Commercial Bee Pollen with Different Geographical Origins: A Comprehensive Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Nogueira, Carla; Iglesias, Antonio; Feás, Xesus; Estevinho, Leticia M.

2012-01-01

Since the primordial of humanity, pollen has been considered a good source of nutrients and energy. Its promising healing properties have also been referred to. The present study aimed to characterize, for the first time, eight commercial pollens from Portugal and Spain available on the market studying the legislation on labeling, pollinic origin, physicochemical and microbiological analyses and identification of yeasts. Eleven botanical families were found amongst the samples. The most abundant family and the most dominant pollen was Cistaceae. The moisture content, ash, aw, pH, reducing sugars, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and energy were analyzed and the specific parameters were within the specifications required by some countries with legislation regarding these parameters. Microbiologically commercial pollen showed acceptable safety for the commercial quality and hygiene. All samples showed negative results for toxigenic species. The microorganisms studied were aerobic mesophiles, yeasts and moulds, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella and sulfite-reducing Clostridium. During the work, six yeasts species were isolated from pollen, with Rhodotorula mucilaginosa being the most abundant, as it was present in four samples. PMID:23109845

Commercial Bee Pollen with Different Geographical Origins: A Comprehensive Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leticia M. Estevinho

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Since the primordial of humanity, pollen has been considered a good source of nutrients and energy. Its promising healing properties have also been referred to. The present study aimed to characterize, for the first time, eight commercial pollens from Portugal and Spain available on the market studying the legislation on labeling, pollinic origin, physicochemical and microbiological analyses and identification of yeasts. Eleven botanical families were found amongst the samples. The most abundant family and the most dominant pollen was Cistaceae. The moisture content, ash, aw, pH, reducing sugars, carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and energy were analyzed and the specific parameters were within the specifications required by some countries with legislation regarding these parameters. Microbiologically commercial pollen showed acceptable safety for the commercial quality and hygiene. All samples showed negative results for toxigenic species. The microorganisms studied were aerobic mesophiles, yeasts and moulds, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella and sulfite-reducing Clostridium. During the work, six yeasts species were isolated from pollen, with Rhodotorula mucilaginosa being the most abundant, as it was present in four samples.

A methodology for combining multiple commercial data sources to improve measurement of the food and alcohol environment: applications of geographical information systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dara D. Mendez

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Commercial data sources have been increasingly used to measure and locate community resources. We describe a methodology for combining and comparing the differences in commercial data of the food and alcohol environment. We used commercial data from two commercial databases (InfoUSA and Dun&Bradstreet for 2003 and 2009 to obtain infor- mation on food and alcohol establishments and developed a matching process using computer algorithms and manual review by applying ArcGIS to geocode addresses, standard industrial classification and North American industry classification tax- onomy for type of establishment and establishment name. We constructed population and area-based density measures (e.g. grocery stores and assessed differences across data sources and used ArcGIS to map the densities. The matching process resulted in 8,705 and 7,078 unique establishments for 2003 and 2009, respectively. There were more establishments cap- tured in the combined dataset than relying on one data source alone, and the additional establishments captured ranged from 1,255 to 2,752 in 2009. The correlations for the density measures between the two data sources was highest for alcohol out- lets (r = 0.75 and 0.79 for per capita and area, respectively and lowest for grocery stores/supermarkets (r = 0.32 for both. This process for applying geographical information systems to combine multiple commercial data sources and develop meas- ures of the food and alcohol environment captured more establishments than relying on one data source alone. This replic- able methodology was found to be useful for understanding the food and alcohol environment when local or public data are limited.

Observations of geographically correlated orbit errors for TOPEX/Poseidon using the global positioning system

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, E. J.; Haines, B. J.; Mccoll, K. C.; Nerem, R. S.

1994-01-01

We have compared Global Positioning System (GPS)-based dynamic and reduced-dynamic TOPEX/Poseidon orbits over three 10-day repeat cycles of the ground-track. The results suggest that the prelaunch joint gravity model (JGM-1) introduces geographically correlated errors (GCEs) which have a strong meridional dependence. The global distribution and magnitude of these GCEs are consistent with a prelaunch covariance analysis, with estimated and predicted global rms error statistics of 2.3 and 2.4 cm rms, respectively. Repeating the analysis with the post-launch joint gravity model (JGM-2) suggests that a portion of the meridional dependence observed in JGM-1 still remains, with global rms error of 1.2 cm.

Measuring the Externality Effects of Commercial Land Use on Residential Land Value: A Case Study of Seoul

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hee Jin Yang

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Two contrasting theories purport to explain the effects of neighborhood non-residential use on residential property values. In traditional zoning theory, separating land from commercial land use is considered to protect residential environments from negative externalities such as noise, litter, and congestion. By contrast, contemporary planning principles including Smart Growth emphasize positive impacts of mixed land use on residential environment, which lead to more walkable and sustainable communities. This study attempts to empirically investigate how positive and negative externalities of commercial land use, referred to as “proximity effects” and “disamenity effects” respectively, affect residential land values. Using data gathered in Seoul, we pay attention to two particular aspects of commercial land use: spatial concentration and neighborhood scale. Spatial concentration is determined by the number of commercial employees present in the buffer zone around an individual residential parcel. We model four geographically distinct neighborhood scales as we compare spatial concentrations in and across commercial zones. Quadratic regression analyses of our data show the trade-off relationship that a higher spatial concentration of commercial land use in a neighborhood initially results in increased residential land values, but drops off beyond a threshold level by excessive noise or crowding.

Different Factors of Llap as a Geographic Region

OpenAIRE

, F. Isufi; , S. Halimi; , F. Humolli

2011-01-01

In this work attempts were made to express in the best possible manner the factors which differentiate the Llap as geographic region. The Llap Region is located in the north-east of Kosovo. Within the ethnic geography, the Llap area is having peripheric position, but within the Balkan Penninsula it is having a central position, while along Llap goes the Highway which connects Kosovo and Serbia. The Llap region has important natural conditions; such as very good geographic position, running an...

Integrating remote sensing, geographic information systems and global positioning system techniques with hydrological modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Jay Krishna; Singh, Sudhir Kumar; Ekanthalu, Vicky Shettigondahalli

2017-07-01

Integration of remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning system (GPS) are emerging research areas in the field of groundwater hydrology, resource management, environmental monitoring and during emergency response. Recent advancements in the fields of RS, GIS, GPS and higher level of computation will help in providing and handling a range of data simultaneously in a time- and cost-efficient manner. This review paper deals with hydrological modeling, uses of remote sensing and GIS in hydrological modeling, models of integrations and their need and in last the conclusion. After dealing with these issues conceptually and technically, we can develop better methods and novel approaches to handle large data sets and in a better way to communicate information related with rapidly decreasing societal resources, i.e. groundwater.

The commercialization of natural gas for vehicles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wray, P.

1997-01-01

A successful NGV industry depends upon the skilled use of prime geographic and economic drivers. But a vital ingredient to a sustained and profitable industry is the pioneering example of the gas suppliers and the combined commercial skills of fleet operators equipment suppliers and government. The use of natural gas for vehicles must be long-term commercially viable both for the vehicles whole life cost and the refuelling stations capital investment. (au)

Negative Symptom Dimensions of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale Across Geographical Regions: Implications for Social, Linguistic, and Cultural Consistency

OpenAIRE

Khan, Anzalee; Liharska, Lora; Harvey, Philip D.; Atkins, Alexandra; Ulshen, Daniel; Keefe, Richard S.E.

2017-01-01

Objective: Recognizing the discrete dimensions that underlie negative symptoms in schizophrenia and how these dimensions are understood across localities might result in better understanding and treatment of these symptoms. To this end, the objectives of this study were to 1) identify the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale negative symptom dimensions of expressive deficits and experiential deficits and 2) analyze performance on these dimensions over 15 geographical regions to determine whet...

1H NMR and Multivariate Analysis for Geographic Characterization of Commercial Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A Possible Correlation with Climate Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domenico Rongai

2017-11-01

Full Text Available 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis has been applied in order to investigate metabolomic profiles of more than 200 extravirgin olive oils (EVOOs collected in a period of over four years (2009–2012 from different geographic areas. In particular, commercially blended EVOO samples originating from different Italian regions (Tuscany, Sicily and Apulia, as well as European (Spain and Portugal and non-European (Tunisia, Turkey, Chile and Australia countries. Multivariate statistical analysis (Principal Component Analisys (PCA and Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA applied on the NMR data revealed the existence of marked differences between Italian (in particular from Tuscany, Sicily and Apulia regions and foreign (in particular Tunisian EVOO samples. A possible correlation with available climate data has been also investigated. These results aim to develop a powerful NMR-based tool able to protect Italian olive oil productions.

Development of the OCRWM transportation geographic information system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peck, M. III; McGuinn, E.J.; Osborne, J.W.

1995-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is responsible for disposing of the nation's high-level radioactive waste. Current plans call for OCRWM to ship commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from 77 individual reactor sites to a central facility for disposal. The Transportation Geographic Information System (TGIS) is a valuable tool in planning for the SNF shipments and communicating with the public regarding the shipments. The TGIS consists of a geographic information system (GIS) combined with a set of databases that provide data on specific geographic areas, transportation networks, and point locations. Planning activities may include analyzing possible routing options or criteria, highlighting route-specific attributes such as the location of culturally sensitive areas, providing route-specific data such as accident statistics, determining the affected population density along a route to support risk assessment activities, or providing emergency response information such as responder locations and hospitals along the proposed routes. The TGIS is a useful communication tool in helping to address the public's concern over how the shipments will be managed, particularly in the area of route selection by providing graphic portrayals of potential routes in their true geographic contexts

Geographical differences in food allergy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartra, Joan; García-Moral, Alba; Enrique, Ernesto

2016-06-01

Food allergy represents a health problem worldwide and leads to life-threatening reactions and even impairs quality of life. Epidemiological data during the past decades is very heterogeneous because of the use of different diagnostic procedures, and most studies have only been performed in specific geographical areas. The aim of this article is to review the available data on the geographical distribution of food allergies at the food source and molecular level and to link food allergy patterns to the aeroallergen influence in each area. Systematic reviews, meta-analysis, studies performed within the EuroPrevall Project and EAACI position papers regarding food allergy were analysed. The prevalence of food allergy sensitization differs between geographical areas, probably as a consequence of differences among populations, their habits and the influence of the cross-reactivity of aeroallergens and other sources of allergens. Geographical differences in food allergy are clearly evident at the allergenic molecular level, which seems to be directly influenced by the aeroallergens of each region and associated with specific clinical patterns.

Understanding properties of commercial OSB products

Science.gov (United States)

Siqun Wang; Hongmei Gu; Trairat Neimsuwan

2004-01-01

Oriented strandboard (OSB) has gained increased market acceptance as a construction material in almost all geographical areas of Canada and United States. With its growing market, more and more research has been focused on the product’s manufacturing and performance. Commercial OSB products in U.S. and Canada are produced from different manufacturers with different...

Natural radionuclide distribution in Brazilian commercial granites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anjos, R.M.; Veiga, R.; Soares, T.; Santos, A.M.A.; Aguiar, J.G.; Frasca, M.H.B.O.; Brage, J.A.P.; Uzeda, D.; Mangia, L.; Facure, A.; Mosquera, B.; Carvalho, C.; Gomes, P.R.S.

2005-01-01

The dimension stones sector in Brazil produces several varieties of granites, marbles, slates and basalts. More than half of this production corresponds to around 200 different commercial types of granites with specific names, geographical and geological origins and mineral compositions. The well-known natural radioactivity present in rocks, where high radiation levels are associated with igneous rocks such as granite, can be used to determine their general petrologic features. This subject is important in environmental radiological protection, since granites are widely used as building and ornamental stones. In this paper, it is applied to correlate the petrographic characteristics of commercial granites with their corresponding dose rates for natural radioactivity. Amounts of thorium, uranium and potassium concentrations have been reported in several Brazilian commercial granite samples

The Data Reliability of Volunteered Geographic Information with Using Traffic Accident Data

Science.gov (United States)

Sevinç, H. K.; Karaş, I. R.

2017-11-01

The development of mobile technologies is important in the lives of humans. Mobile devices constitute a great part of the daily lives of people. It has come to such a point that when people first wake up, they check their smart phones for the first thing. Users may share their positions with the GNSS sensors in mobile devices or they can add information about their positions in mobile applications. Users contribute to Geographical Information System with this sharing. These users consist of native (citizens) living in that geographical position not of the CBS specialists. Creating, collecting, sharing and disseminating the geographical data provided by voluntary individuals constitute the Volunteered Geographic Information System. The data in the Volunteered Geographic Information System are received from amateur users. "How reliable will the data received from amateur users instead of specialists of the field be in scientific terms?" In this study, the reliability between the data received from the voluntary users through Volunteered Geographic Information System and real data is investigated. The real data consist of the traffic accident coordinates. The data that will be received from users will be received through the speed values in the relevant coordinates and the marking of the users for possible accident points on the map.

US Army Corps of Engineers Ports, Geographic WGS84, BTS (2006) [usace_port_BTS_2006

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — Contains physical information on commercial facilities at the principal U.S. Coastal, Great Lakes and Inland Ports. The data consists of listings of port area's...

Geographically widespread swordfish barcode stock identification: a case study of its application.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Maria Pappalardo

Full Text Available The swordfish (Xiphias gladius is a cosmopolitan large pelagic fish inhabiting tempered and tropical waters and it is a target species for fisheries all around the world. The present study investigated the ability of COI barcoding to reliably identify swordfish and particularly specific stocks of this commercially important species.We applied the classical DNA barcoding technology, upon a 682 bp segment of COI, and compared swordfish sequences from different geographical sources (Atlantic, Indian Oceans and Mediterranean Sea. The sequences of the 5' hyper-variable fragment of the control region (5'dloop, were also used to validate the efficacy of COI as a stock-specific marker.This information was successfully applied to the discrimination of unknown samples from the market, detecting in some cases mislabeled seafood products.The NJ distance-based phenogram (K2P model obtained with COI sequences allowed us to correlate the swordfish haplotypes to the different geographical stocks. Similar results were obtained with 5'dloop. Our preliminary data in swordfish Xiphias gladius confirm that Cytochrome Oxidase I can be proposed as an efficient species-specific marker that has also the potential to assign geographical provenance. This information might speed the samples analysis in commercial application of barcoding.

A novel method to rapidly distinguish the geographical origin of traditional fermented-salted vegetables by mass fingerprinting.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, So-Ra; Kim, Sung Hyun; Lee, Hae-Won; Ha, Ji-Hyoung

2017-01-01

The geographical origin of kimchi is of interest to consumers and producers because the prices of commercial kimchi products can vary significantly according to the geographical origin. Hence, social issues related to the geographical origin of kimchi in Korea have emerged as a major problem. In this study, the geographical origin of kimchi was determined by comparing the mass fingerprints obtained for Korean and Chinese kimchi samples by MALDI-TOF MS with multivariate analysis. The results obtained herein provide an accurate, powerful tool to clearly discriminate kimchi samples based on their geographical origin within a short time and to ensure food authenticity, which is of significance in the kimchi industry. Furthermore, our MALDI-TOF MS method could be applied to determining the geographical origin of other fermented-salted vegetables at a reduced cost in shorter times.

Clean Energy Innovation: Sources of Technical and Commercial Breakthroughs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perry, T. D., IV; Miller, M.; Fleming, L.; Younge, K.; Newcomb, J.

2011-03-01

Low-carbon energy innovation is essential to combat climate change, promote economic competitiveness, and achieve energy security. Using U.S. patent data and additional patent-relevant data collected from the Internet, we map the landscape of low-carbon energy innovation in the United States since 1975. We isolate 10,603 renewable and 10,442 traditional energy patents and develop a database that characterizes proxy measures for technical and commercial impact, as measured by patent citations and Web presence, respectively. Regression models and multivariate simulations are used to compare the social, institutional, and geographic drivers of breakthrough clean energy innovation. Results indicate statistically significant effects of social, institutional, and geographic variables on technical and commercial impacts of patents and unique innovation trends between different energy technologies. We observe important differences between patent citations and Web presence of licensed and unlicensed patents, indicating the potential utility of using screened Web hits as a measure of commercial importance. We offer hypotheses for these revealed differences and suggest a research agenda with which to test these hypotheses. These preliminary findings indicate that leveraging empirical insights to better target research expenditures would augment the speed and scale of innovation and deployment of clean energy technologies.

OLYMPUS DISS - A Readily Implemented Geographic Data and Information Sharing System

Science.gov (United States)

Necsoiu, D. M.; Winfrey, B.; Murphy, K.; McKague, H. L.

2002-12-01

Electronic information technology has become a crucial component of business, government, and scientific organizations. In this technology era, many enterprises are moving away from the perception that information repositories are only a tool for decision-making. Instead, many organizations are learning that information systems, which are capable of organizing and following the interrelations between information and both the short-term and strategic organizational goals, are assets themselves, with inherent value. Olympus Data and Information Sharing System (DISS) is a system developed at the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA) to solve several difficult tasks associated with the management of geographical, geological and geophysical data. Three of the tasks were to (1) gather the large amount of heterogeneous information that has accumulated over the operational lifespan of CNWRA, (2) store the data in a central, knowledge-based, searchable database and (3) create quick, easy, convenient, and reliable access to that information. Faced with these difficult tasks CNWRA identified the requirements for designing such a system. Key design criteria were: (a) ability to ingest different data formats (i.e., raster, vector, and tabular data); (b) minimal expense using open-source and commercial off-the-shelf software; (c) seamless management of geospatial data, freeing up time for researchers to focus on analyses or algorithm development, rather than on time consuming format conversions; (d) controlled access; and (e) scalable architecture to meet new and continuing demands. Olympus DISS is a solution that can be easily adapted to small and mid-size enterprises dealing with heterogeneous geographic data. It uses established data standards, provides a flexible mechanism to build applications upon and output geographic data in multiple and clear ways. This abstract is an independent product of the CNWRA and does not necessarily reflect the views or

Antibody responses to Borrelia burgdorferi detected by western blot vary geographically in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogden, Nicholas H; Arsenault, Julie; Hatchette, Todd F; Mechai, Samir; Lindsay, L Robbin

2017-01-01

Lyme disease is emerging in eastern and central Canada, and most cases are diagnosed using the two-tier serological test (Enzyme Immuno Assay [EIA] followed by Western blot [WB]). Simplification of this algorithm would be advantageous unless it impacts test performance. In this study, accuracy of individual proteins of the IgG WB algorithm in predicting the overall test result in samples from Canadians was assessed. Because Borrelia burgdorferi strains vary geographically in Canada, geographic variations in serological responses were also explored. Metrics of relative sensitivity, specificity and the kappa statistic measure of concordance were used to assess the capacity of responses to individual proteins to predict the overall IgG WB result of 2524 EIA (C6)-positive samples from across Canada. Geographic and interannual variations in proportions of samples testing positive were explored by logistic regression. No one protein was highly concordant with the IgG WB result. Significant variations were found amongst years and geographic regions in the prevalence of samples testing positive using the overall IgG WB algorithm, and for individual proteins of the algorithm. In most cases the prevalence of samples testing positive were highest in Nova Scotia, and lower in samples from Manitoba westwards. These findings suggest that the current two tier test may not be simplified and continued use of the current two-tier test method and interpretation is recommended. Geographic and interannual variations in the prevalence of samples testing positive may be consistent with B. burgdorferi strain variation in Canada, and further studies are needed to explore this.

Antibody responses to Borrelia burgdorferi detected by western blot vary geographically in Canada.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas H Ogden

Full Text Available Lyme disease is emerging in eastern and central Canada, and most cases are diagnosed using the two-tier serological test (Enzyme Immuno Assay [EIA] followed by Western blot [WB]. Simplification of this algorithm would be advantageous unless it impacts test performance. In this study, accuracy of individual proteins of the IgG WB algorithm in predicting the overall test result in samples from Canadians was assessed. Because Borrelia burgdorferi strains vary geographically in Canada, geographic variations in serological responses were also explored. Metrics of relative sensitivity, specificity and the kappa statistic measure of concordance were used to assess the capacity of responses to individual proteins to predict the overall IgG WB result of 2524 EIA (C6-positive samples from across Canada. Geographic and interannual variations in proportions of samples testing positive were explored by logistic regression. No one protein was highly concordant with the IgG WB result. Significant variations were found amongst years and geographic regions in the prevalence of samples testing positive using the overall IgG WB algorithm, and for individual proteins of the algorithm. In most cases the prevalence of samples testing positive were highest in Nova Scotia, and lower in samples from Manitoba westwards. These findings suggest that the current two tier test may not be simplified and continued use of the current two-tier test method and interpretation is recommended. Geographic and interannual variations in the prevalence of samples testing positive may be consistent with B. burgdorferi strain variation in Canada, and further studies are needed to explore this.

ESSCOTS for Learning: Transforming Commercial Software into Powerful Educational Tools.

Science.gov (United States)

McArthur, David; And Others

1995-01-01

Gives an overview of Educational Support Systems based on commercial off-the-shelf software (ESSCOTS), and discusses the benefits of developing such educational software. Presents results of a study that revealed the learning processes of middle and high school students who used a geographical information system. (JMV)

Ubiquitous positioning

CERN Document Server

Mannings, Robin

2008-01-01

This groundbreaking resource offers a practical, in-depth understanding of Ubiquitous Positioning - positioning systems that identify the location and position of people, vehicles and objects in time and space in the digitized networked economy. The future and growth of ubiquitous positioning will be fueled by the convergence of many other areas of technology, from mobile telematics, Internet technology, and location systems, to sensing systems, geographic information systems, and the semantic web. This first-of-its-kind volume explores ubiquitous positioning from a convergence perspective, of

Preliminary Study on Secure Intranet Geographical Information System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyun Tae; Park, Jee Won; Ko Han Suk

2005-01-01

A Geographical Information System (GIS) is usually defined as an information system for capturing, checking, storing, retrieving, manipulating, analyzing, and displaying spatial and relevant non-spatial data. Here 'spatial' means 'geo-referenced to the earth'. It is estimated that about 80% of the data used in business and government are of spatial type. The georeferenced information on sensitive location is usually protected as the highest level of confidentiality by the most information system. This paper discusses a commercial satellite imagery based secure Intranet GIS which runs the Microsoft .NET technology

Mixed stock analysis of Lake Michigan's Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis commercial fishery

Science.gov (United States)

Andvik, Ryan; Sloss, Brian L.; VanDeHey, Justin A.; Claramunt, Randall M.; Hansen, Scott P.; Isermann, Daniel A.

2016-01-01

Lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) support the primary commercial fishery in Lake Michigan. Discrete genetic stocks of lake whitefish have been identified and tagging data suggest stocks are mixed throughout much of the year. Our objectives were to determine if (1) differential stock harvest occurs in the commercial catch, (2) spatial differences in genetic composition of harvested fish were present, and (3) seasonal differences were present in the harvest by commercial fisheries that operate in management zones WI-2 and WFM-01 (Green Bay, Lake Michigan). Mixed stock analysis was conducted on 17 commercial harvest samples (n = 78–145/sample) collected from various ports lake-wide during 2009–2010. Results showed significant mixing with variability in stock composition across most samples. Samples consisted of two to four genetic stocks each accounting for ≥ 10% the catch. In 10 of 17 samples, the stock contributing the largest proportion made up differences existed in the proportional stock contribution at a single capture location. Samples from Wisconsin's primary commercial fishing management zone (WI-2) were composed predominately of fish from the Big Bay de Noc (Michigan) stock as opposed to the geographically proximate, North–Moonlight Bay (Wisconsin) stock. These findings have implications for management and allocation of fish to various quotas. Specifically, geographic location of harvest, the current means of allocating harvest quotas, is not the best predictor of genetic stock harvest.

Geographic Names

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, provides...

Geographical markers for Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with similar technological origins domesticated for rice-based ethnic fermented beverages production in North East India.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeyaram, Kumaraswamy; Tamang, Jyoti Prakash; Capece, Angela; Romano, Patrizia

2011-11-01

Autochthonous strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from traditional starters used for the production of rice-based ethnic fermented beverage in North East India were examined for their genetic polymorphism using mitochondrial DNA-RFLP and electrophoretic karyotyping. Mitochondrial DNA-RFLP analysis of S. cerevisiae strains with similar technological origins from hamei starter of Manipur and marcha starter of Sikkim revealed widely separated clusters based on their geographical origin. Electrophoretic karyotyping showed high polymorphism amongst the hamei strains within similar mitochondrial DNA-RFLP cluster and one unique karyotype of marcha strain was widely distributed in the Sikkim-Himalayan region. We conceptualized the possibility of separate domestication events for hamei strains in Manipur (located in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot) and marcha strains in Sikkim (located in Himalayan biodiversity hotspot), as a consequence of less homogeneity in the genomic structure between these two groups, their clear separation being based on geographical origin, but not on technological origin and low strain level diversity within each group. The molecular markers developed based on HinfI-mtDNA-RFLP profile and the chromosomal doublets in chromosome VIII position of Sikkim-Himalayan strains could be effectively used as geographical markers for authenticating the above starter strains and differentiating them from other commercial strains.

Geographic Media Literacy

Science.gov (United States)

Lukinbeal, Chris

2014-01-01

While the use of media permeates geographic research and pedagogic practice, the underlying literacies that link geography and media remain uncharted. This article argues that geographic media literacy incorporates visual literacy, information technology literacy, information literacy, and media literacy. Geographic media literacy is the ability…

Prediction Schemes to Enhance the Routing Process in Geographical GPSR Ad Hoc Protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raed Saqour

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Geographical routing protocols have received a serious attention due to more advantages they have in comparison to the conventional routing protocols. They require information about the physical position of nodes needed to be available. Commonly, each node determines its own position through the use of Global Positioning System (GPS or some other type of positioning service. Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing (GPSR protocol, which is one of geographical routing protocols, limits the forwarding decision of the packet based on the node's own position, the destination's position and the position of the forwarding node's neighbors. Location information has some inaccuracy depending on the localization system and the environment exists in. This paper aims to study the impact of mobility metrics (beacon interval, and node speed on introducing location information error in GPSR protocol using different mobility models. The effect of these metrics is identified in GPSR as Neighbor Break Link (NBL problem. Based on simulation analysis, mobility prediction schemes are proposed to migrate the observed problem.

Analyzing the Relationship of Geographic Mobility and Institutional Prestige to Career Advancement of Women in Academic Medicine Pursuing Midcareer-, Senior-, or Executive-Level Administrative Positions: Implications for Career Advancement Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, Marsha Renee

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of geographic mobility and institutional prestige to career advancement defined as administrative promotions of women seeking midcareer-, senior-, or executive-level positions at academic health centers (AHCs) and their medical schools or in non-AHC related medical schools in the United…

Random-growth urban model with geographical fitness

Science.gov (United States)

Kii, Masanobu; Akimoto, Keigo; Doi, Kenji

2012-12-01

This paper formulates a random-growth urban model with a notion of geographical fitness. Using techniques of complex-network theory, we study our system as a type of preferential-attachment model with fitness, and we analyze its macro behavior to clarify the properties of the city-size distributions it predicts. First, restricting the geographical fitness to take positive values and using a continuum approach, we show that the city-size distributions predicted by our model asymptotically approach Pareto distributions with coefficients greater than unity. Then, allowing the geographical fitness to take negative values, we perform local coefficient analysis to show that the predicted city-size distributions can deviate from Pareto distributions, as is often observed in actual city-size distributions. As a result, the model we propose can generate a generic class of city-size distributions, including but not limited to Pareto distributions. For applications to city-population projections, our simple model requires randomness only when new cities are created, not during their subsequent growth. This property leads to smooth trajectories of city population growth, in contrast to other models using Gibrat’s law. In addition, a discrete form of our dynamical equations can be used to estimate past city populations based on present-day data; this fact allows quantitative assessment of the performance of our model. Further study is needed to determine appropriate formulas for the geographical fitness.

A Framework for Conceptual Modeling of Geographic Data Quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friis-Christensen, Anders; Christensen, J.V.; Jensen, Christian Søndergaard

2004-01-01

Sustained advances in wireless communications, geo-positioning, and consumer electronics pave the way to a kind of location-based service that relies on the tracking of the continuously changing positions of an entire population of service users. This type of service is characterized by large...... an object is moving. Empirical performance studies based on a real road network and GPS logs from cars areThe notion of data quality is of particular importance to geographic data. One reason is that such data is often inherently imprecise. Another is that the usability of the data is in large part...... determined by how "good" the data is, as different applications of geographic data require different qualities of the data are met. Such qualities concern the object level as well as the attribute level of the data. This paper presents a systematic and integrated approach to the conceptual modeling...

Prediction of Genes Related to Positive Selection Using Whole-Genome Resequencing in Three Commercial Pig Breeds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HyoYoung Kim

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Selective sweep can cause genetic differentiation across populations, which allows for the identification of possible causative regions/genes underlying important traits. The pig has experienced a long history of allele frequency changes through artificial selection in the domestication process. We obtained an average of 329,482,871 sequence reads for 24 pigs from three pig breeds: Yorkshire (n = 5, Landrace (n = 13, and Duroc (n = 6. An average read depth of 11.7 was obtained using whole-genome resequencing on an Illumina HiSeq2000 platform. In this study, cross-population extended haplotype homozygosity and cross-population composite likelihood ratio tests were implemented to detect genes experiencing positive selection for the genome-wide resequencing data generated from three commercial pig breeds. In our results, 26, 7, and 14 genes from Yorkshire, Landrace, and Duroc, respectively were detected by two kinds of statistical tests. Significant evidence for positive selection was identified on genes ST6GALNAC2 and EPHX1 in Yorkshire, PARK2 in Landrace, and BMP6, SLA-DQA1, and PRKG1 in Duroc.These genes are reportedly relevant to lactation, reproduction, meat quality, and growth traits. To understand how these single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs related positive selection affect protein function, we analyzed the effect of non-synonymous SNPs. Three SNPs (rs324509622, rs80931851, and rs80937718 in the SLA-DQA1 gene were significant in the enrichment tests, indicating strong evidence for positive selection in Duroc. Our analyses identified genes under positive selection for lactation, reproduction, and meat-quality and growth traits in Yorkshire, Landrace, and Duroc, respectively.

Globalization in history : a geographical perspective

OpenAIRE

Crafts, N. F. R.; Venables, Anthony

2001-01-01

This paper argues that a geographical perspectie is fundamental to understanding comparative economic development in the context of globalization. Central to this view is the role of agglomeration in productivity performance; size and location matter. The tools of the new economic geography are used to illuminate important epidsodes when the relative position of major eeconmies radically changed; the rise of the United States at the beginning and of East Asia at the end of the twentieth centu...

A geographic information system-based 3D city estate modeling and simulation system

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Xiaoli; Li, Sha

2015-12-01

This paper introduces a 3D city simulation system which is based on geographic information system (GIS), covering all commercial housings of the city. A regional- scale, GIS-based approach is used to capture, describe, and track the geographical attributes of each house in the city. A sorting algorithm of "Benchmark + Parity Rate" is developed to cluster houses with similar spatial and construction attributes. This system is applicable for digital city modeling, city planning, housing evaluation, housing monitoring, and visualizing housing transaction. Finally, taking Jingtian area of Shenzhen as an example, the each unit of 35,997 houses in the area could be displayed, tagged, and easily tracked by the GIS-based city modeling and simulation system. The match market real conditions well and can be provided to house buyers as reference.

The Effect of Geographic Units of Analysis on Measuring Geographic Variation in Medical Services Utilization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnus M. Kim

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the effect of geographic units of analysis on measuring geographic variation in medical services utilization. For this purpose, we compared geographic variations in the rates of eight major procedures in administrative units (districts and new areal units organized based on the actual health care use of the population in Korea. Methods: To compare geographic variation in geographic units of analysis, we calculated the age–sex standardized rates of eight major procedures (coronary artery bypass graft surgery, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, surgery after hip fracture, knee-replacement surgery, caesarean section, hysterectomy, computed tomography scan, and magnetic resonance imaging scan from the National Health Insurance database in Korea for the 2013 period. Using the coefficient of variation, the extremal quotient, and the systematic component of variation, we measured geographic variation for these eight procedures in districts and new areal units. Results: Compared with districts, new areal units showed a reduction in geographic variation. Extremal quotients and inter-decile ratios for the eight procedures were lower in new areal units. While the coefficient of variation was lower for most procedures in new areal units, the pattern of change of the systematic component of variation between districts and new areal units differed among procedures. Conclusions: Geographic variation in medical service utilization could vary according to the geographic unit of analysis. To determine how geographic characteristics such as population size and number of geographic units affect geographic variation, further studies are needed.

Geographical information systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Möller, Bernd

2004-01-01

The chapter gives an introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with particular focus on their application within environmental management.......The chapter gives an introduction to Geographical Information Systems (GIS) with particular focus on their application within environmental management....

Relationship between Air Pollution and Weather Conditions under Complicated Geographical conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Q.; Jiang, P.; Li, M.

2017-12-01

Air pollution is one of the most serious issues all over the world, especially in megacities with constrained geographical conditions for air pollution diffusion. However, the dynamic mechanism of air pollution diffusion under complicated geographical conditions is still be confused. Researches to explore relationship between air pollution and weather conditions from the perspective of local atmospheric circulations can contribute more to solve such problem. We selected three megacities (Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou) under different geographical condition (mountain-plain transition region, coastal alluvial plain and coastal hilly terrain) to explore the relationship between air pollution and weather conditions. RDA (Redundancy analysis) model was used to analyze how the local atmospheric circulation acts on the air pollutant diffusion. The results show that there was a positive correlation between the concentration of air pollutants and air pressure, while temperature, precipitation and wind speed have negative correlations with the concentration of air pollutants. Furthermore, geographical conditions, such as topographic relief, have significant effects on the direction, path and intensity of local atmospheric circulation. As a consequence, air pollutants diffusion modes in different cities under various geographical conditions are diverse from each other.

Geographic Ontologies, Gazetteers and Multilingualism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Laurini

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Different languages imply different visions of space, so that terminologies are different in geographic ontologies. In addition to their geometric shapes, geographic features have names, sometimes different in diverse languages. In addition, the role of gazetteers, as dictionaries of place names (toponyms, is to maintain relations between place names and location. The scope of geographic information retrieval is to search for geographic information not against a database, but against the whole Internet: but the Internet stores information in different languages, and it is of paramount importance not to remain stuck to a unique language. In this paper, our first step is to clarify the links between geographic objects as computer representations of geographic features, ontologies and gazetteers designed in various languages. Then, we propose some inference rules for matching not only types, but also relations in geographic ontologies with the assistance of gazetteers.

Commercialization of sustainable energy technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balachandra, P.; Kristle Nathan, Hippu Salk; Reddy, B. Sudhakara

2010-01-01

Commercialization efforts to diffuse sustainable energy technologies (SETs) have so far remained as the biggest challenge in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency. Limited success of diffusion through government driven pathways urges the need for market based approaches. This paper reviews the existing state of commercialization of SETs in the backdrop of the basic theory of technology diffusion. The different SETs in India are positioned in the technology diffusion map to reflect their slow state of commercialization. The dynamics of SET market is analysed to identify the issues, barriers and stakeholders in the process of SET commercialization. By upgrading the 'potential adopters' to 'techno-entrepreneurs', the study presents the mechanisms for adopting a private sector driven 'business model' approach for successful diffusion of SETs. This is expected to integrate the processes of market transformation and entrepreneurship development with innovative regulatory, marketing, financing, incentive and delivery mechanisms leading to SET commercialization. (author)

Spatial variation of vulnerability in geographic areas of North Lebanon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Issa, Sahar; van der Molen, I.; Nader, M.R.; Lovett, Jonathan Cranidge

2014-01-01

This paper examines the spatial variation in vulnerability between different geographical areas of the northern coastal region of Lebanon within the context of armed conflict. The study is based on the ‘vulnerability of space’ approach and will be positioned in the academic debate on vulnerability

Geographic Information/GIS Institutionalization in the 50 States: Users and Coordinators (95-11)

OpenAIRE

Warnecke, Lisa

1995-01-01

This report analyzes recent information about the use and institutionalization of geographic information and related technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS), satellite imagery and the global positioning system (GI/GIS) in the 50 state governments. The devolution of federal responsibilities and activism by state governments are increasing the role of states in GI/GIS, as well as in the nation's governance in general.  An organizational chart for each state was prepar...

Geographic variation in health insurance benefits in Qianjiang District, China: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yue; Zhang, Liang; Liu, Xuejiao; Ye, Ting; Wang, Yongfei

2018-02-05

Health insurance contributes to reducing the economic burden of disease and improving access to healthcare. In 2016, the Chinese government announced the integration of the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) and Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) to reduce system segmentation. Nevertheless, it was unclear whether there would be any geographic variation in health insurance benefits if the two types of insurance were integrated. The aim of this study was to identify the potential geographic variation in health insurance benefits and the related contributing factors. This cross-sectional study was carried out in Qianjiang District, where the NCMS and URBMI were integrated into Urban and Rural Resident Basic Medical Insurance Scheme (URRBMI) in 2010. All beneficiaries under the URRBMI were hospitalized at least once in 2013, totaling 445,254 persons and 65,877 person-times, were included in this study. Town-level data on health insurance benefits, healthcare utilization, and socioeconomic and geographical characteristics were collected through health insurance system, self-report questionnaires, and the 2014 Statistical Yearbook of Qianjiang District. A simplified Theil index at town level was calculated to measure geographic variation in health insurance benefits. Colored maps were created to visualize the variation in geographic distribution of benefits. The effects of healthcare utilization and socioeconomic and geographical characteristics on geographic variation in health insurance benefits were estimated with a multiple linear regression analysis. Different Theil index values were calculated for different towns, and the Theil index values for compensation by person-times and amount were 2.5028 and 1.8394 in primary healthcare institutions and 1.1466 and 0.9204 in secondary healthcare institutions. Healthcare-seeking behavior and economic factors were positively associated with health insurance benefits in compensation by person-times significantly

Finding food: Issues and challenges in using Geographic Information Systems to measure food access

OpenAIRE

Forsyth, Ann; Lytle, Leslie; Riper, David Van

2010-01-01

A significant amount of travel is undertaken to find food. This paper examines challenges in measuring access to food using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), important in studies of both travel and eating behavior. It compares different sources of data available including fieldwork, land use and parcel data, licensing information, commercial listings, taxation data, and online street-level photographs. It proposes methods to classify different kinds of food sales places in a way that says...

Similarity of trajectories taking into account geographic context

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Maike Buchin

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The movements of animals, people, and vehicles are embedded in a geographic context. This context influences the movement and may cause the formation of certain behavioral responses. Thus, it is essential to include context parameters in the study of movement and the development of movement pattern analytics. Advances in sensor technologies and positioning devices provide valuable data not only of moving agents but also of the circumstances embedding the movement in space and time. Developing knowledge discovery methods to investigate the relation between movement and its surrounding context is a major challenge in movement analysis today. In this paper we show how to integrate geographic context into the similarity analysis of movement data. For this, we discuss models for geographic context of movement data. Based on this we develop simple but efficient context-aware similarity measures for movement trajectories, which combine a spatial and a contextual distance. These are based on well-known similarity measures for trajectories, such as the Hausdorff, Fréchet, or equal time distance. We validate our approach by applying these measures to movement data of hurricanes and albatross.

AN ENCODING METHOD FOR COMPRESSING GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES IN 3D SPACE

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C. Qian

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper proposed an encoding method for compressing geographical coordinates in 3D space. By the way of reducing the length of geographical coordinates, it helps to lessen the storage size of geometry information. In addition, the encoding algorithm subdivides the whole space according to octree rules, which enables progressive transmission and loading. Three main steps are included in this method: (1 subdividing the whole 3D geographic space based on octree structure, (2 resampling all the vertices in 3D models, (3 encoding the coordinates of vertices with a combination of Cube Index Code (CIC and Geometry Code. A series of geographical 3D models were applied to evaluate the encoding method. The results showed that this method reduced the storage size of most test data by 90 % or even more under the condition of a speed of encoding and decoding. In conclusion, this method achieved a remarkable compression rate in vertex bit size with a steerable precision loss. It shall be of positive meaning to the web 3d map storing and transmission.

PlanetLab Europe as Geographically-Distributed Testbed for Software Development and Evaluation

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Dan Komosny

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we analyse the use of PlanetLab Europe for development and evaluation of geographically-oriented Internet services. PlanetLab is a global research network with the main purpose to support development of new Internet services and protocols. PlanetLab is divided into several branches; one of them is PlanetLab Europe. PlanetLab Europe consists of about 350 nodes at 150 geographically different sites. The nodes are accessible by remote login, and the users can run their software on the nodes. In the paper, we study the PlanetLab's properties that are significant for its use as a geographically distributed testbed. This includes node position accuracy, services availability and stability. We find a considerable number of location inaccuracies and a number of services that cannot be considered as reliable. Based on the results we propose a simple approach to nodes selection in testbeds for geographically-oriented Internet services development and evaluation.

House Prices, Geographical Mobility, and Unemployment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ingholt, Marcus Mølbak

2017-01-01

Geographical mobility correlates positively with house prices and negatively with unemployment over the U.S. business cycle. I present a DSGE model in which declining house prices and tight credit conditions impede the mobility of indebted workers. This reduces the workers’ cross-area competition...... for jobs, causing wages and unemployment to rise. A Bayesian estimation shows that this channel more than quadruples the response of unemployment to adverse housing market shocks. The estimation also shows that adverse housing market shocks caused the decline in mobility during the Great Recession. Absent...

Geographic mobility advances careers: study of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program for women.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, Marsha R; Morahan, Page S; Dannels, Sharon A; McDade, Sharon A

2013-11-01

To explore whether geographic mobility is associated with career advancement of women in U.S. medical schools who are entering mid- to executive-level positions. Using an existing dataset of 351 participants in academic medicine who attended the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women (1996-2005) (adjusted to 345 participants in some analyses because data on initial faculty rank were missing), the authors conducted a quantitative study in 2009 to determine whether geographic mobility was associated with administrative promotion for those who relocated geographically (from employer while attending ELAM to employer at last job of record). Twenty-four percent of women (83/345) relocated geographically (movers) after attending ELAM. Moving had a positive association with career advancement (P = .001); odds for promotion were 168% higher for movers than for stayers [odds ratio Exp(β) = 2.684]. Movers attained higher administrative positions (P = .003), and more movers (60%) were promoted at the most recent job compared with stayers (40%) (P = .0001). Few movers changed city size; 70% already resided in large or urban cities where most medical schools are located. Age was not a barrier to mobility. Career advancement was not related to research reputation (National Institutes of Health grant award ranking) of participants' schools (either at time of attending ELAM or post-ELAM). Similar to findings outside academic medicine, 24% of women classified as geographic "movers" among midcareer faculty in medical schools attained career advantages. Psychosocial and socioeconomic factors underlying women's relocation decisions require additional study.

Pygrass: An Object Oriented Python Application Programming Interface (API for Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS Geographic Information System (GIS

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Marco Ciolli

2013-03-01

Full Text Available PyGRASS is an object-oriented Python Application Programming Interface (API for Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS Geographic Information System (GIS, a powerful open source GIS widely used in academia, commercial settings and governmental agencies. We present the architecture of the PyGRASS library, covering interfaces to GRASS modules, vector and raster data, with a focus on the new capabilities that it provides to GRASS users and developers. Our design concept of the module interface allows the direct linking of inputs and outputs of GRASS modules to create process chains, including compatibility checks, process control and error handling. The module interface was designed to be easily extended to work with remote processing services (Web Processing Service (WPS, Web Service Definition Language (WSDL/Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP. The new object-oriented Python programming API introduces an abstract layer that opens the possibility to use and access transparently the efficient raster and vector functions of GRASS that are implemented in C. The design goal was to provide an easy to use, but powerful, Python interface for users and developers who are not familiar with the programming language C and with the GRASS C-API. We demonstrate the capabilities, scalability and performance of PyGRASS with several dedicated tests and benchmarks. We compare and discuss the results of the benchmarks with dedicated C implementations.

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES INFORMATION SYSTEM (GNIS) ...

Science.gov (United States)

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), contains information about physical and cultural geographic features in the United States and associated areas, both current and historical, but not including roads and highways. The database also contains geographic names in Antarctica. The database holds the Federally recognized name of each feature and defines the location of the feature by state, county, USGS topographic map, and geographic coordinates. Other feature attributes include names or spellings other than the official name, feature designations, feature class, historical and descriptive information, and for some categories of features the geometric boundaries. The database assigns a unique feature identifier, a random number, that is a key for accessing, integrating, or reconciling GNIS data with other data sets. The GNIS is our Nation's official repository of domestic geographic feature names information.

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH OF THE COMMERCIAL AVIATION INDUSTRY IN MALAYSIA USING A SYSTEM DYNAMICS APPROACH

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B. S. TAN

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The environmental impact of the commercial aviation industry for an emerging economy like Malaysia is under-studied. The focus on the subject has thus far concentrated either on non geographical performance of the aviation industry or technical performance of aircrafts and that leaves the sustainability of the commercial aviation industry for an economy, or more specifically, an emerging economy least understood. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the sustainability of the growth of the commercial aviation industry in Malaysia and its impact upon the environment using a system dynamics approach. VENSIM is employed to model the commercial aviation industry in Malaysia as a dynamic system to evaluate the CO2 emitted from each component within the industry in order to forecast its overall CO2 emission. Results from the analysis show that sustainable growth can be affected by adopting short and long term strategies identified in this study.

The economic-geographical and environmental polarization as a factor of new functional relations between areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milinčić Miroljub A.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Geographical clustering, in the way of economic-geographical polarization represents regular and positive process of development of human society. These processes are characterized by stressed intensity, together with relatively short time dimension at the territory of Serbia. Extreme recent ecological polarization is the main consequence of this type of recomposition of economic-geographical elements in the territory of Serbia. At the one hand, anthropogenic or socio-economic areas (locations, axis and crossroads of development are formed, together with the numerous ecological problems as developing barriers, while at the other hand are territories of economic-geographical stagnation also with satisfying quality of basic natural resources and environmental condition. These differences generates and permanently increases their spatial, resource and ecological interdependence.

Volunteered Geographic Information in Wikipedia

Science.gov (United States)

Hardy, Darren

2010-01-01

Volunteered geographic information (VGI) refers to the geographic subset of online user-generated content. Through Geobrowsers and online mapping services, which use geovisualization and Web technologies to share and produce VGI, a global digital commons of geographic information has emerged. A notable example is Wikipedia, an online collaborative…

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) for Lousiana, Geographic NAD83, USGS (2007) [GNIS_LA_USGS_2007

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Geographical Determinants of Kaprije and Kakan Islands and Adjacent Islets, Croatia

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Damir Magaš

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The islands of Kaprije (6.97 km2 and Kakan (3.12 km2 are part of Šibenik islands, situated in the South Croatian (Dalmatian archipelago. The paper deals with their natural-geographical basis in function of past development and potential one, within the framework of the project on small Croatian islands. Besides analysing their size and extent, the authors emphasize the importance of their geographical position, geologic composition and structure, geomorphologic, climatic, pedological, hydrogeographical and biogeographical characteristics. The importance of their carbonate structure, mediterranean climatic conditions, lack of water and importance of their autochthonous vegetation are analysed in the same function. Population, building of settlements and weekend houses, as well as land use on the islands mostly depend on their natural-geographic resources. The recent possibilities of development are also based on them. Depopulation and deagrarisation impact the landscape of the island, especially the settled island of Kaprije, which is being radically changed. Strong connection between the town of Šibenik and Kaprije Island, which essentially influenced historical-geographical development of the island, also effects the contemporary development, especially through a strong gravitational influence of Šibenik.

Analysis of Greedy Decision Making for Geographic Routing for Networks of Randomly Moving Objects

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Amber Israr

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Autonomous and self-organizing wireless ad-hoc communication networks for moving objects consist of nodes, which use no centralized network infrastructure. Examples of moving object networks are networks of flying objects, networks of vehicles, networks of moving people or robots. Moving object networks have to face many critical challenges in terms of routing because of dynamic topological changes and asymmetric networks links. A suitable and effective routing mechanism helps to extend the deployment of moving nodes. In this paper an attempt has been made to analyze the performance of the Greedy Decision method (position aware distance based algorithm for geographic routing for network nodes moving according to the random waypoint mobility model. The widely used GPSR (Greedy Packet Stateless Routing protocol utilizes geographic distance and position based data of nodes to transmit packets towards destination nodes. In this paper different scenarios have been tested to develop a concrete set of recommendations for optimum deployment of distance based Greedy Decision of Geographic Routing in randomly moving objects network

Changes at the National Geographic Society

Science.gov (United States)

Schwille, Kathleen

2016-01-01

For more than 125 years, National Geographic has explored the planet, unlocking its secrets and sharing them with the world. For almost thirty of those years, National Geographic has been committed to K-12 educators and geographic education through its Network of Alliances. As National Geographic begins a new chapter, they remain committed to the…

Emergence of a New Population of Rathayibacter toxicus: An Ecologically Complex, Geographically Isolated Bacterium

OpenAIRE

Arif, Mohammad; Busot, Grethel Y.; Mann, Rachel; Rodoni, Brendan; Liu, Sanzhen; Stack, James P.

2016-01-01

Rathayibacter toxicus is a gram-positive bacterium that infects the floral parts of several Poaceae species in Australia. Bacterial ooze is often produced on the surface of infected plants and bacterial galls are produced in place of seed. R. toxicus is a regulated plant pathogen in the U.S. yet reliable detection and diagnostic tools are lacking. To better understand this geographically-isolated plant pathogen, genetic variation as a function of geographic location, host species, and date of...

Conceptual Model of Dynamic Geographic Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martínez-Rosales Miguel Alejandro

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In geographic environments, there are many and different types of geographic entities such as automobiles, trees, persons, buildings, storms, hurricanes, etc. These entities can be classified into two groups: geographic objects and geographic phenomena. By its nature, a geographic environment is dynamic, thus, it’s static modeling is not sufficient. Considering the dynamics of geographic environment, a new type of geographic entity called event is introduced. The primary target is a modeling of geographic environment as an event sequence, because in this case the semantic relations are much richer than in the case of static modeling. In this work, the conceptualization of this model is proposed. It is based on the idea to process each entity apart instead of processing the environment as a whole. After that, the so called history of each entity and its spatial relations to other entities are defined to describe the whole environment. The main goal is to model systems at a conceptual level that make use of spatial and temporal information, so that later it can serve as the semantic engine for such systems.

Geographic profiling as a novel spatial tool for targeting infectious disease control

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Fuller Douglas O

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Geographic profiling is a statistical tool originally developed in criminology to prioritise large lists of suspects in cases of serial crime. Here, we use two data sets - one historical and one modern - to show how it can be used to locate the sources of infectious disease. Results First, we re-analyse data from a classic epidemiological study, the 1854 London cholera outbreak. Using 321 disease sites as input, we evaluate the locations of 13 neighbourhood water pumps. The Broad Street pump - the outbreak's source- ranks first, situated in the top 0.2% of the geoprofile. We extend our study with an analysis of reported malaria cases in Cairo, Egypt, using 139 disease case locations to rank 59 mosquitogenic local water sources, seven of which tested positive for the vector Anopheles sergentii. Geographic profiling ranks six of these seven sites in positions 1-6, all in the top 2% of the geoprofile. In both analyses the method outperformed other measures of spatial central tendency. Conclusions We suggest that geographic profiling could form a useful component of integrated control strategies relating to a wide variety of infectious diseases, since evidence-based targeting of interventions is more efficient, environmentally friendly and cost-effective than untargeted intervention.

Geographical influences on content of 10-hydroxy-trans-2-decenoic acid in royal jelly in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Wen-Ting; Hu, Yuan-Qiang; Zheng, Huo-Qing; Cao, Lian-Fei; Hu, Fu-Liang; Hepburn, H Randall

2013-10-01

The content of 10-hydroxy-trans-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), a marker compound in royal jelly (RJ), is the most important criterion in grading RJ for commercial trade and varies with its origin. To identify the effect of geographical origin on 10-HDA content in RJ, 138 samples were collected from 19 provinces of China (divided into three groups) produced by either Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola, 1806 or a hybrid of A. m. ligustica and Apis mellifera carnica Pollman, 1879 and analyzed for moisture, sugar, crude protein, ash, acid, and 10-HDA concentration. The results show that RJ from western China has a significantly higher 10-HDA level (2.01 +/- 0.05%) than those from northeastern (1.87 +/- 0.05%) and eastern (1.75 +/- 0.03%) China. RJ secreted by hybrid bees contained more 10-HDA (1.89 +/- 0.03%) than that secreted by A. m. ligustica (1.78 +/- 0.03%). The 10-HDA content of RJ produced during flowering of rape (Brassica campestris L.), lime (Tilia amurensis Ruprecht), and vitex (Vitex negundo L. variety heterophylla (Franch.) Rehder) was 1.92, 1.80, and 1.68%, respectively. The results would be helpful during the process of price determination of RJ by providing some basis of geographical, bee strain, and botanical information for commercial trade.

Genetic characterization of Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) breeding and hybrid lines with different geographic origins.

Science.gov (United States)

Furdui, Emilia M; Mărghitaş, Liviu A; Dezmirean, Daniel S; Paşca, Ioan; Pop, Iulia F; Erler, Silvio; Schlüns, Ellen A

2014-01-01

The domesticated silkworm Bombyx mori L. comprises a large number of geographical breeds and hybrid lines. Knowing the genetic structure of those may provide information to improve the conservation of commercial lines by estimating inbreeding over generations and the consequences of excessive use of those lineages. Here, we analyzed the genetic diversity of seven breeds and eight hybrid lines from Eastern Europe and Asia using highly polymorphic microsatellites markers to determine its genetical impact on their use in global breeding programs. No consistent pattern of deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was found for most breed and hybrids; and the absence of a linkage disequilibrium also suggests that the strains are in equilibrium. A principal coordinate analysis revealed a clear separation of two silkworm breeds from the rest: one (IBV) originated from India and the other one (RG90) from Romania/Japan. The tendency of the other breeds from different geographic origins to cluster together in a general mix might be due to similar selection pressures (climate and anthropogenic factors) in different geographic locations. Phylogenetic analyses grouped the different silkworm breeds but not the hybrids according to their geographic origin and confirmed the pattern found in the principal coordinate analysis. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

Rights to Designaton Focusing on Protected Designations and Geographical Indications of Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs

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Ilková Zuzana

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the issue covered by the field of industrial property, it deals with the right to designation, especially with characteristics of legal regulation of labeling of products with regard to their geographical origin at the Slovak, communitarian and international levels. Individual objects of the industrial property may be the result of intellectual creative activity of its creator/creators (e.g. inventions, utility models, designs or they are not the result of creative activity of a particular natural person and are considered as industrial property rights to designation. The group of rights to designation includes: business names, trademarks, designation of origin for products and geographical indications for products. The rights to designation, inter alia, shall ensure uniqueness and competitive advantage for entrepreneurs and easy identification on the market of goods and services for the consumers. The paper closely analyzes the harmonized legal regulation of designations of origin and geographical indications of agricultural products, foodstuffs, spirit drinks, and wines. At the example of Tokaj wine region, it demonstrates the importance of protected designations at the EU level, in case of which demonstrable geographical origin of the product with controlled product specification by authorized national bodies brings a guarantee of quality of this product for consumers and the competitive advantage during their commercial implementation for the entrepreneurs.

International agreements on commercial representation

OpenAIRE

Slanař, Jan

2014-01-01

The purpose of the thesis is to describe the possibilities for fixing the position of a company in the market through contracts for commercial representation with a focus to finding legal and economic impact on the company that contracted for exclusive representation.

Castor Oil: Properties, Uses, and Optimization of Processing Parameters in Commercial Production

OpenAIRE

Patel, Vinay R.; Dumancas, Gerard G.; Kasi Viswanath, Lakshmi C.; Maples, Randall; Subong, Bryan John J.

2016-01-01

Castor oil, produced from castor beans, has long been considered to be of important commercial value primarily for the manufacturing of soaps, lubricants, and coatings, among others. Global castor oil production is concentrated primarily in a small geographic region of Gujarat in Western India. This region is favorable due to its labor-intensive cultivation method and subtropical climate conditions. Entrepreneurs and castor processors in the United States and South America also cultivate cast...

Geographical National Condition and Complex System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WANG Jiayao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The significance of studying the complex system of geographical national conditions lies in rationally expressing the complex relationships of the “resources-environment-ecology-economy-society” system. Aiming to the problems faced by the statistical analysis of geographical national conditions, including the disunity of research contents, the inconsistency of range, the uncertainty of goals, etc.the present paper conducted a range of discussions from the perspectives of concept, theory and method, and designed some solutions based on the complex system theory and coordination degree analysis methods.By analyzing the concepts of geographical national conditions, geographical national conditions survey and geographical national conditions statistical analysis, as well as investigating the relationships between theirs, the statistical contents and the analytical range of geographical national conditions are clarified and defined. This investigation also clarifies the goals of the statistical analysis by analyzing the basic characteristics of the geographical national conditions and the complex system, and the consistency between the analysis of the degree of coordination and statistical analyses. It outlines their goals, proposes a concept for the complex system of geographical national conditions, and it describes the concept. The complex system theory provides new theoretical guidance for the statistical analysis of geographical national conditions. The degree of coordination offers new approaches on how to undertake the analysis based on the measurement method and decision-making analysis scheme upon which the complex system of geographical national conditions is based. It analyzes the overall trend via the degree of coordination of the complex system on a macro level, and it determines the direction of remediation on a micro level based on the degree of coordination among various subsystems and of single systems. These results establish

Geographic Variation in Festuca rubra L. Ploidy Levels and Systemic Fungal Endophyte Frequencies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serdar Dirihan

Full Text Available Polyploidy and symbiotic Epichloë fungal endophytes are common and heritable characteristics that can facilitate environmental range expansion in grasses. Here we examined geographic patterns of polyploidy and the frequency of fungal endophyte colonized plants in 29 Festuca rubra L. populations from eight geographic sites across latitudes from Spain to northernmost Finland and Greenland. Ploidy seemed to be positively and negatively correlated with latitude and productivity, respectively. However, the correlations were nonlinear; 84% of the plants were hexaploids (2n = 6x = 42, and the positive correlation between ploidy level and latitude is the result of only four populations skewing the data. In the southernmost end of the gradient 86% of the plants were tetraploids (2n = 4x = 28, whereas in the northernmost end of the gradient one population had only octoploid plants (2n = 8x = 56. Endophytes were detected in 22 out of the 29 populations. Endophyte frequencies varied among geographic sites, and populations and habitats within geographic sites irrespective of ploidy, latitude or productivity. The highest overall endophyte frequencies were found in the southernmost end of the gradient, Spain, where 69% of plants harbored endophytes. In northern Finland, endophytes were detected in 30% of grasses but endophyte frequencies varied among populations from 0% to 75%, being higher in meadows compared to riverbanks. The endophytes were detected in 36%, 30% and 27% of the plants in Faroe Islands, Iceland and Switzerland, respectively. Practically all examined plants collected from southern Finland and Greenland were endophyte-free, whereas in other geographic sites endophyte frequencies were highly variable among populations. Common to all populations with high endophyte frequencies is heavy vertebrate grazing. We propose that the detected endophyte frequencies and ploidy levels mirror past distribution history of F. rubra after the last glaciation

Commercial implementation of food irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Welt, M.A.

1985-01-01

Recent positive developments in regulatory matters involving food irradiation appear to be opening the door to commercial implementation of the technology. Experience gained over five years in operating multi-purpose food irradiation facilities in the United States have demonstrated the technical and economic feasibility of the radiation preservation of food for a wide variety of purposes. Public education regarding food irradiation has been intensified especially with the growing favorable involvement of food trade associations, the USDA, and the American Medical Association. After 41 years of development effort, food irradiation will become a commercial reality in 1985. (author)

Geographic distribution of hospital beds throughout China: a county-level econometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Jay; Shallcross, David

2016-11-08

Geographical distribution of healthcare resources is an important dimension of healthcare access. Little work has been published on healthcare resource allocation patterns in China, despite public equity concerns. Using national data from 2043 counties, this paper investigates the geographic distribution of hospital beds at the county level in China. We performed Gini coefficient analysis to measure inequalities and ordinary least squares regression with fixed provincial effects and additional spatial specifications to assess key determinants. We found that provinces in west China have the least equitable resource distribution. We also found that the distribution of hospital beds is highly spatially clustered. Finally, we found that both county-level savings and government revenue show a strong positive relationship with county level hospital bed density. We argue for more widespread use of disaggregated, geographical data in health policy-making in China to support the rational allocation of healthcare resources, thus promoting efficiency and equity.

Geographic correlation between tapeworm carriers and heavily infected cysticercotic pigs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seth E O'Neal

Full Text Available Neurocysticercosis is a leading cause of preventable epilepsy in the developing world. Sustainable community-based interventions are urgently needed to control transmission of the causative parasite, Taenia solium. We examined the geospatial relationship between live pigs with visible cysticercotic cysts on their tongues and humans with adult intestinal tapeworm infection (taeniasis in a rural village in northern Peru. The objective was to determine whether tongue-positive pigs could indicate high-risk geographic foci for taeniasis to guide targeted screening efforts. This approach could offer significant benefit compared to mass intervention.We recorded geographic coordinates of all village houses, collected stool samples from all consenting villagers, and collected blood and examined tongues of all village pigs. Stool samples were processed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA for presence of Taenia sp. coproantigens indicative of active taeniasis; serum was processed by enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot for antibodies against T. solium cysticercosis (EITB LLGP and T. solium taeniasis (EITB rES33.Of 548 pigs, 256 (46.7% were positive for antibodies against cysticercosis on EITB LLGP. Of 402 fecal samples, 6 (1.5% were positive for the presence of Taenia sp. coproantigens. The proportion of coproantigen-positive individuals differed significantly between residents living within 100-meters of a tongue-positive pig (4/79, 5.1% and residents living >100 meters from a tongue-positive pig (2/323, 0.6% (p = 0.02. The prevalence of taeniasis was >8 times higher among residents living within 100 meters of a tongue-positive pig compared to residents living outside this range (adjusted PR 8.1, 95% CI 1.4-47.0.Tongue-positive pigs in endemic communities can indicate geospatial foci in which the risk for taeniasis is increased. Targeted screening or presumptive treatment for taeniasis within these high-risk foci may be an effective and

Geographic Correlation between Tapeworm Carriers and Heavily Infected Cysticercotic Pigs

Science.gov (United States)

O'Neal, Seth E.; Moyano, Luz M.; Ayvar, Viterbo; Gonzalvez, Guillermo; Diaz, Andre; Rodriguez, Silvia; Wilkins, Patricia P.; Tsang, Victor C. W.; Gilman, Robert H.; Garcia, Hector H.; Gonzalez, Armando E.

2012-01-01

Background Neurocysticercosis is a leading cause of preventable epilepsy in the developing world. Sustainable community-based interventions are urgently needed to control transmission of the causative parasite, Taenia solium. We examined the geospatial relationship between live pigs with visible cysticercotic cysts on their tongues and humans with adult intestinal tapeworm infection (taeniasis) in a rural village in northern Peru. The objective was to determine whether tongue-positive pigs could indicate high-risk geographic foci for taeniasis to guide targeted screening efforts. This approach could offer significant benefit compared to mass intervention. Methods We recorded geographic coordinates of all village houses, collected stool samples from all consenting villagers, and collected blood and examined tongues of all village pigs. Stool samples were processed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for presence of Taenia sp. coproantigens indicative of active taeniasis; serum was processed by enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot for antibodies against T. solium cysticercosis (EITB LLGP) and T. solium taeniasis (EITB rES33). Findings Of 548 pigs, 256 (46.7%) were positive for antibodies against cysticercosis on EITB LLGP. Of 402 fecal samples, 6 (1.5%) were positive for the presence of Taenia sp. coproantigens. The proportion of coproantigen-positive individuals differed significantly between residents living within 100-meters of a tongue-positive pig (4/79, 5.1%) and residents living >100 meters from a tongue-positive pig (2/323, 0.6%) (p = 0.02). The prevalence of taeniasis was >8 times higher among residents living within 100 meters of a tongue-positive pig compared to residents living outside this range (adjusted PR 8.1, 95% CI 1.4–47.0). Conclusions Tongue-positive pigs in endemic communities can indicate geospatial foci in which the risk for taeniasis is increased. Targeted screening or presumptive treatment for taeniasis within these high

GIS-Based Evaluation of Spatial Interactions by Geographic Disproportionality of Industrial Diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jemyung Lee

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Diversity of regional industry is regarded as a key factor for regional development, as it has a positive relationship with economic stability, which attracts population. This paper focuses on how the spatial imbalance of industrial diversity contributes to the population change caused by inter-regional migration. This paper introduces a spatial interaction model for the Geographic Information System (GIS-based simulation of the spatial interactions to evaluate the demographic attraction force. The proposed model adopts the notions of gravity, entropy, and virtual work. An industrial classification by profit level is introduced and its diversity is quantified with the entropy of information theory. The introduced model is applied to the cases of 207 regions in South Korea. Spatial interactions are simulated with an optimized model and their resultant forces, the demographic attraction forces, are compared with observed net migration for verification. The results show that the evaluated attraction forces from industrial diversity have a very significant, positive, and moderate relationship with net migration, while other conventional factors of industry, population, economy, and the job market do not. This paper concludes that the geographical quality of industrial diversity has positive and significant effects on population change by migration.

Sport Commercialism and its Impact on Sponsorship Strategy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tracy Trachsler

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Sport commercialism has increased tremendously over the past twenty years. Major sporting events and organizations are at the point where most cannot survive without outside sponsor- ship revenue. This study on American attitudes towards sport sponsorships analyzes the increased sport commercialism’s impact on sport fans. Previous studies on sport sponsorship and commercialism showed that increased sport commercial- ism leads to a negative purchase intent although a younger fan may be resistant to the negative influence of over-commercial- ism. This study builds upon such research by comparing gen- der, age, type of sport (professional versus amateur and fan- avidity. Perhaps paradoxically, this research suggests there is no correlation between over-commercialism and sport interest across numerous demographic categories. This data of corporate influence on sport commercialism may provide insights for sport sponsors as they best position their brands to the sport avid consumer.

5 CFR 536.303 - Geographic conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... after geographic conversion is the employee's existing payable rate of basic pay in effect immediately before the action. (b) Geographic conversion when a retained rate employee's official worksite is changed... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Geographic conversion. 536.303 Section...

The Oklahoma Geographic Information Retrieval System

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchard, W. A.

1982-01-01

The Oklahoma Geographic Information Retrieval System (OGIRS) is a highly interactive data entry, storage, manipulation, and display software system for use with geographically referenced data. Although originally developed for a project concerned with coal strip mine reclamation, OGIRS is capable of handling any geographically referenced data for a variety of natural resource management applications. A special effort has been made to integrate remotely sensed data into the information system. The timeliness and synoptic coverage of satellite data are particularly useful attributes for inclusion into the geographic information system.

Rapid direct analysis to discriminate geographic origin of extra virgin olive oils by flash gas chromatography electronic nose and chemometrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Melucci, Dora; Bendini, Alessandra; Tesini, Federica; Barbieri, Sara; Zappi, Alessandro; Vichi, Stefania; Conte, Lanfranco; Gallina Toschi, Tullia

2016-08-01

At present, the geographical origin of extra virgin olive oils can be ensured by documented traceability, although chemical analysis may add information that is useful for possible confirmation. This preliminary study investigated the effectiveness of flash gas chromatography electronic nose and multivariate data analysis to perform rapid screening of commercial extra virgin olive oils characterized by a different geographical origin declared in the label. A comparison with solid phase micro extraction coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry was also performed. The new method is suitable to verify the geographic origin of extra virgin olive oils based on principal components analysis and discriminant analysis applied to the volatile profile of the headspace as a fingerprint. The selected variables were suitable in discriminating between "100% Italian" and "non-100% Italian" oils. Partial least squares discriminant analysis also allowed prediction of the degree of membership of unknown samples to the classes examined. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Application of geographic information system for radiologic emergency response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Best, R.G.; Doyle, J.F.; Mueller, P.G.

1998-01-01

Comprehensive and timely radiological, cultural, and environmental data are required in order to make informed decisions during a radiological emergency. Within the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center (FRMAC), there is a continuing effort to improve the data management and communication process. The most recent addition to this essential function has been the development of the Field Analysis System for Emergency Response (FASER). It is an integrated system with compatible digital image processing and Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities. FASER is configured with commercially available off-the-shelf hardware and software components. To demonstrate the potential of the FASER system for radiological emergency response, the system has been utilized in interagency FRMAC exercises to analyze the available spatial data to help determine the impact of a hypothetical radiological release and to develop mitigation plans. (R.P.)

Forecasting the Commercial Attractiveness of User-Generated Designs Using Online Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Morten Berg; Hienerth, Christoph; Lettl, Christopher

2014-01-01

workload in the selection phase by predicting which user-generated designs it would most likely perceive as commercially attractive. Prior research emphasizes that among the vast amount of ideas generated in online user communities, it is the lead users’ ideas that tend to stick out in terms of commercial...... attractiveness. Our paper aims to provide the next step by developing a heuristic for filtering commercially attractive ideas that are generated in online user communities. Therefore, prior lead user research is used as a point of reference for our study. This research stream has produced rich insights......-generated designs. We find an inverted U-shaped relationship between the complexity of a user-generated design and its perceived commercial attractiveness. Furthermore, we find a positive relationship between the positive feedback received by a given user-generated design within the peer community and its perceived...

Composing Models of Geographic Physical Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Hofer, Barbara; Frank, Andrew U.

Processes are central for geographic information science; yet geographic information systems (GIS) lack capabilities to represent process related information. A prerequisite to including processes in GIS software is a general method to describe geographic processes independently of application disciplines. This paper presents such a method, namely a process description language. The vocabulary of the process description language is derived formally from mathematical models. Physical processes in geography can be described in two equivalent languages: partial differential equations or partial difference equations, where the latter can be shown graphically and used as a method for application specialists to enter their process models. The vocabulary of the process description language comprises components for describing the general behavior of prototypical geographic physical processes. These process components can be composed by basic models of geographic physical processes, which is shown by means of an example.

Geographic and Individual Differences in Healthcare Access for U.S. Transgender Adults: A Multilevel Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

White Hughto, Jaclyn M; Murchison, Gabriel R; Clark, Kirsty; Pachankis, John E; Reisner, Sari L

2016-12-01

To identify geographic and individual-level factors associated with healthcare access among transgender people in the United States. Multilevel analyses were conducted to investigate lifetime healthcare refusal using national data from 5831 U.S. transgender adults. Hierarchical generalized linear models examined associations between individual (age, gender, race, income, insurance, and healthcare avoidance) and state-level factors (percent voting Republican, percent same-sex couple households, income inequality, and transgender protective laws) and lifetime refusal of care. Results show that individual-level factors (being older; trans feminine; Native American, multiracial, or other racial/ethnic minority; having low income; and avoiding care due to discrimination) are positively associated with care refusal (all P-values transgender residents at increased odds of experiencing care refusal, relative to other regions of the United States. When adjusting for state-level factors, the percentage of the state population voting Republican was positively associated with care refusal among the transgender adults sampled (P Transgender adults surveyed reported differential access to healthcare by geographic region. Identifying geographic and individual-level factors associated with healthcare barriers allows for the development of targeted educational and policy interventions to improve healthcare access for transgender people most in need of services.

Quality Inspection and Analysis of Three-Dimensional Geographic Information Model Based on Oblique Photogrammetry

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, S.; Yan, Q.; Xu, Y.; Bai, J.

2018-04-01

In order to promote the construction of digital geo-spatial framework in China and accelerate the construction of informatization mapping system, three-dimensional geographic information model emerged. The three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology has higher accuracy, shorter period and lower cost than traditional methods, and can more directly reflect the elevation, position and appearance of the features. At this stage, the technology of producing three-dimensional geographic information models based on oblique photogrammetry technology is rapidly developing. The market demand and model results have been emerged in a large amount, and the related quality inspection needs are also getting larger and larger. Through the study of relevant literature, it is found that there are a lot of researches on the basic principles and technical characteristics of this technology, and relatively few studies on quality inspection and analysis. On the basis of summarizing the basic principle and technical characteristics of oblique photogrammetry technology, this paper introduces the inspection contents and inspection methods of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology. Combined with the actual inspection work, this paper summarizes the quality problems of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology, analyzes the causes of the problems and puts forward the quality control measures. It provides technical guidance for the quality inspection of three-dimensional geographic information model data products based on oblique photogrammetry technology in China and provides technical support for the vigorous development of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology.

QUALITY INSPECTION AND ANALYSIS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION MODEL BASED ON OBLIQUE PHOTOGRAMMETRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Dong

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In order to promote the construction of digital geo-spatial framework in China and accelerate the construction of informatization mapping system, three-dimensional geographic information model emerged. The three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology has higher accuracy, shorter period and lower cost than traditional methods, and can more directly reflect the elevation, position and appearance of the features. At this stage, the technology of producing three-dimensional geographic information models based on oblique photogrammetry technology is rapidly developing. The market demand and model results have been emerged in a large amount, and the related quality inspection needs are also getting larger and larger. Through the study of relevant literature, it is found that there are a lot of researches on the basic principles and technical characteristics of this technology, and relatively few studies on quality inspection and analysis. On the basis of summarizing the basic principle and technical characteristics of oblique photogrammetry technology, this paper introduces the inspection contents and inspection methods of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology. Combined with the actual inspection work, this paper summarizes the quality problems of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology, analyzes the causes of the problems and puts forward the quality control measures. It provides technical guidance for the quality inspection of three-dimensional geographic information model data products based on oblique photogrammetry technology in China and provides technical support for the vigorous development of three-dimensional geographic information model based on oblique photogrammetry technology.

Louisiana State Soil Geographic, General Soil Map, Geographic NAD83, NWRC (1998) [statsgo_soils_NWRC_1998

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This data set contains vector line map information. The vector data contain selected base categories of geographic features, and characteristics of these features,...

A Macrophysiological Analysis of Energetic Constraints on Geographic Range Size in Mammals

Science.gov (United States)

Ceballos, Gerardo; Steele, Michael A.

2013-01-01

Physiological processes are essential for understanding the distribution and abundance of organisms, and recently, with widespread attention to climate change, physiology has been ushered back to the forefront of ecological thinking. We present a macrophysiological analysis of the energetics of geographic range size using combined data on body size, basal metabolic rate (BMR), phylogeny and range properties for 574 species of mammals. We propose three mechanisms by which interspecific variation in BMR should relate positively to geographic range size: (i) Thermal Plasticity Hypothesis, (ii) Activity Levels/Dispersal Hypothesis, and (iii) Energy Constraint Hypothesis. Although each mechanism predicts a positive correlation between BMR and range size, they can be further distinguished based on the shape of the relationship they predict. We found evidence for the predicted positive relationship in two dimensions of energetics: (i) the absolute, mass-dependent dimension (BMR) and (ii) the relative, mass-independent dimension (MIBMR). The shapes of both relationships were similar and most consistent with that expected from the Energy Constraint Hypothesis, which was proposed previously to explain the classic macroecological relationship between range size and body size in mammals and birds. The fact that this pattern holds in the MIBMR dimension indicates that species with supra-allometric metabolic rates require among the largest ranges, above and beyond the increasing energy demands that accrue as an allometric consequence of large body size. The relationship is most evident at high latitudes north of the Tropics, where large ranges and elevated MIBMR are most common. Our results suggest that species that are most vulnerable to extinction from range size reductions are both large-bodied and have elevated MIBMR, but also, that smaller species with elevated MIBMR are at heightened risk. We also provide insights into the global latitudinal trends in range size and MIBMR

An Introduction to Macro- Level Spatial Nonstationarity: a Geographically Weighted Regression Analysis of Diabetes and Poverty.

Science.gov (United States)

Siordia, Carlos; Saenz, Joseph; Tom, Sarah E

2012-01-01

Type II diabetes is a growing health problem in the United States. Understanding geographic variation in diabetes prevalence will inform where resources for management and prevention should be allocated. Investigations of the correlates of diabetes prevalence have largely ignored how spatial nonstationarity might play a role in the macro-level distribution of diabetes. This paper introduces the reader to the concept of spatial nonstationarity-variance in statistical relationships as a function of geographical location. Since spatial nonstationarity means different predictors can have varying effects on model outcomes, we make use of a geographically weighed regression to calculate correlates of diabetes as a function of geographic location. By doing so, we demonstrate an exploratory example in which the diabetes-poverty macro-level statistical relationship varies as a function of location. In particular, we provide evidence that when predicting macro-level diabetes prevalence, poverty is not always positively associated with diabetes.

Longitudinal interrelationships between frequent geographic relocation and personality development: results from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Kuan-Chia; Twisk, Jos W R; Rong, Jiin-Ru

2011-04-01

This study is part of the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study, which was undertaken to assess the long-term interrelationships between cumulative frequency of geographic relocation (CFGR) and the development of personality characteristics (i.e., Inadequacy, Rigidity, Social Inadequacy, Dominance, Self-sufficiency, Self-esteem, and Hostility). We found that participants who had more mobility experiences had lower consistency in their personality characteristics (the exception being Rigidity). Residential mobility from different life stages was positively associated with the continuity and change of Inadequacy and Dominance. In addition, young adults with higher Rigidity personality experienced fewer geographic moves during the transition from young adulthood to mid-life. Our study provides evidence that CFGR in different life stages may be associated with the development of personality characteristics from young adulthood to mid-life in different ways. Increased awareness of the potential interrelationships between frequent geographic relocation and personality development may have positive consequences for adult psychological health. © 2011 American Orthopsychiatric Association.

Mapping the value of commercial PV applications in the US -- Accounting for externalities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez, R.; Kmiecik, M.; Herig, C.; Wenger, H.

1999-01-01

In previous publications, the authors reported on the geographical distribution of the economic feasibility of customer-owned commercial PV systems in the US. The results showed that several regions in the country were near or above economic breakeven. However, the authors noted that these results only reflected business as usual assumptions. They did not account for existing or prospective external value elements that could, depending on the application, considerably increase PV's feasibility threshold. In this paper, the authors look at the individual and combined impact of the following value elements: (1) Replacement Value, (2) enhanced load management value, (3) emergency value and (4) environmental value. They show that accounting for these elements could significantly increase the size of cost-effective niche markets for customer-owned commercial PV installation

Verification of Ganoderma (lingzhi) commercial products by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy and two-dimensional IR correlation spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Choong, Yew-Keong; Sun, Su-Qin; Zhou, Qun; Lan, Jin; Lee, Han-Lim; Chen, Xiang-Dong

2014-07-01

Ganoderma commercial products are typically based on two sources, raw material (powder form and/or spores) and extract (water and/or solvent). This study compared three types of Ganoderma commercial products using 1 Dimensional Fourier Transform infrared and second derivative spectroscopy. The analyzed spectra of Ganoderma raw material products were compared with spectra of cultivated Ganoderma raw material powder from different mushroom farms in Malaysia. The Ganoderma extract product was also compared with three types of cultivated Ganoderma extracts. Other medicinal Ganoderma contents in commercial extract product that included glucan and triterpenoid were analyzed by using FTIR and 2DIR. The results showed that water extract of cultivated Ganoderma possessed comparable spectra with that of Ganoderma product water extract. By comparing the content of Ganoderma commercial products using FTIR and 2DIR, product content profiles could be detected. In addition, the geographical origin of the Ganoderma products could be verified by comparing their spectra with Ganoderma products from known areas. This study demonstrated the possibility of developing verification tool to validate the purity of commercial medicinal herbal and mushroom products.

Determinants of Dentists' Geographic Distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Beazoglou, Tryfon J.; And Others

1992-01-01

A model for explaining the geographic distribution of dentists' practice locations is presented and applied to particular market areas in Connecticut. Results show geographic distribution is significantly related to a few key variables, including demography, disposable income, and housing prices. Implications for helping students make practice…

The Usability of Online Geographic Virtual Reality for Urban Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, S.; Moore, A. B.

2013-08-01

Virtual reality (VR) technology is starting to become widely and freely available (for example the online OpenSimulator tool), with potential for use in 3D urban planning and design tasks but still needing rigorous assessment to establish this. A previous study consulted with a small group of urban professionals, who concluded in a satisfaction usability test that online VR had potential value as a usable 3D communication and remote marketing tool but acknowledged that visual quality and geographic accuracy were obstacles to overcome. This research takes the investigation a significant step further to also examine the usability aspects of efficiency (how quickly tasks are completed) and effectiveness (how successfully tasks are completed), relating to OpenSimulator in an urban planning situation. The comparative study pits a three-dimensional VR model (with increased graphic fidelity and geographic content to address the feedback of the previous study) of a subdivision design (in a Dunedin suburb) against 3D models built with GIS (ArcGIS) and CAD (BricsCAD) tools, two types of software environment well established in urban professional practice. Urban professionals participated in the study by attempting to perform timed tasks correctly in each of the environments before being asked questions about the technologies involved and their perceived importance to their professional work. The results reinforce the positive feedback for VR of the previous study, with the graphical and geographic data issues being somewhat addressed (though participants stressed the need for accurate and precise object and terrain modification capabilities in VR). Ease-ofuse and associated fastest task completion speed were significant positive outcomes to emerge from the comparison with GIS and CAD, pointing to a strong future for VR in an urban planning context.

Entrepreneurship, social capital, and institutions:social and commercial entrepreneurship across nations

OpenAIRE

Estrin, Saul; Mickiewicz, Tomasz; Stephan, Ute

2013-01-01

We model and test the relationship between social and commercial entrepreneurship drawing on social capital theory. We propose that the country prevalence rate of social entrepreneurship is an indicator of constructible nation-level social capital and enhances the likelihood of individual commercial entry. We further posit that both social and commercial entrepreneurial entry is facilitated by certain formal institutions, namely strong property rights and (low) government activism, albeit the...

Why not Commercial Assistance for Suicide? On the Question of Argumentative Coherence of Endorsing Assisted Suicide.

Science.gov (United States)

Kipke, Roland

2015-09-01

Most people who endorse physician-assisted suicide are against commercially assisted suicide - a suicide assisted by professional non-medical providers against payment. The article questions if this position - endorsement of physician-assisted suicide on the one hand and rejection of commercially assisted suicide on the other hand - is a coherent ethical position. To this end the article first discusses some obvious advantages of commercially assisted suicide and then scrutinizes six types of argument about whether they can justify the rejection of commercially assisted suicide while simultaneously endorsing physician-assisted suicide. The conclusion is that they cannot provide this justification and that the mentioned position is not coherent. People who endorse physician-assisted suicide have to endorse commercially assisted suicide as well, or they have to revise their endorsement of physician-assisted suicide. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Evaluation of commercial lithium-ion cells based on composite positive electrode for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle applications. Part I: Initial characterizations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubarry, Matthieu; Truchot, Cyril; Cugnet, Mikael; Liaw, Bor Yann; Gering, Kevin; Sazhin, Sergiy; Jamison, David; Michelbacher, Christopher

2011-01-01

Evaluating commercial Li-ion batteries presents some unique benefits. One of them is to use cells made from established fabrication process and form factor, such as those offered by the 18650 cylindrical configuration, to provide a common platform to investigate and understand performance deficiency and aging mechanism of target chemistry. Such an approach shall afford us to derive relevant information without influence from processing or form factor variability that may skew our understanding on cell-level issues. A series of 1.9 Ah 18650 lithium ion cells developed by a commercial source using a composite positive electrode comprising (LiMn1/3Ni1/3Co1/3O2 + LiMn2O4) is being used as a platform for the investigation of certain key issues, particularly path-dependent aging and degradation in future plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) applications, under the US Department of Energy's Applied Battery Research (ABR) program. Here we report in Part I the initial characterizations of the cell performance and Part II some aspects of cell degradation in 2C cycle aging. The initial characterizations, including cell-to-cell variability, are essential for life cycle performance characterization in the second part of the report when cell-aging phenomena are discussed. Due to the composite nature of the positive electrode, the features (or signature) derived from the incremental capacity (IC) of the cell appear rather complex. In this work, the method to index the observed IC peaks is discussed. Being able to index the IC signature in details is critical for analyzing and identifying degradation mechanism later in the cycle aging study.

Precise Point Positioning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Xiaohong

the airborne lidar system misalignment angle by automating the matching of lidar data with ground truth. Kinematic GPS positioning has been widely used, but the available commercial software systems are normally only suitable for the short or medium range kinematic baseline. However, in polar areas, airborne...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Structures

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

The evolution of cooperation on geographical networks

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yixiao; Wang, Yi; Sheng, Jichuan

2017-11-01

We study evolutionary public goods game on geographical networks, i.e., complex networks which are located on a geographical plane. The geographical feature effects in two ways: In one way, the geographically-induced network structure influences the overall evolutionary dynamics, and, in the other way, the geographical length of an edge influences the cost when the two players at the two ends interact. For the latter effect, we design a new cost function of cooperators, which simply assumes that the longer the distance between two players, the higher cost the cooperator(s) of them have to pay. In this study, network substrates are generated by a previous spatial network model with a cost-benefit parameter controlling the network topology. Our simulations show that the greatest promotion of cooperation is achieved in the intermediate regime of the parameter, in which empirical estimates of various railway networks fall. Further, we investigate how the distribution of edges' geographical costs influences the evolutionary dynamics and consider three patterns of the distribution: an approximately-equal distribution, a diverse distribution, and a polarized distribution. For normal geographical networks which are generated using intermediate values of the cost-benefit parameter, a diverse distribution hinders the evolution of cooperation, whereas a polarized distribution lowers the threshold value of the amplification factor for cooperation in public goods game. These results are helpful for understanding the evolution of cooperation on real-world geographical networks.

Geographic and Individual Differences in Healthcare Access for U.S. Transgender Adults: A Multilevel Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Murchison, Gabriel R.; Clark, Kirsty; Pachankis, John E.; Reisner, Sari L.

2016-01-01

Abstract Purpose: To identify geographic and individual-level factors associated with healthcare access among transgender people in the United States. Methods: Multilevel analyses were conducted to investigate lifetime healthcare refusal using national data from 5831 U.S. transgender adults. Hierarchical generalized linear models examined associations between individual (age, gender, race, income, insurance, and healthcare avoidance) and state-level factors (percent voting Republican, percent same-sex couple households, income inequality, and transgender protective laws) and lifetime refusal of care. Results: Results show that individual-level factors (being older; trans feminine; Native American, multiracial, or other racial/ethnic minority; having low income; and avoiding care due to discrimination) are positively associated with care refusal (all P-values care refusal, relative to other regions of the United States. When adjusting for state-level factors, the percentage of the state population voting Republican was positively associated with care refusal among the transgender adults sampled (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Transgender adults surveyed reported differential access to healthcare by geographic region. Identifying geographic and individual-level factors associated with healthcare barriers allows for the development of targeted educational and policy interventions to improve healthcare access for transgender people most in need of services. PMID:27636030

Strategic Planning And Performance Of Commercial Banks In Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hope Ngozi Nzewi

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract This study explored the relationship between strategic planning and performance of commercial banks in Nigeria. Specifically it determined the nature of relationship that existed between total assets and profit after tax of the selected banks. Exploratory research design was employed.Secondary data were sourced from the Nigerian Exchange Fact Book 2011 to 2013. Linear regression and Pearson bivariate correlation analytical techniques were used. Findings revealed that there is a weak positive relationship between the total assets and profit after tax of the selected commercial banks. The policy implication is that any meaningful profitability of the commercial banks in Nigeria must ensure proper institution and comprehensive execution of the strategic planning processes by the various managers of the selected commercial banks.

Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression Applied to Credit Scoring Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro Henrique Melo Albuquerque

Full Text Available Abstract This study used real data from a Brazilian financial institution on transactions involving Consumer Direct Credit (CDC, granted to clients residing in the Distrito Federal (DF, to construct credit scoring models via Logistic Regression and Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression (GWLR techniques. The aims were: to verify whether the factors that influence credit risk differ according to the borrower’s geographic location; to compare the set of models estimated via GWLR with the global model estimated via Logistic Regression, in terms of predictive power and financial losses for the institution; and to verify the viability of using the GWLR technique to develop credit scoring models. The metrics used to compare the models developed via the two techniques were the AICc informational criterion, the accuracy of the models, the percentage of false positives, the sum of the value of false positive debt, and the expected monetary value of portfolio default compared with the monetary value of defaults observed. The models estimated for each region in the DF were distinct in their variables and coefficients (parameters, with it being concluded that credit risk was influenced differently in each region in the study. The Logistic Regression and GWLR methodologies presented very close results, in terms of predictive power and financial losses for the institution, and the study demonstrated viability in using the GWLR technique to develop credit scoring models for the target population in the study.

Risk management strategies on small-scale commercial farms in three zobatat of Eritrea

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MA Mohammed

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In this study the perceptions of small-scale commercial farmers in Eritrea of the importance of various risk responses are ascertained and analysed to gain insight into their risk-management strategies.  Data were elicited through a survey of 186 small-scale commercial farmers conducted in three zobatat (regions of Eritrea. Factor Analysis is used to investigate heterogeneity in sample farmers’ responses.  Results indicate that relatively more important risk responses include the use of internal and external sources of information, on-farm and off-farm diversification, choice of production system and product marketing arrangements. Farmers’ perceptions of risk responses vary according to farm type, geographical location, farm and farmer characteristics, as well as the existence of enterprise specific risk responses (e.g. livestock insurance and differences in the marketing regulations of various agricultural products.

Attitude and Perception of Young Audience towards Patriotism in Independence Day TV Commercials

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Fazlina Jaafar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Quantitatively, this study intends to identify the attitude and perception of young audiences in Malaysia towards Independence day TV commercials from Petronas, and Maxis Berhad in celebrating the Independence Day. Firstly, respondents were exposed to three TV commercials with the same theme and purpose – to represent the spirit of patriotism. Later, these respondents were given a set of questionnaire to be filled. Data were collected using Purposive Sampling and analyzed with statistical analysis (SPSS using Descriptive analysis represented by using the value of percentages, X, and SD. Findings of this study revealed that respondents have negative attitudes towards independence day, but positive attitudes towards the patriotism showed in all TV commercials. They also showed positive perception on independence day television commercials, as high number of respondents have agreed that the concept, theme and art direction of television commercial about love and live in unity without racism will be the style of benchmark for the future style of direction towards producing television commercial for Independence Day and are considered vital to instill patriotism towards the nation.

Geographic distribution of canine heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis infection in stray dogs of eastern Romania

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Lavinia Ciucă

2016-11-01

Full Text Available A survey was conducted in the eastern part of Romania to assess the prevalence and geographical distribution of Dirofilaria immitis in dogs. Plasma samples were collected from 458 stray dogs hosted in shelters in 8 counties and tested serologically for the presence of heartworm. In addition, 45 blood samples from dogs of a shelter in Galati city were examined by the modified Knott and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR techniques. The immmunological assay showed a heartworm infection prevalence of 8.9% in the dogs. Optical density results for positive samples ranged between 0.217 and 2.683. Geographical information systems (GIS were used to produce overlays of distribution maps of D. immitis prevalence and predictive maps based on temperature suitability. High prevalence of D. immitis was found in the central East up to the northern border of the country, i.e. Galati county (60%, followed by the counties of Vaslui (12.0% and Iasi (7.7%. Out of 45 samples examined using the Knott test, 23 were positive for circulating microfilariae (51.1%, while 19 dogs were positive for D. immitis and 4 for both D. immitis and D. repens with the multiplex PCR test. The high prevalence for D. immitis shown in dogs in the Southeast (Galati, 42.2% also by multiplex PCR gave strong support to the results achieved by the serological tests. The present study confirms the ability of GIS to predict the distribution and epidemiology of dirofilariosis in different geographical territories as has been already demonstrated by the empirical epidemiological data obtained at the continental, national and intraregional levels.

Mapping the geographical distribution of lymphatic filariasis in Zambia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mwase, Enala T; Stensgaard, Anna-Sofie; Nsakashalo-Senkwe, Mutale

2014-01-01

to be an important determinant of medium-high prevalence levels. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: LF was found to be surprisingly widespread in Zambia, although in most places with low prevalence. The produced maps and the identified environmental correlates of LF infection will provide useful guidance for planning...... volunteers from 108 geo-referenced survey sites across Zambia were examined for circulating filarial antigens (CFA) with rapid format ICT cards, and a map indicating the distribution of CFA prevalences in Zambia was prepared. 78% of survey sites had CFA positive cases, with prevalences ranging between 1......% and 54%. Most positive survey sites had low prevalence, but six foci with more than 15% prevalence were identified. The observed geographical variation in prevalence pattern was examined in more detail using a species distribution modeling approach to explore environmental requirements for parasite...

Community structure informs species geographic distributions

KAUST Repository

Montesinos-Navarro, Alicia

2018-05-23

Understanding what determines species\\' geographic distributions is crucial for assessing global change threats to biodiversity. Measuring limits on distributions is usually, and necessarily, done with data at large geographic extents and coarse spatial resolution. However, survival of individuals is determined by processes that happen at small spatial scales. The relative abundance of coexisting species (i.e. \\'community structure\\') reflects assembly processes occurring at small scales, and are often available for relatively extensive areas, so could be useful for explaining species distributions. We demonstrate that Bayesian Network Inference (BNI) can overcome several challenges to including community structure into studies of species distributions, despite having been little used to date. We hypothesized that the relative abundance of coexisting species can improve predictions of species distributions. In 1570 assemblages of 68 Mediterranean woody plant species we used BNI to incorporate community structure into Species Distribution Models (SDMs), alongside environmental information. Information on species associations improved SDM predictions of community structure and species distributions moderately, though for some habitat specialists the deviance explained increased by up to 15%. We demonstrate that most species associations (95%) were positive and occurred between species with ecologically similar traits. This suggests that SDM improvement could be because species co-occurrences are a proxy for local ecological processes. Our study shows that Bayesian Networks, when interpreted carefully, can be used to include local conditions into measurements of species\\' large-scale distributions, and this information can improve the predictions of species distributions.

Representations built from a true geographic database

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bodum, Lars

2005-01-01

the whole world in 3d and with a spatial reference given by geographic coordinates. Built on top of this is a customised viewer, based on the Xith(Java) scenegraph. The viewer reads the objects directly from the database and solves the question about Level-Of-Detail on buildings, orientation in relation...... a representation based on geographic and geospatial principles. The system GRIFINOR, developed at 3DGI, Aalborg University, DK, is capable of creating this object-orientation and furthermore does this on top of a true Geographic database. A true Geographic database can be characterized as a database that can cover...

Environmental development plan. LWR commercial waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-08-01

This Environmental Development Plan (EDP) identifies the planning and managerial requirements and schedules needed to evaluate and assess the environmental, health and safety (EH and S) aspects of the Commercial Waste Management Program (CWM). Environment is defined in its broadest sense to include environmental, health (occupational and public), safety, socioeconomic, legal and institutional aspects. This plan addresses certain present and potential Federal responsibilities for the storage, treatment, transfer and disposal of radioactive waste materials produced by the nuclear power industry. The handling and disposal of LWR spent fuel and processed high-level waste (in the event reprocessing occurs) are included in this plan. Defense waste management activities, which are addressed in detail in a separate EDP, are considered only to the extent that such activities are common to the commercial waste management program. This EDP addresses three principal elements associated with the disposal of radioactive waste materials from the commercial nuclear power industry, namely Terminal Isolation Research and Development, Spent Fuel Storage and Waste Treatment Technology. The major specific concerns and requirements addressed are assurance that (1) radioactivity will be contained during waste transport, interim storage or while the waste is considered as retrievable from a repository facility, (2) the interim storage facilities will adequately isolate the radioactive material from the biosphere, (3) the terminal isolation facility will isolate the wastes from the biosphere over a time period allowing the radioactivity to decay to innocuous levels, (4) the terminal isolation mode for the waste will abbreviate the need for surveillance and institutional control by future generations, and (5) the public will accept the basic waste management strategy and geographical sites when needed

Linguistic Characteristics of Commercial and Social Advertising Slogans

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Pavel Skorupa

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The current paper presents the analysis of linguistic characteristics of commercial and social advertising slogans. There is no uniform definition of the advertising slogan in the scientific literature, therefore, an attempt to provide the definition of a slogan in the context of marketing communication was made. One of the main functions of both social and commercial advertising is to provide information to the target audience and make it act in a way desired by the advertisers. As language, either spoken or written, has a powerful influence over people and their behaviour, the article analysis the language of advertising from the linguistic point of view and focuses on the phonological and semantic characteristics of slogans for commercial and social advertising campaigns. The analysis of 110 English slogans (55 commercial and 55 social advertising campaigns showed the frequent use of both sound techniques and figurative language in commercial advertising slogans, which make the slogans more memorable, attractive and highlighting the advertised brand in a positive way. In contrast, the sound techniques and figurative language are scarce in slogans for social advertising campaigns.

Investigation of the homogeneity of methacrylate allergens in commercially available patch test preparations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mose, Kristian Fredløv; Andersen, Klaus Ejner; Christensen, Lars Porskjaer

2013-01-01

The homogeneity of methacrylates in commercial patch test preparations has not yet been investigated. Inhomogeneous patch test preparations may give rise to false-negative or false-positive patch test results in patients suspected of having methacrylate allergy.......The homogeneity of methacrylates in commercial patch test preparations has not yet been investigated. Inhomogeneous patch test preparations may give rise to false-negative or false-positive patch test results in patients suspected of having methacrylate allergy....

Selfing ability and dispersal are positively related, but not affected by range position: a multispecies study on southern African Asteraceae.

Science.gov (United States)

de Waal, C; Rodger, J G; Anderson, B; Ellis, A G

2014-05-01

Dispersal and breeding system traits are thought to affect colonization success. As species have attained their present distribution ranges through colonization, these traits may vary geographically. Although several theories predict associations between dispersal ability, selfing ability and the relative position of a population within its geographic range, there is little theoretical or empirical consensus on exactly how these three variables are related. We investigated relationships between dispersal ability, selfing ability and range position across 28 populations of 13 annual, wind-dispersed Asteraceae species from the Namaqualand region of South Africa. Controlling for phylogeny, relative dispersal ability--assessed from vertical fall time of fruits--was positively related to an index of autofertility--determined from hand-pollination experiments. These findings support the existence of two discrete syndromes: high selfing ability associated with good dispersal and obligate outcrossing associated with lower dispersal ability. This is consistent with the hypothesis that selection for colonization success drives the evolution of an association between these traits. However, no general effect of range position on dispersal or breeding system traits was evident. This suggests selection on both breeding system and dispersal traits acts consistently across distribution ranges. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2014 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

The Effects of Geographic Isolation and Social Support on the Health of Wisconsin Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Tittman, Sarah M; Harteau, Christy; Beyer, Kirsten M M

2016-04-01

Rural residents are less likely to receive preventive health screening, more likely to be uninsured, and more likely to report fair to poor health than urban residents. Social disconnectedness and perceived isolation are known to be negative predictors of self-rated physical health; however, the direct effects of geographic isolation and social support on overall health have not been well elucidated. A cross-sectional survey of women (n = 113) participating in Wisconsin Rural Women's initiative programming was conducted, which included measures of geographic isolation, an assessment of overall health, and social support using the validated Interpersonal Support Evaluation List with 3 subscales, including belonging support, tangible support, and appraisal support. Geographic isolation was shown to be a negative predictor of belonging support (P = .0064) and tangible support (P = .0349); however, geographic isolation was not a statistically significant predictor of appraisal support. A strong and direct relationship was observed between social support and self-perceived health status among this population of Wisconsin women, and hospital access based on geographic proximity was positively correlated (P = .028) with overall health status. The direct relationship between social support and overall health demonstrated here stresses the importance of developing and maintaining strong social support networks, which can be improved through rural support groups that have the unique ability to assist rural residents in fostering social support systems, advocating stress management techniques, and achieving a greater sense of well-being.

Geographic distribution of hepatitis C virus genotype 6 subtypes in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Akkarathamrongsin, Srunthron; Praianantathavorn, Kesmanee; Hacharoen, Nisachol; Theamboonlers, Apiradee; Tangkijvanich, Pisit; Tanaka, Yasuhito; Mizokami, Masashi; Poovorawan, Yong

2010-02-01

The nucleotide sequence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 6 found mostly in south China and south-east Asia, displays profound genetic diversity. The aim of this study to determine the genetic variability of HCV genotype 6 (HCV-6) in Thailand and locate the subtype distribution of genotype 6 in various geographic areas. Four hundred nineteen anti-HCV positive serum samples were collected from patients residing in - the central part of the country. HCV RNA positive samples based on reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of the 5'UTR were amplified with primers specific for the core and NS5B regions. Nucleotide sequences of both regions were analyzed for the genotype by phylogenetic analysis. To determine geographic distribution of HCV-6 subtypes, a search of the international database on subtype distribution in the respective countries was conducted. Among 375 HCV RNA positive samples, 71 had HCV-6 based on phylogenetic analysis of partial core and NS5B regions. The subtype distribution in order of predominance was 6f (56%), 6n (22%), 6i (11%), 6j (10%), and 6e (1%). Among the 13 countries with different subtypes of HCV-6, most sequences have been reported from Vietnam. Subtype 6f was found exclusively in Thailand where five distinct HCV-6 subtypes are circulating. HCV-6, which is endemic in south China and south-east Asia, displays profound genetic diversity and may have evolved over a considerable period of time. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

25 CFR 571.10 - Geographical location.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Geographical location. 571.10 Section 571.10 Indians NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS MONITORING AND INVESTIGATIONS Subpoenas and Depositions § 571.10 Geographical location. The attendance of...

Socioeconomic Development Inequalities among Geographic Units ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Socio-economic development inequality among geographic units is a phenomenon common in both the developed and developing countries. Regional inequality may result in dissension among geographic units of the same state due to the imbalance in socio-economic development. This study examines the inequality ...

Frosty pod of cacao: a disease with a limited geographic range but unlimited potential for damage.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips-Mora, W; Wilkinson, M J

2007-12-01

ABSTRACT Moniliophthora roreri, the cause of frosty pod rot (FP), is a specialized fungal pathogen (family Marasmiaceae) that invades only actively growing pods of cacao, Theobroma cacao, and related species of Theobroma and Herrania. FP damages pods and the commercially important seeds that some of these species produce. M. roreri was confined to northwestern South America until the 1950s. Its appearance in Panama in 1956 signaled a change in its geographic distribution. Now, it is found in 11 countries in tropical America. The fungus is currently in an active dispersal phase, possibly due to an increase in human-mediated spread. FP is more destructive than black pod (Phytophthora spp.) and more dangerous and difficult to control than witches' broom, caused by Moniliophthora (Crinipellis) perniciosa. The aggressiveness of M. roreri, its capacity to survive different environmental conditions, its rapid natural dispersal, its propensity for man-mediated dispersal, and the susceptibility of most commercial cacao genotypes, all indicate that FP presents a substantial threat to cacao cultivation worldwide.

Development Trends of Cartography and Geographic Information Engineering

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WANG Jiayao

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Aimed at the problems of cartography and geographic information engineering and increasing demands of national and military infomationization construction, the paper proposes six hotspots on the research of cartography and geographic information engineering for the future on the foundation of analyzing the development track of cartology, which are heterogeneous geospatial data assimilation, transferring from emphasizing geography infor-mation gaining to user-oriented geographic information deep processing, web or grid geographic information service. intelligent spatial data generalization. integration of GIS and VGE. cartography and geographic information engineering theory system with multi-mode(Map,.GlS..VGE spatial-temporal integrated cognition as the core. And discusses the necessity ,existing groundwork and research contents on studying these hotspots.

The Global Positioning System and Its Integration into College Geography Curricula.

Science.gov (United States)

Wikle, Thomas A.; Lambert, Dean P.

1996-01-01

Introduces global positioning system (GPS) technology to nonspecialist geographers and recommends a framework for implementing GPS instructional modules in college geography courses. GPS was developed as a worldwide satellite-based system by the U.S. Department of Defense to simplify and improve military and civilian navigation and positioning.…

Using Metadata to Build Geographic Information Sharing Environment on Internet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chih-hong Sun

1999-12-01

Full Text Available Internet provides a convenient environment to share geographic information. Web GIS (Geographic Information System even provides users a direct access environment to geographic databases through Internet. However, the complexity of geographic data makes it difficult for users to understand the real content and the limitation of geographic information. In some cases, users may misuse the geographic data and make wrong decisions. Meanwhile, geographic data are distributed across various government agencies, academic institutes, and private organizations, which make it even more difficult for users to fully understand the content of these complex data. To overcome these difficulties, this research uses metadata as a guiding mechanism for users to fully understand the content and the limitation of geographic data. We introduce three metadata standards commonly used for geographic data and metadata authoring tools available in the US. We also review the current development of geographic metadata standard in Taiwan. Two metadata authoring tools are developed in this research, which will enable users to build their own geographic metadata easily.[Article content in Chinese

Geographical identification of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) by linear discriminant analysis applied to the UV-visible spectra of aqueous extracts.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Archivio, Angelo Antonio; Maggi, Maria Anna

2017-03-15

We attempted geographical classification of saffron using UV-visible spectroscopy, conventionally adopted for quality grading according to the ISO Normative 3632. We investigated 81 saffron samples produced in L'Aquila, Città della Pieve, Cascia, and Sardinia (Italy) and commercial products purchased in various supermarkets. Exploratory principal component analysis applied to the UV-vis spectra of saffron aqueous extracts revealed a clear differentiation of the samples belonging to different quality categories, but a poor separation according to the geographical origin of the spices. On the other hand, linear discriminant analysis based on 8 selected absorbance values, concentrated near 279, 305 and 328nm, allowed a good distinction of the spices coming from different sites. Under severe validation conditions (30% and 50% of saffron samples in the evaluation set), correct predictions were 85 and 83%, respectively. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rational destabilizing speculation, positive feedback trading, and the oil bubble of 2008

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokic, Damir

2011-01-01

This article examines how the interaction of different participants in the crude oil futures markets affects the crude oil price efficiency. Normally, the commercial market participants, such as oil producers and oil consumers, act as arbitrageurs and ensure that the price of crude oil remains within the fundamental value range. However, institutional investors that invest in crude oil to diversify their portfolios and/or hedge inflation can destabilize the interaction among commercial participants and liquidity-providing speculators. We argue that institutional investors can impose limits to arbitrage, particularly during the financial crisis when the investment demand for commodities is particularly strong. In support, we show that commercials hedgers had significantly reduced their short positions leading to the 2008 oil bubble-they were potentially aggressively offsetting their short hedges. As a result, by essentially engaging in a positive feedback trading, commercial hedgers at least contributed to 'the 2008 oil bubble'. These findings have been mainly overlooked by the existing research. - Research Highlights: → This article finds that commercial hedgers at least contributed to the 2008 oil bubble. → Commercial hedgers were aggressively offsetting their short hedges leading to the oil bubble peak. → Commercial hedgers, thus, unwillingly engaged in positive feedback trading. → Institutional investors potentially destabilized the oil markets in 2008.

Rational destabilizing speculation, positive feedback trading, and the oil bubble of 2008

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tokic, Damir, E-mail: Damir.tokic@esc-rennes.f [ESC Rennes - International School of Business, 2 Rue Robert d' Arbissel, 35065 Rennes cedex (France)

2011-04-15

This article examines how the interaction of different participants in the crude oil futures markets affects the crude oil price efficiency. Normally, the commercial market participants, such as oil producers and oil consumers, act as arbitrageurs and ensure that the price of crude oil remains within the fundamental value range. However, institutional investors that invest in crude oil to diversify their portfolios and/or hedge inflation can destabilize the interaction among commercial participants and liquidity-providing speculators. We argue that institutional investors can impose limits to arbitrage, particularly during the financial crisis when the investment demand for commodities is particularly strong. In support, we show that commercials hedgers had significantly reduced their short positions leading to the 2008 oil bubble-they were potentially aggressively offsetting their short hedges. As a result, by essentially engaging in a positive feedback trading, commercial hedgers at least contributed to 'the 2008 oil bubble'. These findings have been mainly overlooked by the existing research. - Research Highlights: {yields} This article finds that commercial hedgers at least contributed to the 2008 oil bubble. {yields} Commercial hedgers were aggressively offsetting their short hedges leading to the oil bubble peak. {yields} Commercial hedgers, thus, unwillingly engaged in positive feedback trading. {yields} Institutional investors potentially destabilized the oil markets in 2008.

Characteristics of the Commercial Sex Market in Thailand: A Microeconomics Investigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peera Tangtammaruk

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The market for commercial sex is in fact just like any other market characterized by demand, supply, and price. The market exists in almost every country, and different types have different market structures. In Thailand, the economic structure of the commercial sex market is rather complicated and there is need for a methodological or scientific approach to help better our understanding. This paper aims to provide a working taxonomy appropriate to the commercial sex market for Thailand. Both primary data (survey and interview and secondary data based on microeconomic analysis are used to describe the market forces behind Thai’s commercial sex markets. We discuss the demand and supply conditions to see what kind of market structure best suits Thailand’s case. Because the commercial sex market in Thailand is not homogeneous, we categorized the market into sub-markets according to demand and supply characteristics and then justify the kind of market structure and equilibrium for each. For the analytical results, this paper provides many cases and details, for example, the monopoly position and price discrimination practice of brothel, and the oligopoly position in massage parlors, which contrast with the online market that is closer to the perfect competitive model with large number of agents as well as free entry or exit. We hope that an objective take on Thai’s commercial sex market grounded on microeconomics will clear many myths and unfounded issues usually associated with this market.

Geographical Simulation and Optimization System (GeoSOS and Its Application in the Analysis of Geographic National Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LI Xia

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Since the Chinese first survey on geographic national conditions has completed, an urgent need is to analyze these geographical data, such as mining of spatial distribution patterns, land use transition rules, development trends. The analysis is crucial for extracting the knowledge from these big data about geographic national conditions. The remote sensing interpretation data and land use/cover data generated by these geographic national conditions monitoring projects are the basic data sources for a variety of research and applications in terms of land use change detection, urban dynamic analysis, and urban/land use planning. The information can be used for assisting in the coordination of land resource use and decision making for urban and rural development, ecological environment protection and other issues that depends on spatial intelligent decisions. We proposed the theoretical framework of geographical simulation and optimization system (GeoSOS, which coupled geographic process simulation/prediction and spatial optimization, provides powerful theoretical support and practical tools for above researches. This paper develops the extension of GeoSOS software-GeoSOS for ArcGIS, which is an ArcGIS Add-In runs on ArcGIS platform for facilitating the above analyses. We take the urban expansion and ecological protection research in rapid urbanization area as an example, use the software to tackle a series of urbanization issues in the study area. The simulation results show that the predicted land development intensity of Guangdong Province will exceed the constraint index in 2020 according to the national development plan. However, the urbanization expansion based on the constraints of land development intensity and ecological protection can satisfy these constraints, and obtain a more compact landscape pattern. The analysis has shown that GeoSOS can be a useful tool for assisting in the analysis of geographic national conditions information

Respiratory infection rates differ between geographically distant paediatric cystic fibrosis cohorts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathryn A. Ramsey

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Respiratory infections are a major cause of pulmonary decline in children with cystic fibrosis (CF. We compared the prevalence of infection in early life at geographically distant CF treatment centres participating in the same surveillance programme in Australia. Lower airway microbiology, inflammation and structural lung disease at annual review were evaluated for 260 children 0–8 years old with CF at 1032 visits to CF treatment centres in Melbourne or Perth. Melbourne patients were more likely to be culture-positive for common respiratory pathogens at all age groups (odds ratio (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.33–2.58. Subjects 5 years old. Patients at both centres had a similar rate of hospitalisations and prescribed antibiotics. No procedural differences were identified that could explain the disparity between pathogen prevalence. Geographical differences in early acquisition of infection may contribute to variability in outcomes between CF centres.

The use of cell phone network data in traffic data collection and long-haul truckshed (geographic extent) tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-01

This study analyzed the potential of cell phone positioning techniques in freight truck data collection and long-haul : truckshed (geographic extent) tracking. Freight truck identification and tracking algorithms were developed by means of : cell pho...

Geographical range and local abundance of tree species in China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haibao Ren

Full Text Available Most studies on the geographical distribution of species have utilized a few well-known taxa in Europe and North America, with little research in China and its wide range of climate and forest types. We assembled large datasets to quantify the geographic ranges of tree species in China and to test several biogeographic hypotheses: 1 whether locally abundant species tend to be geographically widespread; 2 whether species are more abundant towards their range-centers; and 3 how abundances are correlated between sites. Local abundances of 651 species were derived from four tree plots of 20-25 ha where all individuals ≥1 cm in stem diameter were mapped and identified taxonomically. Range sizes of these species across China were then estimated from over 460,000 geo-referenced records; a Bayesian approach was used, allowing careful measures of error of each range estimate. The log-transformed range sizes had a bell-shaped distribution with a median of 703,000 km(2, and >90% of 651 species had ranges >10(5 km(2. There was no relationship between local abundance and range size, and no evidence for species being more abundant towards their range-centers. Finally, species' abundances were positively correlated between sites. The widespread nature of most tree species in China suggests few are vulnerable to global extinction, and there is no indication of the double-peril that would result if rare species also had narrow ranges.

Geographic Literacy and Moral Formation among University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Bascom, Jonathan

2011-01-01

This study extends analysis of geographic literacy further by examining the relationship of geographic knowledge with the primary goal of geographic educators--cultivation of cultural understanding and moral sensitivity for global citizenry. The main aim is to examine contributors to moral formation during the university years based on a survey…

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Transportation Features

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Historical Features

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Admin Features

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Hydrography Lines

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Cultural Features

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Landform Features

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Hydrography Points

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Community Features

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Antarctica Features

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Homeland Security — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Remote sensing research in geographic education: An alternative view

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, H.; Cary, T. K.; Goward, S. N.

1981-01-01

It is noted that within many geography departments remote sensing is viewed as a mere technique a student should learn in order to carry out true geographic research. This view inhibits both students and faculty from investigation of remotely sensed data as a new source of geographic knowledge that may alter our understanding of the Earth. The tendency is for geographers to accept these new data and analysis techniques from engineers and mathematicians without questioning the accompanying premises. This black-box approach hinders geographic applications of the new remotely sensed data and limits the geographer's contribution to further development of remote sensing observation systems. It is suggested that geographers contribute to the development of remote sensing through pursuit of basic research. This research can be encouraged, particularly among students, by demonstrating the links between geographic theory and remotely sensed observations, encouraging a healthy skepticism concerning the current understanding of these data.

Commercial lumber

Science.gov (United States)

Kent A. McDonald; David E. Kretschmann

1999-01-01

In a broad sense, commercial lumber is any lumber that is bought or sold in the normal channels of commerce. Commercial lumber may be found in a variety of forms, species, and types, and in various commercial establishments, both wholesale and retail. Most commercial lumber is graded by standardized rules that make purchasing more or less uniform throughout the country...

Geographical institute "Jovan Cvijić" from its foundation till today

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đorđević Jasmina

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper gives a brief retrospect on work in Geographical Institute "Jovan Cvijić" SASA in past 60 years. In the first place, there's a need to point on activities and structure of the Institute, as well as on tasks and perspectives in its further development. Certainly, it's necessary to estimate Institutes research as well. Considering a fact that results accomplished by researchers and scientists are the main indicators of any scientific institution success, we could say that Geographical Institute with its constantly small amount of scientific cadres justifies its existence. Results of Institutes research could be observed from two points of view. First, there's a perceptible quality and quantity of published scientific papers, and second, Institute has created scientific cadres with all neccessary qualifications. Many of them had left Institute, taking corresponding positions at Universities and other institutes. Society problems in the past 15 years have effected science as well. This related to the Institute also, though scientists are trying to hold out a rough material situation and to keep up with their colleagues from Europe and further.

Personality Homophily and Geographic Distance in Facebook.

Science.gov (United States)

Noë, Nyala; Whitaker, Roger M; Allen, Stuart M

2018-05-24

Personality homophily remains an understudied aspect of social networks, with the traditional focus concerning sociodemographic variables as the basis for assortativity, rather than psychological dispositions. We consider the effect of personality homophily on one of the biggest constraints to human social networks: geographic distance. We use the Big five model of personality to make predictions for each of the five facets: Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. Using a network of 313,669 Facebook users, we investigate the difference in geographic distance between homophilous pairs, in which both users scored similarly on a particular facet, and mixed pairs. In accordance with our hypotheses, we find that pairs of open and conscientious users are geographically further apart than mixed pairs. Pairs of extraverts, on the other hand, tend to be geographically closer together. We find mixed results for the Neuroticism facet, and no significant effects for the Agreeableness facet. The results are discussed in the context of personality homophily and the impact of geographic distance on social connections.

19 CFR 113.67 - Commercial gauger and commercial laboratory bond conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Commercial gauger and commercial laboratory bond... SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY CUSTOMS BONDS Customs Bond Conditions § 113.67 Commercial gauger and commercial laboratory bond conditions. Commercial Gauger Bond Conditions (a) Commercial gauger bond...

Positivity of the spherically averaged atomic one-electron density

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fournais, Søren; Hoffmann-Ostenhof, Maria; Hoffmann-Ostenhof, Thomas

2008-01-01

We investigate the positivity of the spherically averaged atomic one-electron density . For a which stems from a physical ground state we prove that for r ≥  0. This article may be reproduced in its entirety for non-commercial purposes.......We investigate the positivity of the spherically averaged atomic one-electron density . For a which stems from a physical ground state we prove that for r ≥  0. This article may be reproduced in its entirety for non-commercial purposes....

Surveying and Mapping Geographical Information from the Perspective of Geography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LÜ Guonian

2017-10-01

Full Text Available It briefly reviewed the history of geographic information content development since the existence of geographic information system. It pointed out that the current definition of geographic information is always the extension from the "spatial+ attributes" basic mapping framework of geographic information. It is increasingly difficult to adapt to the analysis and application of spatial-temporal big data. From the perspective of geography research subject and content, it summarized systematically that the content and extension of the "geographic information" that geography needs. It put forward that a six-element expression model of geographic information, including spatial location, semantic description, attribute characteristics, geometric form, evolution process, and objects relationship.Under the guidance of the laws of geography, for geographical phenomenon of spatial distribution, temporal pattern and evolution process, the interaction mechanism of the integrated expression, system analysis and efficient management, it designed that a unified GIS data model which is expressed by six basic elements, a new GIS data structure driven by geographical rules and interaction, and key technologies of unstructured spatio-temporal data organization and storage. It provided that a theoretical basis and technical support for the shift from the surveying and mapping geographic information to the scientific geographic information, and it can help improving the organization, management, analysis and expression ability of the GIS of the geographical laws such as geographical pattern, evolution process, and interaction between elements.

AHP 6: A New Investigation of the Geographic Position of the Báilán Capital of the Tŭyùhún

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhu Shikui

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Báilán, of the Tŭyùhún Kingdom, is an extremely important place name in the ethnic history of ancient China. Throughout the more than 900 year medieval period of Chinese history–the Wèi, Jìn, Northern and Southern dynasties, Táng, Sòng, and Yuán eras (third to thirteenthcenturies–the name Báilán remained in historical materials, demonstrating the name's historical significance. Scholars have discussed the geographic position of Báilán since the 1920s, but no consensus has emerged. In this paper we undertake a comprehensive investigation of the issue. We carried out related field work in Dūlán County and the Qaidam (Cháidámù area of Hăixī Prefecture, Qīnghăi Province and interviewed knowledgeable elders of the region. We also consulted the results of recent archeological excavations. We advance explanations for the terms 'Báilán Qiāng' and 'Báilán Mountains', and suggest a location of the ancient city of Báilán.

No Geographic Correlation between Lyme Disease and Death Due to 4 Neurodegenerative Disorders, United States, 2001-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Forrester, Joseph D; Kugeler, Kiersten J; Perea, Anna E; Pastula, Daniel M; Mead, Paul S

2015-11-01

Associations between Lyme disease and certain neurodegenerative diseases have been proposed, but supportive evidence for an association is lacking. Similar geographic distributions would be expected if 2 conditions were etiologically linked. Thus, we compared the distribution of Lyme disease cases in the United States with the distributions of deaths due to Alzheimer disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), and Parkinson disease; no geographic correlations were identified. Lyme disease incidence per US state was not correlated with rates of death due to ALS, MS, or Parkinson disease; however, an inverse correlation was detected between Lyme disease and Alzheimer disease. The absence of a positive correlation between the geographic distribution of Lyme disease and the distribution of deaths due to Alzheimer disease, ALS, MS, and Parkinson disease provides further evidence that Lyme disease is not associated with the development of these neurodegenerative conditions.

Thematic cartography as a geographical application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Drago Perko

2002-12-01

Full Text Available A thematic map may be a geographical application (tool in itself or the basis for some other geographical work. The development of Slovene thematic cartography accelerated considerably following the independence of the country in 1991. From the viewpoint of content and technology, its greatest achievements are the Geographical Atlas of Slovenia and the National Atlas of Slovenia, which are outstanding achievements at the international level and of great significance for the promotion of Slovenia and Slovene geography and cartography. However, this rapid development has been accompanied by numerous problems, for example, the ignoring of various Slovene and international conventions for the preparation of maps including United Nations resolutions, Slovene and international (SIST ISO, and copyright laws.

Development and assessment of a lysophospholipid-based deep learning model to discriminate geographical origins of white rice.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Nguyen Phuoc; Lim, Dong Kyu; Mo, Changyeun; Kim, Giyoung; Kwon, Sung Won

2017-08-17

Geographical origin determination of white rice has become the major issue of food industry. However, there is still lack of a high-throughput method for rapidly and reproducibly differentiating the geographical origins of commercial white rice. In this study, we developed a method that employed lipidomics and deep learning to discriminate white rice from Korea to China. A total of 126 white rice of 30 cultivars from different regions were utilized for the method development and validation. By using direct infusion-mass spectrometry-based targeted lipidomics, 17 lysoglycerophospholipids were simultaneously characterized within minutes per sample. Unsupervised data exploration showed a noticeable overlap of white rice between two countries. In addition, lysophosphatidylcholines (lysoPCs) were prominent in white rice from Korea while lysophosphatidylethanolamines (lysoPEs) were enriched in white rice from China. A deep learning prediction model was built using 2014 white rice and validated using two different batches of 2015 white rice. The model accurately discriminated white rice from two countries. Among 10 selected predictors, lysoPC(18:2), lysoPC(14:0), and lysoPE(16:0) were the three most important features. Random forest and gradient boosting machine models also worked well in this circumstance. In conclusion, this study provides an architecture for high-throughput classification of white rice from different geographical origins.

Spatiotemporal Distribution of U5MR and Their Relationship with Geographic and Socioeconomic Factors in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zeng; Fu, Jingying; Jiang, Dong; Lin, Gang; Dong, Donglin; Yan, Xiaoxi

2017-11-21

Epidemiological studies conducted around the world have reported that the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) is closely associated with income and educational attainment. However, geographic elements should also remain a major concern in further improving child health issues, since they often play an important role in the survival environment. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the U5MR, geographic, and socioeconomic factors, and to explore the associated spatial variance of the relationship in China using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The results indicate that the space pattern of a high U5MR had been narrowed notably during the period from 2001 to 2010. Nighttime lights (NL) and the digital elevation model (DEM) both have obvious influences on the U5MR, with the NL having a negative impact and DEM having a positive impact. Additionally, the relationship between the NL and DEM varied over space in China. Moreover, the relevance between U5MR and DEM was narrowed in 2010 compared to 2001, which indicates that the development of economic and medical standards can overcome geographical limits.

Spatiotemporal Distribution of U5MR and Their Relationship with Geographic and Socioeconomic Factors in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeng Li

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Epidemiological studies conducted around the world have reported that the under-five mortality rate (U5MR is closely associated with income and educational attainment. However, geographic elements should also remain a major concern in further improving child health issues, since they often play an important role in the survival environment. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the U5MR, geographic, and socioeconomic factors, and to explore the associated spatial variance of the relationship in China using the geographically weighted regression (GWR model. The results indicate that the space pattern of a high U5MR had been narrowed notably during the period from 2001 to 2010. Nighttime lights (NL and the digital elevation model (DEM both have obvious influences on the U5MR, with the NL having a negative impact and DEM having a positive impact. Additionally, the relationship between the NL and DEM varied over space in China. Moreover, the relevance between U5MR and DEM was narrowed in 2010 compared to 2001, which indicates that the development of economic and medical standards can overcome geographical limits.

National Geographic Education. An Interview with Gilbert M. Grosvenor, President and Chairman of the Board, National Geographic Society.

Science.gov (United States)

Jumper, Sidney R.

1991-01-01

Presents an interview with Gilbert Grosvenor, president and chairman of the board of the National Geographic Society. Examines student and public ignorance about geography. Describes the Society's Geography Education Project, Geographic Alliance Project, and Education Foundation. Includes Grosvenor's call for greater emphasis on geography in…

Design Research of TIANDITU (Map Worl)-Based Geographic Information System for Travelling Service

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, J.; Zhang, H.; Wang, C.

2014-04-01

TIANDITU (Map World) is the public version of the National Platform for Common Geospatial Information Service, and the travelling channel is TIANDITU-based geographic information platform for travelling service. With the development of tourism, traditional ways for providing travelling information cannot meet the needs of travelers. As such, the travelling channel of TIANDITU focuses on providing travel information abundantly and precisely, which integrated the geographic information data of TIANDITU Version 2.0 and the authoritative information resources from China National Tourism Administration. Furthermore, spatial positioning, category and information query of various travelling information were offered for the public in the travelling channel. This research mainly involves three important parts: the system design, key technologies of the system design and application examples. Firstly, this paper introduced the design of TIANDITU-based geographic information system for travelling service, and the general and database design were described in detail. The designs for general, database and travelling service above should consider lots of factors which illustrated in the paper in order to guarantee the efficient service. The process of system construction, the content of geographic information for travelling and system functions of geographic information for travelling are also proposed via diagram in this part. Then several key technologies were discussed, including the travelling information integration for main node and among nodes, general architecture design and management system for travelling channel, web portals and system interface. From the perspective of main technologies, this part describes how TIANDITU travelling channel can realize various functions and reach the requirements from different users. Finally, three application examples about travelling information query were listed shortly. The functions and search results are shown clearly in this

Cartography and Geographic Information Science in Current Contents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nedjeljko Frančula

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The Cartography and Geographic Information Science (CaGIS journal was published as The American Cartographer from 1974 to 1989, after that as Cartography and Geographic Information System, and since then has been published with its current name. It is published by the Cartography and Geographic Information Society, a member of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping.

Commercial aspects of semi-reusable launch systems

Science.gov (United States)

Obersteiner, M. H.; Müller, H.; Spies, H.

2003-07-01

This paper presents a business planning model for a commercial space launch system. The financing model is based on market analyses and projections combined with market capture models. An operations model is used to derive the annual cash income. Parametric cost modeling, development and production schedules are used for quantifying the annual expenditures, the internal rate of return, break even point of positive cash flow and the respective prices per launch. Alternative consortia structures, cash flow methods, capture rates and launch prices are used to examine the sensitivity of the model. Then the model is applied for a promising semi-reusable launcher concept, showing the general achievability of the commercial approach and the necessary pre-conditions.

Airports Geographic Information System -

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — The Airports Geographic Information System maintains the airport and aeronautical data required to meet the demands of the Next Generation National Airspace System....

Hierarchical spatial organization of geographical networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Travencolo, Bruno A N; Costa, Luciano da F

2008-01-01

In this work, we propose a hierarchical extension of the polygonality index as the means to characterize geographical planar networks. By considering successive neighborhoods around each node, it is possible to obtain more complete information about the spatial order of the network at progressive spatial scales. The potential of the methodology is illustrated with respect to synthetic and real geographical networks

Spatial distribution and influence factors of interprovincial terrestrial physical geographical names in China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, S.; Wang, Y.; Ju, H.

2017-12-01

The interprovincial terrestrial physical geographical entities are the key areas of regional integrated management. Based on toponomy dictionaries and different thematic maps, the attributes and the spatial extent of the interprovincial terrestrial physical geographical names (ITPGN, including terrain ITPGN and water ITPGN) were extracted. The coefficient of variation and Moran's I were combined together to measure the spatial variation and spatial association of ITPGN. The influencing factors of the distribution of ITPGN and the implications for the regional management were further discussed. The results showed that 11325 ITPGN were extracted, including 7082 terrain ITPGN and 4243 water ITPGN. Hunan Province had the largest number of ITPGN in China, and Shanghai had the smallest number. The spatial variance of the terrain ITPGN was larger than that of the water ITPGN, and the ITPGN showed a significant agglomeration phenomenon in the southern part of China. Further analysis showed that the number of ITPGN was positively related with the relative elevation and the population where the relative elevation was lower than 2000m and the population was less than 50 million. But the number of ITPGN showed a negative relationship with the two factors when their values became larger, indicating a large number of unnamed entities existed in complex terrain areas and a decreasing number of terrestrial physical geographical entities in densely populated area. Based on these analysis, we suggest the government take the ITPGN as management units to realize a balance development between different parts of the entities and strengthen the geographical names census and the nomination of unnamed interprovincial physical geographical entities. This study also demonstrated that the methods of literature survey, coefficient of variation and Moran's I can be combined to enhance the understanding of the spatial pattern of ITPGN.

Adulteration and Contamination of Commercial Sap of Hymenaea Species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katyuce de Souza Farias

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Hymenaea stigonocarpa and Hymenaea martiana species, commonly known as “jatobá,” produce a sap which is extracted by perforation of the trunk and is commonly used in folk medicine as a tonic. For this study, the authenticity of commercial samples of jatobá was verified by the identification of the main compounds and multivariate analysis and contamination by microbial presence analysis. The acute toxicity of the authentic jatobá sap was also evaluated. The metabolites composition and multivariate analysis revealed that none of the commercial samples were authentic. In the microbiological contamination analysis, five of the six commercial samples showed positive cultures within the range of 1,700–100,000 CFU/mL and the authentic sap produced no signs of toxicity, and from a histological point of view, there was the maintenance of tissue integrity. In brief, the commercial samples were deemed inappropriate for consumption and represent a danger to the population.

Space Commercialization

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Gary L.

2011-01-01

A robust and competitive commercial space sector is vital to continued progress in space. The United States is committed to encouraging and facilitating the growth of a U.S. commercial space sector that supports U.S. needs, is globally competitive, and advances U.S. leadership in the generation of new markets and innovation-driven entrepreneurship. Energize competitive domestic industries to participate in global markets and advance the development of: satellite manufacturing; satellite-based services; space launch; terrestrial applications; and increased entrepreneurship. Purchase and use commercial space capabilities and services to the maximum practical extent Actively explore the use of inventive, nontraditional arrangements for acquiring commercial space goods and services to meet United States Government requirements, including measures such as public-private partnerships, . Refrain from conducting United States Government space activities that preclude, discourage, or compete with U.S. commercial space activities. Pursue potential opportunities for transferring routine, operational space functions to the commercial space sector where beneficial and cost-effective.

Multiple sclerosis: a geographical hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlyle, I P

1997-12-01

Multiple sclerosis remains a rare neurological disease of unknown aetiology, with a unique distribution, both geographically and historically. Rare in equatorial regions, it becomes increasingly common in higher latitudes; historically, it was first clinically recognized in the early nineteenth century. A hypothesis, based on geographical reasoning, is here proposed: that the disease is the result of a specific vitamin deficiency. Different individuals suffer the deficiency in separate and often unique ways. Evidence to support the hypothesis exists in cultural considerations, in the global distribution of the disease, and in its historical prevalence.

The geographic concentration of blue carbon in the continental US

Science.gov (United States)

Feagin, R. A.; Hinson, A.

2014-12-01

Salt water wetlands have the potential to be bought and sold as relatively rich reservoirs of carbon in the context of sequestration projects. However, little is known about the geographic distribution of this potential, and no coarse scale investigation has addressed this ecosystem service at the continental scale. Our objective was to determine blue carbon stocks and flux in coastal wetland soils in the United States and categorize the potential for projects by estuarine basin, state, and wetland type. We linked National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) data with the Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO) through spatial analysis within a Geographic Information System (GIS). We then calculated and mapped soil organic carbon across the continental US. Results were filtered by state, estuarine basin, wetland type, and accumulation rate, and ranking lists for each categorization were produced. The results showed that belowground carbon accumulation is concentrated in specific regions, with the richest and largest reservoirs in the Gulf and Atlantic southeastern estuaries, for example mangrove zones in Florida. Salt marshes on the southern Pacific Coast were relatively low in carbon due to small areas of coverage and the presence of sandy and inorganic soil. The geomorphic position of a wetland within a given estuary, for example on an exposed barrier island versus recessed towards inflowing headwaters, accounted for a greater degree of soil carbon variation than the wetland type, for example woody mangroves versus herbaceous marshes. The potential of a blue carbon sequestration project in relation to its location could be influential in determining wetland policy, conservation, and restoration in the coming decades.

Circulation of HIV antigen in blood according to stage of infection, risk group, age and geographic origin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goudsmit, J.; Paul, D. A.

1987-01-01

Human immunodeficiency virus antigen (HIV-ag) was determined by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in HIV-antibody (anti-HIV) positive as well as pre-anti-HIV seroconversion sera and the results analysed according to stage of infection, risk group, age and geographic origin. Eleven (19%) of 58 homosexual men

[Spatial distribution of occupational disease prevalence in Guangzhou and Foshan city by geographic information system].

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Q; Tu, H W; Gu, C H; Li, X D; Li, R Z; Wang, M; Chen, S G; Cheng, Y J; Liu, Y M

2017-11-20

Objective: To explore the occupational disease spatial distribution characteristics in Guangzhou and Foshan city in 2006-2013 with Geographic Information System and to provide evidence for making control strategy. Methods: The data on occupational disease diagnosis in Guangzhou and Foshan city from 2006 through 2013 were collected and linked to the digital map at administrative county level with Arc GIS12.0 software for spatial analysis. Results: The maps of occupational disease and Moran's spatial autocor-relation analysis showed that the spatial aggregation existed in Shunde and Nanhai region with Moran's index 1.727, -0.003. Local Moran's I spatial autocorrelation analysis pointed out the "positive high incidence re-gion" and the "negative high incidence region" during 2006~2013. Trend analysis showed that the diagnosis case increased slightly then declined from west to east, increase obviously from north to south, declined from? southwest to northeast, high in the middle and low on both sides in northwest-southeast direction. Conclusions: The occupational disease is obviously geographical distribution in Guangzhou and Foshan city. The corresponding prevention measures should be made according to the geographical distribution.

ESSENCE AND VALUE OF FINANCIAL RESULTS OF COMMERCIAL BANK ACTIVITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kushnarova Anna

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Financial results of the banking institution activity are one of the most important indicators of its functioning. They characterize the stability and reliability of a commercial bank, which is necessary to create reserve funds, to encourage staff and offer guidance to develop and improve operations on the market, reduce costs and improve the quality of services provided. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to determine the composition and significance of financial results for the functioning of the banking institution in the existing competitive environment. Results. The article considers the concept of financial results of a commercial bank as an important element of its activity for achieving competitive advantages in the banking services market. The composition and structure of financial results, factors of possible impact on them are determined. The source of the mapping and recording of the results of the activity is indicated. Attention is paid to the significance of profit as a positive financial result of a commercial bank activity and the priority directions of its distribution are formed. The importance of the relative indicator of the effective activity of a commercial bank as one of the elements of the formation of financial results is substantiated. Conclusions. Thus, in today’s market conditions, one can talk about the expediency of determining the composition of financial results and their significance to ensure the main directions of the functioning of a commercial bank. First of all, in order to increase the level of profitability it is necessary to carry out a comprehensive analysis of income and expenditure, to identify the factors of influence on them, to increase the reserves of activity. Receiving a positive or negative value of financial performance depends primarily on the effectiveness of the interaction of each component of the organization of a modern commercial bank. The ability to correctly identify

A step-by-step approach to improve data quality when using commercial business lists to characterize retail food environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Kelly K; Zenk, Shannon N; Tarlov, Elizabeth; Powell, Lisa M; Matthews, Stephen A; Horoi, Irina

2017-01-07

Food environment characterization in health studies often requires data on the location of food stores and restaurants. While commercial business lists are commonly used as data sources for such studies, current literature provides little guidance on how to use validation study results to make decisions on which commercial business list to use and how to maximize the accuracy of those lists. Using data from a retrospective cohort study [Weight And Veterans' Environments Study (WAVES)], we (a) explain how validity and bias information from existing validation studies (count accuracy, classification accuracy, locational accuracy, as well as potential bias by neighborhood racial/ethnic composition, economic characteristics, and urbanicity) were used to determine which commercial business listing to purchase for retail food outlet data and (b) describe the methods used to maximize the quality of the data and results of this approach. We developed data improvement methods based on existing validation studies. These methods included purchasing records from commercial business lists (InfoUSA and Dun and Bradstreet) based on store/restaurant names as well as standard industrial classification (SIC) codes, reclassifying records by store type, improving geographic accuracy of records, and deduplicating records. We examined the impact of these procedures on food outlet counts in US census tracts. After cleaning and deduplicating, our strategy resulted in a 17.5% reduction in the count of food stores that were valid from those purchased from InfoUSA and 5.6% reduction in valid counts of restaurants purchased from Dun and Bradstreet. Locational accuracy was improved for 7.5% of records by applying street addresses of subsequent years to records with post-office (PO) box addresses. In total, up to 83% of US census tracts annually experienced a change (either positive or negative) in the count of retail food outlets between the initial purchase and the final dataset. Our study

Dynamic management of geographic data in a virtual environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jense, G.J.; Donkers, K.

1996-01-01

In order to achieve true 3D user interaction with geographic information, an interface between a virtual environment system and a geographic information system has been designed and implemented. This VE/GIS interface is based on a loose coupling of the underlying geographic database and the virtual

American Nurses Association Position Statement on guidelines for commercial support of continuing nursing education.

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

The attached guidelines on "Commercial Support of Continuing Nursing Education" have been developed by the American Nurses Association (ANA) to assist/guide nursing continuing educators who wish to utilize the resources of corporations to provide continuing education programs. These guidelines enable the provider to maintain a balance between the need for industry-supported dissemination of scientific information and promotional activities which meet the requirements of law, as well as professional standards of the American Nurses Association.

[Brazilian teenagers and beer advertising: relationship between exposure, positive response, and alcohol consumption].

Science.gov (United States)

Vendrame, Alan; Pinsky, Ilana; Faria, Roberta; Silva, Rebeca

2009-02-01

Brazilian teenagers report problematic patterns of alcohol consumption. Alcohol advertising strategies are one of the main factors influencing adolescents' alcohol consumption. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between positive responses to TV beer commercials, exposure, and alcohol consumption. Thirty-two recent TV commercials were shown to 133 high school students from public schools in São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo State, Brazil. The subjects recorded how well they liked the ads and how often they had already watched each commercial. The teenagers also reported their alcohol consumption rates. The ten commercials analyzed in this article were the five most popular and the five least popular. The analysis showed that subjects had already seen the five most popular ads, but not the five least popular. In addition, the five most popular ads received higher scores from teenagers that reported having consumed beer during the previous month. The study found a positive relationship between enjoying beer advertising and exposure to beer ads, as well as between alcohol consumption and positive responses to alcohol commercials.

Commercial developments in food irradiation in North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraser, F.

1997-01-01

The 1990 s mark significant progress in the commercialization of food irradiation in the USA. This progress is, to a large extent, the result of a long list of approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which started in earnest in 1986 by the approval of pork, fruits, vegetables, grains, enzymes and dry ingredients. With the establishment of the first dedicated food irradiator in Florida and the subsequent approval by FDA and USDA of fresh and frozen raw poultry, as well as the pending approvals of red meat and seafood, combine into a complete set of positive conditions for a successful commercial launch. (Author)

Commercial developments in food irradiation in North America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fraser, F [MDS Nordion International Inc. 447 March Road, Kanata, Ontario K2k 1x8 (Canada)

1998-12-31

The 1990 s mark significant progress in the commercialization of food irradiation in the USA. This progress is, to a large extent, the result of a long list of approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which started in earnest in 1986 by the approval of pork, fruits, vegetables, grains, enzymes and dry ingredients. With the establishment of the first dedicated food irradiator in Florida and the subsequent approval by FDA and USDA of fresh and frozen raw poultry, as well as the pending approvals of red meat and seafood, combine into a complete set of positive conditions for a successful commercial launch. (Author)

Commercial developments in food irradiation in North America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fraser, F. [MDS Nordion International Inc. 447 March Road, Kanata, Ontario K2k 1x8 (Canada)

1997-12-31

The 1990 s mark significant progress in the commercialization of food irradiation in the USA. This progress is, to a large extent, the result of a long list of approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which started in earnest in 1986 by the approval of pork, fruits, vegetables, grains, enzymes and dry ingredients. With the establishment of the first dedicated food irradiator in Florida and the subsequent approval by FDA and USDA of fresh and frozen raw poultry, as well as the pending approvals of red meat and seafood, combine into a complete set of positive conditions for a successful commercial launch. (Author)

Blood trace metals in a sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis geographical cluster.

Science.gov (United States)

De Benedetti, Stefano; Lucchini, Giorgio; Del Bò, Cristian; Deon, Valeria; Marocchi, Alessandro; Penco, Silvana; Lunetta, Christian; Gianazza, Elisabetta; Bonomi, Francesco; Iametti, Stefania

2017-06-01

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal disorder with unknown etiology, in which genetic and environmental factors interplay to determine the onset and the course of the disease. Exposure to toxic metals has been proposed to be involved in the etiology of the disease either through a direct damage or by promoting oxidative stress. In this study we evaluated the concentration of a panel of metals in serum and whole blood of a small group of sporadic patients, all living in a defined geographical area, for which acid mine drainage has been reported. ALS prevalence in this area is higher than in the rest of Italy. Results were analyzed with software based on artificial neural networks. High concentrations of metals (in particular Se, Mn and Al) were associated with the disease group. Arsenic serum concentration resulted lower in ALS patients, but it positively correlated with disease duration. Comet assay was performed to evaluate endogenous DNA damage that resulted not different between patients and controls. Up to now only few studies considered geographically well-defined clusters of ALS patients. Common geographical origin among patients and controls gave us the chance to perform metallomic investigations under comparable conditions of environmental exposure. Elaboration of these data with software based on machine learning processes has the potential to be extremely useful to gain a comprehensive view of the complex interactions eventually leading to disease, even in a small number of subjects.

European regional efficiency and geographical externalities: a spatial nonparametric frontier analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ramajo, Julián; Cordero, José Manuel; Márquez, Miguel Ángel

2017-10-01

This paper analyses region-level technical efficiency in nine European countries over the 1995-2007 period. We propose the application of a nonparametric conditional frontier approach to account for the presence of heterogeneous conditions in the form of geographical externalities. Such environmental factors are beyond the control of regional authorities, but may affect the production function. Therefore, they need to be considered in the frontier estimation. Specifically, a spatial autoregressive term is included as an external conditioning factor in a robust order- m model. Thus we can test the hypothesis of non-separability (the external factor impacts both the input-output space and the distribution of efficiencies), demonstrating the existence of significant global interregional spillovers into the production process. Our findings show that geographical externalities affect both the frontier level and the probability of being more or less efficient. Specifically, the results support the fact that the spatial lag variable has an inverted U-shaped non-linear impact on the performance of regions. This finding can be interpreted as a differential effect of interregional spillovers depending on the size of the neighboring economies: positive externalities for small values, possibly related to agglomeration economies, and negative externalities for high values, indicating the possibility of production congestion. Additionally, evidence of the existence of a strong geographic pattern of European regional efficiency is reported and the levels of technical efficiency are acknowledged to have converged during the period under analysis.

Epidemiology and geographical distribution of enteric protozoan infections in Sydney, Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie Fletcher

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Background. Enteric protozoa are associated with diarrhoeal illnesses in humans; however there are no recent studies on their epidemiology and geographical distribution in Australia. This study describes the epidemiology of enteric protozoa in the state of New South Wales and incorporates spatial analysis to describe their distribution. Design and methods. Laboratory and clinical records from four public hospitals in Sydney for 910 patients, who tested positive for enteric protozoa over the period January 2007-December 2010, were identified, examined and analysed. We selected 580 cases which had residence post code data available, enabling us to examine the geographic distribution of patients, and reviewed the clinical data of 252 patients to examine possible links between protozoa, demographic and clinical features. Results. Frequently detected protozoa were Blastocystis spp. (57%, Giardia intestinalis (27% and Dientamoeba fragilis (12%. The age distribution showed that the prevalence of protozoa decreased with age up to 24 years but increasing with age from 25 years onwards. The geographic provenance of the patients indicates that the majority of cases of Blastocystis (53.1% are clustered in and around the Sydney City Business District, while pockets of giardiasis were identified in regional/rural areas. The distribution of cases suggests higher risk of protozoan infection may exist for some communities. Conclusions. These findings provide useful information for policy makers to design and tailor interventions to target high risk communities. Follow-up investigation into the risk factors for giardiasis in regional/rural area is needed.

URBAN TRAFFIC ACCIDENT ANALYSIS BY USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meltem SAPLIOĞLU

2006-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, traffic accidents that cause more social and economic losses than that of natural disasters,have become a national problem in Turkey. To solve this problem and to reduce the casualties, road safety programs are tried to be developed. It is necessary to develop the most effective measures with low investment cost due to limited budgets allocated to such road safety programs. The most important program is to determine dangerous locations of traffic accidents and to improve these sections from the road safety view point. New Technologies are driving a cycle of continuous improvement that causes rapid changes in the traffic engineering and any engineering services within it. It is obvious that this developed services will be the potential for forward-thinking engineering studies to take a more influence role. In this study, Geographic Information System (GIS was used to identify the hazardous locations of traffic accidents in Isparta. Isparta city map was digitized by using Arcinfo 7.21. Traffic accident reports occurred between 1998-2002 were obtained from Directory of Isparta Traffic Region and had been used to form the database. Topology was set up by using Crash Diagrams and Geographic Position Reference Systems. Tables are formed according to the obtained results and interpreted.

U.S. Navigated Waterway Mile Marker Locations from USCOE source data, Geographic NAD83, LOSCO (2000) [river_mile_markers_USACE_1994

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This is a point dataset representing 10,044 sequential mile positions of navigable inland waterways and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. These data were developed as...

Estimating energy conservation potential in China's commercial sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Boqiang; Wang, Ailun

2015-01-01

With low energy intensity and great potential for growth, the commercial sector has become one of the key sectors for energy conservation and emission reduction in the context of China's rapid urbanization process. Based on the EIA (Energy Information Administration) statistical methods, this paper calculates the energy consumption of China's commercial sector from 1981 to 2012, specifies the determinants of commercial energy demand, forecasts future energy consumption and estimates the energy conservation potentials using the Johansen co-integration methodology. The results indicate: (i) GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and urbanization have positive effects on the energy consumption of the commercial sector while labor productivity and energy price contribute to reduction in the sector's energy consumption. (ii) Under the basic scenario, energy consumption of the commercial sector will be 317.34 and 469.84 Mtce (million tons of coal equivalent) in 2015 and 2020 respectively. (iii) Under the moderate and advanced scenario, about 187.00 and 531.45 Mtce respectively of the energy consumption of the commercial sector can be conserved from 2013 to 2020. The findings have important implications for policy-makers to enact energy-saving policies. - Highlights: • Calculation of China's commercial energy consumption and saving potential. • Co-integration model is applied to estimate commercial energy efficiency. • Decomposition of driving forces of energy consumption. • Future policies for commercial energy efficiency are discussed

Commercial technologies from the SP-100 program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Truscello, V.C.; Fujita, T.; Mondt, J.F.

1995-01-01

For more than a decade, Jet Propulsion Labortory and Los Alamos have managed a multi-agency funded effort to develop a space reactor power system. This SP-100 Program has developed technologies required for space power systems that can be implemented in the industrial and commercial sectors to improve competitiveness in the global economy. Initial steps taken to transfer this technology from the laboratories to industrial and commercial entities within United States include: (1) identifying specific technologies having commercial potential; (2) distributing information describing the identified technologies and interacting with interested commercial and industrial entities to develop application-specific details and requirements; and (3) providing a technological data base that leads to transfer of technology or the forming of teaming arrangements to accomplish the transfer by tailoring the technology to meet application-specific requirements. SP-100 technologies having commercial potential encompass fabrication processes, devices, and components. Examples: a process for bonding refractory metals to graphite, a device to sense the position of an actuator and a component to enable rotating machines to operate without supplying lubrication (self-lubricating ball bearing). Shortly after the NASA Regional Technology Transfer Centers widely disseminated information covering SP-100 technologies, over one hundred expressions of interest were received, which indicate that there is a large potential benefit in transferring SP-100 technology. Interactions with industrial and commercial entities have identified a substantial need for creating teaming arrangements involving the interested entity and personnel from laboratories and their contractors, who have the knowledge and ability to tailor the technology to meet application-specific requirements. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

Business-Level Strategy for the Foreign Commercial Banks operating within Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Rasool Khan, Mohamed Rizal

2007-01-01

This paper discusses the strategic positioning and use of Porter’s (1980) generic strategy framework within the foreign commercial banks operating in Malaysia. It was found that two distinct strategic groups were formed by the foreign commercial banks. Performance analysis conducted suggests that banks with clearer strategic direction managed to outperform its peers in its strategic group. Furthermore, the performance of one strategic group was significantly lower than that of the second.

Soil erosion fragility assessment using an impact model and geographic information system

OpenAIRE

Jorge,Luiz Alberto Blanco

2009-01-01

A study was taken in a 1566 ha watershed situated in the Capivara River basin, municipality of Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil. This environment is fragile and can be subjected to different forms of negative impacts, among them soil erosion by water. The main objective of the research was to develop a methodology for the assessment of soil erosion fragility at the various different watershed positions, using the geographic information system ILWIS version 3.3 for Windows. An impact model wa...

A geographic information system applied to a malaria field study in western Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Hightower, A W; Ombok, M; Otieno, R; Odhiambo, R; Oloo, A J; Lal, A A; Nahlen, B L; Hawley, W A

1998-03-01

This paper describes use of the global positioning system (GPS) in differential mode (DGPS) to obtain highly accurate longitudes, latitudes, and altitudes of 1,169 houses, 15 schools, 40 churches, four health care centers, 48 major mosquito breeding sites, 10 borehole wells, seven shopping areas, major roads, streams, the shore of Lake Victoria, and other geographic features of interest associated with a longitudinal study of malaria in 15 villages in western Kenya. The area mapped encompassed approximately 70 km2 and included 42.0 km of roads, 54.3 km of streams, and 15.0 km of lake shore. Location data were entered into a geographic information system for map production and linkage with various databases for spatial analyses. Spatial analyses using parasitologic and entomologic data are presented as examples. Background information on DGPS is presented along with estimates of effort and expense to produce the map information.

77 FR 30919 - Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's Permit Standards

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-24

..., and 385 [Docket No. FMCSA-2007-27659] Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's... published a final rule titled ``Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's Permit... additional drivers, primarily those transporting certain tanks temporarily attached to the commercial motor...

Use of Commercial I and C in the Next Generation of Nuclear Power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, G. L.

2006-01-01

The powerpoint presentation highlighted the following points: we should position ourselves to take better advantage of commercial equipment; the industry is taking certification for safety application seriously; we need ways to take advantage of these certifications rather than starting from zero; there will be gaps; and bridging these gaps will bring commercial technology to our market more quickly

An industry perspective on commercial radioactive waste disposal conditions and trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Romano, Stephen A

2006-11-01

The United States is presently served by Class-A, -B and -C low-level radioactive waste and naturally-occurring and accelerator-produced radioactive material disposal sites in Washington and South Carolina; a Class-A and mixed waste disposal site in Utah that also accepts naturally-occurring radioactive material; and hazardous and solid waste facilities and uranium mill tailings sites that accept certain radioactive materials on a site-specific basis. The Washington site only accepts low-level radioactive waste from 11 western states due to interstate Compact restrictions on waste importation. The South Carolina site will be subject to geographic service area restrictions beginning 1 July 2008, after which only three states will have continued access. The Utah site dominates the commercial Class-A and mixed waste disposal market due to generally lower state fees than apply in South Carolina. To expand existing commercial services, an existing hazardous waste site in western Texas is seeking a Class-A, -B and -C and mixed waste disposal license. With that exception, no new Compact facilities are proposed. This fluid, uncertain situation has inspired national level rulemaking initiatives and policy studies, as well as alternative disposal practices for certain low-activity materials.

Occurrence of infectious laryngotracheitis outbreaks in commercial layer hens detected by ELISA.

Science.gov (United States)

Aras, Zeki; Yavuz, Orhan; Sanioğlu Gölen, Gökçenur

2018-02-09

Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is an acute respiratory disease of chickens and a cause of great economic loss in commercial layers. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of ILT in the field outbreaks and to compare the characteristics of ILT-infected and free flocks of commercial layers. A total of 625 blood serum samples were collected from 25 different layer flocks. The presence of antibodies against infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) in each sample was determined by ELISA. Of the 625 serum samples, 266 (42.56%) were found to be positive for ILTV antibodies. A total of 16 (64%) flocks were detected ILT positive by ELISA method. The mortality of infected flocks was statistically higher (P  0.05) than hens in free flocks. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated a high prevalence of ILT infection in the commercial layer flocks in Konya region, Turkey. In outbreaks, ILT significantly increased the mortality rate and decreased the average live weight in layer hens.

Commercial Space Port Planning in Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, L.; Looke, B.

2002-01-01

The Texas Legislature is providing funding to support research and planning activities aimed at creating a commercial spaceport in the state. These monies have been allocated to regional Spaceport Development Corporations that have been established in three countries containing candidate site locations: Willacy County (in South Texas); Brazoria County (East Texas); and Pecos County (West Texas). This program is being sponsored and coordinated by the Texas Aerospace Commission (TAC). The Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture (SICSA) at the University of Houston is providing research, planning and design support to TAC and is a member of each of the three regional development teams. Planning must carefully consider special support requirements and operational characteristics of all prospective launch systems along with geographic, infrastructure and environmental factors at each site. Two of the candidate sites are in coastal areas; a priority for certain launch service providers; whereas the third inland site is more attractive to others. Candidate launch systems include winged horizontal takeoff air-launch vehicles, vertical multi-stage reusable launch vehicles, and expendable sub-orbital surrounding rockets. Important research and planning activities include environmental impact assessments, analyses of overflight hazards, investigations of economic impacts and business plan development. The results of these activities will guide master plan development for each site, including: a physical plan (site layout, infrastructure improvements and facility construction); and a strategic plan (user agreements, licenses, finance sources and participants). Commercial spaceport development demands compliance with stringent FAA regulations established by the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (OCST) which exceed minimum standards allowed for U.S. Government spaceport facilities. Key among these requirements are 15,000 ft. radius on-site clear zones

Kornati Islands on Old Geographic Maps and Charts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josip Faričić

2005-09-01

Full Text Available Based on the analysis of cartographic sources, the paper analyses the historical and geographical development of the Kornati islands, the largest group of Croatian islands. The old maps were used first of all as the means of geographic research that, being necessarily correlated to the simultaneous historical written sources and modern topographic and maritime maps, make the basis for creating a research platform for relevant scientific results to be achieved. On the basis of the old maps it is possible, among other things to anticipate that the Kornati islands used to have great geotraffic significance on the eastern Adriatic sailing route. According to the development of geographic concepts and cartographic methods, the geographic vision of the Kornati islands has been gradually clarified ever since the 16th century. The chart from the Carta di cabotaggio del Mare Adriatico edition published by the Military and Geographic Institute from Milan (1822-1824 presents the turning point with the first complete and mostly precise presentation of the Kornati islands group on the basis of hydrographic and topographic field measurements.

Open science versus commercialization: a modern research conflict?

Science.gov (United States)

Caulfield, Timothy; Harmon, Shawn He; Joly, Yann

2012-02-27

Efforts to improve research outcomes have resulted in genomic researchers being confronted with complex and seemingly contradictory instructions about how to perform their tasks. Over the past decade, there has been increasing pressure on university researchers to commercialize their work. Concurrently, they are encouraged to collaborate, share data and disseminate new knowledge quickly (that is, to adopt an open science model) in order to foster scientific progress, meet humanitarian goals, and to maximize the impact of their research. We present selected guidelines from three countries (Canada, United States, and United Kingdom) situated at the forefront of genomics to illustrate this potential policy conflict. Examining the innovation ecosystem and the messages conveyed by the different policies surveyed, we further investigate the inconsistencies between open science and commercialization policies. Commercialization and open science are not necessarily irreconcilable and could instead be envisioned as complementary elements of a more holistic innovation framework. Given the exploratory nature of our study, we wish to point out the need to gather additional evidence on the coexistence of open science and commercialization policies and on its impact, both positive and negative, on genomics academic research.

Comparison of immunization strategies in geographical networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Bing; Aihara, Kazuyuki [Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)] [ERATO Aihara Complexity Modelling Project, JST, Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8505 (Japan); Kim, Beom Jun, E-mail: beomjun@skku.ed [BK21 Physics Research Division and Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of)] [Department of Computational Biology, School of Computer Science and Communication, Royal Institute of Technology, 100 44 Stockholm (Sweden)

2009-10-12

The epidemic spread and immunizations in geographically embedded scale-free (SF) and Watts-Strogatz (WS) networks are numerically investigated. We make a realistic assumption that it takes time which we call the detection time, for a vertex to be identified as infected, and implement two different immunization strategies: one is based on connection neighbors (CN) of the infected vertex with the exact information of the network structure utilized and the other is based on spatial neighbors (SN) with only geographical distances taken into account. We find that the decrease of the detection time is crucial for a successful immunization in general. Simulation results show that for both SF networks and WS networks, the SN strategy always performs better than the CN strategy, especially for more heterogeneous SF networks at long detection time. The observation is verified by checking the number of the infected nodes being immunized. We found that in geographical space, the distance preferences in the network construction process and the geographically decaying infection rate are key factors that make the SN immunization strategy outperforms the CN strategy. It indicates that even in the absence of the full knowledge of network connectivity we can still stop the epidemic spread efficiently only by using geographical information as in the SN strategy, which may have potential applications for preventing the real epidemic spread.

Comparison of immunization strategies in geographical networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Bing; Aihara, Kazuyuki; Kim, Beom Jun

2009-01-01

The epidemic spread and immunizations in geographically embedded scale-free (SF) and Watts-Strogatz (WS) networks are numerically investigated. We make a realistic assumption that it takes time which we call the detection time, for a vertex to be identified as infected, and implement two different immunization strategies: one is based on connection neighbors (CN) of the infected vertex with the exact information of the network structure utilized and the other is based on spatial neighbors (SN) with only geographical distances taken into account. We find that the decrease of the detection time is crucial for a successful immunization in general. Simulation results show that for both SF networks and WS networks, the SN strategy always performs better than the CN strategy, especially for more heterogeneous SF networks at long detection time. The observation is verified by checking the number of the infected nodes being immunized. We found that in geographical space, the distance preferences in the network construction process and the geographically decaying infection rate are key factors that make the SN immunization strategy outperforms the CN strategy. It indicates that even in the absence of the full knowledge of network connectivity we can still stop the epidemic spread efficiently only by using geographical information as in the SN strategy, which may have potential applications for preventing the real epidemic spread.

The M/V Selendang Ayu commercial fisheries work group process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeCola, E.; Robertson, T.; Pearson, L.; Dietrick, L.; Folley, G.

2006-01-01

The process used to form and operate the Selendang Ayu Fisheries Work Group was discussed. The M/V Selendang Ayu ran aground and broke apart near Unalaska Island, Alaska in December 2004, causing immediate concern to nearby commercial fisheries and seafood processors. The work group, which was formed less than 2 weeks after the initial spill, was modeled after other Alaska work groups and consisted of experts in environmental health, fisheries biology and oceanography. Its task was to facilitate communication between fishery managers and spill responders to identify risk-reducing measures and to minimize impacts to fisheries in Alaska. In support of Alaska's zero tolerance policy toward any contamination of food processed in Alaska, the working group conducted water quality sampling in and around Unalaska Island from December 2004 though March 2005. Information was gathered regarding fishery opening and closing dates, geographic extent of fisheries, gear and vessel types, seawater circulation systems, fish processing operations, vessel transit routes and other considerations related to the potential exposure of vessels, gear or seafood to oil. This paper described the different pathways that commercial fish species may be exposed to spilled oil, along with the major fish species at risk. One small fishery closure was enacted. The working group was successful in ensuring that major commercial fisheries for snow crab, pollock, halibut and other species were successfully conducted during the spill, with all loads undergoing mandatory seafood inspections. Seafood products were not contaminated and market prices remained stable. 15 refs., 6 tabs., 4 figs

Genetic Diversity in Commercial Rapeseed (Brassica napus L. Varieties from Turkey as Revealed by RAPD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Özlem ÖZBEK

2013-02-01

Full Text Available In cultivated commercial crop species, genetic diversity tends to decrease because of the extensive breeding processes. Therefore, germplasm of commercial crop species, such as Brassica napus L. should be evaluated and the genotypes, which have higher genetic diversity index, should be addressed as potential parental cross materials in breeding programs. In this study, the genetic diversity was analysed by using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (RAPD technique in nine Turkish commercial rapeseed varieties. The RAPD primers (10-mer oligonucleotides produced 51 scorable loci, 31 loci of which were polymorphic (60.78% and 20 loci (39.22% were monomorphic The RAPD bands were scored as binary matrix data and were analysed using POPGENE version 1.32. At locus level, the values of genetic diversity within population (Hs and total (HT were 0.15 and 0.19 respectively. The genetic differentiation (GST and the gene flow (Nm values between the populations were 0.20 and 2.05 respectively. The mean number of alleles (na, the mean number of effective alleles (nae, and the mean value of genetic diversity (He were 2.00, 1.26, and 0.19 respectively. According to Pearson’s correlation, multiple regression and principal component analyses, eco-geographical conditions in combination had significant effect on genetic indices of commercial B. napus L. varieties were discussed.

Institutionalizing Chineseness. The legacies of Chinese commercial hegemony in the Cambodian silk industry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dahles, H.; ter Horst, J.

2012-01-01

The Cambodian silk weaving industry shows a remarkable pattern of ethnicised positions interlocked in processes of production and trade stretching beyond Cambodia into the Southeast Asian region and into Europe and the United States. Key commercial positions in the Cambodian silk trading networks

a Conceptual Framework for Virtual Geographic Environments Knowledge Engineering

Science.gov (United States)

You, Lan; Lin, Hui

2016-06-01

VGE geographic knowledge refers to the abstract and repeatable geo-information which is related to the geo-science problem, geographical phenomena and geographical laws supported by VGE. That includes expert experiences, evolution rule, simulation processes and prediction results in VGE. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for VGE knowledge engineering in order to effectively manage and use geographic knowledge in VGE. Our approach relies on previous well established theories on knowledge engineering and VGE. The main contribution of this report is following: (1) The concepts of VGE knowledge and VGE knowledge engineering which are defined clearly; (2) features about VGE knowledge different with common knowledge; (3) geographic knowledge evolution process that help users rapidly acquire knowledge in VGE; and (4) a conceptual framework for VGE knowledge engineering providing the supporting methodologies system for building an intelligent VGE. This conceptual framework systematically describes the related VGE knowledge theories and key technologies. That will promote the rapid transformation from geodata to geographic knowledge, and furtherly reduce the gap between the data explosion and knowledge absence.

Future Prospects for Geographical Education in Slovenia

Science.gov (United States)

Resnic Planinc, Tatjana

2011-01-01

This paper deals with future prospects for geographical education in Slovenia, with special emphasis on the development and aims of the didactics of geography. The author discusses the past development of geographical curricula and of competencies of geography teachers, and the education of future teachers of the subject in Slovenia. Her ideas are…

16 CFR 1203.15 - Positional stability test (roll-off resistance).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Positional stability test (roll-off resistance). 1203.15 Section 1203.15 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT... over the helmet along the midsagittal plane and attaching the hook over the edge of the helmet as shown...

Bonneville Power Administration`s Commercial Sector Conservation Market.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gordan, Frederick M. [Pacific Energy Associates, Inc. (United States)

1992-11-10

Bonneville has, as part of its resource plan, accepted targets for commercial conservation which are quite ambitious. To meet these targets, Bonneville will need to acquire as much cost-effective conservation as possible over the next twelve years. With this in mind, this document explores the relative importance of different commercial market segments and the types of assistance each market needs to install as many cost-effective conservation measures in as many buildings as possible. This document reviews Bonneville`s marketing environment and position, and suggests goals for commercial sector conservation marketing at Bonneville. Then it presents a broad market segmentation and series of additional demographic analyses. These analyses assess what groups of consumers Bonneville must reach to achieve most of the commercial conservation potential and what is needed to reach them. A final section reviews the success of Bonneville programs at reaching various markets. The market segmentation identifies different types of consumers and opportunities which would require distinct program approaches. Four large market segments are identified that have distinct program needs. Then four ``building life-cycle events`` are identified which provide important conservation opportunities and also require distinct program services. This creates a matrix of 16 cells which delineate distinct needs for program marketing. Each of the four key market segments manages at least 20% of the Region`s commercial floorspace.

Generalisation of geographic information cartographic modelling and applications

CERN Document Server

Mackaness, William A; Sarjakoski, L Tiina

2011-01-01

Theoretical and Applied Solutions in Multi Scale MappingUsers have come to expect instant access to up-to-date geographical information, with global coverage--presented at widely varying levels of detail, as digital and paper products; customisable data that can readily combined with other geographic information. These requirements present an immense challenge to those supporting the delivery of such services (National Mapping Agencies (NMA), Government Departments, and private business. Generalisation of Geographic Information: Cartographic Modelling and Applications provides detailed review

Geographic distribution and conservation status of Caiman latirostris (Crocodylia, Alligatoridae in Uruguay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudio Borteiro

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Populations of Caiman latirostris are known to occur in Uruguay but their geographic distribution remains uncertain. This work presents anupdate of the species distribution and conservation status in Uruguay. Surveys conducted by the authors confirmed the presence of this species in the previously known distribution range of northwestern Uruguay, where it seems to be widespread and relatively abundant in contrast to earlier reports. We report new localities for C. latirostris, most relevant being those of the Cebollatí and Tacuarí Rivers, and the Pelotas, India Muerta and San Miguel stream basins, which significantly expand its distribution through important wetlands in the eastern part of the country. The overall distribution is coincident with different landscape types, where lagoons, artificial impoundments, livestock waterholes, rivers, streams, creeks and marshes are inhabited by caiman. Illegal non-commercial hunting was detected all over the country.

Geographical point cloud modelling with the 3D medial axis transform

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, R.Y.

2018-01-01

A geographical point cloud is a detailed three-dimensional representation of the geometry of our geographic environment.
Using geographical point cloud modelling, we are able to extract valuable information from geographical point clouds that can be used for applications in asset management,

GNIS: Geographic Names Information Systems - All features (2013)

Data.gov (United States)

Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Evaluation of the positional difference between two common geocoding methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dustin T. Duncan

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Geocoding, the process of matching addresses to geographic coordinates, is a necessary first step when using geographical information systems (GIS technology. However, different geocoding methodologies can result in different geographic coordinates. The objective of this study was to compare the positional (i.e. longitude/latitude difference between two common geocoding methods, i.e. ArcGIS (Environmental System Research Institute, Redlands, CA, USA and Batchgeo (freely available online at http://www.batchgeo.com. Address data came from the YMCA-Harvard After School Food and Fitness Project, an obesity prevention intervention involving children aged 5-11 years and their families participating in YMCAadministered, after-school programmes located in four geographically diverse metropolitan areas in the USA. Our analyses include baseline addresses (n = 748 collected from the parents of the children in the after school sites. Addresses were first geocoded to the street level and assigned longitude and latitude coordinates with ArcGIS, version 9.3, then the same addresses were geocoded with Batchgeo. For this analysis, the ArcGIS minimum match score was 80. The resulting geocodes were projected into state plane coordinates, and the difference in longitude and latitude coordinates were calculated in meters between the two methods for all data points in each of the four metropolitan areas. We also quantified the descriptions of the geocoding accuracy provided by Batchgeo with the match scores from ArcGIS. We found a 94% match rate (n = 705, 2% (n = 18 were tied and 3% (n = 25 were unmatched using ArcGIS. Forty-eight addresses (6.4% were not matched in ArcGIS with a match score ≥80 (therefore only 700 addresses were included in our positional difference analysis. Six hundred thirteen (87.6% of these addresses had a match score of 100. Batchgeo yielded a 100% match rate for the addresses that ArcGIS geocoded. The median for longitude and latitude

Training for Internationalization through Domestic Geographical Dispersion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Santangelo, Grazia D.; Stucchi, Tamara

Traditionally created to deal with the unfriendly domestic environment, business groups (BGs) are increasingly internationalizing. However, how BGs can reconcile their strictly domestic orientation with an international dimension still remains an open question. Drawing on arguments from...... organizational learning, we seek to solve this puzzle in relation to the internationalization of Indian BGs. In particular, we argue that in heterogeneous domestic emerging markets BG’s geographical dispersion across sub-national states provides training for internationalization. To internationalize successfully......, BGs need to develop the capability of managing geographically dispersed units in institutional heterogeneous contexts. Domestic geographical dispersion would indeed help the BG dealing with different regulations, customers and infrastructures. However, there is less scope for such training as BGs...

USGS Geographic Names (GNIS) Overlay Map Service from The National Map - National Geospatial Data Asset (NGDA) Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — USGS developed The National Map (TNM) Gazetteer as the Federal and national standard (ANSI INCITS 446-2008) for geographic nomenclature based on the Geographic Names...

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM SCHEMES BASED ON BLOCK CODES

OpenAIRE

Prasad Janga; Dr. R. L. Sharma

2017-01-01

Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite based positioning system based on radio ranging technique. The GPS will provide very accurate three-dimensional position, velocity and timing information to users anywhere in the world. GPS can also be used in other applications such as vehicle monitoring for traffic management in urban areas, Geographical Information System (GIS), 4G Communications, marine navigation, search and rescue and military applications. As GPS accuracy is limited by ion...

Geographic differences in overweight and obesity prevalence in Peruvian children, 2010-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Roman, J Smith; Urrunaga-Pastor, Diego; Avilez, Jose L; Helguero-Santin, Luis M; Malaga, German

2018-03-14

Childhood obesity is emerging as a major public health problem worldwide. To date, most studies of obesity and overweight in Peru are focused on adults, with few of them involving children, a population at a critical stage of development. The trend in overweight and obesity prevalence in Peruvian children under the age of five has not yet been determined. Thus, the objective of the present study is to evaluate the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity between 2010 and 2015 in children under the age of five, stratified by geographical areas in Peru. Data were obtained from the Nutritional Status Information System of Peru. The total number of children evaluated was 14,155,914. For the Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the program Geo Da 1.8® was used to ascertain the spatial distribution of prevalence rates and was mapped for children under five. To assess the degree of spatial dependence, exploratory spatial data analysis was performed using the Moran's I statistic and was assessed with the Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) analysis to identify geographic concentrations of high and low of obesity and overweight levels. Between 2010 and 2015, the national prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity ranged from 6.2%- 6.8% and 1.5%-2.7%, respectively. The highest prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity was found in 2014 and 2013, respectively. During these years, we observed that obesity decreased, but overweight remained stable. The highest prevalence of overweight and obesity was found in the departments located on the coast. Significant positive spatial autocorrelation was found for both overweight and obesity. The departments with the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity were concentrated in Lima, Callao, Ica, Moquegua and Tacna. The lowest were found in Loreto, Cusco and San Martin. The decrease in obesity and the stabilisation of overweight are positive results for the Peruvian childhood. However, in comparison

[Geographic data for Neotropical bats (Chiroptera)].

Science.gov (United States)

Noguera-Urbano, Elkin A; Escalante, Tania

2014-03-01

The global effort to digitize biodiversity occurrence data from collections, museums and other institutions has stimulated the development of important tools to improve the knowledge and conservation of biodiversity. The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) enables and opens access to biodiversity data of 321 million of records, from 379 host institutions. Neotropical bats are a highly diverse and specialized group, and the geographic information about them is increasing since few years ago, but there are a few reports about this topic. The aim of this study was to analyze the number of digital records in GBIF of Neotropical bats with distribution in 21 American countries, evaluating their nomenclatural and geographical consistence at scale of country. Moreover, we evaluated the gaps of information on 1 degrees latitude x 1 degrees longitude grids cells. There were over 1/2 million records, but 58% of them have no latitude and longitude data; and 52% full fit nomenclatural and geographic evaluation. We estimated that there are no records in 54% of the analyzed area; the principal gaps are in biodiversity hotspots like the Colombian and Brazilian Amazonia and Southern Venezuela. In conclusion, our study suggests that available data on GBIF have nomenclatural and geographic biases. GBIF data represent partially the bat species richness and the main gaps in information are in South America.

Linking the Firm’s Internal Innovation Context with Commercialization Choices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davis, Lee N.; Hoisl, Karin; Davis, Jerome

This paper investigates the linkages between the firm’s internal innovation context and how the innovation is commercialized (by the firm itself or an external third party). By analyzing these linkages at the level of the individual innovation, we add to the literature on how firms profit from R......&D. We base our study on original survey data comprising 3,773 commercialized innovations from 23 countries in all major industries. We find that three aspects of the innovation context - external knowledge inputs, encouragement of creativity, and high autonomy - are positively related to external...

Commercial Stakeholers in International Economic Dispute Resolution and the Issue of Judicial Independence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jemielniak, Joanna

The paper discusses the problem of influence, exerted by commercial actors, in international trade disputes, and its impact onto the position of adjudicators. It explores the role of commercial stakeholders as a driving force behind States’ actions and examines procedural options available to them...... area are set against those of investment and commercial arbitration (as the institutions and rules designed for the latter are also being used for trade controversies, as in the Softwood Lumber LCIA arbitrations). Consequently, the problem of standards of adjudicatory independence is considered as one...

Representation of geographic terrain surface using global indexing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kolar, Jan

2004-01-01

. Unlike cartographic maps, 3D models can capture the geometry of geographic features without flattening the environment, without cartographic projection?can avoid geometric distortion. More interestingly, however, 3D models can be composed into a single model spanning the whole world; it can be navigated...... visually in order to access information and data in the same geometric space as we navigate ourselves in our real environment.   This article attempts to narrow down the overhead of problems in visualization of 3D geographic information and intends to identify fundamental issues common to other systems......A global 3D geographic model a feasible solution for its visualization and management remains a challenging vision. The existence of a reusable platform would provide an unprecedented potential for development of applications related to geography and facilitate comprehension of geographic data...

Geographical data structures supporting regional analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edwards, R.G.; Durfee, R.C.

1978-01-01

In recent years the computer has become a valuable aid in solving regional environmental problems. Over a hundred different geographic information systems have been developed to digitize, store, analyze, and display spatially distributed data. One important aspect of these systems is the data structure (e.g. grids, polygons, segments) used to model the environment being studied. This paper presents eight common geographic data structures and their use in studies of coal resources, power plant siting, population distributions, LANDSAT imagery analysis, and landuse analysis

Evolution of research in health geographics through the International Journal of Health Geographics (2002-2015).

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, Sandra; Laperrière, Vincent; Borderon, Marion; Padilla, Cindy; Maignant, Gilles; Oliveau, Sébastien

2016-01-20

Health geographics is a fast-developing research area. Subjects broached in scientific literature are most varied, ranging from vectorial diseases to access to healthcare, with a recent revival of themes such as the implication of health in the Smart City, or a predominantly individual-centered approach. Far beyond standard meta-analyses, the present study deliberately adopts the standpoint of questioning space in its foundations, through various authors of the International Journal of Health Geographics, a highly influential journal in that field. The idea is to find space as the common denominator in this specialized literature, as well as its relation to spatial analysis, without for all that trying to tend towards exhaustive approaches. 660 articles have being published in the journal since launch, but 359 articles were selected based on the presence of the word "Space" in either the title, or the abstract or the text over 13 years of the journal's existence. From that database, a lexical analysis (tag cloud) reveals the perception of space in literature, and shows how approaches are evolving, thus underlining that the scope of health geographics is far from narrowing.

Historic and geographic surveillance of Pseudogymnoascus destructans possible from collections of bat parasites.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahradníková, A; Kovacova, V; Martínková, N; Orlova, M V; Orlov, O L; Piacek, V; Zukal, J; Pikula, J

2018-04-01

Specimens archived in wet collections represent valuable material for scientific research. Here, we show that bat fly (Diptera, Nycteribiidae) samples contain DNA of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a fungus pathogenic to bats. Using dual-probe quantitative PCR, we detected P. destructans DNA on bat flies collected in the Samara, Sverdlovsk and Irkutsk regions of Russia between 2005 and 2017. Fungal load was significantly lower on bat flies from wet collections than on freshly collected mites in the Czech Republic. The bat pathogen was present in the Samara region (European part of Russia) in 2005, that is, a year before recognition of white-nose syndrome in North America. As Samara and Irkutsk regions were identified as new positive locations of P. destructans, our data expand the known geographic distribution of P. destructans. We conclude that ethanol-stored ectoparasites can be used to identify the presence of pathogens in historic bat populations and understudied geographical regions. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Geographical Clusters of Rape in the United States: 2000-2012

Science.gov (United States)

Amin, Raid; Nabors, Nicole S.; Nelson, Arlene M.; Saqlain, Murshid; Kulldorff, Martin

2016-01-01

Background While rape is a very serious crime and public health problem, no spatial mapping has been attempted for rape on the national scale. This paper addresses the three research questions: (1) Are reported rape cases randomly distributed across the USA, after being adjusted for population density and age, or are there geographical clusters of reported rape cases? (2) Are the geographical clusters of reported rapes still present after adjusting for differences in poverty levels? (3) Are there geographical clusters where the proportion of reported rape cases that lead to an arrest is exceptionally low or exceptionally high? Methods We studied the geographical variation of reported rape events (2003-2012) and rape arrests (2000-2012) in the 48 contiguous states of the USA. The disease Surveillance software SaTScan™ with its spatial scan statistic is used to evaluate the spatial variation in rapes. The spatial scan statistic has been widely used as a geographical surveillance tool for diseases, and we used it to identify geographical areas with clusters of reported rape and clusters of arrest rates for rape. Results The spatial scan statistic was used to identify geographical areas with exceptionally high rates of reported rape. The analyses were adjusted for age, and in secondary analyses, for both age and poverty level. We also identified geographical areas with either a low or a high proportion of reported rapes leading to an arrest. Conclusions We have identified geographical areas with exceptionally high (low) rates of reported rape. The geographical problem areas identified are prime candidates for more intensive preventive counseling and criminal prosecution efforts by public health, social service, and law enforcement agencies Geographical clusters of high rates of reported rape are prime areas in need of expanded implementation of preventive measures, such as changing attitudes in our society toward rape crimes, in addition to having the criminal

Biochemical and Molecular Analysis of Some Commercial Samples of Chilli Peppers from Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivonne Guadalupe Troconis-Torres

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The genus Capsicum provides antioxidant compounds, such as phenolics and carotenoids, into the diet. In Mexico, there is a wide diversity of species and varieties of chilli peppers, a fruit which has local cultural and gastronomic importance. In the present study, the relationship of the carotenoid and phenolic profiles with the RAPD fingerprint of three different commercial cultivars of chilli peppers of seven regions of Mexico was investigated. Through RAPD, the species of chilli were differentiated by means of different primers (OPE-18, MFG-17, MFG-18, C51, and C52. The genetic distance found with OPE 18 was in the order of 2.6. The observed differences were maintained when the chromatographic profile of carotenoids, and the molecular markers were analyzed, which suggest a close relationship between carotenoids and the genetic profile. While the chromatographic profile of phenols and the molecular markers were unable to differentiate between genotypes of chilli peppers. In addition, by using infrared spectroscopy and statistical PCA, differences explained by geographic origin were found. Thus, this method could be an alternative for identification of chilli species with respect to their geographic origin.

Introduction to Individual Contribution by the VI Scientific and Professional Conferences with International Participation Geodesy, Cartography and Geographic Information Systems 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janka Sabová

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This contribution contains a selection of articles from 6th Scientific Conference with International Participation "Geodesy,Cartography and Geographical Information Systems 2010". Particular articles are focused on the field of geodesy, engineeringsurveying, mining surveying, deformation analysis, digital photogrammetry, cartography, cadastre of real estates and terrestrial laserscanning. The reader will become familiar with the recent trends and results of research that have been achieved in these areasat universities, as well as in the commercial sector that act in branch of geodesy in the Czech and Slovak Republic.

Market potential for solar thermal energy supply systems in the United States industrial and commercial sectors: 1990--2030

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-12-01

This report revises and extends previous work sponsored by the US DOE on the potential industrial market in the United States for solar thermal energy systems and presents a new analysis of the commercial sector market potential. Current and future industrial process heat demand and commercial water heating, space heating and space cooling end-use demands are estimated. The PC Industrial Model (PCIM) and the commercial modules of the Building Energy End-Use Model (BEEM) used by the DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) to support the recent National Energy Strategy (NES) analysis are used to forecast industrial and commercial end-use energy demand respectively. Energy demand is disaggregated by US Census region to account for geographic variation in solar insolation and regional variation in cost of alternative natural gas-fired energy sources. The industrial sector analysis also disaggregates demand by heat medium and temperature range to facilitate process end-use matching with appropriate solar thermal energy supply technologies. The commercial sector analysis disaggregates energy demand by three end uses: water heating, space heating, and space cooling. Generic conceptual designs are created for both industrial and commercial applications. Levelized energy costs (LEC) are calculated for industrial sector applications employing low temperature flat plate collectors for process water preheat; parabolic troughs for intermediate temperature process steam and direct heat industrial application; and parabolic dish technologies for high temperature, direct heat industrial applications. LEC are calculated for commercial sector applications employing parabolic trough technologies for low temperature water and space heating. Cost comparisons are made with natural gas-fired sources for both the industrial market and the commercial market assuming fuel price escalation consistent with NES reference case scenarios for industrial and commercial sector gas markets

Cadastral Database Positional Accuracy Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Hashim, N. M.; Omar, A. H.; Ramli, S. N. M.; Omar, K. M.; Din, N.

2017-10-01

Positional Accuracy Improvement (PAI) is the refining process of the geometry feature in a geospatial dataset to improve its actual position. This actual position relates to the absolute position in specific coordinate system and the relation to the neighborhood features. With the growth of spatial based technology especially Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), the PAI campaign is inevitable especially to the legacy cadastral database. Integration of legacy dataset and higher accuracy dataset like GNSS observation is a potential solution for improving the legacy dataset. However, by merely integrating both datasets will lead to a distortion of the relative geometry. The improved dataset should be further treated to minimize inherent errors and fitting to the new accurate dataset. The main focus of this study is to describe a method of angular based Least Square Adjustment (LSA) for PAI process of legacy dataset. The existing high accuracy dataset known as National Digital Cadastral Database (NDCDB) is then used as bench mark to validate the results. It was found that the propose technique is highly possible for positional accuracy improvement of legacy spatial datasets.

Commercial Buildings Characteristics, 1992

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-04-29

Commercial Buildings Characteristics 1992 presents statistics about the number, type, and size of commercial buildings in the United States as well as their energy-related characteristics. These data are collected in the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), a national survey of buildings in the commercial sector. The 1992 CBECS is the fifth in a series conducted since 1979 by the Energy Information Administration. Approximately 6,600 commercial buildings were surveyed, representing the characteristics and energy consumption of 4.8 million commercial buildings and 67.9 billion square feet of commercial floorspace nationwide. Overall, the amount of commercial floorspace in the United States increased an average of 2.4 percent annually between 1989 and 1992, while the number of commercial buildings increased an average of 2.0 percent annually.

Geographic Information Technologies as an outreach activity in geo-scientific education

Science.gov (United States)

Maman, Shimrit; Isaacson, Sivan; Blumberg, Dan G.

2016-04-01

In recent years, a decline in the rates of examinees in the academic track that were entitled to an enhanced matriculation certificate in scientific-technological education was reported in Israel. To confront this problem the Earth and Planetary Image Facility (EPIF) at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev fosters interdisciplinary exploration through educational programs that make use of the facility and its equipment and enable the empowerment of the community by understanding and appreciating science and technology. This is achieved by using Geographic Information Technologies (GIT) such as remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for geo-physical sciences in activities that combine theoretical background with hands-on activities. Monitoring Earth from space by satellites, digital atlases and virtual-based positioning applications are examples for fusion of spatial information (geographic) and technology that the activity is based on. GIT opens a new chapter and a recent history of Cartography starting from the collection of spatial data to its presentation and analysis. GIS have replaced the use of classical atlas books and offer a variety of Web-based applications that provide maps and display up-to-date imagery. The purpose of this workshop is to expose teachers and students to GITs which are applicable in every classroom. The activity imparts free geographic information systems that exist in cyberspace and accessible to single users as the Israeli national GIS and Google earth, which are based on a spatial data and long term local and global satellite imagery coverage. In this paper, our "Think global-Map Local" activity is presented. The activity uses GIS and change detection technologies as means to encourage students to explore environmental issues both around the globe and close to their surroundings. The students detect changes by comparing multi temporal images of a chosen site and learn how to map the alterations and produce change

Influence of agroclimatic parameters on phenolic and volatile compounds of Chilean virgin olive oils and characterization based on geographical origin, cultivar and ripening stage.

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Nalda; Saavedra, Jorge; Tapia, Francisco; Sepúlveda, Betsabet; Aparicio, Ramón

2016-01-30

This study involved two commercial orchards located in Limarí Valley and Molina from two important Chilean production zones of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). The investigation evaluated the effects of climate, soil composition, agricultural practices (fertilization and irrigation) and variety (considering two harvests) on the compounds responsible for the flavor of EVOO (volatiles and phenols) and how these compounds can explain the differences in chemical profiles by geographical origin, cultivar and fruit ripeness stage. Varieties from the Limarí Valley presented the highest content of phenolic compounds. A significant relationship (P Chilean regions have much more influence than cultivars on the concentration of sensory quality compounds. Difference in latitude between orchards increases the importance of the geographical origin on the virgin olive oil chemical composition while full irrigation decreases the impact of the cultivar. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

Evidence for direct geographic influences on linguistic sounds: the case of ejectives.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caleb Everett

Full Text Available We present evidence that the geographic context in which a language is spoken may directly impact its phonological form. We examined the geographic coordinates and elevations of 567 language locations represented in a worldwide phonetic database. Languages with phonemic ejective consonants were found to occur closer to inhabitable regions of high elevation, when contrasted to languages without this class of sounds. In addition, the mean and median elevations of the locations of languages with ejectives were found to be comparatively high. The patterns uncovered surface on all major world landmasses, and are not the result of the influence of particular language families. They reflect a significant and positive worldwide correlation between elevation and the likelihood that a language employs ejective phonemes. In addition to documenting this correlation in detail, we offer two plausible motivations for its existence. We suggest that ejective sounds might be facilitated at higher elevations due to the associated decrease in ambient air pressure, which reduces the physiological effort required for the compression of air in the pharyngeal cavity--a unique articulatory component of ejective sounds. In addition, we hypothesize that ejective sounds may help to mitigate rates of water vapor loss through exhaled air. These explications demonstrate how a reduction of ambient air density could promote the usage of ejective phonemes in a given language. Our results reveal the direct influence of a geographic factor on the basic sound inventories of human languages.

Geographical Environment Factors and Risk Assessment of Tick-Borne Encephalitis in Hulunbuir, Northeastern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yifan; Wang, Juanle; Gao, Mengxu; Fang, Liqun; Liu, Changhua; Lyu, Xin; Bai, Yongqing; Zhao, Qiang; Li, Hairong; Yu, Hongjie; Cao, Wuchun; Feng, Liqiang; Wang, Yanjun; Zhang, Bin

2017-05-26

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is one of natural foci diseases transmitted by ticks. Its distribution and transmission are closely related to geographic and environmental factors. Identification of environmental determinates of TBE is of great importance to understanding the general distribution of existing and potential TBE natural foci. Hulunbuir, one of the most severe endemic areas of the disease, is selected as the study area. Statistical analysis, global and local spatial autocorrelation analysis, and regression methods were applied to detect the spatiotemporal characteristics, compare the impact degree of associated factors, and model the risk distribution using the heterogeneity. The statistical analysis of gridded geographic and environmental factors and TBE incidence show that the TBE patients mainly occurred during spring and summer and that there is a significant positive spatial autocorrelation between the distribution of TBE cases and environmental characteristics. The impact degree of these factors on TBE risks has the following descending order: temperature, relative humidity, vegetation coverage, precipitation and topography. A high-risk area with a triangle shape was determined in the central part of Hulunbuir; the low-risk area is located in the two belts next to the outside edge of the central triangle. The TBE risk distribution revealed that the impact of the geographic factors changed depending on the heterogeneity.

Evaluation of a Chlamydia trachomatis-specific, commercial, real-time PCR for use with ocular swabs.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, Harry; Holland, Martin J; Last, Anna R; Burton, Matthew J; Burr, Sarah E

2018-02-20

Trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, is caused by conjunctival Chlamydia trachomatis infection. Trachoma is diagnosed clinically by observation of conjunctival inflammation and/or scarring; however, there is evidence that monitoring C. trachomatis infection may be required for elimination programmes. There are many commercial and 'in-house' nucleic acid amplification tests for the detection of C. trachomatis DNA, but the majority have not been validated for use with ocular swabs. This study evaluated a commercial assay, the Fast-Track Vaginal swab kit, using conjunctival samples from trachoma-endemic areas. An objective, biostatistical-based method for binary classification of continuous PCR data was developed, to limit potential user-bias in diagnostic settings. The Fast-Track Vaginal swab assay was run on 210 ocular swab samples from Guinea-Bissau and Tanzania. Fit of individual amplification curves to exponential or sigmoid models, derivative and second derivative of the curves and final fluorescence value were examined for utility in thresholding for determining positivity. The results from the Fast-Track Vaginal swab assay were evaluated against a commercial test (Amplicor CT/NG) and a non-commercial test (in-house droplet digital PCR), both of whose performance has previously been evaluated. Significant evidence of exponential amplification (R 2  > 0.99) and final fluorescence > 0.15 were combined for thresholding. This objective approach identified a population of positive samples, however there were a subset of samples that amplified towards the end of the cycling protocol (at or later than 35 cycles), which were less clearly defined. The Fast-Track Vaginal swab assay showed good sensitivity against the commercial (95.71) and non-commercial (97.18) tests. Specificity was lower against both (90.00 and 96.55, respectively). This study defined a simple, automated protocol for binary classification of continuous, real-time q

Geographic Video 3d Data Model And Retrieval

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Z.; Cui, C.; Kong, Y.; Wu, H.

2014-04-01

Geographic video includes both spatial and temporal geographic features acquired through ground-based or non-ground-based cameras. With the popularity of video capture devices such as smartphones, the volume of user-generated geographic video clips has grown significantly and the trend of this growth is quickly accelerating. Such a massive and increasing volume poses a major challenge to efficient video management and query. Most of the today's video management and query techniques are based on signal level content extraction. They are not able to fully utilize the geographic information of the videos. This paper aimed to introduce a geographic video 3D data model based on spatial information. The main idea of the model is to utilize the location, trajectory and azimuth information acquired by sensors such as GPS receivers and 3D electronic compasses in conjunction with video contents. The raw spatial information is synthesized to point, line, polygon and solid according to the camcorder parameters such as focal length and angle of view. With the video segment and video frame, we defined the three categories geometry object using the geometry model of OGC Simple Features Specification for SQL. We can query video through computing the spatial relation between query objects and three categories geometry object such as VFLocation, VSTrajectory, VSFOView and VFFovCone etc. We designed the query methods using the structured query language (SQL) in detail. The experiment indicate that the model is a multiple objective, integration, loosely coupled, flexible and extensible data model for the management of geographic stereo video.

78 FR 17875 - Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's Permit Standards

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-25

... [Docket No. FMCSA-2007-27659] RIN 2126-AB59 Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's.... The 2011 final rule amended the commercial driver's license (CDL) knowledge and skills testing standards and established new minimum Federal standards for States to issue the commercial learner's permit...

Geographic profiling survey : a preliminary examination of geographic profilers' views and experiences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Emeno, Karla; Bennell, Craig; Snook, Brent; Taylor, Paul Jonathon

Geographic profiling (GP) is an investigative technique that involves predicting a serial offender?s home location (or some other anchor point) based on where he or she committed a crime. Although the use of GP in police investigations appears to be on the rise, little is known about the procedure

Geographical Tatoos

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valéria Cazetta

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The article deals with maps tattooed on bodies. My interest in studying the corporeality is inserted in a broader project entitled Geographies and (in Bodies. There is several published research on tattoos, but none in particular about tattooed maps. However some of these works interested me because they present important discussions in contemporary about body modification that helped me locate the body modifications most within the culture than on the nature. At this time, I looked at pictures of geographical tattoos available in several sites of the internet.

The economic efficiency of investment in the development of reserves of small groups of geographically contiguous gold deposits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evdokimov S.I.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The object of the research is a group of geographically contiguous low volume gold deposits. The subject of the study is an economic justification for a way to involve economic turnover to get a positive commercial result on a specially formed group of gold deposits, in which individual field development is unprofitable. A small production volume, combined with high capital and operating costs are objective reasons for the reduction in investment attractiveness of the deposits which have reserves of gold of 50%, equipped with a mobile processing complex with deep processing technology on highly liquid commodity products on site. An economic-mathematical model was devised to determine the rational placement of the processing capacity of the group.A simulation was conducted and an economic evaluation was performed on the effectiveness of investments in individual and group mining projects. The simulation results show that the joint exploitation of the reserves of the group of deposits, the internal rate of return on investments exceed the rate of return of funds to the bank deposit, the return on investment is above the level of inflation. The group project complies with the strategic line of small mining companies in terms of cost recovery terms, availability of financial sources to cover expenses, provision of stable means of income and obtaining competitive advantage.

77 FR 26989 - Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's Permit Standards

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-08

... [Docket No. FMCSA-2007-27659] RIN 2126-AB02 Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's... effective on July 8, 2011. That final rule amended the commercial driver's license (CDL) knowledge and skills testing standards and established new minimum Federal standards for States to issue the commercial...

Occurrence of Mycoplasma synoviae on commercial poultry farms of Pernambuco, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mércia R. Barros

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The state of Pernambuco is the largest producer of eggs in the North and Northeast of Brazil and second one in the broiler production. Mycoplasmas are important avian pathogens, which cause respiratory and joint diseases that result in large economic losses. The aim of the present study was to investigate the occurrence of Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS in broilers and commercial laying hens in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Tracheal fragments were analyzed from 55 healthy broilers, 35 broilers with respiratory signs and 30 commercial laying hens with respiratory signs, from 24 commercial poultry farms, each sample was composed of a pool of five birds. The bacteriological exam, PCR and nested PCR were used for the detection of Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS. All samples were negative in bacteriological isolation. In the PCR analyses, seven samples from birds with respiratory signs were positive for MS and one was positive for MG, the latter of which was confirmed as the MG-F vaccine strain. The occurrence of MS in chickens with respiratory signs may indicate inadequate sanitary management on poultry farms, favoring the propagation of mycoplasmosis.

Geostatistics and Geographic Information System to Analyze the Spatial Distribution of the Diversity of Anastrepha Species (Diptera: Tephritidae): the Effect of Forest Fragments in an Urban Area.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, A G; Araujo, M R; Uramoto, K; Walder, J M M; Zucchi, R A

2017-12-08

Fruit flies are among the most damaging insect pests of commercial fruit in Brazil. It is important to understand the landscape elements that may favor these flies. In the present study, spatial data from surveys of species of Anastrepha Schiner (Diptera: Tephritidae) in an urban area with forest fragments were analyzed, using geostatistics and Geographic Information System (GIS) to map the diversity of insects and evaluate how the forest fragments drive the spatial patterns. The results indicated a high diversity of species associated with large fragments, and a trend toward lower diversity in the more urbanized area, as the fragment sizes decreased. We concluded that the diversity of Anastrepha species is directly and positively related to large and continuous forest fragments in urbanized areas, and that combining geostatistics and GIS is a promising method for use in insect-pest management and sampling involving fruit flies. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Why commercial customers are SIC of DSM [demand-side management] marketing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, L.E.

1990-01-01

Studies have shown that the success of demand management programs, which have demonstrated economic benefits, depends on the level of customer participation. In order to have a better understanding of the decisionmaking process of commercial customers with respect to demand management programs, a study was undertaken to determine the preferences and the behavior of this class of clientele. This clientele, whose power consumption has been increasing at a faster rate than that of other sectors, represents a vast range of enterprises producing and supplying all kinds of products. Many of them operate from numerous geographic points on local, regional, national, and even world scales and are generally hierarchically organized. Because of these characteristics, their decisionmaking processes and their needs are equally complex, more so than in the residential sector. A multidimensional approach has been adopted to ensure that their needs are determined according to a quantitative and qualitative research method. The conclusions of the quantitative research have demonstrated that the frameworks representing different organizations respond differently to questions on their needs. It is also noted that certain commercial enterprises are of a cohesive nature (i.e. there is a consistency in understanding of corporate strategic and operational requirements at all hierarchical levels), while others are more diffuse. Those responsible for marketing demand management programs therefore must improve their understanding of the strategic and operational needs of their commercial customers in order to make their demand management programs productive in the view of the appropriate personnel at the hierarchical level applicable to the company concerned

A clinical survey about commercial games in lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Imam, Bita; Miller, William C; Finlayson, Heather C; Eng, Janice J; Jarus, Tal

2018-06-01

Despite the popularity of commercial games in lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation, data about their prevalence of use as well as therapists' perspectives about these games are still lacking. To learn about the prevalence of use of commercial games in lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation and therapists' perspectives about these games. Cross-sectional. An online survey was sent to physical and occupational therapists across prosthetic rehabilitation facilities in Canada. The survey had questions about the use of commercial games and therapists' perspectives. Data were collected from 82 therapists. Overall, 46.3% (38/82) reported that they use commercial games; of those, 94.7% (36/38) used the Nintendo Wii Fit. The most reported perceived benefits were the Wii Fit helping to improve weight shifting ( n = 76/82, 92.7%) and balance ( n = 75/82, 91.5%), and being motivating and complementing traditional therapy ( n = 75/82, 91.5%). The most reported perceived barriers/challenges were lack of time and familiarity with the games ( n = 58/82, 70.7%). Commercial games, particularly the Wii Fit, are commonly used in lower prosthetic rehabilitation in Canada. Most of the queried therapists view the Wii Fit positively. Knowledge translation activities and developing standard treatment protocols would be helpful in minimizing the barriers identified in this study. Clinical relevance The Wii Fit is prevalent in lower limb prosthetic rehabilitation in Canada and it is viewed positively by therapists as having the potential to improve balance and weight bearing, making rehabilitation more motivating, and complementing traditional therapy. Future studies should investigate the efficacy of the Wii Fit in prosthetic rehabilitation.

Geographic variation in gorilla limb bones.

Science.gov (United States)

Jabbour, Rebecca S; Pearman, Tessa L

2016-06-01

Gorilla systematics has received increased attention over recent decades from primatologists, conservationists, and paleontologists. Studies of geographic variation in DNA, skulls, and teeth have led to new taxonomic proposals, such as recognition of two gorilla species, Gorilla gorilla (western gorilla) and Gorilla beringei (eastern gorilla). Postcranial differences between mountain gorillas (G. beringei beringei) and western lowland gorillas (G. g. gorilla) have a long history of study, but differences between the limb bones of the eastern and western species have not yet been examined with an emphasis on geographic variation within each species. In addition, proposals for recognition of the Cross River gorilla as Gorilla gorilla diehli and gorillas from Tshiaberimu and Kahuzi as G. b. rex-pymaeorum have not been evaluated in the context of geographic variation in the forelimb and hindlimb skeletons. Forty-three linear measurements were collected from limb bones of 266 adult gorillas representing populations of G. b. beringei, Gorilla beringei graueri, G. g. gorilla, and G. g. diehli in order to investigate geographic diversity. Skeletal elements included the humerus, radius, third metacarpal, third proximal hand phalanx, femur, tibia, calcaneus, first metatarsal, third metatarsal, and third proximal foot phalanx. Comparisons of means and principal components analyses clearly differentiate eastern and western gorillas, indicating that eastern gorillas have absolutely and relatively smaller hands and feet, among other differences. Gorilla subspecies and populations cluster consistently by species, although G. g. diehli may be similar to the eastern gorillas in having small hands and feet. The subspecies of G. beringei are distinguished less strongly and by different variables than the two gorilla species. Populations of G. b. graueri are variable, and Kahuzi and Tshiaberimu specimens do not cluster together. Results support the possible influence of

Castor Oil: Properties, Uses, and Optimization of Processing Parameters in Commercial Production.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Vinay R; Dumancas, Gerard G; Kasi Viswanath, Lakshmi C; Maples, Randall; Subong, Bryan John J

2016-01-01

Castor oil, produced from castor beans, has long been considered to be of important commercial value primarily for the manufacturing of soaps, lubricants, and coatings, among others. Global castor oil production is concentrated primarily in a small geographic region of Gujarat in Western India. This region is favorable due to its labor-intensive cultivation method and subtropical climate conditions. Entrepreneurs and castor processors in the United States and South America also cultivate castor beans but are faced with the challenge of achieving high castor oil production efficiency, as well as obtaining the desired oil quality. In this manuscript, we provide a detailed analysis of novel processing methods involved in castor oil production. We discuss novel processing methods by explaining specific processing parameters involved in castor oil production.

LEGAL INSTRUMENT FOR PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION PRODUCT IN INDONESIA

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Almusawir Nansa

2013-07-01

Full Text Available As an archipelago country, Indonesia comprises of a large territory where every region is capable of producing distinctive and characterized products due to its geographical, social, and cultural factors, in addition to its higher quality compared to imported products. In the market, goods with distinct characterization as a result of various geographical locations of production regions is known as Geographical Indication Products. Geographical Indication defines as a characterization that indicates the origin of a product, which includes several influencing factors such as geographical factor, natural factor, human factor or the combination of both factors which eventually contribute to establish a certain distinction and quality upon a product. Several geographical indicated products in Indonesia are widely known to have excellent reputation on the market, namely Delinese tobacco, Temanggung tobacco, Ciancur rice, Muntok white pepper, Lampung black pepper, Kerinci cinnamon, Cilembu cassava, Bandanese nutmeg, Proboliggo sweet mango, Balinese Kintamani coffee, Kalosi coffee, Papuan matoa, etc. Those are several richness of goods from certain regions in Indonesia widely known for their characterization. Characterization of goods are resulted by variation of geographic locations of producing regions in Indonesia. These goods possess high quality and high economic value. Consequently, certain instruments are required to provide protection upon the regions producing those goods against the act of counterfeiting.

The National Geographic Names Data Base: Phase II instructions

Science.gov (United States)

Orth, Donald J.; Payne, Roger L.

1987-01-01

The Geographic Names Information System is a computer-based information system developed to meet major national needs by providing information for named entities in the United States, its territories, and outlying areas. The National Geographic Names Data Base, a component of the Geographic Names Information System, currently contains most names and associated information recorded on the 1:24,000-scale (or largest scale available) topographic maps of the U.S. Geological Survey. The work involved in this initial compilation of names shown on the topographic-map series, and the development and editing of the National Geographic Names Data Base, is referred to as Phase I. Optimal use and effectiveness of an automated names system require that the names of features

Interoperability of Geographic Information: A Communication Process –Based Prototype

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Jean Brodeur

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Since 1990, municipal, state/provincial, and federal governments have developed numerous geographic databases over the years to fulfill organizations' specific needs. As such, same real world topographic phenomena have been abstracted differently, for instance vegetation (surface, trees (surface, wooded area (line, wooded area (point and line, milieu boisé (surface, zone boisée (unknown geometry. Today, information about these geographic phenomena is accessible on the Internet from Web infrastructures specially developed to simplify their access. Early in the nineties, the development of interoperability of geographic information has been undertaken to solve syntactic, structural, and semantic heterogeneities as well as spatial and temporal heterogeneities to facilitate sharing and integration of such data. Recently, we have proposed a new conceptual framework for interoperability of geographic information based on the human communication process, cognitive science, and ontology, and introduced geosemantic proximity, a reasoning methodology to qualify dynamically the semantic similarity between geographic abstractions. This framework could be of interest to other disciplines. This paper presents the details of our framework for interoperability of geographic information as well as a prototype.

A comparison of safety belt use between commercial and noncommercial light-vehicle occupants.

Science.gov (United States)

Eby, David W; Fordyce, Tiffani A; Vivoda, Jonathon M

2002-05-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct an observational survey of safety belt use to determine the use rate of commercial versus noncommercial light-vehicle occupants. Observations were conducted on front-outboard vehicle occupants in eligible commercial and noncommercial vehicles in Michigan (i.e.. passenger cars, vans/minivans, sport-utility vehicles, and pickup trucks). Commercial vehicles that did not fit into one of the four vehicle type categories, such as tractor-trailers, buses, or heavy trucks, were not included in the survey. The study found that the restraint use rate for commercial light-vehicle occupants was 55.8% statewide. The statewide safety belt use rate for commercial light-vehicles was significantly lower than the rate of 71.2% for noncommercial light-vehicles. The safety belt use rate for commercial vehicles was also significantly different as a function of region, vehicle type, seating position, age group, and road type. The results provide important preliminary data about safety belt use in commercial versus noncommercial light-vehicles and indicate that further effort is needed to promote safety belt use in the commercial light-vehicle occupant population. The study also suggests that additional research is required in order to develop effective programs that address low safety belt use in the commercial light-vehicle occupant population.

SPME-GC-MS analysis of commercial henna samples (Lawsonia inermis L.).

Science.gov (United States)

Mengoni, Tamara; Peregrina, Dolores Vargas; Censi, Roberta; Cortese, Manuela; Ricciutelli, Massimo; Maggi, Filippo; Di Martino, Piera

2016-01-01

The aim of this work was to provide a characterisation of volatile constituents from different commercial batches of henna (Lawsonia inermis) leaves of different geographic origin. Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for the purpose. A total of 72 components were identified by GC-MS in the headspace of different henna samples which proved to differ considerably from each other, because they were characterised by different classes of components, mainly aliphatic compounds (9.0-64.7%), terpenoids (5.8-45.5%) and aromatics (7.9-45.2%), with alkanes (0.9-18.5%), aldehydes (2.1-18.8%) and carboxylic acids (3.1-29.3%), monoterpenes (3.4-30.0%) and sesquiterpenes (0.8-23.7%) and phenyl propanoids (0.6-43.1%), being the most abundant, respectively. Major representatives of these groups were n-hexadecane (0.5-4.7%), (2E)-hexenal (0.5-11.7%) and acetic acid (2.8-24.5%), limonene (0.8-14.7%), carvol (3.8-7.1%), geranyl acetone (1.4-7.9%) and (E)-caryophyllene (3.3-8.4%), and (E)-anethole (0.6-35.0%), respectively. We assume that factors such as the manufacturing process, the storage conditions and the different geographic origin of the samples may contribute to such variability.

Television Commercial Preferences of Children Aged 3-6 Years

Science.gov (United States)

Yurtsever Kilicgun, Muge

2016-01-01

Problem Statement: When children watch television, they are exposed to commercial advertisements whose general purpose is to make a positive impression on viewers about a commodity or service in order to drive the sales of that commodity or service. Due to their voiced and moving images, their setup and characters, and their being short and…

Taxonomic Identity, Geographic Distribution, and Commercial Exploitation of the Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom Pleurotus nebrodensis (Basidiomycetes).

Science.gov (United States)

Venturella, Giuseppe; Zervakis, Georgios I; Polemis, Elias; Gargano, Maria Letizia

2016-01-01

An updated overview of the outcome of studies conducted on the culinary-medicinal mushroom Pleurotus nebrodensis is presented by placing emphasis on the clarification of the taxonomic identity of P. nebrodensis and other related taxa possessing entirely white to cream basidiomes, which grow in association with different plants of the family Apiaceae. Cultivation techniques, quality of the product sold and sales price, as well as nutritional and medicinal aspects are discussed. Taking also into consideration the high economic importance of P. nebrodensis, it is essential to proceed with the verification of the commercial strains currently available in the international market under the name of "P. nebrodensis" since it is very probable that many (or most) of them do not represent the real P. nebrodensis. TO confirm this hypothesis, an in silico analysis was conducted on a large of number of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rRNA sequences deposited in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database under the name P. nebrodensis. Results demonstrated that all "P nebrodensis" material examined from China (plus several sequences of no reported origin) corresponded to P. eryngii subsp. tuoliensis, with only 2 exceptions, which were grouped within P. eryngii sensu stricto. The real P. nebrodensis biological material from Italy and Greece is certified and is available upon request by the authors at the University of Palermo and the Agricultural University of Athens.

The significant surface-water connectivity of "geographically isolated wetlands"

Science.gov (United States)

Calhoun, Aram J.K.; Mushet, David M.; Alexander, Laurie C.; DeKeyser, Edward S.; Fowler, Laurie; Lane, Charles R.; Lang, Megan W.; Rains, Mark C.; Richter, Stephen; Walls, Susan

2017-01-01

We evaluated the current literature, coupled with our collective research expertise, on surface-water connectivity of wetlands considered to be “geographically isolated” (sensu Tiner Wetlands 23:494–516, 2003a) to critically assess the scientific foundation of grouping wetlands based on the singular condition of being surrounded by uplands. The most recent research on wetlands considered to be “geographically isolated” shows the difficulties in grouping an ecological resource that does not reliably indicate lack of surface water connectivity in order to meet legal, regulatory, or scientific needs. Additionally, the practice of identifying “geographically isolated wetlands” based on distance from a stream can result in gross overestimates of the number of wetlands lacking ecologically important surface-water connections. Our findings do not support use of the overly simplistic label of “geographically isolated wetlands”. Wetlands surrounded by uplands vary in function and surface-water connections based on wetland landscape setting, context, climate, and geographic region and should be evaluated as such. We found that the “geographically isolated” grouping does not reflect our understanding of the hydrologic variability of these wetlands and hence does not benefit conservation of the Nation’s diverse wetland resources. Therefore, we strongly discourage use of categorizations that provide overly simplistic views of surface-water connectivity of wetlands fully embedded in upland landscapes.

Geographic Differences in the Earnings of Economics Majors

Science.gov (United States)

Winters, John V.; Xu, Weineng

2014-01-01

Economics has been shown to be a relatively high-earning college major, but geographic differences in earnings have been largely overlooked. The authors of this article use the American Community Survey to examine geographic differences in both absolute earnings and relative earnings for economics majors. They find that there are substantial…

Geographic disparity in kidney transplantation under KAS.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Sheng; Massie, Allan B; Luo, Xun; Ruck, Jessica M; Chow, Eric K H; Bowring, Mary G; Bae, Sunjae; Segev, Dorry L; Gentry, Sommer E

2017-12-12

The Kidney Allocation System fundamentally altered kidney allocation, causing a substantial increase in regional and national sharing that we hypothesized might impact geographic disparities. We measured geographic disparity in deceased donor kidney transplant (DDKT) rate under KAS (6/1/2015-12/1/2016), and compared that with pre-KAS (6/1/2013-12/3/2014). We modeled DSA-level DDKT rates with multilevel Poisson regression, adjusting for allocation factors under KAS. Using the model we calculated a novel, improved metric of geographic disparity: the median incidence rate ratio (MIRR) of transplant rate, a measure of DSA-level variation that accounts for patient casemix and is robust to outlier values. Under KAS, MIRR was 1.75 1.81 1.86 for adults, meaning that similar candidates across different DSAs have a median 1.81-fold difference in DDKT rate. The impact of geography was greater than the impact of factors emphasized by KAS: having an EPTS score ≤20% was associated with a 1.40-fold increase (IRR =  1.35 1.40 1.45 , P geographic disparities with KAS (P = .3). Despite extensive changes to kidney allocation under KAS, geography remains a primary determinant of access to DDKT. © 2017 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

Formal Ontologies and Uncertainty. In Geographical Knowledge

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Matteo Caglioni

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Formal ontologies have proved to be a very useful tool to manage interoperability among data, systems and knowledge. In this paper we will show how formal ontologies can evolve from a crisp, deterministic framework (ontologies of hard knowledge to new probabilistic, fuzzy or possibilistic frameworks (ontologies of soft knowledge. This can considerably enlarge the application potential of formal ontologies in geographic analysis and planning, where soft knowledge is intrinsically linked to the complexity of the phenomena under study.  The paper briefly presents these new uncertainty-based formal ontologies. It then highlights how ontologies are formal tools to define both concepts and relations among concepts. An example from the domain of urban geography finally shows how the cause-to-effect relation between household preferences and urban sprawl can be encoded within a crisp, a probabilistic and a possibilistic ontology, respectively. The ontology formalism will also determine the kind of reasoning that can be developed from available knowledge. Uncertain ontologies can be seen as the preliminary phase of more complex uncertainty-based models. The advantages of moving to uncertainty-based models is evident: whether it is in the analysis of geographic space or in decision support for planning, reasoning on geographic space is almost always reasoning with uncertain knowledge of geographic phenomena.

Positional error in automated geocoding of residential addresses

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Talbot Thomas O

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Public health applications using geographic information system (GIS technology are steadily increasing. Many of these rely on the ability to locate where people live with respect to areas of exposure from environmental contaminants. Automated geocoding is a method used to assign geographic coordinates to an individual based on their street address. This method often relies on street centerline files as a geographic reference. Such a process introduces positional error in the geocoded point. Our study evaluated the positional error caused during automated geocoding of residential addresses and how this error varies between population densities. We also evaluated an alternative method of geocoding using residential property parcel data. Results Positional error was determined for 3,000 residential addresses using the distance between each geocoded point and its true location as determined with aerial imagery. Error was found to increase as population density decreased. In rural areas of an upstate New York study area, 95 percent of the addresses geocoded to within 2,872 m of their true location. Suburban areas revealed less error where 95 percent of the addresses geocoded to within 421 m. Urban areas demonstrated the least error where 95 percent of the addresses geocoded to within 152 m of their true location. As an alternative to using street centerline files for geocoding, we used residential property parcel points to locate the addresses. In the rural areas, 95 percent of the parcel points were within 195 m of the true location. In suburban areas, this distance was 39 m while in urban areas 95 percent of the parcel points were within 21 m of the true location. Conclusion Researchers need to determine if the level of error caused by a chosen method of geocoding may affect the results of their project. As an alternative method, property data can be used for geocoding addresses if the error caused by traditional methods is

An experimental study on the effect of TV commercials on the attitudes towards nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tada, Yasuyuki

1999-01-01

The present study is about the effect TV commercials have on the subjects' attitudes towards nuclear power generation. A number of 191 female students participated in the experiment. It was hypothesized that TV commercials would have a positive effect on the viewer's attitude towards nuclear power generation. The main results of the study supported this hypothesis, demonstrating that TV commercials constitute an effective means for changing people's perception of nuclear power generation. (author)

Geographical Gradients in Argentinean Terrestrial Mammal Species Richness and Their Environmental Correlates

Science.gov (United States)

Márquez, Ana L.; Real, Raimundo; Kin, Marta S.; Guerrero, José Carlos; Galván, Betina; Barbosa, A. Márcia; Olivero, Jesús; Palomo, L. Javier; Vargas, J. Mario; Justo, Enrique

2012-01-01

We analysed the main geographical trends of terrestrial mammal species richness (SR) in Argentina, assessing how broad-scale environmental variation (defined by climatic and topographic variables) and the spatial form of the country (defined by spatial filters based on spatial eigenvector mapping (SEVM)) influence the kinds and the numbers of mammal species along these geographical trends. We also evaluated if there are pure geographical trends not accounted for by the environmental or spatial factors. The environmental variables and spatial filters that simultaneously correlated with the geographical variables and SR were considered potential causes of the geographic trends. We performed partial correlations between SR and the geographical variables, maintaining the selected explanatory variables statistically constant, to determine if SR was fully explained by them or if a significant residual geographic pattern remained. All groups and subgroups presented a latitudinal gradient not attributable to the spatial form of the country. Most of these trends were not explained by climate. We used a variation partitioning procedure to quantify the pure geographic trend (PGT) that remained unaccounted for. The PGT was larger for latitudinal than for longitudinal gradients. This suggests that historical or purely geographical causes may also be relevant drivers of these geographical gradients in mammal diversity. PMID:23028254

Geographical Gradients in Argentinean Terrestrial Mammal Species Richness and Their Environmental Correlates

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Ana L. Márquez

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We analysed the main geographical trends of terrestrial mammal species richness (SR in Argentina, assessing how broad-scale environmental variation (defined by climatic and topographic variables and the spatial form of the country (defined by spatial filters based on spatial eigenvector mapping (SEVM influence the kinds and the numbers of mammal species along these geographical trends. We also evaluated if there are pure geographical trends not accounted for by the environmental or spatial factors. The environmental variables and spatial filters that simultaneously correlated with the geographical variables and SR were considered potential causes of the geographic trends. We performed partial correlations between SR and the geographical variables, maintaining the selected explanatory variables statistically constant, to determine if SR was fully explained by them or if a significant residual geographic pattern remained. All groups and subgroups presented a latitudinal gradient not attributable to the spatial form of the country. Most of these trends were not explained by climate. We used a variation partitioning procedure to quantify the pure geographic trend (PGT that remained unaccounted for. The PGT was larger for latitudinal than for longitudinal gradients. This suggests that historical or purely geographical causes may also be relevant drivers of these geographical gradients in mammal diversity.

SCHOOL LINGUISTIC CREATIVITY BASED ON SCIENTIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL TEXTS

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VIORICA BLÎNDĂ

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The analysis and observation of the natural environment and of the social and economic one, observing phenomena, objects, beings, and geographical events are at the basis of producing geographical scientific texts. The symbols of iconotexts and cartotexts are another source of inspiration for linguistic interpretation. The linguistic creations that we selected for our study are the scientific analysis, the commentary, the characterization, the parallel, the synthesis, epitomizing and abstracting, the scientific communication, the essay, and the scientific description. The representations on maps, photos, graphics and profiles are translated into verbal or written expression in order to render geographical scientific information from diagrams and images through diverse discursive procedures. Through school linguistic creations, teachers develop their students’ observation spirit, in a written and oral form, their geographical thinking through metaphors, they develop and stimulate their students’ imagination and fantasy, their cognitive, reflexive and affective sensitivity, their abilities to express themselves, to present and argument in a scientific way according to different criteria (sufficiency, demonstrative reasoning, lineal reasoning, pros and cons, giving examples, inferential deduction through using truth tables, etc.. Trough description, students give names and define geographical objects and beings (plants, animals, and people according to their form and aspect, they explain toponyms and appellatives, they classify and make hierarchies, they define their identity through processes of differentiation, emblematizing, personification, location in time and space.

Design of the digitizing beam position limit detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merl, R.

1998-01-01

The Digitizing Beam Position Limit Detector (DBPLD) is designed to identify and react to beam missteering conditions in the Advanced Photon Source (APS) storage ring. The high power of the insertion devices requires these missteering conditions to result in a beam abort in less than 2 milliseconds. Commercially available beam position monitors provide a voltage proportional to beam position immediately upstream and downstream of insertion devices. The DBPLD is a custom VME board that digitizes these voltages and interrupts the heartbeat of the APS machine protection system when the beam position exceeds its trip limits

NEPR Geographic Zone Map 2015

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This geographic zone map was created by interpreting satellite and aerial imagery, seafloor topography (bathymetry model), and the new NEPR Benthic Habitat Map...

Geographic Variation in Morbidity and Mortality of Cerebrovascular Diseases in Korea during 2011-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Juyeon; Bahk, Jinwook; Kim, Ikhan; Kim, Yeon-Yong; Yun, Sung-Cheol; Kang, Hee-Yeon; Lee, Jeehye; Park, Jong Heon; Shin, Soon-Ae; Khang, Young-Ho

2018-03-01

Little is known about within-country variation in morbidity and mortality of cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs). Geographic differences in CVD morbidity and mortality have yet to be properly examined. This study examined geographic variation in morbidity and mortality of CVD, neighborhood factors for CVD morbidity and mortality, and the association between CVD morbidity and mortality across the 245 local districts in Korea during 2011-2015. District-level health care utilization and mortality data were obtained to estimate age-standardized CVD morbidity and mortality. The bivariate Pearson correlation was used to examine the linear relationship between district-level CVD morbidity and mortality Z-scores. Simple linear regression and multivariate analyses were conducted to investigate the associations of area characteristics with CVD morbidity, mortality, and discrepancies between morbidity and mortality. Substantial variation was found in CVD morbidity and mortality across the country, with 1074.9 excess CVD inpatients and 73.8 excess CVD deaths per 100,000 between the districts with the lowest and highest CVD morbidity and mortality, respectively. Higher rates of CVD admissions and deaths were clustered in the noncapital regions. A moderate geographic correlation between CVD morbidity and mortality was found (Pearson correlation coefficient = .62 for both genders). Neighborhood level indicators for socioeconomic disadvantages, undersupply of health care resources, and unhealthy behaviors were positively associated with CVD morbidity and mortality and the relative standing of CVD mortality vis-à-vis morbidity. Policy actions targeting life-course socioeconomic conditions, equitable distribution of health care resources, and behavioral risk factors may help reduce geographic differences in CVD morbidity and mortality in Korea. Copyright © 2018 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

CYBERNETICS AND GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION: CYBERNETICS OF LEARNING AND LEARNING OF CYBERNETICS

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M. R. Arpentieva

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Modern geographical education implies a broad implementation of innovative technologies, allowing students to fully and deeply understand the subject and methods of professional activity, and effectively and productively act upon this understanding. Therefore, in the work of modern geographer computer and media technologies occupy a significant place, and geographic education occupies an important place in learning cybernetic disciplines: computer technologies act as an important condition for obtaining high quality professional education, as well as an important tool of professional activity of modern specialist-geographer. The article is devoted to comparing three modern approaches to the study and optimization of training Cybernetics and programming in the framework of geographical education: an approach devoted to the study of “learning styles”; the metacognitive approach to learning computer science and programming; and intersubjective, evergetic or actually cybernetic, approach. It describes their advantages and limitations in the context of geographical education, as well as the internal unity as different forms of study of productivity and conditions of the dialogical interaction between teacher and student in the context of obtaining high-quality geographical education.

ESSENCE OF ACTIVE OPERATIONS OF COMMERCIAL BANKS

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Malinovskaya Irina

2018-01-01

active operations by a commercial bank will be considered effective if, in the course of these operations, it receives a stable profit. Balanced growth of assets and improvement of their quality is a prerequisite for achieving and maintaining the stable functioning and development of commercial banks and their positive impact on the development of the Ukrainian economy.

Overcoming scepticism: Interacting influences of geographical location on perceived climate change adaptation measures to water resources in Spain

Science.gov (United States)

Iglesias, Ana; Garrote, Luis; Bardaji, Isabel; Iglesias, Pedro; Granados, Alfredo

2016-04-01

Though many climate adaptation efforts attempt to be defined with the participation of local communities, these strategies may be ineffective because among citizens affected equally, a local risk perception rather than scientific understanding largely drives adaptation choices. Further, the geographical location may polarize climate risk perceptions, making some adaptation efforts ineffective among sceptics. This study examines how the local degradation of the environment and water resources relates to adaption choices and in turn, climate change risk perception among a range of citizens in the Tagus basin, Spain (n = 300). We find respondents of less degraded areas have individualistic responses, and are significantly less likely to accept adaptation strategies than respondents in water stressed communities. The interaction between climate knowledge and adaptation choices is positively related to acceptance of adaptation choices in both groups, and had a stronger positive relationship among individualists. There is no statistical difference in acceptance of adaptation between individualists and communitarians at high levels of knowledge (top decile). Thus, education efforts specific to climate change may counteract divisions based geographical location and environmental stress.

Direct bacterial identification in positive blood cultures by use of two commercial matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jonathan H K; Ho, Pak-Leung; Kwan, Grace S W; She, Kevin K K; Siu, Gilman K H; Cheng, Vincent C C; Yuen, Kwok-Yung; Yam, Wing-Cheong

2013-06-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for the identification of bacteria and fungi was recently introduced in microbiology laboratories. This technology could greatly improve the clinical management of patients and guidance for chemotherapy. In this study, we used a commercial MALDI Sepsityper extraction method to evaluate the performance of two commercial MALDI-TOF MS systems, the Vitek MS IVD (bioMérieux) and the Microflex LT Biotyper (Bruker Daltonics) for direct bacterial identification in positive blood cultures. In 181 monomicrobial cultures, both systems generated genus to species level identifications for >90% of the specimens (Biotyper, 177/181 [97.8%]; Vitek MS IVD, 167/181 [92.3%]). Overall, the Biotyper system generated significantly more accurate identifications than the Vitek MS IVD system (P = 0.016; 177 versus 167 out of 181 specimens). The Biotyper system identified the minority species among polymicrobial blood cultures. We also compared the performance of an in-house extraction method with that of the Sepsityper on both MALDI-TOF MS systems. The in-house method generated more correct identifications at the genus level than the Sepsityper (96.7% versus 93.5%) on the Biotyper system, whereas the two methods exhibited the same performance level (88.0% versus 88.0%) on the Vitek MS IVD system. Our study confirmed the practical advantages of MALDI-TOF MS, and our in-house extraction method reduced the reagent cost to $1 per specimen, with a shorter turnaround time of 3 h, which is highly cost-effective for a diagnostic microbiology service.

Fine-scale geographic variations of inflammatory bowel disease in France: correlation with socioeconomic and house equipment variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Nerich, Virginie; Monnet, Elisabeth; Weill, Alain; Vallier, Nathalie; Vanbockstael, Vincent; Auleley, Guy-Robert; Balaire, Corine; Dubost, Patrick; Rican, Stéphane; Allemand, Hubert; Carbonnel, Franck

2010-05-01

In a previous study we found a north-south gradient for Crohn's disease (CD) incidence in France. The aim of the present study was to determine if socioeconomic factors may influence the geographic distribution of CD and ulcerative colitis (UC) in France. Using the national health insurance databases, incidence rates of CD and UC were estimated for each of 341 metropolitan "job areas" in 2000-2002. Relationships between incidence rates and relevant contextual variables from the 1999 French census were tested for significance using a Poisson regression. Mapping of smoothed relative risks (sRR) for CD and UC at the scale of job areas, using a Bayesian approach and adjusting for significant contextual variables, was carried out in order to search for geographic variations. CD incidence rates were negatively related to the percentage of farmers and to the percentage of housing with bathroom and toilets and positively related to the unemployment rate and to the percentage of households below the poverty threshold. Mapping of sRR for CD showed a clear north-south gradient, which was slightly improved after including the percentage of farmers and the percentage of housing with toilets. In UC we found no significant correlation between either incidence and socioeconomic variables or incidence and house equipment variables, and there was no north-south gradient. However, there was a positive and significant correlation between CD and UC incidence. The present study shows that geographic risk factors of CD in France are northern latitude, nonrural areas, and areas with poor sanitary house equipment. Among these factors the most important is northern latitude.

Phylogenetic heritability of geographic range size in haematophagous ectoparasites: time of divergence and variation among continents.

Science.gov (United States)

Krasnov, Boris R; Shenbrot, Georgy I; van der Mescht, Luther; Warburton, Elizabeth M; Khokhlova, Irina S

2018-04-12

To understand existence, patterns and mechanisms behind phylogenetic heritability in the geographic range size (GRS) of parasites, we measured phylogenetic signal (PS) in the sizes of both regional (within a region) and continental (within a continent) geographic ranges of fleas in five regions. We asked whether (a) GRS is phylogenetically heritable and (b) the manifestation of PS varies between regions. We also asked whether geographic variation in PS reflects the effects of the environment's spatiotemporal stability (e.g. glaciation disrupting geographic ranges) or is associated with time since divergence (accumulation differences among species over time). Support for the former hypothesis would be indicated by stronger PS in southern than in northern regions, whereas support for the latter hypothesis would be shown by stronger PS in regions with a large proportion of species belonging to the derived lineages than in regions with a large proportion of species belonging to the basal lineages. We detected significant PS in both regional and continental GRSs of fleas from Canada and in continental GRS of fleas from Mongolia. No PS was found in the GRS of fleas from Australia and Southern Africa. Venezuelan fleas demonstrated significant PS in regional GRS only. Local Indicators of Phylogenetic Association detected significant local positive autocorrelations of GRS in some clades even in regions in which PS has not been detected across the entire phylogeny. This was mainly characteristic of younger taxa.

Dynamic of Arabica Coffee Marketing Organization in Ngada District:Progress Upon Implementing of Geographical Indication

OpenAIRE

Aklimawati, Lya

2017-01-01

Farmer organization has important role on coffee agribusiness development. Organization was positioned as a driving force on farmer economic activities, especially in strengthening partnership networks. Realizing the importance of organization, the aim of this research was to identify the coffee market structure in the scheme of Geographical Indication; to analyze the dynamic of coffee marketing organization at farmers level; and to analyze added value of wet parchment bean sales at the farme...

47 CFR 22.911 - Cellular geographic service area.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Cellular Geographic Service Area (CGSA) of a cellular system is the geographic area considered by the FCC... application for modification of the CGSA using FCC Form 601, a depiction of what the carrier believes the CGSA... location and the locus of points where the predicted or measured median field strength finally drops to 32...

Ecoscapes: Geographical Patternings of Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aimar Ventsel

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Book review of the publication Ecoscapes: Geographical Patternings of Relations. Edited by Gary Backhaus and John Murungi. Lanham, Boulder, New York, Toronto, Oxford, Lexington Books, 2006, xxxiii+241 pp.

Ecoscapes: Geographical Patternings of Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aimar Ventsel

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Book review of the publication Ecoscapes: Geographical Patternings of Relations. Edited by Gary Backhaus and John Murungi. Lanham, Boulder, New York, Toronto, Oxford, Lexington Books, 2006, xxxiii+241 pp.

Storytelling in Interactive 3D Geographic Visualization Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias Thöny

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The objective of interactive geographic maps is to provide geographic information to a large audience in a captivating and intuitive way. Storytelling helps to create exciting experiences and to explain complex or otherwise hidden relationships of geospatial data. Furthermore, interactive 3D applications offer a wide range of attractive elements for advanced visual story creation and offer the possibility to convey the same story in many different ways. In this paper, we discuss and analyze storytelling techniques in 3D geographic visualizations so that authors and developers working with geospatial data can use these techniques to conceptualize their visualization and interaction design. Finally, we outline two examples which apply the given concepts.

Hierarchical Distributed-Lag Models: Exploring Varying Geographic Scale and Magnitude in Associations Between the Built Environment and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Baek, Jonggyu; Sanchez-Vaznaugh, Emma V; Sánchez, Brisa N

2016-03-15

It is well known that associations between features of the built environment and health depend on the geographic scale used to construct environmental attributes. In the built environment literature, it has long been argued that geographic scales may vary across study locations. However, this hypothesized variation has not been systematically examined due to a lack of available statistical methods. We propose a hierarchical distributed-lag model (HDLM) for estimating the underlying overall shape of food environment-health associations as a function of distance from locations of interest. This method enables indirect assessment of relevant geographic scales and captures area-level heterogeneity in the magnitudes of associations, along with relevant distances within areas. The proposed model was used to systematically examine area-level variation in the association between availability of convenience stores around schools and children's weights. For this case study, body mass index (weight kg)/height (m)2) z scores (BMIz) for 7th grade children collected via California's 2001-2009 FitnessGram testing program were linked to a commercial database that contained locations of food outlets statewide. Findings suggested that convenience store availability may influence BMIz only in some places and at varying distances from schools. Future research should examine localized environmental or policy differences that may explain the heterogeneity in convenience store-BMIz associations. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

An experimental study on the effect of TV commercials on the attitudes towards nuclear power generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tada, Yasuyuki [Institute of Nuclear Safety System Inc., Seika, Kyoto (Japan)

1999-09-01

The present study is about the effect TV commercials have on the subjects' attitudes towards nuclear power generation. A number of 191 female students participated in the experiment. It was hypothesized that TV commercials would have a positive effect on the viewer's attitude towards nuclear power generation. The main results of the study supported this hypothesis, demonstrating that TV commercials constitute an effective means for changing people's perception of nuclear power generation. (author)

Factors affecting CO_2 emissions in China’s agriculture sector: Evidence from geographically weighted regression model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Bin; Lin, Boqiang

2017-01-01

China is currently the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide. Considered as a large agricultural country, carbon emission in China’s agriculture sector keeps on growing rapidly. It is, therefore, of great importance to investigate the driving forces of carbon dioxide emissions in this sector. The traditional regression estimation can only get “average” and “global” parameter estimates; it excludes the “local” parameter estimates which vary across space in some spatial systems. Geographically weighted regression embeds the latitude and longitude of the sample data into the regression parameters, and uses the local weighted least squares method to estimate the parameters point–by–point. To reveal the nonstationary spatial effects of driving forces, geographically weighted regression model is employed in this paper. The results show that economic growth is positively correlated with emissions, with the impact in the western region being less than that in the central and eastern regions. Urbanization is positively related to emissions but produces opposite effects pattern. Energy intensity is also correlated with emissions, with a decreasing trend from the eastern region to the central and western regions. Therefore, policymakers should take full account of the spatial nonstationarity of driving forces in designing emission reduction policies. - Highlights: • We explore the driving forces of CO_2 emissions in the agriculture sector. • Urbanization is positively related to emissions but produces opposite effect pattern. • The effect of energy intensity declines from the eastern region to western region.

76 FR 39018 - Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's Permit Standards; Corrections

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-05

... [Docket No. FMCSA-2007-27659] RIN 2126-AB02 Commercial Driver's License Testing and Commercial Learner's..., 2011, that will be effective on July 8, 2011. This final rule amends the commercial driver's license... to issue the commercial learner's permit (CLP). Since the final rule was published, FMCSA identified...

Research and implementation of geographic information service mode in digital home

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, B.; Liu, K.; Gan, Y.; Zhong, M.

2014-04-01

Accompanying infrastructure improvements and networking technology innovation, the development of digital home service industry has gotten more and more attention. However, the digital home service levels have not sufficiently met rising demand from users. Therefore, it is urgent to propose and develop new service modes for the digital home. Geographic information services can provide various spatial information services such as map search, spatial information query. It has become an inevitable trend to implement geographic information services in the digital home. This paper proposes three new geographic information services modes for the digital home after sufficient requirement analysis: pushed information service mode, interactive information service mode, personalized information service mode. The key technologies to implement geographic information services on digital televisions are studied, involving digital television middleware technology, network transmission technology and visualization technology. According to the service modes' characteristics mentioned above, a service system in the digital home is established to implement geographic information services on the basis of digital television. The implementation of geographic information services in the digital home not only enriches the digital home services content, but also promotes geographic information from specialization to public popularity.

Design, building and test of one prototype and four final position sensor assemblies: Hall effect position sensors

Science.gov (United States)

1976-01-01

This report covers the development of a three channel Hall effect position sensing system for the commutation of a three phase dc torquer motor. The effort consisted of the evaluation, modification and re-packaging of a commercial position sensor and the design of a target configuration unique to this application. The resulting design meets the contract requirements and, furthermore, the test results indicate not only the practicality and versatility of the design, but also that there may be higher limits of resolution and accuracy achievable.

Geographic variation in advertisement calls of a Microhylid frog - testing the role of drift and ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ko-Huan; Shaner, Pei-Jen L; Lin, Yen-Po; Lin, Si-Min

2016-05-01

Acoustic signals for mating are important traits that could drive population differentiation and speciation. Ecology may play a role in acoustic divergence through direct selection (e.g., local adaptation to abiotic environment), constraint of correlated traits (e.g., acoustic traits linked to another trait under selection), and/or interspecific competition (e.g., character displacement). However, genetic drift alone can also drive acoustic divergence. It is not always easy to differentiate the role of ecology versus drift in acoustic divergence. In this study, we tested the role of ecology and drift in shaping geographic variation in the advertisement calls of Microhyla fissipes. We examined three predictions based on ecological processes: (1) the correlation between temperature and call properties across M. fissipes populations; (2) the correlation between call properties and body size across M. fissipes populations; and (3) reproductive character displacement (RCD) in call properties between M. fissipes populations that are sympatric with and allopatric to a congener M. heymonsi. To test genetic drift, we examined correlations among call divergence, geographic distance, and genetic distance across M. fissipes populations. We recorded the advertisement calls from 11 populations of M. fissipes in Taiwan, five of which are sympatrically distributed with M. heymonsi. We found geographic variation in both temporal and spectral properties of the advertisement calls of M. fissipes. However, the call properties were not correlated with local temperature or the callers' body size. Furthermore, we did not detect RCD. By contrast, call divergence, geographic distance, and genetic distance between M. fissipes populations were all positively correlated. The comparisons between phenotypic Q st (P st) and F st values did not show significant differences, suggesting a role of drift. We concluded that genetic drift, rather than ecological processes, is the more likely

GEOGRAPHICAL EDUCATION MEDIATIZATION AND MEDIASECURITY ISSUES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. R. Arpentieva

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the interaction of legal and moral development of media technologies in the context of geographical education. The article summarizes the experience of the theoretical analysis of mediatization in geographic education, the legal and moral aspects of the disorders and ways of their prevention and correction in the process of educational interaction between teacher and student, between student and teacher, mediated mediatechnologies. It is noted that geographical education in the modern world is education, which is closely associated with the use of media technologies. In other types of education the role of media technologies in improving the quality of education is less obvious, in the field of teaching and learning geography, it speaks very clearly. Therefore, the problems associated with its mediatization, are very important and their solution is particularly compelling. These issues are primarily associated with actively flowing social, economic, political and ideological crisis in many communities and countries of the Earth. Many of them as in the “mirror” are reflected in the sphere of high technologies, including media technologies. The article provides guidance and direction to the correction of violations at the individual and social levels.

Ontology for cell-based geographic information

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Bin; Huang, Lina; Lu, Xinhai

2009-10-01

Inter-operability is a key notion in geographic information science (GIS) for the sharing of geographic information (GI). That requires a seamless translation among different information sources. Ontology is enrolled in GI discovery to settle the semantic conflicts for its natural language appearance and logical hierarchy structure, which are considered to be able to provide better context for both human understanding and machine cognition in describing the location and relationships in the geographic world. However, for the current, most studies on field ontology are deduced from philosophical theme and not applicable for the raster expression in GIS-which is a kind of field-like phenomenon but does not physically coincide to the general concept of philosophical field (mostly comes from the physics concepts). That's why we specifically discuss the cell-based GI ontology in this paper. The discussion starts at the investigation of the physical characteristics of cell-based raster GI. Then, a unified cell-based GI ontology framework for the recognition of the raster objects is introduced, from which a conceptual interface for the connection of the human epistemology and the computer world so called "endurant-occurrant window" is developed for the better raster GI discovery and sharing.

Geographical Clusters and Predictors of Rabies in Three Southeastern States.

Science.gov (United States)

Reilly, Sara; Sanderson, Wayne T; Christian, W Jay; Browning, Steven R

2017-06-01

The rabies virus causes progressive encephalomyelitis that is fatal in nearly 100% of untreated cases. In the United States, wildlife act as the primary reservoir for rabies; prevention, surveillance, and control costs remain high. The purpose of this study is to understand the current distribution of wildlife rabies in three southeastern states, with particular focus on raccoons as the primary eastern reservoir, as well as identify demographic and geographic factors which may affect the risk of human exposure. This ecologic study obtained county-level rabies surveillance data from state health departments and the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife services for North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia from 2010 to 2013. A spatial statistical analysis was performed to identify county clusters with high or low rates of raccoon rabies in the three states. Potential demographic and geographic factors associated with these varying rates of rabies were assessed using a multivariable negative binomial regression model. In North Carolina, raccoons constituted 50% of positive tests, in Virginia, 49%, and in West Virginia, 50%. Compared to persons residing in West Virginia counties, persons in North Carolina counties had 1.67 times the risk of exposure (p rabies exposure. Further research is needed to better understand the effect of the oral rabies vaccine program in controlling the risk of human exposure to raccoon rabies.

SCHOOL LINGUISTIC CREATIVITY BASED ON SCIENTIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL TEXTS

OpenAIRE

VIORICA BLÎNDĂ

2012-01-01

The analysis and observation of the natural environment and of the social and economic one, observing phenomena, objects, beings, and geographical events are at the basis of producing geographical scientific texts. The symbols of iconotexts and cartotexts are another source of inspiration for linguistic interpretation. The linguistic creations that we selected for our study are the scientific analysis, the commentary, the characteriz...

Constraints to commercialization of algal fuels.

Science.gov (United States)

Chisti, Yusuf

2013-09-10

Production of algal crude oil has been achieved in various pilot scale facilities, but whether algal fuels can be produced in sufficient quantity to meaningfully displace petroleum fuels, has been largely overlooked. Limitations to commercialization of algal fuels need to be understood and addressed for any future commercialization. This review identifies the major constraints to commercialization of transport fuels from microalgae. Algae derived fuels are expensive compared to petroleum derived fuels, but this could change. Unfortunately, improved economics of production are not sufficient for an environmentally sustainable production, or its large scale feasibility. A low-cost point supply of concentrated carbon dioxide colocated with the other essential resources is necessary for producing algal fuels. An insufficiency of concentrated carbon dioxide is actually a major impediment to any substantial production of algal fuels. Sustainability of production requires the development of an ability to almost fully recycle the phosphorous and nitrogen nutrients that are necessary for algae culture. Development of a nitrogen biofixation ability to support production of algal fuels ought to be an important long term objective. At sufficiently large scale, a limited supply of freshwater will pose a significant limitation to production even if marine algae are used. Processes for recovering energy from the algal biomass left after the extraction of oil, are required for achieving a net positive energy balance in the algal fuel oil. The near term outlook for widespread use of algal fuels appears bleak, but fuels for niche applications such as in aviation may be likely in the medium term. Genetic and metabolic engineering of microalgae to boost production of fuel oil and ease its recovery, are essential for commercialization of algal fuels. Algae will need to be genetically modified for improved photosynthetic efficiency in the long term. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All

Liquidity of Czech and Slovak commercial banks

OpenAIRE

Pavla Vodová

2012-01-01

As liquidity problems of some banks during global financial crisis re-emphasized, liquidity is very important for functioning of financial markets and the banking sector. The aim of this paper is therefore to evaluate comprehensively the liquidity positions of Czech and Slovak commercial banks via different liquidity ratios in the period of 2001–2010 and to find out whether the strategy for liquidity management differs by the size of the bank. We used unconsolidated balance sheet data over th...

A commercially available immunoglobulin E-based test for food allergy gives inconsistent results in healthy ponies.

Science.gov (United States)

Dupont, S; De Spiegeleer, A; Liu, D J X; Lefère, L; van Doorn, D A; Hesta, M

2016-01-01

Commercial immunoglobulin E (IgE)-based tests are available for diagnosis of food allergies and are commonly used in equine practice. However, these tests have been proven unreliable as a screening method in man and other species, but not critically evaluated in equids. Therefore, a commercially available IgE-based test for horses was evaluated. To evaluate the consistency of the results obtained with a commercially available IgE-based test for food allergy diagnosis in ponies (Phase I) and to subject ponies to a provocation trial with the presumed allergens (Phase II). Allergen screening followed by experimental food provocation trials in healthy ponies. Blood samples of 17 healthy Shetland ponies were taken at 2 different time points, sent blinded to a commercial laboratory for screening of common food allergens and the results were evaluated for consistency (Phase I). Ponies that were positive for food allergens were consecutively challenged orally with each allergen separately for 14 days (Phase II). A washout period of one week was applied in ponies with multiple positive results. Clinical parameters and serum amyloid A were monitored during the provocation trial. Only 7/17 ponies were negative on the IgE-based test at the 2 time points, 3 had positive results twice but only one tested positive twice for the same food allergen. No abnormalities were noted during the provocation trials. This study demonstrated that this IgE-based test is not a reliable screening tool for food allergy in healthy equids. © 2015 EVJ Ltd.

[HIV infection and associated factors in HIV-antibody positive clients of female sex workers recently reported in Shaanxi province].

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, T; Chang, W H; Zhang, M Y

2017-03-10

Objective: To investigate the current status of HIV infection and the related factors in HIV antibody positive clients of female sex workers (FSWs) recently reported in Shaanxi province. Methods: The HIV/AIDS cases newly diagnosed in males living in Shaanxi from January 1th of 2013 to June 30th of 2014 were selected and those infected through " commercial heterosexual behavior" were identified. The information about their demographic characteristics, previous unprotected heterosexual sex and the sample sources were collected, and serum or plasma samples were collected from them and tested with BED-CEIA. The proportion of recent HIV infections and associated factors were investigated. Results: The proportion of recent HIV infection and HIV-antibody detection rate in 212 HIV antibody positive male clients of FSWs were 25.5% and 6.6% respectively. The cases who had the educational level of junior middle school or high middle school were wore likely to have long term HIV infections than those with lower educational level (a OR =0.28, 95 % CI : 0.08-0.93). Compared with patients identified by hospitals or sexually transmitted diseases clinics, recent HIV infections were more likely to be found through preoperative test or blood transfusion test (a OR =3.14, 95 % CI : 1.06-9.30) and blood donation test (a OR =4.19, 95 % CI :1.01-17.42). Compared with the cases who had commercial sex only in Xi' an or other province or both in Xi' an and other province, the cases who had commercial sex in other cities in Shaanxi were more likely to be infected recently (a OR =0.19, 95 %CI : 0.07-0.57). Compared with the cases had temporary heterosexual sex partner, those who had no temporary sex partners were more likely to be infected recently (a OR =9.03, 95 % CI : 3.00-27.18) ( P HIV infections among HIV antibody positive clients of FSWs was high and the HIV-antibody detection rate among them was low. The educational level, sample source, geographic area and temporary heterosexual

Geographic object-based delineation of neighborhoods of Accra, Ghana using QuickBird satellite imagery.

Science.gov (United States)

Stow, Douglas A; Lippitt, Christopher D; Weeks, John R

2010-08-01

The objective was to test GEographic Object-based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) techniques for delineating neighborhoods of Accra, Ghana using QuickBird multispectral imagery. Two approaches to aggregating census enumeration areas (EAs) based on image-derived measures of vegetation objects were tested: (1) merging adjacent EAs according to vegetation measures and (2) image segmentation. Both approaches exploit readily available functions within commercial GEOBIA software. Image-derived neighborhood maps were compared to a reference map derived by spatial clustering of slum index values (from census data), to provide a relative assessment of potential map utility. A size-constrained iterative segmentation approach to aggregation was more successful than standard image segmentation or feature merge techniques. The segmentation approaches account for size and shape characteristics, enabling more realistic neighborhood boundaries to be delineated. The percentage of vegetation patches within each EA yielded more realistic delineation of potential neighborhoods than mean vegetation patch size per EA.

Effective strategies to reduce commercial tobacco use in Indigenous communities globally: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Minichiello, Alexa; Lefkowitz, Ayla R F; Firestone, Michelle; Smylie, Janet K; Schwartz, Robert

2016-01-11

All over the world, Indigenous populations have remarkably high rates of commercial tobacco use compared to non-Indigenous groups. The high rates of commercial tobacco use in Indigenous populations have led to a variety of health issues and lower life expectancy than the general population. The objectives of this systematic review were to investigate changes in the initiation, consumption and quit rates of commercial tobacco use as well as changes in knowledge, prevalence, community interest, and smoke-free environments in Indigenous populations. We also aimed to understand which interventions had broad reach, what the common elements that supported positive change were and how Aboriginal self-determination was reflected in program implementation. We undertook a systematic review of peer-reviewed publications and grey literature selected from seven databases and 43 electronic sources. We included studies between 1994 and 2015 if they addressed an intervention (including provision of a health service or program, education or training programs) aimed to reduce the use of commercial tobacco use in Indigenous communities globally. Systematic cross-regional canvassing of informants in Canada and internationally with knowledge of Indigenous health and/or tobacco control provided further leads about commercial tobacco reduction interventions. We extracted data on program characteristics, study design and learnings including successes and challenges. In the process of this review, we investigated 73 commercial tobacco control interventions in Indigenous communities globally. These interventions incorporated a myriad of activities to reduce, cease or protect Indigenous peoples from the harms of commercial tobacco use. Interventions were successful in producing positive changes in initiation, consumption and quit rates. Interventions also facilitated increases in the number of smoke-free environments, greater understandings of the harms of commercial tobacco use and a

Virale commercials: de consument als marketeer. Onderzoek naar de redenen waarom consumenten virale commercials doorsturen: hun motieven, de inhoudskenmerken van viral commercials en de mediumcontext waarin virale commercials verschijnen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ketelaar, P.E.; Lucassen, P.; Kregting, G.H.J.

2010-01-01

Research into the reasons why consumers pass along viral commercials: their motives, the content characteristics of viral commercials and the medium context in which viral commercials appear. Based on the uses and gratifications perspective this study has determined which motives of consumers,

ACCOUNTING TREATMENTS SPECIFIC TO COUNTERPART COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucia PALIU - POPA

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Given the lack of availability of funds in foreign currency, felt in many countries, especially in the developing and developed countries and the economic or financial crisis in the global foreign exchange, counterpart commercial transactions were imposed as a “disarming” condition of the international trade. In the counterpart a purchase transaction is combined with a sale transaction, an import with an export in order to ensure balanced trade between the partners, trade that involves eliminating or reducing the currency as a payment source and its replacement with trade of goods and services. Thus, in the context of an acute need to export of greatly industrialized countries, where the overproduction phenomenon tends to have a chronic character, the counterpart has become a highly complex and sustainable phenomenon, which has seen a steady increase in the volume of amounts, with a geographical area and large variety of forms and mechanisms of implementation. Based on the characteristics and structure of counterpart transactions, we shall describe in this paper the accounting models specific to international trade, as part of the combined foreign trade transactions without neglecting the tax treatments that influence the entry in the accounts

Applicability of stable C and N isotope analysis in inferring the geographical origin and authentication of commercial fish (Mackerel, Yellow Croaker and Pollock).

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Heejoong; Suresh Kumar, K; Shin, Kyung-Hoon

2015-04-01

Globalisation of seafood and aquaculture products and their convenient marketing worldwide, increases the possibility for the distribution of mislabelled products; thereby, underlining the need to identify their origin. Stable isotope analysis is a promising approach to identify the authenticity and traceability of seafood and aquaculture products. In this investigation, we measured carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) of three commercial fish, viz. Mackerel, Yellow Croaker and Pollock, originating from various countries. Apart from the species-dependent variation in the isotopic values, marked differences in the δ(13)C and δ(15)N ratios were also observed with respect to the country of origin. This suggests that C and N isotopic signatures could be reliable tools to identify and trace the origin of commercial fish. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Louisiana Parishes, Geographic NAD83, USGS (1998) [parishes_USGS_1998

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This data set contains vector line map information. The vector data contain selected base categories of geographic features, and characteristics of these features,...

Louisiana Geology, Geographic NAD83, NWRC (1998) [geology_NWRC_1998

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This data set contains vector line map information. The vector data contain selected base categories of geographic features, and characteristics of these features,...

Geographic Knowledge Extraction and Semantic Similarity in OpenStreetMap

OpenAIRE

Ballatore, Andrea; Bertolotto, Michela; Wilson, David C.

2012-01-01

In recent years, a web phenomenon known as Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) has produced large crowdsourced geographic data sets. OpenStreetMap (OSM), the leading VGI project, aims at building an open-content world map through user contributions. OSM semantics consists of a set of properties (called 'tags') describing geographic classes, whose usage is defined by project contributors on a dedicated Wiki website. Because of its simple and open semantic structure, the OSM approach often...

Geographic variation in health insurance benefit in Qianjiang District, China

OpenAIRE

Ye, Ting; Wu, Yue; Zhang, Liang

2017-01-01

Background: Health insurance coverage is of great importance; yet, it is unclear whether there is some geographic variation in health insurance benefit for urban and rural patients covered by a same basic health insurance, especially in China.Objective: To identify the potential geographic variation in health insurance benefit and its possible socioeconomic and geographical factors at the town level.Methods: All the beneficiaries underthe health insurance who had the in-hospital experience in...

Validation of honey-bee smelling profile by using a commercial electronic nose

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana R. Correa

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Honey is a natural sweetener and its quality labels are associated to its botanical or geographical origin, which is being established by palynological and sensorial analysis. The use of fast and non-invasive techniques such as an electronic nose can become an alternative for honey classification. In this study, the operational parameters of a commercial electronic nose were validated to determine the honey odor profile. A central composite design with five factors, three levels and 28 assays was used, varying sample amounts (1, 2 and 3 g, incubation temperature (30, 40 and 50 °C, incubation time 30 min, gas flow (50, 150 and 250 mL/min and injection time (100, 200 and 300 s. The commercial nose had ten sensors. Repeatability was evaluated with a coefficient of variation of 10 %. The response surface methodology was used and the optimal operating conditions were: 3 g of sample, incubation at 50 °C for 17 min, gas flow of 100 mL/min and sampling time of 150 s. Finally, these parameters were used to analyze 19 samples of honey, which were classified according to their odor profiles, showing that it can be a useful tool to classify honey.

Impact of Commercial Strain Use on Saccharomyces cerevisiae Population Structure and Dynamics in Pinot Noir Vineyards and Spontaneous Fermentations of a Canadian Winery.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan T Martiniuk

Full Text Available Wine is produced by one of two methods: inoculated fermentation, where a commercially-produced, single Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae yeast strain is used; or the traditional spontaneous fermentation, where yeast present on grape and winery surfaces carry out the fermentative process. Spontaneous fermentations are characterized by a diverse succession of yeast, ending with one or multiple strains of S. cerevisiae dominating the fermentation. In wineries using both fermentation methods, commercial strains may dominate spontaneous fermentations. We elucidate the impact of the winery environment and commercial strain use on S. cerevisiae population structure in spontaneous fermentations over two vintages by comparing S. cerevisiae populations in aseptically fermented grapes from a Canadian Pinot Noir vineyard to S. cerevisiae populations in winery-conducted fermentations of grapes from the same vineyard. We also characterize the vineyard-associated S. cerevisiae populations in two other geographically separate Pinot Noir vineyards farmed by the same winery. Winery fermentations were not dominated by commercial strains, but by a diverse number of strains with genotypes similar to commercial strains, suggesting that a population of S. cerevisiae derived from commercial strains is resident in the winery. Commercial and commercial-related yeast were also identified in the three vineyards examined, although at a lower frequency. There is low genetic differentiation and S. cerevisiae population structure between vineyards and between the vineyard and winery that persisted over both vintages, indicating commercial yeast are a driver of S. cerevisiae population structure. We also have evidence of distinct and persistent populations of winery and vineyard-associated S. cerevisiae populations unrelated to commercial strains. This study is the first to characterize S. cerevisiae populations in Canadian vineyards.

Impact of Commercial Strain Use on Saccharomyces cerevisiae Population Structure and Dynamics in Pinot Noir Vineyards and Spontaneous Fermentations of a Canadian Winery.

Science.gov (United States)

Martiniuk, Jonathan T; Pacheco, Braydon; Russell, Gordon; Tong, Stephanie; Backstrom, Ian; Measday, Vivien

2016-01-01

Wine is produced by one of two methods: inoculated fermentation, where a commercially-produced, single Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) yeast strain is used; or the traditional spontaneous fermentation, where yeast present on grape and winery surfaces carry out the fermentative process. Spontaneous fermentations are characterized by a diverse succession of yeast, ending with one or multiple strains of S. cerevisiae dominating the fermentation. In wineries using both fermentation methods, commercial strains may dominate spontaneous fermentations. We elucidate the impact of the winery environment and commercial strain use on S. cerevisiae population structure in spontaneous fermentations over two vintages by comparing S. cerevisiae populations in aseptically fermented grapes from a Canadian Pinot Noir vineyard to S. cerevisiae populations in winery-conducted fermentations of grapes from the same vineyard. We also characterize the vineyard-associated S. cerevisiae populations in two other geographically separate Pinot Noir vineyards farmed by the same winery. Winery fermentations were not dominated by commercial strains, but by a diverse number of strains with genotypes similar to commercial strains, suggesting that a population of S. cerevisiae derived from commercial strains is resident in the winery. Commercial and commercial-related yeast were also identified in the three vineyards examined, although at a lower frequency. There is low genetic differentiation and S. cerevisiae population structure between vineyards and between the vineyard and winery that persisted over both vintages, indicating commercial yeast are a driver of S. cerevisiae population structure. We also have evidence of distinct and persistent populations of winery and vineyard-associated S. cerevisiae populations unrelated to commercial strains. This study is the first to characterize S. cerevisiae populations in Canadian vineyards.

Geographic mobility of Danish dual-erner couples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Filges, Trine

2010-01-01

We analyze the relationship between geographical residence and job mobility for Danish dual-earner couples. We estimate the probability of moving residence and changing job, taking the interdependence between the events into account. The results point to the importance of addressing the interrela......We analyze the relationship between geographical residence and job mobility for Danish dual-earner couples. We estimate the probability of moving residence and changing job, taking the interdependence between the events into account. The results point to the importance of addressing...

Geographic patterns and environmental factors associated with human yellow fever presence in the Americas.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamrick, Patricia Najera; Aldighieri, Sylvain; Machado, Gustavo; Leonel, Deise Galan; Vilca, Luz Maria; Uriona, Sonia; Schneider, Maria Cristina

2017-09-01

In the Americas, yellow fever virus transmission is a latent threat due to the proximity between urban and wild environments. Although yellow fever has nearly vanished from North and Central America, there are still 13 countries in the Americas considered endemic by the World Health Organization. Human cases usually occur as a result of the exposure to sylvatic yellow fever in tropical forested environments; but urban outbreaks reported during the last decade demonstrate that the risk in this environment still exists. The objective of this study was to identify spatial patterns and the relationship between key geographic and environmental factors with the distribution of yellow fever human cases in the Americas. An ecological study was carried out to analyze yellow fever human cases reported to the Pan American Health Organization from 2000 to 2014, aggregated by second administrative level subdivisions (counties). Presence of yellow fever by county was used as the outcome variable and eight geo-environmental factors were used as independent variables. Spatial analysis was performed to identify and examine natural settings per county. Subsequently, a multivariable logistic regression model was built. During the study period, 1,164 cases were reported in eight out of the 13 endemic countries. Nearly 83.8% of these cases were concentrated in three countries: Peru (37.4%), Brazil (28.1%) and Colombia (18.4%); and distributed in 57 states/provinces, specifically in 286 counties (3.4% of total counties). Yellow fever presence was significantly associated with altitude, rain, diversity of non-human primate hosts and temperature. A positive spatial autocorrelation revealed a clustered geographic pattern in 138/286 yellow fever positive counties (48.3%). A clustered geographic pattern of yellow fever was identified mostly along the Andes eastern foothills. This risk map could support health policies in endemic countries. Geo-environmental factors associated with presence

Thermal mechanisms responsible for the irreversible degradation of superconductivity in commercial superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Romanovskii, V. R.

2017-08-01

Conditions for the irreversible propagation of thermal instabilities in commercial superconductors subjected to intense and soft cooling have been formulated. An analysis has been conducted using two types of the superconductor's I-V characteristics, i.e., an ideal I-V characteristic, which assumes a step superconducting-to-normal transition, and a continuous I-V characteristic, which is described by a power law. The propagation rate of thermal instabilities along the superconducting composite has been determined. Calculations have been made for both subcritical and supercritical values of the current. It has been shown that they propagate along a commercial superconductor in the form of a switching wave. In rapidly cooled commercial superconductors, the steady-state rate of thermal instability propagation in the longitudinal direction can only be positive because there is no region of steady stabilization. It has been proved that, in the case of thermal instability irreversible propagation, the rise in the commercial superconductor temperature is similar to diffusion processes that occur in explosive chain reactions.

Estimating the accuracy of geographical imputation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boscoe Francis P

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To reduce the number of non-geocoded cases researchers and organizations sometimes include cases geocoded to postal code centroids along with cases geocoded with the greater precision of a full street address. Some analysts then use the postal code to assign information to the cases from finer-level geographies such as a census tract. Assignment is commonly completed using either a postal centroid or by a geographical imputation method which assigns a location by using both the demographic characteristics of the case and the population characteristics of the postal delivery area. To date no systematic evaluation of geographical imputation methods ("geo-imputation" has been completed. The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy of census tract assignment using geo-imputation. Methods Using a large dataset of breast, prostate and colorectal cancer cases reported to the New Jersey Cancer Registry, we determined how often cases were assigned to the correct census tract using alternate strategies of demographic based geo-imputation, and using assignments obtained from postal code centroids. Assignment accuracy was measured by comparing the tract assigned with the tract originally identified from the full street address. Results Assigning cases to census tracts using the race/ethnicity population distribution within a postal code resulted in more correctly assigned cases than when using postal code centroids. The addition of age characteristics increased the match rates even further. Match rates were highly dependent on both the geographic distribution of race/ethnicity groups and population density. Conclusion Geo-imputation appears to offer some advantages and no serious drawbacks as compared with the alternative of assigning cases to census tracts based on postal code centroids. For a specific analysis, researchers will still need to consider the potential impact of geocoding quality on their results and evaluate

Developing Trainee Teacher Practice with Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Walshe, Nicola

2017-01-01

There is general agreement that geographical information systems (GIS) have a place within the geography classroom; they offer the potential to support geographical learning, exploring real-world problems through student-centred learning, and developing spatial thinking. Despite this, teachers often avoid engaging with GIS and research suggests…

Noninterest Income and Performance of Commercial Banking in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Limei Sun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Noninterest income is what most Chinese banks are striving for in recent years because of the vigorous competition among commercial banks due to the increasingly open market and tough regulation from the central bank of China. But the problem is the real effect of noninterest income on profit and risks. A panel threshold model is used with balanced panel dataset of 16 listed Chinese commercial banks, for the period of 2007 to 2013, to investigate the relationship between noninterest income and performance. The findings show two main conclusions: (1 the existence of two thresholds shows that there is nonlinear relationship; (2 there is a general negative correlation between the noninterest income ratio and performance of commercial banks. Furthermore, when the noninterest income ratio is higher than the two thresholds, the negative correlation decreases. Implications of the paper are that the ratio should be controlled in a range or noninterest income will not positively affect the performance, and a high level of performance can be gained only by raising the ratio to a certain level.

The Influence of Technology on Geographic Cognition and Tourism Experience

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tussyadiah, Iis; Zach, Florian

2011-01-01

Tourists today have access to retrieve voluminous geographic information about destinations while travelling as various context-aware geographic technologies have become increasingly ubiquitous. These technologies are suggested to aid tourists in the process of destination consumption to gain...... meaningful tourism experiences. This study found that people using different types of technologies for everyday routine perceive that these technologies help them with spatial inference to acquire geographic information; making sense of direction and orientation, and interacting with and within places....... Further, within the travel context, geographic technology was found to influence the dimensions of sensory, affective and social experience, as well as the cognitive and bodily experience. The type of technology used for travel was also found to be a significant predictor of the sensory, affective...

Judicial Reform and Commercial Justice : The Experience of Tanzania's Commercial Court

OpenAIRE

Finnegan, David Louis

2004-01-01

Policymakers in developing and transition economies recognize the important role played by judiciaries in creating an institutional environment conducive to robust private sector activity. In the case of Tanzania, the government, with the support of local business groups, international investors, and the donor community, created a specialized court dedicated to considering and resolving commercial and financial cases. The Commercial Division of the High Court of Tanzania (the "Commercial Cour...

Sponsored Schools and Commercialized Classrooms: Schoolhouse Commercializing Trends in the 1990's.

Science.gov (United States)

Molnar, Alex

This report analyzes commercializing trends in America's schools and classrooms, using data from database searches in seven categories of schoolhouse commercialism in the period 1990-97. The number of citations relating to commercializing activities can provide only a rough approximation of the scope and development of the phenomenon. The number…

NASA commercial programs

Science.gov (United States)

1990-01-01

Highlights of NASA-sponsored and assisted commercial space activities of 1989 are presented. Industrial R and D in space, centers for the commercial development of space, and new cooperative agreements are addressed in the U.S. private sector in space section. In the building U.S. competitiveness through technology section, the following topics are presented: (1) technology utilization as a national priority; (2) an exploration of benefits; and (3) honoring Apollo-Era spinoffs. International and domestic R and D trends, and the space sector are discussed in the section on selected economic indicators. Other subjects included in this report are: (1) small business innovation; (2) budget highlights and trends; (3) commercial programs management; and (4) the commercial programs advisory committee.

Geographical Mobility of Danish Dual-Earner Couples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Deding, Mette; Filges, Trine

In this paper, we analyse the empirical relationship between geographical residence mobility and geographical job mobility for Danish dual-earner couples. Based on register data from Statistics Denmark from 1999 and 2000, we estimate three probabilities, taking the interdependence between...... the work region matters for the determination of the residence region. Furthermore, although the model stresses the importance of looking at both spouses, we do not find marked differences between the men and the women. Thus, our results do not indicate that one spouse is more important than the other...

Geographically isolated wetlands: Rethinking a misnomer

Science.gov (United States)

Mushet, David M.; Calhoun, Aram J.K.; Alexander, Laurie C.; Cohen, Matthew J.; DeKeyser, Edward S.; Fowler, Laurie G.; Lane, Charles R.; Lang, Megan W.; Rains, Mark C.; Walls, Susan

2015-01-01

We explore the category “geographically isolated wetlands” (GIWs; i.e., wetlands completely surrounded by uplands at the local scale) as used in the wetland sciences. As currently used, the GIW category (1) hampers scientific efforts by obscuring important hydrological and ecological differences among multiple wetland functional types, (2) aggregates wetlands in a manner not reflective of regulatory and management information needs, (3) implies wetlands so described are in some way “isolated,” an often incorrect implication, (4) is inconsistent with more broadly used and accepted concepts of “geographic isolation,” and (5) has injected unnecessary confusion into scientific investigations and discussions. Instead, we suggest other wetland classification systems offer more informative alternatives. For example, hydrogeomorphic (HGM) classes based on well-established scientific definitions account for wetland functional diversity thereby facilitating explorations into questions of connectivity without an a priori designation of “isolation.” Additionally, an HGM-type approach could be used in combination with terms reflective of current regulatory or policymaking needs. For those rare cases in which the condition of being surrounded by uplands is the relevant distinguishing characteristic, use of terminology that does not unnecessarily imply isolation (e.g., “upland embedded wetlands”) would help alleviate much confusion caused by the “geographically isolated wetlands” misnomer.

The commercial role for centrifuge enrichment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Readle, P.H.; Wilcox, P.

1987-01-01

The enrichment market is extremely competitive and capacity greatly exceeds demand. BNFL [British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.] is in a unique position in having commercial experience of the two enrichment technologies currently used industrially: diffusion, and centrifuge enrichment through its associate company Urenco. In addition, BNFL is developing laser enrichment techniques as part of a UK development programme. The paper describes the enrichment market, briefly discusses the relative merits of the various methods of uranium enrichment and concludes that the gas centrifuge will be best able to respond to market needs for at least the remainder of the century. (author)

The geographical distribution of tremellaceous fungi in Poland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Władysław Wojewoda

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The geographical distribution of the Polish tremellaceous fungi is discussed in this paper. The list of localities and the maps of the distribution of 60 Polish species (45 of Tremellales, 13 of Auriculariales and 2 of Septobasidiales are given. The author distinguishes several geographical elements, and describes the vertical distribution of these fungi. This paper is a supplement to "Fungi (Mycota", vol. 8, Polish Flora (Wojewoda 1977.

INCIDENCE OF NAMATODE PARASITES IN COMMERCIAL LAYERS IN SWAT

OpenAIRE

R.S. Sayyed, M.S. Phulan1, W.M. Bhatti1, M. Pardehi and Shamsher Ali

2000-01-01

Research was conducted on 400 guts of commercial layers collected from various shops at District Swat during April to September 1998. Out of 400 guts, 36 per cent were positive for nematodes, Mixed infestation of nematodes and cestodes was found in 4.75 per cent layers. Incidence rate of Ascaridia galli, Heterakis gallinarum and Subulura brumpli was 25.75, 8.25 and 2 per cent, respectively.

Identifying Skill Requirements for GIS Positions: A Content Analysis of Job Advertisements

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Jung Eun

2016-01-01

This study identifies the skill requirements for geographic information system (GIS) positions, including GIS analysts, programmers/developers/engineers, specialists, and technicians, through a content analysis of 946 GIS job advertisements from 2007-2014. The results indicated that GIS job applicants need to possess high levels of GIS analysis…

Phenotypic and metabolic traits of commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, Catarina; Lage, Patrícia; Vilela, Alice; Mendes-Faia, Arlete; Mendes-Ferreira, Ana

2014-01-01

Currently, pursuing yeast strains that display both a high potential fitness for alcoholic fermentation and a favorable impact on quality is a major goal in the alcoholic beverage industry. This considerable industrial interest has led to many studies characterizing the phenotypic and metabolic traits of commercial yeast populations. In this study, 20 Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains from different geographical origins exhibited high phenotypic diversity when their response to nine biotechnologically relevant conditions was examined. Next, the fermentation fitness and metabolic traits of eight selected strains with a unique phenotypic profile were evaluated in a high-sugar synthetic medium under two nitrogen regimes. Although the strains exhibited significant differences in nitrogen requirements and utilization rates, a direct relationship between nitrogen consumption, specific growth rate, cell biomass, cell viability, acetic acid and glycerol formation was only observed under high-nitrogen conditions. In contrast, the strains produced more succinic acid under the low-nitrogen regime, and a direct relationship with the final cell biomass was established. Glucose and fructose utilization patterns depended on both yeast strain and nitrogen availability. For low-nitrogen fermentation, three strains did not fully degrade the fructose. This study validates phenotypic and metabolic diversity among commercial wine yeasts and contributes new findings on the relationship between nitrogen availability, yeast cell growth and sugar utilization. We suggest that measuring nitrogen during the stationary growth phase is important because yeast cells fermentative activity is not exclusively related to population size, as previously assumed, but it is also related to the quantity of nitrogen consumed during this growth phase.

Predictors of disability-related attitudes: considering self-esteem, communication apprehension, contact, and geographic location.

Science.gov (United States)

Magsamen-Conrad, Kate; Tetteh, Dinah; Lee, Yen-I

2016-01-01

Individuals' attitudes about persons with disability (PwD) strongly affect differently-abled persons' quality of life and position in society. Some research offers support for the ability of systematic, supported, longitudinal contact between different groups of individuals to improve attitudes. College campuses, in particular, offer a potentially useful arena in which to facilitate this type of contact. This study explored contextual factors (eg, geographic region, biological sex) and predictors of disability-related attitudes among a college student population to determine strategies for course-based intervention design (eg, as community-engaged or service-learning initiatives). Surveying participants from universities in two regions of the United States, we found that self-esteem, audience-based communication apprehension, and contact with PwD explain more than 50% of the variance in disability-related attitudes. Further, we found that geographic location affects both self-esteem and audience-based communication apprehension (communicating/interacting with PwD). We discuss the implications for community engagement and/or service learning and highlight the importance of partnerships among relevant community stakeholders, including university faculty, students, and staff.

Public Good or Commercial Opportunity: Case Studies in Remote Sensing Commercialization

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Shaida; Cordes, Joseph

2002-01-01

The U.S. Government is once again attempting to commercialize the Landsat program and is asking the private sector to develop a next generation mid-resolution remote sensing system that will provide continuity with the thirty-year data archive of Landsat data. Much of the case for commercializing the Landsat program rests on the apparently successful commercialization of high-resolution remote sensing activities coupled with the belief that conditions have changed since the failed attempt to commercialize Landsat in the 1980s. This paper analyzes the economic, political and technical conditions that prevailed in the 1980s as well as conditions that might account for the apparent success of the emerging high-resolution remote sensing industry today. Lessons are gleaned for the future of the Landsat program.

Direct characterization of commercial lecithins by easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandes, Gabriel D; Alberici, Rosana M; Pereira, Gustavo G; Cabral, Elaine C; Eberlin, Marcos N; Barrera-Arellano, Daniel

2012-12-01

Commercial lecithins are composed mainly of phospholipids and triacylglycerols. The analysis of the commercial lecithins, including their fraction of phospholipids, normally involves laborious and expensive protocols. Easy ambient sonic-spray ionization mass spectrometry (EASI-MS) is shown to be an efficient technique for the analysis of lipids. Samples of commercial lecithins including standards, refined, deoiled and modified soy lecithin were tested. Characteristic profiles of phosphatidylcholines and triacylglycerols are detected by EASI(+)-MS, whereas EASI(-)-MS provided phosphatidylethanolamines, glycophospholipids and free fatty acids profiles. Acetylated lecithins also displayed characteristic acetylated derivatives. EASI-MS data was also compared to MALDI-MS, and found to display richer compositional information. The industrial process applied to lecithin fabrication was also characterised via typical EASI-MS profiles. EASI-MS both in its positive and negative ion modes offers a direct, fast and efficient technique able to characterise commercial lecithin. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Photogrammetric Approach for Assessing Positional Accuracy of OpenStreetMap© Roads

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Doucette

2013-04-01

Full Text Available As open source volunteered geographic information continues to gain popularity, the user community and data contributions are expected to grow, e.g., CloudMade, Apple, and Ushahidi now provide OpenStreetMap© (OSM as a base layer for some of their mapping applications. This, coupled with the lack of cartographic standards and the expectation to one day be able to use this vector data for more geopositionally sensitive applications, like GPS navigation, leaves potential users and researchers to question the accuracy of the database. This research takes a photogrammetric approach to determining the positional accuracy of OSM road features using stereo imagery and a vector adjustment model. The method applies rigorous analytical measurement principles to compute accurate real world geolocations of OSM road vectors. The proposed approach was tested on several urban gridded city streets from the OSM database with the results showing that the post adjusted shape points improved positionally by 86%. Furthermore, the vector adjustment was able to recover 95% of the actual positional displacement present in the database. To demonstrate a practical application, a head-to-head positional accuracy assessment between OSM, the USGS National Map (TNM, and United States Census Bureau’s Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding Referencing (TIGER 2007 roads was conducted.

The geographic accessibility of pharmacies in Nova Scotia.

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Michael R; Heard, Deborah; Fisher, Judith; Douillard, Jay; Muzika, Greg; Sketris, Ingrid S

2013-01-01

Geographic proximity is an important component of access to primary care and the pharmaceutical services of community pharmacies. Variations in access to primary care have been found between rural and urban areas in Canadian and international jurisdictions. We studied access to community pharmacies in the province of Nova Scotia. We used information on the locations of 297 community pharmacies operating in Nova Scotia in June 2011. Population estimates at the census block level and network analysis were used to study the number of Nova Scotia residents living within 800 m (walking) and 2 km and 5 km (driving) distances of a pharmacy. We then simulated the impact of pharmacy closures on geographic access in urban and rural areas. We found that 40.3% of Nova Scotia residents lived within walking distance of a pharmacy; 62.6% and 78.8% lived within 2 km and 5 km, respectively. Differences between urban and rural areas were pronounced: 99.2% of urban residents lived within 5 km of a pharmacy compared with 53.3% of rural residents. Simulated pharmacy closures had a greater impact on geographic access to community pharmacies in rural areas than urban areas. The majority of Nova Scotia residents lived within walking or short driving distance of at least 1 community pharmacy. While overall geographic access appears to be lower than in the province of Ontario, the difference appears to be largely driven by the higher proportion of rural dwellers in Nova Scotia. Further studies should examine how geographic proximity to pharmacies influences patients' access to traditional and specialized pharmacy services, as well as health outcomes and adherence to therapy. Can Pharm J 2013;146:39-46.

application of geographic information system (gis) in industrial land ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

DEPHILIHS

Land capability index mapping using Geographic Information System (GIS) principles was used for this study. The study was undertaken using Arc View ... Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is one of the best approaches for this type of ..... western segments and to a small extent the east. Some of the available lands are ...

Fast, Inclusive Searches for Geographic Names Using Digraphs

Science.gov (United States)

Donato, David I.

2008-01-01

An algorithm specifies how to quickly identify names that approximately match any specified name when searching a list or database of geographic names. Based on comparisons of the digraphs (ordered letter pairs) contained in geographic names, this algorithmic technique identifies approximately matching names by applying an artificial but useful measure of name similarity. A digraph index enables computer name searches that are carried out using this technique to be fast enough for deployment in a Web application. This technique, which is a member of the class of n-gram algorithms, is related to, but distinct from, the soundex, PHONIX, and metaphone phonetic algorithms. Despite this technique's tendency to return some counterintuitive approximate matches, it is an effective aid for fast, inclusive searches for geographic names when the exact name sought, or its correct spelling, is unknown.

Medicare Geographic Variation - Public Use File

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Medicare Geographic Variation Public Use File provides the ability to view demographic, utilization and quality indicators at the state level (including...

Commercial Radio as Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothenbuhler, Eric W.

1996-01-01

Compares the day-to-day work routines of commercial radio with the principles of a theoretical communication model. Illuminates peculiarities of the conduct of communication by commercial radio. Discusses the application of theoretical models to the evaluation of practicing institutions. Offers assessments of commercial radio deriving from…

Geographic Analysis of Neurosurgery Workforce in Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hye Ran; Park, Sukh Que; Kim, Jae Hyun; Hwang, Jae Chan; Lee, Gwang Soo; Chang, Jae-Chil

2018-01-01

Objective In respect of the health and safety of the public, universal access to health care is an issue of the greatest importance. The geographic distribution of doctors is one of the important factors contributing to access to health care. The aim of this study is to assess the imbalances in the geographic distribution of neurosurgeons across Korea. Methods Population data was obtained from the National Statistical Office. We classified geographic groups into 7 metropolitan cities, 78 non-metropolitan cities, and 77 rural areas. The number of doctors and neurosurgeons per 100000 populations in each county unit was calculated using the total number of doctors and neurosurgeons at the country level from 2009 to 2015. The density levels of neurosurgeon and doctor were calculated and depicted in maps. Results Between 2009 and 2015, the number of neurosurgeons increased from 2002 to 2557, and the ratio of neurosurgeons per 100000 populations increased from 4.02 to 4.96. The number of neurosurgeons per 100000 populations was highest in metropolitan cities and lowest in rural areas from 2009 to 2015. A comparison of the geographic distribution of neurosurgeons in 2009 and 2015 showed an increase in the regional gap. The neurosurgeon density was affected by country unit characteristics (p=0.000). Conclusion Distribution of neurosurgeons throughout Korea is uneven. Neurosurgeons are being increasingly concentrated in a limited number of metropolitan cities. This phenomenon will need to be accounted when planning for a supply of neurosurgeons, allocation of resources and manpower, and the provision of regional neurosurgical services. PMID:29354242

Geographic Analysis of Neurosurgery Workforce in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hye Ran; Park, Sukh Que; Kim, Jae Hyun; Hwang, Jae Chan; Lee, Gwang Soo; Chang, Jae-Chil

2018-01-01

In respect of the health and safety of the public, universal access to health care is an issue of the greatest importance. The geographic distribution of doctors is one of the important factors contributing to access to health care. The aim of this study is to assess the imbalances in the geographic distribution of neurosurgeons across Korea. Population data was obtained from the National Statistical Office. We classified geographic groups into 7 metropolitan cities, 78 non-metropolitan cities, and 77 rural areas. The number of doctors and neurosurgeons per 100000 populations in each county unit was calculated using the total number of doctors and neurosurgeons at the country level from 2009 to 2015. The density levels of neurosurgeon and doctor were calculated and depicted in maps. Between 2009 and 2015, the number of neurosurgeons increased from 2002 to 2557, and the ratio of neurosurgeons per 100000 populations increased from 4.02 to 4.96. The number of neurosurgeons per 100000 populations was highest in metropolitan cities and lowest in rural areas from 2009 to 2015. A comparison of the geographic distribution of neurosurgeons in 2009 and 2015 showed an increase in the regional gap. The neurosurgeon density was affected by country unit characteristics ( p =0.000). Distribution of neurosurgeons throughout Korea is uneven. Neurosurgeons are being increasingly concentrated in a limited number of metropolitan cities. This phenomenon will need to be accounted when planning for a supply of neurosurgeons, allocation of resources and manpower, and the provision of regional neurosurgical services.

Educational Geographers and Applied Geography.

Science.gov (United States)

Frazier, John W.

1979-01-01

Describes the development of applied geography programs and restructuring of curricula with an emphasis on new technique and methodology courses, though retaining the liberal arts role. Educational geographers can help the programs to succeed through curriculum analysis, auditing, advising students, and liaison with other geography sources. (CK)

Commercialization of DOE isotope production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laflin, S.

1997-01-01

This paper describes the business structure and operations of MAC Isotopes (MACI) L.L.C., a newly created business resulting from the commercialization of a former U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) mission at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). MACI began its commercial operations on October 1, 1996, and is the first U.S. commercial isotope production business to result from the commercialization of DOE facilities or programs. The commercialization was the culmination of an -2-yr competitive procurement process by the DOE and Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies Company (LMITCO). MACI was selected from this competitive process as the commercial business of choice on the basis of providing the best value to the DOE/LMITCO and having the greatest potential for commercial success

Scrotal tongue and geographic tongue: polygenic and associated traits.

Science.gov (United States)

Eidelman, E; Chosack, A; Cohen, T

1976-11-01

The familial nature of scrotal and geographic tongue was investigated in parents and siblings of 156 probands having these conditions. The prevalence in parents and siblings was significantly higher than that in the control populations. The prevalence in sibilings from families in which at least one parent was also affected was significantly higher than that in siblings from families in which neither parent was affected. The prevalence of scrotal tongue alone in siblins was similar irrespective of the condition in the proband. The prevalence of geographic tongue alone was highest in siblins of probands having only geographic tongue. A polygenic mode of inheritance with some genes common to both conditions is suggested.

Position sensitive x-ray detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Macchione, E.L.A.

1990-01-01

A multi ware position sensitive gas counter for X-ray detection was developed in our laboratory, making use of commercial delay-lines for position sensing. Six delay-line chips (50 ns delay each, 40 Mhz cut-off frequency) cover a total sensitive length of 150 mm leading to a delay-risetime ratio that allows for a high-resolution position detection. Tests using the 5,9 keV X-ray line from a 55 Fe source and integral linearity better than 0,1% and a maximal differential linearity of ±4,0% were obtained operating the detector with an Ar-C H 4 (90%-10%) gas mixture at 700 torr. Similar tests were performed, using the 8,04 keV line from a Cu x-ray tube. A total resolution of 330 μm, and the same integral and differential linearities were obtained. (author)

Commercial Banking Industry Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Bright Horizons Children's Centers, Cambridge, MA.

Work and family programs are becoming increasingly important in the commercial banking industry. The objective of this survey was to collect information and prepare a commercial banking industry profile on work and family programs. Fifty-nine top American commercial banks from the Fortune 500 list were invited to participate. Twenty-two…

Marc Antrop - a revolutionary transdisciplinary scientist or a traditional geographer?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brandt, Jesper

2009-01-01

practicians. Tree main problems have faced IALE since the very beginning: to ensure landscape science collaboration (1) between east and west, (2) between disciplines across the boundaries of nature science, social science and humanities, and (3) between academic disciplines and professionals...... for the enthusiastic radical way Marc is working in international networks and activities. He might have done it, just simply because he is a traditional geographer. With his heart beating for the regional geographic synthesis, despite all trends and fashions of many ‘geographers' trying to move this discipline...

76 FR 126 - Requirement for Commercial Users To Use Commercial Public Key Information (PKI) Certificate

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-03

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Requirement for Commercial Users To Use Commercial..., SDDC will require all commercial accounts accessing transportation systems and applications to use a commercial PKI certificate or Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC). This requirement will...

Geographic Mobility and Social Inequality among Peruvian University Students

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Ryan; Cuenca, Ricardo; Blanco Ramirez, Gerardo; Aragón, Jorge

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore geographic mobility among university students in Peru and to understand how mobility patterns differ by region and by demographic indicators of inequality. The ways that students may be able to move geographically in order to access quality higher education within the educational system can be a driver of…

Duration on unemployment: geographic mobility and selectivity bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Goss, E P; Paul, C; Wilhite, A

1994-01-01

Modeling the factors affecting the duration of unemployment was found to be influenced by the inclusion of migration factors. Traditional models which did not control for migration factors were found to underestimate movers' probability of finding an acceptable job. The empirical test of the theory, based on the analysis of data on US household heads unemployed in 1982 and employed in 1982 and 1983, found that the cumulative probability of reemployment in the traditional model was .422 and in the migration selectivity model was .624 after 30 weeks of searching. In addition, controlling for selectivity eliminated the significance of the relationship between race and job search duration in the model. The relationship between search duration and the county unemployment rate in 1982 became statistically significant, and the relationship between search duration and 1980 population per square mile in the 1982 county of residence became statistically insignificant. The finding that non-Whites have a longer duration of unemployment can better be understood as non-Whites' lower geographic mobility and lack of greater job contacts. The statistical significance of a high unemployment rate in the home labor market reducing the probability of finding employment was more in keeping with expectations. The findings assumed that the duration of employment accurately reflected the length of job search. The sample was redrawn to exclude discouraged workers and the analysis was repeated. The findings were similar to the full sample, with the coefficient for migration variable being negative and statistically significant and the coefficient for alpha remaining positive and statistically significant. Race in the selectivity model remained statistically insignificant. The findings supported the Schwartz model hypothesizing that the expansion of the radius of the search would reduce the duration of unemployment. The exclusion of the migration factor misspecified the equation for

Estimating the energy-saving benefit of reduced-flow and/or multi-speed commercial kitchen ventilation systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fisher, D.; Schmid, F.; Spata, A.J.

1999-07-01

Kitchen exhaust ventilation systems are recognized as a major energy user within commercial food service facilities and restaurants. Minimizing the design ventilation rate of an appliance/hood system by optimizing hood performance in the laboratory is a viable strategy for reducing the makeup air heating and cooling loads as well as the exhaust and supply fan energy. Cutting back the exhaust flow under conditions of noncooking (appliance idle) can further reduce the energy load associated with a kitchen ventilation system. An optimized, two-speed exhaust system was installed within the scope of an energy-efficient, quick service restaurant (QSR) design and demonstration project. This paper evaluates the energy benefit of this variable-flow strategy as well as the savings associated with reducing the design ventilation rate (compared to an off-the-shelf exhaust hood). The paper describes a new public-domain software tool for estimating heating and cooling loads associated with the makeup air requirements of commercial kitchens. This bin-based software provides ASHRAE engineers with an alternative to hand calculations or more sophisticated hour-by-hour simulation. The dramatic impact that both makeup air set point and geographic location have on the outdoor air load is illustrated. The paper concludes with an industry-wide projection of energy savings associated with optimizing the design and operation of commercial kitchen ventilation (CKV) systems.

INCIDENCE OF NAMATODE PARASITES IN COMMERCIAL LAYERS IN SWAT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R.S. Sayyed, M.S. Phulan1, W.M. Bhatti1, M. Pardehi and Shamsher Ali

2000-04-01

Full Text Available Research was conducted on 400 guts of commercial layers collected from various shops at District Swat during April to September 1998. Out of 400 guts, 36 per cent were positive for nematodes, Mixed infestation of nematodes and cestodes was found in 4.75 per cent layers. Incidence rate of Ascaridia galli, Heterakis gallinarum and Subulura brumpli was 25.75, 8.25 and 2 per cent, respectively.

47 CFR 64.1801 - Geographic rate averaging and rate integration.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Geographic rate averaging and rate integration. 64.1801 Section 64.1801 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) MISCELLANEOUS RULES RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS Geographic Rate Averaging and...

Improved quantification of a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit for measuring anti-MDA5 antibody.

Science.gov (United States)

Gono, Takahisa; Okazaki, Yuka; Murakami, Akihiro; Kuwana, Masataka

2018-04-09

To compare the quantitative performance for measuring anti-MDA5 antibody titer of two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) systems: an in-house ELISA and the commercial MESACUP TM anti-MDA5 test. Anti-MDA5 antibody titer was measured in sera from 70 patients with dermatomyositis using an in-house ELISA and the MESACUP TM anti-MDA5 test side-by-side. For the commercial ELISA kit, serum samples diluted 1:101 were used according to the manufacturer's protocol, but serial dilutions of sera were also examined to identify the optimal serum dilution for quantification. The anti-MDA5 antibody titers measured by the in-house and commercial ELISAs were positively correlated with each other (r = 0.53, p = .0001), but the antibody titer measured by the commercial ELISA was less sensitive to change after medical treatment, and 37 (80%) of 46 anti-MDA5-positive sera had antibody titer exceeding the quantification range specified by the manufacturer (≥150 index). Experiments using diluted serum samples revealed that diluting the sera 1:5050 improved the quantitative performance of the MESACUP TM anti-MDA5 test, including a better correlation with the in-house ELISA results and an increased sensitivity to change. We improved the ability of the commercial ELISA kit to quantify anti-MDA5 antibody titer by altering its protocol.

Geographic Variation in Medicare Spending Dashboard

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Geographic Variation Dashboards present Medicare fee-for-service per-capita spending at the state and county level in an interactive format. We calculated the...

Identification of Blood Culture Isolates Directly from Positive Blood Cultures by Use of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry and a Commercial Extraction System: Analysis of Performance, Cost, and Turnaround Time

OpenAIRE

Lagacé-Wiens, Philippe R. S.; Adam, Heather J.; Karlowsky, James A.; Nichol, Kimberly A.; Pang, Paulette F.; Guenther, Jodi; Webb, Amanda A.; Miller, Crystal; Alfa, Michelle J.

2012-01-01

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry represents a revolution in the rapid identification of bacterial and fungal pathogens in the clinical microbiology laboratory. Recently, MALDI-TOF has been applied directly to positive blood culture bottles for the rapid identification of pathogens, leading to reductions in turnaround time and potentially beneficial patient impacts. The development of a commercially available extraction kit (Bruker Sepsit...

Volunteered Geographic Information: Interpretation, Visualisation and Social Computing (VGIscience)

Science.gov (United States)

Burghardt, Dirk; Nejdl, Wolfgang; Schiewe, Jochen; Sester, Monika

2018-05-01

In the past years Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) has emerged as a novel form of user-generated content, which involves active generation of geo-data for example in citizen science projects or during crisis mapping as well as the passive collection of data via the user's location-enabled mobile devices. In addition there are more and more sensors available that detect our environment with ever greater detail and dynamics. These data can be used for a variety of applications, not only for the solution of societal tasks such as in environment, health or transport fields, but also for the development of commercial products and services. The interpretation, visualisation and usage of such multi-source data is challenging because of the large heterogeneity, the differences in quality, the high update frequencies, the varying spatial-temporal resolution, subjective characteristics and low semantic structuring. Therefore the German Research Foundation has launched a priority programme for the next 3-6 years which will support interdisciplinary research projects. This priority programme aims to provide a scientific basis for raising the potential of VGI- and sensor data. Research questions described more in detail in this short paper span from the extraction of spatial information, to the visual analysis and knowledge presentation, taking into account the social context while collecting and using VGI.

Geographic Skills: A Case Study of Students in the United Arab Emirates

Science.gov (United States)

Alhosani, Naeema Mohamed Dawood; Yagoub, M. M.

2015-01-01

The worldwide technology boom has created an information revolution. Consequently, a large number of people who previously had limited access to geographic data can now use Internet-based geographic information for a number of diverse purposes. The average person has access to geographic information for tourism, shopping, business, and even route…

U Plant Geographic Zone Cleanup Prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Romine, L.D.; Leary, K.D.; Lackey, M.B.; Robertson, J.R.

2006-01-01

The U Plant geographic zone (UPZ) occupies 0.83 square kilometers on the Hanford Site Central Plateau (200 Area). It encompasses the U Plant canyon (221-U Facility), ancillary facilities that supported the canyon, soil waste sites, and underground pipelines. The UPZ cleanup initiative coordinates the cleanup of the major facilities, ancillary facilities, waste sites, and contaminated pipelines (collectively identified as 'cleanup items') within the geographic zone. The UPZ was selected as a geographic cleanup zone prototype for resolving regulatory, technical, and stakeholder issues and demonstrating cleanup methods for several reasons: most of the area is inactive, sufficient characterization information is available to support decisions, cleanup of the high-risk waste sites will help protect the groundwater, and the zone contains a representative cross-section of the types of cleanup actions that will be required in other geographic zones. The UPZ cleanup demonstrates the first of 22 integrated zone cleanup actions on the Hanford Site Central Plateau to address threats to groundwater, the environment, and human health. The UPZ contains more than 100 individual cleanup items. Cleanup actions in the zone will be undertaken using multiple regulatory processes and decision documents. Cleanup actions will include building demolition, waste site and pipeline excavation, and the construction of multiple, large engineered barriers. In some cases, different cleanup actions may be taken at item locations that are immediately adjacent to each other. The cleanup planning and field activities for each cleanup item must be undertaken in a coordinated and cohesive manner to ensure effective execution of the UPZ cleanup initiative. The UPZ zone cleanup implementation plan (ZCIP) [1] was developed to address the need for a fundamental integration tool for UPZ cleanup. As UPZ cleanup planning and implementation moves forward, the ZCIP is intended to be a living document that will

Crafting Disaster Risk Science: Environmental and geographical science sans frontières

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ailsa Holloway

2009-11-01

Full Text Available In keeping with the University of Cape Town’s commitment to social responsiveness (http://www.socialresponsiveness.uct.ac.za/, this article traces the process that underpinned the development and introduction of a postgraduate programme in Disaster Risk Science (DRS. It foregrounds the programme’s conceptualisation within the Department of Environmental and Geographical Science (EGS at the University of Cape Town (UCT, with particular emphasis on examining how disciplinary and theoretical coherence was balanced with cross-disciplinary application and social responsiveness. The article begins by describing the contextual conditions external to UCT’s formal teaching and learning environment that provided the necessary impetus for the new programme. It also traces the iterative relationship between context and curriculum that occurred over the period 1998–2008. This engagement was facilitated and mediated by the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (DiMP, an interfacing research and advocacy unit, located within UCT’s Department of Environmental and Geographical Science. An explanation of subsequent content and sequencing of the postgraduate curriculum then follow. They illustrate the programme’s articulation with South Africa’s newly promulgated disaster management legislation, as well as its relevance and rigour in relation to the complex risk environment of South Africa’s Western Cape. The article specifically applies a transdisciplinary lens to the new programmme, in which Disaster Risk Science is conceptualized as a Mode 2 knowledge, but one that draws theoretically and methodologically on environmental and geographical science as its foundation or Mode 1 domain. It concludes by examining the DRS programme’s positive contributions both to scholarship and local risk management practices as well as the obstacles that constrained the new programme and continue to challenge its institutional sustainability.

Integrative real-time geographic visualization of energy resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorokine, A.; Shankar, M.; Stovall, J.; Bhaduri, B.; King, T.; Fernandez, S.; Datar, N.; Omitaomu, O.

2009-01-01

'Full text:' Several models forecast that climatic changes will increase the frequency of disastrous events like droughts, hurricanes, and snow storms. Responding to these events and also to power outages caused by system errors such as the 2003 North American blackout require an interconnect-wide real-time monitoring system for various energy resources. Such a system should be capable of providing situational awareness to its users in the government and energy utilities by dynamically visualizing the status of the elements of the energy grid infrastructure and supply chain in geographic contexts. We demonstrate an approach that relies on Google Earth and similar standard-based platforms as client-side geographic viewers with a data-dependent server component. The users of the system can view status information in spatial and temporal contexts. These data can be integrated with a wide range of geographic sources including all standard Google Earth layers and a large number of energy and environmental data feeds. In addition, we show a real-time spatio-temporal data sharing capability across the users of the system, novel methods for visualizing dynamic network data, and a fine-grain access to very large multi-resolution geographic datasets for faster delivery of the data. The system can be extended to integrate contingency analysis results and other grid models to assess recovery and repair scenarios in the case of major disruption. (author)

Sequence Variation in Toxoplasma gondii rop17 Gene among Strains from Different Hosts and Geographical Locations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nian-Zhang Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Genetic diversity of T. gondii is a concern of many studies, due to the biological and epidemiological diversity of this parasite. The present study examined sequence variation in rhoptry protein 17 (ROP17 gene among T. gondii isolates from different hosts and geographical regions. The rop17 gene was amplified and sequenced from 10 T. gondii strains, and phylogenetic relationship among these T. gondii strains was reconstructed using maximum parsimony (MP, neighbor-joining (NJ, and maximum likelihood (ML analyses. The partial rop17 gene sequences were 1375 bp in length and A+T contents varied from 49.45% to 50.11% among all examined T. gondii strains. Sequence analysis identified 33 variable nucleotide positions (2.1%, 16 of which were identified as transitions. Phylogeny reconstruction based on rop17 gene data revealed two major clusters which could readily distinguish Type I and Type II strains. Analyses of sequence variations in nucleotides and amino acids among these strains revealed high ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous polymorphisms (>1, indicating that rop17 shows signs of positive selection. This study demonstrated the existence of slightly high sequence variability in the rop17 gene sequences among T. gondii strains from different hosts and geographical regions, suggesting that rop17 gene may represent a new genetic marker for population genetic studies of T. gondii isolates.

Biomass Commercialization Prospects the Next 2 to 5 Years; BIOMASS COLLOQUIES 2000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hettenhaus, J. R.; Wooley, R.; Wiselogel, A.

2000-10-12

A series of four colloquies held in the first quarter of 2000 examined the expected development of biomass commercialization in the next 2 to 5 years. Each colloquy included seven to ten representatives from key industries that can contribute to biomass commercialization and who are in positions to influence the future direction. They represented: Corn Growers, Biomass Suppliers, Plant Science Companies, Process Engineering Companies, Chemical Processors, Agri-pulp Suppliers, Current Ethanol Producers, Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers, and Enzyme Suppliers. Others attending included representatives from the National Renewable Energy Lab., Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fuels Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, environmental groups, grower organizations, and members of the financial and economic development community. The informal discussions resulted in improved awareness of the current state, future possibilit ies, and actions that can accelerate commercialization. Biomass commercialization on a large scale has four common issues: (1) Feedstock availability from growers; (2) Large-scale collection and storage; (3) An economic process; (4) Market demand for the product.

Protection of Geographical Indication and Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Chinese Food Product Resources

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

SUN Zhi-guo; WANG Shu-ting; XIONG Wan-zhen; HUANG Li-min

2012-01-01

The geographical Indications intellectual property and intangible cultural heritage are the general focus of attention of the world today. In the Chinese food product resources, there are 44 kinds of national geographical indication products, 41 national geographical indication trademarks, 9 kinds of national and 212 kinds of provincial-level intangible cultural heritage. This article introduces the geographical indication protection and geographical indication trademark registration of the Chinese food products, the protection of intangible cultural heritage of traditional craftsmanship; discusses the countermeasures for the protection of geographical indication intellectual property and intangible cultural heritage; finally puts forth several recommendations.

Automatic approach to deriving fuzzy slope positions

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Liang-Jun; Zhu, A.-Xing; Qin, Cheng-Zhi; Liu, Jun-Zhi

2018-03-01

Fuzzy characterization of slope positions is important for geographic modeling. Most of the existing fuzzy classification-based methods for fuzzy characterization require extensive user intervention in data preparation and parameter setting, which is tedious and time-consuming. This paper presents an automatic approach to overcoming these limitations in the prototype-based inference method for deriving fuzzy membership value (or similarity) to slope positions. The key contribution is a procedure for finding the typical locations and setting the fuzzy inference parameters for each slope position type. Instead of being determined totally by users in the prototype-based inference method, in the proposed approach the typical locations and fuzzy inference parameters for each slope position type are automatically determined by a rule set based on prior domain knowledge and the frequency distributions of topographic attributes. Furthermore, the preparation of topographic attributes (e.g., slope gradient, curvature, and relative position index) is automated, so the proposed automatic approach has only one necessary input, i.e., the gridded digital elevation model of the study area. All compute-intensive algorithms in the proposed approach were speeded up by parallel computing. Two study cases were provided to demonstrate that this approach can properly, conveniently and quickly derive the fuzzy slope positions.

Geographic Analysis of the Radiation Oncology Workforce

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aneja, Sanjay [Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (United States); Cancer Outcomes, Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center at Yale, New Haven, CT (United States); Smith, Benjamin D. [University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States); Gross, Cary P. [Cancer Outcomes, Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center at Yale, New Haven, CT (United States); Department of General Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (United States); Wilson, Lynn D. [Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (United States); Haffty, Bruce G. [Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ (United States); Roberts, Kenneth [Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (United States); Yu, James B., E-mail: james.b.yu@yale.edu [Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (United States); Cancer Outcomes, Policy, and Effectiveness Research Center at Yale, New Haven, CT (United States)

2012-04-01

Purpose: To evaluate trends in the geographic distribution of the radiation oncology (RO) workforce. Methods and Materials: We used the 1995 and 2007 versions of the Area Resource File to map the ratio of RO to the population aged 65 years or older (ROR) within different health service areas (HSA) within the United States. We used regression analysis to find associations between population variables and 2007 ROR. We calculated Gini coefficients for ROR to assess the evenness of RO distribution and compared that with primary care physicians and total physicians. Results: There was a 24% increase in the RO workforce from 1995 to 2007. The overall growth in the RO workforce was less than that of primary care or the overall physician workforce. The mean ROR among HSAs increased by more than one radiation oncologist per 100,000 people aged 65 years or older, from 5.08 per 100,000 to 6.16 per 100,000. However, there remained consistent geographic variability concerning RO distribution, specifically affecting the non-metropolitan HSAs. Regression analysis found higher ROR in HSAs that possessed higher education (p = 0.001), higher income (p < 0.001), lower unemployment rates (p < 0.001), and higher minority population (p = 0.022). Gini coefficients showed RO distribution less even than for both primary care physicians and total physicians (0.326 compared with 0.196 and 0.292, respectively). Conclusions: Despite a modest growth in the RO workforce, there exists persistent geographic maldistribution of radiation oncologists allocated along socioeconomic and racial lines. To solve problems surrounding the RO workforce, issues concerning both gross numbers and geographic distribution must be addressed.

Geographic Analysis of the Radiation Oncology Workforce

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aneja, Sanjay; Smith, Benjamin D.; Gross, Cary P.; Wilson, Lynn D.; Haffty, Bruce G.; Roberts, Kenneth; Yu, James B.

2012-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate trends in the geographic distribution of the radiation oncology (RO) workforce. Methods and Materials: We used the 1995 and 2007 versions of the Area Resource File to map the ratio of RO to the population aged 65 years or older (ROR) within different health service areas (HSA) within the United States. We used regression analysis to find associations between population variables and 2007 ROR. We calculated Gini coefficients for ROR to assess the evenness of RO distribution and compared that with primary care physicians and total physicians. Results: There was a 24% increase in the RO workforce from 1995 to 2007. The overall growth in the RO workforce was less than that of primary care or the overall physician workforce. The mean ROR among HSAs increased by more than one radiation oncologist per 100,000 people aged 65 years or older, from 5.08 per 100,000 to 6.16 per 100,000. However, there remained consistent geographic variability concerning RO distribution, specifically affecting the non-metropolitan HSAs. Regression analysis found higher ROR in HSAs that possessed higher education (p = 0.001), higher income (p < 0.001), lower unemployment rates (p < 0.001), and higher minority population (p = 0.022). Gini coefficients showed RO distribution less even than for both primary care physicians and total physicians (0.326 compared with 0.196 and 0.292, respectively). Conclusions: Despite a modest growth in the RO workforce, there exists persistent geographic maldistribution of radiation oncologists allocated along socioeconomic and racial lines. To solve problems surrounding the RO workforce, issues concerning both gross numbers and geographic distribution must be addressed.

Radiation exposure of aircrew and passengers during some Czechoslovak airlines commercial flights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spurny, F.; Votockova, I.

1994-01-01

Radiation exposure of aircrew and passengers on boards of Czechoslovak Airlines (CSA) subsonic aircraft was studied. It was found that the exposure levels depends on flights altitude, changes also with geographical position (latitude and longitude). Measurements were performed during 1991 to 1993 years; i.e. at the period of sun maximum and immediately after it. Total dose equivalent rates did not exceed 10 μSv per hour of flight. An increasing of its level with decreasing sun activity has been already registered. (orig.)

Veterans Affairs Geographic Distribution of Expenditures FY09 by Congressional District

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Geographic Distribution of VA Expenditures (GDX) is an annual report that shows estimated VA expenditures for major programmatic areas by geographic area (state,...

Veterans Affairs Geographic Distribution of Expenditures FY08 by Congressional District

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Geographic Distribution of VA Expenditures (GDX) is an annual report that shows estimated VA expenditures for major programmatic areas by geographic area (state,...

Teaching Introductory GIS Programming to Geographers Using an Open Source Python Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Etherington, Thomas R.

2016-01-01

Computer programming is not commonly taught to geographers as a part of geographic information system (GIS) courses, but the advent of NeoGeography, big data and open GIS means that programming skills are becoming more important. To encourage the teaching of programming to geographers, this paper outlines a course based around a series of…

αA crystallin may protect against geographic atrophy-meta-analysis of cataract vs. cataract surgery for geographic atrophy and experimental studies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng Zhou

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Cataract and geographic atrophy (GA, also called advanced "dry" age-related macular degeneration are the two major causes of visual impairment in the developed world. The association between cataract surgery and the development of GA was controversial in previous studies. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We performed a meta-analysis by pooling the current evidence in literature and found that cataract is associated with an increased risk of geographic atrophy with a summary odds ratio (OR of 3.75 (95% CI: 95% CI: 1.84-7.62. However, cataract surgery is not associated with the risk of geographic atrophy (polled OR=3.23, 95% CI: 0.63-16.47. Further experiments were performed to analyze how the αA-crystallin, the major component of the lens, influences the development of GA in a mouse model. We found that theαA-crystallin mRNA and protein expression increased after oxidative stress induced by NaIO(3 in immunohistochemistry of retinal section and western blot of posterior eyecups. Both functional and histopathological evidence confirmed that GA is more severe in αA-crystallin knockout mice compared to wild-type mice. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, αA-crystallin may protect against geographic atrophy. This study provides a better understanding of the relationship between cataract, cataract surgery, and GA.

EEG Spectral Dynamics of Video Commercials: Impact of the Narrative on the Branding Product Preference.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Regina W Y; Chang, Yu-Ching; Chuang, Shang-Wen

2016-11-07

Neuromarketing has become popular and received a lot of attention. The quality of video commercials and the product information they convey to consumers is a hotly debated topic among advertising agencies and product advertisers. This study explored the impact of advertising narrative and the frequency of branding product exposures on the preference for the commercial and the branding product. We performed electroencephalography (EEG) experiments on 30 subjects while they watched video commercials. The behavioral data indicated that commercials with a structured narrative and containing multiple exposures of the branding products had a positive impact on the preference for the commercial and the branding product. The EEG spectral dynamics showed that the narratives of video commercials resulted in higher theta power of the left frontal, bilateral occipital region, and higher gamma power of the limbic system. The narratives also induced significant cognitive integration-related beta and gamma power of the bilateral temporal regions and the parietal region. It is worth noting that the video commercials with a single exposure of the branding products would be indicators of attention. These new findings suggest that the presence of a narrative structure in video commercials has a critical impact on the preference for branding products.

EEG Spectral Dynamics of Video Commercials: Impact of the Narrative on the Branding Product Preference

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Regina W. Y.; Chang, Yu-Ching; Chuang, Shang-Wen

2016-01-01

Neuromarketing has become popular and received a lot of attention. The quality of video commercials and the product information they convey to consumers is a hotly debated topic among advertising agencies and product advertisers. This study explored the impact of advertising narrative and the frequency of branding product exposures on the preference for the commercial and the branding product. We performed electroencephalography (EEG) experiments on 30 subjects while they watched video commercials. The behavioral data indicated that commercials with a structured narrative and containing multiple exposures of the branding products had a positive impact on the preference for the commercial and the branding product. The EEG spectral dynamics showed that the narratives of video commercials resulted in higher theta power of the left frontal, bilateral occipital region, and higher gamma power of the limbic system. The narratives also induced significant cognitive integration-related beta and gamma power of the bilateral temporal regions and the parietal region. It is worth noting that the video commercials with a single exposure of the branding products would be indicators of attention. These new findings suggest that the presence of a narrative structure in video commercials has a critical impact on the preference for branding products. PMID:27819348

Tanzanian food origins and protected geographical indications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

John, Innocensia Festo; Egelyng, Henrik; Lokina, Azack

2016-01-01

As the world's population is constantly growing, food security will remain on the policy Agenda, particularly in Africa. At the same time, global food systems experience a new wave focusing on local foods and food sovereignty featuring high quality food products of verifiable geographical origin...... of food origin products in Tanzania that have potential for GI certification. The hypothesis was that there are origin products in Tanzania whose unique characteristics are linked to the area of production. Geographical indications can be useful policy instruments contributing to food security...... the diversity of supply of natural and unique quality products and so contribute to enhanced food security....

Demand side management program evaluation based on industrial and commercial field data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eissa, M.M.

2011-01-01

Demand Response is increasingly viewed as an important tool for use by the electric utility industry in meeting the growing demand for electricity. There are two basic categories of demand response options: time varying retail tariffs and incentive Demand Response Programs. is applying the time varying retail tariffs program, which is not suitable according to the studied load curves captured from the industrial and commercial sectors. Different statistical studies on daily load curves for consumers connected to 22 kV lines are classified. The load curve criteria used for classification is based on peak ratio and night ratio. The data considered here is a set of 120 annual load curves corresponding to the electric power consumption (the western area in the King Saudi Arabia (KSA)) of many clients in winter and some months in the summer (peak period). The study is based on real data from several Saudi customer sectors in many geographical areas with larger commercial and industrial customers. The study proved that the suitable Demand Response for the ESC is the incentive program. - Highlights: → Study helps in selecting the proper demand side program. → A credit will be given for the customers during summer months. → Reduction in the electric bill. → Monthly bill credit is decreased based on customers' peak load reduction. → Guide for applying the proper demand side program suitable for the utility and customers.

Place Branding – Geographical Approach. Case Study: Waterloo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius-Cristian Neacşu

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This study represents an exploratory analysis of the evolution of the place branding concept, with an important focus on the geographical perspective. How has this notion, a newcomer into the geographers' analysis, changed over time and what role does it have in the decision making process of intervening into the way a certain place is organised or as an instrument of economic revival and territorial development? At least from the perspective of Romanian geographical literature, the originality and novelty of this study is obvious. An element of the originality of this research is the attempt of redefining the concept of place branding so that it is more meaningful from the perspective of spatial analyses. The reason for which Waterloo was chosen as a case study is multi-dimensional: the case studies so far have mainly focused on large cities (urban branding instead of place branding and this site has all the theoretical elements to create a stand-alone brand.

Principles of logic and the use of digital geographic information systems

Science.gov (United States)

Robinove, Charles Joseph

1986-01-01

Digital geographic information systems allow many different types of data to be spatially and statistically analyzed. Logical operations can be performed on individual or multiple data planes by algorithms that can be implemented in computer systems. Users and creators of the systems should fully understand these operations. This paper describes the relationships of layers and features in geographic data bases and the principles of logic that can be applied by geographic information systems and suggests that a thorough knowledge of the data that are entered into a geographic data base and of the logical operations will produce results that are most satisfactory to the user. Methods of spatial analysis are reduced to their primitive logical operations and explained to further such understanding.

Commercial Aspect of Research Reactor Fuel Element Production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Susanto, B.G; Suripto, A

1998-01-01

Several aspects affecting the commercialization of the Research Reactor Fuel Element Production Installation (RR FEPI) under a BUMN (state-owned company)have been studied. The break event point (BEP) value based on total production cost used is greatly depending upon the unit selling price of the fuel element. At a selling price of USD 43,500/fuel element, the results of analysis shows that the BEP will be reached at 51% of minimum available capacity. At a selling price of US$ 43.500/fuel element the total income (after tax) for 7 years ahead is US $ 4.620.191,- The net present value in this study has a positive value is equal to US $ 2.827.527,- the internal rate of return will be 18% which is higher than normal the bank interest rare (in US dollar) at this time. It is concluded therefore that the nuclear research reactor fuel element produced by state-owned company BUMN has a good prospect to be sold commercially

Description of the Earth in the Works of Arabic Geographers from IX to XII Century

Science.gov (United States)

Cvijanovic, I.

2012-12-01

The works of Arabic writers provide data about shape, position and size of the Earth, planets and zodiac signs. They include preserved maps of Ibn Haukal, Al-Masudi and Al-Idrisi. Al-Masudi (871-956/7) made a map of the world and wrote that the Earth is round, before the Christians in Europe were ready to accept that idea. The famous geographer and cartographer Al-Idrisi (IX/X., died in 903/913.) has lived on the court of Norman king Roger II of Sicily, and after his death on the court of his son William I on Sicily, where he obtained the data from European and Arabic geographers. On the basis of this data he wrote a work known entitled Roger's book. Besides this important work he made a celestial globe and a map of the world in the shape of a silver disk. The lines that marked the borders of seven regions of the inhabited world were engraved on this disk. The Arabs had excellent knowledge of Greek astronomy and accepted their division of the world in seven climatic zones.

Commercialization of higher education: characteristics and trends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. V. Klyov

2014-04-01

Much attention is given to the variety of approaches to the study of higher education. Today, sociological discourses used to analyze modern innovation in the education sphere, such as multiculturalism, diversification, confessionalization, regionalization, cosmopolitan atmosphere in the modern world, including the global information technology to the higher education. In the course of innovation and modernization of higher education, commercialization becomes significantly prevalent a phenomenon and a social process of educational institutions, which requires considerable research. The review of the US and European models of higher education makes it possible to understand the essence of appearance in the literature of such concepts as «academic capitalism», «university of market­type» and «entrepreneurial University», analyze relation to the appearance of private education and income and define the priority of commercialization. Indisputably, with both positive and negative, as a result of the reform of higher education appeared the peculiar environment of business education, which requires the existence of new rules of interaction, status­role relationships, values and norms . In some extent, commercialization is a transformation of knowledge into a commodity (speaking in the context of consumer society; however, it is the growing influence of market relations on the purpose and objectives of higher education, the growth of the importance of knowledge as a resource for economic development that focuses on  the concept of an economy based on knowledge.

Design and Establishment of Quality Model of Fundamental Geographic Information Database

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, W.; Zhang, J.; Zhao, Y.; Zhang, P.; Dang, Y.; Zhao, T.

2018-04-01

In order to make the quality evaluation for the Fundamental Geographic Information Databases(FGIDB) more comprehensive, objective and accurate, this paper studies and establishes a quality model of FGIDB, which formed by the standardization of database construction and quality control, the conformity of data set quality and the functionality of database management system, and also designs the overall principles, contents and methods of the quality evaluation for FGIDB, providing the basis and reference for carry out quality control and quality evaluation for FGIDB. This paper designs the quality elements, evaluation items and properties of the Fundamental Geographic Information Database gradually based on the quality model framework. Connected organically, these quality elements and evaluation items constitute the quality model of the Fundamental Geographic Information Database. This model is the foundation for the quality demand stipulation and quality evaluation of the Fundamental Geographic Information Database, and is of great significance on the quality assurance in the design and development stage, the demand formulation in the testing evaluation stage, and the standard system construction for quality evaluation technology of the Fundamental Geographic Information Database.

China's Mission in Surveying, Mapping and Geographic Information during Global Governance

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, D.; Xue, C.; Chen, X.

2018-04-01

In the new era, it is proposed that China should be transformed from a participant and a cooperator into a designer, an impeller and a leader, continue taking an effect of responsible great power, increase public product supply, perfect a global governance system and contribute to China's wisdom and China's schemes during global governance, thus surveying and mapping geographic information takes on great mission. On the one hand, we have to timely grasp global geographic information data resources to provide an important scientific data support for China's wisdom and China's schemes. On the other hand, we have to provide surveying and mapping geographic information infrastructure construction and public products for developing countries, support location services within a global territorial scope, and realize the smoothness of talent flow, material flow and information flow between China and countries in the world. Meanwhile, external assistance and international communication and cooperation of surveying and mapping geographic information are also enhanced, and popularization and application of a geographic information technology in underdeveloped countries and regions are promoted.

THE ROLE OF COMMERCIAL BANKS FROM ROMANIA IN THE ATTRACTION OF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Corina BERICA

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper I wish to highlight the position of commercial banks from Romania in the absorption of Europeanfunds. Providing the financial resources necessary in order to carry out the project activities is one of the problems thatmany users have experienced. Being aware of this matter, but also constrained by governmental requirements, mostbanks have decided to introduce such credit facilities as well in their loan portfolio. As far as information disseminationand advertising are concerned, commercial banks have proven to occupy a leading position, but most important are theperformance levels achieved by them since they started accessing these Structural Funds. In this paper I will presentthe funding opportunities in the field of European funds offered by two large leading banks: types of credits, benefits,commissions, statistics and even successful projects to which they are partners. Each bank has its own marketingstrategy to promote these products, but over time one can notice that they are becoming increasingly interested in thesegrants, while the bank personnel is involved as a target group in various European programs. The interest of thebanking system in supporting grants recipients can be noticeable even form the project writing phase of the project,when the banks offer financial advice in determining the estimate budget. With all the help from commercial banks,Romania has managed to achieve a rate of Structural Funds absorption of only 10%, which is outrun even Bulgaria.

[Current progress in food geographical origin traceability by near infrared spectroscopy technology].

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Dong-Hong; Wang, Xi-Chang; Liu, Li-Ping; Liu, Yuan

2011-04-01

The geographical origin traceability of food, an important part of traceability system, is effective in protecting the quality and safety of foodstuffs. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), which is a powerful technique for geographical origin traceability, has attracted extensive attention by scientists due to its speediness, non-pollution and simple operation. This paper presents the advantages and disadvantages of techniques that have been used for food geographical origin traceability. The basic principles of NIR and its applications in different food geographical origin traceability are presented too. Furthermore, problems in applications are analyzed and the future development trends are discussed.

Recycling Sounds in Commercials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Charlotte Rørdam

2012-01-01

Commercials offer the opportunity for intergenerational memory and impinge on cultural memory. TV commercials for foodstuffs often make reference to past times as a way of authenticating products. This is frequently achieved using visual cues, but in this paper I would like to demonstrate how...... such references to the past and ‘the good old days’ can be achieved through sounds. In particular, I will look at commercials for Danish non-dairy spreads, especially for OMA margarine. These commercials are notable in that they contain a melody and a slogan – ‘Say the name: OMA margarine’ – that have basically...... remained the same for 70 years. Together these identifiers make OMA an interesting Danish case to study. With reference to Ann Rigney’s memorial practices or mechanisms, the study aims to demonstrate how the auditory aspects of Danish margarine commercials for frying tend to be limited in variety...

Comparison of the geographical distribution of feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus infections in the United States of America (2000-2011).

Science.gov (United States)

Chhetri, Bimal K; Berke, Olaf; Pearl, David L; Bienzle, Dorothee

2013-01-05

Although feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) have similar risk factors and control measures, infection rates have been speculated to vary in geographic distribution over North America. Since both infections are endemic in North America, it was assumed as a working hypothesis that their geographic distributions were similar. Hence, the purpose of this exploratory analysis was to investigate the comparative geographical distribution of both viral infections. Counts of FIV (n=17,108) and FeLV (n=30,017) positive serology results (FIV antibody and FeLV ELISA) were obtained for 48 contiguous states and District of Columbia of the United States of America (US) from the IDEXX Laboratories website. The proportional morbidity ratio of FIV to FeLV infection was estimated for each administrative region and its geographic distribution pattern was visualized by a choropleth map. Statistical evidence of an excess in the proportional morbidity ratio from unity was assessed using the spatial scan test under the normal probability model. This study revealed distinct spatial distribution patterns in the proportional morbidity ratio suggesting the presence of one or more relevant and geographically varying risk factors. The disease map indicates that there is a higher prevalence of FIV infections in the southern and eastern US compared to FeLV. In contrast, FeLV infections were observed to be more frequent in the western US compared to FIV. The respective excess in proportional morbidity ratio was significant with respect to the spatial scan test (p < 0.05). The observed variability in the geographical distribution of the proportional morbidity ratio of FIV to FeLV may be related to the presence of an additional or unique, but yet unknown, spatial risk factor. Putative factors may be geographic variations in specific virus strains and rate of vaccination. Knowledge of these factors and the geographical distributions of these infections can inform

The Effect of a Sports Stadium on Housing Rents: An Application of Geographically Weighted Regression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Enrique Agudelo Torres

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Researchers have determined that real estate prices vary in continuous ways as a function of spatial characteristics.  In this study we examine whether geographically weighted regression (GWR provides different estimates of price effects around a sports stadium than more traditional regression techniques.  We find that an application of GWR with hedonic prices finds that the stadium has a negative external effect on housing rents that extends outward 560 meters, in contrast to the positive external effect on housing rents found using a conventional estimation technique.

Geographical information and landscape history in tourism communication in the age of Web 2.0

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Niels Christian; Liburd, Janne J.

2008-01-01

-foremost cellular telephony-and Global Positioning System (GPS). Focusing on a national park in the U.S. Virgin Islands, we take stock of available geographic data and their potential use in tourist communication. It is argued that Internet-based neogeography offers strong potential for multilayered interpretation...... and dissemination to specific visitor groups. Due to a contested history and controversial designation of the area as a national park it is argued that caution must be taken in the interpretation and communication of especially historical maps and population data. Three possible user scenarios centered on visitor...

A review of geographic variation and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications in prescription drug use research.

Science.gov (United States)

Wangia, Victoria; Shireman, Theresa I

2013-01-01

While understanding geography's role in healthcare has been an area of research for over 40 years, the application of geography-based analyses to prescription medication use is limited. The body of literature was reviewed to assess the current state of such studies to demonstrate the scale and scope of projects in order to highlight potential research opportunities. To review systematically how researchers have applied geography-based analyses to medication use data. Empiric, English language research articles were identified through PubMed and bibliographies. Original research articles were independently reviewed as to the medications or classes studied, data sources, measures of medication exposure, geographic units of analysis, geospatial measures, and statistical approaches. From 145 publications matching key search terms, forty publications met the inclusion criteria. Cardiovascular and psychotropic classes accounted for the largest proportion of studies. Prescription drug claims were the primary source, and medication exposure was frequently captured as period prevalence. Medication exposure was documented across a variety of geopolitical units such as countries, provinces, regions, states, and postal codes. Most results were descriptive and formal statistical modeling capitalizing on geospatial techniques was rare. Despite the extensive research on small area variation analysis in healthcare, there are a limited number of studies that have examined geographic variation in medication use. Clearly, there is opportunity to collaborate with geographers and GIS professionals to harness the power of GIS technologies and to strengthen future medication studies by applying more robust geospatial statistical methods. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bluetooth Indoor Positioning System using Fingerprinting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frost, Christian; Jensen, Casper Svenning; Luckow, Kasper Søe

2011-01-01

Indoor Positioning has been an active research area in the last decade, but so far, commercial Indoor Positioning Systems (IPSs) have been sparse. The main obstacle towards widely available IPSs has been the lack of appropriate, low cost technologies, that enable indoor positioning. While Wi-Fi...... infrastructures are ubiquitous, consumer-oriented Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones have been missing. Conversely, while Bluetooth technology is present in the vast majority of consumer mobile phones, Bluetooth infrastructures have been missing. Bluetooth infrastructures have typically been installed as part...... of complete hardware/software IPSs that often incur a substantial hardware cost. Furthermore, Bluetooth has low power consumption compared to Wi-Fi devices, which promotes longer battery life-time on mobile phones. In this paper, we present a Bluetooth IPS based entirely on commodity-grade products...

Territory development as economic and geographical activity (theory, methodology, practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vitaliy Nikolaevich Lazhentsev

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Accents in a description of theory and methodology of territory development are displaced from distribution of the national benefits on formation of territorial natural and economic systems and organization of economical and geographical activity. The author reveals theconcept of «territory development» and reviews its placein thetheory and methodology of human geography and regionaleconomy. In the articletheindividual directions ofeconomic activity areconsidered. The author has made an attempt to definethesubject matter of five levels of «ideal» territorial and economic systems as a part of objects of the nature, societies, population settlement, production, infrastructure and management. The author’s position of interpretation of sequences of mechanisms of territory development working according to a Nested Doll principle (mechanism of economy, economic management mechanism, controlling mechanism of economy is presented. The author shows the indicators, which authentically define territory development

Mucocutaneous disorders in Hiv positive patients

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Kar H

1996-01-01

Full Text Available Twenty eight HIV positive patients were included in this study. They were evaluated for their mucocutaneous disorders, sexually transmitted diseases and other systemic disorders between 1994-95 in the department of Dermatology and STD Dr R M L Hospital of New Delhi. The heterosexual contact with commercial sex workers (CSWs was the most common route of HIV transmission. Chancroid, syphilis and genital warts were common STDs found in HIV positive patients. Oral thrush (67.9% was the commonest mucocutaneous disorder found in these patients followed by herpes zoster (25% and seborrhoeic dermatitis (21.4%. There was no unusual clinical presentation seen in mucocutaneous disorders and STDs.

Issues Surrounding the Use of Virtual Reality in Geographic Education

Science.gov (United States)

Lisichenko, Richard

2015-01-01

As with all classroom innovations intended to improve geographic education, the adoption of virtual reality (VR) poses issues for consideration prior to endorsing its use. Of these, effectiveness, implementation, and safe use need to be addressed. Traditionally, sense of place, geographic knowledge, and firsthand experiences provided by field…

Geographic Education--Where Have We Failed?

Science.gov (United States)

Gritzner, Charles F.

1981-01-01

Discusses geography's rather low status and relatively poor public image in the United States and some of the consequences. Among the world's educated industrial nations, the United States ranks among the least literate in a geographical sense. (RM)

Geographic profiling and animal foraging.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Comber, Steven C; Nicholls, Barry; Rossmo, D Kim; Racey, Paul A

2006-05-21

Geographic profiling was originally developed as a statistical tool for use in criminal cases, particularly those involving serial killers and rapists. It is designed to help police forces prioritize lists of suspects by using the location of crime scenes to identify the areas in which the criminal is most likely to live. Two important concepts are the buffer zone (criminals are less likely to commit crimes in the immediate vicinity of their home) and distance decay (criminals commit fewer crimes as the distance from their home increases). In this study, we show how the techniques of geographic profiling may be applied to animal data, using as an example foraging patterns in two sympatric colonies of pipistrelle bats, Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. pygmaeus, in the northeast of Scotland. We show that if model variables are fitted to known roost locations, these variables may be used as numerical descriptors of foraging patterns. We go on to show that these variables can be used to differentiate patterns of foraging in these two species.

Geographical information systems and computer cartography

CERN Document Server

Jones, Chris B

2014-01-01

A concise text presenting the fundamental concepts in Geographical Information Systems (GIS), emphasising an understanding of techniques in management, analysis and graphic display of spatial information. Divided into five parts - the first part reviews the development and application of GIS, followed by a summary of the characteristics and representation of geographical information. It concludes with an overview of the functions provided by typical GIS systems. Part Two introduces co-ordinate systems and map projections, describes methods for digitising map data and gives an overview of remote sensing. Part Three deals with data storage and database management, as well as specialised techniques for accessing spatial data. Spatial modelling and analytical techniques for decision making form the subject of Part Four, while the final part is concerned with graphical representation, emphasising issues of graphics technology, cartographic design and map generalisation.

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) - USGS National Map Downloadable Data Collection

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) is the Federal standard for geographic nomenclature. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the GNIS for the U.S. Board...

Distribution of dimorphic yeast species in commercial extra virgin olive oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Zullo, B A; Cioccia, G; Ciafardini, G

2010-12-01

Recent microbiological research has demonstrated the presence of a rich microflora mainly composed of yeasts in the suspended fraction of freshly produced olive oil. Some of the yeasts are considered useful as they improve the organoleptic characteristics of the oil during preservation, whereas others are considered harmful as they can damage the quality of the oil through the hydrolysis of the triglycerides. However, some dimorphic species can also be found among the unwanted yeasts present in the oil, considered to be opportunistic pathogens to man as they have often been isolated from immunocompromised hospital patients. Present research demonstrates the presence of dimorphic yeast forms in 26% of the commercial extra virgin olive oil originating from different geographical areas, where the dimorphic yeasts are represented by 3-99.5% of the total yeasts. The classified isolates belonged to the opportunistic pathogen species Candida parapsilosis and Candida guilliermondii, while among the dimorphic yeasts considered not pathogenic to man, the Candida diddensiae species was highlighted for the first time in olive oil. The majority of the studied yeast strains resulted lipase positive, and can consequently negatively influence the oil quality through the hydrolysis of the triglycerides. Furthermore, all the strains showed a high level of affinity with some organic solvents and a differing production of biofilm in "vitro" corresponded to a greater or lesser hydrophobia of their cells. Laboratory trials indicated that the dimorphic yeasts studied are sensitive towards some components of the oil among which oleic acid, linoleic acid and triolein, whereas a less inhibiting effect was observed with tricaprilin or when the total polyphenols extracted from the oil were used. The observations carried out on a scanning electron microscope (SEM), demonstrated the production of long un-branched pseudohyphae in all the tested dimorphic yeasts when cultivated on nutrient

Non-professional user`s understanding of Geographic Information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arleth, Mette

2003-01-01

of digital media, including online access to a variety of GI-based services; maps, online Geographic information systems, interactive 3D models etc. However, can we expect that a citizen, who has no relevant professional basis for understanding the concept geographic information, be able to use GI......-based online services and comprehend the information contents? Using the Gi-based online services qualitatively in the participatory process obviously requires knowledge of the non-professional user`s understanding and use of GI. This paper discusses the needs for research into this field as well as relevant...

36 CFR 5.6 - Commercial vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Commercial vehicles. 5.6... COMMERCIAL AND PRIVATE OPERATIONS § 5.6 Commercial vehicles. (a) The term “Commercial vehicle” as used in... used in connection with any business. (b) The use of government roads within park areas by commercial...

Combining Land Capability Evaluation, Geographic Information ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Combining Land Capability Evaluation, Geographic Information Systems, AnD Indigenous Technologies for Soil Conservation in Northern Ethiopia. ... Land capability and land use status were established following the procedures of a modified treatment-oriented capability classification using GIS. The case study ...

Commercialism - the growth prospect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, D.K.R.

1990-01-01

In an attempt to ensure good business proposals for the future British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) is making a number of international initiatives. Likely markets for expansion include the United States, Japan and Western Europe, to whom the company can offer activities such as oxide fuel reprocessing, uranium hexafluoride conversion, fabrication of oxide and mixed oxide fuels, uranium enrichment and the safe transport of nuclear materials. The creation of International Nuclear Fuels Limited will expand overseas business and ensure security of fuel supply for the international nuclear industry. Working jointly with AEA Technology, BNFL will seek to market their combined decommissioning experience on the international market. The author concludes the BNFL is in a strong position to supply an increasing world-wide need for nuclear waste management and increased commercial awareness within the company will ensure a good section of the market is secured. U.K

Identification of geographical origin of sesame seeds by near infrared spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Y.K.; Cho, R.K.

1998-01-01

Geographical origin of the Korean, Chinese and Japanese sesame seeds were identified very high accuracy by NIR spectroscopy. The NIR instrument of filter type showed the same accuracy of the monochromator scanning type to identify the geographical origin of the sesame seeds. in case of adulteration between the Korean and Chinese sesame seeds, the ratio of addition could be determined about 10% error level. The reason of identification of geographical origin by NIR spectroscopy, it was supposed to the difference of oil cake substance

Textile sector:a study of the effects of the commercial openingon the Brazilian textile sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Vilela Marquezini

2007-12-01

Full Text Available The process of commercial opening occurred in 1990 during the Collor’s govern­ment made the transformation industry get into a restructuring process. The ob­jective of this paper is to present the effects of the commercial opening of the textile sector during the period of 1993-2004 and main strategies adopted for the enterprises. The study was based on interview of the executives and institutions related to the textile sector. After ten years, the commercial opening is considered positive to the improvement of the productive structure of the sector. Besides the reduction on tariffs and the devaluation of the exchange rate in 1999, was pointed of the responsible factors of the adjusting process.

Effects of salinity, commercial salts, and water type on cultivation of the cryptophyte microalgae Rhodomonas salina and the calanoid Copepod Acartia tonsa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jepsen, Per Meyer; Thoisen, Christina V.; Carron-Cabaret, Thibaut

2018-01-01

Marine aquaculture facilities positioned far from the sea need access to seawater (SW); hence, commercial salts are often the chosen solution. In marine hatcheries, most fish larvae require live feed (zooplankton) that are in turn fed with microalgae. The objective of this research was to investi......Marine aquaculture facilities positioned far from the sea need access to seawater (SW); hence, commercial salts are often the chosen solution. In marine hatcheries, most fish larvae require live feed (zooplankton) that are in turn fed with microalgae. The objective of this research...... was to investigate the applicability of commercial salts and clarify the potential effects on the cultivation of the microalga Rhodomonas salina and the copepod Acartia tonsa. Three commercial salts were tested, Red Sea Salt (RS), Red Sea – Coral Pro Salt (CP), and Blue Treasure Salt. R. salina was cultured...

Geographical assemblages of European raptors and owls

Science.gov (United States)

López-López, Pascual; Benavent-Corai, José; García-Ripollés, Clara

2008-09-01

In this work we look for geographical structure patterns in European raptors (Order: Falconiformes) and owls (Order: Strigiformes). For this purpose we have conducted our research using freely available tools such as statistical software and databases. To perform the study, presence-absence data for the European raptors and owl species (Class Aves) were downloaded from the BirdLife International website. Using the freely available "pvclust" R-package, we applied similarity Jaccard index and cluster analysis in order to delineate biogeographical relationships for European countries. According to the cluster of similarity, we found that Europe is structured into two main geographical assemblages. The larger length branch separated two main groups: one containing Iceland, Greenland and the countries of central, northern and northwestern Europe, and the other group including the countries of eastern, southern and southwestern Europe. Both groups are divided into two main subgroups. According to our results, the European raptors and owls could be considered structured into four meta-communities well delimited by suture zones defined by Remington (1968) [Remington, C.L., 1968. Suture-zones of hybrid interaction between recently joined biotas. Evol. Biol. 2, 321-428]. Climatic oscillations during the Quaternary Ice Ages could explain at least in part the modern geographical distribution of the group.

Commercial off-the-shelf software dedication process based on the commercial grade survey of supplier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, J. Y.; Lee, J. S.; Chon, S. W.; Lee, G. Y.; Park, J. K.

2000-01-01

Commercial Off-The-Shelf(COTS) software dedication process can apply to a combination of methods like the hardware commercial grade item dedication process. In general, these methods are : methods 1(special test and inspection), method 2(commercial grade survey of supplier), method 3(source verification), and method 4(acceptance supplier/item performance record). In this paper, the suggested procedure-oriented dedication process on the basis of method 2 for COTS software is consistent with EPRI/TR-106439 and NUREG/CR-6421 requirements. Additional tailoring policy based on code and standards related to COTS software may be also founded in the suggested commercial software dedication process. Suggested commercial software dedication process has been developed for a commercial I and C software dedication who performs COTS qualification according to the dedication procedure

International Voluntary Health Networks (IVHNs). A social-geographical framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Benet; Laurie, Nina; Smith, Matt Baillie

2018-03-01

Trans-national medicine, historically associated with colonial politics, is now central to discourses of global health and development, thrust into mainstream media by catastrophic events (earthquakes, disease epidemics), and enshrined in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Volunteer human-resource is an important contributor to international health-development work. International Voluntary Health Networks (IVHNs, that connect richer and poorer countries through healthcare) are situated at a meeting-point between geographies and sociologies of health. More fully developed social-geographic understandings will illuminate this area, currently dominated by instrumental health-professional perspectives. The challenge we address is to produce a geographically and sociologically-robust conceptual framework that appropriately recognises IVHNs' potentials for valuable impacts, while also unlocking spaces of constructive critique. We examine the importance of the social in health geography, and geographical potentials in health sociology (focusing on professional knowledge construction, inequality and capital, and power), to highlight the mutual interests of these two fields in relation to IVHNs. We propose some socio-geographical theories of IVHNs that do not naturalise inequality, that understand health as a form of capital, prioritise explorations of power and ethical practice, and acknowledge the more-than-human properties of place. This sets an agenda for theoretically-supported empirical work on IVHNs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

REDUCED GANGLION CELL VOLUME ON OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY IN PATIENTS WITH GEOGRAPHIC ATROPHY.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramkumar, Hema L; Nguyen, Brian; Bartsch, Dirk-Uwe; Saunders, Luke J; Muftuoglu, Ilkay Kilic; You, Qisheng; Freeman, William R

2017-11-07

Geographic atrophy (GA) is the sequelae of macular degeneration. Automated inner retinal analysis using optical coherence tomography is flawed because segmentation software is calibrated for normal eyes. The purpose of this study is to determine whether ganglion cell layer (GCL) volume is reduced in GA using manual analysis. Nineteen eyes with subfoveal GA and 22 controls were selected for morphometric analyses. Heidelberg scanning laser ophthalmoscope optical coherence tomography images of the optic nerve and macula were obtained, and the Viewing Module was used to manually calibrate retinal layer segmentation. Retinal layer volumes in the central 3-mm and surrounding 6-mm diameter were measured. Linear mixed models were used for statistics. The GCL volume in the central 3 mm of the macula is less (P = 0.003), and the retinal nerve fiber layer volume is more (P = 0.02) in patients with GA when compared with controls. Ganglion cell layer volume positively correlated with outer nuclear layer volume (P = 0.020). The patients with geographic atrophy have a small significant loss of the GCL. Ganglion cell death may precede axonal loss, and increased macular retinal nerve fiber layer volumes are not indicative of GCL volume. Residual ganglion cell stimulation by interneurons may enable vision in patients with GA.

Maternal education and micro-geographic disparities in nutritional status among school-aged children in rural northwestern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Cuili; Kane, Robert L; Xu, Dongjuan; Li, Lingui; Guan, Weihua; Li, Hui; Meng, Qingyue

2013-01-01

Prior evidence suggests geographic disparities in the effect of maternal education on child nutritional status between countries, between regions and between urban and rural areas. We postulated its effect would also vary by micro-geographic locations (indicated by mountain areas, plain areas and the edge areas) in a Chinese minority area. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a multistage random sample of 1474 school children aged 5-12 years in Guyuan, China. Child nutritional status was measured by height-for-age z scores (HAZ). Linear mixed models were used to examine its association with place of residence and maternal education. Micro-geographic disparities in child nutritional status and the level of socioeconomic composition were found. Children living in mountain areas had poorer nutritional status, even after adjusting for demographic (plain versus mountain, β = 0.16, P = 0.033; edge versus mountain, β = 0.29, P = 0.002) and socioeconomic factors (plain versus mountain, β = 0.12, P = 0.137; edge versus mountain, β = 0.25, P = 0.009). The disparities significantly widened with increasing years of mothers' schooling (maternal education*plain versus mountain: β = 0.06, P = 0.007; maternal education*edge versus mountain: β = 0.07, P = 0.005). Moreover, the association between maternal education and child nutrition was negative (β = -0.03, P = 0.056) in mountain areas but positive in plain areas (β = 0.02, P = 0.094) or in the edge areas (β = 0.04, P = 0.055). Micro-geographic disparities in child nutritional status increase with increasing level of maternal education and the effect of maternal education varies by micro-geographic locations, which exacerbates child health inequity. Educating rural girls alone is not sufficient; improving unfavorable conditions in mountain areas might make such investments more effective in promoting child health. Nutrition programs targeting to the least educated groups in plain and in edge areas would be

An Analysis of Commercial Advertisement--From Conceptual Metaphor Perspective

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

段慧敏

2014-01-01

Metaphor as a rhetorical device is widely used in advertisements,many scholars has studied metaphors in advertisements from rhetoric and semantic perspectives.However with the development of cognitive linguistics,it provides a new aspect for metaphor study.Metaphor is not only a rhetorical device but also a method of thinking.More efficient and positive information in advertisements can be conveyed to consumers by using cognitive metaphor.This paper explores the effect and influence of conceptual metaphor in commercial advertisement.

Utilities Power Change: Engaging Commercial Customers in Workplace Charging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lommele, Stephen; Dafoe, Wendy

2016-06-01

As stewards of an electric grid that is available almost anywhere people park, utilities that support workplace charging are uniquely positioned to help their commercial customers be a part of the rapidly expanding network of charging infrastructure. Utilities understand the distinctive challenges of their customers, have access to technical information about electrical infrastructure, and have deep experience modeling and managing demand for electricity. This case study highlights the experiences of two utilities with workplace charging programs.

A Geographic Method for High Resolution Spatial Heat Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Steffen

2014-01-01

more detailed modelling that takes the geographic placement of buildings and the differences among DH systems into account. In the present article, a method for assessing the costs of DH expansions has been developed. The method was applied in a geographic information system (GIS) model that consists...... are considering distribution costs based on the geographic properties of each area and assessing transmission costs based on an iterative process that examines expansion potentials gradually. The GIS model is only applicable to a Danish context, but the method itself can be applied to other countries....... of three parts and assesses the costs of heat production, distribution, and transmission. The model was also applied to an actual case in order to show how it can be used. The model shows many improvements in the method for the assessment of distribution costs and transmission costs. Most notable...

Geographic pathology of Helicobacter pylori gastritis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, Yi; Ponsioen, Cyriel I. J.; Xiao, Shu-Dong; Tytgat, Guido N. J.; ten Kate, Fiebo J. W.

2005-01-01

Background and aim. Helicobacter pylori is etiologically associated with gastritis and gastric cancer. There are significant geographical differences between the clinical manifestation of H. pylori infections. The aim of this study was to compare gastric mucosal histology in relation to age among H.

Geographic resolution issues in RAM transportation risk analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills G, Scott; Neuhauser, Sieglinde

2000-01-01

Over the years that radioactive material (RAM) transportation risk estimates have been calculated using the RADTRAN code, demand for improved geographic resolution of route characteristics, especially density of population neighboring route segments, has led to code improvements that provide more specific route definition. With the advent of geographic information systems (GISs), the achievable resolution of route characteristics is theoretically very high. The authors have compiled population-density data in 1-kilometer increments for routes extending over hundreds of kilometers without impractical expenditures of time. Achievable resolution of analysis is limited, however, by the resolution of available data. U.S. Census data typically have 1-km or better resolution within densely-populated portions of metropolitan areas but census blocks are much larger in rural areas. Geographic resolution of accident-rate data, especially for heavy/combination trucks, are typically tabulated on a statewide basis. These practical realities cause one to ask what level(s) of resolution may be necessary for meaningful risk analysis of transportation actions on a state or interstate scale

08471 Report -- Geographic Privacy-Aware Knowledge Discovery and Delivery

OpenAIRE

Kuijpers, Bart; Pedreschi, Dino; Saygin, Yucel; Spaccapietra, Stefano

2009-01-01

The Dagstuhl-Seminar on Geographic Privacy-Aware Knowledge Discovery and Delivery was held during 16 - 21 November, 2008, with 37 participants registered from various countries from Europe, as well as other parts of the world such as United States, Canada, Argentina, and Brazil. Issues in the newly emerging area of geographic knowledge discovery with a privacy perspective were discussed in a week to consolidate some of the research questions. The Dagstuhl program included...

Crime Mapping and Geographical Information Systems in Crime Analysis

OpenAIRE

Dağlar, Murat; Argun, Uğur

2016-01-01

As essential apparatus in crime analysis, crime mapping and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are being progressively more accepted by police agencies. Development in technology and the accessibility of geographic data sources make it feasible for police departments to use GIS and crime mapping. GIS and crime mapping can be utilized as devices to discover reasons contributing to crime, and hence let law enforcement agencies proactively take action against the crime problems before they b...

Geographical constraints to range-based attacks on links in complex networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong Baihua; Liu Jun; Huang Liang; Yang Kongqing; Yang Lei

2008-01-01

In this paper, we studied range-based attacks on links in geographically constrained scale-free networks and found that there is a continuous switching of roles of short- and long-range attacks on links when tuning the geographical constraint strength. Our results demonstrate that the geography has a significant impact on the network efficiency and security; thus one can adjust the geographical structure to optimize the robustness and the efficiency of the networks. We introduce a measurement of the impact of links on the efficiency of the network, and an effective attacking strategy is suggested

Research on a Method of Geographical Information Service Load Balancing

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Heyuan; Li, Yongxing; Xue, Zhiyong; Feng, Tao

2018-05-01

With the development of geographical information service technologies, how to achieve the intelligent scheduling and high concurrent access of geographical information service resources based on load balancing is a focal point of current study. This paper presents an algorithm of dynamic load balancing. In the algorithm, types of geographical information service are matched with the corresponding server group, then the RED algorithm is combined with the method of double threshold effectively to judge the load state of serve node, finally the service is scheduled based on weighted probabilistic in a certain period. At the last, an experiment system is built based on cluster server, which proves the effectiveness of the method presented in this paper.

Comparison of the geographical distribution of feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus infections in the United States of America (2000–2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chhetri Bimal K

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV and feline leukemia virus (FeLV have similar risk factors and control measures, infection rates have been speculated to vary in geographic distribution over North America. Since both infections are endemic in North America, it was assumed as a working hypothesis that their geographic distributions were similar. Hence, the purpose of this exploratory analysis was to investigate the comparative geographical distribution of both viral infections. Counts of FIV (n=17,108 and FeLV (n=30,017 positive serology results (FIV antibody and FeLV ELISA were obtained for 48 contiguous states and District of Columbia of the United States of America (US from the IDEXX Laboratories website. The proportional morbidity ratio of FIV to FeLV infection was estimated for each administrative region and its geographic distribution pattern was visualized by a choropleth map. Statistical evidence of an excess in the proportional morbidity ratio from unity was assessed using the spatial scan test under the normal probability model. Results This study revealed distinct spatial distribution patterns in the proportional morbidity ratio suggesting the presence of one or more relevant and geographically varying risk factors. The disease map indicates that there is a higher prevalence of FIV infections in the southern and eastern US compared to FeLV. In contrast, FeLV infections were observed to be more frequent in the western US compared to FIV. The respective excess in proportional morbidity ratio was significant with respect to the spatial scan test (p Conclusions The observed variability in the geographical distribution of the proportional morbidity ratio of FIV to FeLV may be related to the presence of an additional or unique, but yet unknown, spatial risk factor. Putative factors may be geographic variations in specific virus strains and rate of vaccination. Knowledge of these factors and the geographical

Solar power satellites: Commercialization and socio-economic impacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Storelli, V.

1993-01-01

Commercialization prospects for solar power satellites are assessed with reference to their possible impacts on the viability of the fossil fuel market and on international energy and environmental policies. The technical aspects which are examined include: solar panel sizing in relation to solar cell efficiency; the development of point-contact solar cell technology; the feasibility of the use of lunar materials; microwave transmission from the moon; optimum satellite positioning; the use of robots for in-space satellite assembly; satellite transmitted power for hydrogen production and storage; marketable product estimated development time

Fungi identify the geographic origin of dust samples.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Neal S Grantham

Full Text Available There is a long history of archaeologists and forensic scientists using pollen found in a dust sample to identify its geographic origin or history. Such palynological approaches have important limitations as they require time-consuming identification of pollen grains, a priori knowledge of plant species distributions, and a sufficient diversity of pollen types to permit spatial or temporal identification. We demonstrate an alternative approach based on DNA sequencing analyses of the fungal diversity found in dust samples. Using nearly 1,000 dust samples collected from across the continental U.S., our analyses identify up to 40,000 fungal taxa from these samples, many of which exhibit a high degree of geographic endemism. We develop a statistical learning algorithm via discriminant analysis that exploits this geographic endemicity in the fungal diversity to correctly identify samples to within a few hundred kilometers of their geographic origin with high probability. In addition, our statistical approach provides a measure of certainty for each prediction, in contrast with current palynology methods that are almost always based on expert opinion and devoid of statistical inference. Fungal taxa found in dust samples can therefore be used to identify the origin of that dust and, more importantly, we can quantify our degree of certainty that a sample originated in a particular place. This work opens up a new approach to forensic biology that could be used by scientists to identify the origin of dust or soil samples found on objects, clothing, or archaeological artifacts.

Geographic distribution of wild potato species

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hijmans, R.J.; Spooner, D.M.

2001-01-01

The geographic distribution of wild potatoes (Solanaceae sect. Petota) was analyzed using a database of 6073 georeferenced observations. Wild potatoes occur in 16 countries, but 88% of the observations are from Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru. Most species are rare and narrowly endemic: for 77

Ontology-based geographic data set integration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Uitermark, H.T.J.A.; Uitermark, Harry T.; Oosterom, Peter J.M.; Mars, Nicolaas; Molenaar, Martien; Molenaar, M.

1999-01-01

In order to develop a system to propagate updates we investigate the semantic and spatial relationships between independently produced geographic data sets of the same region (data set integration). The goal of this system is to reduce operator intervention in update operations between corresponding

Positioning as a Part of Political Marketing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalia Liutko

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The political subject is defined as the consumer of goods in the form of political power, political ideas, political leaders, and parties. Political marketing is understood as the identification of political relations and processes with different forms of market exchange and the process of electoral choice as a specific market (the act of purchase and sale. The concept of political positioning appeared as the result of relevant categories of commercial research in the political sphere. Political positioning should be considered as the process of political communication aimed at acquiring by political actor his position in political marketing. It is the most difficult type of political and communication strategic campaigns. This approach allows the candidate (party to compare his image with electorate’s views of desired (acceptable candidate, political party; compare his image with the image of an opponent; explore the pros and cons of alternative positions; and choose those the most advantageous position for a candidate (party.

Screening Commercial Vehicle Drivers for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Tools, Barriers, and Recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Kelly A; Yap, Tracey; Turner, Barbara

2017-10-01

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disorder characterized by a cessation of breathing during sleep, leading to poor sleep patterns and daytime somnolence. Daytime somnolence is of particular concern for commercial vehicle drivers, whose crash risk increases 50% with untreated OSA. The process of diagnosing and treating OSA in commercial drivers begins with effective and consistent screening. Therefore, the researchers screened drivers with both the STOP-Bang Questionnaire and the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Evaluation Worksheet (OSAEW) and compared the two tools. Drivers screening positive on the STOP-Bang Questionnaire, OSAEW, and both questionnaires were 28%, 23%, and 13%, respectively. Sleep study referrals were made for 50 drivers; 12 drivers were scheduled for sleep tests within 3 months. Health care provider referral rates for drivers screening at high risk (37%) and commercial driver monitoring rates (24%) were both low. Recommendations to improve OSA screening and testing practices include Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration-mandated screening and referral guidelines, employee-facilitated sleep testing, and OSA awareness campaigns.

Semi-automatic geographic atrophy segmentation for SD-OCT images.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Qiang; de Sisternes, Luis; Leng, Theodore; Zheng, Luoluo; Kutzscher, Lauren; Rubin, Daniel L

2013-01-01

Geographic atrophy (GA) is a condition that is associated with retinal thinning and loss of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer. It appears in advanced stages of non-exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and can lead to vision loss. We present a semi-automated GA segmentation algorithm for spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images. The method first identifies and segments a surface between the RPE and the choroid to generate retinal projection images in which the projection region is restricted to a sub-volume of the retina where the presence of GA can be identified. Subsequently, a geometric active contour model is employed to automatically detect and segment the extent of GA in the projection images. Two image data sets, consisting on 55 SD-OCT scans from twelve eyes in eight patients with GA and 56 SD-OCT scans from 56 eyes in 56 patients with GA, respectively, were utilized to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the proposed GA segmentation method. Experimental results suggest that the proposed algorithm can achieve high segmentation accuracy. The mean GA overlap ratios between our proposed method and outlines drawn in the SD-OCT scans, our method and outlines drawn in the fundus auto-fluorescence (FAF) images, and the commercial software (Carl Zeiss Meditec proprietary software, Cirrus version 6.0) and outlines drawn in FAF images were 72.60%, 65.88% and 59.83%, respectively.

Modeling the geographical studies with GeoGebra-software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ionica Soare

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The problem of mathematical modeling in geography is one of the most important strategies in order to establish the evolution and the prevision of geographical phenomena. Models must have a simplified structure, to reflect essential components and must be selective, structured, and suggestive and approximate the reality. Models could be static or dynamic, developed in a theoretical, symbolic, conceptual or mental way, mathematically modeled. The present paper is focused on the virtual model which uses GeoGebra software, free and available at www.geogebra.org, in order to establish new methods of geographical analysis in a dynamic, didactic way.

MEDIATION CLAUSE IN COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS (THE ADVANTAGES OF MEDIATION CLAUSE IN COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudiu Florinel Augustin Ignat

2013-11-01

Full Text Available It often happens that the end of the contracts to be existing commercial relationships and a new contract has already intuitu personae character. But not always the case, that those who enter into legal commercial forcing consideration to the benefits and under commercial contracts, know the dealer or individual that established commercial relations. These traders resort to contractual conditions which states precisely the extent of the obligations assumed by each party, setting rules, deadlines, penalties and even ways of interpretation of contracts. Contracting Parties, namely traders aware that the law is the contract parties by special caluze invest ( to settle disputes concerning the interpretation or punishment for failure and even termination obligations tribunalule arbitration courts or the territorial and material .

Geographical variation of shell thickness in the mussel Perumytilus purpuratus along the southeast Pacific coast.

Science.gov (United States)

Briones, Carolina; Rivadeneira, Marcelo M; Fernández, Miriam; Guiñez, Ricardo

2014-12-01

At broad geographical scales, the variation in bivalve shell thickness can be modulated by environmental factors that vary with latitude, such as sea surface temperature (SST), seawater pH, or calcium carbonate availability. Mussels usually form multilayered beds, and shell thickness is also expected to be affected by density and layering due to intraspecific competition. In this work, we explored the geographical variation of shell thickness in the intertidal mussel Perumytilus purpuratus between 18° and 42°S along the southeastern Pacific coast. We tested the hypothesis that there was a positive relationship between shell thickness and SST, and then we explored other variables that could have an effect on thickness, such as density, number of layers, and others environmental variables (pH and calcite concentration). The expected positive linear relationship between shell thickness and sea surface temperature was not found, but when the other population variables were included in the analysis, an unexpected inverse SST-thickness relationships appeared as significant, probably because this species could be adapted to colder and more acid seawater as are those of the tips of South America. Thickness was also negatively affected by density, which was expected for a gregarious species showing high intraspecific competition. Finally, our results highlight the importance of including density and crowding effects when macroscale patterns are explored, particularly in gregarious species, since these patterns could also be modulated by density-dependent processes, which might then override latitudinal trends of shell thickness when they are not included in the analyses. © 2014 Marine Biological Laboratory.

Automatic landslide detection from LiDAR DTM derivatives by geographic-object-based image analysis based on open-source software

Science.gov (United States)

Knevels, Raphael; Leopold, Philip; Petschko, Helene

2017-04-01

With high-resolution airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data more commonly available, many studies have been performed to facilitate the detailed information on the earth surface and to analyse its limitation. Specifically in the field of natural hazards, digital terrain models (DTM) have been used to map hazardous processes such as landslides mainly by visual interpretation of LiDAR DTM derivatives. However, new approaches are striving towards automatic detection of landslides to speed up the process of generating landslide inventories. These studies usually use a combination of optical imagery and terrain data, and are designed in commercial software packages such as ESRI ArcGIS, Definiens eCognition, or MathWorks MATLAB. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of open-source software for automatic landslide detection based only on high-resolution LiDAR DTM derivatives in a study area within the federal state of Burgenland, Austria. The study area is very prone to landslides which have been mapped with different methodologies in recent years. The free development environment R was used to integrate open-source geographic information system (GIS) software, such as SAGA (System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses), GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System), or TauDEM (Terrain Analysis Using Digital Elevation Models). The implemented geographic-object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) consisted of (1) derivation of land surface parameters, such as slope, surface roughness, curvature, or flow direction, (2) finding optimal scale parameter by the use of an objective function, (3) multi-scale segmentation, (4) classification of landslide parts (main scarp, body, flanks) by k-mean thresholding, (5) assessment of the classification performance using a pre-existing landslide inventory, and (6) post-processing analysis for the further use in landslide inventories. The results of the developed open-source approach demonstrated good

GNIS: Geographic Names Information Systems - All features

Data.gov (United States)

Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) actively seeks data from and partnerships with Government agencies at all levels and other interested organizations....

Geographical variation in dementia: systematic review with meta-analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Russ, Tom C; Batty, G David; Hearnshaw, Gena F; Fenton, Candida; Starr, John M

2012-01-01

Background Geographical variation in dementia prevalence and incidence may indicate important socio-environmental contributions to dementia aetiology. However, previous comparisons have been hampered by combining studies with different methodologies. This review systematically collates and synthesizes studies examining geographical variation in the prevalence and incidence of dementia based on comparisons of studies using identical methodologies. Methods Papers were identified by a comprehensive electronic search of relevant databases, scrutinising the reference sections of identified publications, contacting experts in the field and re-examining papers already known to us. Identified articles were independently reviewed against inclusion/exclusion criteria and considered according to geographical scale. Rural/urban comparisons were meta-analysed. Results Twelve thousand five hundred and eighty records were reviewed and 51 articles were included. Dementia prevalence and incidence varies at a number of scales from the national down to small areas, including some evidence of an effect of rural living [prevalence odds ratio (OR) = 1.11, 90% confidence interval (CI) 0.79–1.57; incidence OR = 1.20, 90% CI 0.84–1.71]. However, this association of rurality was stronger for Alzheimer disease, particularly when early life rural living was captured (prevalence OR = 2.22, 90% CI 1.19–4.16; incidence OR = 1.64, 90% CI 1.08–2.50). Conclusions There is evidence of geographical variation in rates of dementia in affluent countries at a variety of geographical scales. Rural living is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer disease, and there is a suggestion that early life rural living further increases this risk. However, the fact that few studies have been conducted in resource-poor countries limits conclusions. PMID:22798662

Natural Scales in Geographical Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Menezes, Telmo; Roth, Camille

2017-04-01

Human mobility is known to be distributed across several orders of magnitude of physical distances, which makes it generally difficult to endogenously find or define typical and meaningful scales. Relevant analyses, from movements to geographical partitions, seem to be relative to some ad-hoc scale, or no scale at all. Relying on geotagged data collected from photo-sharing social media, we apply community detection to movement networks constrained by increasing percentiles of the distance distribution. Using a simple parameter-free discontinuity detection algorithm, we discover clear phase transitions in the community partition space. The detection of these phases constitutes the first objective method of characterising endogenous, natural scales of human movement. Our study covers nine regions, ranging from cities to countries of various sizes and a transnational area. For all regions, the number of natural scales is remarkably low (2 or 3). Further, our results hint at scale-related behaviours rather than scale-related users. The partitions of the natural scales allow us to draw discrete multi-scale geographical boundaries, potentially capable of providing key insights in fields such as epidemiology or cultural contagion where the introduction of spatial boundaries is pivotal.

Veterans Affairs Geographic Distribution of Expenditures FY07 by State and County

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Geographic Distribution of VA Expenditures (GDX) is an annual report that shows estimated VA expenditures for major programmatic areas by geographic area (state,...

Veterans Affairs Geographic Distribution of Expenditures FY08 by State and County

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Geographic Distribution of VA Expenditures (GDX) is an annual report that shows estimated VA expenditures for major programmatic areas by geographic area (state,...

Use of "entertainment" chimpanzees in commercials distorts public perception regarding their conservation status.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kara K Schroepfer

Full Text Available Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes are often used in movies, commercials and print advertisements with the intention of eliciting a humorous response from audiences. The portrayal of chimpanzees in unnatural, human-like situations may have a negative effect on the public's understanding of their endangered status in the wild while making them appear as suitable pets. Alternatively, media content that elicits a positive emotional response toward chimpanzees may increase the public's commitment to chimpanzee conservation. To test these competing hypotheses, participants (n = 165 watched a series of commercials in an experiment framed as a marketing study. Imbedded within the same series of commercials was one of three chimpanzee videos. Participants either watched 1 a chimpanzee conservation commercial, 2 commercials containing "entertainment" chimpanzees or 3 control footage of the natural behavior of wild chimpanzees. Results from a post-viewing questionnaire reveal that participants who watched the conservation message understood that chimpanzees were endangered and unsuitable as pets at higher levels than those viewing the control footage. Meanwhile participants watching commercials with entertainment chimpanzees showed a decrease in understanding relative to those watching the control footage. In addition, when participants were given the opportunity to donate part of their earnings from the experiment to a conservation charity, donations were least frequent in the group watching commercials with entertainment chimpanzees. Control questions show that participants did not detect the purpose of the study. These results firmly support the hypothesis that use of entertainment chimpanzees in the popular media negatively distorts the public's perception and hinders chimpanzee conservation efforts.

Exploring the potentials of volunteered geographic Information as a source for spatial data acquisition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ariffin, Izyana; Solemon, Badariah; Anwar, Rina Md; Din, Marina Md; Azmi, Nor Nashrah

2014-01-01

The advancement of technologies nowadays enables participation by nonprofessionals, known as volunteers to participate in producing, sharing and consuming geographic information. Such information, termed as volunteered geographic Information (VGI) has created a new approach of gathering geographic information. This paper discusses the traditional way of acquiring geographic information and potentials of VGI as an information source in GIS applications. We also review four commonly cited applications which rely on volunteers for their geographic information based on five criteria; the geometry type available in the applications, availability of user profile, average number of attributes used in the applications, data type of the information (raster or vector) and the domain the application belongs to. This review serves as a preliminarv study in designing a GIS application used for asset management which aims at exploiting volunteers to produce geographic information related to assets

Teaching Geographic Field Methods Using Paleoecology

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Megan K.

2014-01-01

Field-based undergraduate geography courses provide numerous pedagogical benefits including an opportunity for students to acquire employable skills in an applied context. This article presents one unique approach to teaching geographic field methods using paleoecological research. The goals of this course are to teach students key geographic…

Effects of geographical extent on the determinants of woody plant diversity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Zhiheng; Rahbek, Carsten; Fang, Jingyun

2012-01-01

the quantitative effects of geographical extent are rarely tested. Here, using distribution maps of 11,405 woody species found in China and associated environmental data to the domain, we investigated the influence of geographical extent on the determinants of species richness patterns. Our results revealed...

Influence of the geographical curriculum on competences of geography teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatjana Resnik Planinc

2007-12-01

Full Text Available The paper analyses the influence of geographical curriculum on competences of geography teacher. It is focused on complex and symbiotic relation between curriculum and achieved and recommended competences of geography teacher and their importance for geographical education. The competences should therefore be derived from the theories, concerning values, knowledge, curriculum and whole educational process, which underpin good pedagogical practice.

Geographical conceptualization of quality of life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murgaš František

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The conceptualization of quality of life in terms of geography is based on two assumptions. The first assumption is that the quality of life consists of two dimensions: subjective and objective. The subjective is known as ‘well-being’, while the objective is the proposed term ‘quality of place’. The second assumption is based on the recognition that quality of life is always a spatial dimension. The concept of quality of life is closely linked with the concept of a good life; geographers enriched this concept by using the term ‘good place’ as a place in which the conditions are created for a good life. The quality of life for individuals in terms of a good place overlaps with the quality of life in society, namely the societal quality of life. The geographical conceptualisation of quality of life is applied to settlements within the city of Liberec.

Geographical imbalances and divides in the scientific production of climate change knowledge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pasgaard, Maya; Dalsgaard, Bo; Maruyama, Pietro K.

2015-01-01

Studies on scientific production of climate change knowledge show a geographical bias against the developing and more vulnerable regions of the world. If there is limited knowledge exchange between regions, this may deepen global knowledge divides and, thus, potentially hamper adaptive capacities....... Consequently, there is a need to further understand this bias, and, particularly, link it with the exchange of knowledge across borders. We use a world-wide geographical distribution of author affiliations in > 15,000 scientific climate change publications to show that (1) research production mainly takes...... are determined mainly by geographical proximity, common climates, and similar political and economic characteristics. This indicates that political-economic, social and educational-scientific initiatives targeted to enhance local research production and collaborations across geographical-climate module borders...

36 CFR 271.4 - Commercial license.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Commercial license. 271.4... BEARâ SYMBOL § 271.4 Commercial license. (a) The Chief may authorize the commercial manufacture... a use or royalty charge which is reasonably related to the commercial enterprise has been...

27 CFR 10.21 - Commercial bribery.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Commercial bribery. 10.21 Section 10.21 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS COMMERCIAL BRIBERY Commercial Bribery § 10.21 Commercial bribery. It is...

Potential use of stable isotope and fatty acid analyses for traceability of geographic origins of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas).

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Yi; Li, Yunkai; Chen, Xinjun; Chen, Ling

2018-04-15

Squid is an important seafood resource for Asian and European countries. With the continuous development of processed squid products, an effective traceability system has become increasingly prominent. Here, we attempt to trace the fishery products of the main target species, jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas), by using biochemical tracers. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios (δ 13 C and δ 15 N values) and fatty acid profiles were identified in squid from three harvest locations in the eastern Pacific Ocean by isotope ratio mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, respectively. Comparative analysis was used to evaluate the geographic variations in tracers and to identify the suitable discriminatory variables among origins. Significant spatial variations were found in isotopic values and fatty acid profiles in squid muscle tissues, possibly because of different food availability and/or oceanographic conditions that each group experiences at a given location. The stepwise discriminant analysis indicated that δ 15 N, C16:1n7, C17:1n7, C18:2n6, C20:1 and C20:4n6 were effective variables at differentiating origin. Combined use of stable isotope ratios and fatty acid analyses could trace geographic origins of jumbo squid. This study provides an alternative approach for improving authenticity evaluation of commercial squid products. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Geographical Heuristic Routing Protocol for VANETs

Science.gov (United States)

Urquiza-Aguiar, Luis; Tripp-Barba, Carolina; Aguilar Igartua, Mónica

2016-01-01

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) leverage the communication system of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Recently, Delay-Tolerant Network (DTN) routing protocols have increased their popularity among the research community for being used in non-safety VANET applications and services like traffic reporting. Vehicular DTN protocols use geographical and local information to make forwarding decisions. However, current proposals only consider the selection of the best candidate based on a local-search. In this paper, we propose a generic Geographical Heuristic Routing (GHR) protocol that can be applied to any DTN geographical routing protocol that makes forwarding decisions hop by hop. GHR includes in its operation adaptations simulated annealing and Tabu-search meta-heuristics, which have largely been used to improve local-search results in discrete optimization. We include a complete performance evaluation of GHR in a multi-hop VANET simulation scenario for a reporting service. Our study analyzes all of the meaningful configurations of GHR and offers a statistical analysis of our findings by means of MANOVA tests. Our results indicate that the use of a Tabu list contributes to improving the packet delivery ratio by around 5% to 10%. Moreover, if Tabu is used, then the simulated annealing routing strategy gets a better performance than the selection of the best node used with carry and forwarding (default operation). PMID:27669254

36 CFR 1005.6 - Commercial vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Commercial vehicles. 1005.6 Section 1005.6 Parks, Forests, and Public Property PRESIDIO TRUST COMMERCIAL AND PRIVATE OPERATIONS § 1005.6 Commercial vehicles. (a) The term “Commercial vehicle” as used in this section shall include, but...

50 CFR 404.10 - Commercial fishing.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Commercial fishing. 404.10 Section 404.10... MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT § 404.10 Commercial fishing. (a) Lobster fishing. Any commercial lobster fishing... species. (1) Notwithstanding the prohibitions in § 404.7(a) and (h), commercial fishing for bottomfish and...

Geographical cost-supply analysis forest biomass for distributed generation in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Möller, Bernd

2004-01-01

The article presents a study which uses geographical information system (GIS) to perform cost-supply analysis of wood chips resources for energy production.......The article presents a study which uses geographical information system (GIS) to perform cost-supply analysis of wood chips resources for energy production....

48 CFR 1852.244-70 - Geographic participation in the aerospace program.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... the aerospace program. 1852.244-70 Section 1852.244-70 Federal Acquisition Regulations System NATIONAL... Provisions and Clauses 1852.244-70 Geographic participation in the aerospace program. As prescribed in 1844.204-70, insert the following clause: Geographic Participation in the Aerospace Program (APR 1985) (a...

Assessing the validity of commercial and municipal food environment data sets in Vancouver, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Daepp, Madeleine Ig; Black, Jennifer

2017-10-01

The present study assessed systematic bias and the effects of data set error on the validity of food environment measures in two municipal and two commercial secondary data sets. Sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV) and concordance were calculated by comparing two municipal and two commercial secondary data sets with ground-truthed data collected within 800 m buffers surrounding twenty-six schools. Logistic regression examined associations of sensitivity and PPV with commercial density and neighbourhood socio-economic deprivation. Kendall's τ estimated correlations between density and proximity of food outlets near schools constructed with secondary data sets v. ground-truthed data. Vancouver, Canada. Food retailers located within 800 m of twenty-six schools RESULTS: All data sets scored relatively poorly across validity measures, although, overall, municipal data sets had higher levels of validity than did commercial data sets. Food outlets were more likely to be missing from municipal health inspections lists and commercial data sets in neighbourhoods with higher commercial density. Still, both proximity and density measures constructed from all secondary data sets were highly correlated (Kendall's τ>0·70) with measures constructed from ground-truthed data. Despite relatively low levels of validity in all secondary data sets examined, food environment measures constructed from secondary data sets remained highly correlated with ground-truthed data. Findings suggest that secondary data sets can be used to measure the food environment, although estimates should be treated with caution in areas with high commercial density.

Using a 'value-added' approach for contextual design of geographic information.

Science.gov (United States)

May, Andrew J

2013-11-01

The aim of this article is to demonstrate how a 'value-added' approach can be used for user-centred design of geographic information. An information science perspective was used, with value being the difference in outcomes arising from alternative information sets. Sixteen drivers navigated a complex, unfamiliar urban route, using visual and verbal instructions representing the distance-to-turn and junction layout information presented by typical satellite navigation systems. Data measuring driving errors, navigation errors and driver confidence were collected throughout the trial. The results show how driver performance varied considerably according to the geographic context at specific locations, and that there are specific opportunities to add value with enhanced geographical information. The conclusions are that a value-added approach facilitates a more explicit focus on 'desired' (and feasible) levels of end user performance with different information sets, and is a potentially effective approach to user-centred design of geographic information. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Geometric algorithms for delineating geographic regions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reinbacher, I.

2006-01-01

Everyone of us is used to geographical regions like the south of Utrecht, the dutch Randstad, or the mountainous areas of Austria. Some of these regions have crisp, fixed boundaries like Utrecht or Austria. Others, like the dutch Randstad and the Austrian mountains, have no such boundaries and are

PEDIATRIC FITNESS: SECULAR TRENDS AND GEOGRAPHIC VARIABILITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grant R. Tomkinson

2007-06-01

Full Text Available DESCRIPTION This book describes and discusses children's physical capacity in terms of aerobic and anaerobic power generation according to secular trends and geographic variability. PURPOSE To discuss the controversial issue of whether present day's children and adolescents are fitter than their equals of the past and whether they are fitter if they live in the more prosperous countries. AUDIENCE Pediatricians, medical practitioners, physical educators, exercise and/or sport scientists, exercise physiologists, personal trainers and graduate students in relevant fields will find this book helpful when dealing with contemporary trends and geographic variability in pediatric fitness. FEATURES The volume starts by examining the general picture on children fitness by the editors. The individual chapter's authors discuses the data gathered since the late 1950s on secular trends and geographic changeability in aerobic and anaerobic pediatric fitness performances of children and adolescents from 23 countries in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. There are chapters proposing that there is proof that there has been a world-wide decline in pediatric aerobic performance in recent decades, relative stability in anaerobic performance, and that the best performing children come from northern and central Europe. In final chapters possible causes to that end are considered, including whether weakening in aerobic performance are the result of distributional or widespread declines, and whether increases in obesity alone can explain the failure in aerobic performance. ASSESSMENT The editors have assembled a volume of Medicine and Sports Science that is necessary and essential reading for all who are interested in understanding and improving the fitness of children. The readers will find useful information in this book on secular trends and geographic variability in pediatric fitness. I believe, the book will serve as a first

Commercialization in Innovation Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sløk-Madsen, Stefan Kirkegaard; Ritter, Thomas; Sornn-Friese, Henrik

For any firm, the ultimate purpose of new product development is the commercialization of the new offerings. Despite its regular use in the product innovation and general management science literature, commercialization is only loosely defined and applied. This lack of conceptual clarity about...... the processes at the interface between product development and customer application is noteworthy as it hinders the theoretical development of the field. In this paper, we explore how research has advanced our understanding of commercialization in product innovation over a 30 year period by mapping different...

The Importance of Geographical Indications in Regional Tourism Development: The Case of Çanakkale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Şefik Okan Mercan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Many products unique to Turkey, the origins of which are recognized with the name of region. Turkey, its geographical location and climatic zone having three different soil structure and cultural heritage and human capital due to a rich variety of geographical product has the potential. Features of geographical environment revealed  this product wealth, this product also requires the protection of geographical indications through. In this study, in Çanakkale who have registered geographical indication products, to examine the importance of the development of regional tourism and how these products can be assessed on a tourism product relevant institutions/organizations are intended to be of the opinion. According to the findings, the general opinion of Canakkale geographical indication products are properly and effectively with the regional tourism promotion and marketing work done in the development of a tool is that it will undertake the task. 

Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) Mission: Science from Geostationary Orbit on-board a Commercial Communications Satellite

Science.gov (United States)

Eastes, R.; Deaver, T.; Krywonos, A.; Lankton, M. R.; McClintock, W. E.; Pang, R.

2011-12-01

Geostationary orbits are ideal for many science investigations of the Earth system on global scales. These orbits allow continuous observations of the same geographic region, enabling spatial and temporal changes to be distinguished and eliminating the ambiguity inherent to observations from low Earth orbit (LEO). Just as observations from geostationary orbit have revolutionized our understanding of changes in the troposphere, they will dramatically improve our understanding of the space environment at higher altitudes. However, geostationary orbits are infrequently used for science missions because of high costs. Geostationary satellites are large, typically weighing tons. Consequently, devoting an entire satellite to a science mission requires a large financial commitment, both for the spacecraft itself and for sufficient science instrumentation to justify a dedicated spacecraft. Furthermore, the small number of geostationary satellites produced for scientific missions increases the costs of each satellite. For these reasons, it is attractive to consider flying scientific instruments on satellites operated by commercial companies, some of whom have fleets of ~40 satellites. However, scientists' lack of understanding of the capabilities of commercial spacecraft as well as commercial companies' concerns about risks to their primary mission have impeded the cooperation necessary for the shared use of a spacecraft. Working with a commercial partner, the GOLD mission has successfully overcome these issues. Our experience indicates that there are numerous benefits to flying on commercial communications satellites (e.g., it is possible to downlink large amounts of data) and the costs are low if the experimental requirements adequately match the capabilities and available resources of the host spacecraft. Consequently, affordable access to geostationary orbit aboard a communications satellite now appears possible for science payloads.

36 CFR 272.4 - Commercial use.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Commercial use. 272.4 Section... OWLâ SYMBOL § 272.4 Commercial use. (a) General. The Chief may authorize the Commercial manufacture... charge, royalty charge, or payment in kind which is reasonably related to the commercial value has been...

The GeoGraph 3D Computational Laboratory

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dibble, Catherine; Feldman, Philip G

2003-01-01

.... Even recent progress in social network modeling has not yet offered us any capability to model dynamic processes among mobile agents who interact at all scales on small-world and scale-free geographic networks...

Geographical assignment of hospitalists in an urban teaching hospital: feasibility and impact on efficiency and provider satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Bryson, Christine; Boynton, Greta; Stepczynski, Anna; Garb, Jane; Kleppel, Reva; Irani, Farzan; Natanasabapathy, Siva; Stefan, Mihaela S

2017-10-01

To evaluate whether implementation of a geographic model of assigning hospitalists is feasible and sustainable in a large hospitalist program and assess its impact on provider satisfaction, perceived efficiency and patient outcomes. Pre (3 months) - post (12 months) intervention study conducted from June 2014 through September 2015 at a tertiary care medical center with a large hospitalist program caring for patients scattered in 4 buildings and 16 floors. Hospitalists were assigned to a particular nursing unit (geographic assignment) with a goal of having over 80% of their assigned patients located on their assigned unit. Satisfaction and perceived efficiency were assessed through a survey administered before and after the intervention. Geographic assignment percentage increased from an average of 60% in the pre-intervention period to 93% post-intervention. The number of hospitalists covering a 32 bed unit decreased from 8-10 pre to 2-3 post-intervention. A majority of physicians (87%) thought that geography had a positive impact on the overall quality of care. Respondents reported that they felt that geography increased time spent with patient/caregivers to discuss plan of care (p < 0.001); improved communication with nurses (p = 0.0009); and increased sense of teamwork with nurses/case managers (p < 0.001). Mean length of stay (4.54 vs 4.62 days), 30-day readmission rates (16.0% vs 16.6%) and patient satisfaction (79.9 vs 77.3) did not change significantly between the pre- and post-implementation period. The discharge before noon rate improved slightly (47.5% - 54.1%). Implementation of a unit-based model in a large hospitalist program is feasible and sustainable with appropriate planning and support. The geographical model of care increased provider satisfaction and perceived efficiency; it also facilitated the implementation of other key interventions such as interdisciplinary rounds.

Urethroplasty: a geographic disparity in care.

Science.gov (United States)

Burks, Frank N; Salmon, Scott A; Smith, Aaron C; Santucci, Richard A

2012-06-01

Urethroplasty is the gold standard for urethral strictures but its geographic prevalence throughout the United States is unknown. We analyzed where and how often urethroplasty was being performed in the United States compared to other treatment modalities for urethral stricture. De-identified case logs from the American Board of Urology were collected from certifying/recertifying urologists from 2004 to 2009. Results were categorized by ZIP codes to determine the geographic distribution. Case logs from 3,877 urologists (2,533 recertifying and 1,344 certifying) were reviewed including 1,836 urethroplasties, 13,080 urethrotomies and 19,564 urethral dilations. The proportion of urethroplasty varied widely among states (range 0% to 17%). The ratio of urethroplasty-to-urethrotomy/dilation also varied widely from state to state, but overall 1 urethroplasty was performed for every 17 urethrotomies or dilations performed. Certifying urologists were 3 times as likely to perform urethroplasty as recertifying urologists (12% vs 4%, respectively, pUrethroplasties were performed more commonly in states with residency programs (mean 5% vs 3%). Some states reported no urethroplasties during the observation period (Vermont, North Dakota, South Dakota, Maine and West Virginia). To our knowledge this is the first report on the geographic distribution of urethroplasty for urethral stricture disease. There are large variations in the rates of urethroplasty performed throughout the United States, indicating a disparity of care, especially for those regions in which few or no urethroplasties were reported. This disparity may decrease with time as younger certifying urologists are performing 3 times as many urethroplasties as older recertifying urologists. Copyright © 2012 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Geographic factors as determinants of food security: a Western Australian food pricing and quality study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Christina Mary; Landrigan, Timothy John; Ellies, Pernilla Laila; Kerr, Deborah Anne; Lester, Matthew Langdon Underwood; Goodchild, Stanley Edward

2014-01-01

Food affordability and quality can influence food choice. This research explores the impact of geographic factors on food pricing and quality in Western Australia (WA). A Healthy Food Access Basket (HFAB) was cost and a visual and descriptive quality assessment of 13 commonly consumed fresh produce items was conducted in-store on a representative sample of 144 food grocery stores. The WA retail environment in 2010 had 447 grocery stores servicing 2.9 million people: 38% of stores the two major chains (Coles® Supermarkets Australia and Woolworths ® Limited) in population dense areas, 50% were smaller independently owned stores (Independent Grocers Association®) in regional areas as well, and 12% Indigenous community stores in very remote areas. The HFAB cost 24% (pfoods cost more and the quality of fresh produce was lower. Food affordability and quality may deter healthier food choice in geographically isolated communities. Improving affordability and quality of nutritious foods in remote communities may positively impact food choices, improve food security and prevent diet-sensitive chronic disease. Policy makers should consider influencing agriculture, trade, commerce, transport, freight, and modifying local food economies.

Ionospheric Responses to the July 15 - 16, 2000 Magnetic Storm around Geographic Longitude 121E

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Jung Chuo

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This study presents observed behavior of ionospheric responses using vertical total electron contents (VTEC and NmF2. The data were collected from global positioning system (GPS networks and ionosondes around the geographic longitude of 121°E from mid- to low-latitudes for the severe magnetic storm on 15 July 2000. The results show that the severe magnetic storm caused significant density depletion and a G-condition occurrence in the western Pacific region on 15 - 16 July 2000. The G-condition is observed on the ionograms at Chung-Li station around 2330 UT on July 15. Furthermore, the variation of the F-peak height (HmF2 at Cebu indicates that a zonal electric field produced an upward drift and enhanced the fountain effect from 1000 UT on July 15. The observation of a G-condition indicates that a storm-induced neutral-wind circulation was the main cause of compositional change; i.e., an increase in the N2/O ratio and its associated loss coefficients that produced a negative storm phase along the chain of geographic longitude 121°E.

Indoor Positioning for Smartphones Using Asynchronous Ultrasound Trilateration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James D. Carswell

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Modern smartphones are a great platform for Location Based Services (LBS. While outdoor LBS for smartphones has proven to be very successful, indoor LBS for smartphones has not yet fully developed due to the lack of an accurate positioning technology. In this paper we present an accurate indoor positioning approach for commercial off-the-shelf (COTS smartphones that uses the innate ability of mobile phones to produce ultrasound, combined with Time-Difference-of-Arrival (TDOA asynchronous trilateration. We evaluate our indoor positioning approach by describing its strengths and weaknesses, and determine its absolute accuracy. This is accomplished through a range of experiments that involve variables such as position of control point microphones, position of phone within the room, direction speaker is facing and presence of user in the signal path. Test results show that our Lok8 (locate mobile positioning system can achieve accuracies better than 10 cm in a real-world environment.

Dinosaurs reveal the geographical signature of an evolutionary radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donovan, Ciara; Meade, Andrew; Venditti, Chris

2018-03-01

Dinosaurs dominated terrestrial ecosystems across the globe for over 100 million years and provide a classic example of an evolutionary radiation. However, little is known about how these animals radiated geographically to become globally distributed. Here, we use a biogeographical model to reconstruct the dinosaurs' ancestral locations, revealing the spatial mechanisms that underpinned this 170-million-year-long radiation. We find that dinosaurs spread rapidly initially, followed by a significant continuous and gradual reduction in their speed of movement towards the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary (66 million years ago). This suggests that the predominant mode of dinosaur speciation changed through time with speciation originally largely driven by geographical isolation-when dinosaurs speciated more, they moved further. This was gradually replaced by increasing levels of sympatric speciation (species taking advantage of ecological opportunities within their existing environment) as terrestrial space became a limiting factor. Our results uncover the geographical signature of an evolutionary radiation.

Geographic analysis of road accident severity index in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Iyanda, Ayodeji E

2018-05-28

Before 2030, deaths from road traffic accidents (RTAs) will surpass cerebrovascular disease, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. Yet, there is little knowledge on the geographic distribution of RTA severity in Nigeria. Accident Severity Index is the proportion of deaths that result from a road accident. This study analysed the geographic pattern of RTA severity based on the data retrieved from Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). The study predicted a two-year data from a historic road accident data using exponential smoothing technique. To determine spatial autocorrelation, global and local indicators of spatial association were implemented in a geographic information system. Results show significant clusters of high RTA severity among states in the northeast and the northwest of Nigeria. Hence, the findings are discussed from two perspectives: Road traffic law compliance and poor emergency response. Conclusion, the severity of RTA is high in the northern states of Nigeria, hence, RTA remains a public health concern.

Improving Geography Learning in the Schools: Efforts by the National Geographic Society.

Science.gov (United States)

Dulli, Robert E.

1994-01-01

Contends that the National Geographic Society's Geography Education Program continues to work on improving geography instruction and learning. Outlines future activities of the National Geographic Society including urban outreach and technology training. (CFR)

Industry's Commercial Initiatives on ISS

Science.gov (United States)

Shields, C. E.; Kessler, C.; Lavitola, M. S.

2002-01-01

For more than ten years, private industry has worked to develop a commercial human space market and to create a sustainable ISS commercial utilization customer base. Before ISS assembly was underway - and long before NASA and the international space agencies began to craft ISS commercial business terms and conditions - industry planted and nurtured the seeds of interest in exploiting human space utilization for commerce. These early initiatives have yielded the impetus and framework for industry approaches to ISS commercial utilization today and for NASA's and the International Partners' planned accommodation of private sector interests and desires on the ISS. This paper chronicles major industry initiatives for commercial ISS utilization, emphasizing successful marketing and business approaches and why these approaches have a higher likelihood of success than others. It provides an overview of individual companies' initiatives, as well as collaborative efforts that cross company lines and country borders; and it assesses the relative success of each. Rather than emphasize negative issues and barriers, this paper characterizes and prioritizes actionable success factors for industry and government to make ISS commercial utilization a sustainable reality.

Using satellite technology (global positioning system) to teach the spherical polar coordinate system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Brien, William P Jr

2003-01-01

Students discover the equivalence between plausible geographic variables (co-latitude and longitude) of the Earth and less-familiar geometric variables (polar and azimuthal angles) of spherical polar coordinates by collecting and analysing positional data recorded during field exercises with a handheld global positioning system (GPS) receiver. This pedagogical approach to teaching spherical geometry, based on field experience rather than classroom theory, uses GPS technology to capture the curiosity of contemporary students, technical or otherwise, who might not normally find the topic of the spherical polar coordinate system comprehensible, relevant or interesting

Sirenomelia in Argentina: Prevalence, geographic clusters and temporal trends analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Groisman, Boris; Liascovich, Rosa; Gili, Juan Antonio; Barbero, Pablo; Bidondo, María Paz

2016-07-01

Sirenomelia is a severe malformation of the lower body characterized by a single medial lower limb and a variable combination of visceral abnormalities. Given that Sirenomelia is a very rare birth defect, epidemiological studies are scarce. The aim of this study is to evaluate prevalence, geographic clusters and time trends of sirenomelia in Argentina, using data from the National Network of Congenital Anomalies of Argentina (RENAC) from November 2009 until December 2014. This is a descriptive study using data from the RENAC, a hospital-based surveillance system for newborns affected with major morphological congenital anomalies. We calculated sirenomelia prevalence throughout the period, searched for geographical clusters, and evaluated time trends. The prevalence of confirmed cases of sirenomelia throughout the period was 2.35 per 100,000 births. Cluster analysis showed no statistically significant geographical aggregates. Time-trends analysis showed that the prevalence was higher in years 2009 to 2010. The observed prevalence was higher than the observed in previous epidemiological studies in other geographic regions. We observed a likely real increase in the initial period of our study. We used strict diagnostic criteria, excluding cases that only had clinical diagnosis of sirenomelia. Therefore, real prevalence could be even higher. This study did not show any geographic clusters. Because etiology of sirenomelia has not yet been established, studies of epidemiological features of this defect may contribute to define its causes. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:604-611, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Formation and distribution of international tourism flows in geographical space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleksandr Korol

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Properties of geographical space that are of key importance for international tourism, as length and discreteness, are analyzed in the article. Length makes tourists cover distances, whereas discreteness manifests itself in spatial heterogeneity. Tourism in conditions of homogeneous space is vain. That is, heterogeneity brings sense to travels as well as determines their direction. So, the effect of geographical space’s length and spatial heterogeneity on formation and distribution of tourism flows is assessed, international tourism’s geographical essence is disclosed also. Apperception of geographical space in usual environment and its effect on tourist’s original motives are described. Following the bases of behaviorism, the tourism original motives, in particular those for migration, comfort, contrast and aesthetics are substantiated. The motive for migration is a kind of “pushing” tourists outside their usual environment. To stop all fears that may cause anxiety in destination, the latter should guarantee satisfaction of those human needs which A. Maslow refers to as basic needs. The necessity to satisfy these needs forms in tourists the motive for comfort. Closely located destinations in neighboring countries can be of little difference form usual environment. Driven by the motive for contrast, tourists aspire to visit places that totally differ from their usual environment, and contrast (are exotic to it. Thus, the motive for contrast seemingly “pulls” the tourists up to certain (exotic destinations. Finally, following the considered spatial specificities of land surface and tourist-driving original motives, a conceptual model of formation and distribution of international tourism flows in geographical space is developed.

SOLID WASTE: PRESENCE AND THREATIN GEOGRAPHICAL SPACE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clesley Maria Tavares do Nascimento

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the trajectory of the solid waste in different historical periods, configuring them as a constructive element of geographical space. The intention to bring the theme from the timeline perspective, is marked out in the conviction of the inseparability of the categories of space and time and its importance in understanding a geographical phenomenon. The methodological support of this research relied on the documentary type of research involving literature, consultation of secondary sources such as books, academic journals, dissertations and theses on the subject. The results presented and discussed in this paper indicated that the production of waste is adjacent to historical time, reflects societies and techniques that generated them, and is a permanent part of the dialectical process of spatial formation.

U.S.-Mexico Border Geographic Information System

Science.gov (United States)

Parcher, Jean W.

2008-01-01

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the development of extensive geodatabases have become invaluable tools for addressing a variety of contemporary societal issues and for making predictions about the future. The United States-Mexico Geographic Information System (USMX-GIS) is based on fundamental datasets that are produced and/or approved by the national geography agencies of each country, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Y Geografia (INEGI) of Mexico, and the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). The data are available at various scales to allow both regional and local analysis. The USGS and the INEGI have an extensive history of collaboration for transboundary mapping including exchanging digital technology and developing methods for harmonizing seamless national level geospatial datasets for binational environmental monitoring, urban growth analysis, and other scientific applications.

Causes and consequences of timing errors associated with global positioning system collar accelerometer activity monitors

Science.gov (United States)

Adam J. Gaylord; Dana M. Sanchez

2014-01-01

Direct behavioral observations of multiple free-ranging animals over long periods of time and large geographic areas is prohibitively difficult. However, recent improvements in technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) collars equipped with motion-sensitive activity monitors, create the potential to remotely monitor animal behavior. Accelerometer-equipped...

Economic consequences of commercial space operations

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Barbara A.; Wood, Peter W.

1990-01-01

The potential economic benefits generated from increased industry involvement and investment in space activities and the subsequent cost implications are discussed. A historical overview of commercial industry involvement in space is given and sources of new economic growth in space are discussed. These include communications satellites, small satellites, positioning and navigation services, space transportation and infrastructure, remote sensing, and materials processing in space such as the manufacturing of protein crystals and zeolites. Macroeconomic trends and principles such as limits on technology trade, eased restrictions on international joint ventures, foreign investments in U.S. firms, and increased foreign competition are discussed. Earth observations and mapping are considered. Opportunities for private sector involvement in building space infrastructure and space transportation are highlighted.

Transition of Japanese commercial space: What has been lost from the commercial space?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fujioka Tatsuma

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper compares the types of two commercial spaces in modern Japan, shopping mall and “traditional” shopping district called Shotengai, from the viewpoint of commercial space as the third space in the city. Particularly in the discourse of commercial spaces in Japan, "shopping district" has been portrayed tied to nostalgia. Therefore, the transition of commercial space is always accompanied by a discourse of the" Lost." However, there is no unified opinion about what's been lost in the process of this transition in fact. In this paper, we extract the social category by considering focus on discourse for both places. As a specific object I use to target the research papers and journal articles in Japan. Because these documents are discussed by distinct main thesis and based on specific data, I adopt these materials. After extraction of social category, through the comparison of the two discourses, I reveal what kind of nature is the "Lost" at the commercial spaces as the third place in the city. I also discuss how this change is related the changes in Japanese social relationship and community.

Radon investigations - Soil and commercial projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goodwin, R.W.

1987-01-01

The liability issues of radon exposure have prompted potential purchasers of vacant land for commercial/industrial development, and commercial landlords, renting large commercial buildings, to determine the radon gas levels at such sites. This paper deals with both pre-construction sites subject to freezing conditions and to large commercial structures. A correlation of radon gas levels within a commercial building and a sister pre-construction site confirms the validity of using activated charcoal canisters as a cost effective means to combating radon in large structures

Mithra and the Arrangement of Geographical Lists in the Achaemenid and Sasanid Inscriptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

nazanin tamari

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The division of the world is one of the issues that began with the social life of human in all over the world and still continues. The oldest division has mythical and legendary aspects that shows the geographical knowledge or religious and ethnic beliefs of their predecessors. Various geographical divisions can be seen in the ancient Iranians tradition. Each of these divisions follow the specific arrangement of listing the geographical areas, which discussed in this paper. The arrangement of geographical areas in Achaemenid and Sasanin inscriptions and in the Mihr Ya&scaront, the oldest of Avesta, are the same. Because of this similarity can’t be accidental, in this paper the cause of the similarities has been investigated. The arrangement of geographical areas in two lists ( inscriptions and Mihr Ya&scaront shows clockwise (sunwise fashion, that investigated in religious view in this study. Due to the Mithra’s influence on cultural and religious context of the ancient Iranians, for the first time in present paper investigated the role of this god and his influence on the writing the geographical lists in the Achaemenid and Sasanin inscriptions.

A primer of GIS fundamental geographic and cartographic concepts

CERN Document Server

Harvey, Francis

2015-01-01

This accessible text prepares students to understand and work with geographic information systems (GIS), offering a detailed introduction to essential theories, concepts, and skills. The book is organized in four modular parts that can be used in any sequence in entry-level and more specialized courses. Basic cartographic principles are integrated with up-to-date discussions of GIS technologies and applications. Coverage includes everything from what geographic information is to its many uses and societal implications. Practical examples and exercises invite readers to explore the choices invo

Geographic segmentation of users and its use in advertising

OpenAIRE

Dolenc, Blaž

2015-01-01

In modern web advertising the goal is not only deliver an ad to a broad number of customers, but to target particular customers who are more likely to be interested in content. If the user location is known, we can estimate click on ad based on previous visitors. The company Zemanta recognized the need for geographic audience segmentation, and they have invited students to solve their challenge. The goal was geographic segmentation of web pages visitors based on the ZIP code they come from a...

The Geographic Information Grid System Based on Mobile Agent

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2006-01-01

We analyze the deficiencies of current application systems, and discuss the key requirements of distributed Geographic Information service (GIS). We construct the distributed GIS on grid platform. Considering the flexibility and efficiency, we integrate the mobile agent technology into the system. We propose a new prototype system, the Geographic Information Grid System (GIGS) based on mobile agent. This system has flexible services and high performance, and improves the sharing of distributed resources. The service strategy of the system and the examples are also presented.

Comparison of Pulsed-Gel Electrophoresis and a Commercial Repetitive-Element PCR Method for Assessment of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Clustering in Different Health Care Facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Duster, Megan; Warrack, Simone; Maki, Dennis; Safdar, Nasia

2014-01-01

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is a common method used to type methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in nosocomial investigations and epidemiological studies but is time-consuming and methodologically challenging. We compared typing results obtained using a commercial repetitive-element PCR (rep-PCR) system with PFGE in a sample of 86 unique MRSA isolates recovered from subjects in an academic referral hospital and two nursing homes in the same geographic region. Both methods reliably assigned isolates to the same Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pulsotype. PFGE was significantly more discriminatory (Simpson's index of diversity, 0.92 at the 95% strain similarity threshold) than the commercial rep-PCR system (Simpson's index of diversity, 0.58). The global (adjusted Rand coefficient, 0.10) and directional congruence (adjusted Wallace coefficientrepPCR→PFGE = 0.06; adjusted Wallace coefficientPFGE→repPCR = 0.52) between the two methods was low. MRSA strains recovered from study nursing homes that were clonal when typed by the commercial rep-PCR method were frequently noted to be genetically distinct when typed using PFGE. These data suggest that the commercial rep-PCR has less utility than PFGE in small-scale epidemiological assessments of MRSA in health care settings. PMID:24671801

Commercial behaviour of smallholder potato producers: The case of Kombolcha Woreda, eastern part of Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumilachew Melesse Alamerie

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Meeting the challenge of improving rural incomes in Ethiopia will require some form of transformation of the subsistence, low-input and low-productivity farming systems to agricultural commercialization. In the process, commercial production of high value food crops like potato would have been expected. Nonetheless, in the study area, Kombolcha Woreda, the extent to which farmers have commercialized potato production was not known. This study was then undertaken to analyse the extent to which potato was oriented towards the market (denoted by commercialization index and identify the factors affecting commercialization of potato. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 130 sample households from six sample kebeles. In the study, both primary and secondary data sources were used. Results showed that potato production was lucrative and semi-commercialized i.e. about 59.50% of the potato produce were sold. Moreover, the two limit-Tobit regression model results indicated that non/off farm income, access to information, access to improved seed and access to irrigation affect proportion of the value of potato sold positively and significantly while number of plots affects it negatively. Hence, policies should emphasis on reducing land fragmentation, creating awareness on non/off farm employment, and offer improved seeds and irrigation facilities to farmers and access information.

Semi-commercialization of PVP-carrageenan hydrogel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Relleve, Lorna S.; Abad, Lucille V.; Aranilla, Charito T.; Dela Rosa, A.M.

2008-01-01

The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) has developed the PVP-Carrageenan hydrogel wound dressing by radiation processing. The PVP-Carrageenan hydrogel has undergone clinical testing for burn and bedsores. It has already a pending patent application (No. 1-2000-02471) at the Philippine Patent Office. The techno-economic feasibility study has also been completed. In order to commercialize this product, a project on semi-commercialization in partnership with the investor was proposed to Technology Incubation for Commercialization (TECHNICOM), a technology transfer program of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). TECHNICOM was established in 2003 under the National Science and Technology Plan (2002-2020) as a strategic technology transfer program. The program aims to identify key technological breakthroughs especially those generated by R and D institutes. It can intervene through the following: technology assessment/commercial prototype development; business plan/feasibility study preparation; intellectual property rights protection; technology valuation negotiation and licensing; semi-commercial production assistance and training/consultancy services. High technology applications with commercial potentials are given priority. Under semi-commercialization stage, government funds will be provided to match private sector investment in the commercial application of a particular technology innovation. This will lessen the risk of commercialization and ensure commitment from the investors. Commercial success in the shortest time is ensured since scientist can then work closely with the private sector at the production floor while testing the gaps in the technology. (author)

Cultural and economic determinants of geographical mortality patterns in The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mackenbach, J. P.; Kunst, A. E.; Looman, C. W.

1991-01-01

STUDY OBJECTIVE--The geographical pattern of mortality in The Netherlands is dominated by an area of relatively high mortality in the southern part of the country. The aim was to analyse the background of this geographical mortality pattern in the early 1980s, and its evolution over time since the

Campylobacter jejuni in commercial eggs.

Science.gov (United States)

Fonseca, Belchiolina Beatriz; Beletti, Marcelo Emílio; de Melo, Roberta Torres; Mendonça, Eliane Pereira; Coelho, Letícia Ríspoli; Nalevaiko, Priscila Christen; Rossi, Daise Aparecida

2014-01-01

This study evaluated the ability of Campylobacter jejuni to penetrate through the pores of the shells of commercial eggs and colonize the interior of these eggs, which may become a risk factor for human infection. Furthermore, this study assessed the survival and viability of the bacteria in commercial eggs. The eggs were placed in contact with wood shavings infected with C. jejuni to check the passage of the bacteria. In parallel, the bacteria were inoculated directly into the air chamber to assess the viability in the egg yolk. To determine whether the albumen and egg fertility interferes with the entry and survival of bacteria, we used varying concentrations of albumen and SPF and commercial eggs. C. jejuni was recovered in SPF eggs (fertile) after three hours in contact with contaminated wood shavings but not in infertile commercial eggs. The colonies isolated in the SPF eggs were identified by multiplex PCR and the similarity between strains verified by RAPD-PCR. The bacteria grew in different concentrations of albumen in commercial and SPF eggs. We did not find C. jejuni in commercial eggs inoculated directly into the air chamber, but the bacteria were viable during all periods tested in the wood shavings. This study shows that consumption of commercial eggs infected with C. jejuni does not represent a potential risk to human health.

Geographical PCB and DDT patterns in shearwaters (Calonectris sp.) breeding across the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean archipelagos.

Science.gov (United States)

Roscales, Jose L; Muñoz-Arnanz, Juan; González-Solís, Jacob; Jiménez, Begoña

2010-04-01

Although seabirds have been proposed as useful biomonitors for organochlorine contaminants (OCs) in marine environments, their suitability is still unclear. To understand the geographic variability and the influence of seabird trophic ecology in OC levels, we analyzed PCBs, DDTs, delta(13)C, and delta(15)N in the blood of adult Calonectris shearwaters throughout a vast geographic range within the northeast Atlantic Ocean (from Cape Verde to Azores) and the Mediterranean Sea (from the Alboran Sea to Crete). OC concentrations were greater in birds from the Mediterranean than in those from the Atlantic colonies, showing higher and lower chlorinated PCB profiles, respectively. This large-scale pattern may reflect the influence of historical European runoffs in the Mediterranean basin and diffused sources for OCs in remote Atlantic islands. Spatial patterns also emerged within the Atlantic basin, probably associated with pollutant long-range transport and recent inputs of DDT in the food webs of shearwaters from Cape Verde and the Canary islands. Moreover, a positive association of OC concentrations with delta(15)N within each locality points out diet specialization as a major factor explaining differences in OCs at the intraspecific level. Overall, this study highlights wide range breeding seabirds, such as Calonectris shearwaters, as suitable organisms for biomonitoring large geographic trends of organochlorine contamination in the marine environment.

The research on data organization technology in the highway geographic information system

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Zhihui; Wu, Fang; Zeng, Yuhuai

2008-10-01

Data are the basis of GIS. It has direct impact on the efficiency and function of a Highway Geographic Information System (HGIS), because of the characteristics of data model and data organization of the traffic geographic information system such as spatial property, multi-path network, linearity. This paper discussed the data property of HGIS, studied and presented the HGIS spatial data on multi-source and model. Also, it described and verified highway geographical feature of special subject data's linearity, dynamic and multiple-path network property in HGIS.

TV commercial and rTMS: can brain lateralization give us information about consumer preference?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federica Leanza

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The current research aimed at investigating the brain lateralization effect in response to TV advertising of different commercial sectors. This study explored the effects of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC stimulation on subjective evaluation (semantic differential, in response to some consumer goods. We adopted rTMS (low-frequency 1Hz on left and right DLPFC to modulate the consumers’ (N=thirty-three response during the vision of five commercials. After three hours from the first evaluation of TV commercials without stimulation, rTMS was delivered in brain frontal areas (F3 and F4 areas before the vision of each stimulus. Following the stimulation, subjects evaluated advertising a second time by using the same semantic differential. An increase of TV commercials preference occurred in subjects who were inhibited on right DLPFC; while a decrease of advertising preference was shown in subjects who were inhibited on left DLPFC. These results reveal the important role of DLPFC for emotions’ elaboration. In particular, the left and right DLPFC seem to be related respectively to positive and negative evaluation of emotional stimuli.

48 CFR 12.213 - Other commercial practices.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Other commercial practices... ACQUISITION PLANNING ACQUISITION OF COMMERCIAL ITEMS Special Requirements for the Acquisition of Commercial Items 12.213 Other commercial practices. It is a common practice in the commercial marketplace for both...

Continental-scale footprint of balancing and positive selection in a small rodent (Microtus arvalis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin C Fischer

Full Text Available Genetic adaptation to different environmental conditions is expected to lead to large differences between populations at selected loci, thus providing a signature of positive selection. Whereas balancing selection can maintain polymorphisms over long evolutionary periods and even geographic scale, thus leads to low levels of divergence between populations at selected loci. However, little is known about the relative importance of these two selective forces in shaping genomic diversity, partly due to difficulties in recognizing balancing selection in species showing low levels of differentiation. Here we address this problem by studying genomic diversity in the European common vole (Microtus arvalis presenting high levels of differentiation between populations (average F ST = 0.31. We studied 3,839 Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP markers genotyped in 444 individuals from 21 populations distributed across the European continent and hence over different environmental conditions. Our statistical approach to detect markers under selection is based on a Bayesian method specifically developed for AFLP markers, which treats AFLPs as a nearly codominant marker system, and therefore has increased power to detect selection. The high number of screened populations allowed us to detect the signature of balancing selection across a large geographic area. We detected 33 markers potentially under balancing selection, hence strong evidence of stabilizing selection in 21 populations across Europe. However, our analyses identified four-times more markers (138 being under positive selection, and geographical patterns suggest that some of these markers are probably associated with alpine regions, which seem to have environmental conditions that favour adaptation. We conclude that despite favourable conditions in this study for the detection of balancing selection, this evolutionary force seems to play a relatively minor role in shaping the genomic

Segmentasi dan Positioning Jasa Pendidikan di MAN Yogyakarta III

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atika

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This research discusses about the segmentation and the position of education services in order to determine its implementation in Islamic Educational Institutions. This is a qualitative research with the primary respondent for all the school community who are involving in the marketing process. This research used phenomenological approach, while the data was collected using observation method, indepth interviews, documentation and triangulation. The results indicates that: (1 MAN Yogyakarta III defines market segmentation by applying multiple segmentation approach, namely: (a demographic segmentation, (b geographic segmentation, (c psychographic segmentation, (d psychological segmentation, and (e benefit segmentation. (2 MAN Yogyakarta III determines the position of educational services in the academic field with the development of the brand “Madrasah of The Champions” that leads to the vision of MAYOGA, namely Ultraprima. Market segmentation is the first thing that must be accomplished by the madrasah to achieve optimum marketing results, followed by positioning. Position or image formed by the institutions has a dominant role in influencing public attitudes toward madrasah

Investigating the role of commercialization on purchase intention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naser Azad

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a study to determine the role of commercialization on purchase intention in auto industry. The study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale and distributes it among some randomly selected people who lived in city of Tehran, Iran. The study investigates the effects of four factors including competitive condition, product development strategy, competitive advantage and economic growth on customers’ intention to purchase. Using structural equation modeling the study has determined a positive and meaningful relationship between each four components and purchase intention. In our study, the highest impact belongs to competitive condition followed by product development strategy.