Identifying the arthropod community assoc...

  9. Section-Based Tree Species Identification Using Airborne LIDAR Point Cloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, C.; Zhang, X.; Liu, H.

    2017-09-01

    The application of LiDAR data in forestry initially focused on mapping forest community, particularly and primarily intended for largescale forest management and planning. Then with the smaller footprint and higher sampling density LiDAR data available, detecting individual tree overstory, estimating crowns parameters and identifying tree species are demonstrated practicable. This paper proposes a section-based protocol of tree species identification taking palm tree as an example. Section-based method is to detect objects through certain profile among different direction, basically along X-axis or Y-axis. And this method improve the utilization of spatial information to generate accurate results. Firstly, separate the tree points from manmade-object points by decision-tree-based rules, and create Crown Height Mode (CHM) by subtracting the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) from the digital surface model (DSM). Then calculate and extract key points to locate individual trees, thus estimate specific tree parameters related to species information, such as crown height, crown radius, and cross point etc. Finally, with parameters we are able to identify certain tree species. Comparing to species information measured on ground, the portion correctly identified trees on all plots could reach up to 90.65 %. The identification result in this research demonstrate the ability to distinguish palm tree using LiDAR point cloud. Furthermore, with more prior knowledge, section-based method enable the process to classify trees into different classes.

  10. Runoff and initial erosion assessment in fruit tree crops and improved forage pastures in the slopes of the Irazu Volcano (Costa Rica)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchamalo, Miguel; González-Rodrigo, Beatriz

    2017-04-01

    Costa Rica is located in the Central American tropical isthmus. It presents high precipitations (ranging from 1400-8500 mm) and protection levels (27% of national territory). However, intensive land use and increasing population in headwaters are major threats for water resource management in this country. Birrís Basin is a 4800 hectares sub-watershed of the River Reventazón Basin, the major hydroelectric source in Costa Rica. Birrís Basin was selected for its high estimated erosion rates and its potential for demonstrative projects (ICE, 1999). Some pilot projects have been developed in this watershed starting from 1999, when major Costa Rican energy producer, Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, began with a long term watershed management program for the Reventazón Basin. This study aims at measuring runoff and initial splash and sheet erosion to assess the hydrological response of two pilot land use projects. Erosion and runoff plots were established and monitored in a one year period for two pilot projects (fruit trees and forage pastures) and their respective traditional land uses (vegetable crops and extensive pastures). Improved forage pastures showed reduced runoff by 73% and split erosion by 55% compared to prior extensive pastures. Conversion of vegetable crop lands into fruit tree plantations (apricot and avocado) made possible a 97% reduction of soil initial erosion. Land use pilot projects have succeeded in runoff and soil erosion reduction. Now it is time for a wider technology transfer program to expand improved land uses within Birrís Basin.

  11. Computer-oriented approach to fault-tree construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salem, S.L.; Apostolakis, G.E.; Okrent, D.

    1976-11-01

    A methodology for systematically constructing fault trees for general complex systems is developed and applied, via the Computer Automated Tree (CAT) program, to several systems. A means of representing component behavior by decision tables is presented. The method developed allows the modeling of components with various combinations of electrical, fluid and mechanical inputs and outputs. Each component can have multiple internal failure mechanisms which combine with the states of the inputs to produce the appropriate output states. The generality of this approach allows not only the modeling of hardware, but human actions and interactions as well. A procedure for constructing and editing fault trees, either manually or by computer, is described. The techniques employed result in a complete fault tree, in standard form, suitable for analysis by current computer codes. Methods of describing the system, defining boundary conditions and specifying complex TOP events are developed in order to set up the initial configuration for which the fault tree is to be constructed. The approach used allows rapid modifications of the decision tables and systems to facilitate the analysis and comparison of various refinements and changes in the system configuration and component modeling

  12. Clustering Millions of Faces by Identity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otto, Charles; Wang, Dayong; Jain, Anil K

    2018-02-01

    Given a large collection of unlabeled face images, we address the problem of clustering faces into an unknown number of identities. This problem is of interest in social media, law enforcement, and other applications, where the number of faces can be of the order of hundreds of million, while the number of identities (clusters) can range from a few thousand to millions. To address the challenges of run-time complexity and cluster quality, we present an approximate Rank-Order clustering algorithm that performs better than popular clustering algorithms (k-Means and Spectral). Our experiments include clustering up to 123 million face images into over 10 million clusters. Clustering results are analyzed in terms of external (known face labels) and internal (unknown face labels) quality measures, and run-time. Our algorithm achieves an F-measure of 0.87 on the LFW benchmark (13 K faces of 5,749 individuals), which drops to 0.27 on the largest dataset considered (13 K faces in LFW + 123M distractor images). Additionally, we show that frames in the YouTube benchmark can be clustered with an F-measure of 0.71. An internal per-cluster quality measure is developed to rank individual clusters for manual exploration of high quality clusters that are compact and isolated.

  13. Initial results of the spatial distribution of rubber trees in Peninsular Malaysia using remotely sensed data for biomass estimate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shidiq, I P A; Ismail, M H; Kamarudin, N

    2014-01-01

    The preservation and sustainable management of forest and other land cover ecosystems such as rubber trees will help addressing two major recent issues: climate change and bio-resource energy. The rubber trees are dominantly distributed in the Negeri Sembilan and Kedah on the west coast side of Peninsular Malaysia. This study is aimed to analyse the spatial distribution and biomass of rubber trees in Peninsular Malaysia with special emphasis in Negeri Sembilan State. Geospatial data from remote sensors are used to tackle the time and labour consuming problem due to the large spatial coverage and the need of continuous temporal data. Remote sensing imagery used in this study is a Landsat 5 TM. The image from optical sensor was used to sense the rubber trees and further classified rubber tree by different age

  14. Initial results of the spatial distribution of rubber trees in Peninsular Malaysia using remotely sensed data for biomass estimate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shidiq, I. P. A.; Ismail, M. H.; Kamarudin, N.

    2014-02-01

    The preservation and sustainable management of forest and other land cover ecosystems such as rubber trees will help addressing two major recent issues: climate change and bio-resource energy. The rubber trees are dominantly distributed in the Negeri Sembilan and Kedah on the west coast side of Peninsular Malaysia. This study is aimed to analyse the spatial distribution and biomass of rubber trees in Peninsular Malaysia with special emphasis in Negeri Sembilan State. Geospatial data from remote sensors are used to tackle the time and labour consuming problem due to the large spatial coverage and the need of continuous temporal data. Remote sensing imagery used in this study is a Landsat 5 TM. The image from optical sensor was used to sense the rubber trees and further classified rubber tree by different age.

  15. Tree regeneration and future stand development after bark beetle infestation and harvesting in Colorado lodgepole pine stands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byron J. Collins; Charles C. Rhoades; Robert M. Hubbard; Michael A. Battaglia

    2011-01-01

    In the southern Rocky Mountains, current mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreaks and associated harvesting have set millions of hectares of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm. ex Wats.) forest onto new stand development trajectories. Information about immediate, post-disturbance tree regeneration will provide insight on...

  16. AREVA net income: 649 million euros

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2007-03-15

    This document presents the financial statements for 2006 of Areva group: net income: 649 million euros; backlog up by 24.6% to 25.6 billion euros; steady growth of sales revenue: + 7.3%1 to 10.863 billion euros; operating income of 407 million euros: excellent divisional performance and constitution of a significant provision for the OL3 project in Finland; dividend proposed to Annual General Meeting of Shareholders: 8.46 euros per share.

  17. AREVA net income: 649 million euros

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-03-01

    This document presents the financial statements for 2006 of Areva group: net income: 649 million euros; backlog up by 24.6% to 25.6 billion euros; steady growth of sales revenue: + 7.3%1 to 10.863 billion euros; operating income of 407 million euros: excellent divisional performance and constitution of a significant provision for the OL3 project in Finland; dividend proposed to Annual General Meeting of Shareholders: 8.46 euros per share

  18. Age and isotopic systematics of Cretaceous borehole and surface samples from the greater Los Angeles Basin region: Implications for the types of crust that might underlie Los Angeles and their distribution along late Cenozoic fault systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Premo, Wayne R.; Morton, Douglas M.; Kistler, Ronald W.

    2014-01-01

    Nine U-Pb zircon ages were determined on plutonic rocks sampled from surface outcrops and rock chips of drill core from boreholes within the greater Los Angeles Basin region. In addition, lead-strontium-neodymium (Pb-Sr-Nd) whole-rock isotopic data were obtained for eight of these samples. These results help to characterize the crystalline basement rocks hidden in the subsurface and provide information that bears on the tectonic history of the myriad of fault systems that have dissected the Los Angeles region over the past 15 m.y. Seven of the nine samples have U-Pb ages ranging from 115 to 103 Ma and whole-rock Pb-Sr-Nd isotopic characteristics that indicate the crystalline basement underneath the greater Los Angeles Basin region is mostly part of the Peninsular Ranges batholith. Furthermore, these data are interpreted as evidence for (1) the juxtaposition of mid-Cretaceous, northern Peninsular Ranges batholith plutonic rocks against Late Cretaceous plutonic rocks of the Transverse Ranges in the San Fernando Valley, probably along the Verdugo fault; (2) the juxtaposition of older northwestern Peninsular Ranges batholith rocks against younger northeastern Peninsular Ranges batholith rocks in the northern Puente Hills, implying transposition of northeastern Peninsular Ranges batholith rocks to the west along unrecognized faults beneath the Chino Basin; and (3) juxtaposition of northern Peninsular Ranges batholith plutonic rocks against Late Cretaceous plutonic rocks of the Transverse Ranges along the San Jose fault in the northern San Jose Hills at Ganesha Park. These mainly left-lateral strike-slip faults of the eastern part of the greater Los Angeles Basin region could be the result of block rotation within the adjacent orthogonal, right-lateral, Elsinore-Whittier fault zone to the west and the subparallel San Jacinto fault zone to the east. The San Andreas fault system is the larger, subparallel, driving force further to the east.

  19. Estimating aboveground tree biomass for beetle-killed lodgepole pine in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodam Chung; Paul Evangelista; Nathaniel Anderson; Anthony Vorster; Hee Han; Krishna Poudel; Robert Sturtevant

    2017-01-01

    The recent mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) epidemic has affected millions of hectares of conifer forests in the Rocky Mountains. Land managers are interested in using biomass from beetle-killed trees for bioenergy and biobased products, but they lack adequate information to accurately estimate biomass in stands with heavy mortality. We...

  20. The Slow-Growing Orange, A Demographer’s Look at Future Los Angeles,

    Science.gov (United States)

    1984-04-01

    and even some downtown Los Angeles neighborhoods, through " gentrification "--will grow rapidly at the expense of others. A second dramatic aspect of...shores. Modern developments in commuaications and transportation, which have enabled us to expand trade with Asia and Latin America, have also

  1. Philanthro-metrics: Mining multi-million-dollar gifts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Una O Osili

    Full Text Available The Million Dollar List (MDL, online at http://www.milliondollarlist.org is a compilation of publicly announced charitable donations of $1 million or more from across the United States since 2000; as of December 2016, the database contains close to 80,000 gifts made by U.S. individuals, corporations, foundations, and other grant-making nonprofit organizations. This paper discusses the unique value of the Million Dollar List and provides unique insights to key questions such as: How does distance affect giving? How do networks impact million-dollar-plus gifts? Understanding the geospatial and temporal dimensions of philanthropy can assist researchers and policymakers to better understand the role of private funding in innovation and discovery. Moreover, the results from the paper emphasize the importance of philanthropy for fueling research and development in science, the arts, environment, and health. The paper also includes the limitations of the presented analyses and promising future work.

  2. ColorTree: a batch customization tool for phylogenic trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wei-Hua; Lercher, Martin J

    2009-07-31

    Genome sequencing projects and comparative genomics studies typically aim to trace the evolutionary history of large gene sets, often requiring human inspection of hundreds of phylogenetic trees. If trees are checked for compatibility with an explicit null hypothesis (e.g., the monophyly of certain groups), this daunting task is greatly facilitated by an appropriate coloring scheme. In this note, we introduce ColorTree, a simple yet powerful batch customization tool for phylogenic trees. Based on pattern matching rules, ColorTree applies a set of customizations to an input tree file, e.g., coloring labels or branches. The customized trees are saved to an output file, which can then be viewed and further edited by Dendroscope (a freely available tree viewer). ColorTree runs on any Perl installation as a stand-alone command line tool, and its application can thus be easily automated. This way, hundreds of phylogenic trees can be customized for easy visual inspection in a matter of minutes. ColorTree allows efficient and flexible visual customization of large tree sets through the application of a user-supplied configuration file to multiple tree files.

  3. Health and climate related ecosystem services provided by street trees in the urban environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salmond, Jennifer A; Tadaki, Marc; Vardoulakis, Sotiris; Arbuthnott, Katherine; Coutts, Andrew; Demuzere, Matthias; Dirks, Kim N; Heaviside, Clare; Lim, Shanon; Macintyre, Helen; McInnes, Rachel N; Wheeler, Benedict W

    2016-03-08

    Urban tree planting initiatives are being actively promoted as a planning tool to enable urban areas to adapt to and mitigate against climate change, enhance urban sustainability and improve human health and well-being. However, opportunities for creating new areas of green space within cities are often limited and tree planting initiatives may be constrained to kerbside locations. At this scale, the net impact of trees on human health and the local environment is less clear, and generalised approaches for evaluating their impact are not well developed.In this review, we use an urban ecosystems services framework to evaluate the direct, and locally-generated, ecosystems services and disservices provided by street trees. We focus our review on the services of major importance to human health and well-being which include 'climate regulation', 'air quality regulation' and 'aesthetics and cultural services'. These are themes that are commonly used to justify new street tree or street tree retention initiatives. We argue that current scientific understanding of the impact of street trees on human health and the urban environment has been limited by predominantly regional-scale reductionist approaches which consider vegetation generally and/or single out individual services or impacts without considering the wider synergistic impacts of street trees on urban ecosystems. This can lead planners and policymakers towards decision making based on single parameter optimisation strategies which may be problematic when a single intervention offers different outcomes and has multiple effects and potential trade-offs in different places.We suggest that a holistic approach is required to evaluate the services and disservices provided by street trees at different scales. We provide information to guide decision makers and planners in their attempts to evaluate the value of vegetation in their local setting. We show that by ensuring that the specific aim of the intervention, the

  4. Risk Factors for Dog Relinquishment to a Los Angeles Municipal Animal Shelter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolan, Emily D.; Scotto, Jamie; Slater, Margaret; Weiss, Emily

    2015-01-01

    Simple Summary Low income has been reported to be a risk factor for dog relinquishment to shelters in the U.S. The majority of people with lower incomes, however, do not relinquish. Risk factors for relinquishment in a low socioeconomic region of Los Angeles were examined. Cost was associated with relinquishment, and most people were not aware of available assistance. Those who relinquished reported emotional attachment to the dog and higher perceived stress than a comparison group. The majority of reasons for relinquishment were likely solvable with assistance, highlighting an opportunity to provide community-specific alternatives to relinquishment. Abstract Dog relinquishment is a large component of shelter intake in the United States. Research has shown traits of the dog are associated with relinquishment as well as general characteristics of those relinquishing. Low income is often cited as a risk factor for relinquishment. The majority of people with lower incomes, however, do not relinquish. A group of people accessing a shelter in a low socioeconomic region of Los Angeles to relinquish their dogs was surveyed. This study examined risk factors for relinquishment, controlling for household income, compared to a group utilizing low cost spay/neuter services. A total of 76.9% of those relinquishing noted cost as a reason for relinquishment. Of participants in the relinquishment group, 80.7% reported not being aware of any services available to them. Most notable in the findings was that the odds of relinquishment were generally higher as the amount of perceived stress in the home in the past three months increased. The majority of people in both groups reported being emotionally attached to the dog. In this sample from a South Los Angeles community, the majority of reasons for relinquishment were likely solvable with assistance. These findings highlight an opportunity to assess community needs and provide community specific alternatives to relinquishment. PMID

  5. Los Angeles OneSource System Youth Participant Customer Satisfaction Survey, 2010-2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heisley, Deborah D.; Moore, Richard W.; Patch, Robin N.

    2012-01-01

    As part of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Los Angeles OneSource Centers offer low-income youth ages 14-21 services aimed at improving educational achievement, enhancing job skills, and preparing for college. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the youths' satisfaction with services received at 14 OneSource Centers throughout…

  6. Does tree harvesting in riparian areas increase stream sedimentation and turbidity - world-wide experience relative to Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neary, D.; Smethurst, P.; Petrone, K.

    2009-04-01

    A typical improved-pasture property in the high-rainfall zone of Australia contains 0.5-2.0 km of waterways per 100 ha. Nationwide, some 25-30 million ha of improved pasture contains about 100,000 km of streams, of which about 75% are currently un-buffered and contributing to soil and water degradation. Farmers and natural resource managers are considering ways to enhance environmental outcomes at farm and catchment scales using stream-side buffers of trees and other perennial vegetation. Benefits of buffers include improved water quality, biodiversity, carbon sequestration and aesthetics. Lack of sound information and funding for establishing and managing buffer zones is hindering wide-scale adoption of this practice. Stream-side areas of farms are generally highly productive (wet and nutrient-rich) and contain a high biodiversity, but they are also high-risk zones for soil and water values and stock safety. Development of options based on a balance between environmental and economic outcomes would potentially promote wider adoption. Australian codes of forest practice currently discourage or prevent harvesting of trees in streamside buffers. These codes were developed exclusively for large-scale native forests and industrial-scale plantations, and were applicable to farm forestry as now required. In countries including USA and Germany trees in stream-side buffers are harvested using Best Management Practices. Trees may grow at a faster rate in riparian zones and provide a commercial return, but the impacts of tree establishment and harvesting on water yield and quality must be evaluated. However, there have been few designed experiments investigating this problem. Australia has recently initiated studies to explore the use of high-value timber species and associated vegetation in riparian zones to improve water quality, particularly suspended sediment. Preliminary information from the Yan Yan Gurt Catchment in Victoria indicate that forested riparian strips can

  7. First case of synophthalmia and albinism in the Pacific angel shark Squatina californica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escobar-Sánchez, O; Moreno-Sánchez, X G; Aguilar-Cruz, C A; Abitia-Cárdenas, L A

    2014-08-01

    The first record in Mexican waters of albinism and synophthalmia (partial cyclopia) in the Pacific angel shark, Squatina californica is presented. Albinism is not lethal, but synophthalmia may cause the death of the individual immediately after birth. © 2014 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  8. Remote sensing of trend and seasonal variability of greenhouse gas emissions from the Los Angeles basin using an FTS on Mount Wilson

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, C.; Fu, D.; Pongetti, T. J.; Newman, S.; Yung, Y. L.; Sander, S. P.

    2013-12-01

    Cities, such as Los Angeles, are significant sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs). With the growth of populations in cities worldwide, GHG emissions will increase, and monitoring the temporal trends will provide crucial data for global climate models as well as assessments of the effectiveness of control policies. Currently, continuous GHG observations in the Los Angeles basin are limited to a few in situ measurements, which are shown to be sensitive to local emissions and do not represent the Los Angeles basin well. To quantify GHG emissions from the metropolitan area, which tend to have heterogeneous characteristics, it is important to perform measurements which provide both continuous temporal and spatial coverage of the domain. Here we present observations of the major greenhouse gases, CO2 and CH4, using a spectroscopic remote sensing technique from the California Laboratory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing (CLARS) at Mount Wilson, California (1.7 km elevation). A Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) deployed at the CLARS site points downward at 28 selected land surfaces in the Los Angeles basin to measure the slant column abundances of CO2, CH4, N2O, CO and O2 using reflected sunlight in the near-infrared and shortwave infrared regions. This remote sensing technique provides continuous temporal and spatial measurements in the Los Angeles basin to achieve the goal of quantifying emissions of GHGs and CO. It also serves as a test-bed for future geostationary satellite missions to measure GHGs from space such as JPL's Geostationary Carbon Process Investigation (GCPI). The path-averaged dry-air mixing ratio, XCO2 and XCH4, observed by the CLARS FTS, show significant diurnal variability that arises from emissions in the Los Angeles basin and atmospheric transport processes. High-precision data have been collected since August 2011. Here we analyze the annual and seasonal trend of the ratio XCH4:XCO2 in the Los Angeles basin observed by the CLARS FTS from

  9. Energy efficiency and the environment: Innovative ways to improve air quality in the Los Angeles Basin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ritschard, R.

    1993-02-01

    This paper focuses on novel, innovative approaches for reducing or delaying the production of photochemical smog in the Los Angeles Basin. These approaches include modifying the surface characteristics of the basin by increasing surface albedo and an extensive tree-planting program. The changes in surface conditions are designed to reduce the basin air temperatures, especially during the summer months, which will result in two possible effects. First, a decrease in temperature would lead to a reduction in energy use with an associated decline in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO[sub x]) and a lowering of evaporative emission of reactive organic gases. Reductions in these smog precursors could improve the air quality of the basin without imposing additional emissions regulations. The second effect is associated with the possible causal relationship between air temperature and smog formation (i.e., lower temperatures and lower incidence of smog). Since this approach to mitigating air emissions is broad, the studies to date have concentrated on how changes in surface characteristics affect the meteorological conditions of the basin and on how these meteorological changes subsequently affect smog production. A geographic information system database of key surface characteristics (i.e., vegetative cover, albedo, moisture availability, and roughness) was compiled, and these characteristics were evaluated using prognostic meteorological models. The results of two- and three-dimensional meteorological simulations will be presented and discussed in this paper.

  10. Energy efficiency and the environment: Innovative ways to improve air quality in the Los Angeles Basin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ritschard, R.

    1993-02-01

    This paper focuses on novel, innovative approaches for reducing or delaying the production of photochemical smog in the Los Angeles Basin. These approaches include modifying the surface characteristics of the basin by increasing surface albedo and an extensive tree-planting program. The changes in surface conditions are designed to reduce the basin air temperatures, especially during the summer months, which will result in two possible effects. First, a decrease in temperature would lead to a reduction in energy use with an associated decline in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) and a lowering of evaporative emission of reactive organic gases. Reductions in these smog precursors could improve the air quality of the basin without imposing additional emissions regulations. The second effect is associated with the possible causal relationship between air temperature and smog formation (i.e., lower temperatures and lower incidence of smog). Since this approach to mitigating air emissions is broad, the studies to date have concentrated on how changes in surface characteristics affect the meteorological conditions of the basin and on how these meteorological changes subsequently affect smog production. A geographic information system database of key surface characteristics (i.e., vegetative cover, albedo, moisture availability, and roughness) was compiled, and these characteristics were evaluated using prognostic meteorological models. The results of two- and three-dimensional meteorological simulations will be presented and discussed in this paper.

  11. Strategic Plan for Sustainable Energy Management and Environmental Stewardship for Los Angeles Unified School District

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walker, A.; Beattie, D.; Thomas, K.; Davis, K.; Sim, M.; Jhaveri, A.

    2007-11-01

    This Strategic Plan for Sustainable Energy Management and Environmental Stewardship states goals, measures progress toward goals and how actions are monitored to achieve continuous improvement for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

  12. The conundrum of police officer-involved homicides: Counter-data in Los Angeles County

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morgan Currie

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper draws from critical data studies and related fields to investigate police officer-involved homicide data for Los Angeles County. We frame police officer-involved homicide data as a rhetorical tool that can reify certain assumptions about the world and extend regimes of power. We highlight the possibility that this type of sensitive civic data can be investigated and employed within local communities through creative practice. Community involvement with data can create a countervailing force to powerful dominant narratives and supplement activist projects that hold local officials accountable for their actions. Our analysis examines four Los Angeles County police officer-involved homicide data sets. First, we provide accounts of the semantics, granularity, scale and transparency of this local data. Then, we describe a “counter data action,” an event that invited members of the community to identify the limits and challenges present in police officer-involved homicide data and to propose new methods for deriving meaning from these indicators and statistics.

  13. Development of urban water consumption models for the City of Los Angeles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mini, C.; Hogue, T. S.; Pincetl, S.

    2011-12-01

    Population growth and rapid urbanization coupled with uncertain climate change are causing new challenges for meeting urban water needs. In arid and semi-arid regions, increasing drought periods and decreasing precipitation have led to water supply shortages and cities are struggling with trade-offs between the water needs of growing urban populations and the well-being of urban ecosystems. The goal of the current research is to build models that can represent urban water use patterns in semi-arid cities by identifying the determinants that control both total and outdoor residential water use over the Los Angeles urban domain. The initial database contains monthly water use records aggregated to the zip code level collected from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) from 2000 to 2010. Residential water use was normalized per capita and was correlated with socio-demographic, economic, climatic and vegetation characteristics across the City for the 2000-2010 period. Results show that ethnicity, per capita income, and the average number of persons per household are linearly related to total water use per capita. Inter-annual differences in precipitation and implementation of conservation measures affect water use levels across the City. The high variability in water use patterns across the City also appears strongly influenced by income and education levels. The temporal analysis of vegetation indices in the studied neighborhoods shows little correlation between precipitation patterns and vegetation greenness. Urban vegetation appears well-watered, presenting the same greenness activity over the study period despite an overall decrease in water use across the City. We hypothesize that over-watering is occurring and that outdoor water use represents a significant part of the residential water budget in various regions of the City. A multiple regression model has been developed that integrates these fundamental controlling factors to simulate residential

  14. EMBL pay settlement will cost millions

    CERN Multimedia

    Abott, A

    1999-01-01

    A labour dispute at EMBL, Heidelberg, was settled last week at a cost of at least DM4 million for the organisation's 16 member states. The lab has asked for clarification on whether the ruling from the IL0 refers simply to a salary adjustment from 1995 or also to a backdated implementation of higher salary scales. This second option would cost considerably more - 8 percent of the budget in back pay and DM3.5 million per annum (1/2 page).

  15. Tree Colors: Color Schemes for Tree-Structured Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tennekes, Martijn; de Jonge, Edwin

    2014-12-01

    We present a method to map tree structures to colors from the Hue-Chroma-Luminance color model, which is known for its well balanced perceptual properties. The Tree Colors method can be tuned with several parameters, whose effect on the resulting color schemes is discussed in detail. We provide a free and open source implementation with sensible parameter defaults. Categorical data are very common in statistical graphics, and often these categories form a classification tree. We evaluate applying Tree Colors to tree structured data with a survey on a large group of users from a national statistical institute. Our user study suggests that Tree Colors are useful, not only for improving node-link diagrams, but also for unveiling tree structure in non-hierarchical visualizations.

  16. Comparison of Taxi Time Prediction Performance Using Different Taxi Speed Decision Trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hanbong

    2017-01-01

    In the STBO modeler and tactical surface scheduler for ATD-2 project, taxi speed decision trees are used to calculate the unimpeded taxi times of flights taxiing on the airport surface. The initial taxi speed values in these decision trees did not show good prediction accuracy of taxi times. Using the more recent, reliable surveillance data, new taxi speed values in ramp area and movement area were computed. Before integrating these values into the STBO system, we performed test runs using live data from Charlotte airport, with different taxi speed settings: 1) initial taxi speed values and 2) new ones. Taxi time prediction performance was evaluated by comparing various metrics. The results show that the new taxi speed decision trees can calculate the unimpeded taxi-out times more accurately.

  17. Evaluating Community Partnerships Addressing Community Resilience in Los Angeles, California

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malcolm V. Williams

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Community resilience has grown in importance in national disaster response and recovery efforts. However, measurement of community resilience, particularly the content and quality of relationships aimed at improving resilience, is lacking. To address this gap, we used a social network survey to measure the number, type, and quality of relationships among organizations participating in 16 coalitions brought together to address community resilience in the Los Angeles Community Disaster Resilience project. These coalitions were randomized to one of two approaches (community resilience or preparedness. Resilience coalitions received training and support to develop these partnerships and implement new activities. Both coalition types received expert facilitation by a public health nurse or community educator. We also measured the activities each coalition engaged in and the extent to which partners participated in these activities at two time points. We found that the community resilience coalitions were initially larger and had lower trust among members than the preparedness communities. Over time, these trust differences dissipated. While both coalitions grew, the resilience community coalitions maintained their size difference throughout the project. We also found differences in the types of activities implemented by the resilience communities; these differences were directly related to the trainings provided. This information is useful to organizations seeking guidance on expanding the network of community-based organizations that participate in community resilience activities.

  18. TreePOD: Sensitivity-Aware Selection of Pareto-Optimal Decision Trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhlbacher, Thomas; Linhardt, Lorenz; Moller, Torsten; Piringer, Harald

    2018-01-01

    Balancing accuracy gains with other objectives such as interpretability is a key challenge when building decision trees. However, this process is difficult to automate because it involves know-how about the domain as well as the purpose of the model. This paper presents TreePOD, a new approach for sensitivity-aware model selection along trade-offs. TreePOD is based on exploring a large set of candidate trees generated by sampling the parameters of tree construction algorithms. Based on this set, visualizations of quantitative and qualitative tree aspects provide a comprehensive overview of possible tree characteristics. Along trade-offs between two objectives, TreePOD provides efficient selection guidance by focusing on Pareto-optimal tree candidates. TreePOD also conveys the sensitivities of tree characteristics on variations of selected parameters by extending the tree generation process with a full-factorial sampling. We demonstrate how TreePOD supports a variety of tasks involved in decision tree selection and describe its integration in a holistic workflow for building and selecting decision trees. For evaluation, we illustrate a case study for predicting critical power grid states, and we report qualitative feedback from domain experts in the energy sector. This feedback suggests that TreePOD enables users with and without statistical background a confident and efficient identification of suitable decision trees.

  19. Angels and Demons: The Science Behind the Scenes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Graf, Norman

    2009-05-12

    Does antimatter really exist? How and why do scientists produce and use it? Does CERN exist and is there an underground complex deep beneath the Swiss/French border? Is truth stranger than fiction? Find out at the coming public lecture. On Tuesday, May 12, SLAC physicist Norman Graf will discuss the real science behind Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's blockbuster novel and the basis of an upcoming Tom Hanks movie. Graf's' talk is one in a series of public lectures across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico to share the science of antimatter and the Large Hadron Collider, and the excitement of particle physics research.

  20. Giordano da Pisa and the language of angels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessia Francone

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Among the issues about the angels considered by the Dominican preacher Giordano da Pisa, this essay studies the problem of their language. The question of the locutio angelica had become quite relevant in the scholastic thought from the XIIIth century and had been widely discussed by Thomas Aquinas and Giles of Rome; the study of this argument in Giordano da Pisa’s sermons shows the transition in the homiletic texts of a highly speculative theme and we can see how the preacher, who combines rather freely the positions of Thomas and Giles, filters the question for his lay public, simplifying the more difficult passages.

  1. Angels and Demons: The Science Behind the Scenes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graf, Norman

    2009-01-01

    Does antimatter really exist? How and why do scientists produce and use it? Does CERN exist and is there an underground complex deep beneath the Swiss/French border? Is truth stranger than fiction? Find out at the coming public lecture. On Tuesday, May 12, SLAC physicist Norman Graf will discuss the real science behind Angels and Demons, Dan Brown's blockbuster novel and the basis of an upcoming Tom Hanks movie. Graf's' talk is one in a series of public lectures across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico to share the science of antimatter and the Large Hadron Collider, and the excitement of particle physics research.

  2. Two Trees: Migrating Fault Trees to Decision Trees for Real Time Fault Detection on International Space Station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Charles; Alena, Richard L.; Robinson, Peter

    2004-01-01

    We started from ISS fault trees example to migrate to decision trees, presented a method to convert fault trees to decision trees. The method shows that the visualizations of root cause of fault are easier and the tree manipulating becomes more programmatic via available decision tree programs. The visualization of decision trees for the diagnostic shows a format of straight forward and easy understands. For ISS real time fault diagnostic, the status of the systems could be shown by mining the signals through the trees and see where it stops at. The other advantage to use decision trees is that the trees can learn the fault patterns and predict the future fault from the historic data. The learning is not only on the static data sets but also can be online, through accumulating the real time data sets, the decision trees can gain and store faults patterns in the trees and recognize them when they come.

  3. The undergraduate physics tutorial program at CSU Los Angeles assessment of utility and areas of interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avetyan, Smbat

    The Physics Education Research (PER) group at the University of Washington have researched traditional teaching methods and found that students in introductory physics are lacking a conceptual understanding of the physics material. The solution they put forth is an interactive tutorial program designed to meet the lack of conceptual understanding. Since the tutorial programs inception at CSU Los Angeles in Fall 2006 no evaluation has been successfully undertaken therefore the effect of the tutorial program in the physics 200 series is deeply obscure to the department. The research has shed light on the tutorial program and brought into context its effectiveness on the overall physics 200 series courses at CSU Los Angeles. The researcher has addressed the following research questions, what overall effect does the tutorial program have on the Physics 200 series curriculum? What is the size and significance of gains attributable to the undergraduate calculus based Physics 200 series tutorial program at CSU Los Angeles? What can we learn from gains about individual weekly lessons from the Physics 200 series tutorial courses? What is the correlation of tutorial gains with student final course grades? Are the gains from the tutorial program different for genders? Is there a difference in gains based on the different students' colleges?

  4. The Walking Renaissance: A Longitudinal Analysis of Walking Travel in the Greater Los Angeles Area, USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenneth Joh

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Promoting walking travel is considered important for reducing automobile use and improving public health. Recent U.S. transportation policy has incentivized investments in alternative, more sustainable transportation modes such as walking, bicycling and transit in auto-oriented cities such as Los Angeles. Although many past studies have analyzed changes in walking travel across the U.S., there is little clarity on the drivers of change. We address this gap by conducting a longitudinal analysis of walking travel in the greater Los Angeles area from 2001 to 2009. We use travel diary and household data from regional and national surveys to analyze changes in walking trip shares and rates across our study area. Results show that walking has significantly increased across most of Los Angeles, and that increases in walking trips generally correspond with increases in population, employment, and transit service densities. Estimates from fixed-effects regression analysis generally suggest a positive association between population density and walking, and that higher increases in transit stop density are correlated with increased walking trips to and from transit stops. These findings illustrate how regional planning efforts to pursue a coordinated land use-transit planning strategy can help promote walking in auto-oriented or vehicle adopting cities.

  5. Extraction of Urban Trees from Integrated Airborne Based Digital Image and LIDAR Point Cloud Datasets - Initial Results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dogon-yaro, M. A.; Kumar, P.; Rahman, A. Abdul; Buyuksalih, G.

    2016-10-01

    Timely and accurate acquisition of information on the condition and structural changes of urban trees serves as a tool for decision makers to better appreciate urban ecosystems and their numerous values which are critical to building up strategies for sustainable development. The conventional techniques used for extracting tree features include; ground surveying and interpretation of the aerial photography. However, these techniques are associated with some constraint, such as labour intensive field work, a lot of financial requirement, influences by weather condition and topographical covers which can be overcome by means of integrated airborne based LiDAR and very high resolution digital image datasets. This study presented a semi-automated approach for extracting urban trees from integrated airborne based LIDAR and multispectral digital image datasets over Istanbul city of Turkey. The above scheme includes detection and extraction of shadow free vegetation features based on spectral properties of digital images using shadow index and NDVI techniques and automated extraction of 3D information about vegetation features from the integrated processing of shadow free vegetation image and LiDAR point cloud datasets. The ability of the developed algorithms shows a promising result as an automated and cost effective approach to estimating and delineated 3D information of urban trees. The research also proved that integrated datasets is a suitable technology and a viable source of information for city managers to be used in urban trees management.

  6. A tale of two cities: residential context and risky behavior among adolescents in Los Angeles and Chicago.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frank, Reanne; Bjornstrom, Eileen

    2011-01-01

    This article evaluates whether the at-risk behavior of adolescents is differentially influenced by community context across two metropolitan areas. Our focus is on Latino youth in particular. The data come from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS) and the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Multi-level models are employed to estimate the effects of community-level influences on adolescent risky behavior in Los Angeles and Chicago. Neighborhood-level influences on the at-risk behavior of youth are found to operate similarly across the two cities, such that native-born children of Latino immigrants are at greatest risk of problem behavior in co-ethnic highly segregated neighborhoods in both Los Angeles and Chicago. Similar patterns are observed for African-Americans, particularly in Chicago and Non-Latino Whites in both cities. We argue that the findings are best interpreted through a segregation framework. Members of each racial/ethnic group appear to exhibit negative health risk behaviors when they reside in areas that are disproportionately populated with their co-ethnic peers. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Yield curve event tree construction for multi stage stochastic programming models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Kourosh Marjani; Poulsen, Rolf

    Dynamic stochastic programming (DSP) provides an intuitive framework for modelling of financial portfolio choice problems where market frictions are present and dynamic re--balancing has a significant effect on initial decisions. The application of these models in practice, however, is limited....... Indeed defining a universal and tractable framework for fully ``appropriate'' event trees is in our opinion an impossible task. A problem specific approach to designing such event trees is the way ahead. In this paper we propose a number of desirable properties which should be present in an event tree...

  8. Creating ensembles of oblique decision trees with evolutionary algorithms and sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cantu-Paz, Erick [Oakland, CA; Kamath, Chandrika [Tracy, CA

    2006-06-13

    A decision tree system that is part of a parallel object-oriented pattern recognition system, which in turn is part of an object oriented data mining system. A decision tree process includes the step of reading the data. If necessary, the data is sorted. A potential split of the data is evaluated according to some criterion. An initial split of the data is determined. The final split of the data is determined using evolutionary algorithms and statistical sampling techniques. The data is split. Multiple decision trees are combined in ensembles.

  9. Edificio de archivos en Los Angeles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neutra & Alexander, Arquitectos

    1963-07-01

    Full Text Available The 80th birthday of Richard Neutra coincides with the completion of this building, a special feature of which is that it has 13 half-floor levels, thus saving space and making it easier to reach the documents. Besides housing the Territorial Archives Office, it accommodates the Territorial Testing Dept., Regional Planning Committee and Territorial Library. 40 ms high rotary sun shields are fitted, made of aluminium. They are controlled automatically by electronic devices, motivated by the solar action, and are thus correctly orientated at any time to provide protection against sun glare. They close altogether when the wind speed is such that they might be damaged. On the main facade looking towards Temple Street, the plastic arts organisation has contributed a large mosaic by Joseph Young, showing a map of the district. This archives building in Los Angeles is a fine exponent of what technology can do for man, and it is a characteristic example of contemporary organic architecture at its best.El principio de la octava década de Neutra coincide con la terminación del edificio, cuya sección nos ofrece trece medias plantas, para economizar espacio y facilitar el alcance de los documentos. Aloja, además de la Oficina Territorial de Archivos, otras varias: Departamento Territorial de Pruebas, Comisión de Planificación Regional y Biblioteca Territorial. Unos «brise-soleils» giratorios, de aluminio, de 40 m de altura, que funcionan automáticamente —controlados por un cerebro electrónico— bajo la acción solar, proporcionan la orientación «adecuada» en cada momento y protegen del brillo lateral, cerrándose cuando el viento sopla con una velocidad que puede serles perjudicial. Como aportación de las Artes Plásticas aparece en la fachada principal, que da a la calle Temple, un gran mosaico, de Joseph Young, del mapa del territorio. Este edificio de archivos en Los Angeles constituye un claro exponente en el que la, técnica est

  10. Talking dirty: how to save a million lives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis, V

    2003-06-01

    Infectious diseases are still the number one threat to public health in developing countries. Diarrhoeal diseases alone are responsible for the deaths of at least 2 million children yearly - hygiene is paramount to resolving this problem. The function of hygienic behaviour is to prevent the transmission of the agents of infection. The most effective way of stopping infection is to stop faecal material getting into the child's environment by safe disposal of faeces and washing hands with soap once faecal material has contaminated them in the home. A review of the literature on handwashing puts it top in a list of possible interventions to prevent diarrhoea. Handwashing with soap has been calculated to save a million lives. However, few people do wash their hands with soap at these critical times. Obtaining a massive increase in handwashing worldwide requires a sea-change in thinking. Initial results from a new programme led by the World Bank, with many partner organisations, suggest that health is low on people's list of motives, rather, hands are washed to remove dirt, to rinse food off after eating, to make hands look and smell good, and as an act of motherly caring. Professional consumer and market research agencies are being used to work with the soap industry to design professional communications programmes to reach whole populations in Ghana and India. Tools and techniques for marketing handwashing and for measuring the actual impact on behaviour will be applied in new public-private handwashing programmes, which are to start up soon in Nepal, China, Peru and Senegal.

  11. Tree Coring as an initial screening tool for typical pollutants in the subsurface

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Mette Algreen; Trapp, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    Previous guidelines report that tree coring is more or less useful for a variety of VOCs, such as BTEX, MTBE, trimethyl benzene, and chlorinated solvents (PCE, TCE, DCE, VC). This new guideline goes beyond the previous guidelines by including the use of a technique to screen for heavy metals, plus...

  12. The effect of trees on preferential flow and soil infiltrability in an agroforestry parkland in semiarid Burkina Faso

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bargués Tobella, A.; Reese, H.; Almaw, A.; Bayala, J.; Malmer, A.; Laudon, H.; Ilstedt, U.

    2014-04-01

    Water scarcity constrains the livelihoods of millions of people in tropical drylands. Tree planting in these environments is generally discouraged due to the large water consumption by trees, but this view may neglect their potential positive impacts on water availability. The effect of trees on soil hydraulic properties linked to groundwater recharge is poorly understood. In this study, we performed 18 rainfall simulations and tracer experiments in an agroforestry parkland in Burkina Faso to investigate the effect of trees and associated termite mounds on soil infiltrability and preferential flow. The sampling points were distributed in transects each consisting of three positions: (i) under a single tree, (ii) in the middle of an open area, and (iii) under a tree associated with a termite mound. The degree of preferential flow was quantified through parameters based on the dye infiltration patterns, which were analyzed using image analysis of photographs. Our results show that the degree of preferential flow was highest under trees associated with termite mounds, intermediate under single trees, and minimal in the open areas. Tree density also had an influence on the degree of preferential flow, with small open areas having more preferential flow than large ones. Soil infiltrability was higher under single trees than in the open areas or under trees associated with a termite mound. The findings from this study demonstrate that trees have a positive impact on soil hydraulic properties influencing groundwater recharge, and thus such effects must be considered when evaluating the impact of trees on water resources in drylands.

  13. Non-Native Ambrosia Beetles as Opportunistic Exploiters of Living but Weakened Trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranger, Christopher M; Schultz, Peter B; Frank, Steven D; Chong, Juang H; Reding, Michael E

    2015-01-01

    Exotic Xylosandrus spp. ambrosia beetles established in non-native habitats have been associated with sudden and extensive attacks on a diverse range of living trees, but factors driving their shift from dying/dead hosts to living and healthy ones are not well understood. We sought to characterize the role of host physiological condition on preference and colonization by two invaders, Xylosandrus germanus and Xylosandrus crassiusculus. When given free-choice under field conditions among flooded and non-flooded deciduous tree species of varying intolerance to flooding, beetles attacked flood-intolerant tree species over more tolerant species within 3 days of initiating flood stress. In particular, flood-intolerant flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) sustained more attacks than flood-tolerant species, including silver maple (Acer saccharinum) and swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor). Ethanol, a key host-derived attractant, was detected at higher concentrations 3 days after initiating flooding within stems of flood intolerant species compared to tolerant and non-flooded species. A positive correlation was also detected between ethanol concentrations in stem tissue and cumulative ambrosia beetle attacks. When adult X. germanus and X. crassiusculus were confined with no-choice to stems of flood-stressed and non-flooded C. florida, more ejected sawdust resulting from tunneling activity was associated with the flood-stressed trees. Furthermore, living foundresses, eggs, larvae, and pupae were only detected within galleries created in stems of flood-stressed trees. Despite a capability to attack diverse tree genera, X. germanus and X. crassiusculus efficiently distinguished among varying host qualities and preferentially targeted trees based on their intolerance of flood stress. Non-flooded trees were not preferred or successfully colonized. This study demonstrates the host-selection strategy exhibited by X. germanus and X. crassiusculus in non-native habitats involves

  14. Non-Native Ambrosia Beetles as Opportunistic Exploiters of Living but Weakened Trees.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher M Ranger

    Full Text Available Exotic Xylosandrus spp. ambrosia beetles established in non-native habitats have been associated with sudden and extensive attacks on a diverse range of living trees, but factors driving their shift from dying/dead hosts to living and healthy ones are not well understood. We sought to characterize the role of host physiological condition on preference and colonization by two invaders, Xylosandrus germanus and Xylosandrus crassiusculus. When given free-choice under field conditions among flooded and non-flooded deciduous tree species of varying intolerance to flooding, beetles attacked flood-intolerant tree species over more tolerant species within 3 days of initiating flood stress. In particular, flood-intolerant flowering dogwood (Cornus florida sustained more attacks than flood-tolerant species, including silver maple (Acer saccharinum and swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor. Ethanol, a key host-derived attractant, was detected at higher concentrations 3 days after initiating flooding within stems of flood intolerant species compared to tolerant and non-flooded species. A positive correlation was also detected between ethanol concentrations in stem tissue and cumulative ambrosia beetle attacks. When adult X. germanus and X. crassiusculus were confined with no-choice to stems of flood-stressed and non-flooded C. florida, more ejected sawdust resulting from tunneling activity was associated with the flood-stressed trees. Furthermore, living foundresses, eggs, larvae, and pupae were only detected within galleries created in stems of flood-stressed trees. Despite a capability to attack diverse tree genera, X. germanus and X. crassiusculus efficiently distinguished among varying host qualities and preferentially targeted trees based on their intolerance of flood stress. Non-flooded trees were not preferred or successfully colonized. This study demonstrates the host-selection strategy exhibited by X. germanus and X. crassiusculus in non-native habitats

  15. Teaching case studies on earthquake preparedness efforts in the transportation sector, Los Angeles metropolitan area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Through the development of a Harvard Kennedy School case study (intended for : use as curriculum in graduate-level and executive education programs), this project : examines earthquake preparedness and planning processes in the Los Angeles : metropol...

  16. 'Dear diary I saw an angel, she looked like heaven on earth': Sex ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    'Dear diary I saw an angel, she looked like heaven on earth': Sex talk and sex ... gender, sexuality and HIV/AIDS education' and was conducted in Botswana, Kenya, ... problematising them, and without reproducing stereotypes of boys as subjects ... themselves and talk about sexual desire and the opposite sex in different

  17. Impact of restaurant hygiene grade cards on foodborne-disease hospitalizations in Los Angeles County.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Paul A; Leslie, Phillip; Run, Grace; Jin, Ginger Zhe; Reporter, Roshan; Aguirre, Arturo; Fielding, Jonathan E

    2005-03-01

    Although health departments routinely inspect restaurants to assess compliance with established hygienic standards, few data are available on the effectiveness of these efforts in preventing foodborne disease. The study reported here assessed the impact on foodborne-disease hospitalizations in Los Angeles County of a restaurant hygiene grading system that utilized publicly posted grade cards. The grading systm was introduced in January 1998. Hospital discharge data on foodborne-disease hospitalizations were analyzed for Los Angeles County and, as a control, for the rest of California during the period 1993-2000. Ordinary least-squares regression analysis was done to measure the effect of the grading progam on these hospitalizations. After baseline temporal and geographic trends were adjusted for, the restaurant hygiene grading program was associated with a 13.1 percent decrease (p restaurant hygiene grading with public posting of results is an effective intervention for reducing the burden of foodborne disease.

  18. The effect of trees on preferential flow and soil infiltrability in an agroforestry parkland in semiarid Burkina Faso.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bargués Tobella, A; Reese, H; Almaw, A; Bayala, J; Malmer, A; Laudon, H; Ilstedt, U

    2014-04-01

    Water scarcity constrains the livelihoods of millions of people in tropical drylands. Tree planting in these environments is generally discouraged due to the large water consumption by trees, but this view may neglect their potential positive impacts on water availability. The effect of trees on soil hydraulic properties linked to groundwater recharge is poorly understood. In this study, we performed 18 rainfall simulations and tracer experiments in an agroforestry parkland in Burkina Faso to investigate the effect of trees and associated termite mounds on soil infiltrability and preferential flow. The sampling points were distributed in transects each consisting of three positions: (i) under a single tree, (ii) in the middle of an open area, and (iii) under a tree associated with a termite mound. The degree of preferential flow was quantified through parameters based on the dye infiltration patterns, which were analyzed using image analysis of photographs. Our results show that the degree of preferential flow was highest under trees associated with termite mounds, intermediate under single trees, and minimal in the open areas. Tree density also had an influence on the degree of preferential flow, with small open areas having more preferential flow than large ones. Soil infiltrability was higher under single trees than in the open areas or under trees associated with a termite mound. The findings from this study demonstrate that trees have a positive impact on soil hydraulic properties influencing groundwater recharge, and thus such effects must be considered when evaluating the impact of trees on water resources in drylands. Trees in dryland landscapes increase soil infiltrability and preferential flow Termite mounds in association with trees further enhance preferential flow.

  19. Ashland outlines $261 million in refinery unit construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that Ashland Petroleum Co. has spelled out $261 million in projects completed, under way, or planned to produce cleaner fuel and further reduce emissions at two U.S. refineries. The company: Started up at $13 million pollution control system at its 213,400 b/cd Catlettsburg, Ky., plant. Started construction on six projects at its 67,100 b/cd St. Paul Park, Minn., refinery that will cost about $114 million and enable the plant to produce cleaner burning diesel fuel and further reduce emissions

  20. Accident Fault Trees for Defense Waste Processing Facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarrack, A.G.

    1999-06-22

    The purpose of this report is to document fault tree analyses which have been completed for the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) safety analysis. Logic models for equipment failures and human error combinations that could lead to flammable gas explosions in various process tanks, or failure of critical support systems were developed for internal initiating events and for earthquakes. These fault trees provide frequency estimates for support systems failures and accidents that could lead to radioactive and hazardous chemical releases both on-site and off-site. Top event frequency results from these fault trees will be used in further APET analyses to calculate accident risk associated with DWPF facility operations. This report lists and explains important underlying assumptions, provides references for failure data sources, and briefly describes the fault tree method used. Specific commitments from DWPF to provide new procedural/administrative controls or system design changes are listed in the ''Facility Commitments'' section. The purpose of the ''Assumptions'' section is to clarify the basis for fault tree modeling, and is not necessarily a list of items required to be protected by Technical Safety Requirements (TSRs).

  1. Filling potholes on the implementation highway: Evaluating the implementation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy in Los Angeles County.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmer, Susan G; Urquiza, Anthony J; Boys, Deanna K; Forte, Lindsay A; Quick-Abdullah, Daphne; Chan, Sam; Gould, William

    2016-03-01

    In October 2012, first 5 LA funded a unique collaboration between Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) and UC Davis PCIT Training Center (UCD PCIT) to train county-contracted agencies to provide Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT). This $20 million dollar, 5-year grant represented the largest implementation effort of an empirically based treatment to date. The purpose of this paper was to describe the first 2 years of the implementation process of this project, beginning with project start up and pre-implementation phases, and to present agency training and client performance outcomes from our first year of training. Results presented in this evaluation suggest that it is possible to train LA County providers in PCIT, and that PCIT is an effective intervention for DMH-contracted providers in LA County. This evaluation also discusses challenges to successful implementation. Barriers to progress included unanticipated delays building county infrastructure, trainee attrition, and insufficient client referrals. We discuss the results of the current implementation with respect to theory, research, and others' training models, with the aim of evaluating and prioritizing different implementation drivers, noting the ongoing competition between knowing what to do and the need for action. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Impact of emissions from the Los Angeles port region on San Diego air quality during regional transport events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ault, Andrew P; Moore, Meagan J; Furutani, Hiroshi; Prather, Kimberly A

    2009-05-15

    Oceangoing ships emit an estimated 1.2-1.6 million metric tons (Tg) of PM10 per year and represent a significant source of air pollution to coastal communities. As shown herein, ship and other emissions near the Los Angeles and Long Beach Port region strongly influence air pollution levels in the San Diego area. During time periods with regional transport, atmospheric aerosol measurements in La Jolla, California show an increase in 0.5-1 microm sized single particles with unique signatures including soot, metals (i.e., vanadium, iron, and nickel), sulfate, and nitrate. These particles are attributed to primary emissions from residual oil sourcessuch as ships and refineries, as well as traffic in the port region, and secondary processing during transport. During regional transport events, particulate matter concentrations were 2-4 times higher than typical average concentrations from local sources, indicating the health, environmental, and climate impacts from these emission sources must be taken into consideration in the San Diego region. Unless significant regulations are imposed on shipping-related activities, these emission sources will become even more important to California air quality as cars and truck emissions undergo further regulations and residual oil sources such as shipping continue to expand.

  3. Tree Nut Allergies

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Blog Vision Awards Common Allergens Tree Nut Allergy Tree Nut Allergy Learn about tree nut allergy, how ... a Tree Nut Label card . Allergic Reactions to Tree Nuts Tree nuts can cause a severe and ...

  4. Reconstructing 3D Tree Models Using Motion Capture and Particle Flow

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Long

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Recovering tree shape from motion capture data is a first step toward efficient and accurate animation of trees in wind using motion capture data. Existing algorithms for generating models of tree branching structures for image synthesis in computer graphics are not adapted to the unique data set provided by motion capture. We present a method for tree shape reconstruction using particle flow on input data obtained from a passive optical motion capture system. Initial branch tip positions are estimated from averaged and smoothed motion capture data. Branch tips, as particles, are also generated within a bounding space defined by a stack of bounding boxes or a convex hull. The particle flow, starting at branch tips within the bounding volume under forces, creates tree branches. The forces are composed of gravity, internal force, and external force. The resulting shapes are realistic and similar to the original tree crown shape. Several tunable parameters provide control over branch shape and arrangement.

  5. Initial results of population based cervical cancer screening program using HPV testing in one million Turkish women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gultekin, Murat; Zayifoglu Karaca, Mujdegul; Kucukyildiz, Irem; Dundar, Selin; Boztas, Guledal; Semra Turan, Hatice; Hacikamiloglu, Ezgi; Murtuza, Kamil; Keskinkilic, Bekir; Sencan, Irfan

    2018-05-01

    To evaluate the Turkey's nationwide HPV DNA screening program on the basis of first 1 million screened women. Women over age 30 were invited for population based screening via HPV DNA and conventional cytology. Samples were collected by family physicians and the evaluations and reports had been performed in the National Central HPV laboratories. The acceptance rate for HPV based cervical cancer screening after first invitation was nearly 36.5%. Since HPV DNA tests have been implemented, cervical cancer screening rates have shown 4-5-fold increase in primary level. Through the evaluation of all, HPV positivity was seen in 3.5%. The commonest HPV genotypes were 16, followed by 51, 31, 52 and 18. Among the 37.515 HPV positive cases, cytological abnormality rate was 19.1%. Among HPV positive cases, 16.962 cases had HPV 16 or 18 or other oncogenic HPV types with abnormal cytology (>ASC-US). These patients were referred to colposcopy. The colposcopy referral rate was 1.6%. Among these, final clinico-pathological data of 3.499 patients were normal in 1.985 patients, CIN1 in 708, CIN2 in 285, CIN3 in 436 and cancer in 85 patients and only pap-smear program could miss 45.9% of ≥CIN3 cases. The results of 1 million women including the evaluation of 13 HPV genotypes with respect to prevalence, geographic distribution and abnormal cytology results shows that HPV DNA can be used in primary level settings to have a high coverage rated screening program and is very effective compared to conventional pap-smear. © 2017 The Authors International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC.

  6. Immigrant incorporation in the garment industry of Los Angeles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Light, I; Bernard, R B; Kim, R

    1999-01-01

    This study expands immigrant social network theory and examined employment patterns in the garment industry in Los Angeles, California, among Latino workers employed by Asian immigrant entrepreneurs. The study determined that a large percentage of immigrant employees found their jobs through the immigrant economy. Entrepreneurship increased the supply of local jobs and expanded the economy at destination at no expense to natives. Immigrant entrepreneurs bought firms from nonimmigrant owners or started new ones with an immigrant labor supply. Massey's index is flawed due to its exclusion of the role of entrepreneurs. Migration networks facilitate entrepreneurship, but some ethnic groups have fewer entrepreneurs, such as Mexicans and Central Americans. A 1993 Los Angeles survey identified 3642 garment factories in its county. Mean employment was 27.1 persons. The garment industry was the 4th largest industry in the area in 1996, with 98,700 employees. It represented 6% of all wage and salary employees in the City and 5.5% of the immigrant labor force in the County in 1990. 93% of garment workers in 1990 were immigrants. It is estimated that 51% of garment factory owners were Asians; most employees were Latinos. Census figures on sewing machine operators indicated 47.3% of owners were Whites and 42.45 were Asians. 53.3% of employees were other ethnic groups, 14.5% were Asians, and 32.2% were Whites. It is estimated that 47.2% of total employment was due to the immigration economy. 71.5% of the total employment in the garment industry was in the immigrant sector.

  7. Forests, Trees, and Micronutrient-Rich Food Consumption in Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ickowitz, Amy; Rowland, Dominic; Powell, Bronwen; Salim, Mohammad Agus; Sunderland, Terry

    2016-01-01

    Micronutrient deficiency remains a serious problem in Indonesia with approximately 100 million people, or 40% of the population, suffering from one or more micronutrient deficiencies. In rural areas with poor market access, forests and trees may provide an essential source of nutritious food. This is especially important to understand at a time when forests and other tree-based systems in Indonesia are being lost at unprecedented rates. We use food consumption data from the 2003 Indonesia Demographic Health Survey for children between the ages of one and five years and data on vegetation cover from the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry to examine whether there is a relationship between different tree-dominated land classes and consumption of micronutrient-rich foods across the archipelago. We run our models on the aggregate sample which includes over 3000 observations from 25 provinces across Indonesia as well as on sub-samples from different provinces chosen to represent the different land classes. The results show that different tree-dominated land classes were associated with the dietary quality of people living within them in the provinces where they were dominant. Areas of swidden/agroforestry, natural forest, timber and agricultural tree crop plantations were all associated with more frequent consumption of food groups rich in micronutrients in the areas where these were important land classes. The swidden/agroforestry land class was the landscape associated with more frequent consumption of the largest number of micronutrient rich food groups. Further research needs to be done to establish what the mechanisms are that underlie these associations. Swidden cultivation in is often viewed as a backward practice that is an impediment to food security in Indonesia and destructive of the environment. If further research corroborates that swidden farming actually results in better nutrition than the practices that replace it, Indonesian policy makers may need to

  8. ESTIMATION OF HEIGHT OF EUCALYPTUS TREES WITH NEUROEVOLUTION OF AUGMENTING TOPOLOGIES (NEAT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Henrique Breda Binoti

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the method of neuroevolution of augmenting topologies (NEAT to adjust the weights and the topology of artificial neural networks (ANNs in the estimation of tree height in a clonal population of eucalyptus, and compare with estimates obtained by a hypsometric regression model. To estimate the total tree height (Ht, the RNAs and the regression model, we used as variables a diameter of 1.3 m height (dbh and the dominant height (Hd. The RNAs were adjusted and applied to the computer system NeuroForest, varying the size of the initial population (the genetic algorithm parameter and the density of initial connections. Estimates of the total height of the trees obtained with the use of RNA and the regression model were evaluated based on the correlation coefficient, the percentage of errors scatter plot, the percentage frequency histogram of percentage errors, and the root mean square error (root mean square error - RMSE. Various settings which resulted in superior statistics to the hypsometric regression model were found. Connections had the highest correlation and the lowest RMSE% with a population size value of 300 and an initial density of 0.1 RNA. The NEAT methodology proved effective in estimating the height of trees in clonal population of eucalyptus.

  9. Big trees, old trees, and growth factor tables

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin T. Smith

    2018-01-01

    The potential for a tree to reach a great size and to live a long life frequently captures the public's imagination. Sometimes the desire to know the age of an impressively large tree is simple curiosity. For others, the date-of-tree establishment can make a big diff erence for management, particularly for trees at historic sites or those mentioned in property...

  10. A Suffix Tree Or Not a Suffix Tree?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Starikovskaya, Tatiana; Vildhøj, Hjalte Wedel

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we study the structure of suffix trees. Given an unlabeled tree r on n nodes and suffix links of its internal nodes, we ask the question “Is r a suffix tree?”, i.e., is there a string S whose suffix tree has the same topological structure as r? We place no restrictions on S, in part...

  11. Pipeline, utilities to spend $127 million on scada systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    Spending for new or upgraded supervisory control and data acquisition (scada) systems and for additional remote-terminal units (RTUs) by North American pipelines and utilities will exceed $165 million through February 1996. New and updated scada systems will total 122 at a cost of more than $127 million; 143 RTU add-on projects will cost more than $38 million. Pipelines and combined utilities/pipelines will spend $89.5 million for 58 scada-system projects and $30.2 million for RTU add-on projects. Scada systems are computerized hardware and software systems that perform monitoring and control functions. In gas utilities, these systems perform functions normally associated with gas transmission and distribution as well as production-plant process control. In gas and oil pipelines, the systems perform these functions as well as such specialized functions as batch tracking, leak detection, and gas load flow

  12. 76 FR 14103 - The Jewelry Stream; Los Angeles, CA, Notice of Negative Determination on Reconsideration

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-73,145] The Jewelry Stream; Los Angeles, CA, Notice of Negative Determination on Reconsideration On November 10, 2010, the Department of... threatened with total or partial separation. [[Page 14104

  13. Shanghai Alleys, Theatrical Practice, and Cinematic Spectatorship: From Street Angel (1937 to Fifth Generation Film

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Des Forges

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This article argues that a certain type of Shanghai film of the Republican period, exemplified by 1937’s Street Angel (馬路天使, Malu tianshi, makes use of a specific mode of spatial organization, modelled on the theatre, to represent the urban environment. In the case of Street Angel, and later on in 1964’s Stage Sisters (舞台姐妹, Wutai jiemei, the interaction between performers and audiences characteristic of the Shanghai theatre experience serves as a crucial ground on which to base calls to political action. For a variety of related reasons, both the city of Shanghai and this mode of spatial organization so closely associated with it vanish from the big screen in the 1980s and 1990s, and begin to make a return only at the turn of the new century.

  14. 76 FR 70051 - Establishment of Class D and Amendment of Class E Airspace; Los Angeles, CA

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-10

    ... approach instructions currently require this communication. Also of concern was that the FAA pursues a full... Los Angeles Class B airspace area may provide a unified airspace utilization solution in the Los...

  15. Importance of tree basic density in biomass estimation and associated uncertainties

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Njana, Marco Andrew; Meilby, Henrik; Eid, Tron

    2016-01-01

    Key message Aboveground and belowground tree basic densities varied between and within the three mangrove species. If appropriately determined and applied, basic density may be useful in estimation of tree biomass. Predictive accuracy of the common (i.e. multi-species) models including aboveground...... of sustainable forest management, conservation and enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+) initiatives offer an opportunity for sustainable management of forests including mangroves. In carbon accounting for REDD+, it is required that carbon estimates prepared for monitoring reporting and verification schemes...... and examine uncertainties in estimation of tree biomass using indirect methods. Methods This study focused on three dominant mangrove species (Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh, Sonneratia alba J. Smith and Rhizophora mucronata Lam.) in Tanzania. A total of 120 trees were destructively sampled for aboveground...

  16. Tree-growth analyses to estimate tree species' drought tolerance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eilmann, B.; Rigling, A.

    2012-01-01

    Climate change is challenging forestry management and practices. Among other things, tree species with the ability to cope with more extreme climate conditions have to be identified. However, while environmental factors may severely limit tree growth or even cause tree death, assessing a tree

  17. TreeNetViz: revealing patterns of networks over tree structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gou, Liang; Zhang, Xiaolong Luke

    2011-12-01

    Network data often contain important attributes from various dimensions such as social affiliations and areas of expertise in a social network. If such attributes exhibit a tree structure, visualizing a compound graph consisting of tree and network structures becomes complicated. How to visually reveal patterns of a network over a tree has not been fully studied. In this paper, we propose a compound graph model, TreeNet, to support visualization and analysis of a network at multiple levels of aggregation over a tree. We also present a visualization design, TreeNetViz, to offer the multiscale and cross-scale exploration and interaction of a TreeNet graph. TreeNetViz uses a Radial, Space-Filling (RSF) visualization to represent the tree structure, a circle layout with novel optimization to show aggregated networks derived from TreeNet, and an edge bundling technique to reduce visual complexity. Our circular layout algorithm reduces both total edge-crossings and edge length and also considers hierarchical structure constraints and edge weight in a TreeNet graph. These experiments illustrate that the algorithm can reduce visual cluttering in TreeNet graphs. Our case study also shows that TreeNetViz has the potential to support the analysis of a compound graph by revealing multiscale and cross-scale network patterns. © 2011 IEEE

  18. Constraining the kinematics of metropolitan Los Angeles faults with a slip-partitioning model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daout, S; Barbot, S; Peltzer, G; Doin, M-P; Liu, Z; Jolivet, R

    2016-11-16

    Due to the limited resolution at depth of geodetic and other geophysical data, the geometry and the loading rate of the ramp-décollement faults below the metropolitan Los Angeles are poorly understood. Here we complement these data by assuming conservation of motion across the Big Bend of the San Andreas Fault. Using a Bayesian approach, we constrain the geometry of the ramp-décollement system from the Mojave block to Los Angeles and propose a partitioning of the convergence with 25.5 ± 0.5 mm/yr and 3.1 ± 0.6 mm/yr of strike-slip motion along the San Andreas Fault and the Whittier Fault, with 2.7 ± 0.9 mm/yr and 2.5 ± 1.0 mm/yr of updip movement along the Sierra Madre and the Puente Hills thrusts. Incorporating conservation of motion in geodetic models of strain accumulation reduces the number of free parameters and constitutes a useful methodology to estimate the tectonic loading and seismic potential of buried fault networks.

  19. Very High Resolution Tree Cover Mapping for Continental United States using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguly, Sangram; Kalia, Subodh; Li, Shuang; Michaelis, Andrew; Nemani, Ramakrishna R.; Saatchi, Sassan A

    2017-01-01

    Uncertainties in input land cover estimates contribute to a significant bias in modeled above ground biomass (AGB) and carbon estimates from satellite-derived data. The resolution of most currently used passive remote sensing products is not sufficient to capture tree canopy cover of less than ca. 10-20 percent, limiting their utility to estimate canopy cover and AGB for trees outside of forest land. In our study, we created a first of its kind Continental United States (CONUS) tree cover map at a spatial resolution of 1-m for the 2010-2012 epoch using the USDA NAIP imagery to address the present uncertainties in AGB estimates. The process involves different tasks including data acquisition ingestion to pre-processing and running a state-of-art encoder-decoder based deep convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm for automatically generating a tree non-tree map for almost a quarter million scenes. The entire processing chain including generation of the largest open source existing aerial satellite image training database was performed at the NEX supercomputing and storage facility. We believe the resulting forest cover product will substantially contribute to filling the gaps in ongoing carbon and ecological monitoring research and help quantifying the errors and uncertainties in derived products.

  20. Very High Resolution Tree Cover Mapping for Continental United States using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguly, S.; Kalia, S.; Li, S.; Michaelis, A.; Nemani, R. R.; Saatchi, S.

    2017-12-01

    Uncertainties in input land cover estimates contribute to a significant bias in modeled above gound biomass (AGB) and carbon estimates from satellite-derived data. The resolution of most currently used passive remote sensing products is not sufficient to capture tree canopy cover of less than ca. 10-20 percent, limiting their utility to estimate canopy cover and AGB for trees outside of forest land. In our study, we created a first of its kind Continental United States (CONUS) tree cover map at a spatial resolution of 1-m for the 2010-2012 epoch using the USDA NAIP imagery to address the present uncertainties in AGB estimates. The process involves different tasks including data acquisition/ingestion to pre-processing and running a state-of-art encoder-decoder based deep convolutional neural network (CNN) algorithm for automatically generating a tree/non-tree map for almost a quarter million scenes. The entire processing chain including generation of the largest open source existing aerial/satellite image training database was performed at the NEX supercomputing and storage facility. We believe the resulting forest cover product will substantially contribute to filling the gaps in ongoing carbon and ecological monitoring research and help quantifying the errors and uncertainties in derived products.

  1. TREE SELECTING AND TREE RING MEASURING IN DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sefa Akbulut

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available Dendrochronology is a method of dating which makes use of the annual nature of tree growth. Dendrochronology may be divided into a number of subfields, each of which covers one or more aspects of the use of tree ring data: dendroclimatology, dendrogeomorphology, dendrohydrology, dendroecology, dendroarchaelogy, and dendrogylaciology. Basic of all form the analysis of the tree rings. The wood or tree rings can aid to dating past events about climatology, ecology, geology, hydrology. Dendrochronological studies are conducted either on increment cores or on discs. It may be seen abnormalities on tree rings during the measurement like that false rings, missing rings, reaction wood. Like that situation, increment cores must be extracted from four different sides of each tree and be studied as more as on tree.

  2. IMPACT OF Global Warming on Trees

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nasrullah Khan [COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad (Pakistan); Naeem Abas [2Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Gujrat, Gujrat (Pakistan); Norman Mariun [University Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Engineering, UPM Serdang, Serdang (Malaysia)

    2008-09-30

    Trees store CO{sub 2}, drive food chain, produce oxygen and cause cooling effects through the transpiration process. However, increasing forests to cool the planet needs a lot of care regarding locations and types of trees. Initially it was thought that the city trees fight climate change but later it was found that only tropical trees do the best. Ozone absorption in soil affects its natural carbon sequestration capability. Interaction of plants and soil with changing atmosphere and climate is very complex and not yet understood. Some crops like cotton, wheat and rice are more productive in elevated CO{sub 2} but their response at high temperatures needs further studies (GWDTR, 1997-2007; ITGW, 1990-2008). Use of CO{sub 2} as input raw material in fuel cells might be a revolutionary innovation but there is a long way to go ahead. At this moment we can only start energy education to cope up the time to come. On average CO{sub 2} concentration has been increasing at rate of 2.25ppm/yr from 2004 to 2008 but later from 2007 to 2008 it has been found increasing exponentially at rate of 4ppm/yr. It continues to increase at this rate even after oil peaking then it might exceed 500ppm by 2040-2050. CO{sub 2} concentration in atmosphere was 280 ppm before industrial revolution and in last few centuries it has increased to 385 ppm at an average annual rate of 2 ppm. Weeds normally show poor response to high CO{sub 2} concentrations but crops, fruits and vegetables flourish well. Previous draught cycle was only three years long but recent draught cycle is much longer than earlier (IGWT, 1997-2008). However, few trees in the same constellation are still quite healthy and alive. Some trees were seen dead even close to water canals. Based on literature review and observations recorded in this study it is concluded that high CO{sub 2} induced heat wave (global warming) is responsible for helping beetles and wood ants to eat trees roots and stem to kill them by starvation. The

  3. Visualizing Individual Tree Differences in Tree-Ring Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Trouillier

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Averaging tree-ring measurements from multiple individuals is one of the most common procedures in dendrochronology. It serves to filter out noise from individual differences between trees, such as competition, height, and micro-site effects, which ideally results in a site chronology sensitive to regional scale factors such as climate. However, the climate sensitivity of individual trees can be modulated by factors like competition, height, and nitrogen deposition, calling attention to whether average chronologies adequately assess climatic growth-control. In this study, we demonstrate four simple but effective methods to visually assess differences between individual trees. Using individual tree climate-correlations we: (1 employed jitter plots with superimposed metadata to assess potential causes for these differences; (2 plotted the frequency distributions of climate correlations over time as heat maps; (3 mapped the spatial distribution of climate sensitivity over time to assess spatio-temporal dynamics; and (4 used t-distributed Stochastic Neighborhood Embedding (t-SNE to assess which trees were generally more similar in terms of their tree-ring pattern and their correlation with climate variables. This suite of exploratory methods can indicate if individuals in tree-ring datasets respond differently to climate variability, and therefore, should not solely be explored with climate correlations of the mean population chronology.

  4. Spatial analysis of fuel treatment options for chaparral on the Angeles national forest

    Science.gov (United States)

    G. Jones; J. Chew; R. Silverstein; C. Stalling; J. Sullivan; J. Troutwine; D. Weise; D. Garwood

    2008-01-01

    Spatial fuel treatment schedules were developed for the chaparral vegetation type on the Angeles National Forest using the Multi-resource Analysis and Geographic Information System (MAGIS). Schedules varied by the priority given to various wildland urban interface areas and the general forest, as well as by the number of acres treated per decade. The effectiveness of...

  5. Self-Discovery through Character Connections: Opening up to Gayness in "Angels in America"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blazar, David

    2009-01-01

    In this article, the author describes how he uses performance pedagogy to open students' minds to sexuality and gender issues. The author uses Tony Kushner's "Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes"--an epic play about the AIDS epidemic and its impact on the gay community in the 1980s. Through the possibilities of drama available in…

  6. Revisiting "Rodriguez v. Los Angeles Unified School District": A Case of Intra-District Inequities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa, Ruben W.

    2010-01-01

    The educational community and the courts continue to struggle with the challenges of intra-district resource inequality revealed by the California Supreme Court landmark case "Rodriguez v. Los Angeles Unified School District" (1992). Intra-district school resource inequality is one of the remaining bastions of major inequalities in the…

  7. Not an 'iron pipeline', but many capillaries: regulating passive transactions in Los Angeles' secondary, illegal gun market.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chesnut, Kelsie Y; Barragan, Melissa; Gravel, Jason; Pifer, Natalie A; Reiter, Keramet; Sherman, Nicole; Tita, George E

    2017-08-01

    California has strict firearm-related laws and is exceptional in its regulation of firearms retailers. Though evidence suggests that these laws can reduce illegal access to guns, high levels of gun violence persist in Los Angeles (LA), California. This research seeks to describe the sources of guns accessed by active offenders in LA, California and reports offenders' motivations for obtaining guns. Los Angeles County Jail (LACJ) system (four facilities). Random sampling from a screened pool of eligible participants was used to conduct qualitative semistructured interviews with 140 incarcerated gun offenders in one of four (LACJ) facilities. Researchers collected data on firearm acquisition, experiences related to gun violence, and other topics, using a validated survey instrument. Grounded theory guided the collection and analysis of data. Respondents reported possession of 77 specific guns (79.2% handguns) collectively. Social networks facilitate access to illegal guns; the majority of interviewees acquired their illegal guns through a social connection (85.7%) versus an outside broker/unregulated retailer (8.5%). Most guns were obtained through illegal purchase (n=51) or gift (n=15). A quarter of gun purchasers report engaging in a passive transaction, or one initiated by another party. Passive gun buyers were motivated by concerns for personal safety and/or economic opportunity. In LA's illegal gun market, where existing social relationships facilitate access to guns across a diffuse network, individuals, influenced by both fear and economic opportunity, have frequent opportunities to illegally possess firearms through passive transactions. Gun policies should better target and minimise these transactions. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  8. Boreal Tree Light- and Water-Use: Asynchronous, Diverging, yet Complementary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pappas, C.; Baltzer, J. L.; Barr, A.; Black, T. A.; Bohrer, G.; Detto, M.; Maillet, J.; Matheny, A. M.; Roy, A.; Sonnentag, O.; Stephens, J.

    2017-12-01

    Water stress has been suggested as a key mechanism behind the contemporary increase in tree mortality rates in northwestern North America. However, a detailed analysis of boreal tree light- and water-use strategies as well as their interspecific differences are still lacking. Here, we examine the tree hydraulic behaviour of co-occurring larch (Larix laricina) and black spruce (Picea mariana), two characteristic boreal tree species, near the southern limit of the boreal ecozone in central Canada. Sap flux density (Js) and concurrently recorded stem radius fluctuations and meteorological conditions are used to quantify tree hydraulic functioning and to scrutinize tree light- and water-use strategies. Our analysis reveals an asynchrony in the diel hydrodynamics of the two species with the initial rise in Js occurring two hours earlier in larch than in black spruce. Structural differences in the crown architecture of larch and black spruce lead to interspecific differences in light harvesting that can explain the observed asynchrony in their hydraulic function. Furthermore, the two species exhibit diverging stomatal regulation strategies with larch employing relatively isohydric whereas black spruce anisohydric behaviour. Such asynchronous and diverging tree-level light- and water-use strategies provide new insights into the ecosystem-level complementarity of tree form and function, with implications for understanding boreal forests' water and carbon dynamics and resilience to environmental stress.

  9. TSkim: A tool for skimming ROOT trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chamont, David

    2010-01-01

    Like many HEP researchers, the members of the Fermi collaboration have chosen to store their experiment data within ROOT trees. A frequent activity of such physicists is the tuning of selection criteria which define the events of interest, thus cutting and pruning the ROOT trees so to extract all the data linked to those specific physical events. It is rather straightforward to write a ROOT script to skim a single kind of data, for example the raw measurements of Fermi LAT detector. This proves to be trickier if one wants to process also some simulated or analysis data at the same time, because each kind of data is structured with its own rules for what concerns file names and sizes, tree names, identification of events, etc. TSkim has been designed to facilitate this task. Thanks to a user-defined configuration file which says where to find the run and event identifications in the different kind of trees, TSkim is able to collect all the tree elements which match a given ROOT cut. The tool will also help when loading the shared libraries which describe the experiment data, or when pruning the tree branches. Initially a pair of PERL and ROOT scripts, TSkim is today a fully compiled C++ application, enclosing our ROOT know-how and offering a panel of features going far beyond the original Fermi requirements. In this manuscript, we present TSkim concepts and key features, including a new kind of event list. Any collaboration using ROOT IO could profit from the use of this tool.

  10. Initial Experience of a Primary Urgent Care Clinic Curriculum and Subspecialty Lectureship Series Implementation in a Los Angeles County Hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agrawal, Harsh; Martinez, Anna; Volkmann, Elizabeth R; Melamed, Oleg; Wali, Soma

    2017-05-01

    Urgent care clinics are extremely busy in the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) County hospital system. We determined that residents and medical students in the internal medicine residency program who are rotating through these clinics did not receive enough teaching during their rotation. We decided to create and implement an urgent care curriculum and lectures to help achieve structure for the rotation. The goal of this series was to educate and assist residents in the primary care setting to comfortably manage subspecialty conditions, help reduce the already-overwhelmed county subspecialty referral system, and promote learning. The Olive View-UCLA Medical Center internal medicine residency program has a total of 74 residents, which includes postgraduate year-1 (PGY-1) to PGY-4, with PGY-4 being combined internal medicine-pediatrics or emergency medicine-internal medicine residents. We used core curriculum topics as provided by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to design the curriculum. We sent e-mails to the stakeholders whom we identified as the residents and the attending physicians working in urgent care, inquiring after topics they wanted to discuss during the rotation. Using these responses we compiled a list of all of the topics that could be discussed and reviewed during the rotation. These topics were broken down into short 10- to 15-minute-long lectures. During the lectures, we provided a retrospective post- then prequestionnaire to the residents for evaluation of the program and the lectures. A benefit of the post-then-pre design is that participants answer the postquestions and the prequestions together after the lecture, thereby reducing the possibility of response shift bias. Of the 74 residents in the program, 25 responded; the response rate was approximately 33%. Regarding content, 92% (23) said it was appropriate, 4% (1) said it was too low a level, and 4% (1) did not respond. Overall, 36% (9) said the lecture was

  11. The touch of the efficiency: the case of the tower of the angel; El toque de la eficiencia: el caso de la torre del angel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trillo, Jose Luis [Ingenieria en Aire y Control (Mexico); Frias, Jose Luis [DHIMEX (Mexico)

    2002-09-01

    With the purpose of reducing the heat in the interior of the Tower of the Angel, building of offices located in avenida Paseo de la Reforma of Mexico City, a renovation was carried out that included the installation of an insulating crystal cover in all the building. Also, it was opted for an environmental system of air-cooling to fulfill the functions of the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), systems. It is possible to indicate that, in addition to the energy saving, the applied technology allowed to transform an old and uncomfortable construction into a construction of worldwide class, able to compete with new works of the city and harmonize with present environmental and aesthetic requirements. [Spanish] Con objeto de reducir el calor al interior de la Torre del Angel, edificio de oficinas ubicado en la avenida Paseo de la Reforma de la Ciudad de Mexico, se llevo a cabo una renovacion que incluyo la instalacion de una cubierta de cristal aislante en todo el inmueble. Asimismo, se opto por un sistema ambiental de enfriamiento de aire para cumplir con las funciones de los sistemas HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning, por sus siglas en ingles). Cabe senalar que, ademas del ahorro energetico, la tecnologia aplicada permitio transformar una construccion vieja e incomoda en una edificacion de clase mundial, capaz de competir con las nuevas obras de la ciudad y armonizar con los requerimientos ambientales y esteticos actuales.

  12. Decision Trees Predicting Tumor Shrinkage for Head and Neck Cancer: Implications for Adaptive Radiotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Surucu, Murat; Shah, Karan K; Mescioglu, Ibrahim; Roeske, John C; Small, William; Choi, Mehee; Emami, Bahman

    2016-02-01

    To develop decision trees predicting for tumor volume reduction in patients with head and neck (H&N) cancer using pretreatment clinical and pathological parameters. Forty-eight patients treated with definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx, oropharynx, oral cavity, or hypopharynx were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were rescanned at a median dose of 37.8 Gy and replanned to account for anatomical changes. The percentages of gross tumor volume (GTV) change from initial to rescan computed tomography (CT; %GTVΔ) were calculated. Two decision trees were generated to correlate %GTVΔ in primary and nodal volumes with 14 characteristics including age, gender, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), site, human papilloma virus (HPV) status, tumor grade, primary tumor growth pattern (endophytic/exophytic), tumor/nodal/group stages, chemotherapy regimen, and primary, nodal, and total GTV volumes in the initial CT scan. The C4.5 Decision Tree induction algorithm was implemented. The median %GTVΔ for primary, nodal, and total GTVs was 26.8%, 43.0%, and 31.2%, respectively. Type of chemotherapy, age, primary tumor growth pattern, site, KPS, and HPV status were the most predictive parameters for primary %GTVΔ decision tree, whereas for nodal %GTVΔ, KPS, site, age, primary tumor growth pattern, initial primary GTV, and total GTV volumes were predictive. Both decision trees had an accuracy of 88%. There can be significant changes in primary and nodal tumor volumes during the course of H&N chemoradiotherapy. Considering the proposed decision trees, radiation oncologists can select patients predicted to have high %GTVΔ, who would theoretically gain the most benefit from adaptive radiotherapy, in order to better use limited clinical resources. © The Author(s) 2015.

  13. Protecting trees against virus diseases in the 21st century: genetic engineering of Plum pox virus resistance - from concept to product

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharka disease, caused by Plum pox virus (PPV), was first recorded in Bulgaria during the early twentieth century. Since that first report, the disease has progressively spread throughout Europe where it has infected over 100 million stone fruit trees. From Europe, sharka disease spread to Asia, A...

  14. Event tree analysis for the system of hybrid reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Yongwei; Qiu Lijian

    1993-01-01

    The application of probabilistic risk assessment for fusion-fission hybrid reactor is introduced. A hybrid reactor system has been analysed using event trees. According to the character of the conceptual design of Hefei Fusion-fission Experimental Hybrid Breeding Reactor, the probabilities of the event tree series induced by 4 typical initiating events were calculated. The results showed that the conceptual design is safe and reasonable. through this paper, the safety character of hybrid reactor system has been understood more deeply. Some suggestions valuable to safety design for hybrid reactor have been proposed

  15. INITIAL SCREENING OF FAST-GROWING TREE SPECIES BEING TOLERANT OF DRY TROPICAL PEATLANDS IN CENTRAL KALIMANTAN, INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hideyuki Saito

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available An investigation of the recruit, survivorship and growth of naturally regenerating tree species on canal bank was conducted to  select tree species which are suitable for preceding planting in drained and burnt peat swamp lands in  Central Kalimantan, Indonesia.  Top of  the canal bank were open, with greater soil moisture  deficit and higher soil temperatures than on the next intact forest floor. The abundant  trees were asam-asam (Ploiarium alternifolium,garunggang (Cratoxylon arborescens and tumih (Combretocarpus rotundatus. New regeneration of these trees on the canal bank was confirmed during this investigation and mortality was very low. These results indicated that P. alternifolium,C. arborescens and C. rotundatuswere tolerant of intensive radiation, soil drought and high soil temperatures during germination. The annual height increments  were 189-232  cm y-1 (P. alternifolium,118-289  cm y-1  (C. arborescensand 27-255 cm y-1   (C. rotundatus; thus, these three species could be classified as fast-growing with tolerance to open and dry conditions.  Such characteristics were important to avoid competition with herbs, ferns,and/ or climbers. The results·suggest that P.alternifolium,C. arborescens and C. rotundatusare suitable for preceding planting for the rehabilitation of the disturbed peat swamp forests of Central Kalimantan.

  16. Modular tree automata

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bahr, Patrick

    2012-01-01

    Tree automata are traditionally used to study properties of tree languages and tree transformations. In this paper, we consider tree automata as the basis for modular and extensible recursion schemes. We show, using well-known techniques, how to derive from standard tree automata highly modular...

  17. Rate of tree carbon accumulation increases continuously with tree size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephenson, N L; Das, A J; Condit, R; Russo, S E; Baker, P J; Beckman, N G; Coomes, D A; Lines, E R; Morris, W K; Rüger, N; Alvarez, E; Blundo, C; Bunyavejchewin, S; Chuyong, G; Davies, S J; Duque, A; Ewango, C N; Flores, O; Franklin, J F; Grau, H R; Hao, Z; Harmon, M E; Hubbell, S P; Kenfack, D; Lin, Y; Makana, J-R; Malizia, A; Malizia, L R; Pabst, R J; Pongpattananurak, N; Su, S-H; Sun, I-F; Tan, S; Thomas, D; van Mantgem, P J; Wang, X; Wiser, S K; Zavala, M A

    2014-03-06

    Forests are major components of the global carbon cycle, providing substantial feedback to atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Our ability to understand and predict changes in the forest carbon cycle--particularly net primary productivity and carbon storage--increasingly relies on models that represent biological processes across several scales of biological organization, from tree leaves to forest stands. Yet, despite advances in our understanding of productivity at the scales of leaves and stands, no consensus exists about the nature of productivity at the scale of the individual tree, in part because we lack a broad empirical assessment of whether rates of absolute tree mass growth (and thus carbon accumulation) decrease, remain constant, or increase as trees increase in size and age. Here we present a global analysis of 403 tropical and temperate tree species, showing that for most species mass growth rate increases continuously with tree size. Thus, large, old trees do not act simply as senescent carbon reservoirs but actively fix large amounts of carbon compared to smaller trees; at the extreme, a single big tree can add the same amount of carbon to the forest within a year as is contained in an entire mid-sized tree. The apparent paradoxes of individual tree growth increasing with tree size despite declining leaf-level and stand-level productivity can be explained, respectively, by increases in a tree's total leaf area that outpace declines in productivity per unit of leaf area and, among other factors, age-related reductions in population density. Our results resolve conflicting assumptions about the nature of tree growth, inform efforts to undertand and model forest carbon dynamics, and have additional implications for theories of resource allocation and plant senescence.

  18. Evaluating trees as energy crops in Napa County

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean R. Donaldson; Richard B. Standiford

    1983-01-01

    An evaluation of tree species for energy crops was initiated at two areas in Napa County, California. At one area, Eucalyptus viminalis at 39 months was significantly taller than E. camaldulensis at 50 months. Also evaluated were five clones of Pinus radiata, Juglans regia X hindsii...

  19. Measuring urban tree loss dynamics across residential landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ossola, Alessandro; Hopton, Matthew E

    2018-01-15

    The spatial arrangement of urban vegetation depends on urban morphology and socio-economic settings. Urban vegetation changes over time because of human management. Urban trees are removed due to hazard prevention or aesthetic preferences. Previous research attributed tree loss to decreases in canopy cover. However, this provides little information about location and structural characteristics of trees lost, as well as environmental and social factors affecting tree loss dynamics. This is particularly relevant in residential landscapes where access to residential parcels for field surveys is limited. We tested whether multi-temporal airborne LiDAR and multi-spectral imagery collected at a 5-year interval can be used to investigate urban tree loss dynamics across residential landscapes in Denver, CO and Milwaukee, WI, covering 400,705 residential parcels in 444 census tracts. Position and stem height of trees lost were extracted from canopy height models calculated as the difference between final (year 5) and initial (year 0) vegetation height derived from LiDAR. Multivariate regression models were used to predict number and height of tree stems lost in residential parcels in each census tract based on urban morphological and socio-economic variables. A total of 28,427 stems were lost from residential parcels in Denver and Milwaukee over 5years. Overall, 7% of residential parcels lost one stem, averaging 90.87 stems per km 2 . Average stem height was 10.16m, though trees lost in Denver were taller compared to Milwaukee. The number of stems lost was higher in neighborhoods with higher canopy cover and developed before the 1970s. However, socio-economic characteristics had little effect on tree loss dynamics. The study provides a simple method for measuring urban tree loss dynamics within and across entire cities, and represents a further step toward high resolution assessments of the three-dimensional change of urban vegetation at large spatial scales. Published by

  20. The Historical, Environmental and Socio-Economic Context of Forests and Tree-Based Systems for Food Security and Nutrition (Chapter 3)

    Science.gov (United States)

    John A. Parrotta; Jennie Dey de Pryck; Beatrice Darko Obiri; Christine Padoch; Bronwen Powell; Chris Sandbrook

    2015-01-01

    Forests and tree-based systems are an important component of rural landscapes, sustaining livelihoods and contributing to the food security and nutritional needs of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Historically, these systems developed under a wide variety of ecological conditions, and cultural and socio-economic contexts, as integrated approaches that...

  1. Jobs for Two Million Workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    VocEd, 1982

    1982-01-01

    The outlook for jobs in the computer industry is excellent for people with appropriate training. The shortage of computer personnel is expected to continue, resulting in higher wages, more job mobility, increasing job security and generally greater opportunities for two million Americans by 1990. (CT)

  2. Assessment of fire-damaged mesquite trees 8 years following an illegal burn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerald J. Gottfried; Peter F. Ffolliott; Pablo Garcia; Diego Valdez-Zamudio; Akram Al-Khouri

    2003-01-01

    Effects of an illegal burn on the Santa Rita Experimental Range on mesquite (Prosopis velutina) survival in the semidesert grass-shrub ecosystem was initially assessed in terms of firedamage classes 18 months after the fire and again 8 years after the burn. While many of the mesquite trees on the burned site were damaged by the fire, some of the trees appear to have...

  3. Efficient utilization of short rotation tree biomass for cooking in India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, R.; Chauhan, S. K.

    2012-04-01

    The human as well as livestock population increase is phenomenal in developing world including India. The survival of this huge population certainly depends on the carrying capacity of the natural systems, which is essentially determined by the nature itself. Present state of the forests can satisfy the needs of certain population and the demand for wood has rapidly outstripped the sustainability of forests. The fuelwood requirements in the developing world is approximately 80 per cent of total wood requirements and is the major cause of forest degradation. Therefore, there is need to maximize the productivity on one hand and protection/extention of the area on another hand. Wood substitution is an option including shifting from fuelwood for cooking to fossil fuels but in the changing climatic situation, this option is short term alternative. There is need to produce more and use the same efficiently to reduce the demands. Millions of households across the country are using crude cooking stoves for their daily needs which are not only energy inefficient but detrimental to women health also. It has been the policy of Government to encourage trees outside forests to minimize the pressure from forests through meeting requirements outside forests, which is possible through intensively managed short rotation forestry and also some initiatives have been taken to increase the fuelwood efficiency through improved cooking stove, which are working successfully. Woodfuel remained the most important source of household energy in India but regular attempts have not been made to improve the efficiency in its use. This paper will focus on potential of short rotation forestry plantations for energy consumption and its efficient use at domestic scale. This has three fold interrelated economic, environmental and social impact. Key words: Short Rotation Forestry, trees outside forests, wood energy, cooking stove

  4. The Fossil Fueled Metropolis: Los Angeles and the Emergence of Oil-Based Energy in North America, 1865--1930

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooke, Jason Arthur

    Beginning with coal in the nineteenth century, the mass production and intensive consumption of fossil fuel energy fundamentally changed patterns of urban and industrial development in North America. Focusing on the metropolitan development of Los Angeles, this dissertation examines how the emergence of oil-based capitalism in the first three decades of the twentieth century was sustained and made increasingly resilient through the production of urban and industrial space. In a region where coal was scarce, the development of oil-based energy was predicated on long-term investments into conversion technologies, storage systems and distribution networks that facilitated the efficient and economical flow of liquefied fossil fuel. In this dissertation, I argue that the historical and geographical significance of the Southern California petroleum industry is derived from how its distinctive market expansion in the first three decades of the twentieth century helped establish the dominance of oil-based energy as the primary fuel for transportation in capitalist society. In North America, the origins of oil-based capitalism can be traced to the turn of the twentieth century when California was the largest oil-producing economy in the United States and Los Angeles was the fastest growing metropolitan region. This dissertation traces how Los Angeles became the first city in North America where oil became a formative element of urban and industrial development: not only as fuel for transportation, but also in the infrastructures, landscapes and networks that sustain a critical dependence on oil-based energy. With a distinctive metropolitan geography, decentralized and automobile-dependent, Los Angeles became the first oil-based city in North America and thus provides an ideal case study for examining the regional dynamics of energy transition, establishment and dependence. Interwoven with the production of urban and industrial space, oil remains the primary fuel that

  5. Career Technical Education Pathways Initiative Annual Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    California Community Colleges, Chancellor's Office, 2014

    2014-01-01

    California's education system--the largest in the United States--is an essential resource for ensuring strong economic growth in the state. The Career Technical Education Pathways Initiative (the Initiative) became law in 2005 with Senate Bills 70 and 1133 and provided more than $380 million over eight years to improve career technical education…

  6. A bijection between phylogenetic trees and plane oriented recursive trees

    OpenAIRE

    Prodinger, Helmut

    2017-01-01

    Phylogenetic trees are binary nonplanar trees with labelled leaves, and plane oriented recursive trees are planar trees with an increasing labelling. Both families are enumerated by double factorials. A bijection is constructed, using the respective representations a 2-partitions and trapezoidal words.

  7. 77 FR 56549 - Safety Zone; Blue Angels at Kaneohe Bay Air Show, Oahu, HI

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 165 [Docket Number USCG-2012-0739] RIN 1625-AA00 Safety Zone; Blue Angels at Kaneohe Bay Air Show, Oahu, HI AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Temporary final rule. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone while the U.S. Navy...

  8. 75 FR 50952 - Safety Zone; Blue Angels at Kaneohe Bay Air Show, Oahu, HI

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 165 [Docket No. USCG-2010-0705] RIN 1625-AA00 Safety Zone; Blue Angels at Kaneohe Bay Air Show, Oahu, HI AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. SUMMARY: The Coast Guard proposes two temporary safety zones while the U.S...

  9. Simulation of Tsunami Resistance of a Pinus Thunbergii tree in Coastal Forest in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanko, K.; Suzuki, S.; Noguchi, H.; Hagino, H.

    2015-12-01

    Forests reduce fluid force of tsunami, whereas extreme tsunami sometimes breaks down the forest trees. It is difficult to estimate the interactive relationship between the fluid and the trees because fluid deform tree architecture and deformed tree changes flow field. Dynamic tree deformation and fluid behavior should be clarified by fluid-structure interaction analysis. For the initial step, we have developed dynamic simulation of tree sway and breakage caused by tsunami based on a vibrating system with multiple degrees of freedom. The target specie of the simulation was Japanese black pine (pinus thunbergii), which is major specie in the coastal forest to secure livelihood area from the damage by blown sand and salt in Japanese coastal area. For the simulation, a tree was segmented into 0.2 m long circular truncated cones. Turning moment induced by tsunami and self-weight was calculated at each segment bottom. Tree deformation was computed on multi-degree-of-freedom vibration equation. Tree sway was simulated by iterative calculation of the tree deformation with time step 0.05 second with temporally varied flow velocity of tsunami. From the calculation of bending stress and turning moment at tree base, we estimated resistance of a Pinus thunbergii tree from tsunami against tree breakage.

  10. Rate of tree carbon accumulation increases continuously with tree size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephenson, N.L.; Das, A.J.; Condit, R.; Russo, S.E.; Baker, P.J.; Beckman, N.G.; Coomes, D.A.; Lines, E.R.; Morris, W.K.; Rüger, N.; Álvarez, E.; Blundo, C.; Bunyavejchewin, S.; Chuyong, G.; Davies, S.J.; Duque, Á.; Ewango, C.N.; Flores, O.; Franklin, J.F.; Grau, H.R.; Hao, Z.; Harmon, M.E.; Hubbell, S.P.; Kenfack, D.; Lin, Y.; Makana, J.-R.; Malizia, A.; Malizia, L.R.; Pabst, R.J.; Pongpattananurak, N.; Su, S.-H.; Sun, I-F.; Tan, S.; Thomas, D.; van Mantgem, P.J.; Wang, X.; Wiser, S.K.; Zavala, M.A.

    2014-01-01

    Forests are major components of the global carbon cycle, providing substantial feedback to atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Our ability to understand and predict changes in the forest carbon cycle—particularly net primary productivity and carbon storage - increasingly relies on models that represent biological processes across several scales of biological organization, from tree leaves to forest stands. Yet, despite advances in our understanding of productivity at the scales of leaves and stands, no consensus exists about the nature of productivity at the scale of the individual tree, in part because we lack a broad empirical assessment of whether rates of absolute tree mass growth (and thus carbon accumulation) decrease, remain constant, or increase as trees increase in size and age. Here we present a global analysis of 403 tropical and temperate tree species, showing that for most species mass growth rate increases continuously with tree size. Thus, large, old trees do not act simply as senescent carbon reservoirs but actively fix large amounts of carbon compared to smaller trees; at the extreme, a single big tree can add the same amount of carbon to the forest within a year as is contained in an entire mid-sized tree. The apparent paradoxes of individual tree growth increasing with tree size despite declining leaf-level and stand-level productivity can be explained, respectively, by increases in a tree’s total leaf area that outpace declines in productivity per unit of leaf area and, among other factors, age-related reductions in population density. Our results resolve conflicting assumptions about the nature of tree growth, inform efforts to understand and model forest carbon dynamics, and have additional implications for theories of resource allocation and plant senescence.

  11. Tenneco raises $75 million for independents' E and P

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Land, R.

    1992-01-01

    Tenneco Gas's ventures group, Houston, has raised $75 million to invest in gas exploration and production by independent operations on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Institutional investors committed $50 million to the fund and a group of industrial investors $25 million. Tenneco the the fund will expand to accommodate additional investors through this year. This paper reports that the company's ventures group is evaluating acquisition and drilling opportunities with independents. Ventures group capital will be invested in independent exploratory, development, and producing properties

  12. Origin of methane and sources of high concentrations in Los Angeles groundwater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulongoski, Justin; McMahon, Peter B.; Land, Michael; Wright, Michael; Johnson, Theodore; Landon, Matthew K.

    2018-01-01

    In 2014, samples from 37 monitoring wells at 17 locations, within or near oil fields, and one site >5 km from oil fields, in the Los Angeles Basin, California, were analyzed for dissolved hydrocarbon gas isotopes and abundances. The wells sample a variety of depths of an aquifer system composed of unconsolidated and semiconsolidated sediments under various conditions of confinement. Concentrations of methane in groundwater samples ranged from 0.002 to 150 mg/L—some of the highest concentrations reported in a densely populated urban area. The δ13C and δ2H of the methane ranged from −80.8 to −45.5 per mil (‰) and −249.8 to −134.9‰, respectively, and, along with oxidation‐reduction processes, helped to identify the origin of methane as microbial methanogenesis and CO2 reduction as its main formation pathway. The distribution of methane concentrations and isotopes is consistent with the high concentrations of methane in Los Angeles Basin groundwater originating from relatively shallow microbial production in anoxic or suboxic conditions. Source of the methane is the aquifer sediments rather than the upward migration or leakage of thermogenic methane associated with oil fields in the basin.

  13. Risk Factors for Dog Relinquishment to a Los Angeles Municipal Animal Shelter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily D. Dolan

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Dog relinquishment is a large component of shelter intake in the United States. Research has shown traits of the dog are associated with relinquishment as well as general characteristics of those relinquishing. Low income is often cited as a risk factor for relinquishment. The majority of people with lower incomes, however, do not relinquish. A group of people accessing a shelter in a low socioeconomic region of Los Angeles to relinquish their dogs was surveyed. This study examined risk factors for relinquishment, controlling for household income, compared to a group utilizing low cost spay/neuter services. A total of 76.9% of those relinquishing noted cost as a reason for relinquishment. Of participants in the relinquishment group, 80.7% reported not being aware of any services available to them. Most notable in the findings was that the odds of relinquishment were generally higher as the amount of perceived stress in the home in the past three months increased. The majority of people in both groups reported being emotionally attached to the dog. In this sample from a South Los Angeles community, the majority of reasons for relinquishment were likely solvable with assistance. These findings highlight an opportunity to assess community needs and provide community specific alternatives to relinquishment.

  14. 75 FR 71455 - The Jewelry Stream, Los Angeles, CA; Notice of Affirmation Determination Regarding Application...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-73,145] The Jewelry Stream, Los... Manufacturing, Inc. and The Jewelry Stream, Los Angeles, California. The termination notice was signed on August... identified in the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) petition--M&L Manufacturing, Inc. and The Jewelry Stream...

  15. The New Jersey Nursing Initiative: building sustainable collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakewell-Sachs, Susan; Mertz, Lynn M; Egreczky, Dana; Ladden, Maryjoan

    2011-01-01

    The New Jersey Nursing Initiative was publically launched in 2009 as a 5-year, $22 million program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation based at the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation. It was reauthorized in 2011 through 2016 for an additional $8.5 million. The initiative includes a faculty preparation program and strategic tracks of work focusing on building education capacity, increasing current faculty capacity, making nurse faculty a preferred career, leading policy initiatives, creating sustainable funding in support of nursing education, and ultimately, building local, regional, and statewide collaborative networks. The tagline, "So a Nurse will be there for You," emphasizes both the reality of an aging nursing workforce needing replacement and the expected health care transformation that will result in the need for new knowledge and skills in the future nursing workforce. The purpose of this article was to describe the New Jersey Nursing Initiative, emphasizing the partnerships that have resulted from the project to date. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Spanning Tree Based Attribute Clustering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zeng, Yifeng; Jorge, Cordero Hernandez

    2009-01-01

    Attribute clustering has been previously employed to detect statistical dependence between subsets of variables. We propose a novel attribute clustering algorithm motivated by research of complex networks, called the Star Discovery algorithm. The algorithm partitions and indirectly discards...... inconsistent edges from a maximum spanning tree by starting appropriate initial modes, therefore generating stable clusters. It discovers sound clusters through simple graph operations and achieves significant computational savings. We compare the Star Discovery algorithm against earlier attribute clustering...

  17. Community-Based Health and Exposure Study around Urban Oil Developments in South Los Angeles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bhavna Shamasunder

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Oilfield-adjacent communities often report symptoms such as headaches and/or asthma. Yet, little data exists on health experiences and exposures in urban environments with oil and gas development. In partnership with Promotoras de Salud (community health workers, we gathered household surveys nearby two oil production sites in Los Angeles. We tested the capacity of low-cost sensors for localized exposure estimates. Bilingual surveys of 205 randomly sampled residences were collected within two 1500 ft. buffer areas (West Adams and University Park surrounding oil development sites. We used a one-sample proportion test, comparing overall rates from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS of Service Planning Area 6 (SPA6 and Los Angeles County for variables of interest such as asthma. Field calibrated low-cost sensors recorded methane emissions. Physician diagnosed asthma rates were reported to be higher within both buffers than in SPA6 or LA County. Asthma prevalence in West Adams but not University Park was significantly higher than in Los Angeles County. Respondents with diagnosed asthma reported rates of emergency room visits in the previous 12 months similar to SPA6. 45% of respondents were unaware of oil development; 63% of residents would not know how to contact local regulatory authorities. Residents often seek information about their health and site-related activities. Low-cost sensors may be useful in highlighting differences between sites or recording larger emission events and can provide localized data alongside resident-reported symptoms. Regulatory officials should help clarify information to the community on methods for reporting health symptoms. Our community-based participatory research (CBPR partnership supports efforts to answer community questions as residents seek a safety buffer between sensitive land uses and active oil development.

  18. Selection of High Oil Yielding Trees of Millettia pinnata (L.) Panigrahi, Vegetative Propagation and Growth in the Field

    OpenAIRE

    Ni Luh Arpiwi; I Made Sutha Negara; I Nengah Simpen

    2017-01-01

    Millettia pinnata (L.) Panigrahi is a potential legume tree that produces seed oil for biodiesel feedstock. The initial step for raising a large-scale plantation of the species is selection of high oil yielding trees from the natural habitat. This is followed by vegetative propagation of the selected trees and then testing the growth of the clone in the field. The aim of the present study was to select high-oil yielding trees of M. pinnata, to propagate the selected trees by budding and to e...

  19. Risks for abuse against pregnant Hispanic women: Morelos, Mexico and Los Angeles County, California.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, Roberto; Peek-Asa, Corinne; García, Lorena; Ruiz, Agustín; Kraus, Jess F

    2003-11-01

    Although violence against women is gaining international attention as a prevention priority, little is known about how risks differ across countries. A comparative study of violence against pregnant Mexican women in Morelos, Mexico, and Latina women in Los Angeles County, California, United States. In 1998 and 1999, women in prenatal clinics were interviewed about psychological abuse and sexual and physical violence by their partner, during and the 1 year prior to the index pregnancy. The overall response rate for Morelos was 99%, with a sample size of 914; Los Angeles County had a response rate of 96.9%, with a sample size of 219. Women in Morelos reported a higher prevalence of violence compared to women in the California (14.8% v 11.9%, respectively). A partner aged child were more than 25 times more likely to be abused during pregnancy than women not reporting this type of abuse. The identification of factors associated with violence against women, especially as they differ by culture and ethnicity, will help clinicians to better identify victims and to design and implement culturally appropriate prevention programs.

  20. IcyTree: rapid browser-based visualization for phylogenetic trees and networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughan, Timothy G

    2017-08-01

    IcyTree is an easy-to-use application which can be used to visualize a wide variety of phylogenetic trees and networks. While numerous phylogenetic tree viewers exist already, IcyTree distinguishes itself by being a purely online tool, having a responsive user interface, supporting phylogenetic networks (ancestral recombination graphs in particular), and efficiently drawing trees that include information such as ancestral locations or trait values. IcyTree also provides intuitive panning and zooming utilities that make exploring large phylogenetic trees of many thousands of taxa feasible. IcyTree is a web application and can be accessed directly at http://tgvaughan.github.com/icytree . Currently supported web browsers include Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. IcyTree is written entirely in client-side JavaScript (no plugin required) and, once loaded, does not require network access to run. IcyTree is free software, and the source code is made available at http://github.com/tgvaughan/icytree under version 3 of the GNU General Public License. tgvaughan@gmail.com. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

  1. An observational and modeling study of impacts of bark beetle-caused tree mortality on surface energy and hydrological cycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fei Chen; Guo Zhang; Michael Barlage; Ying Zhang; Jeffrey A. Hicke; Arjan Meddens; Guangsheng Zhou; William J. Massman; John Frank

    2015-01-01

    Bark beetle outbreaks have killed billions of trees and affected millions of hectares of forest during recent decades. The objective of this study was to quantify responses of surface energy and hydrologic fluxes 2-3 yr following a spruce beetle outbreak using measurements and modeling. The authors used observations at the Rocky Mountains Glacier Lakes Ecosystem...

  2. TreeScaper: Visualizing and Extracting Phylogenetic Signal from Sets of Trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wen; Zhou, Guifang; Marchand, Melissa; Ash, Jeremy R; Morris, David; Van Dooren, Paul; Brown, Jeremy M; Gallivan, Kyle A; Wilgenbusch, Jim C

    2016-12-01

    Modern phylogenomic analyses often result in large collections of phylogenetic trees representing uncertainty in individual gene trees, variation across genes, or both. Extracting phylogenetic signal from these tree sets can be challenging, as they are difficult to visualize, explore, and quantify. To overcome some of these challenges, we have developed TreeScaper, an application for tree set visualization as well as the identification of distinct phylogenetic signals. GUI and command-line versions of TreeScaper and a manual with tutorials can be downloaded from https://github.com/whuang08/TreeScaper/releases TreeScaper is distributed under the GNU General Public License. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Diversification rates and species richness across the Tree of Life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholl, Joshua P; Wiens, John J

    2016-09-14

    Species richness varies dramatically among clades across the Tree of Life, by over a million-fold in some cases (e.g. placozoans versus arthropods). Two major explanations for differences in richness among clades are the clade-age hypothesis (i.e. species-rich clades are older) and the diversification-rate hypothesis (i.e. species-rich clades diversify more rapidly, where diversification rate is the net balance of speciation and extinction over time). Here, we examine patterns of variation in diversification rates across the Tree of Life. We address how rates vary across higher taxa, whether rates within higher taxa are related to the subclades within them, and how diversification rates of clades are related to their species richness. We find substantial variation in diversification rates, with rates in plants nearly twice as high as in animals, and rates in some eukaryotes approximately 10-fold faster than prokaryotes. Rates for each kingdom-level clade are then significantly related to the subclades within them. Although caution is needed when interpreting relationships between diversification rates and richness, a positive relationship between the two is not inevitable. We find that variation in diversification rates seems to explain most variation in richness among clades across the Tree of Life, in contrast to the conclusions of previous studies. © 2016 The Author(s).

  4. PENTACLE: Parallelized particle-particle particle-tree code for planet formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iwasawa, Masaki; Oshino, Shoichi; Fujii, Michiko S.; Hori, Yasunori

    2017-10-01

    We have newly developed a parallelized particle-particle particle-tree code for planet formation, PENTACLE, which is a parallelized hybrid N-body integrator executed on a CPU-based (super)computer. PENTACLE uses a fourth-order Hermite algorithm to calculate gravitational interactions between particles within a cut-off radius and a Barnes-Hut tree method for gravity from particles beyond. It also implements an open-source library designed for full automatic parallelization of particle simulations, FDPS (Framework for Developing Particle Simulator), to parallelize a Barnes-Hut tree algorithm for a memory-distributed supercomputer. These allow us to handle 1-10 million particles in a high-resolution N-body simulation on CPU clusters for collisional dynamics, including physical collisions in a planetesimal disc. In this paper, we show the performance and the accuracy of PENTACLE in terms of \\tilde{R}_cut and a time-step Δt. It turns out that the accuracy of a hybrid N-body simulation is controlled through Δ t / \\tilde{R}_cut and Δ t / \\tilde{R}_cut ˜ 0.1 is necessary to simulate accurately the accretion process of a planet for ≥106 yr. For all those interested in large-scale particle simulations, PENTACLE, customized for planet formation, will be freely available from https://github.com/PENTACLE-Team/PENTACLE under the MIT licence.

  5. Flowering Trees

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    Flowering Trees. Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. (INDIAN TREE OF. HEAVEN) of Simaroubaceae is a lofty tree with large pinnately compound alternate leaves, which are ... inflorescences, unisexual and greenish-yellow. Fruits are winged, wings many-nerved. Wood is used in making match sticks. 1. Male flower; 2. Female flower.

  6. A comparison of the breeding ecology of birds nesting in boxes and tree cavities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kathryn L. Purcell; Jared Verner; Lewis W. Oring

    1997-01-01

    We compared laying date, nesting success, clutch size, and productivity of four bird species that nest in boxes and tree cavities to examine whether data from nest boxes are comparable with data from tree cavities. Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) gained the most advantage from nesting in boxes. They initiated egg laying earlier, had higher nesting success, lower...

  7. Canada's family violence initiative: partnerships

    OpenAIRE

    Scott,Elaine

    1994-01-01

    Under Canada's four-year, $136 million Family Violence Initiative, the federal government is calling upon all Canadians to work in partnerships towards the elimination of family violence - child abuse, violence against women, and elder (senior) abuse. Family violence is a complex problem and requires the efforts of all Canadians to resolve it. One of the key themes of the Initiative - a multidisciplinary approach to the problem of family violence - is reflected in the selection and developmen...

  8. The Demon-Angel method in systematic safety assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vassakis, A.G.

    1999-01-01

    Since 'design for safety' of large engineering systems with a high level of innovation requires an exhaustive safety analysis and since a subsequent corrective action may become a very large bottleneck in improving such a system, fundamental knowledge in designing safe systems is essential. The lack of any 'rule of thumb' makes such knowledge a matter of personal experience rather than the subject of an academic course. This paper proposes a new method for the theoretical safety study of different system configurations independently of any particular application. This method aims to help the construction of a 'rule of thumb' for what is a safe system and what is not. The Demon and Angel ideas are explained and the schematic presentation of these elements is introduced. Four representative case studies demonstrate the use of this method

  9. K-Means Algorithm Performance Analysis With Determining The Value Of Starting Centroid With Random And KD-Tree Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirait, Kamson; Tulus; Budhiarti Nababan, Erna

    2017-12-01

    Clustering methods that have high accuracy and time efficiency are necessary for the filtering process. One method that has been known and applied in clustering is K-Means Clustering. In its application, the determination of the begining value of the cluster center greatly affects the results of the K-Means algorithm. This research discusses the results of K-Means Clustering with starting centroid determination with a random and KD-Tree method. The initial determination of random centroid on the data set of 1000 student academic data to classify the potentially dropout has a sse value of 952972 for the quality variable and 232.48 for the GPA, whereas the initial centroid determination by KD-Tree has a sse value of 504302 for the quality variable and 214,37 for the GPA variable. The smaller sse values indicate that the result of K-Means Clustering with initial KD-Tree centroid selection have better accuracy than K-Means Clustering method with random initial centorid selection.

  10. Comparison of tree coring and soil gas sampling for screening of contaminated sites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Mette Algreen; Stalder, Marcel; Riis, Charlotte

    and then identify high risk areas. The uptake of BTEX into trees varies to a greater extent with the tree species and the site conditions than chlorinated solvents, which lead to greater uncertainty. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Hence, the methods supplement each other. Based on results......Site characterization is often time consuming and a financial burden for the site owners, which raises a demand for rapid and inexpensive (pre)screening methods. Phytoscreening by tree coring has shown to be a useful tool to detect subsurface contamination, especially of chlorinated solvents...... suitable as initial screening methods for site characterization. The aim of this study is to compare tree coring and soil gas sampling to evaluate to which extent tree coring may supplement or substitute soil gas sampling as a site contaminant screening tool. And where both methods are feasible, evaluate...

  11. The tree-felling campaign has to continue

    CERN Multimedia

    2013-01-01

    The tree-felling campaign that began in 2010 continued last winter, as we reported in our article of 4 March 2013 (see here). While safety concerns* are the main driver, the campaign will also allow a coherent landscaping plan to be implemented.   The areas where trees have already been felled are currently being redesigned, and replanting is scheduled to begin in 2014. CERN has initiated a study in collaboration with the Geneva nature and countryside directorate (Direction générale de la nature et du paysage, DGNP) with a view to drawing up a master plan covering all the green spaces on the Meyrin site. The aim of the study is to understand the landscaping issues at stake and to define a comprehensive redevelopment and landscaping programme for the whole site. In this framework, the areas where trees have been cut down since 2010 will be replanted. The study will also allow CERN to identify the areas that need to be redeveloped as a priority and to establish how this can be ...

  12. Temporal Dynamics in the Concentration, Flux, and Optical Properties of Tree-derived Dissolved Organic Matter (Tree-DOM) in an Epiphyte-laden Oak-cedar Forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitetree, A.; Van Stan, J. T., II; Wagner, S.; Guillemette, F.; Lewis, J.; Silva, L.; Stubbins, A.

    2017-12-01

    Studies on the fate and transport of dissolved organic matter (DOM) along the rainfall-to-discharge flow pathway typically begin in streams or soils, neglecting the initial enrichment of rainfall with DOM during contact with plant canopies. However, rain water can gather significant amounts of tree-derived DOM (tree-DOM) when it drains from the canopy, as throughfall, and down the stem, as stemflow. We examined the temporal variability of event-scale tree-DOM concentrations, yield, and optical (light absorbance and fluorescence) characteristics from an epiphyte-laden Quercus virginiana-Juniperus virginiana forest on Skidaway Island, Savannah, Georgia (USA). All tree-DOM fluxes were highly enriched compared to rainfall and epiphytes further increased concentrations. Stemflow DOC concentrations were greater than throughfall across study species, yet larger throughfall water yields produced greater DOC yields versus stemflow. Tree-DOM optical characteristics indicate it is aromatic-rich with FDOM dominated by humic-like fluorescence, containing 10-20% protein-like (tryptophan-like) fluorescence. Storm size was the only storm condition that strongly correlated with tree-DOM concentration and flux; however, throughfall and stemflow optical characteristics varied little across a wide range of storm conditions (from low magnitude events to intense tropical storms). Annual tree-DOM yields from the study forest (0.8-46 g-C m-2 yr-1) compared well to other yields along the rainfall-to- discharge flow pathway, exceeding DOM yields from some river watersheds.

  13. Categorization of PWR accident sequences and guidelines for fault trees: seismic initiators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kimura, C.Y.

    1984-09-01

    This study developed a set of dominant accident sequences that could be applied generically to domestic commercial PWRs as a standardized basis for a probabilistic seismic risk assessment. This was accomplished by ranking the Zion 1 accident sequences. The pertinent PWR safety systems were compared on a plant-by-plant basis to determine the applicability of the dominant accident sequences of Zion 1 to other PWR plants. The functional event trees were developed to describe the system functions that must work or not work in order for a certain accident sequence to happen, one for pipe breaks and one for transients

  14. Why do trees die? Characterizing the drivers of background tree mortality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Adrian J.; Stephenson, Nathan L.; Davis, Kristin P.

    2016-01-01

    The drivers of background tree mortality rates—the typical low rates of tree mortality found in forests in the absence of acute stresses like drought—are central to our understanding of forest dynamics, the effects of ongoing environmental changes on forests, and the causes and consequences of geographical gradients in the nature and strength of biotic interactions. To shed light on factors contributing to background tree mortality, we analyzed detailed pathological data from 200,668 tree-years of observation and 3,729 individual tree deaths, recorded over a 13-yr period in a network of old-growth forest plots in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range. We found that: (1) Biotic mortality factors (mostly insects and pathogens) dominated (58%), particularly in larger trees (86%). Bark beetles were the most prevalent (40%), even though there were no outbreaks during the study period; in contrast, the contribution of defoliators was negligible. (2) Relative occurrences of broad classes of mortality factors (biotic, 58%; suppression, 51%; and mechanical, 25%) are similar among tree taxa, but may vary with tree size and growth rate. (3) We found little evidence of distinct groups of mortality factors that predictably occur together on trees. Our results have at least three sets of implications. First, rather than being driven by abiotic factors such as lightning or windstorms, the “ambient” or “random” background mortality that many forest models presume to be independent of tree growth rate is instead dominated by biotic agents of tree mortality, with potentially critical implications for forecasting future mortality. Mechanistic models of background mortality, even for healthy, rapidly growing trees, must therefore include the insects and pathogens that kill trees. Second, the biotic agents of tree mortality, instead of occurring in a few predictable combinations, may generally act opportunistically and with a relatively large degree of independence from

  15. Flowering Trees

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Flowering Trees. Gyrocarpus americanus Jacq. (Helicopter Tree) of Hernandiaceae is a moderate size deciduous tree that grows to about 12 m in height with a smooth, shining, greenish-white bark. The leaves are ovate, rarely irregularly ... flowers which are unpleasant smelling. Fruit is a woody nut with two long thin wings.

  16. Perceptions of neighborhood safety and asthma among children and adolescents in Los Angeles: a multilevel analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlene Camacho-Rivera

    Full Text Available Research examining the impact of neighborhoods on asthma has shown an increased interest in the role of the psychosocial environment. We examined the associations between various measures of neighborhood safety, individual and family characteristics, and asthma outcomes among children in Los Angeles.Multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze data on 3,114 children across 65 neighborhoods from Wave 1 of the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (2000 to 2002. Primary caregivers reported asthma outcome and all individual covariates; home environmental characteristics were observed by the interviewer.In fully adjusted models, parents who reported their neighborhood fairly safe or somewhat dangerous had lower odds of reported lifetime asthma compared to those who reported their neighborhood completely safe (OR 0.71; 95% CI 0.52-0.96 and OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.42-0.88 respectively. Conversely, parents who reported they could not trust their neighbors to keep their children safe had a nearly 40% increase in lifetime asthma compared to those who reported they could trust their neighbors to keep their children safe (OR 1.39; 95% CI 1.07-1.81.The study demonstrates a complex pattern between various measures of neighborhood safety and asthma and suggests that these relationships may operate differently in Los Angeles. As an increasing proportion of children are growing up in newer Western and Southwestern cities, which have different physical layouts and residential segregation patterns compared to Northeast and Midwestern cities, future studies should continue to examine neighborhood psychosocial stressors and asthma in diverse contexts.

  17. Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Hydraulic Fracturing in Unconventional Reservoirs by Means of Fault Tree Analysis: An Initial Discussion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodak, C. M.; McHugh, R.; Wei, X.

    2016-12-01

    The development and combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has unlocked unconventional hydrocarbon reserves around the globe. These advances have triggered a number of concerns regarding aquifer contamination and over-exploitation, leading to scientific studies investigating potential risks posed by directional hydraulic fracturing activities. These studies, balanced with potential economic benefits of energy production, are a crucial source of information for communities considering the development of unconventional reservoirs. However, probabilistic quantification of the overall risk posed by hydraulic fracturing at the system level are rare. Here we present the concept of fault tree analysis to determine the overall probability of groundwater contamination or over-exploitation, broadly referred to as the probability of failure. The potential utility of fault tree analysis for the quantification and communication of risks is approached with a general application. However, the fault tree design is robust and can handle various combinations of regional-specific data pertaining to relevant spatial scales, geological conditions, and industry practices where available. All available data are grouped into quantity and quality-based impacts and sub-divided based on the stage of the hydraulic fracturing process in which the data is relevant as described by the USEPA. Each stage is broken down into the unique basic events required for failure; for example, to quantify the risk of an on-site spill we must consider the likelihood, magnitude, composition, and subsurface transport of the spill. The structure of the fault tree described above can be used to render a highly complex system of variables into a straightforward equation for risk calculation based on Boolean logic. This project shows the utility of fault tree analysis for the visual communication of the potential risks of hydraulic fracturing activities on groundwater resources.

  18. Cache-Oblivious Search Trees via Binary Trees of Small Height

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brodal, G.S.; Fagerberg, R.; Jacob, R.

    2002-01-01

    We propose a version of cache oblivious search trees which is simpler than the previous proposal of Bender, Demaine and Farach-Colton and has the same complexity bounds. In particular, our data structure avoids the use of weight balanced B-trees, and can be implemented as just a single array......, and range queries in worst case O(logB n + k/B) memory transfers, where k is the size of the output.The basic idea of our data structure is to maintain a dynamic binary tree of height log n+O(1) using existing methods, embed this tree in a static binary tree, which in turn is embedded in an array in a cache...... oblivious fashion, using the van Emde Boas layout of Prokop.We also investigate the practicality of cache obliviousness in the area of search trees, by providing an empirical comparison of different methods for laying out a search tree in memory....

  19. Toward a predictive model for water and carbon fluxes of non-native trees in urban habitats

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCarthy, H. R.; Jenerette, G. D.; Pataki, D. E.

    2008-12-01

    There is considerable interest in estimating uptake of water and carbon by urban trees, in order to assess some of the major costs and benefits associated with maintaining or expanding urban tree cover. However, making large-scale estimates of water and carbon fluxes is challenging in urban ecosystems, where community composition and environmental conditions are highly altered and experimental data is sparse. This is particularly true in regions such as southern California, where few trees are native, yet many species can flourish given supplemental irrigation. In such scenarios one practical way to scale water and carbon fluxes may be to identify reliable traits which can be used to predict gas exchange when trees are transplanted to a new environment. To test this approach, leaf level gas exchange measurements were conducted on eight common urban tree species within the Los Angeles basin. The objective was to determine how well gas exchange parameters, including maximum photosynthesis and stomatal conductance, sensitivity of stomatal conductance to vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and water use efficiency (WUE), can be predicted based on the native habitat and climate (temperature and precipitation) of each study species. All of the species studied naturally occur in humid tropical or subtropical climate zones where precipitation varies widely from ~400 - 3000 mm per year. We found Jacaranda (Jacaranda chelonia) and honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) to have the highest photosynthesis and reference (at VPD=1 kPa) conductance, and to be most sensitive to VPD. WUE was found to be greatest in Indian laurel fig (Ficus microcarpa), rose gum (Eucalyptus grandis) and Queensland lacebark (Brachychiton discolor). The relative ordering of maximum photosynthesis and conductance across species was not entirely predictable based on our current knowledge of the native habitats of each species: several other species had similar native climates to Jacaranda and honey locust, yet

  20. Sulphur guidelines cost $50 million

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1974-01-21

    Nearly all gas processing plants requiring remedial work on their sulfur recovery facilities have had applications filed for approval of new construction or modifications. Several jobs have been completed, but some of the largest have not received final approvals from the ERCB and the Alberta department of the environment. It is probable that toal capital expenditures for remedial work will be less than the original forecasts when the guide lines were proclaimed 3 yr ago. Several projects have been rolled in with plant expansions and installation of other new facilities. Even if a portion of these costs is attributed specifically to meeting sulfur guide lines, the total industry investment will probably not exceed $50 million. The principal item in this calculation is the $15 million project for Shell Canada Ltd. at its Waterton plant. This involves installation of a SCOT tail gas cleanup unit and related facilities, to be completed early in 1975. Among the operators of the 6 largest gas plants not meeting specifications in the top size category, Shell was the only one which elected not to apply for exemption.

  1. Flowering Trees

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Flowering Trees. Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr. (Indian Frankincense tree) of Burseraceae is a large-sized deciduous tree that is native to India. Bark is thin, greenish-ash-coloured that exfoliates into smooth papery flakes. Stem exudes pinkish resin ... Fruit is a three-valved capsule. A green gum-resin exudes from the ...

  2. Systolic trees and systolic language recognition by tree automata

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Steinby, M

    1983-01-01

    K. Culik II, J. Gruska, A. Salomaa and D. Wood have studied the language recognition capabilities of certain types of systolically operating networks of processors (see research reports Cs-81-32, Cs-81-36 and Cs-82-01, Univ. of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada). In this paper, their model for systolic VLSI trees is formalised in terms of standard tree automaton theory, and the way in which some known facts about recognisable forests and tree transductions can be applied in VLSI tree theory is demonstrated. 13 references.

  3. DupTree: a program for large-scale phylogenetic analyses using gene tree parsimony.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wehe, André; Bansal, Mukul S; Burleigh, J Gordon; Eulenstein, Oliver

    2008-07-01

    DupTree is a new software program for inferring rooted species trees from collections of gene trees using the gene tree parsimony approach. The program implements a novel algorithm that significantly improves upon the run time of standard search heuristics for gene tree parsimony, and enables the first truly genome-scale phylogenetic analyses. In addition, DupTree allows users to examine alternate rootings and to weight the reconciliation costs for gene trees. DupTree is an open source project written in C++. DupTree for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux along with a sample dataset and an on-line manual are available at http://genome.cs.iastate.edu/CBL/DupTree

  4. Exploring the predictive power of interaction terms in a sophisticated risk equalization model using regression trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Veen, S H C M; van Kleef, R C; van de Ven, W P M M; van Vliet, R C J A

    2018-02-01

    This study explores the predictive power of interaction terms between the risk adjusters in the Dutch risk equalization (RE) model of 2014. Due to the sophistication of this RE-model and the complexity of the associations in the dataset (N = ~16.7 million), there are theoretically more than a million interaction terms. We used regression tree modelling, which has been applied rarely within the field of RE, to identify interaction terms that statistically significantly explain variation in observed expenses that is not already explained by the risk adjusters in this RE-model. The interaction terms identified were used as additional risk adjusters in the RE-model. We found evidence that interaction terms can improve the prediction of expenses overall and for specific groups in the population. However, the prediction of expenses for some other selective groups may deteriorate. Thus, interactions can reduce financial incentives for risk selection for some groups but may increase them for others. Furthermore, because regression trees are not robust, additional criteria are needed to decide which interaction terms should be used in practice. These criteria could be the right incentive structure for risk selection and efficiency or the opinion of medical experts. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Flowering Trees

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    More Details Fulltext PDF. Volume 8 Issue 8 August 2003 pp 112-112 Flowering Trees. Zizyphus jujuba Lam. of Rhamnaceae · More Details Fulltext PDF. Volume 8 Issue 9 September 2003 pp 97-97 Flowering Trees. Moringa oleifera · More Details Fulltext PDF. Volume 8 Issue 10 October 2003 pp 100-100 Flowering Trees.

  6. Embedding complete ternary tree in hypercubes using AVL trees

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S.A. Choudum; I. Raman (Indhumathi)

    2008-01-01

    htmlabstractA complete ternary tree is a tree in which every non-leaf vertex has exactly three children. We prove that a complete ternary tree of height h, TTh, is embeddable in a hypercube of dimension . This result coincides with the result of [2]. However, in this paper, the embedding utilizes

  7. Ghost-tree: creating hybrid-gene phylogenetic trees for diversity analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fouquier, Jennifer; Rideout, Jai Ram; Bolyen, Evan; Chase, John; Shiffer, Arron; McDonald, Daniel; Knight, Rob; Caporaso, J Gregory; Kelley, Scott T

    2016-02-24

    Fungi play critical roles in many ecosystems, cause serious diseases in plants and animals, and pose significant threats to human health and structural integrity problems in built environments. While most fungal diversity remains unknown, the development of PCR primers for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) combined with next-generation sequencing has substantially improved our ability to profile fungal microbial diversity. Although the high sequence variability in the ITS region facilitates more accurate species identification, it also makes multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis unreliable across evolutionarily distant fungi because the sequences are hard to align accurately. To address this issue, we created ghost-tree, a bioinformatics tool that integrates sequence data from two genetic markers into a single phylogenetic tree that can be used for diversity analyses. Our approach starts with a "foundation" phylogeny based on one genetic marker whose sequences can be aligned across organisms spanning divergent taxonomic groups (e.g., fungal families). Then, "extension" phylogenies are built for more closely related organisms (e.g., fungal species or strains) using a second more rapidly evolving genetic marker. These smaller phylogenies are then grafted onto the foundation tree by mapping taxonomic names such that each corresponding foundation-tree tip would branch into its new "extension tree" child. We applied ghost-tree to graft fungal extension phylogenies derived from ITS sequences onto a foundation phylogeny derived from fungal 18S sequences. Our analysis of simulated and real fungal ITS data sets found that phylogenetic distances between fungal communities computed using ghost-tree phylogenies explained significantly more variance than non-phylogenetic distances. The phylogenetic metrics also improved our ability to distinguish small differences (effect sizes) between microbial communities, though results were similar to non

  8. Trees are good, but…

    Science.gov (United States)

    E.G. McPherson; F. Ferrini

    2010-01-01

    We know that “trees are good,” and most people believe this to be true. But if this is so, why are so many trees neglected, and so many tree wells empty? An individual’s attitude toward trees may result from their firsthand encounters with specific trees. Understanding how attitudes about trees are shaped, particularly aversion to trees, is critical to the business of...

  9. Effects of Initial Stand Density and Climate on Red Pine Productivity within Huron National Forest, Michigan, USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph O'Brien

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Changes in climate are predicted to significantly affect the productivity of trees in the Great Lakes region over the next century. Forest management decisions, such as initial stand density, can promote climatic resiliency and moderate decreased productivity through the reduction of tree competition. The influences of climate (temperature and precipitation and forest management (initial stand density on the productivity of red pine (Pinus resinosa across multiple sites within Huron National Forest, Michigan, were examined using dendrochronological methods. Two common planting regimes were compared in this analysis; low initial density (1977 trees per hectare. Low initial density stands were found to have a higher climatic resilience by combining equal or greater measures of productivity, while having a reduced sensitivity to monthly and seasonal climate, particularly to summer drought.

  10. Multiple-purpose trees for pastoral farming in New Zealand: with emphasis on tree legumes. [Lucerne Tree: Medick Tree

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davies, D J.G.; Macfarlane, R P

    1979-01-01

    The potential for soil conservation and agroforestry of several native and exotic legumes is discussed. Flowering period, chemical composition of leaves/pods, hardiness to frost and drought, timber value, forage potential for livestock and bees, ornamental value and other products are tabulated with information on up to 38 species. Two low-growing species that have proved useful for slope stabilization as well as forage are tree lucerne (Cytisus palmensis) and tree medick (Medicago arborea), the latter being shrubby and more suitable for cold districts. Gleditsia triacanthos is recommended as a shade and fodder tree for farm pasture.

  11. Decision tree sensitivity analysis for cost-effectiveness of chest FDG-PET in patients with a pulmonary tumor (non-small cell carcinoma)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosuda, Shigeru; Watanabe, Masumi; Kobayashi, Hideo; Kusano, Shoichi; Ichihara, Kiyoshi

    1998-01-01

    Decision tree analysis was used to assess cost-effectiveness of chest FDG-PET in patients with a pulmonary tumor (non-small cell carcinoma, ≤Stage IIIB), based on the data of the current decision tree. Decision tree models were constructed with two competing strategies (CT alone and CT plus chest FDG-PET) in 1,000 patient population with 71.4% prevalence. Baselines of FDG-PET sensitivity and specificity on detection of lung cancer and lymph node metastasis, and mortality and life expectancy were available from references. Chest CT plus chest FDG-PET strategy increased a total cost by 10.5% when a chest FDG-PET study costs 0.1 million yen, since it increased the number of mediastinoscopy and curative thoracotomy despite reducing the number of bronchofiberscopy to half. However, the strategy resulted in a remarkable increase by 115 patients with curable thoracotomy and decrease by 51 patients with non-curable thoracotomy. In addition, an average life expectancy increased by 0.607 year/patient, which means increase in medical cost is approximately 218,080 yen/year/patient when a chest FDG-PET study costs 0.1 million yen. In conclusion, chest CT plus chest FDG-PET strategy might not be cost-effective in Japan, but we are convinced that the strategy is useful in cost-benefit analysis. (author)

  12. Stratigraphic controls on saltwater intrusion in the Dominguez Gap area of coastal Los Angeles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, B.D.; Ehman, K.D.; Ponti, D.J.; Reichard, E.G.; Tinsley, J.C.; Rosenbauer, R.J.; Land, M.

    2009-01-01

    The Los Angeles Basin is a densely populated coastal area that significantly depends on groundwater. A part of this groundwater supply is at risk from saltwater intrusion-the impetus for this study. High-resolution seismic-reflection data collected from the Los Angeles-Long Beach Harbor Complex have been combined with borehole geophysical and descriptive geological data from four nearby ??400-m-deep continuously cored wells and with borehole geophysical data from adjacent water and oil wells to characterize the Pliocene to Holocene stratigraphy of the Dominguez Gap coastal aquifer system. The new data are shown as a north-south, two- dimensional, sequence-stratigraphic model that is compared to existing lithostratigraphic models of the Los Angeles Basin in an attempt to better understand pathways of saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers. Intrusion of saltwater into the coastal aquifer system generally is attributed to over-pumping that caused the hydraulic gradient to reverse during the mid-1920s. Local water managers have used the existing lithostratigraphic model to site closely spaced injection wells of freshwater (barrier projects) attempting to hydraulically control the saltwater intrusion. Improved understanding of the stratigraphic relationships can guide modifications to barrier design that will allow more efficient operation. Allostratigraphic nomenclature is used to define a new sequence-stratigraphic model for the area because the existing lithostratigraphic correlations that have been used to define aquifer systems are shown not to be time-correlative. The youngest sequence, the Holocene Dominguez sequence, contains the Gaspur aquifer at its base. The Gaspur aquifer is intruded with saltwater and consists of essentially flat-lying gravelly sands deposited by the ancestral Los Angeles River as broad channels that occupied a paleovalley incised into the coastal plain during the last glacio-eustatic highstand. The underlying sequences are deformed into

  13. Remaining recoverable petroleum in giant oil fields of the Los Angeles Basin, southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautier, Donald L.; Tennyson, Marilyn E.; Cook, Troy A.; Charpentier, Ronald R.; Klett, Timothy R.

    2012-01-01

    Using a probabilistic geology-based methodology, a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists recently assessed the remaining recoverable oil in 10 oil fields of the Los Angeles Basin in southern California. The results of the assessment suggest that between 1.4 and 5.6 billion barrels of additional oil could be recovered from those fields with existing technology.

  14. Tree Nonstructural Carbohydrate Reserves Across Eastern US Temperate Forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mantooth, J.; Dietze, M.

    2015-12-01

    Understanding the roles, importance, and dynamics of tree non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) is currently an active area of research. The question of how the relationships between NSCs, growth, and mortality can be used to develop more accurate projections of forest dynamics is central to this research. To begin to address this question, we have asked an even more fundamental question: How much are trees allocating carbon to storage, in the form of NSCs, versus new growth? Ecological theory predicts that there should be trade-offs between different plant life history strategies provided that there are the carbon mass-balance constraints to enforce these trade-offs. Current data on tree NSCs lack the spatial and taxonomic extent required to properly address this question. Therefore, we established a network of forest inventory plots at ten sites across the eastern US and measured growth in adult trees using increment cores and repeat measures of diameter at breast height (DBH). Increment cores were also used to measure sapwood NSCs. We hypothesized that across the eastern US, shade tolerant species, e.g. Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) have the largest NSC reserves and that shade intolerant species have the lowest reserves. We also hypothesized that NSC reserves increase with temperature and precipitation, as with growth, and that within species NSC reserves increase with growth rate. Initial analyses of tree NSCs indicates that trees of intermediate shade tolerance, e.g. Red Oak (Quercus rubra) have the highest concentrations of sapwood NSCs, and among the highest growth rates. Across the entire study region, NSC concentrations are positively correlated with tree size and growth rate. Within species, NSC concentrations are also positively correlated with growth rate. Across functional groups healthy individuals have significantly higher sapwood NSC concentrations than visibly stressed individuals. There are also significantly lower NSC concentrations in sapwood of

  15. Shedding light on tree growth : ring analysis of juvenile tropical trees

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Soliz Gamboa, C.C.

    2010-01-01

    In the understory of tropical forests light is believed to be the main limiting growth factor for the newly established trees. Trees growing in shade of the understory may experience periods of slow radial growth. It is expected that gaps created by tree or branch fall will provoke tree growth

  16. 75 FR 65512 - Raleigh Film and Television Studios, LLC, Los Angeles, CA; Notice of Affirmative Determination...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-72,587] Raleigh Film and... (TAA) applicable to workers and former workers of Raleigh Film and Television Studios, LLC, Los Angeles... alleges that the subject firm ``is actively building large film studios in both Budapest, Hungary and...

  17. Inferring species trees from incongruent multi-copy gene trees using the Robinson-Foulds distance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Constructing species trees from multi-copy gene trees remains a challenging problem in phylogenetics. One difficulty is that the underlying genes can be incongruent due to evolutionary processes such as gene duplication and loss, deep coalescence, or lateral gene transfer. Gene tree estimation errors may further exacerbate the difficulties of species tree estimation. Results We present a new approach for inferring species trees from incongruent multi-copy gene trees that is based on a generalization of the Robinson-Foulds (RF) distance measure to multi-labeled trees (mul-trees). We prove that it is NP-hard to compute the RF distance between two mul-trees; however, it is easy to calculate this distance between a mul-tree and a singly-labeled species tree. Motivated by this, we formulate the RF problem for mul-trees (MulRF) as follows: Given a collection of multi-copy gene trees, find a singly-labeled species tree that minimizes the total RF distance from the input mul-trees. We develop and implement a fast SPR-based heuristic algorithm for the NP-hard MulRF problem. We compare the performance of the MulRF method (available at http://genome.cs.iastate.edu/CBL/MulRF/) with several gene tree parsimony approaches using gene tree simulations that incorporate gene tree error, gene duplications and losses, and/or lateral transfer. The MulRF method produces more accurate species trees than gene tree parsimony approaches. We also demonstrate that the MulRF method infers in minutes a credible plant species tree from a collection of nearly 2,000 gene trees. Conclusions Our new phylogenetic inference method, based on a generalized RF distance, makes it possible to quickly estimate species trees from large genomic data sets. Since the MulRF method, unlike gene tree parsimony, is based on a generic tree distance measure, it is appealing for analyses of genomic data sets, in which many processes such as deep coalescence, recombination, gene duplication and losses as

  18. Entertainment-Retail Centers in Hong Kong and Los Angeles: Trends and Lessons

    OpenAIRE

    Clara Irazabal; Surajit Chakravarty

    2007-01-01

    This paper seeks to answer the question of why Entertainment Retail Centers (ERCs) develop as they do and what we can expect from these centers of consumption in the near future. Beginning with a "network" view of cities, where cities are nodes in an integrated economic system, the paper examines the evolution of and recent trends in the design of Entertainment Retail Centers (ERCs) in Los Angeles and Hong Kong. The analysis is organized along four related themes - land use, transportation, u...

  19. Unknown Angels by Giuseppe Groppelli in Zadar and the Former Altar of St Anastasia in the Cathedral

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damir Tulić

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available As the former capital of Dalmatia, Zadar abounded in monuments produced during the 17th and 18th century, especially altars, statues, and paintings. Most of this cultural heritage had been lost by the late 18th and the first decades of the 19th century, when the former Venetian Dalmatia was taken over by Austrian administration, followed by the French and then again by the Austrian one. Many churches were closed down, their furnishings were sold away or lost, and the buildings were either repurposed or demolished. One of them had been home to two hitherto unpublished angels-putti located on the top of the inner side of the arch in the sanctuary of Zadar’s church of Our Lady of Health (Kaštel at the end of Kalelarga (Fig. 1. Both marble statues were obviously adjusted and then placed next to the marble cartouche with a subsequently added inscription from 1938, which tells of a reconstruction of the church during the time it was administered by the Capuchins. The drapery of the right angel-putto bears the initials I. G., which should be interpreted as the signature of the Venetian sculptor Giuseppe Groppelli (Venice, 1675-1735. This master signed his full name as IOSEPH GROPPELLI on the base of a statue of St Chrysogonus, now preserved in the Permanent Exhibition of Religious Art in Zadar (Fig. 2. Same as the signed statue of St Anastasia by master Antonio Corradini (Fig. 3, it used to form part of the main altar in Zadar’s monumental church of St Donatus, desacralized in 1798. Recently, two more angels have been discovered, inserted in the tympanum of the main altar in the church of Madonna of Loreto in Zadar’s district of Arbanasi, the one to the right likewise bearing the initials I. G. (Fig. 4. Undoubtedly, these two artworks were once part of a single composition: the abovementioned former altar in the church of St Donatus, transferred to the cathedral in 1822 and reconstructed to become the new altar in the chapel of St Anastasia

  20. Eldorado's Beaverlodge operations get $33 million facelift

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, L.M.

    1979-01-01

    Strong demand and a good price for high grade uranium is responsible for a $33 million facelift at Eldorado Nuclear's Beaverlodge operation, near Uranium City, Sask., designed to reduce costs and make the operation more competitive with other open pit mines. Rehabilitation has resulted in the installation of a new oxygen plant, office building, laboratory, dry and warehouse. A new carbonation plant is scheduled for completion by year end. Production comes from two connected underground mines - the Fay and Verna - and two shallow mines - the Eagle and the Bolger. Official ore reserves at the end of 1978 were estimated at 4.19 million tons averaging 0.20 percent U 3 O 8 , sufficient for another 20 to 25 years of production. Reported production of uranium oxide in 1978 was 1.2 million pounds. It is expected to reach 1.6 million pounds in 1979. The Verna mine was closed because of a lack of market, but reopened in 1977. Eldorado crews are installing a massive ventilation system. Other development work is proceeding at the Dubyna 31 Zone where an underground satellite ramp operation is being installed. Proposed method of mining is via the access ramp with lateral development drifts into the ore zone. A small open pit, concurrently being developed in the Dubyna 31 Zone, will be mined by 3 m benches. Waste material will be dumped into the mine site disposal area for later use in restoration. Major changes to the processing operation are also being carried out. Changes to the plant in 1979 will include the addition of new offices, a laboratory and shower facilities for the employees. (LL)

  1. Trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Khaja, Nawal

    2007-01-01

    This is a thematic lesson plan for young learners about palm trees and the importance of taking care of them. The two part lesson teaches listening, reading and speaking skills. The lesson includes parts of a tree; the modal auxiliary, can; dialogues and a role play activity.

  2. Measurements and predictors of on-road ultrafine particle concentrations and associated pollutants in Los Angeles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fruin, S. [California Air Resources Board, Sacramento (United States); University of Southern California, Los Angeles (United States). Keck School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine; Westerdahl, D.; Sax, T. [California Air Resources Board, Sacramento (United States); Sioutas, C. [University of Southern California, Los Angeles (United States). Civil and Environmental Engineering; Fine, P.M. [University of Southern California, Los Angeles (United States). Civil and Environmental Engineering; South Coast Air Quality Management District, Diamond Bar, CA (United States)

    2008-01-15

    Motor vehicles are the dominant source of oxides of nitrogen (NO{sub x}), particulate matter(PM), and certain air toxics (e.g., benzene, 1,3-butadiene) in urban areas. On roadways, motor vehicle-related pollutant concentrations are typically many times higher than ambient concentrations. Due to high air exchange rates typical of moving vehicles, this makes time spent in vehicles on roadways a major source of exposure. This paper presents on-road measurements for Los Angeles freeways and arterial roads taken from a zero-emission electric vehicle outfitted with real-time instruments. The objective was to characterize air pollutant concentrations on roadways and identify the factors associated with the highest concentrations. Our analysis demonstrated that on freeways, concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFPs), black carbon, nitric oxide, and PM-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PM-PAH) are generated primarily by diesel-powered vehicles, despite the relatively low fraction ({approx}6%) of diesel-powered vehicles on Los Angeles freeways. However, UFP concentrations on arterial roads appeared to be driven primarily by proximity to gasoline-powered vehicles undergoing hard accelerations. Concentrations were roughly one-third of those on freeways. By using a multiple regression model for the freeway measurements, we were able to explain 60-70% of the variability in concentrations of UFP, black carbon, nitric oxide, and PM-PAH using measures of diesel truck density and hour of day (as an indicator of wind speed). Freeway concentrations of these pollutants were also well correlated wth readily available annual average daily truck counts, potentially allowing improved population exposure estimates for epidemiology studies. Based on these roadway measurements and average driving time, it appears that 33-45% of total UFP exposure for Los Angeles residents occurs due to time spent traveling in vehicles. (author)

  3. Measurements and predictors of on-road ultrafine particle concentrations and associated pollutants in Los Angeles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fruin, S.; Sioutas, C.

    2008-01-01

    Motor vehicles are the dominant source of oxides of nitrogen (NO x ), particulate matter(PM), and certain air toxics (e.g., benzene, 1,3-butadiene) in urban areas. On roadways, motor vehicle-related pollutant concentrations are typically many times higher than ambient concentrations. Due to high air exchange rates typical of moving vehicles, this makes time spent in vehicles on roadways a major source of exposure. This paper presents on-road measurements for Los Angeles freeways and arterial roads taken from a zero-emission electric vehicle outfitted with real-time instruments. The objective was to characterize air pollutant concentrations on roadways and identify the factors associated with the highest concentrations. Our analysis demonstrated that on freeways, concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFPs), black carbon, nitric oxide, and PM-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PM-PAH) are generated primarily by diesel-powered vehicles, despite the relatively low fraction (∼6%) of diesel-powered vehicles on Los Angeles freeways. However, UFP concentrations on arterial roads appeared to be driven primarily by proximity to gasoline-powered vehicles undergoing hard accelerations. Concentrations were roughly one-third of those on freeways. By using a multiple regression model for the freeway measurements, we were able to explain 60-70% of the variability in concentrations of UFP, black carbon, nitric oxide, and PM-PAH using measures of diesel truck density and hour of day (as an indicator of wind speed). Freeway concentrations of these pollutants were also well correlated wth readily available annual average daily truck counts, potentially allowing improved population exposure estimates for epidemiology studies. Based on these roadway measurements and average driving time, it appears that 33-45% of total UFP exposure for Los Angeles residents occurs due to time spent traveling in vehicles. (author)

  4. Measurements and predictors of on-road ultrafine particle concentrations and associated pollutants in Los Angeles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fruin, S.; Westerdahl, D.; Sax, T.; Sioutas, C.; Fine, P. M.

    Motor vehicles are the dominant source of oxides of nitrogen (NO x), particulate matter (PM), and certain air toxics (e.g., benzene, 1,3-butadiene) in urban areas. On roadways, motor vehicle-related pollutant concentrations are typically many times higher than ambient concentrations. Due to high air exchange rates typical of moving vehicles, this makes time spent in vehicles on roadways a major source of exposure. This paper presents on-road measurements for Los Angeles freeways and arterial roads taken from a zero-emission electric vehicle outfitted with real-time instruments. The objective was to characterize air pollutant concentrations on roadways and identify the factors associated with the highest concentrations. Our analysis demonstrated that on freeways, concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFPs), black carbon, nitric oxide, and PM-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PM-PAH) are generated primarily by diesel-powered vehicles, despite the relatively low fraction (˜6%) of diesel-powered vehicles on Los Angeles freeways. However, UFP concentrations on arterial roads appeared to be driven primarily by proximity to gasoline-powered vehicles undergoing hard accelerations. Concentrations were roughly one-third of those on freeways. By using a multiple regression model for the freeway measurements, we were able to explain 60-70% of the variability in concentrations of UFP, black carbon, nitric oxide, and PM-PAH using measures of diesel truck density and hour of day (as an indicator of wind speed). Freeway concentrations of these pollutants were also well correlated with readily available annual average daily truck counts, potentially allowing improved population exposure estimates for epidemiology studies. Based on these roadway measurements and average driving time, it appears that 33-45% of total UFP exposure for Los Angeles residents occurs due to time spent traveling in vehicles.

  5. Can dendrochronology procedures estimate historical Tree Water Footprint?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Tarcísio J. G.; Del Campo, Antonio D.; Molina, Antonio J.

    2013-04-01

    Whole estimates of tree water use are becoming increasingly important in forest science and forest scientists have long sought to develop reliable techniques to estimate tree water use. In this sense accurately determining or estimate the quantity of water transpired by trees and forests is important and can be used to determine "green" water footprint. The use of dendrochronology is relative common in the study of effects and interactions between growth and climatic variables, but few studies deal with the relationship with water footprint. The main objective of this study is determining the historical tree water-use in a planted stand by dendrochronological approaches. This study was performed in South-eastern Spain, in an area covered by 50-60 years old Pinus halepensis Mil. plantations with high tree density (ca.1288/ha) due to low forest management. The experimental set-up consisted of two plots (30x30m), one corresponding to a thinning treatment performed in 2008 (t10) and the other thinned in 1998 (t1) to assess the mid-term effects of thinning. After one year of thinning four representative trees were select in each plot to measure transpiration by heat pulse sensor (sapflow velocity, vs). The accumulated daily values of transpiration (L day-1) were estimated multiplying the values of vs by sapwood area of each selected tree. After transpiration measurements two cores per tree were taken for establishing the tree-rings chronologies. The cores were prepared, their ring-width were measured and standardised in basal area increment index (BAI-i) following usual dendrochronological methods. The dendrochronology analyses showed a general variability in ring width during the initial growth (15 years), while in the following years the width rings were very small, conditioned by climate. The year after thinning (1999 or 2009) all trees in the treatments showed significant increases in ring width. The average vs for t1 and t10 were 3.59 cm h-1 and 1.95 cm h-1, and

  6. Spectra of chemical trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balasubramanian, K.

    1982-01-01

    A method is developed for obtaining the spectra of trees of NMR and chemical interests. The characteristic polynomials of branched trees can be obtained in terms of the characteristic polynomials of unbranched trees and branches by pruning the tree at the joints. The unbranched trees can also be broken down further until a tree containing just two vertices is obtained. The effectively reduces the order of the secular determinant of the tree used at the beginning to determinants of orders atmost equal to the number of vertices in the branch containing the largest number of vertices. An illustrative example of a NMR graph is given for which the 22 x 22 secular determinant is reduced to determinants of orders atmost 4 x 4 in just the second step of the algorithm. The tree pruning algorithm can be applied even to trees with no symmetry elements and such a factoring can be achieved. Methods developed here can be elegantly used to find if two trees are cospectral and to construct cospectral trees

  7. Counting 15 million more poor in India, thanks to tobacco.

    Science.gov (United States)

    John, Rijo M; Sung, Hai-Yen; Max, Wendy B; Ross, Hana

    2011-09-01

    To quantify the impact of tobacco use and the related medical expenditure on poverty in India. Tobacco expenditure and associated medical expenditure attributable to tobacco use were subtracted from the household monthly consumption expenditure in order to derive an appropriate measure of household disposable income. The 2004 National Sample Survey, a nationally representative survey of Indian households, was used to estimate the true level of poverty. Our estimates indicate that accounting for direct expenditure on tobacco would increase the rural and the urban poverty rates by 1.5% (affecting 11.8 million people) and 0.72% (affecting 2.3 million people), respectively. Similarly, the out-of-pocket costs of tobacco-attributable medical care result in 0.09% higher poverty rates in rural areas (affecting 0.7 million people) and in 0.07% higher poverty rates in urban locations (affecting 0.23 million people). Tobacco consumption impoverishes roughly 15 million people in India. Hence tobacco control measures would not only improve public health, but would also reduce poverty in India.

  8. Initiating events and accidental sequences taken into account in the CAREM reactor design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kay, J.M.; Felizia, E.R.; Navarro, N.R.; Caruso, G.J.

    1990-01-01

    The advance made in the nuclear security evaluation of the CAREM reactor is presented. It was carried out using the Security Probabilistic Analysis (SPA). The latter takes into account the different phases of identification and solution of initiating events and the qualitative development of event trees. The method of identification of initiating events is the Master Logical Diagram (MLD), whose deductive basis makes it appropriate for a new design like the one described. The qualitative development of the event trees associated to the identified initiating events, allows identification of those accidental sequences which are to have the security systems in the reactor. (Author) [es

  9. MeshTree: A Delay optimised Overlay Multicast Tree Building Protocol

    OpenAIRE

    Tan, Su-Wei; Waters, A. Gill; Crawford, John

    2005-01-01

    We study decentralised low delay degree-constrained overlay multicast tree construction for single source real-time applications. This optimisation problem is NP-hard even if computed centrally. We identify two problems in traditional distributed solutions, namely the greedy problem and delay-cost trade-off. By offering solutions to these problems, we propose a new self-organising distributed tree building protocol called MeshTree. The main idea is to embed the delivery tree in a degree-bound...

  10. Minimum variance rooting of phylogenetic trees and implications for species tree reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mai, Uyen; Sayyari, Erfan; Mirarab, Siavash

    2017-01-01

    Phylogenetic trees inferred using commonly-used models of sequence evolution are unrooted, but the root position matters both for interpretation and downstream applications. This issue has been long recognized; however, whether the potential for discordance between the species tree and gene trees impacts methods of rooting a phylogenetic tree has not been extensively studied. In this paper, we introduce a new method of rooting a tree based on its branch length distribution; our method, which minimizes the variance of root to tip distances, is inspired by the traditional midpoint rerooting and is justified when deviations from the strict molecular clock are random. Like midpoint rerooting, the method can be implemented in a linear time algorithm. In extensive simulations that consider discordance between gene trees and the species tree, we show that the new method is more accurate than midpoint rerooting, but its relative accuracy compared to using outgroups to root gene trees depends on the size of the dataset and levels of deviations from the strict clock. We show high levels of error for all methods of rooting estimated gene trees due to factors that include effects of gene tree discordance, deviations from the clock, and gene tree estimation error. Our simulations, however, did not reveal significant differences between two equivalent methods for species tree estimation that use rooted and unrooted input, namely, STAR and NJst. Nevertheless, our results point to limitations of existing scalable rooting methods.

  11. Binary Decision Tree Development for Probabilistic Safety Assessment Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simic, Z.; Banov, R.; Mikulicic, V.

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this article is to describe state of the development for the relatively new approach in the probabilistic safety analysis (PSA). This approach is based on the application of binary decision diagrams (BDD) representation for the logical function on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of complex systems that are presented by fault trees and event trees in the PSA applied for the nuclear power plants risk determination. Even BDD approach offers full solution comparing to the partial one from the conventional quantification approach there are still problems to be solved before new approach could be fully implemented. Major problem with full application of BDD is difficulty of getting any solution for the PSA models of certain complexity. This paper is comparing two approaches in PSA quantification. Major focus of the paper is description of in-house developed BDD application with implementation of the original algorithms. Resulting number of nodes required to represent the BDD is extremely sensitive to the chosen order of variables (i.e., basic events in PSA). The problem of finding an optimal order of variables that form the BDD falls under the class of NP-complete complexity. This paper presents an original approach to the problem of finding the initial order of variables utilized for the BDD construction by various dynamical reordering schemes. Main advantage of this approach compared to the known methods of finding the initial order is with better results in respect to the required working memory and time needed to finish the BDD construction. Developed method is compared against results from well known methods such as depth-first, breadth-first search procedures. Described method may be applied in finding of an initial order for fault trees/event trees being created from basic events by means of logical operations (e.g. negation, and, or, exclusive or). With some testing models a significant reduction of used memory has been achieved, sometimes

  12. A million trees for joining Europe / Aleksei Gunter

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Gunter, Aleksei, 1979-

    2004-01-01

    Mai esimesel nädalal istutavad laulu- ja tantsupeost osavõtjad ligikaudu miljon uut puuistikut. Kommentaarid metsaistutamise eestvedajatelt, Eesti Laulu- ja Tantsupeo Fondi esinaiselt Aet Maateelt ja EL-i infosekretariaadi juhilt Hannes Rummilt

  13. Remnant trees affect species composition but not structure of tropical second-growth forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandor, Manette E; Chazdon, Robin L

    2014-01-01

    Remnant trees, spared from cutting when tropical forests are cleared for agriculture or grazing, act as nuclei of forest regeneration following field abandonment. Previous studies on remnant trees were primarily conducted in active pasture or old fields abandoned in the previous 2-3 years, and focused on structure and species richness of regenerating forest, but not species composition. Our study is among the first to investigate the effects of remnant trees on neighborhood forest structure, biodiversity, and species composition 20 years post-abandonment. We compared the woody vegetation around individual remnant trees to nearby plots without remnant trees in the same second-growth forests ("control plots"). Forest structure beneath remnant trees did not differ significantly from control plots. Species richness and species diversity were significantly higher around remnant trees. The species composition around remnant trees differed significantly from control plots and more closely resembled the species composition of nearby old-growth forest. The proportion of old-growth specialists and generalists around remnant trees was significantly greater than in control plots. Although previous studies show that remnant trees may initially accelerate secondary forest growth, we found no evidence that they locally affect stem density, basal area, and seedling density at later stages of regrowth. Remnant trees do, however, have a clear effect on the species diversity, composition, and ecological groups of the surrounding woody vegetation, even after 20 years of forest regeneration. To accelerate the return of diversity and old-growth forest species into regrowing forest on abandoned land, landowners should be encouraged to retain remnant trees in agricultural or pastoral fields.

  14. Innovative LIDAR 3D Dynamic Measurement System to estimate fruit-tree leaf area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanz-Cortiella, Ricardo; Llorens-Calveras, Jordi; Escolà, Alexandre; Arnó-Satorra, Jaume; Ribes-Dasi, Manel; Masip-Vilalta, Joan; Camp, Ferran; Gràcia-Aguilá, Felip; Solanelles-Batlle, Francesc; Planas-DeMartí, Santiago; Pallejà-Cabré, Tomàs; Palacin-Roca, Jordi; Gregorio-Lopez, Eduard; Del-Moral-Martínez, Ignacio; Rosell-Polo, Joan R

    2011-01-01

    In this work, a LIDAR-based 3D Dynamic Measurement System is presented and evaluated for the geometric characterization of tree crops. Using this measurement system, trees were scanned from two opposing sides to obtain two three-dimensional point clouds. After registration of the point clouds, a simple and easily obtainable parameter is the number of impacts received by the scanned vegetation. The work in this study is based on the hypothesis of the existence of a linear relationship between the number of impacts of the LIDAR sensor laser beam on the vegetation and the tree leaf area. Tests performed under laboratory conditions using an ornamental tree and, subsequently, in a pear tree orchard demonstrate the correct operation of the measurement system presented in this paper. The results from both the laboratory and field tests confirm the initial hypothesis and the 3D Dynamic Measurement System is validated in field operation. This opens the door to new lines of research centred on the geometric characterization of tree crops in the field of agriculture and, more specifically, in precision fruit growing.

  15. Canada's family violence initiative: partnerships

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elaine Scott

    1994-01-01

    Full Text Available Under Canada's four-year, $136 million Family Violence Initiative, the federal government is calling upon all Canadians to work in partnerships towards the elimination of family violence - child abuse, violence against women, and elder (senior abuse. Family violence is a complex problem and requires the efforts of all Canadians to resolve it. One of the key themes of the Initiative - a multidisciplinary approach to the problem of family violence - is reflected in the selection and development of projects. Activities funded by the seven federal departments and agencies involved in the Initiative emphasize partnerships with the professional, voluntary, corporate, non-government and government sectors.

  16. Drivers of CO2 Emission Rates from Dead Wood Logs of 13 Tree Species in the Initial Decomposition Phase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiemo Kahl

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Large dead wood is an important structural component of forest ecosystems and a main component of forest carbon cycles. CO2 emissions from dead wood can be used as a proxy for actual decomposition rates. The main drivers of CO2 emission rates for dead wood of temperate European tree species are largely unknown. We applied a novel, closed chamber measurement technique to 360 dead wood logs of 13 important tree species in three regions in Germany. We found that tree species identity was with 71% independent contribution to the model (R2 = 0.62 the most important driver of volume-based CO2 emission rates, with angiosperms having on average higher rates than conifers. Wood temperature and fungal species richness had a positive effect on CO2 emission rates, whereas wood density had a negative effect. This is the first time that positive fungal species richness—wood decomposition relationship in temperate forests was shown. Certain fungal species were associated with high or low CO2 emission rates. In addition, as indicated by separate models for each tree species, forest management intensity, study region, and the water content as well as C and N concentration of dead wood influenced CO2 emission rates.

  17. TreePlus: interactive exploration of networks with enhanced tree layouts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Bongshin; Parr, Cynthia S; Plaisant, Catherine; Bederson, Benjamin B; Veksler, Vladislav D; Gray, Wayne D; Kotfila, Christopher

    2006-01-01

    Despite extensive research, it is still difficult to produce effective interactive layouts for large graphs. Dense layout and occlusion make food webs, ontologies, and social networks difficult to understand and interact with. We propose a new interactive Visual Analytics component called TreePlus that is based on a tree-style layout. TreePlus reveals the missing graph structure with visualization and interaction while maintaining good readability. To support exploration of the local structure of the graph and gathering of information from the extensive reading of labels, we use a guiding metaphor of "Plant a seed and watch it grow." It allows users to start with a node and expand the graph as needed, which complements the classic overview techniques that can be effective at (but often limited to) revealing clusters. We describe our design goals, describe the interface, and report on a controlled user study with 28 participants comparing TreePlus with a traditional graph interface for six tasks. In general, the advantage of TreePlus over the traditional interface increased as the density of the displayed data increased. Participants also reported higher levels of confidence in their answers with TreePlus and most of them preferred TreePlus.

  18. Refining discordant gene trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Górecki, Pawel; Eulenstein, Oliver

    2014-01-01

    Evolutionary studies are complicated by discordance between gene trees and the species tree in which they evolved. Dealing with discordant trees often relies on comparison costs between gene and species trees, including the well-established Robinson-Foulds, gene duplication, and deep coalescence costs. While these costs have provided credible results for binary rooted gene trees, corresponding cost definitions for non-binary unrooted gene trees, which are frequently occurring in practice, are challenged by biological realism. We propose a natural extension of the well-established costs for comparing unrooted and non-binary gene trees with rooted binary species trees using a binary refinement model. For the duplication cost we describe an efficient algorithm that is based on a linear time reduction and also computes an optimal rooted binary refinement of the given gene tree. Finally, we show that similar reductions lead to solutions for computing the deep coalescence and the Robinson-Foulds costs. Our binary refinement of Robinson-Foulds, gene duplication, and deep coalescence costs for unrooted and non-binary gene trees together with the linear time reductions provided here for computing these costs significantly extends the range of trees that can be incorporated into approaches dealing with discordance.

  19. Estimating spatially and temporally varying recharge and runoff from precipitation and urban irrigation in the Los Angeles Basin, California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hevesi, Joseph A.; Johnson, Tyler D.

    2016-10-17

    A daily precipitation-runoff model, referred to as the Los Angeles Basin watershed model (LABWM), was used to estimate recharge and runoff for a 5,047 square kilometer study area that included the greater Los Angeles area and all surface-water drainages potentially contributing recharge to a 1,450 square kilometer groundwater-study area underlying the greater Los Angeles area, referred to as the Los Angeles groundwater-study area. The recharge estimates for the Los Angeles groundwater-study area included spatially distributed recharge in response to the infiltration of precipitation, runoff, and urban irrigation, as well as mountain-front recharge from surface-water drainages bordering the groundwater-study area. The recharge and runoff estimates incorporated a new method for estimating urban irrigation, consisting of residential and commercial landscape watering, based on land use and the percentage of pervious land area.The LABWM used a 201.17-meter gridded discretization of the study area to represent spatially distributed climate and watershed characteristics affecting the surface and shallow sub-surface hydrology for the Los Angeles groundwater study area. Climate data from a local network of 201 monitoring sites and published maps of 30-year-average monthly precipitation and maximum and minimum air temperature were used to develop the climate inputs for the LABWM. Published maps of land use, land cover, soils, vegetation, and surficial geology were used to represent the physical characteristics of the LABWM area. The LABWM was calibrated to available streamflow records at six streamflow-gaging stations.Model results for a 100-year target-simulation period, from water years 1915 through 2014, were used to quantify and evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of water-budget components, including evapotranspiration (ET), recharge, and runoff. The largest outflow of water from the LABWM was ET; the 100-year average ET rate of 362 millimeters per year (mm

  20. The Impacts of Urbanization on Meteorology and Air Quality in the Los Angeles Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Y.; Zhang, J.; Sailor, D.; Ban-Weiss, G. A.

    2017-12-01

    Urbanization has a profound influence on regional meteorology in mega cities like Los Angeles. This influence is driven by changes in land surface physical properties and urban processes, and their corresponding influence on surface-atmosphere coupling. Changes in meteorology from urbanization in turn influences air quality through weather-dependent chemical reaction, pollutant dispersion, etc. Hence, a real-world representation of the urban land surface properties and urban processes should be accurately resolved in regional climate-chemistry models for better understanding the role of urbanization on changing urban meteorology and associated pollutant dynamics. By incorporating high-resolution land surface data, previous research has improved model-observation comparisons of meteorology in urban areas including the Los Angeles basin, and indicated that historical urbanization has increased urban temperatures and altered wind flows significantly. However, the impact of urban expansion on air quality has been less studied. Thus, in this study, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of resolving high-resolution heterogeneity in urban land surface properties and processes for regional weather and pollutant concentration predictions. We coupled the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry to the single-layer Urban Canopy Model to simulate a typical summer period in year 2012 for Southern California. Land cover type and urban fraction were determined from National Land Cover Data. MODIS observations were used to determine satellite-derived albedo, green vegetation fraction, and leaf area index. Urban morphology was determined from GIS datasets of 3D building geometries. An urban irrigation scheme was also implemented in the model. Our results show that the improved model captures the diurnal cycle of 2m air temperature (T2) and Ozone (O3) concentrations. However, it tends to overestimate wind speed and underestimate T2, which leads to an underestimation of O

  1. The Devil and its multiple images in illuminations of the Devorous Monster and the Falling Angel (15th century: some examples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Maria de Souza Zierer

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This article conducted an analysis on the multiple images of the Devil, based on three illuminations of the 15th century. It is possible to observe the following elements: 1-the evil one as a head, with a huge open mouth, known as the Hellmouth; 2-as a human being, but with animalistic characteristics, carrying claws, the tail, among other things, still with devouring aspect; 3-represented in beautiful shape, as the rebel angel, Lucifer, expelled from heaven by God. Three images were analyzed; one from the narrative Vision of Tondal, which it is represented as the Beast Acheron, in the form of Hellmouth, and two images of the book Les Très Riches Heures of the Duc de Berry (The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry, when figured with animalistic features in the image entitled "Inferno" (fl.108r and with his angelic features in "The fall of the Rebel Angels" (fl. 64v. In the last two illuminations the Devil presents ruler of Hell elements. Moreover, it is clear that this has ambiguous features in Christian imagination.

  2. A tree based method for the rapid screening of chemical fingerprints

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Thomas Greve; Nielsen, Jesper; Pedersen, Christian Nørgaard Storm

    2009-01-01

    The fingerprint of a molecule is a bitstring based on its structure, constructed such that structurally similar molecules will have similar fingerprints. Molecular fingerprints can be used in an initial phase for identifying novel drug candidates by screening large databases for molecules......: the kD grid and the Multibit tree. The kD grid is based on splitting the fingerprints into k shorter bitstrings and utilising these to compute bounds on the similarity of the complete bitstrings. The Multibit tree uses hierarchical clustering and similarity within each cluster to compute similar bounds...

  3. Planting forests in NYC: Is the goal restoration, reforestation, or afforestation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    R.A. Hallett

    2013-01-01

    Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, New York City (NYC) and many other cities in the United States and around the world are engaging in urban greening projects. Urban greening almost always involves planting trees... lots of trees. New York City, for example, has planted over 750,000 trees to date as part of a project that started in 2007 – a project with the...

  4. Comparison of two methods for estimating the number of undocumented Mexican adults in Los Angeles County.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heer, D M; Passel, J F

    1987-01-01

    This article compares 2 different methods for estimating the number of undocumented Mexican adults in Los Angeles County. The 1st method, the survey-based method, uses a combination of 1980 census data and the results of a survey conducted in Los Angeles County in 1980 and 1981. A sample was selected from babies born in Los Angeles County who had a mother or father of Mexican origin. The survey included questions about the legal status of the baby's parents and certain other relatives. The resulting estimates of undocumented Mexican immigrants are for males aged 18-44 and females aged 18-39. The 2nd method, the residual method, involves comparison of census figures for aliens counted with estimates of legally-resident aliens developed principally with data from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). For this study, estimates by age, sex, and period of entry were produced for persons born in Mexico and living in Los Angeles County. The results of this research indicate that it is possible to measure undocumented immigration with different techniques, yet obtain results that are similar. Both techniques presented here are limited in that they represent estimates of undocumented aliens based on the 1980 census. The number of additional undocumented aliens not counted remains a subject of conjecture. The fact that the proportions undocumented shown in the survey (228,700) are quite similar to the residual estimates (317,800) suggests that the number of undocumented aliens not counted in the census may not be an extremely large fraction of the undocumented population. The survey-based estimates have some significant advantages over the residual estimates. The survey provides tabulations of the undocumented population by characteristics other than the limited demographic information provided by the residual technique. On the other hand, the survey-based estimates require that a survey be conducted and, if national or regional estimates are called for, they may

  5. Simple street tree sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    David J. Nowak; Jeffrey T. Walton; James Baldwin; Jerry. Bond

    2015-01-01

    Information on street trees is critical for management of this important resource. Sampling of street tree populations provides an efficient means to obtain street tree population information. Long-term repeat measures of street tree samples supply additional information on street tree changes and can be used to report damages from catastrophic events. Analyses of...

  6. TreeFam: a curated database of phylogenetic trees of animal gene families

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Heng; Coghlan, Avril; Ruan, Jue

    2006-01-01

    TreeFam is a database of phylogenetic trees of gene families found in animals. It aims to develop a curated resource that presents the accurate evolutionary history of all animal gene families, as well as reliable ortholog and paralog assignments. Curated families are being added progressively......, based on seed alignments and trees in a similar fashion to Pfam. Release 1.1 of TreeFam contains curated trees for 690 families and automatically generated trees for another 11 646 families. These represent over 128 000 genes from nine fully sequenced animal genomes and over 45 000 other animal proteins...

  7. Mapping Urban Tree Canopy Cover Using Fused Airborne LIDAR and Satellite Imagery Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parmehr, Ebadat G.; Amati, Marco; Fraser, Clive S.

    2016-06-01

    Urban green spaces, particularly urban trees, play a key role in enhancing the liveability of cities. The availability of accurate and up-to-date maps of tree canopy cover is important for sustainable development of urban green spaces. LiDAR point clouds are widely used for the mapping of buildings and trees, and several LiDAR point cloud classification techniques have been proposed for automatic mapping. However, the effectiveness of point cloud classification techniques for automated tree extraction from LiDAR data can be impacted to the point of failure by the complexity of tree canopy shapes in urban areas. Multispectral imagery, which provides complementary information to LiDAR data, can improve point cloud classification quality. This paper proposes a reliable method for the extraction of tree canopy cover from fused LiDAR point cloud and multispectral satellite imagery data. The proposed method initially associates each LiDAR point with spectral information from the co-registered satellite imagery data. It calculates the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) value for each LiDAR point and corrects tree points which have been misclassified as buildings. Then, region growing of tree points, taking the NDVI value into account, is applied. Finally, the LiDAR points classified as tree points are utilised to generate a canopy cover map. The performance of the proposed tree canopy cover mapping method is experimentally evaluated on a data set of airborne LiDAR and WorldView 2 imagery covering a suburb in Melbourne, Australia.

  8. Vocalizing the Angels of Mons: Audio Dramas as Propaganda in the Great War of 1914 to 1918

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tim Crook

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Sound drama production prior to the onset of the “Radio Age” underwent a pioneering development during the Great War. This was achieved by the making, publication and distribution of short audio dramas acted with sound effects and music in front of early microphones and released in the form of 78 rpm phonograph discs. Entertaining storytelling through dramatic performance was mobilized for the purposes of improving recruitment and disseminating patriotic endorsement recordings. This article focuses on the sound dramatization of the myth of “The Angels of Mons” released by Regal in 1915. The recording is examined as a text for its significance in terms of propaganda, style of audio-drama, and any cultural role it may have played in the media of the First World War. The Regal disc was an example of what was described at the time as “descriptive sketches.” This article explores why a sound phonograph was used to dramatize the myth that angels intervened to assist the British Expeditionary Force to resist the German Army invading France through Belgium in 1914. A number of historians have discussed the First World War as being a theatre for the first modern media war, in which the process of propaganda was modernized. To what extent does “The Angels of Mons” phonograph and the genre of descriptive sketches support this analysis? Does this short sound drama play have any relevance to the cultural phenomena of spiritualism, modernism and patriotic Christianity identified as being important during the Great War period?

  9. Effects of a Tree Diagram on Students' Comprehension of Main Ideas in an Expository Text with Multiple Themes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guri-Rozenblit, Sarah

    1989-01-01

    Examines the effect of a tree diagram on college students' comprehension of main ideas in a social sciences expository text. Concludes that the tree diagram significantly improved comprehension of main ideas and relations between elements, irrespective of the students' initial verbal and visual aptitudes. (RS)

  10. Tree-space statistics and approximations for large-scale analysis of anatomical trees

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Feragen, Aasa; Owen, Megan; Petersen, Jens

    2013-01-01

    parametrize the relevant parts of tree-space well. Using the developed approximate statistics, we illustrate how the structure and geometry of airway trees vary across a population and show that airway trees with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease come from a different distribution in tree-space than...

  11. Sequence Tree Modeling for Combined Accident and Feed-and-Bleed Operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang Hyun Gook; Yoon, Ho Joon

    2016-01-01

    In order to address this issue, this study suggests the sequence tree model to analyze accident sequence systematically. Using the sequence tree model, all possible scenarios which need a specific safety action to prevent the core damage can be identified and success conditions of safety action under complicated situation such as combined accident will be also identified. Sequence tree is branch model to divide plant condition considering the plant dynamics. Since sequence tree model can reflect the plant dynamics, arising from interaction of different accident timing and plant condition and from the interaction between the operator action, mitigation system, and the indicators for operation, sequence tree model can be used to develop the dynamic event tree model easily. Target safety action for this study is a feed-and-bleed (F and B) operation. A F and B operation directly cools down the reactor cooling system (RCS) using the primary cooling system when residual heat removal by the secondary cooling system is not available. In this study, a TLOFW accident and a TLOFW accident with LOCA were the target accidents. Based on the conventional PSA model and indicators, the sequence tree model for a TLOFW accident was developed. If sampling analysis is performed, practical accident sequences can be identified based on the sequence analysis. If a realistic distribution for the variables can be obtained for sampling analysis, much more realistic accident sequences can be described. Moreover, if the initiating event frequency under a combined accident can be quantified, the sequence tree model can translate into a dynamic event tree model based on the sampling analysis results

  12. Sequence Tree Modeling for Combined Accident and Feed-and-Bleed Operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang Hyun Gook [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Ho Joon [Khalifa University of Science, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

    2016-05-15

    In order to address this issue, this study suggests the sequence tree model to analyze accident sequence systematically. Using the sequence tree model, all possible scenarios which need a specific safety action to prevent the core damage can be identified and success conditions of safety action under complicated situation such as combined accident will be also identified. Sequence tree is branch model to divide plant condition considering the plant dynamics. Since sequence tree model can reflect the plant dynamics, arising from interaction of different accident timing and plant condition and from the interaction between the operator action, mitigation system, and the indicators for operation, sequence tree model can be used to develop the dynamic event tree model easily. Target safety action for this study is a feed-and-bleed (F and B) operation. A F and B operation directly cools down the reactor cooling system (RCS) using the primary cooling system when residual heat removal by the secondary cooling system is not available. In this study, a TLOFW accident and a TLOFW accident with LOCA were the target accidents. Based on the conventional PSA model and indicators, the sequence tree model for a TLOFW accident was developed. If sampling analysis is performed, practical accident sequences can be identified based on the sequence analysis. If a realistic distribution for the variables can be obtained for sampling analysis, much more realistic accident sequences can be described. Moreover, if the initiating event frequency under a combined accident can be quantified, the sequence tree model can translate into a dynamic event tree model based on the sampling analysis results.

  13. International Research Chairs Initiative | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    The International Research Chairs Initiative (IRCI) is a seven-year, CA$8 million research program that pairs top research talent from universities in Canada with their counterparts in developing countries to address key ... The results of this joint effort: world-class discoveries and healthier, wealthier, fairer societies.

  14. 76 FR 14698 - Raleigh Film and Television Studios, LLC, Los Angeles, CA; Notice of Negative Determination on...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration [TA-W-72,587] Raleigh Film and... Reconsideration for the workers and former workers of Raleigh Film and Television Studios, LLC, Los Angeles... for reconsideration alleges that the subject firm is building large film studios in foreign countries...

  15. Relating phylogenetic trees to transmission trees of infectious disease outbreaks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ypma, Rolf J F; van Ballegooijen, W Marijn; Wallinga, Jacco

    2013-11-01

    Transmission events are the fundamental building blocks of the dynamics of any infectious disease. Much about the epidemiology of a disease can be learned when these individual transmission events are known or can be estimated. Such estimations are difficult and generally feasible only when detailed epidemiological data are available. The genealogy estimated from genetic sequences of sampled pathogens is another rich source of information on transmission history. Optimal inference of transmission events calls for the combination of genetic data and epidemiological data into one joint analysis. A key difficulty is that the transmission tree, which describes the transmission events between infected hosts, differs from the phylogenetic tree, which describes the ancestral relationships between pathogens sampled from these hosts. The trees differ both in timing of the internal nodes and in topology. These differences become more pronounced when a higher fraction of infected hosts is sampled. We show how the phylogenetic tree of sampled pathogens is related to the transmission tree of an outbreak of an infectious disease, by the within-host dynamics of pathogens. We provide a statistical framework to infer key epidemiological and mutational parameters by simultaneously estimating the phylogenetic tree and the transmission tree. We test the approach using simulations and illustrate its use on an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. The approach unifies existing methods in the emerging field of phylodynamics with transmission tree reconstruction methods that are used in infectious disease epidemiology.

  16. Impacts of floods on forest trees and their coping strategies in Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shukla Rani Basak

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available During recent years, the Government of Bangladesh, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs, semi-government organizations, private organizations and individuals have established a large number of plantations under different programs viz. social forestry, agro-forestry and avenue plantations with indigenous and exotic tree species without considering their habit and habitats. Along with the indigenous species like Albizia procera, Albizia lebbeck, Mangifera indica, Azadirachta indica, Gmelina arborea, Trewia nudiflora and Artocapus heterophyllus and many exotic species e.g. Swietenia macrophylla, Albizia saman, Dalbergia sissoo, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Acacia auriculiformis, Melia sempervirens, Acacia mangium etc. have been planted randomly. With increasing trend of climate-induced floods, millions of trees have been dying due to floods and water-logging. The most affected species are Dalbergia sissoo, Albizia saman, Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia mangium and Artocarpus heterophyllus etc. This situation has caused severe impacts on socio-economic conditions of Bangladesh. The impacts involved a significant loss in terms of investment, biodiversity and afforestation program. Little investigations have been conducted to find out the causes of the deaths and also to find out the suitable adaptation practices to reduce impacts of floods on trees. This synthesis focused on the impacts of floods on plantations and also assessed the potential role of traditional forest management practices in addressing the effects flooding on forests in Bangladesh. The study added important information and revealed knowledge gaps on the causes of large forest deaths. It also provided recommendations for policy on the establishment of frequent floods resilient tree crop plantations.

  17. Decision-Tree Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buntine, Wray

    1994-01-01

    IND computer program introduces Bayesian and Markov/maximum-likelihood (MML) methods and more-sophisticated methods of searching in growing trees. Produces more-accurate class-probability estimates important in applications like diagnosis. Provides range of features and styles with convenience for casual user, fine-tuning for advanced user or for those interested in research. Consists of four basic kinds of routines: data-manipulation, tree-generation, tree-testing, and tree-display. Written in C language.

  18. Tree-growth analyses to estimate tree species' drought tolerance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eilmann, Britta; Rigling, Andreas

    2012-02-01

    Climate change is challenging forestry management and practices. Among other things, tree species with the ability to cope with more extreme climate conditions have to be identified. However, while environmental factors may severely limit tree growth or even cause tree death, assessing a tree species' potential for surviving future aggravated environmental conditions is rather demanding. The aim of this study was to find a tree-ring-based method suitable for identifying very drought-tolerant species, particularly potential substitute species for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Valais. In this inner-Alpine valley, Scots pine used to be the dominating species for dry forests, but today it suffers from high drought-induced mortality. We investigate the growth response of two native tree species, Scots pine and European larch (Larix decidua Mill.), and two non-native species, black pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Mirb. var. menziesii), to drought. This involved analysing how the radial increment of these species responded to increasing water shortage (abandonment of irrigation) and to increasingly frequent drought years. Black pine and Douglas fir are able to cope with drought better than Scots pine and larch, as they show relatively high radial growth even after irrigation has been stopped and a plastic growth response to drought years. European larch does not seem to be able to cope with these dry conditions as it lacks the ability to recover from drought years. The analysis of trees' short-term response to extreme climate events seems to be the most promising and suitable method for detecting how tolerant a tree species is towards drought. However, combining all the methods used in this study provides a complete picture of how water shortage could limit species.

  19. Are trees long-lived?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kevin T. Smith

    2009-01-01

    Trees and tree care can capture the best of people's motivations and intentions. Trees are living memorials that help communities heal at sites of national tragedy, such as Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center. We mark the places of important historical events by the trees that grew nearby even if the original tree, such as the Charter Oak in Connecticut or...

  20. Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blair, David P; Blanchard, Wade; Banks, Sam C; Lindenmayer, David B

    2017-01-01

    Tree ferns are an important structural component of forests in many countries. However, because their regeneration is often unrelated to major disturbances, their age is often difficult to determine. In addition, rates of growth may not be uniform, which further complicates attempts to determine their age. In this study, we measured 5 years of growth of Cyathea australis and Dicksonia antarctica after a large wildfire in 2009 in south-eastern Australia. We found growth rates of these two species were unaffected by aspect and elevation but slope had a minor effect with D. antarctica growing 0.3mm faster for each additional degree of slope. Geographic location influenced growth in both species by up to 12 - 14mm/yr. The most consistent factor influencing growth rate, however, was initial height at the time of the 2009 fire; a finding consistent in both species and all geographic locations. For both tree fern species, individuals that were taller at the commencement of the study had greater overall growth for the duration of the study. This effect did not decrease even among the tallest tree ferns in our study (up to 6 metres tall). Overall, Cyathea australis averaged 73 (± 22)mm/year of growth (± 1SD), with the rate increasing 5mm/yr per metre of additional height. Dicksonia antarctica averaged 33 (± 13)mm/year, increasing by 6mm/yr/m. Growth rates dependent on initial height were unexpected and we discuss possible reasons for this finding. Variable growth rates also suggest that common age estimation methods of dividing height by average growth rate are likely to underestimate the age of short tree ferns, while overestimating the age of tall tree ferns, particularly if they have been subject to a fire.

  1. Non-linear growth in tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica and Cyathea australis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David P Blair

    Full Text Available Tree ferns are an important structural component of forests in many countries. However, because their regeneration is often unrelated to major disturbances, their age is often difficult to determine. In addition, rates of growth may not be uniform, which further complicates attempts to determine their age. In this study, we measured 5 years of growth of Cyathea australis and Dicksonia antarctica after a large wildfire in 2009 in south-eastern Australia. We found growth rates of these two species were unaffected by aspect and elevation but slope had a minor effect with D. antarctica growing 0.3mm faster for each additional degree of slope. Geographic location influenced growth in both species by up to 12 - 14mm/yr. The most consistent factor influencing growth rate, however, was initial height at the time of the 2009 fire; a finding consistent in both species and all geographic locations. For both tree fern species, individuals that were taller at the commencement of the study had greater overall growth for the duration of the study. This effect did not decrease even among the tallest tree ferns in our study (up to 6 metres tall. Overall, Cyathea australis averaged 73 (± 22mm/year of growth (± 1SD, with the rate increasing 5mm/yr per metre of additional height. Dicksonia antarctica averaged 33 (± 13mm/year, increasing by 6mm/yr/m. Growth rates dependent on initial height were unexpected and we discuss possible reasons for this finding. Variable growth rates also suggest that common age estimation methods of dividing height by average growth rate are likely to underestimate the age of short tree ferns, while overestimating the age of tall tree ferns, particularly if they have been subject to a fire.

  2. Sob a sombra de Carmen Miranda e do carnaval: brasileiras em Los Angeles Under the shadow of Carmen Miranda and carnival: brazilian women in Los Angeles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernadete Beserra

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Neste artigo, analiso como brasileiras de classes média e média alta em Los Angeles lidam com o fenômeno da exotização das suas imagens. Observo que, embora originalmente articuladas a partir de Hollywood (Carmen Miranda nos limites da hierarquia entre as nações e do colonialismo, essas imagens são hoje alimentadas e recriadas também pelos próprios brasileiros. Uma das idéias centrais que defendo aqui é que embora tais imagens inicialmente restrinjam a ação das brasileiras, uma vez que sempre impõem o diálogo com os seus conteúdos, elas não o fazem permanentemente, ou seja, no processo de integração há espaço para a negociação de outras imagens e conteúdos e isto depende de fatores que vão além da exotização em si.This article discusses how middle and upper-middle class Brazilian women deal with their exoticized images in Los Angeles. It points out that although originally articulated from Hollywood (Carmen Miranda, within the limits of the hierarchy of nations and colonialism, today these images are also fed and recreated by Brazilians. One of the central ideas presented is that, despite constraining the movements and actions of the women, imposing on them the need to dialogue with their content, these exotic images do not do it permanently. In other words, in the process of integration, there is always room for negotiation of other images and contents that depend on factor other than exoticization itself.

  3. Growing with dinosaurs: natural products from the Cretaceous relict Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & Cheng-a molecular reservoir from the ancient world with potential in modern medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juvik, Ole Johan; Nguyen, Xuan Hong Thy; Andersen, Heidi Lie; Fossen, Torgils

    2016-01-01

    After the sensational rediscovery of living exemplars of the Cretaceous relict Metasequoia glyptostroboides -a tree previously known exclusively from fossils from various locations in the northern hemisphere, there has been an increasing interest in discovery of novel natural products from this unique plant source. This article includes the first complete compilation of natural products reported from M. glyptostroboides during the entire period in which the tree has been investigated (1954-2014) with main focus on the compounds specific to this plant source. Studies on the biological activity of pure compounds and extracts derived from M. glyptostroboides are reviewed for the first time. The unique potential of M. glyptostroboides as a source of bioactive constituents is founded on the fact that the tree seems to have survived unchanged since the Cretaceous era. Since then, its molecular defense system has resisted the attacks of millions of generations of pathogens. In line with this, some recent landmarks in Metasequoia paleobotany are covered. Initial spectral analysis of recently discovered intact 53 million year old wood and amber of Metasequoia strongly indicate that the tree has remained unchanged for millions of years at the molecular level.

  4. 2017 Sustainable LA Environmental Report Card for Los Angeles County: Energy & Air Quality

    OpenAIRE

    Federico, Felicia; Rauser, Casandra; Gold, Mark

    2017-01-01

    The 2017 Sustainable LA Environmental Report Card (ERC) for Los Angeles County (LA County) on Energy and Air Quality offers an in-depth look at the region’s sustainability efforts focusing on the energy we use, greenhouse gas emissions, and the air we breathe. The LA County Environmental Report Card is the only comprehensive environmental report card for a megacity in the world. This ERC assesses 21 indicators that fall into five categories: Stationary Energy Use; Transportation; Renewable En...

  5. Shelter from the Storm: Optimizing Distribution of Bus Stop Shelters in Los Angeles

    OpenAIRE

    Law, Philip; Taylor, Brian D.

    2010-01-01

    The functions of bus stop shelters and factors affecting their placement at stops in transit systems are analyzed. Drawing on information from a variety of sources, current shelter placement policy in Los Angeles was found to be guided principally by the revenue-generating potential of shelter advertisements, secondarily by political concerns over geographic equity, and only peripherally on the basis of bus stop use. Using data on shelter and stop locations, boardings, and headways, a methodo...

  6. Olive and citrus tree crops and their fertilization in Greece: Field studies with 15N labelled fertilizers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papanicolaou, E.P.

    1982-01-01

    Fertilizer use for tree crops in Greece is increasing rapidly, however, fertilizer experiments with olive and citrus tree crops have given results which were often inconclusive. The value of using isotopically labelled fertilizers to directly measure fertilizer uptake is thus obvious. A preliminary experiment determined that relatively low enriched 15 N fertilizers (1.0-1.5% atom excess) could be accurately detected in citrus trees. The concentration of added N was higher in the leaves than in the wood and fruit. In a second study foliarly applied 15 N urea was found to be taken up more efficiently than broadcast urea or ammonium sulphate. In an initial sampling distribution of N among the plant parts was similar to that of the initial study, although a final harvest and analysis must still be conducted. (author)

  7. There's Life in Hazard Trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mary Torsello; Toni McLellan

    The goals of hazard tree management programs are to maximize public safety and maintain a healthy sustainable tree resource. Although hazard tree management frequently targets removal of trees or parts of trees that attract wildlife, it can take into account a diversity of tree values. With just a little extra planning, hazard tree management can be highly beneficial...

  8. Fast Tree: Computing Large Minimum-Evolution Trees with Profiles instead of a Distance Matrix

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    N. Price, Morgan; S. Dehal, Paramvir; P. Arkin, Adam

    2009-07-31

    Gene families are growing rapidly, but standard methods for inferring phylogenies do not scale to alignments with over 10,000 sequences. We present FastTree, a method for constructing large phylogenies and for estimating their reliability. Instead of storing a distance matrix, FastTree stores sequence profiles of internal nodes in the tree. FastTree uses these profiles to implement neighbor-joining and uses heuristics to quickly identify candidate joins. FastTree then uses nearest-neighbor interchanges to reduce the length of the tree. For an alignment with N sequences, L sites, and a different characters, a distance matrix requires O(N^2) space and O(N^2 L) time, but FastTree requires just O( NLa + N sqrt(N) ) memory and O( N sqrt(N) log(N) L a ) time. To estimate the tree's reliability, FastTree uses local bootstrapping, which gives another 100-fold speedup over a distance matrix. For example, FastTree computed a tree and support values for 158,022 distinct 16S ribosomal RNAs in 17 hours and 2.4 gigabytes of memory. Just computing pairwise Jukes-Cantor distances and storing them, without inferring a tree or bootstrapping, would require 17 hours and 50 gigabytes of memory. In simulations, FastTree was slightly more accurate than neighbor joining, BIONJ, or FastME; on genuine alignments, FastTree's topologies had higher likelihoods. FastTree is available at http://microbesonline.org/fasttree.

  9. TreeRipper web application: towards a fully automated optical tree recognition software

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hughes Joseph

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Relationships between species, genes and genomes have been printed as trees for over a century. Whilst this may have been the best format for exchanging and sharing phylogenetic hypotheses during the 20th century, the worldwide web now provides faster and automated ways of transferring and sharing phylogenetic knowledge. However, novel software is needed to defrost these published phylogenies for the 21st century. Results TreeRipper is a simple website for the fully-automated recognition of multifurcating phylogenetic trees (http://linnaeus.zoology.gla.ac.uk/~jhughes/treeripper/. The program accepts a range of input image formats (PNG, JPG/JPEG or GIF. The underlying command line c++ program follows a number of cleaning steps to detect lines, remove node labels, patch-up broken lines and corners and detect line edges. The edge contour is then determined to detect the branch length, tip label positions and the topology of the tree. Optical Character Recognition (OCR is used to convert the tip labels into text with the freely available tesseract-ocr software. 32% of images meeting the prerequisites for TreeRipper were successfully recognised, the largest tree had 115 leaves. Conclusions Despite the diversity of ways phylogenies have been illustrated making the design of a fully automated tree recognition software difficult, TreeRipper is a step towards automating the digitization of past phylogenies. We also provide a dataset of 100 tree images and associated tree files for training and/or benchmarking future software. TreeRipper is an open source project licensed under the GNU General Public Licence v3.

  10. Livermore Big Trees Park Soil Survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McConachie, W.A.; Failor, R.A.

    1995-01-01

    Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will sample and analyze soil in the Big Trees Park area in Livermore, California, to determine if the initial level of plutonium (Pu) in a soil sample taken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in September 1993 can be confirmed. Nineteen samples will be collected and analyzed: 4 in the area where the initial EPA sample was taken, 2 in the nearby Arroyo Seco, 12 in scattered uncovered soil areas in the park and nearby school, and 1 from the sandbox of a nearby apartment complex. Two quality control (QC) samples (field duplicates of the preceding samples) win also be collected and analyzed. This document briefly describes the purpose behind the sampling, the sampling rationale, and the methodology

  11. MixtureTree annotator: a program for automatic colorization and visual annotation of MixtureTree.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shu-Chuan Chen

    Full Text Available The MixtureTree Annotator, written in JAVA, allows the user to automatically color any phylogenetic tree in Newick format generated from any phylogeny reconstruction program and output the Nexus file. By providing the ability to automatically color the tree by sequence name, the MixtureTree Annotator provides a unique advantage over any other programs which perform a similar function. In addition, the MixtureTree Annotator is the only package that can efficiently annotate the output produced by MixtureTree with mutation information and coalescent time information. In order to visualize the resulting output file, a modified version of FigTree is used. Certain popular methods, which lack good built-in visualization tools, for example, MEGA, Mesquite, PHY-FI, TreeView, treeGraph and Geneious, may give results with human errors due to either manually adding colors to each node or with other limitations, for example only using color based on a number, such as branch length, or by taxonomy. In addition to allowing the user to automatically color any given Newick tree by sequence name, the MixtureTree Annotator is the only method that allows the user to automatically annotate the resulting tree created by the MixtureTree program. The MixtureTree Annotator is fast and easy-to-use, while still allowing the user full control over the coloring and annotating process.

  12. On Determining if Tree-based Networks Contain Fixed Trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anaya, Maria; Anipchenko-Ulaj, Olga; Ashfaq, Aisha; Chiu, Joyce; Kaiser, Mahedi; Ohsawa, Max Shoji; Owen, Megan; Pavlechko, Ella; St John, Katherine; Suleria, Shivam; Thompson, Keith; Yap, Corrine

    2016-05-01

    We address an open question of Francis and Steel about phylogenetic networks and trees. They give a polynomial time algorithm to decide if a phylogenetic network, N, is tree-based and pose the problem: given a fixed tree T and network N, is N based on T? We show that it is [Formula: see text]-hard to decide, by reduction from 3-Dimensional Matching (3DM) and further that the problem is fixed-parameter tractable.

  13. Detection and Segmentation of Small Trees in the Forest-Tundra Ecotone Using Airborne Laser Scanning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius Hauglin

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Due to expected climate change and increased focus on forests as a potential carbon sink, it is of interest to map and monitor even marginal forests where trees exist close to their tolerance limits, such as small pioneer trees in the forest-tundra ecotone. Such small trees might indicate tree line migrations and expansion of the forests into treeless areas. Airborne laser scanning (ALS has been suggested and tested as a tool for this purpose and in the present study a novel procedure for identification and segmentation of small trees is proposed. The study was carried out in the Rollag municipality in southeastern Norway, where ALS data and field measurements of individual trees were acquired. The point density of the ALS data was eight points per m2, and the field tree heights ranged from 0.04 to 6.3 m, with a mean of 1.4 m. The proposed method is based on an allometric model relating field-measured tree height to crown diameter, and another model relating field-measured tree height to ALS-derived height. These models are calibrated with local field data. Using these simple models, every positive above-ground height derived from the ALS data can be related to a crown diameter, and by assuming a circular crown shape, this crown diameter can be extended to a crown segment. Applying this model to all ALS echoes with a positive above-ground height value yields an initial map of possible circular crown segments. The final crown segments were then derived by applying a set of simple rules to this initial “map” of segments. The resulting segments were validated by comparison with field-measured crown segments. Overall, 46% of the field-measured trees were successfully detected. The detection rate increased with tree size. For trees with height >3 m the detection rate was 80%. The relatively large detection errors were partly due to the inherent limitations in the ALS data; a substantial fraction of the smaller trees was hit by no or just a few

  14. Vegetation composition and altitudinal distribution of Andean rain forests in El Angel and Guandera reserves, northern Ecuador

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moscol Olivera, M.C.; Cleef, A.M.

    2009-01-01

    Patterns of vascular plant species composition and structure of the remaining rain forest of the Andean Cordillera in northern Ecuador were studied in two reserves: Guandera and El Angel. Thirty three plots located between 3300 and 3700 in were examined along two altitudinal transects crossing the

  15. Vegetation composition and altitudinal distribution of Andean rain forests in El Angel and Guandera reserves, northern Ecuador

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moscol Olivera, M.C.; Cleef, A.M.

    2009-01-01

    Patterns of vascular plant species composition and structure of the remaining rain forest of the Andean Cordillera in northern Ecuador were studied in two reserves: Guandera and El Angel. Thirty three plots located between 3300 and 3700 m were examined along two altitudinal transects crossing the

  16. Preliminary Report Regarding State Allocation Board Funding of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Belmont Learning Complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armoudian, Maria; Carman, Georgann; Havan, Artineh; Heron, Frank

    A preliminary report of the California Legislature's Joint Legislative Audit Committee presents findings on the construction team selection process for the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD's) Belmont Learning Complex. Evidence reveals a seriously flawed process that directly conflicted with existing law and practice. The report…

  17. Development of a model of the coronary arterial tree for the 4D XCAT phantom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fung, George S K; Tsui, Benjamin M W; Segars, W Paul; Gullberg, Grant T

    2011-01-01

    A detailed three-dimensional (3D) model of the coronary artery tree with cardiac motion has great potential for applications in a wide variety of medical imaging research areas. In this work, we first developed a computer-generated 3D model of the coronary arterial tree for the heart in the extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantom, thereby creating a realistic computer model of the human anatomy. The coronary arterial tree model was based on two datasets: (1) a gated cardiac dual-source computed tomography (CT) angiographic dataset obtained from a normal human subject and (2) statistical morphometric data of porcine hearts. The initial proximal segments of the vasculature and the anatomical details of the boundaries of the ventricles were defined by segmenting the CT data. An iterative rule-based generation method was developed and applied to extend the coronary arterial tree beyond the initial proximal segments. The algorithm was governed by three factors: (1) statistical morphometric measurements of the connectivity, lengths and diameters of the arterial segments; (2) avoidance forces from other vessel segments and the boundaries of the myocardium, and (3) optimality principles which minimize the drag force at the bifurcations of the generated tree. Using this algorithm, the 3D computational model of the largest six orders of the coronary arterial tree was generated, which spread across the myocardium of the left and right ventricles. The 3D coronary arterial tree model was then extended to 4D to simulate different cardiac phases by deforming the original 3D model according to the motion vector map of the 4D cardiac model of the XCAT phantom at the corresponding phases. As a result, a detailed and realistic 4D model of the coronary arterial tree was developed for the XCAT phantom by imposing constraints of anatomical and physiological characteristics of the coronary vasculature. This new 4D coronary artery tree model provides a unique simulation tool that can be

  18. Quantifying multi-dimensional functional trait spaces of trees: empirical versus theoretical approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ogle, K.; Fell, M.; Barber, J. J.

    2016-12-01

    Empirical, field studies of plant functional traits have revealed important trade-offs among pairs or triplets of traits, such as the leaf (LES) and wood (WES) economics spectra. Trade-offs include correlations between leaf longevity (LL) vs specific leaf area (SLA), LL vs mass-specific leaf respiration rate (RmL), SLA vs RmL, and resistance to breakage vs wood density. Ordination analyses (e.g., PCA) show groupings of traits that tend to align with different life-history strategies or taxonomic groups. It is unclear, however, what underlies such trade-offs and emergent spectra. Do they arise from inherent physiological constraints on growth, or are they more reflective of environmental filtering? The relative importance of these mechanisms has implications for predicting biogeochemical cycling, which is influenced by trait distributions of the plant community. We address this question using an individual-based model of tree growth (ACGCA) to quantify the theoretical trait space of trees that emerges from physiological constraints. ACGCA's inputs include 32 physiological, anatomical, and allometric traits, many of which are related to the LES and WES. We fit ACGCA to 1.6 million USFS FIA observations of tree diameters and heights to obtain vectors of trait values that produce realistic growth, and we explored the structure of this trait space. No notable correlations emerged among the 496 trait pairs, but stepwise regressions revealed complicated multi-variate structure: e.g., relationships between pairs of traits (e.g., RmL and SLA) are governed by other traits (e.g., LL, radiation-use efficiency [RUE]). We also simulated growth under various canopy gap scenarios that impose varying degrees of environmental filtering to explore the multi-dimensional trait space (hypervolume) of trees that died vs survived. The centroid and volume of the hypervolumes differed among dead and live trees, especially under gap conditions leading to low mortality. Traits most predictive

  19. Whole-tree distribution and temporal variation of non-structural carbohydrates in broadleaf evergreen trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Merryn G; Miller, Rebecca E; Arndt, Stefan K; Kasel, Sabine; Bennett, Lauren T

    2018-04-01

    Non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) form a fundamental yet poorly quantified carbon pool in trees. Studies of NSC seasonality in forest trees have seldom measured whole-tree NSC stocks and allocation among organs, and are not representative of all tree functional types. Non-structural carbohydrate research has primarily focussed on broadleaf deciduous and coniferous evergreen trees with distinct growing seasons, while broadleaf evergreen trees remain under-studied despite their different growth phenology. We measured whole-tree NSC allocation and temporal variation in Eucalyptus obliqua L'Hér., a broadleaf evergreen tree species typically occurring in mixed-age temperate forests, which has year-round growth and the capacity to resprout after fire. Our overarching objective was to improve the empirical basis for understanding the functional importance of NSC allocation and stock changes at the tree- and organ-level in this tree functional type. Starch was the principal storage carbohydrate and was primarily stored in the stem and roots of young (14-year-old) trees rather than the lignotuber, which did not appear to be a specialized starch storage organ. Whole-tree NSC stocks were depleted during spring and summer due to significant decreases in starch mass in the roots and stem, seemingly to support root and crown growth but potentially exacerbated by water stress in summer. Seasonality of stem NSCs differed between young and mature trees, and was not synchronized with stem basal area increments in mature trees. Our results suggest that the relative magnitude of seasonal NSC stock changes could vary with tree growth stage, and that the main drivers of NSC fluctuations in broadleaf evergreen trees in temperate biomes could be periodic disturbances such as summer drought and fire, rather than growth phenology. These results have implications for understanding post-fire tree recovery via resprouting, and for incorporating NSC pools into carbon models of mixed

  20. SILVA tree viewer: interactive web browsing of the SILVA phylogenetic guide trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beccati, Alan; Gerken, Jan; Quast, Christian; Yilmaz, Pelin; Glöckner, Frank Oliver

    2017-09-30

    Phylogenetic trees are an important tool to study the evolutionary relationships among organisms. The huge amount of available taxa poses difficulties in their interactive visualization. This hampers the interaction with the users to provide feedback for the further improvement of the taxonomic framework. The SILVA Tree Viewer is a web application designed for visualizing large phylogenetic trees without requiring the download of any software tool or data files. The SILVA Tree Viewer is based on Web Geographic Information Systems (Web-GIS) technology with a PostgreSQL backend. It enables zoom and pan functionalities similar to Google Maps. The SILVA Tree Viewer enables access to two phylogenetic (guide) trees provided by the SILVA database: the SSU Ref NR99 inferred from high-quality, full-length small subunit sequences, clustered at 99% sequence identity and the LSU Ref inferred from high-quality, full-length large subunit sequences. The Tree Viewer provides tree navigation, search and browse tools as well as an interactive feedback system to collect any kinds of requests ranging from taxonomy to data curation and improving the tool itself.

  1. Biotic mortality factors affecting emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) are highly dependent on life stage and host tree crown condition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jennings, D E; Duan, J J; Shrewsbury, P M

    2015-10-01

    Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is a serious invasive forest pest in North America responsible for killing tens to hundreds of millions of ash trees since it was accidentally introduced in the 1990 s. Although host-plant resistance and natural enemies are known to be important sources of mortality for EAB in Asia, less is known about the importance of different sources of mortality at recently colonized sites in the invaded range of EAB, and how these relate to host tree crown condition. To further our understanding of EAB population dynamics, we used a large-scale field experiment and life-table analyses to quantify the fates of EAB larvae and the relative importance of different biotic mortality factors at 12 recently colonized sites in Maryland. We found that the fates of larvae were highly dependent on EAB life stage and host tree crown condition. In relatively healthy trees (i.e., with a low EAB infestation) and for early instars, host tree resistance was the most important mortality factor. Conversely, in more unhealthy trees (i.e., with a moderate to high EAB infestation) and for later instars, parasitism and predation were the major sources of mortality. Life-table analyses also indicated how the lack of sufficient levels of host tree resistance and natural enemies contribute to rapid population growth of EAB at recently colonized sites. Our findings provide further evidence of the mechanisms by which EAB has been able to successfully establish and spread in North America.

  2. Downstream impacts of a Central Amazonian hydroelectric dam on tree growth and mortality in floodplain forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resende, A. F. D.; Silva, T. S. F.; Silva, J. D. S.; Piedade, M. T. F.; Streher, A. S.; Ferreira-Ferreira, J.; Schongart, J.

    2017-12-01

    The flood pulse of large Amazonian Rivers is characterized by predictable high- and low-water periods during the annual cycle, and is the main driving force in the floodplains regulating decomposition, nutrient cycles, productivity, life cycles and growth rhythms of floodplains' biota. Over at least 20 millions of years, tree species in these ecosystems developed complex adaptative mechanisms to tolerate flooding, such as the tree species Macrolobium acaciifolium (Fabaceae) and Eschweilera tenuifolia (Lecythidaceae) occupying the lower topographic positions in the floodplain forests along the oligothrophic black-water rivers. Tree growth occurs mainly during terrestrial phase, while during the aquatic phase the anoxic conditions result into a cambial dormancy and formation of annual tree rings. The hydroelectric dam Balbina which was installed in the Uatumã River (central Amazonia) during the 1980s altered significantly the flood pulse regime resulting into higher minimum and lower maximum annual water levels. The suppression of the terrestrial phase caused large-scale mortality of flood-adapted trees growing on the lower topographic positions, as evidenced by radiocarbon dating and cross-dating techniques (dendrochronology). In this study we estimated the extension of dead forests using high resolution ALOS/PALSAR radar images, for their detection along a fluvial distance of more than 280 km downstream of the power plant. Further we analyzed tree growth of 60 living individuals of E. tenuifolia by tree-ring analyses comparing the post- and pre-dam periods. We evaluated the impacts of the altered hydrological regime on tree growth considering ontogenetic effects and the fluvial distance of the trees to the dam. Since the Balbina power plant started operating the associated igapó forests lost about 11% of its cover. We found a significant reduction of tree growth of E. tenuifolia during the post-dam period as a consequence of the increasing aquatic phase duration

  3. An object-based approach for tree species extraction from digital orthophoto maps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamil, Akhtar; Bayram, Bulent

    2018-05-01

    Tree segmentation is an active and ongoing research area in the field of photogrammetry and remote sensing. It is more challenging due to both intra-class and inter-class similarities among various tree species. In this study, we exploited various statistical features for extraction of hazelnut trees from 1 : 5000 scaled digital orthophoto maps. Initially, the non-vegetation areas were eliminated using traditional normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) followed by application of mean shift segmentation for transforming the pixels into meaningful homogeneous objects. In order to eliminate false positives, morphological opening and closing was employed on candidate objects. A number of heuristics were also derived to eliminate unwanted effects such as shadow and bounding box aspect ratios, before passing them into the classification stage. Finally, a knowledge based decision tree was constructed to distinguish the hazelnut trees from rest of objects which include manmade objects and other type of vegetation. We evaluated the proposed methodology on 10 sample orthophoto maps obtained from Giresun province in Turkey. The manually digitized hazelnut tree boundaries were taken as reference data for accuracy assessment. Both manually digitized and segmented tree borders were converted into binary images and the differences were calculated. According to the obtained results, the proposed methodology obtained an overall accuracy of more than 85 % for all sample images.

  4. Pursuing sustainable productivity with millions of smallholder farmers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Zhenling; Zhang, Hongyan; Chen, Xinping; Zhang, Chaochun; Ma, Wenqi; Huang, Chengdong; Zhang, Weifeng; Mi, Guohua; Miao, Yuxin; Li, Xiaolin; Gao, Qiang; Yang, Jianchang; Wang, Zhaohui; Ye, Youliang; Guo, Shiwei; Lu, Jianwei; Huang, Jianliang; Lv, Shihua; Sun, Yixiang; Liu, Yuanying; Peng, Xianlong; Ren, Jun; Li, Shiqing; Deng, Xiping; Shi, Xiaojun; Zhang, Qiang; Yang, Zhiping; Tang, Li; Wei, Changzhou; Jia, Liangliang; Zhang, Jiwang; He, Mingrong; Tong, Yanan; Tang, Qiyuan; Zhong, Xuhua; Liu, Zhaohui; Cao, Ning; Kou, Changlin; Ying, Hao; Yin, Yulong; Jiao, Xiaoqiang; Zhang, Qingsong; Fan, Mingsheng; Jiang, Rongfeng; Zhang, Fusuo; Dou, Zhengxia

    2018-03-15

    Sustainably feeding a growing population is a grand challenge, and one that is particularly difficult in regions that are dominated by smallholder farming. Despite local successes, mobilizing vast smallholder communities with science- and evidence-based management practices to simultaneously address production and pollution problems has been infeasible. Here we report the outcome of concerted efforts in engaging millions of Chinese smallholder farmers to adopt enhanced management practices for greater yield and environmental performance. First, we conducted field trials across China's major agroecological zones to develop locally applicable recommendations using a comprehensive decision-support program. Engaging farmers to adopt those recommendations involved the collaboration of a core network of 1,152 researchers with numerous extension agents and agribusiness personnel. From 2005 to 2015, about 20.9 million farmers in 452 counties adopted enhanced management practices in fields with a total of 37.7 million cumulative hectares over the years. Average yields (maize, rice and wheat) increased by 10.8-11.5%, generating a net grain output of 33 million tonnes (Mt). At the same time, application of nitrogen decreased by 14.7-18.1%, saving 1.2 Mt of nitrogen fertilizers. The increased grain output and decreased nitrogen fertilizer use were equivalent to US$12.2 billion. Estimated reactive nitrogen losses averaged 4.5-4.7 kg nitrogen per Megagram (Mg) with the intervention compared to 6.0-6.4 kg nitrogen per Mg without. Greenhouse gas emissions were 328 kg, 812 kg and 434 kg CO 2 equivalent per Mg of maize, rice and wheat produced, respectively, compared to 422 kg, 941 kg and 549 kg CO 2 equivalent per Mg without the intervention. On the basis of a large-scale survey (8.6 million farmer participants) and scenario analyses, we further demonstrate the potential impacts of implementing the enhanced management practices on China's food security and

  5. Pursuing sustainable productivity with millions of smallholder farmers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Zhenling; Zhang, Hongyan; Chen, Xinping; Zhang, Chaochun; Ma, Wenqi; Huang, Chengdong; Zhang, Weifeng; Mi, Guohua; Miao, Yuxin; Li, Xiaolin; Gao, Qiang; Yang, Jianchang; Wang, Zhaohui; Ye, Youliang; Guo, Shiwei; Lu, Jianwei; Huang, Jianliang; Lv, Shihua; Sun, Yixiang; Liu, Yuanying; Peng, Xianlong; Ren, Jun; Li, Shiqing; Deng, Xiping; Shi, Xiaojun; Zhang, Qiang; Yang, Zhiping; Tang, Li; Wei, Changzhou; Jia, Liangliang; Zhang, Jiwang; He, Mingrong; Tong, Yanan; Tang, Qiyuan; Zhong, Xuhua; Liu, Zhaohui; Cao, Ning; Kou, Changlin; Ying, Hao; Yin, Yulong; Jiao, Xiaoqiang; Zhang, Qingsong; Fan, Mingsheng; Jiang, Rongfeng; Zhang, Fusuo; Dou, Zhengxia

    2018-03-01

    Sustainably feeding a growing population is a grand challenge, and one that is particularly difficult in regions that are dominated by smallholder farming. Despite local successes, mobilizing vast smallholder communities with science- and evidence-based management practices to simultaneously address production and pollution problems has been infeasible. Here we report the outcome of concerted efforts in engaging millions of Chinese smallholder farmers to adopt enhanced management practices for greater yield and environmental performance. First, we conducted field trials across China’s major agroecological zones to develop locally applicable recommendations using a comprehensive decision-support program. Engaging farmers to adopt those recommendations involved the collaboration of a core network of 1,152 researchers with numerous extension agents and agribusiness personnel. From 2005 to 2015, about 20.9 million farmers in 452 counties adopted enhanced management practices in fields with a total of 37.7 million cumulative hectares over the years. Average yields (maize, rice and wheat) increased by 10.8–11.5%, generating a net grain output of 33 million tonnes (Mt). At the same time, application of nitrogen decreased by 14.7–18.1%, saving 1.2 Mt of nitrogen fertilizers. The increased grain output and decreased nitrogen fertilizer use were equivalent to US$12.2 billion. Estimated reactive nitrogen losses averaged 4.5–4.7 kg nitrogen per Megagram (Mg) with the intervention compared to 6.0–6.4 kg nitrogen per Mg without. Greenhouse gas emissions were 328 kg, 812 kg and 434 kg CO2 equivalent per Mg of maize, rice and wheat produced, respectively, compared to 422 kg, 941 kg and 549 kg CO2 equivalent per Mg without the intervention. On the basis of a large-scale survey (8.6 million farmer participants) and scenario analyses, we further demonstrate the potential impacts of implementing the enhanced management practices on China’s food security and

  6. Poweo 2006 consolidated revenue at euro 244 million, up 121%; Poweo chiffre d'affaires 2006 de 244 millions euro, en hausse de 121%

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2007-01-15

    POWEO, the leading independent energy operator in France, presents in this document its key business indicators for the 4. quarter of 2006 and the full year: POWEO records again a strong rise of its annual revenue, exceeding its euro 220 million target. This progression relates to all the business components. The particularly soft climatic conditions recorded in France at the end of the year did not result in a significant fall of revenue compared to initial forecasts. The number of customer sites amounts to 80.300 at December 31, 2006, in progression of 23% compared to the end of 2005. The customer base remained overall stable during the second half of 2006, POWEO limiting voluntarily the acquisition of customers in electricity during the preparation of the opening to competition of the residential market due to take place on July 1, 2007. The gas customer base for its part more than doubled compared to end June 2006, with more than 5.000 customer sites transferred as at December 31, 2006. The Energy Management net margin, realised or un-realised, amounted to euro 49.7 million in 2006, recognised as revenue under IFRS standards. This includes the euro 22 million exceptional capital gain mentioned in previous financial releases in 2006, as well as a euro 7.9 million un-realised capital gain resulting from the transfer of some contracts into the Energy Management portfolio further to the capacity swap agreement with EDF announced publicly on January 3, 2007. The services provided by POWEO to its customers enjoy a high level of acceptance and represented revenue of euro 2.9 million in 2006. As from 2007, the revenue realised through these services will be presented separately from other components of revenue in order to better reflect its expected growth. The services offering will be indeed a key element of the marketing strategy of POWEO in the years to come, with a potentially significant impact on the results taking into account their level of gross margin which

  7. The role of forest trees and their mycorrhizal fungi in carbonate rock weathering and its significance for global carbon cycling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorley, Rachel M S; Taylor, Lyla L; Banwart, Steve A; Leake, Jonathan R; Beerling, David J

    2015-09-01

    On million-year timescales, carbonate rock weathering exerts no net effect on atmospheric CO2 concentration. However, on timescales of decades-to-centuries, it can contribute to sequestration of anthropogenic CO2 and increase land-ocean alkalinity flux, counteracting ocean acidification. Historical evidence indicates this flux is sensitive to land use change, and recent experimental evidence suggests that trees and their associated soil microbial communities are major drivers of continental mineral weathering. Here, we review key physical and chemical mechanisms by which the symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi of forest tree roots potentially enhance carbonate rock weathering. Evidence from our ongoing field study at the UK's national pinetum confirms increased weathering of carbonate rocks by a wide range of gymnosperm and angiosperm tree species that form arbuscular (AM) or ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungal partnerships. We demonstrate that calcite-containing rock grains under EM tree species weather significantly faster than those under AM trees, an effect linked to greater soil acidification by EM trees. Weathering and corresponding alkalinity export are likely to increase with rising atmospheric CO2 and associated climate change. Our analyses suggest that strategic planting of fast-growing EM angiosperm taxa on calcite- and dolomite-rich terrain might accelerate the transient sink for atmospheric CO2 and slow rates of ocean acidification. © 2014 The Authors. Plant, Cell & Environment published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Fast and frugal trees: translating population-based pharmacogenomics to medication prioritization

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rooij, T. van; Roederer, M.; Wareham, H.T.; Rooij, I.J.E.I. van; McLeod, H.L.; Marsh, S.

    2015-01-01

    Aim: Fast and frugal decision trees (FFTs) can simplify clinical decision making by providing a heuristic approach to contextual guidance. We wanted to use FFTs for pharmacogenomic knowledge translation at point-of-care. Materials & Methods: The Pharmacogenomics for Every Nation Initiative (PGENI),

  9. D2-tree

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brodal, Gerth Stølting; Sioutas, Spyros; Pantazos, Kostas

    2015-01-01

    We present a new overlay, called the Deterministic Decentralized tree (D2-tree). The D2-tree compares favorably to other overlays for the following reasons: (a) it provides matching and better complexities, which are deterministic for the supported operations; (b) the management of nodes (peers...

  10. Economic Cost-Analysis of the Impact of Container Size on Transplanted Tree Value

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lauren M. Garcia Chance

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The benefits and costs of varying container sizes have yet to be fully evaluated to determine which container size affords the most advantageous opportunity for consumers. To determine value of the tree following transplant, clonal replicates of Vitex agnus-castus L. [Chaste Tree], Acer rubrum L. var. drummondii (Hook. & Arn. ex Nutt. Sarg. [Drummond Red Maple], and Taxodium distichum (L. Rich. [Baldcypress] were grown under common conditions in each of five container sizes 3.5, 11.7, 23.3, 97.8 or 175.0 L, respectively (#1, 3, 7, 25 or 45. In June 2013, six trees of each container size and species were transplanted to a sandy clay loam field in College Station, Texas. To determine the increase in value over a two-year post-transplant period, height and caliper measurements were taken at the end of nursery production and again at the end of the second growing season in the field, October 2014. Utilizing industry standards, initial costs of materials and labor were then compared with the size of trees after two years. Replacement cost analysis after two growing seasons indicated a greater increase in value for 11.7 and 23.3 L trees compared to losses in value for some 175.0 L trees. In comparison with trees from larger containers, trees from smaller size containers experienced shorter establishment times and increased growth rates, thus creating a quicker return on investment for trees transplanted from the smaller container sizes.

  11. Tree felling 2014

    CERN Multimedia

    2014-01-01

    With a view to creating new landscapes and making its population of trees safer and healthier, this winter CERN will complete the tree-felling campaign started in 2010.   Tree felling will take place between 15 and 22 November on the Swiss part of the Meyrin site. This work is being carried out above all for safety reasons. The trees to be cut down are at risk of falling as they are too old and too tall to withstand the wind. In addition, the roots of poplar trees are very powerful and spread widely, potentially damaging underground networks, pavements and roadways. Compensatory tree planting campaigns will take place in the future, subject to the availability of funding, with the aim of creating coherent landscapes while also respecting the functional constraints of the site. These matters are being considered in close collaboration with the Geneva nature and countryside directorate (Direction générale de la nature et du paysage, DGNP). GS-SE Group

  12. Phylogenetic trees

    OpenAIRE

    Baños, Hector; Bushek, Nathaniel; Davidson, Ruth; Gross, Elizabeth; Harris, Pamela E.; Krone, Robert; Long, Colby; Stewart, Allen; Walker, Robert

    2016-01-01

    We introduce the package PhylogeneticTrees for Macaulay2 which allows users to compute phylogenetic invariants for group-based tree models. We provide some background information on phylogenetic algebraic geometry and show how the package PhylogeneticTrees can be used to calculate a generating set for a phylogenetic ideal as well as a lower bound for its dimension. Finally, we show how methods within the package can be used to compute a generating set for the join of any two ideals.

  13. Seasonal carbohydrate storage and mobilization in bearing and non-bearing pistachio (Pistacia vera) trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spann, Timothy M; Beede, Robert H; Dejong, Theodore M

    2008-02-01

    We analyzed annual carbohydrate storage and mobilization of bearing ("on") and non-bearing ("off") 'Kerman' pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) trees growing on three different rootstocks. On all rootstocks, carbohydrate storage in shoots and branches of "on" and "off" trees was lowest following the spring growth flush. In "off" trees, stored carbohydrates increased and remained high after the initial growth flush. In "on" trees, stem carbohydrates increased temporarily in early summer, but were mobilized in mid-season during kernel fill, and then increased again after nut harvest. During the dormant season, the only substantial differences in carbohydrate storage between previously "on" and "off" trees were found in the roots of the weakest rootstock. The annual carbohydrate storage and mobilization pattern in canopy branches of heavily cropped pistachio trees appeared to be driven by carbohydrate demands related to nut development and untempered by tree vigor. Mobilization of carbohydrates from current-season and 1- and 2-year-old stem wood of "on" trees during the primary period of kernel fill corresponded with the period of inflorescence bud abscission. Thus, the alternate bearing pattern associated with inflorescence bud abscission in 'Kerman' pistachio may be a function of mid-season mobilization of stored carbohydrates in current-season stems resulting in stimulation of inflorescence bud abscission.

  14. A Million Cancer Genome Warehouse

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-20

    of a national program for Cancer Information Donors, the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has proposed a rapid learning system for...or Scala and Spark; “scrum” organization of small programming teams; calculating “velocity” to predict time to develop new features; and Agile...2012 to 00-00-2012 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE A Million Cancer Genome Warehouse 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6

  15. Identifying the rooted species tree from the distribution of unrooted gene trees under the coalescent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allman, Elizabeth S; Degnan, James H; Rhodes, John A

    2011-06-01

    Gene trees are evolutionary trees representing the ancestry of genes sampled from multiple populations. Species trees represent populations of individuals-each with many genes-splitting into new populations or species. The coalescent process, which models ancestry of gene copies within populations, is often used to model the probability distribution of gene trees given a fixed species tree. This multispecies coalescent model provides a framework for phylogeneticists to infer species trees from gene trees using maximum likelihood or Bayesian approaches. Because the coalescent models a branching process over time, all trees are typically assumed to be rooted in this setting. Often, however, gene trees inferred by traditional phylogenetic methods are unrooted. We investigate probabilities of unrooted gene trees under the multispecies coalescent model. We show that when there are four species with one gene sampled per species, the distribution of unrooted gene tree topologies identifies the unrooted species tree topology and some, but not all, information in the species tree edges (branch lengths). The location of the root on the species tree is not identifiable in this situation. However, for 5 or more species with one gene sampled per species, we show that the distribution of unrooted gene tree topologies identifies the rooted species tree topology and all its internal branch lengths. The length of any pendant branch leading to a leaf of the species tree is also identifiable for any species from which more than one gene is sampled.

  16. Predicting the effect of climate change on wildfire behavior and initial attack success

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Riley, William; Fried, Jeremy S.; Gilless, J. Keith; Riley, William J.; Moody, Tadashi J.; Simon de Blas, Clara; Hayhoe, Katharine; Moritz, Max; Stephens, Scott; Torn, Margaret

    2007-12-01

    This study focused on how climate change-induced effects on weather will translate into changes in wildland fire severity and outcomes in California, particularly on the effectiveness of initial attack at limiting the number of fires that escape initial attack. The results indicate that subtle shifts in fire behavior of the sort that might be induced by the climate changes anticipated for the next century are of sufficient magnitude to generate an appreciable increase in the number of fires that escape initial attack. Such escapes are of considerable importance in wildland fire protection planning, given the high cost to society of a catastrophic escape like those experienced in recent decades in the Berkeley-Oakland, Santa Barbara, San Diego, or Los Angeles areas. However, at least for the three study areas considered, it would appear that relatively modest augmentations to existing firefighting resources might be sufficient to compensate for change-induced changes in wildland fire outcomes.

  17. A time-dependent event tree technique for modelling recovery operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kohut, P.; Fitzpatrick, R.

    1991-01-01

    The development of a simplified time dependent event tree methodology is presented. The technique is especially applicable to describe recovery operations in nuclear reactor accident scenarios initiated by support system failures. The event tree logic is constructed using time dependent top events combined with a damage function that contains information about the final state time behavior of the reactor core. Both the failure and the success states may be utilized for the analysis. The method is illustrated by modeling the loss of service water function with special emphasis on the RCP [reactor coolant pump] seal LOCA [loss of coolant accident] scenario. 5 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs

  18. Rooting and early growth of red mangrove seedlings from thermally stressed trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banus, M.D.; Kolehmainen, S.E.

    At Guayanilla on the south coast of Puerto Rico a fossil fueled electric generating station of 1100 MW(e) discharges its cooling water into a nearly enclosed lagoon of about 25 hectares area. The plume and lagoon typically have water temperatures 10 0 C and 8 0 C above ambient so that the winter and summer lagoon temperatures are 34 and 39 0 C, respectively. The north, east, and south shores of this lagoon have extensive stands of red and black mangrove trees which are visibly stressed by the elevated temperatures. Ripe red mangrove seedlings from the bearing trees are significantly smaller than those from trees in Guayanilla Bay not thermally stressed and in unpolluted bays from western Puerto Rico. Seedlings from thermally stressed trees developed negative buoyancy and initial roots faster but first pair of leaves slower than seedlings from control areas. This behavior will be discussed in relation to the propagation of seedlings from non-stressed areas. (U.S.)

  19. Plant community development within the F- and H-Area tree-kill zone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nelson, E.A.; Westbury, H.M. Jr.

    1994-10-01

    The F- and H-Area Seepage Basins received liquid waste from the F and H chemical separation facilities from 1955 through 1988. Tree mortality in seepline fed wetlands down-slope from the basins was observed in the late 1970`s, and investigations were conducted to determine the cause and source of the impacts. Analysis of the soil and water in the tree-kill zones demonstrated a strong chemical linkage with the F- and H-Area seepage basins. Although no single cause of the mortality was determined, it was believed to be the result of interactions of alterations in the hydrology and erosional deposition, along with lowering of pH and increased conductivity, sodium, aluminum, and nitrogen compounds. A mild drought during the growing season may also have increased the concentration of the chemical contaminants in the soils matrix. In 1988, the F- and H-Area Seepage Basins were closed and covered with a clay cap to reduce the rate of dispersion of the contaminants in the soil beneath the basins. Subsequent studies of the chemical composition of the tree-kill zone groundwater and toxicological characteristics of the seepline soil have shown a reduced contaminant flux. In 1993, an initial vegetation study was undertaken to determine the level of recovery by the plant communities in the tree-kill zones. This study repeats the initial vegetation investigation in order to further analyze and characterize the recovery of plant communities in the zones after an additional year of growth.

  20. UN agencies mark Chernobyl anniversary with launch of US$2.5-million project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    On the 24th of April 2009 four United Nations agencies marked the 23rd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident by launching a $2.5 million programme designed to meet the priority information needs of affected communities in Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. Funded by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security, this three-year initiative aims to translate the latest scientific information on the consequences of the accident into sound practical advice for residents of the affected territories. The project is a joint effort by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO)