Global Trend Analysis of Multi-decade Soil Temperature Records Show Soils Resistant to Warming

Science.gov (United States)

Frey, S. D.; Jennings, K.

2017-12-01

Soil temperature is an important determinant of many subterranean ecological processes including plant growth, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. Soils are expected to warm in response to increasing global surface temperatures; however, despite the importance of soil temperature to ecosystem processes, less attention has been given to examining changes in soil temperature over time. We collected long-term (> 20 years) soil temperature records from approximately 50 sites globally, many with multiple depths (5 - 100 cm), and examined temperature trends over the last few decades. For each site and depth we calculated annual summer means and conducted non-parametric Mann Kendall trend and Sen slope analysis to assess changes in summer soil temperature over the length of each time series. The mean summer soil temperature trend across all sites and depths was not significantly different than zero (mean = 0.004 °C year-1 ± 0.033 SD), suggesting that soils have not warmed over the observation period. Of the subset of sites that exhibit significant increases in temperature over time, site location, depth of measurement, time series length, and neither start nor end date seem to be related to trend strength. These results provide evidence that the thermal regime of soils may have a stronger buffering capacity than expected, having important implications for the global carbon cycle and feedbacks to climate change.

A statistical approach to bioclimatic trend detection in the airborne pollen records of Catalonia (NE Spain)

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro; Belmonte, Jordina; Delgado, Rosario; De Linares, Concepción

2014-04-01

Airborne pollen records are a suitable indicator for the study of climate change. The present work focuses on the role of annual pollen indices for the detection of bioclimatic trends through the analysis of the aerobiological spectra of 11 taxa of great biogeographical relevance in Catalonia over an 18-year period (1994-2011), by means of different parametric and non-parametric statistical methods. Among others, two non-parametric rank-based statistical tests were performed for detecting monotonic trends in time series data of the selected airborne pollen types and we have observed that they have similar power in detecting trends. Except for those cases in which the pollen data can be well-modeled by a normal distribution, it is better to apply non-parametric statistical methods to aerobiological studies. Our results provide a reliable representation of the pollen trends in the region and suggest that greater pollen quantities are being liberated to the atmosphere in the last years, specially by Mediterranean taxa such as Pinus, Total Quercus and Evergreen Quercus, although the trends may differ geographically. Longer aerobiological monitoring periods are required to corroborate these results and survey the increasing levels of certain pollen types that could exert an impact in terms of public health.

Description of the hitherto unknown males of Argiope reinwardti (Doleschall, 1859) and Cyrtophora monulfi Chrysanthus, 1960 (Araneae, Argiopidae)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chrysanthus, Fr.

1972-01-01

During 1970 Dr. M. H. Robinson, Mrs. B. Robinson and Miss Y. Lubin, of the Bishop Museum Field Station in Wau (T.P.N.G.) studied Argiopid spiders in that part of eastern New Guinea. They collected many specimens and sent them to me for identification. Among these materials there were the hitherto

Holocene climate aridification trend and human impact interrupted by millennial- and centennial-scale climate fluctuations from a new sedimentary record from Padul (Sierra Nevada, southern Iberian Peninsula

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. J. Ramos-Román

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Holocene centennial-scale paleoenvironmental variability has been described in a multiproxy analysis (i.e., lithology, geochemistry, macrofossil, and microfossil analyses of a paleoecological record from the Padul Basin in Sierra Nevada, southern Iberian Peninsula. This sequence covers a relevant time interval hitherto unreported in the studies of the Padul sedimentary sequence. The  ∼  4700-year record has preserved proxies of climate variability, with vegetation, lake levels, and sedimentological change during the Holocene in one of the most unique and southernmost wetlands in Europe. The progressive middle and late Holocene trend toward arid conditions identified by numerous authors in the western Mediterranean region, mostly related to a decrease in summer insolation, is also documented in this record; here it is also superimposed by centennial-scale variability in humidity. In turn, this record shows centennial-scale climate oscillations in temperature that correlate with well-known climatic events during the late Holocene in the western Mediterranean region, synchronous with variability in solar and atmospheric dynamics. The multiproxy Padul record first shows a transition from a relatively humid middle Holocene in the western Mediterranean region to more aridity from  ∼  4700 to  ∼  2800 cal yr BP. A relatively warm and humid period occurred between  ∼  2600 and  ∼  1600 cal yr BP, coinciding with persistent negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO conditions and the historic Iberian–Roman Humid Period. Enhanced arid conditions, co-occurring with overall positive NAO conditions and increasing solar activity, are observed between  ∼  1550 and  ∼  450 cal yr BP (∼  400 to  ∼  1400 CE and colder and warmer conditions occurred during the Dark Ages and Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA, respectively. Slightly wetter conditions took place during the end of

High-resolution record of pyrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon deposition during the 20th century.

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, Ana Lúcia C; Eglinton, Timothy I; Reddy, Christopher M

2003-01-01

A high-resolution record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) deposition in Rhode Island over the past approximately 180 years was constructed using a sediment core from the anoxic Pettaquamscutt River basin. The record showed significantly more structure than has hitherto been reported and revealed four distinct maxima in PAH flux. The characteristic increase in PAH flux at the turn of the 20th century was captured in detail, leading to an initial maximum prior to the Great Depression. The overall peak in PAH flux in the 1950s was followed by a maximum that immediately preceded the 1973 Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil embargo. During the most recent portion of the record, an abrupt increase in PAH flux between 1996 and 1999 has been found to follow a period of near constant fluxes. Because source-diagnostic ratios indicate that petrogenic inputs are minor throughout the record, these trends are interpreted in terms of past variations in the magnitude and type of combustion processes. For the most recent PAH maximum, energy consumption data suggest that diesel fuel combustion, and hence traffic of heavier vehicles, is the most probable cause for the increase in PAH flux. Systematic variations in the relative abundance of individual PAHs in conjunction with the above changes in flux are interpreted in relation to the evolution of combustion processes. Coronene, retene, and perylene are notable exceptions, exhibiting unique down-core profiles.

Use and Limitations of a Climate-Quality Data Record to Study Temperature Trends on the Greenland Ice Sheet

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Dorothy K.; Comiso, Josefino C.; Shuman, Christopher A.; Koenig, Lora S.; DiGirolamo, Nicolo E.

2011-01-01

Enhanced melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet has been documented in recent literature along with surface-temperature increases measured using infrared satellite data since 1981. Using a recently-developed climate-quality data record, 11- and 12-year trends in the clear-sky ice-surface temperature (IST) of the Greenland Ice Sheet have been studied using the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) IST product. Daily and monthly MODIS ISTs of the Greenland Ice Sheet beginning on 1 March 2000 and continuing through 31 December 2010 are now available at 6.25-km spatial resolution on a polar stereographic grid as described in Hall et al. (submitted). This record will be elevated in status to a climate-data record (CDR) when more years of data become available either from the MODIS on the Terra or Aqua satellites, or from the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to be launched in October 2011. Maps showing the maximum extent of melt for the entire ice sheet and for the six major drainage basins have been developed from the MODIS IST dataset. Twelve-year trends of the duration of the melt season on the ice sheet vary in different drainage basins with some basins melting progressively earlier over the course of the study period. Some (but not all) of the basins also show a progressively-longer duration of melt. IST 12-year trends are compared with in-situ data, and climate data from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) Reanalysis.

First records of Melilotus albus Medik. (Fabaceae, Faboideae) in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hassemer, Gustavo; Ramos Ferreira, João Paulo; Adriano Funez, Luís

2015-01-01

Melilotus albus Medik. is a cosmopolite and invasive species, native to the Old World, which in Brazil had its occurrence hitherto recorded only in the states of São Paulo, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. This study extends its distribution to Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil, due to the recen...

Modern trends in activation analysis. Vols. 1 and 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henkelmann, R; Kim, J I; Lux, F; Staerk, H; Zeisler, R [eds.

1976-01-01

Two volumes contain 164 special papers presented at the international conference on activation analysis, including five plenary lectures which give a general survey of modern trends and possibilities of applications in fields where activation analysis is capable of solving problems which are hitherto unsolved. The emphasis during this meeting is put on applications, though other subjects (e.g. sampling, homogeneity of samples, instrumental development, computer evaluation of gamma spectra, comparisons with other analytical methods) are also dealt with. The proceedings contain lectures on applications in the fields of biology, biomedicine, archaeology, the arts, forensic sciences, environmental research, ecology, materials research, geo- and cosmo-sciences, and other individual applications.

Striking trends in the incidence of health problems in the Netherlands (2002-05): findings from a new method for record linkage in general practice.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Biermans, M.C.J.; Spreeuwenberg, P.; Verheij, R.A.; Bakker, D.H. de; Vries Robbé, P.F. de; Zielhuis, G.A.

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to detect striking trends based on a new strategy for monitoring public health. METHODS: We used data over 4 years from electronic medical records of a large, nationally representative network of general practices. Episodes were either directly recorded by general

Historical trends of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) recorded in sediments across the Tibetan Plateau.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Ruiqiang; Xie, Ting; Yang, Handong; Turner, Simon; Wu, Guangjian

2018-02-01

Sediment cores from four lakes across the Tibetan Plateau were used as natural archives to study the time trends of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). The total concentrations of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ΣDDT) and hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (ΣHCH) were in the range of 0.04-1.61 and 0.08-1.88 ng/g based on dry weight (dw), while the input fluxes were in the range of 0.3-236 and 0.7-295 pg/cm 2 /y in the core sediments, respectively. The input fluxes of ΣDDT and ΣHCH generally peaked in sediment layers corresponding to the 1970s-1990s and peaked in top sediment layers. The ratio of α/γ-HCH decreased in the top layer sediments, implying that the contribution of lindane (pure γ-HCH) has been increasing in recent years. In addition, the ratio of o,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDT increased significantly over the last 15-20 years, suggesting that dicofol (characterized by high ratio of o,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDT about 7.0) has recently become a relatively more important source of DDT compared to technical DDT itself. The time trends of OCPs recorded in lake sediments examined the impact on such remote alpine regions by human activities.

Salsola sp. A of Flora Zambesiaca from the coast of Mozambique is Caroxylon littoralis (Amaranthaceae subfam. Salsoloideae), hitherto only known from Madagascar

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friis, Ib; Holt, Sune

2017-01-01

We have identified plants from the coast of the Inhambane Province, Mozambique, with the incompletely known species Salsola sp. A of Flora Zambesiaca and with Caroxylon littoralis (Moq.) Akhani & Roalson (Salsola littoralis Moq.), a species hitherto believed to be endemic to Madagascar and Île...

Automated data extraction from general practice records in an Australian setting: trends in influenza-like illness in sentinel general practices and emergency departments.

Science.gov (United States)

Liljeqvist, Gösta T H; Staff, Michael; Puech, Michele; Blom, Hans; Torvaldsen, Siranda

2011-06-06

Influenza intelligence in New South Wales (NSW), Australia is derived mainly from emergency department (ED) presentations and hospital and intensive care admissions, which represent only a portion of influenza-like illness (ILI) in the population. A substantial amount of the remaining data lies hidden in general practice (GP) records. Previous attempts in Australia to gather ILI data from GPs have given them extra work. We explored the possibility of applying automated data extraction from GP records in sentinel surveillance in an Australian setting.The two research questions asked in designing the study were: Can syndromic ILI data be extracted automatically from routine GP data? How do ILI trends in sentinel general practice compare with ILI trends in EDs? We adapted a software program already capable of automated data extraction to identify records of patients with ILI in routine electronic GP records in two of the most commonly used commercial programs. This tool was applied in sentinel sites to gather retrospective data for May-October 2007-2009 and in real-time for the same interval in 2010. The data were compared with that provided by the Public Health Real-time Emergency Department Surveillance System (PHREDSS) and with ED data for the same periods. The GP surveillance tool identified seasonal trends in ILI both retrospectively and in near real-time. The curve of seasonal ILI was more responsive and less volatile than that of PHREDSS on a local area level. The number of weekly ILI presentations ranged from 8 to 128 at GP sites and from 0 to 18 in EDs in non-pandemic years. Automated data extraction from routine GP records offers a means to gather data without introducing any additional work for the practitioner. Adding this method to current surveillance programs will enhance their ability to monitor ILI and to detect early warning signals of new ILI events.

The Trend of Mean BMI Values of US Adults, Birth Cohorts 1882-1986 Indicates that the Obesity Epidemic began Earlier than Hitherto Thought

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Komlos, J.; Brabec, Marek

2010-01-01

Roč. 22, č. 5 (2010), s. 631-638 ISSN 1042-0533 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10300504 Keywords : BMI * semiparametric model * generalized additive model * trend estimation * birth cohort effects Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 2.021, year: 2010

Trend Analysis of Pahang River Using Non-Parametric Analysis: Mann Kendalls Trend Test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nur Hishaam Sulaiman; Mohd Khairul Amri Kamarudin; Mohd Khairul Amri Kamarudin; Ahmad Dasuki Mustafa; Muhammad Azizi Amran; Fazureen Azaman; Ismail Zainal Abidin; Norsyuhada Hairoma

2015-01-01

Flood is common in Pahang especially during northeast monsoon season from November to February. Three river cross station: Lubuk Paku, Sg. Yap and Temerloh were selected as area of this study. The stream flow and water level data were gathered from DID record. Data set for this study were analysed by using non-parametric analysis, Mann-Kendall Trend Test. The results that obtained from stream flow and water level analysis indicate that there are positively significant trend for Lubuk Paku (0.001) and Sg. Yap (<0.0001) from 1972-2011 with the p-value < 0.05. Temerloh (0.178) data from 1963-2011 recorded no trend for stream flow parameter but negative trend for water level parameter. Hydrological pattern and trend are extremely affected by outside factors such as north east monsoon season that occurred in South China Sea and affected Pahang during November to March. There are other factors such as development and management of the areas which can be considered as factors affected the data and results. Hydrological Pattern is important to indicate the river trend such as stream flow and water level. It can be used as flood mitigation by local authorities. (author)

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2011-01-01

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

Rapidly Increasing Trend of Recorded Alcohol Consumption Since the End of the Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka.

Science.gov (United States)

Nugawela, Manjula D; Lewis, Sarah; Szatkowski, Lisa; Langley, Tessa

2017-09-01

To evaluate temporal changes in recorded alcohol consumption in Sri Lanka during and after the armed conflict 1998-2013. District level alcohol sales, and mid-year population data for the whole study period (1998-2013) were consistently available from the Department of Excise and the Department of Census and Statistics for 18 of 25 districts. These data were used to estimate the recorded per capita consumption for the areas that were not directly exposed to the armed conflict. An interrupted time series design was employed to estimate the impact of the end of the armed conflict on recorded adult per capita alcohol consumption of population lived in the 18 districts. Adult per capita recorded alcohol consumption among Sri Lankans living in the 18 districts was 1.59 l of pure alcohol in 1998. This increased up to 2.07 l in 2009 and 2.55 l in 2013. Prior to the end of the conflict in 2009 adult per capita recorded consumption increased by 0.051 l of pure alcohol per year (95% CI: 0.029-0.074, P increased markedly after the end of the conflict. Rapid socio-economic development, alcohol industry penetration and lack of alcohol control strategies during the post-conflict period may have driven this increase. Adult per capita recorded alcohol consumption among Sri Lankans living in 18 districts that were not directly exposed to the armed conflict increased markedly after the end of the conflict in 2009, with a dramatic acceleration in the trend of per capita beer consumption. © The Author 2017. Medical Council on Alcohol and Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Sulfur Isotope Trends in Archean Microbialite Facies Record Early Oxygen Production and Consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Zerkle, A.; Meyer, N.; Izon, G.; Poulton, S.; Farquhar, J.; Claire, M.

2014-12-01

The major and minor sulfur isotope composition (δ34S and Δ33S) of pyrites preserved in ~2.65-2.5 billion-year-old (Ga) microbialites record localized oxygen production and consumption near the mat surface. These trends are preserved in two separate drill cores (GKF01 and BH1-Sacha) transecting the Campbellrand-Malmani carbonate platform (Ghaap Group, Transvaal Supergroup, South Africa; Zerkle et al., 2012; Izon et al., in review). Microbialite pyrites possess positive Δ33S values, plotting parallel to typical Archean trends (with a Δ33S/δ34S slope of ~0.9) but enriched in 34S by ~3 to 7‰. We propose that these 34S-enriched pyrites were formed from a residual pool of sulfide that was partially oxidized via molecular oxygen produced by surface mat-dwelling cyanobacteria. Sulfide, carrying the range of Archean Δ33S values, could have been produced deeper within the microbial mat by the reduction of sulfate and elemental sulfur, then fractionated upon reaction with O2 produced by oxygenic photosynthesis. Preservation of this positive 34S offset requires that: 1) sulfide was only partially (50­­-80%) consumed by oxidation, meaning H2S was locally more abundant (or more rapidly produced) than O2, and 2) the majority of the sulfate produced via oxidation was not immediately reduced to sulfide, implying either that the sulfate pool was much larger than the sulfide pool, or that the sulfate formed near the mat surface was transported and reduced in another part of the system. Contrastingly, older microbialite facies (> 2.7 Ga; Thomazo et al., 2013) appear to lack these observed 34S enrichments. Consequently, the onset of 34S enrichments could mark a shift in mat ecology, from communities dominated by anoxygenic photosynthesizers to cyanobacteria. Here, we test these hypotheses with new spatially resolved mm-scale trends in sulfur isotope measurements from pyritized stromatolites of the Vryburg Formation, sampled in the lower part of the BH1-Sacha core. Millimeter

High-resolution record of Northern Hemisphere climate extending into the last interglacial period

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

North Greenland Ice Core Project members; Andersen, Katrine K.; Azuma, N.

2004-01-01

Two deep ice cores from central Greenland, drilled in the 1990s, have played a key role in climate reconstructions of the Northern Hemisphere, but the oldest sections of the cores were disturbed in chronology owing to ice folding near the bedrock. Here we present an undisturbed climate record from...... the initiation of the last glacial period. Our record reveals a hitherto unrecognized warm period initiated by an abrupt climate warming about 115,000 years ago, before glacial conditions were fully developed. This event does not appear to have an immediate Antarctic counterpart, suggesting that the climate see......-saw between the hemispheres (which dominated the last glacial period) was not operating at this time....

Exploring the Link Between Streamflow Trends and Climate Change in Indiana, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, S.; Kam, J.; Thurner, K.; Merwade, V.

2007-12-01

Streamflow trends in Indiana are evaluated for 85 USGS streamflow gaging stations that have continuous unregulated streamflow records varying from 10 to 80 years. The trends are analyzed by using the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test with prior trend-free pre-whitening to remove serial correlation in the data. Bootstrap method is used to establish field significance of the results. Trends are computed for 12 streamflow statistics to include low-, medium- (median and mean flow), and high-flow conditions on annual and seasonal time step. The analysis is done for six study periods, ranging from 10 years to more than 65 years, all ending in 2003. The trends in annual average streamflow, for 50 years study period, are compared with annual average precipitation trends from 14 National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) stations in Indiana, that have 50 years of continuous daily record. The results show field significant positive trends in annual low and medium streamflow statistics at majority of gaging stations for study periods that include 40 or more years of records. In seasonal analysis, all flow statistics in summer and fall (low flow seasons), and only low flow statistics in winter and spring (high flow seasons) are showing positive trends. No field significant trends in annual and seasonal flow statistics are observed for study periods that include 25 or fewer years of records, except for northern Indiana where localized negative trends are observed in 10 and 15 years study periods. Further, stream flow trends are found to be highly correlated with precipitation trends on annual time step. No apparent climate change signal is observed in Indiana stream flow records.

Cultural, Economic and Societal Impacts on Users’ Behaviour and Mobile Broadband Adoption Trends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahdi H. Miraz

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The diverse range of Internet enabled devices both mobile and fixed has not only impacted the global economy but the very fabric of human communications and lifestyles. The ease of access and lowered cost has enabled hitherto diametrically opposed people to interact and influence each other globally. The consequence of which is the dire need to address the way culture affects interaction with information systems across the world. The many facets of which encompasses human behaviour, socio-economic and cultural factors including lifestyles and the way of interaction with the information system. The study group involved participants from Bangladesh and the United Kingdom to ascertain the users’ behavioural patterns and mobile broadband technology diffusion trends.

A hitherto unknown edition of the Spanish Psalter by Abraham Usque (Ferrara 1554

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leoni, Aron di Leone

2001-06-01

Full Text Available The Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele in Roma owns a Psalter in Spanish published in 1554 by Abraham Usque. It is the matter of a hitherto unknown second edition of the Psalterium printed in Ferrara in 1553. From the «Prologo» we learn that Abraham Usque was not only a simple printer but also the editor and one of the translators of this book. He also stated to have worked at the translation of the Biblia en lengua Española (Ferrara 1553 together with eminent scholars.

En la Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele de Roma se conserva un Salterio en español publicado en 1554 por Abraham Usque. Se trata de una segunda edición hasta ahora desconocida de su Psalterium impreso en Ferrara en 1553. Por su «Prologo» sabemos que Abraham Usque no actuó sólo como un mero impresor sino que también participó en la edición y fue uno de los traductores del libro. En dicho «Prologo» afirma asimismo que, junto con otros eminentes eruditos, había trabajado en la traducción de la Biblia en lengua Española (Ferrara 1553.

National electronic health records and the digital disruption of moral orders.

Science.gov (United States)

Garrety, Karin; McLoughlin, Ian; Wilson, Rob; Zelle, Gregor; Martin, Mike

2014-01-01

The digitalisation of patient health data to provide national electronic health record systems (NEHRS) is a major objective of many governments. Proponents claim that NEHRS will streamline care, reduce mistakes and cut costs. However, building these systems has proved highly problematic. Using recent developments in Australia as an example, we argue that a hitherto unexamined source of difficulty concerns the way NEHRS disrupt the moral orders governing the production, ownership, use of and responsibility for health records. Policies that pursue digitalisation as a self-evident 'solution' to problems in healthcare without due regard to these disruptions risk alienating key stakeholders. We propose a more emergent approach to the development and implementation of NEHRS that supports moral re-ordering around rights and responsibilities appropriate to the intentions of those involved in healthcare relationships. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oak Ridge Reservation Bird Records and Population Trends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roy, W. K. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Giffen, N. R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Wade, M. C. [CDM Smith (United States); Haines, A. M. [Xcel Engineering, Inc.(United States); Evans, J. W. [Tennessee WIldlife Resources Agency (WRA), Nashville, TN (United States); Jett, R. T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2014-09-01

Bird data have been collected through surveys, environmental assessments, and other observations for decades in the Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park, located on the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in East Tennessee. Birds were recorded in a variety of habitats, including wetlands, interior forests, grasslands, ponds, corridors, forest edges, and more. Most of the information was gathered from waterfowl surveys conducted from 1990 to 2008, from Partners in Flight (PIF) breeding bird surveys conducted from 1995 to 2013, and from past publications and research on Reservation birds. We have also included our own observations and, in a few instances, credible observations of ORR birds of which we have been made aware through eBird or discussions with area ornithologists and bird watchers. For the period 1950-2014, we were able to document 228 species of birds on the ORR. Several of these species are known from historic records only, while others were not known to have ever occurred on the Reservation until recently. This report does not include PIF breeding bird data from the 2014 season or any records after July 2014. Twenty-two species--approximately 10% of the total number of species observed--have state-listed status in Tennessee as endangered, threatened, or in need of management. Of the 228 species we documented, 120 are believed to be breeding birds on the ORR.

Oak Ridge Reservation Bird Records and Population Trends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roy, W. Kelly [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Giffen, Neil R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Wade, Murray [CDM Smith, Inc., Knoxville, TN (United States); Haines, Angelina [Xcel Engineering, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Evans, James W. [Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Nashville, TN (United States); Jett, Robert Trent [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2014-11-01

Bird data have been collected through surveys, environmental assessments, and other observations for decades in the Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park, located on the US Department of Energy s Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in East Tennessee. Birds were recorded in a variety of habitats, including wetlands, interior forests, grasslands, ponds, corridors, forest edges, and more. Most of the information was gathered from waterfowl surveys conducted from 1990 to 2008, from Partners in Flight (PIF) breeding bird surveys conducted from 1995 to 2013, and from past publications and research on Reservation birds. We have also included our own observations and, in a few instances, credible observations of ORR birds of which we have been made aware through eBird or discussions with area ornithologists and bird watchers. For the period 1950 2014, we were able to document 228 species of birds on the ORR. Several of these species are known from historic records only, while others were not known to have ever occurred on the Reservation until recently. This report does not include PIF breeding bird data from the 2014 season or any records after July 2014. Twenty-two species approximately 10% of the total number of species observed have state-listed status in Tennessee as endangered, threatened, or in need of management. Of the 228 species we documented, 120 are believed to be breeding birds on the ORR.

Sea level trends in Southeast Asian seas

Science.gov (United States)

Strassburg, M. W.; Hamlington, B. D.; Leben, R. R.; Manurung, P.; Lumban Gaol, J.; Nababan, B.; Vignudelli, S.; Kim, K.-Y.

2015-05-01

Southeast Asian seas span the largest archipelago in the global ocean and provide a complex oceanic pathway connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans. The Southeast Asian sea regional sea level trends are some of the highest observed in the modern satellite altimeter record that now spans almost 2 decades. Initial comparisons of global sea level reconstructions find that 17-year sea level trends over the past 60 years exhibit good agreement with decadal variability associated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and related fluctuations of trade winds in the region. The Southeast Asian sea region exhibits sea level trends that vary dramatically over the studied time period. This historical variation suggests that the strong regional sea level trends observed during the modern satellite altimeter record will abate as trade winds fluctuate on decadal and longer timescales. Furthermore, after removing the contribution of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) to sea level trends in the past 20 years, the rate of sea level rise is greatly reduced in the Southeast Asian sea region. As a result of the influence of the PDO, the Southeast Asian sea regional sea level trends during the 2010s and 2020s are likely to be less than the global mean sea level (GMSL) trend if the observed oscillations in wind forcing and sea level persist. Nevertheless, long-term sea level trends in the Southeast Asian seas will continue to be affected by GMSL rise occurring now and in the future.

De-trending of turbulence measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose; Larsen, Gunner Chr.

2007-01-01

based on time series statistics only. The performance of the proposed de-trending algorithm is assessed using huge number of time series recorded at different types of terrain and orography. The strategy is the following: Based on the available time series information a conventional (linear) time series...... de-trending is performed and subsequently compared with the prediction from the proposed algorithm. The de-trended turbulence intensities are reduced in the range of 3 – 15 % compared to the raw turbulence intensity. The performed analysis shows that the proposed model, based on statistical...... this requires access to the basic time-series. However, including a suitable modelling of the mean wind speed time variation, it is possible to estimate an approximate (linear) trend correction based on statistical data only. This paper presents such an algorithm for de-trending of turbulence standard deviation...

Tephrostratigraphy the DEEP site record, Lake Ohrid

Science.gov (United States)

Leicher, N.; Zanchetta, G.; Sulpizio, R.; Giaccio, B.; Wagner, B.; Francke, A.

2016-12-01

In the central Mediterranean region, tephrostratigraphy has been proofed to be a suitable and powerful tool for dating and correlating marine and terrestrial records. However, for the period older 200 ka, tephrostratigraphy is incomplete and restricted to some Italian continental basins (e.g. Sulmona, Acerno, Mercure), and continuous records downwind of the Italian volcanoes are rare. Lake Ohrid (Macedonia/Albania) in the eastern Mediterranean region fits this requisite and is assumed to be the oldest continuously existing lake of Europe. A continous record (DEEP) was recovered within the scope of the ICDP deep-drilling campaign SCOPSCO (Scientific Collaboration on Past Speciation Conditions in Lake Ohrid). In the uppermost 450 meters of the record, covering more than 1.2 Myrs of Italian volcanism, 54 tephra layers were identified during core-opening and description. A first tephrostratigraphic record was established for the uppermost 248 m ( 637 ka). Major element analyses (EDS/WDS) were carried out on juvenile glass fragments and 15 out of 35 tephra layers have been identified and correlated with known and dated eruptions of Italian volcanoes. Existing 40Ar/39Ar ages were re-calculated by using the same flux standard and used as first order tie points to develop a robust chronology for the DEEP site succession. Between 248 and 450 m of the DEEP site record, another 19 tephra horizons were identified and are subject of ongoing work. These deposits, once correlated with known and dated tephra, will hopefully enable dating this part of the succession, likely supported by major paleomagnetic events, such as the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary, or the Cobb-Mountain or the Jaramillo excursions. This makes the Lake Ohrid record a unique continuous, distal record of Italian volcanic activity, which is candidate to become the template for the central Mediterranean tephrostratigraphy, especially for the hitherto poorly known and explored lower Middle Pleistocene period.

Trends of studies in some aspects of solid state plasmas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinha, D.K.

1982-01-01

Of late, there is a discernible trend to study solid state plasmas. Such a study, by itself, constitutes a broad class of problems but those with dominantly utilitarian aspects have not hitherto been studied in abundance. The utility stems from the nature of media, namely, piezoelectric media or strictly speaking, piezoelectric semiconducting media, in which amplification of waves or otherwise has to be reckoned for wothwhile pursuits in regard to energy conversions. There are both theoretical and experimental dimensions to such studies. The present study restricts itself only to theoretical work. A chronological sequence of extent studies enables one to get at the right perspective. Basic equations along with formulations are set forth. Thermopiezosemiconducting media are also considered on the above lines. Salients and snags of erstwhile studies are pointed out. Possible directions of developments of such studies together with techniques to which they may become amenable are also indicated. (author)

Speed trends in male distance running.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy N Kruse

Full Text Available The major cycling "Grand Tours" have shown an attenuation of performance over the last decade. This has been interpreted as circumstantial evidence that newer anti-doping strategies have reduced the use of performance-enhancing drugs. To examine this idea under more controlled conditions, speed trends for world class 5000 m, 10000 m, and marathon performances by men from 1980 to 2013 were analyzed. We obtained comprehensive records from the International Association of Athletics Federations, Association of Road Racing Statisticians, and the Track and Field All-time Performances database webpages. The top 40 performances for each event and year were selected for regression analysis. For the three distances, we noted cumulative performance improvements in the 1990s thru the mid-2000s. After the peak speed years of the mid 2000 s, there has been limited improvement in the 5000 m and 10,000 m and world records set during that time remain in place today, marking the longest period of time between new records since the early 1940s. By contrast marathon speed continues to increase and the world record has been lowered four times since 2007, including in 2013. While the speed trends for 5000 m and 10000 m track results parallel those seen in elite cycling, the marathon trends do not. We discuss a number of explanations other than improved anti-doping strategies that might account for these divergent findings.

Spatial correlation in precipitation trends in the Brazilian Amazon

Science.gov (United States)

Buarque, Diogo Costa; Clarke, Robin T.; Mendes, Carlos Andre Bulhoes

2010-06-01

A geostatistical analysis of variables derived from Amazon daily precipitation records (trends in annual precipitation totals, trends in annual maximum precipitation accumulated over 1-5 days, trend in length of dry spell, trend in number of wet days per year) gave results that are consistent with those previously reported. Averaged over the Brazilian Amazon region as a whole, trends in annual maximum precipitations were slightly negative, the trend in the length of dry spell was slightly positive, and the trend in the number of wet days in the year was slightly negative. For trends in annual maximum precipitation accumulated over 1-5 days, spatial correlation between trends was found to extend up to a distance equivalent to at least half a degree of latitude or longitude, with some evidence of anisotropic correlation. Time trends in annual precipitation were found to be spatially correlated up to at least ten degrees of separation, in both W-E and S-N directions. Anisotropic spatial correlation was strongly evident in time trends in length of dry spell with much stronger evidence of spatial correlation in the W-E direction, extending up to at least five degrees of separation, than in the S-N. Because the time trends analyzed are shown to be spatially correlated, it is argued that methods at present widely used to test the statistical significance of climate trends over time lead to erroneous conclusions if spatial correlation is ignored, because records from different sites are assumed to be statistically independent.

Trends in precipitation extremes and long-term memory of runoff records in Zhejiang, East China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tian, Y.; Tian, Ye; Xu, YuePing; Booij, Martijn J.; Zhang, Qingqing; Lin, Shengji; Franks, Steward W.; Boegh, Eva; Blyth, Eleanor; Hannah, David M.; Yilmaz, Koray K.

2011-01-01

Extreme weather events have a huge impact on human beings and therefore it is of vital importance to investigate trends in relevant climatological and hydrological variables. In this study, precipitation and streamflow trends in Zhejiang Province in east China are analysed. Trends in annual and

New and additional records of Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 (Decapoda, Caridea, Alpheidae from Brazil, with a key to the southern Atlantic species

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Arthur Anker

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Two species of the alpheid shrimp genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955, are reported from shallow waters of São Sebastião (SP, southeastern Brazil. Salmoneus depressus Anker, 2011 is recorded for the first time in Brazil and the southwestern Atlantic; this species was previously known only from the Caribbean region. Salmoneus ortmanni (Rankin, 1898 is recorded for the first time in southern Brazil (23°S, being previously known in Brazilian waters from a single confirmed record from Atol das Rocas (03°S, with older records referring to Salmoneus carvachoi Anker, 2007. A hitherto unknown morphological variation in S. depressus is discussed and illustrated. Both species are shown in colour to facilitate their identification in the field. A key to the southern Atlantic species of Salmoneus is also provided.

Trends of some wintering waterbirds in Lazio (1993-2006

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Massimo Brunelli

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Since the 90s, censuses of wintering waterfowl have been carried out in the main wetlands of Lazio. We analysed the trends of 31 species in the 1993-2006 period (base year 1993 by means of TRIM (Trends and Indices Monitoring data software (Model 3. Among the species regularly recorded in the region, Ardea alba, Ardea cinerea, Bubulcus ibis and Anser anser showed a strong increase; Podiceps cristatus, Nycticorax nycticorax, Egretta garzetta, Phoenicopterus ruber, Anas penelope, Anas strepera, Anas crecca, Anas platyrhynchos, Anas clypeata, Netta rufina, Aythya ferina, Aythya nyroca, Circus aeruginosus, Fulica atra, Pluvialis apricaria and Vanellus vanellus showed a moderate increase; Gavia arctica, Tachybaptus ruficollis, Podiceps nigricollis, Phalacrocorax carbo, Aythya fuligula and Numenius arquata resulted “stable”; Botaurus stellaris, Tadorna tadorna, Anas acuta, Pluvialis squatarola and Calidris alpina showed an uncertain trend. The trends for most species are similar to those recorded at a national level.

The computerized patient record: Where do we stand?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jaspers, M. W. M.; Knaup, P.; Schmidt, D.

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of trends in research, developments and implementations of the computerized patient record (CPR) of the last two years. METHODS: We surveyed the medical informatics literature, spanning the years 2004-2005, focusing on publications on CPRs. RESULTS: The main trends

Electronic health records to facilitate clinical research

OpenAIRE

Cowie, Martin R.; Blomster, Juuso I.; Curtis, Lesley H.; Duclaux, Sylvie; Ford, Ian; Fritz, Fleur; Goldman, Samantha; Janmohamed, Salim; Kreuzer, J?rg; Leenay, Mark; Michel, Alexander; Ong, Seleen; Pell, Jill P.; Southworth, Mary Ross; Stough, Wendy Gattis

2016-01-01

Electronic health records (EHRs) provide opportunities to enhance patient care, embed performance measures in clinical practice, and facilitate clinical research. Concerns have been raised about the increasing recruitment challenges in trials, burdensome and obtrusive data collection, and uncertain generalizability of the results. Leveraging electronic health records to counterbalance these trends is an area of intense interest. The initial applications of electronic health records, as the pr...

Sea level trends in South East Asian Seas (SEAS)

Science.gov (United States)

Strassburg, M. W.; Hamlington, B. D.; Leben, R. R.; Manurung, P.; Lumban Gaol, J.; Nababan, B.; Vignudelli, S.; Kim, K.-Y.

2014-10-01

Southeast Asian Seas (SEAS) span the largest archipelago in the global ocean and provide a complex oceanic pathway connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The SEAS regional sea level trends are some of the highest observed in the modern satellite altimeter record that now spans almost two decades. Initial comparisons of global sea level reconstructions find that 17 year sea level trends over the past 60 years exhibit good agreement in areas and at times of strong signal to noise associated decadal variability forced by low frequency variations in Pacific trade winds. The SEAS region exhibits sea level trends that vary dramatically over the studied time period. This historical variation suggests that the strong regional sea level trends observed during the modern satellite altimeter record will abate as trade winds fluctuate on decadal and longer time scales. Furthermore, after removing the contribution of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) to sea level trends in the past twenty years, the rate of sea level rise is greatly reduced in the SEAS region. As a result of the influence of the PDO, the SEAS regional sea level trends during 2010s and 2020s are likely to be less than the global mean sea level (GMSL) trend if the observed oscillations in wind forcing and sea level persist. Nevertheless, long-term sea level trends in the SEAS will continue to be affected by GMSL rise occurring now and in the future.

Trend Over Time for Cholecystectomy following the Introduction of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2018-03-05

Mar 5, 2018 ... Trend Over Time for Cholecystectomy following the Introduction of. Laparoscopy in a Nigerian Tertiary ... How to cite this article: Adisa AO, Lawal OO, Adejuyigbe O. Trend over time for cholecystectomy following .... The challenges with record keeping in the era of open cholecystectomy in our center made it ...

Trends in reproductive behavior among young single women in Colombia and Peru: 1985-1999.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Mohamed M; Cleland, John; Shah, Iqbal H

2003-11-01

Using "calendar" data for single women aged 15-24 from successive Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in Colombia and Peru during the 1990s, we document trends, year by year, in sexual activity, the use of contraceptives, and subsequent reproductive outcomes. We provide evidence of the important and hitherto largely untapped potential of DHS calendar data to draw complete sexual and reproductive profiles when data from various surveys are integrated. Over the period 1985-1999, young single women in both Colombia and Peru became sexually active at younger ages. The use of contraceptives, especially the use of condoms, increased but did not fully offset the rise in sexual activity, and thus the incidence of premarital conceptions rose among young single women. In both countries, sharp declines occurred in the proportion of premaritally conceived births that were reported as being wanted.

Satellite-based trends of solar radiation and cloud parameters in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeifroth, Uwe; Bojanowski, Jedrzej S.; Clerbaux, Nicolas; Manara, Veronica; Sanchez-Lorenzo, Arturo; Trentmann, Jörg; Walawender, Jakub P.; Hollmann, Rainer

2018-04-01

Solar radiation is the main driver of the Earth's climate. Measuring solar radiation and analysing its interaction with clouds are essential for the understanding of the climate system. The EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF) generates satellite-based, high-quality climate data records, with a focus on the energy balance and water cycle. Here, multiple of these data records are analyzed in a common framework to assess the consistency in trends and spatio-temporal variability of surface solar radiation, top-of-atmosphere reflected solar radiation and cloud fraction. This multi-parameter analysis focuses on Europe and covers the time period from 1992 to 2015. A high correlation between these three variables has been found over Europe. An overall consistency of the climate data records reveals an increase of surface solar radiation and a decrease in top-of-atmosphere reflected radiation. In addition, those trends are confirmed by negative trends in cloud cover. This consistency documents the high quality and stability of the CM SAF climate data records, which are mostly derived independently from each other. The results of this study indicate that one of the main reasons for the positive trend in surface solar radiation since the 1990's is a decrease in cloud coverage even if an aerosol contribution cannot be completely ruled out.

CURRENT TRENDS OF ROMANIAN RURAL FAMILY

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Adina IORGA

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The profound changes experienced by the Romanian society had a profound social impact on the structure and functions of the rural family. The paper aims to highlight the main trends recorded using a number of indicators: ruralization rate, birth rate, infant mortality rate, percentage of children born outside marriage, fertility rate, percentage of population aged 65 and over. Statistics from censuses and statistical yearbooks were processed to identify the trends of the Romanian rural family: changes in reproductive behavior, increased aging, declining birth rates.

Marmosets, Raree shows and Pulcinelle: an Analysis and Edition of a Hitherto-Unpublished Carnival Play by Antonio de Zamora

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Fernando Plata

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This paper is an analyisis, annotation and edition of the Mojiganga del mundinovo (‘The raree show, a carnival play’ by Antonio de Zamora. The play was performed in 1698 Madrid by the troupe of Carlos Vallejo, along with the sacramental one-act play El templo vivo de Dios (‘The living temple of God’. The hitherto unpublished text is based on the only two extant manuscripts, located in archives in Madrid. Despite the play’s title, my analysis argues that the novelty in this play is not so much the raree show, a contraption popularized four decades earlier in Golden Age theater, as the marmosets. The death of two marmosets and the ensuing desolation of their owner, Ms. Estupenda, both trigger the play and provide it with a plot. The marmosets, too, point to a changing mentality in late 17th-century society, regarding the possession among ladies of marmosets and other monkeys as pets.

Wind driven saltation: a hitherto overlooked challenge for life on Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Bak, Ebbe; Goul, Michael; Rasmussen, Martin; Moeller, Ralf; Nørnberg, Per; Knak Jensen, Svend; Finster, Kai

2017-04-01

The Martian surface is a hostile environment characterized by low water availability, low atmospheric pressure and high UV and ionizing radiation. Furthermore, wind-driven saltation leads to abrasion of silicates with a production of reactive surface sites and, through triboelectric charging, a release of electrical discharges with a concomitant production of reactive oxygen species. While the effects of low water availability, low pressure and radiation have been extensively studied in relation to the habitability of the Martian surface and the preservation of organic biosignatures, the effects of wind-driven saltation have hitherto been ignored. In this study, we have investigated the effect of exposing bacteria to wind-abraded silicates and directly to wind-driven saltation on Mars in controlled laboratory simulation experiments. Wind-driven saltation was simulated by tumbling mineral samples in a Mars-like atmosphere in sealed quartz ampoules. The effects on bacterial survival and structure were evaluated by colony forming unit counts in combination with scanning electron microscopy, quantitative polymerase chain reaction and life/dead-staining with flow cytometry. The viability of vegetative cells of P. putida, B. subtilis and D. radiodurans in aqueous suspensions was reduced by more than 99% by exposure to abraded basalt, while the viability of B. subtilis endospores was unaffected. B. subtilis mutants lacking different spore components were likewise highly resistant to the exposure to abraded basalt, which indicates that the resistance of spores is not associated with any specific spore component. We found a significant but reduced effect of abraded quartz and we suggest that the stress effect of abraded silicates is induced by a production of reactive oxygen species and hydroxyl radicals produced by Fenton-like reactions in the presence of transition metals. Direct exposure to simulated saltation had a dramatic effect on both D. radiodurans cells and B

Managing electronic records methods, best practices, and technologies

CERN Document Server

Smallwood, Robert F

2013-01-01

The ultimate guide to electronic records management, featuring a collaboration of expert practitioners including over 400 cited references documenting today's global trends, standards, and best practices Nearly all business records created today are electronic, and are increasing in number at breathtaking rates, yet most organizations do not have the policies and technologies in place to effectively organize, search, protect, preserve, and produce these records. Authored by an internationally recognized expert on e-records in collaboration with leading subject matter experts worldwide

TRENDS 1991: A compendium of data on global change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boden, T.A.; Sepanski, R.J.; Stoss, F.W. (eds.)

1991-12-01

This document is a source of frequently used global-change data. This second issue of the Trends series expands the coverage of sites recording atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) and methane (CH{sub 4}), and it updates records reported in the first issue. New data for other trace atmospheric gases have been included in this issue; historical data on nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}) from ice cores, modern records of atmospheric concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC-11 and CFC-12) and N{sub 2}O, and estimates of global estimates of CFC-11 and CFC-12. The estimates for global and national CO{sub 2} emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, the production of cement, and gas flaring have been revised and updated. Regional CO{sub 2} emission estimates have been added, and long-term temperature records have been updated and expanded. Data records are presented in four- to six-page formats, each dealing with a specific site, region, or emissions species. The data records include tables and graphs; discussion of methods for collecting, measuring, and reporting the data; trends in the data; and references to literature that provides further information. All data appearing in the document are available on digital media from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center.

TRENDS 1991: A compendium of data on global change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boden, T.A.; Sepanski, R.J.; Stoss, F.W.

1991-12-01

This document is a source of frequently used global-change data. This second issue of the Trends series expands the coverage of sites recording atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ), and it updates records reported in the first issue. New data for other trace atmospheric gases have been included in this issue; historical data on nitrous oxide (N 2 ) from ice cores, modern records of atmospheric concentrations of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC-11 and CFC-12) and N 2 O, and estimates of global estimates of CFC-11 and CFC-12. The estimates for global and national CO 2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, the production of cement, and gas flaring have been revised and updated. Regional CO 2 emission estimates have been added, and long-term temperature records have been updated and expanded. Data records are presented in four- to six-page formats, each dealing with a specific site, region, or emissions species. The data records include tables and graphs; discussion of methods for collecting, measuring, and reporting the data; trends in the data; and references to literature that provides further information. All data appearing in the document are available on digital media from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

Trends driving the hotel industry global evolution. Case of Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Codruţa-Adina BĂLTESCU

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The tourism field is well known for the dynamic of changes over recent years. We witness the continous growth of the number of tourists, the increase of consumers demands, the development of new markets and the changes determined by information technologies implementation and adaptations and innovations supported at the level of tourism business. Being a defining component in the tourism industry, the hotel field is individualized through specific evolutions and significant adjustments in relation to the general rate of changes and development trends recorded. In this framework, through this article, the author aims to assess which are the most relevant changes recorded in the Romanian hotel industry and the degree in which this specific activity field follow the trend of changes recorded at international level.

Trends in dermatology practices and the implications for the workforce.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrlich, Alison; Kostecki, James; Olkaba, Helen

2017-10-01

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) practice profile surveys have been conducted for more than a decade to gauge trends in our workforce supply and demand. To update the trends and current workforce issues for the field of dermatology. The AAD Practice Profile Survey is sent by both e-mail and postal mail to a random sample of practicing dermatologists who are AAD members. Shifts are noted in the primary practice setting; fewer dermatologists are in solo practice and more are in group practices than in previous years. Teledermatology use trended upward from 7% to 11% between 2012 and 2014. The implementation of electronic health records increased from 51% in 2011 to 70% in 2014. There is potential for response bias and inaccurate self-reporting. Survey responses collected may not be representative of all geographic areas. The demand for dermatology services remains strong. Shifts in the practice setting may be related to increases in overhead costs that are partially associated with the implementation of technology-based medical records. Integration of electronic health records and utilization of telemedicine are increasing. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Climate Trends and Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Change in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulenga, Brian P; Wineman, Ayala; Sitko, Nicholas J

2017-02-01

A number of studies use meteorological records to analyze climate trends and assess the impact of climate change on agricultural yields. While these provide quantitative evidence on climate trends and the likely effects thereof, they incorporate limited qualitative analysis of farmers' perceptions of climate change and/or variability. The present study builds on the quantitative methods used elsewhere to analyze climate trends, and in addition compares local narratives of climate change with evidence found in meteorological records in Zambia. Farmers offer remarkably consistent reports of a rainy season that is growing shorter and less predictable. For some climate parameters-notably, rising average temperature-there is a clear overlap between farmers' observations and patterns found in the meteorological records. However, the data do not support the perception that the rainy season used to begin earlier, and we generally do not detect a reported increase in the frequency of dry spells. Several explanations for these discrepancies are offered. Further, we provide policy recommendations to help farmers adapt to climate change/variability, as well as suggestions to shape future climate change policies, programs, and research in developing countries.

Do climate model predictions agree with long-term precipitation trends in the arid southwestern United States?

Science.gov (United States)

Elias, E.; Rango, A.; James, D.; Maxwell, C.; Anderson, J.; Abatzoglou, J. T.

2016-12-01

Researchers evaluating climate projections across southwestern North America observed a decreasing precipitation trend. Aridification was most pronounced in the cold (non-monsoonal) season, whereas downward trends in precipitation were smaller in the warm (monsoonal) season. In this region, based upon a multimodel mean of 20 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 models using a business-as-usual (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5) trajectory, midcentury precipitation is projected to increase slightly during the monsoonal time period (July-September; 6%) and decrease slightly during the remainder of the year (October-June; -4%). We use observed long-term (1915-2015) monthly precipitation records from 16 weather stations to investigate how well measured trends corroborate climate model predictions during the monsoonal and non-monsoonal timeframe. Running trend analysis using the Mann-Kendall test for 15 to 101 year moving windows reveals that half the stations showed significant (p≤0.1), albeit small, increasing trends based on the longest term record. Trends based on shorter-term records reveal a period of significant precipitation decline at all stations representing the 1950s drought. Trends from 1930 to 2015 reveal significant annual, monsoonal and non-monsoonal increases in precipitation (Fig 1). The 1960 to 2015 time window shows no significant precipitation trends. The more recent time window (1980 to 2015) shows a slight, but not significant, increase in monsoonal precipitation and a larger, significant decline in non-monsoonal precipitation. GCM precipitation projections are consistent with more recent trends for the region. Running trends from the most recent time window (mid-1990s to 2015) at all stations show increasing monsoonal precipitation and decreasing Oct-Jun precipitation, with significant trends at 6 of 16 stations. Running trend analysis revealed that the long-term trends were not persistent throughout the series length, but depended

Power plant and utility performance: how world-record outages are being achieved in the USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1997-01-01

Two record-breaking refuelling outages at power reactors in the USA are described. The first, at Browns Ferry 3 BWR, was accomplished in 19 days 39 minutes - a shorter time than for an General Electric BWR anywhere in the world hitherto. The management attribute this success to planning, personnel and performance. As well as refuelling, inspections and maintenance, major modifications were carried out. These included the completion of the installation of digital feedwater reactor level control and digital feedwater heater level control. The second outage, at South Texas Project 2 BWR, at 17 days 14 hours and 10 minutes was the fastest yet recorded for any US nuclear unit. This achievement is ascribed to excellent outage preparation and scheduling, the superior condition of the plant equipment and teamwork and safety consciousness on behalf of the plant personnel. Finally, brief consideration is given to the nuclear performance recovery programme of Commonwealth Edison and Ontario Hydro Nuclear. (UK)

New Visualizations Highlight New Information on the Contrasting Arctic and Antarctic Sea-Ice Trends Since the Late 1970s

Science.gov (United States)

Parkinson, Claire L.; DiGirolamo, Nicolo E.

2016-01-01

Month-by-month ranking of 37 years (1979-2015) of satellite-derived sea-ice extents in the Arctic and Antarctic reveals interesting new details in the overall trends toward decreasing sea-ice coverage in the Arctic and increasing sea-ice coverage in the Antarctic. The Arctic decreases are so definitive that there has not been a monthly record high in Arctic sea-ice extents in any month since 1986, a time period during which there have been 75 monthly record lows. The Antarctic, with the opposite but weaker trend toward increased ice extents, experienced monthly record lows in 5 months of 1986, then 6 later monthly record lows scattered through the dataset, with the last two occurring in 2006, versus 45 record highs since 1986. However, in the last three years of the 1979-2015 dataset, the downward trends in Arctic sea-ice extents eased up, with no new record lows in any month of 2013 or 2014 and only one record low in 2015,while the upward trends in Antarctic ice extents notably strengthened, with new record high ice extents in 4 months (August-November) of 2013, in 6 months (April- September) of 2014, and in 3 months (January, April, and May) of 2015. Globally, there have been only 3 monthly record highs since 1986 (only one since 1988), whereas there have been 43 record lows, although the last record lows (in the 1979-2015 dataset) occurred in 2012.

Factors challenging our ability to detect long-term trends in ocean chlorophyll

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Beaulieu

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Global climate change is expected to affect the ocean's biological productivity. The most comprehensive information available about the global distribution of contemporary ocean primary productivity is derived from satellite data. Large spatial patchiness and interannual to multidecadal variability in chlorophyll a concentration challenges efforts to distinguish a global, secular trend given satellite records which are limited in duration and continuity. The longest ocean color satellite record comes from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS, which failed in December 2010. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS ocean color sensors are beyond their originally planned operational lifetime. Successful retrieval of a quality signal from the current Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS instrument, or successful launch of the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI expected in 2014 will hopefully extend the ocean color time series and increase the potential for detecting trends in ocean productivity in the future. Alternatively, a potential discontinuity in the time series of ocean chlorophyll a, introduced by a change of instrument without overlap and opportunity for cross-calibration, would make trend detection even more challenging. In this paper, we demonstrate that there are a few regions with statistically significant trends over the ten years of SeaWiFS data, but at a global scale the trend is not large enough to be distinguished from noise. We quantify the degree to which red noise (autocorrelation especially challenges trend detection in these observational time series. We further demonstrate how discontinuities in the time series at various points would affect our ability to detect trends in ocean chlorophyll a. We highlight the importance of maintaining continuous, climate-quality satellite data records for climate-change detection and attribution studies.

Trends in Medicinal Uses of Edible Wild Vertebrates in Brazil

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Rômulo Romeu Nóbrega Alves

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The use of food medicines is a widespread practice worldwide. In Brazil, such use is often associated with wild animals, mostly focusing on vertebrate species. Here we assessed taxonomic and ecological trends in traditional uses of wild edible vertebrates in the country, through an extensive ethnobiological database analysis. Our results showed that at least 165 health conditions are reportedly treated by edible vertebrate species (n=204, mostly fishes and mammals. However, reptiles stand out presenting a higher plasticity in the treatment of multiple health conditions. Considering the 20 disease categories recorded, treatment prescriptions were similar within continental (i.e., terrestrial and freshwater and also within coastal and marine habitats, which may reflect locally related trends in occurrence and use of the medicinal fauna. The comprehension of the multiplicity and trends in the therapeutic uses of Brazilian vertebrates is of particular interest from a conservation perspective, as several threatened species were recorded.

Secular trends in new childhood epidemics: insights from evolutionary medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Brüne, Martin; Hochberg, Ze'ev

2013-10-21

In the last few decades, pediatric medicine has observed a dramatic increase in the prevalence of hitherto rare illnesses, among which obesity, diabetes, allergies and other autoimmune diseases stand out. In addition, secular trends towards earlier onset of puberty and sexual activity contribute to the psychological problems of youth and adolescents. All this has occurred in spite of the improved health care provision for children, yet traditional concepts of medicine have failed to explain these new "epidemics". A recent conference and science school of the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) in Acre, Israel, has taken up this challenge. Experts across disciplines including medicine, anthropology and developmental psychology discussed potential causes of childhood ill-health from an evolutionary point-of-view. Seen from an evolutionary vantage point, the "epidemics" of childhood obesity, diabetes and psychological dysfunction appear, in part, to be related to a mismatch between ancestral adaptations and novel environmental contingencies. These include changing exposures to pathogens, which impact on the function of the immune system, as well as changing patterns of parenting, which influence the timing of puberty and the risk for developing psychopathology.

Three new butterfly records for peninsular India: Dusky Yellow-breasted Flat Gerosis phisara (Moore (Hesperiidae, Common Gem Poritia hewitsoni Moore (Lycaenidae and Great Nawab Polyura eudamippus (Doubleday (Nymphalidae from Similipal Hills, Odisha, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.V. Nair

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Three species of butterflies hitherto known only from the Himalayan region and northeastern India, viz. Dusky Yellow-breasted Flat Gerosis phisara (Moore, Common Gem Poritia hewitsoni Moore and Great Nawab Polyura eudamippus (Doubleday were recorded from Similipal Hills, Odisha, thus constituting significant new locality records and range extensions for peninsular India. This also re-inforces the unique bio-geographic role of Similipal as a hill range harbouring representatives of north-eastern and autochthonous peninsular Indian species and supports its putative function as a possible pathway along the Eastern Ghats for species exchange between bio-geographical zones.

SOMA: A Proposed Framework for Trend Mining in Large UK Diabetic Retinopathy Temporal Databases

Science.gov (United States)

Somaraki, Vassiliki; Harding, Simon; Broadbent, Deborah; Coenen, Frans

In this paper, we present SOMA, a new trend mining framework; and Aretaeus, the associated trend mining algorithm. The proposed framework is able to detect different kinds of trends within longitudinal datasets. The prototype trends are defined mathematically so that they can be mapped onto the temporal patterns. Trends are defined and generated in terms of the frequency of occurrence of pattern changes over time. To evaluate the proposed framework the process was applied to a large collection of medical records, forming part of the diabetic retinopathy screening programme at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

Political Trends in the New Eastern Europe: Ukraine and Belarus

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Silitski, Vitali; Moshes, Arkady

2007-01-01

.... So while Europe seeks to induce democratic change and democratic forces are trying to establish themselves in the face of withering oppression, Russia has hitherto been the main external prop for Lukashenka's policies...

Warming Trends and Bleaching Stress of the World’s Coral Reefs 1985-2012

Science.gov (United States)

Heron, Scott F.; Maynard, Jeffrey A.; van Hooidonk, Ruben; Eakin, C. Mark

2016-12-01

Coral reefs across the world’s oceans are in the midst of the longest bleaching event on record (from 2014 to at least 2016). As many of the world’s reefs are remote, there is limited information on how past thermal conditions have influenced reef composition and current stress responses. Using satellite temperature data for 1985-2012, the analysis we present is the first to quantify, for global reef locations, spatial variations in warming trends, thermal stress events and temperature variability at reef-scale (~4 km). Among over 60,000 reef pixels globally, 97% show positive SST trends during the study period with 60% warming significantly. Annual trends exceeded summertime trends at most locations. This indicates that the period of summer-like temperatures has become longer through the record, with a corresponding shortening of the ‘winter’ reprieve from warm temperatures. The frequency of bleaching-level thermal stress increased three-fold between 1985-91 and 2006-12 - a trend climate model projections suggest will continue. The thermal history data products developed enable needed studies relating thermal history to bleaching resistance and community composition. Such analyses can help identify reefs more resilient to thermal stress.

Importance of health physics records in litigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Forbes, J.L.

1982-01-01

The nuclear insurance pools, through American Nuclear Insurers (ANI) and the Mutual Atomic Energy Liability Underwriters (MAELU), have been providing the third-party liability insurance required of the nuclear industry by the Price-Anderson Act since 1957. Records of claims of radiation injury have been kept for twenty-five years, and a recent upsurge of the claim rate has been noted. An explanation for this new trend is postulated and some examples are discussed. The use of health physics records as evidence in litigation is described, and specific examples of the types of records required to defend against past and future claims are given

Economics of nuclear power: past record, present trends, and future prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phung, D.L.

1983-12-01

This paper examines the economic record of operating US reactors, factors affecting the economics of nuclear plants under construction, and opportunities for nuclear energy to escape from the predicament it faces today. The records of the 80 operating reactors indicate that they represent an indispensable asset, generating power at a lower cost than fossil-fueled alternatives. Yet many reactors under construction have suffered so much delay and cost escalation that they have become a financial burden to utilities and their customers. The technical, economic, and institutional reasons for this grotesque contrast between nuclear energy's potential and the problems it faces today are discussed. Changes necessary to improve the economics of nuclear power are also discussed. It is argued that the deployment of a meltproof reactor design, several of which are not under development, may solve the multifaceted problems of overregulation, long schedules, and financial risks

Mediterranean Ocean Colour Chlorophyll Trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Colella, Simone; Falcini, Federico; Rinaldi, Eleonora; Sammartino, Michela; Santoleri, Rosalia

2016-01-01

In being at the base of the marine food web, phytoplankton is particularly important for marine ecosystem functioning (e.g., biodiversity). Strong anthropization, over-exploitation of natural resources, and climate change affect the natural amount of phytoplankton and, therefore, represent a continuous threat to the biodiversity in marine waters. In particular, a concerning risks for coastal waters is the increase in nutrient inputs of terrestrial/anthropogenic origin that can lead to undesirable modifications of phytoplankton concentration (i.e., eutrophication). Monitoring chlorophyll (Chl) concentration, which is a proxy of phytoplankton biomass, is an efficient tool for recording and understanding the response of the marine ecosystem to human pressures and thus for detecting eutrophication. Here, we compute Chl trends over the Mediterranean Sea by using satellite data, also highlighting the fact that remote sensing may represent an efficient and reliable solution to synoptically control the "good environmental status" (i.e., the Marine Directive to achieve Good Environmental Status of EU marine waters by 2020) and to assess the application of international regulations and environmental directives. Our methodology includes the use of an ad hoc regional (i.e., Mediterranean) algorithm for Chl concentration retrieval, also accounting for the difference between offshore (i.e., Case I) and coastal (i.e., Case II) waters. We apply the Mann-Kendall test and the Sens's method for trend estimation to the Chl concentration de-seasonalized monthly time series, as obtained from the X-11 technique. We also provide a preliminary analysis of some particular trends by evaluating their associated inter-annual variability. The high spatial resolution of our approach allows a clear identification of intense trends in those coastal waters that are affected by river outflows. We do not attempt to attribute the observed trends to specific anthropogenic events. However, the trends

Mediterranean Ocean Colour Chlorophyll Trends.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Colella

Full Text Available In being at the base of the marine food web, phytoplankton is particularly important for marine ecosystem functioning (e.g., biodiversity. Strong anthropization, over-exploitation of natural resources, and climate change affect the natural amount of phytoplankton and, therefore, represent a continuous threat to the biodiversity in marine waters. In particular, a concerning risks for coastal waters is the increase in nutrient inputs of terrestrial/anthropogenic origin that can lead to undesirable modifications of phytoplankton concentration (i.e., eutrophication. Monitoring chlorophyll (Chl concentration, which is a proxy of phytoplankton biomass, is an efficient tool for recording and understanding the response of the marine ecosystem to human pressures and thus for detecting eutrophication. Here, we compute Chl trends over the Mediterranean Sea by using satellite data, also highlighting the fact that remote sensing may represent an efficient and reliable solution to synoptically control the "good environmental status" (i.e., the Marine Directive to achieve Good Environmental Status of EU marine waters by 2020 and to assess the application of international regulations and environmental directives. Our methodology includes the use of an ad hoc regional (i.e., Mediterranean algorithm for Chl concentration retrieval, also accounting for the difference between offshore (i.e., Case I and coastal (i.e., Case II waters. We apply the Mann-Kendall test and the Sens's method for trend estimation to the Chl concentration de-seasonalized monthly time series, as obtained from the X-11 technique. We also provide a preliminary analysis of some particular trends by evaluating their associated inter-annual variability. The high spatial resolution of our approach allows a clear identification of intense trends in those coastal waters that are affected by river outflows. We do not attempt to attribute the observed trends to specific anthropogenic events. However

Electronic Records Management and Archives in International Organizations: A RAMP Study with Guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Dollar, Charles M.

This study is a review of trends in information-handling technology and significant developments which are changing or will change the general environment within which archivists and records managers in international organizations will have to work. Trends in microelectronics, electronic storage, software, data transmission, computer architecture,…

Current trends in genetic manipulations to enhance abiotic and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Hitherto, tolerant plants were mainly produced by classical breeding techniques. Success in breeding for better adapted varieties to abiotic and biotic stresses depends on the concerted efforts of various research domains including plant and cell physiology, molecular biology, genetics and breeding. However, such process ...

Occupational dose trends in Tanzania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhogora, W.E.; Nyanda, A.M.; Ngaile, J.E.; Lema, U.S.

1998-01-01

This paper describes the present status of occupational radiation exposure of monitored workers in Tanzania from 1986 to 1997. The analysis of dose records observes over this period, a fluctuating trend both in the individual and collective doses. The trend is more related to the fluctuations of the number of radiation workers than to the possible radiation safety changes of the working conditions. It has been found that, the maximum annual dose for the worker in all work categories was about 18 mSv y -1 . This suggests that the occupational radiation exposure in all practices satisfies the current dose limitation system. The national exposure summary shows that, the highest collective dose of 12.8 man-Sv which is 90% of the total collective dose, was due to medical applications. The applications in industry and research had a contribution of nearly 0.8 and 0.7 man-Sv respectively. From the professional point of view, the medical diagnostic radiographers received the highest collective dose of 11.2 man-Sv. Although the medical physicists recorded the minimum collective dose of nearly 0.07 man-Sv, the data shows that this profession received the highest mean dose of about 33 mSv in 12 years. Some achievements of the personnel monitoring services and suggestions for future improvement are pointed out. (author)

Extension and statistical analysis of the GACP aerosol optical thickness record

Science.gov (United States)

Geogdzhayev, Igor V.; Mishchenko, Michael I.; Li, Jing; Rossow, William B.; Liu, Li; Cairns, Brian

2015-10-01

The primary product of the Global Aerosol Climatology Project (GACP) is a continuous record of the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) over the oceans. It is based on channel-1 and -2 radiance data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instruments flown on successive National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) platforms. We extend the previous GACP dataset by four years through the end of 2009 using NOAA-17 and -18 AVHRR radiances recalibrated against MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) radiance data, thereby making the GACP record almost three decades long. The temporal overlap of over three years of the new NOAA-17 and the previous NOAA-16 record reveals an excellent agreement of the corresponding global monthly mean AOT values, thereby confirming the robustness of the vicarious radiance calibration used in the original GACP product. The temporal overlap of the NOAA-17 and -18 instruments is used to introduce a small additive adjustment to the channel-2 calibration of the latter resulting in a consistent record with increased data density. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the newly extended GACP record shows that most of the volcanic AOT variability can be isolated into one mode responsible for ~ 12% of the total variance. This conclusion is confirmed by a combined PCA analysis of the GACP, MODIS, and Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) AOTs during the volcano-free period from February 2000 to December 2009. We show that the modes responsible for the tropospheric AOT variability in the three datasets agree well in terms of correlation and spatial patterns. A previously identified negative AOT trend which started in the late 1980s and continued into the early 2000s is confirmed. Its magnitude and duration indicate that it was caused by changes in tropospheric aerosols. The latest multi-satellite segment of the GACP record shows that this trend tapered off, with no noticeable AOT change after 2002. This

Trends in Ocean Colour and Chlorophyll Concentration from 1889 to 2000, Worldwide

Science.gov (United States)

Wernand, Marcel R.; van der Woerd, Hendrik J.; Gieskes, Winfried W. C.

2013-01-01

Marine primary productivity is an important agent in the global cycling of carbon dioxide, a major ‘greenhouse gas’, and variations in the concentration of the ocean's phytoplankton biomass can therefore explain trends in the global carbon budget. Since the launch of satellite-mounted sensors globe-wide monitoring of chlorophyll, a phytoplankton biomass proxy, became feasible. Just as satellites, the Forel-Ule (FU) scale record (a hardly explored database of ocean colour) has covered all seas and oceans – but already since 1889. We provide evidence that changes of ocean surface chlorophyll can be reconstructed with confidence from this record. The EcoLight radiative transfer numerical model indicates that the FU index is closely related to chlorophyll concentrations in open ocean regions. The most complete FU record is that of the North Atlantic in terms of coverage over space and in time; this dataset has been used to test the validity of colour changes that can be translated to chlorophyll. The FU and FU-derived chlorophyll data were analysed for monotonously increasing or decreasing trends with the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test, a method to establish the presence of a consistent trend. Our analysis has not revealed a globe-wide trend of increase or decrease in chlorophyll concentration during the past century; ocean regions have apparently responded differentially to changes in meteorological, hydrological and biological conditions at the surface, including potential long-term trends related to global warming. Since 1889, chlorophyll concentrations have decreased in the Indian Ocean and in the Pacific; increased in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Chinese Sea, and in the seas west and north-west of Japan. This suggests that explanations of chlorophyll changes over long periods should focus on hydrographical and biological characteristics typical of single ocean regions, not on those of ‘the’ ocean. PMID:23776435

Echoes of the Great War: The recordings of African prisoners in the First World War

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anette Hoffmann

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Apart from army registers, some (often anonymous photographs and the files of anthropometric examination, the involvement of thousands of African soldiers in WWI and their presence in POW camps in Europe seems to have left few traces in European archives. Vis-à-vis a mass of autobiographic texts on the Great War, written by Europeans and Americans, there are very few published accounts of African soldiers that would allow for their historical experiences and views to be included in historiographies of WWI. A collection of sound recordings produced with African prisoners of war in German camps by a group of German linguists, musicologists and anthropologists between 1915-18 offers a notable documentation of their presence. Yet, similar to the anthropometric registration, these recordings were not designed to accommodate the soldiers’ accounts, but to create a collection of language recordings. If these cannot be considered as ‘authentic voices from the past’ and unmediated accounts of WWI, how do we understand and theorise these hitherto untranslated voice recordings, their form and content? This essay understands the recordings not as ‘voices’ but as echoes, that is, as mediated, often effaced reverberations of accounts of the self and the war. The notion of echo in this essay grapples with issues of extraction, attenuation, limitation, distance and distortion, or outright effacement, that is the result of the form and the mediation of those speech acts, the belatedness of listening to them, as well as, the gaps in meaning and intelligibility the recordings entail. By conceptualising the recorded voices and their translation as echoes, I seek to understand the status of the recordings, the effects of this linguistic practice and gain a sense of the situation in the camps, so as to position these subaltern articulations in their mediated, distorted form as part of the colonial archive.

Flood trends along the Rhine: the role of river training

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Vorogushyn

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Several previous studies have detected positive trends in flood flows in German rivers, among others, at Rhine gauges over the past six decades. The presence and detectability of the climate change signal in flood records has been controversially discussed, particularly against the background of massive river training measures in the Rhine. In the past the Rhine catchment has been heavily trained, including the construction of the Rhine weir cascade, flood protection dikes and detention basins. The present study investigates the role of river training on changes in annual maximum daily flows at Rhine gauges starting from Maxau down to Lobith. In particular, the effect of the Rhine weir cascade and of a series of detention basins was investigated. By homogenising the original flood flow records in the period from 1952 till 2009, the annual maximum series were computed that would have been recorded had river training measures not been in place. Using multiple trend analysis, relative changes in the homogenised time series were found to be from a few percentage points to more than 10 percentage points smaller compared to the original records. This effect is attributable to the river training measures, and primarily to the construction of the Rhine weir cascade. The increase in Rhine flood discharges during this period was partly caused by an unfavourable superposition of the Rhine and Neckar flood waves. This superposition resulted from an acceleration of the Rhine waves due to the construction of the weir cascade and associated channelisation and dike heightening. However, at the same time, tributary flows across the entire Upper and Lower Rhine, which enhance annual maximum Rhine peaks, showed strong positive trends. This suggests the dominance of another driver or drivers which acted alongside river training.

From Synergy to Complexity: The Trend Toward Integrated Value Chain and Landscape Governance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ros-Tonen, Mirjam A F; Reed, James; Sunderland, Terry

2018-05-30

This Editorial introduces a special issue that illustrates a trend toward integrated landscape approaches. Whereas two papers echo older "win-win" strategies based on the trade of non-timber forest products, ten papers reflect a shift from a product to landscape perspective. However, they differ from integrated landscape approaches in that they emanate from sectorial approaches driven primarily by aims such as forest restoration, sustainable commodity sourcing, natural resource management, or carbon emission reduction. The potential of such initiatives for integrated landscape governance and achieving landscape-level outcomes has hitherto been largely unaddressed in the literature on integrated landscape approaches. This special issue addresses this gap, with a focus on actor constellations and institutional arrangements emerging in the transition from sectorial to integrated approaches. This editorial discusses the trends arising from the papers, including the need for a commonly shared concern and sense of urgency; inclusive stakeholder engagement; accommodating and coordinating polycentric governance in landscapes beset with institutional fragmentation and jurisdictional mismatches; alignment with locally embedded initiatives and governance structures; and a framework to assess and monitor the performance of integrated multi-stakeholder approaches. We conclude that, despite a growing tendency toward integrated approaches at the landscape level, inherent landscape complexity renders persistent and significant challenges such as balancing multiple objectives, equitable inclusion of all relevant stakeholders, dealing with power and gender asymmetries, adaptive management based on participatory outcome monitoring, and moving beyond existing administrative, jurisdictional, and sectorial silos. Multi-stakeholder platforms and bridging organizations and individuals are seen as key in overcoming such challenges.

Comparison of northern and central Greenland ice cores records of methanesulfonate covering the last glacial period

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonsell, U.; Hansson, M. E.; Siggaard-Andersen, M-L-

2007-01-01

Methanesulfonate (MS-) is measured in ice cores with the objective to obtain a proxy record of marine phytoplankton production of dimethylsulfide (DMS). We present a continuous MS- record covering the last glacial period from the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) ice core and compare...... this record with the corresponding records previously presented from Greenland and, in particular, with the GISP2 ice core located 320 km south of NGRIP. Despite that the records have similar mean concentrations, their responses to climatic changes during the last glacial period are slightly different. NGRIP...... MS- concentrations were higher during the cold marine isotopic stages (MIS) 2 and 4 and lower during the warm MIS 5. This long-term trend in MS-, which is similar to the inverse of the corresponding trend in d 18O, is not detected in the GISP2 MS- record. A systematic response in MS- concentrations...

Detecting Variation Trends of Temperature and Precipitation for the Dadu River Basin, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Wu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study analyzes the variation trends of temperature and precipitation in the Dadu River Basin of China based on observed records from fourteen meteorological stations. The magnitude of trends was estimated using Sen’s linear method while its statistical significance was evaluated using Mann-Kendall’s test. The results of analysis depict increase change from northwest to southeast of annual temperature and precipitation in space. In temporal scale, the annual temperature showed significant increase trend and the annual precipitation showed increase trend. For extreme indices, the trends for temperature are more consistent in the region compared to precipitation. This paper has practical meanings for an effective management of climate risk and provides a foundation for further study of hydrological situation in this river basin.

Population structure and genetic trends for indigenous African beef ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this study was to investigate population structure and genetic trends based on pedigree and performance records of five indigenous African beef cattle breeds (Afrikaner, Boran, Drakensberger, Nguni and Tuli) in South Africa. Pedigree completeness over six generations was higher than 88.5% in the first ...

Expanded stream gauging includes groundwater data and trends

Science.gov (United States)

Constantz, James E.; Barlow, Jeannie R.; Eddy-Miller, Cheryl; Caldwell, Rodney R.; Wheeler, Jerrod D.

2012-01-01

Population growth has increased water scarcity to the point that documenting current amounts of worldwide water resources is now as critical as any data collection in the Earth sciences. As a key element of this data collection, stream gauges yield continuous hydrologic information and document long-term trends, recording high-frequency hydrologic information over decadal to centennial time frames.

Current trends in genetic manipulations to enhance abiotic and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

SAM

2014-05-21

May 21, 2014 ... have more adverse effects on crop yield and crop survival. Hitherto, tolerant plants were ... Tolerance to salt, drought, water stress, low and high temperature, heavy .... from the sites of metabolism, and second, it increases the osmolarity of the cell to .... osmoregulation, which is an important process in plants.

Selected trends in breast cancer epidemiology in Slovakia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ondrusova, M.; Psenkova, M.; Mardiak, J.

2015-01-01

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent forms of malignant tumors in women and so poses a serious social and economic problem. Aims: By analysing the trends of the basic indicators of breast cancer descriptive epidemiology in Slovakia, the prospective development was predicted, providing the missing information needed to assess the impact of intervention programmes. Results: The age-standardised incidence of breast cancer in Slovakia shows a strongly rising trend by an annual percentage change value of 2.2%, whereby in respect of mortality, after a previous significant decrease in values recorded in the period 2000-2009, stabilisation is registered once again with an annual percentage change of 3.4% (without statistical significance). Conclusion: Adverse trends in the development of breast cancer mortality in Slovakia underline the importance of establishing and monitoring the efficacy of intervention steps as part of organised screening. (author)

Trends for monthly changes in days open in Holsteins

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pszczola, M.J.; Aguilar, I.; Misztal, I.

2009-01-01

A reaction norm approach was used to estimate trends for days open (DO) with a model that indirectly accounted for heat stress. Data included 3.4 million first-parity records of DO of US Holsteins. A fixed effect model included herd-year, month of calving within region (MOC), age class, and

Warming Trends and Bleaching Stress of the World’s Coral Reefs 1985–2012

Science.gov (United States)

Heron, Scott F.; Maynard, Jeffrey A.; van Hooidonk, Ruben; Eakin, C. Mark

2016-01-01

Coral reefs across the world’s oceans are in the midst of the longest bleaching event on record (from 2014 to at least 2016). As many of the world’s reefs are remote, there is limited information on how past thermal conditions have influenced reef composition and current stress responses. Using satellite temperature data for 1985–2012, the analysis we present is the first to quantify, for global reef locations, spatial variations in warming trends, thermal stress events and temperature variability at reef-scale (~4 km). Among over 60,000 reef pixels globally, 97% show positive SST trends during the study period with 60% warming significantly. Annual trends exceeded summertime trends at most locations. This indicates that the period of summer-like temperatures has become longer through the record, with a corresponding shortening of the ‘winter’ reprieve from warm temperatures. The frequency of bleaching-level thermal stress increased three-fold between 1985–91 and 2006–12 – a trend climate model projections suggest will continue. The thermal history data products developed enable needed studies relating thermal history to bleaching resistance and community composition. Such analyses can help identify reefs more resilient to thermal stress. PMID:27922080

Trends in annual, seasonal, and monthly streamflow characteristics at 227 streamgages in the Missouri River watershed, water years 1960-2011

Science.gov (United States)

Norton, Parker A.; Anderson, Mark T.; Stamm, John F.

2014-01-01

The Missouri River and its tributaries are an important resource that serve multiple uses including agriculture, energy, recreation, and municipal water supply. Understanding historical streamflow characteristics provides relevant guidance to adaptive management of these water resources. Streamflow records in the Missouri River watershed were examined for trends in time series of annual, seasonal, and monthly streamflow. A total of 227 streamgages having continuous observational records for water years 1960–2011 were examined. Kendall’s tau nonparametric test was used to determine statistical significance of trends in annual, seasonal, and monthly streamflow. A trend was considered statistically significant for a probability value less than or equal to 0.10 that the Kendall’s tau value equals zero. Significant trends in annual streamflow were indicated for 101 out of a total of 227 streamgages. The Missouri River watershed was divided into six watershed regions and trends within regions were examined. The western and the southern parts of the Missouri River watershed had downward trends in annual streamflow (56 streamgages), whereas the eastern part of the watershed had upward trends in streamflow (45 streamgages). Seasonal and monthly streamflow trends reflected prevailing annual streamflow trends within each watershed region.

Phanerozoic trends in shell accumulations: A comparison of Ordovician-Silurian and Tertiary records

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kidwell, S.M. (Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Geophysical Sciences); Brenchley, P.J. (Univ. of Liverpool (United Kingdom). Dept. of Earth Sciences)

1993-04-01

Evolutionary changes in the diversity and bathymetric deployment of major benthic invertebrate groups, both those that produce and those that modify bioclasts, suggest that the nature of shell accumulations is likely to have also changed through the Phanerozoic. Specifically, it has been suggested that, excepting crinoidal deposits, the Paleozoic-Triassic record is dominated by thin shell concentrations (< few 10s cm) whereas the Cretaceous-Cenozoic record includes much thicker accumulations (> 1 m). To test this, the authors focused on siliciclastic records in two end-point periods. Using the literature on North America and Europe combined with extensive field-checking, they found that brachiopod-, trilobite-, and bryozoan-dominated accumulations in the Ord-Sil are typically thin but that there are important exceptions. In the Tertiary, thick concentrations are composed of a much larger variety of groups, occur in a wider range of environments, and exhibit a greater diversity of biostratinomic features and inferred accumulation histories. Information on the paleobathymetry, paleolatitude and tectonic setting was evaluated for all data points, and so the contrasting patterns of shell accumulation can clearly be related to differences in geologic age rather than to environmental biases in data collection. Even the analysis of only a few shell-bed features, therefore, provides strong evidence for long-term changes in the nature of the bioclastic fossil record. Work still in progress suggests that there are also long-term changes in the distribution and nature of bioclastic deposits through stratigraphic (3rd-order) sequences, particularly in the character of skeletal material associated with key surfaces.

Spatial and Temporal Streamflow Trends in Northern Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen-Feng Yeh

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Streamflow is an important factor in the study of water resource management, floods, and droughts. Dramatic climate change has created extreme rainfall distributions, making the study of streamflow trends and variability even more crucial. In this study, the long-term streamflow data and trends recorded at gauging stations in Northern Taiwan are analyzed using the Mann-Kendall test. The data used for trend analysis are the average annual streamflow, the average seasonal streamflow, and the high and low flows. The slope trend is calculated using the Theil-Sen estimator. Finally, change point analysis is conducted using the Mann-Whitney-Pettit test and the cumulative deviation test to gain further information about the change points and to understand the changes in streamflow before and after the change points. The average annual streamflow of the 12 gauging stations in the study area is analyzed using the Mann-Kendall test. The results show that of the 12 gauging stations, only the Ximen Bridge Station in the Lanyang River basin show a significant downward streamflow trend. Results of the monthly and seasonal average streamflow analysis show that in the spring, 72.2% of the gauging stations showed upward streamflow trends, most of which were located in the Tamsui River and the Touqian River basins. The high and low flow data analysis shows that the Ximen Bridge Station was the only gauging station to feature a significant downward streamflow trend for both high and low flows. This distribution pattern provides valuable information for regional hydrological studies and water management.

Trends in low birth weight infants and changes in Baltimore's childbearing population, 1972–77

OpenAIRE

Strobino, Donna M.

1982-01-01

Linked birth and death records provided the population for a study of trends in low birth weight (LBW) rates in Baltimore between 1972 and 1977 and of the effect of changes in the characteristics of the childbearing population on these trends. The impact of shifts in the birth weight distribution on neonatal mortality rates was also investigated. Trends were analyzed for unstandardized LBW rates as well as for rates standardized on the distributions of maternal age, education, gravidity, prio...

Current Technology Trends for School Library Media Specialists

OpenAIRE

Leticia Ekhaml; Joan Hubbard

2003-01-01

An overview of some of the current technology trends used in classroom instruction and school library media centers in provided in this article such as the use of handheld electronic organizers, CD recorders, digital video cameras, and interactive whiteboards. The article offers some suggestions or ideas on how to acquire new technologies to school library media centers that are low in budgetary funds.

Trends in mercury wet deposition and mercury air concentrations across the U.S. and Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss-Penzias, Peter S.; Gay, David A.; Brigham, Mark E.; Parsons, Matthew T.; Gustin, Mae S.; ter Shure, Arnout

2016-01-01

This study examined the spatial and temporal trends of mercury (Hg) in wet deposition and air concentrations in the United States (U.S.) and Canada between 1997 and 2013. Data were obtained from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) and Environment Canada monitoring networks, and other sources. Of the 19 sites with data records from 1997–2013, 53% had significant negative trends in Hg concentration in wet deposition, while no sites had significant positive trends, which is in general agreement with earlier studies that considered NADP data up until about 2010. However, for the time period 2007–2013 (71 sites), 17% and 13% of the sites had significant positive and negative trends, respectively, and for the time period 2008–2013 (81 sites) 30% and 6% of the sites had significant positive and negative trends, respectively. Non-significant positive tendencies were also widespread. Regional trend analyses revealed significant positive trends in Hg concentration in the Rocky Mountains, Plains, and Upper Midwest regions for the recent time periods in addition to significant positive trends in Hg deposition for the continent as a whole. Sulfate concentration trends in wet deposition were negative in all regions, suggesting a lower importance of local Hg sources. The trend in gaseous elemental Hg from short-term datasets merged as one continuous record was broadly consistent with trends in Hg concentration in wet deposition, with the early time period (1998–2007) producing a significantly negative trend (− 1.5 ± 0.2% year− 1) and the recent time period (2008–2013) displaying a flat slope (− 0.3 ± 0.1% year− 1, not significant). The observed shift to more positive or less negative trends in Hg wet deposition primarily seen in the Central-Western regions is consistent with the effects of rising Hg emissions from regions outside the U.S. and Canada and the influence of long-range transport in the free troposphere.

Electronic health records to facilitate clinical research.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowie, Martin R; Blomster, Juuso I; Curtis, Lesley H; Duclaux, Sylvie; Ford, Ian; Fritz, Fleur; Goldman, Samantha; Janmohamed, Salim; Kreuzer, Jörg; Leenay, Mark; Michel, Alexander; Ong, Seleen; Pell, Jill P; Southworth, Mary Ross; Stough, Wendy Gattis; Thoenes, Martin; Zannad, Faiez; Zalewski, Andrew

2017-01-01

Electronic health records (EHRs) provide opportunities to enhance patient care, embed performance measures in clinical practice, and facilitate clinical research. Concerns have been raised about the increasing recruitment challenges in trials, burdensome and obtrusive data collection, and uncertain generalizability of the results. Leveraging electronic health records to counterbalance these trends is an area of intense interest. The initial applications of electronic health records, as the primary data source is envisioned for observational studies, embedded pragmatic or post-marketing registry-based randomized studies, or comparative effectiveness studies. Advancing this approach to randomized clinical trials, electronic health records may potentially be used to assess study feasibility, to facilitate patient recruitment, and streamline data collection at baseline and follow-up. Ensuring data security and privacy, overcoming the challenges associated with linking diverse systems and maintaining infrastructure for repeat use of high quality data, are some of the challenges associated with using electronic health records in clinical research. Collaboration between academia, industry, regulatory bodies, policy makers, patients, and electronic health record vendors is critical for the greater use of electronic health records in clinical research. This manuscript identifies the key steps required to advance the role of electronic health records in cardiovascular clinical research.

Trends '91: A compendium of data on global change---highlights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boden, T.A.; Sepanski, R.J.; Stoss, F.W.

1992-03-01

The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been prompted to produce the series Trends, a concise inventory of data in response to heightened concern about global environmental issues, in particular climate changes induced by the greenhouse effect. This report contains extracts from Trends '91 to illustrate the content, style, and presentation of data contained in the full 700-page report. This report includes a listing of the investigators contributing data for Trends '91. In addition, it contains the abstract, foreword, and acknowledgments, as well as the introduction and a sample data record from each of the reports's five chapters. The chapters are ''Atmospheric CO 2 ,'' ''Atmospheric CH 4 ,'' ''Other Trace Gases,'' ''CO 2 Emissions,'' and ''Temperature.'' Appendix A provides information about CDIAC and its activities related to global environmental issues. Appendix B lists the contents of the full report. An order form for obtaining a free copy of Trends '91 is found in Appendix C

Using trend templates in a neonatal seizure algorithm improves detection of short seizures in a foetal ovine model.

Science.gov (United States)

Zwanenburg, Alex; Andriessen, Peter; Jellema, Reint K; Niemarkt, Hendrik J; Wolfs, Tim G A M; Kramer, Boris W; Delhaas, Tammo

2015-03-01

Seizures below one minute in duration are difficult to assess correctly using seizure detection algorithms. We aimed to improve neonatal detection algorithm performance for short seizures through the use of trend templates for seizure onset and end. Bipolar EEG were recorded within a transiently asphyxiated ovine model at 0.7 gestational age, a common experimental model for studying brain development in humans of 30-34 weeks of gestation. Transient asphyxia led to electrographic seizures within 6-8 h. A total of 3159 seizures, 2386 shorter than one minute, were annotated in 1976 h-long EEG recordings from 17 foetal lambs. To capture EEG characteristics, five features, sensitive to seizures, were calculated and used to derive trend information. Feature values and trend information were used as input for support vector machine classification and subsequently post-processed. Performance metrics, calculated after post-processing, were compared between analyses with and without employing trend information. Detector performance was assessed after five-fold cross-validation conducted ten times with random splits. The use of trend templates for seizure onset and end in a neonatal seizure detection algorithm significantly improves the correct detection of short seizures using two-channel EEG recordings from 54.3% (52.6-56.1) to 59.5% (58.5-59.9) at FDR 2.0 (median (range); p seizures by EEG monitoring at the NICU.

Hoplitolyda duolunica gen. et sp. nov. (Insecta, Hymenoptera, Praesiricidae, the Hitherto largest sawfly from the Mesozoic of China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taiping Gao

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Large body size of an insect, in general, enhances its capability of predation, competition, and defense, resulting in better survivability and reproduction. Hymenopterans, most being phytophagous or parasitic, have a relatively small to medium body size, typically under 50.0 mm in body length. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Herein, we describe Hoplitolyda duolunica gen. et sp. nov., assigned to Praesiricidae, from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of China. This new species is the largest fossil hymenopteran hitherto with body estimated >55.0 mm long and wing span >92.0 mm. H. duolunica is, to our knowledge, the only sawfly with Sc present in the hind wing but not in the forewing. Its Rs1 and M1 meeting each other at 145° angle represents an intermediate in the transition from "Y" to "T" shapes. Even though Hoplitolyda differs significantly from all previously described genera in two subfamilies of Praesricidae, we leave the new genus unplaced in existing subfamilies, pending discovery of material with more taxonomic structure. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Hoplitolyda has many unique and interesting characters which might have benefitted its competition, survival, and reproduction: large body size and head with robust and strong mandibles for defense and/or sexual selection, unique wing venation and setal arrangements for flight capability and mobility, dense hairs on body and legs for sensing and protection, etc. Considering the reported ferocious predators of feathered dinosaurs, pterosaurs, birds, and mammals coexisting in the same eco-system, Hoplitolyda is an interesting case of "survival of the fittest" in facing its evolutionary challenges.

Trends in Nuclear Explosion Monitoring Research & Development - A Physics Perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maceira, Monica [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Blom, Philip Stephen [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Maccarthy, Jonathan K. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Marcillo, Omar Eduardo [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Euler, Garrett Gene [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Begnaud, Michael Lee [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Ford, Sean R. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Pasyanos, Michael E. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Orris, Gregory J. [Naval Research Laboratory; Foxe, Michael P. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Arrowsmith, Stephen J. [Sandia National Laboratory; Merchant, B. John [Sandia National Laboratory; Slinkard, Megan E. [Sandia National Laboratory

2017-06-01

This document entitled “Trends in Nuclear Explosion Monitoring Research and Development – A Physics Perspective” reviews the accessible literature, as it relates to nuclear explosion monitoring and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT, 1996), for four research areas: source physics (understanding signal generation), signal propagation (accounting for changes through physical media), sensors (recording the signals), and signal analysis (processing the signal). Over 40 trends are addressed, such as moving from 1D to 3D earth models, from pick-based seismic event processing to full waveform processing, and from separate treatment of mechanical waves in different media to combined analyses. Highlighted in the document for each trend are the value and benefit to the monitoring mission, key papers that advanced the science, and promising research and development for the future.

Tall trends: quantifying the skyscraper phenomenon

Science.gov (United States)

Gabel, Jason

2018-03-01

The world continues to witness an explosion of growth in the number of 200-plus-meter skyscrapers, with three straight years of record-breaking completions (from 2014 to 2016) and a 441 percent increase on the total number of such towers in the 21st century, from 265 in 2000 to 1,168 at the end of 2016. Fueled largely by strong economic performance, much of this activity is centered in Asia and the Middle East, upending longstanding geopolitical trends. China in particular has dominated worldwide skyscraper construction, accounting for two-thirds of all completions in the last calendar year (2016). Further, the traditional role of the skyscraper has diversified, with residential and mixed-use buildings accounting for a greater share of 200-plus-meter buildings. This paper explores these interconnected trends in detail and analyzes both the causes and impacts of an evolving skyscraper industry.

Change-Point and Trend Analysis on Annual Maximum Discharge in Continental United States

Science.gov (United States)

Serinaldi, F.; Villarini, G.; Smith, J. A.; Krajewski, W. F.

2008-12-01

Annual maximum discharge records from 36 stations representing different hydro-climatic regimes in the continental United States with at least 100 years of records are used to investigate the presence of temporal trends and abrupt changes in mean and variance. Change point analysis is performed by means of two non- parametric (Pettitt and CUSUM), one semi-parametric (Guan), and two parametric (Rodionov and Bayesian Change Point) tests. Two non-parametric (Mann-Kendall and Spearman) and one parametric (Pearson) tests are applied to detect the presence of temporal trends. Generalized Additive Model for Location Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) models are also used to parametrically model the streamflow data exploiting their flexibility to account for changes and temporal trends in the parameters of distribution functions. Additionally, serial correlation is assessed in advance by computing the autocorrelation function (ACF), and the Hurst parameter is estimated using two estimators (aggregated variance and differenced variance methods) to investigate the presence of long range dependence. The results of this study indicate lack of long range dependence in the maximum streamflow series. At some stations the authors found a statistically significant change point in the mean and/or variance, while in general they detected no statistically significant temporal trends.

78 FR 73237 - Reports, Forms and Record Keeping Requirements Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-05

...-0088] Reports, Forms and Record Keeping Requirements Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB... entities over which the agency exercises regulatory authority. Recent trends lead the agency to estimate.... Requesters are not required to keep copies of any records or reports [[Page 73238

Trends in atmospheric deposition fluxes of sulphur and nitrogen in Czech forests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hůnová, Iva; Maznová, Jana; Kurfürst, Pavel

2014-01-01

We present the temporal trends and spatial changes of deposition of sulphur and nitrogen in Czech forests based on records from long-term monitoring. A statistically significant trend for sulphur was detected at most of the sites measuring for wet, dry, and total deposition fluxes and at many of these the trend was also present for the period after 2000. The spatial pattern of the changes in sulphur deposition flux between 1995 and 2011 shows the decrease over the entire forested area in a wide range of 18.1–0.2 g m −2 year −1 with the most pronounced improvement in formerly most impacted regions. Nitrogen still represents a considerable stress in many areas. The value of nitrogen deposition flux of 1 g m −2 year −1 is exceeded over a significant portion of the country. On an equivalent basis, the ion ratios of NO 3 − /SO 4 2− and NH 4 + /SO 4 2− in precipitation show significantly increasing trends in time similarly to those of pH. -- Highlights: • Significant decrease of sulphur deposition at most of sites has been recorded. • Nitrogen deposition still represents a considerable stress in Czech forests. • Significantly increasing trends of NO 3 − /SO 4 2− , NH 4 + /SO 4 2− , and pH in precipitation. -- While sulphur deposition significantly decreased with the highest improvement in formerly most affected areas, nitrogen deposition still represents a considerable stress in Czech forests

Tracking Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium Shifts in Data with TREND.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jia; Van Doren, Steven R

2017-01-24

Principal component analysis (PCA) discovers patterns in multivariate data that include spectra, microscopy, and other biophysical measurements. Direct application of PCA to crowded spectra, images, and movies (without selecting peaks or features) was shown recently to identify their equilibrium or temporal changes. To enable the community to utilize these capabilities with a wide range of measurements, we have developed multiplatform software named TREND to Track Equilibrium and Nonequilibrium population shifts among two-dimensional Data frames. TREND can also carry this out by independent component analysis. We highlight a few examples of finding concurrent processes. TREND extracts dual phases of binding to two sites directly from the NMR spectra of the titrations. In a cardiac movie from magnetic resonance imaging, TREND resolves principal components (PCs) representing breathing and the cardiac cycle. TREND can also reconstruct the series of measurements from selected PCs, as illustrated for a biphasic, NMR-detected titration and the cardiac MRI movie. Fidelity of reconstruction of series of NMR spectra or images requires more PCs than needed to plot the largest population shifts. TREND reads spectra from many spectroscopies in the most common formats (JCAMP-DX and NMR) and multiple movie formats. The TREND package thus provides convenient tools to resolve the processes recorded by diverse biophysical methods. Copyright © 2017 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Current Technology Trends for School Library Media Specialists

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leticia Ekhaml

2003-03-01

Full Text Available An overview of some of the current technology trends used in classroom instruction and school library media centers in provided in this article such as the use of handheld electronic organizers, CD recorders, digital video cameras, and interactive whiteboards. The article offers some suggestions or ideas on how to acquire new technologies to school library media centers that are low in budgetary funds.

Application of Seasonal Trend Loess to GPS data in Cascadia

Science.gov (United States)

Bal, A.; Bartlow, N. M.

2016-12-01

Plate Boundary Observatory GPS stations provide crucial data for the study of slow slip events and volcanic hazards in the Cascadia region. However, these GPS stations also record seasonal changes in deformation caused by hydrologic, atmospheric, and other seasonal loading. Removing these signals is necessary for accurately modeling the tectonic sources of deformation. Traditionally, seasonal trends in data been accounted for by fitting and removing sine curves from the data. However, not all seasonal trends follow a sinusoidal shape. Seasonal Trend Loess, or STL, is a filtering procedure for a decomposing a time series into trend, seasonal, and remainder components (Cleveland et. al, Journal of Official Statistics, 1990). STL has a simple design that consists of a sequence of applications of the loess smoother which allows for fast computation of large amounts of trend and seasonal smoothing. STL allows for non-sinusoidal shapes in seasonal deformation signals, and allows for evolution of seasonal signals over time. We applied Seasonal Trend Loess to GPS data from the Cascadia region. We compared our results to a traditional sine wave fit for seasonal removal at selected stations, including stations with slow slip event and volcanic signals. We hope that the STL method may be able to more accurately differentiate seasonal and tectonic deformation signals.

Trends in radiopharmaceutical dispensing in a regional nuclear pharmacy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basmadjian, G.P.; Johnston, J.; Barker, K.; Ice, R.D.

1982-01-01

Dispensing trends for radiopharmaceuticals at a regional nuclear pharmacy over a 51-month period were studied. dispensing records of a regional nuclear pharmacy were analyzed with a forecasting procedure that uses univariate time data to produce time trends and autoregressive models. The overall number of prescriptions increased from 3500 to 5500 per quarter. Radiopharmaceuticals used in nuclear cardiology studies increased from less than 0.1% to 17.5% of total prescriptions dispensed, while radiopharmaceuticals used for brain imaging showed a steady decline from 29% to 11% of total prescriptions dispensed. The demand for other radiopharmaceuticals increased in areas such as renal studies, bone studies, lung studies, liver-function studies, and 67 Ga tumor-uptake studies, and declined slightly for static liver studies. Changes in dispensing trends for radiopharmaceuticals will continue as the practice of nuclear medicine concentrates more on functional studies and as newer imaging techniques become used for other purposes

Observation-based trends in ambient ozone in the Czech Republic over the past two decades

Science.gov (United States)

Hůnová, Iva; Bäumelt, Vít

2018-01-01

We present the trends in ambient ozone concentrations based on high quality data measured continuously at 26 long-term monitoring sites (9 urban, 17 rural including 10 mountain stations) in the Czech Republic in 1994-2015. We considered annual and summer medians, the 10th and 98th percentiles, maximum daily 8-h running mean concentrations and exposure index AOT40F. For all indicators taken into account except for the 10th percentile, our results showed a similar pattern with significant decreasing trends for about one half of the examined sites. We obtained similar results for all types of sites. The most pronounced decrease in O3 concentrations was recorded at mountain sites. Namely, at the Šerlich mountain site, with an overall decrease per year in annual median by 0.43 ppb, summer median by 1.17 ppb, maximal daily 8-h average by 0.45 ppb, the 10th percentile by 0.62 ppb. The peak concentrations indicated by the 98th percentile and AOT40F decreased most at urban site České Budějovice by 0.75 ppb and 0.84 ppb h per year, respectively. For sites exhibiting significant decreasing trends, an overall decrease per year in annual median was 0.22 ppb, in summer median 0.41 ppb, in the 10th percentile 0.23 ppb, in the 98th percentile 0.53 ppb, and in AOT40F 0.51 ppb h. A significant increasing trend was detected only in the 10th percentile at just three sites, with the highest increase of 0.19 ppb per year recorded at the rural site Sněžník. Moreover, a consistent decrease in limit value exceedances was detected, with by far the highest violation recorded in the meteorologically exceptional year of 2003. Out of the 26 sites under review, seven have not recorded a significant decreasing trend in O3 in any of the considered statistics. The lack of trends in O3 at these seven sites is likely associated with changing time patterns in local NO and NO2 emissions: in particular, with the increasing ratio in NO2/NOx. There is an obvious geographical pattern in recorded O3

Rising trend in maternal mortality at the university of Maiduguri ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Context: Various interventions have been introduced to reduce the very high maternal mortality ratio in our environmentbut to date the success is only marginal at best. Objective: To determine the trend in maternal mortality in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH). Methods: Analysis of records of all women who ...

A discussion on the determination of atmospheric OH and its trends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Jöckel

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The oxidation efficiency of the troposphere is largely determined by the hydroxyl radical and its global distribution. Its presence limits the lifetime of most trace gases. Because of the great importance of several of these gases for climate, ozone budget and OH itself, it is of fundamental importance to acquire knowledge about atmospheric OH and possible trends in its concentrations. In the past, average concentrations of OH and trends were largely derived using industrially produced CH3CCl3 as a chemical tracer. The analyses have given valuable, but also rather uncertain results. In this paper we describe an idealized computer aided tracer experiment which has as one of its goals to derive tracer concentration weighted, global average k(OH>, where the temporal and spatial OH distribution is prescribed and k is the reaction rate coefficient of OH with a hitherto never produced (Gedanken tracer, which is injected at a number of surface sites in the atmosphere in well known amounts over a given time period. Using a three-dimensional (3-D time-dependent chemistry transport model, k(OH> can be accurately determined from the calculated 3-D tracer distribution. It is next explored how well k(OH> can be retrieved solely from tracer measurements at a limited number of surface sites. The results from this analysis are encouraging enough to actually think about the feasibility to carry out a global dedicated tracer experiment to derive k(OH> and its temporal trends. However, before that, we propose to test the methods that are used to derive k(OH>, so far largely using CH3CCl3, with an idealized tracer experiment, in which a global chemistry transport model is used to calculate the ``Gedanken'' tracer distribution, representing the real 3-D world, from which k(OH> is derived, using only the tracer information from a limited set of surface sites. We propose here that research groups which are, or will be, involved in global average OH studies to

Spatial and temporal trends in runoff at long-term streamgages within and near the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Karen C.; Hirsch, Robert M.

2012-01-01

Long-term streamflow data within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and surrounding area were analyzed in an attempt to identify trends in streamflow. Data from 30 streamgages near and within the Chesapeake Bay watershed were selected from 1930 through 2010 for analysis. Streamflow data were converted to runoff and trend slopes in percent change per decade were calculated. Trend slopes for three runoff statistics (the 7-day minimum, the mean, and the 1-day maximum) were analyzed annually and seasonally. The slopes also were analyzed both spatially and temporally. The spatial results indicated that trend slopes in the northern half of the watershed were generally greater than those in the southern half. The temporal analysis was done by splitting the 80-year flow record into two subsets; records for 28 streamgages were analyzed for 1930 through 1969 and records for 30 streamgages were analyzed for 1970 through 2010. The mean of the data for all sites for each year were plotted so that the following datasets were analyzed: the 7-day minimum runoff for the north, the 7-day minimum runoff for the south, the mean runoff for the north, the mean runoff for the south, the 1-day maximum runoff for the north, and the 1-day maximum runoff for the south. Results indicated that the period 1930 through 1969 was statistically different from the period 1970 through 2010. For the 7-day minimum runoff and the mean runoff, the latter period had significantly higher streamflow than did the earlier period, although within those two periods no significant linear trends were identified. For the 1-day maximum runoff, no step trend or linear trend could be shown to be statistically significant for the north, although the south showed a mixture of an upward step trend accompanied by linear downtrends within the periods. In no case was a change identified that indicated an increasing rate of change over time, and no general pattern was identified of hydrologic conditions becoming "more extreme

NEW EUROPEAN RECORDS AND FIRST EVIDENCE OF EPIDERMAL STRUCTURES OF SLOANEA L. FROM THE ITALIAN OLIGOCENE – REVISED TYPE AND ORIGINAL MATERIAL OF PRINCIPI 1916

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LILLA HABLY

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Leaves of Sloanea elliptica (Andreánszky Z. Kvaèek & Hably and S. peolai (Principi Hably, Tamás & Cioppi  with preserved organic structures were found during the study of Principi’s collection from the Oligocene flora of Santa Giustina. Fossil leaves of Sloanea elliptica have so far been recorded exclusively from the Palaeogene Basin of the Inner Carpathian Region, i.e. from the Lower Oligocene strata of Hungary and Slovenia, whereas S. peolai has been described from a single locality, Chiavon in Italy. Organic structure of S. peolai hitherto has not been recorded. The mass occurrence of Sloanea elliptica in the fossil assemblage of Santa Giustina indicates that its area was much more extensive than it was presumed. It was a characteristic element mainly of Oligocene floras, and even predominated them. This is the first record of the co-occurrence of two Sloanea species described on the basis of leaf remains. During the study 6 types and more than 30 illustrated specimens published in Principi's monograph were revised and identified as S. elliptica.    

Providing long-term trend and gravimetric factor at Chandler period from superconducting gravimeter records by using Singular Spectrum Analysis along with its multivariate extension

Science.gov (United States)

Gruszczynska, M.; Rosat, S.; Klos, A.; Bogusz, J.

2017-12-01

In this study, Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) along with its multivariate extension MSSA (Multichannel SSA) were used to estimate long-term trend and gravimetric factor at the Chandler wobble frequency from superconducting gravimeter (SG) records. We have used data from seven stations located worldwide and contributing to the International Geodynamics and Earth Tides Service (IGETS). The timespan ranged from 15 to 19 years. Before applying SSA and MSSA, we had removed local tides, atmospheric (ECMWF data), hydrological (MERRA2 products) loadings and non-tidal ocean loading (ECCO2 products) effects. In the first part of analysis, we used the SSA approach in order to estimate the long-term trends from SG observations. We use the technique based on the classical Karhunen-Loève spectral decomposition of time series into long-term trend, oscillations and noise. In the second part, we present the determination of common time-varying pole tide (annual and Chandler wobble) to estimate gravimetric factor from SG time series using the MSSA approach. The presented method takes advantage over traditional methods like Least Squares Estimation by determining common modes of variability which reflect common geophysical field. We adopted a 6-year lag-window as the optimal length to extract common seasonal signals and the Chandler components of the Earth polar motion. The signals characterized by annual and Chandler wobble account for approximately 62% of the total variance of residual SG data. Then, we estimated the amplitude factors and phase lags of Chandler wobble with respect to the IERS (International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service) polar motion observations. The resulting gravimetric factors at the Chandler Wobble period are finally compared with previously estimates. A robust estimate of the gravimetric Earth response to the Chandlerian component of the polar motion is required to better constrain the mantle anelasticity at this frequency and hence the

Interrogating trees for isotopic archives of atmospheric sulphur deposition and comparison to speleothem records

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wynn, P.M.; Loader, N.J.; Fairchild, I.J.

2014-01-01

Palaeorecords which depict changes in sulphur dynamics form an invaluable resource for recording atmospheric pollution. Tree rings constitute an archive that are ubiquitously available and can be absolutely dated, providing the potential to explore local- to regional-scale trends in sulphur availability. Rapid isotopic analysis by a novel “on-line” method using elemental analyser isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS) is developed, achieving sample precision of <0.4‰ using sample sizes of 40 mg wood powder. Tree cores from NE Italy show trends in pollution, evidenced through increasing concentrations of sulphur towards the youngest growth, and inverse trends in sulphur isotopes differentiating modern growth with light sulphur isotopes (+0.7‰) from pre-industrial growth (+7.5‰) influenced by bedrock composition. Comparison with speleothem records from the same location demonstrate replication, albeit offset in isotopic value due to groundwater storage. Using EA-IRMS, tree ring archives form a valuable resource for understanding local- to regional-scale sulphur pollution dynamics. - Highlights: • Sulphur isotopes from tree rings are analysed using ‘on-line’ EA combustion. • Isotopes differentiate modern growth influenced by pollution from pre-industrial growth. • Biogeochemical cycling imparts minimal delay in sulphur incorporation into tree rings. • Trends in pollution are replicated between speleothems and trees from the same location. - Sulphur isotopes extracted from tree ring records are used to identify twentieth century pollution dynamics at the local- to regional-scale

Effects of dating errors on nonparametric trend analyses of speleothem time series

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Mudelsee

2012-10-01

Full Text Available A fundamental problem in paleoclimatology is to take fully into account the various error sources when examining proxy records with quantitative methods of statistical time series analysis. Records from dated climate archives such as speleothems add extra uncertainty from the age determination to the other sources that consist in measurement and proxy errors. This paper examines three stalagmite time series of oxygen isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O from two caves in western Germany, the series AH-1 from the Atta Cave and the series Bu1 and Bu4 from the Bunker Cave. These records carry regional information about past changes in winter precipitation and temperature. U/Th and radiocarbon dating reveals that they cover the later part of the Holocene, the past 8.6 thousand years (ka. We analyse centennial- to millennial-scale climate trends by means of nonparametric Gasser–Müller kernel regression. Error bands around fitted trend curves are determined by combining (1 block bootstrap resampling to preserve noise properties (shape, autocorrelation of the δ¹⁸O residuals and (2 timescale simulations (models StalAge and iscam. The timescale error influences on centennial- to millennial-scale trend estimation are not excessively large. We find a "mid-Holocene climate double-swing", from warm to cold to warm winter conditions (6.5 ka to 6.0 ka to 5.1 ka, with warm–cold amplitudes of around 0.5‰ δ¹⁸O; this finding is documented by all three records with high confidence. We also quantify the Medieval Warm Period (MWP, the Little Ice Age (LIA and the current warmth. Our analyses cannot unequivocally support the conclusion that current regional winter climate is warmer than that during the MWP.

Personal health records

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kensing, Finn

2012-01-01

The paper addresses the complex interplay between patients, healthcare professionals, and technology in relation to the treatment of chronic patients. It reflects on an ongoing interdisciplinary action research project striving to design and implement IT support for communication and collaboration...... in the distributed heterogeneous network of chronic patients and the healthcare professionals that take care of them. An interactive personal health record (PHR) has been designed as part of the project. As such it is part of a trend to find ways to include patients in their own care process. This has been motivated...... by expected health benefits for the patients as well as promises to lead to reduced costs for a burdened healthcare system....

Trends in coal use - global, EU and Poland

Science.gov (United States)

Suwała, Wojciech; Wyrwa, Artur; Olkuski, Tadeusz

2017-11-01

That aim of this paper is to compare trends in global, European use of coal with tendencies in Poland, one of heavy coal dependent countries. Polish power generation is unique among OECD countries, the share of both hard coal and lignite in power generation reaches 81% [1]. Climate policy of European Union is to phase out intensive greenhouse gases sectors, thus to transform Polish power generation into less carbon intensive. Although such policy is generally accepted in Poland, the paste and practically proposed regulation that excludes coal generation from capacity mechanisms, is considered as threat to energy security. Coal is the base for generation for one simple reason, abundant in European scale hard coal reserves and significant capacities in lignite. Natural gas reserves allow to supply about 1/3 of consumption, but prices and supplies dependent hitherto on contracts with GAZPROM did not allow to develop significant generation capacities. Renewable resources are limited, there is not much possibilities for hydro, wind and solar. Poland is also one of the countries of poor air quality, traditional coal based space heating systems plus obsolete car fleet generate vast emissions, especially during the winter. Only recently this became top priority of environmental authorities. This situation is subject to transformation, government, managers are aware that the role of coal needs to be decreased, but there are two main questions, the paste of transformation and the future energy mix. The paper attempts to answer the question whether the expected changes in Polish energy mix are comparable or differ from the global and European tendencies.

TRENDS IN URBAN STORM WATER QUALITY IN TALLINN AND INFLUENCES FROM STORMFLOW AND BASEFLOW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bharat Maharjan

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Temporal trends provide a good interpretation of change in stormwater quality over time. This study aimed to analyse trends and influences due to stormflow and baseflow. Grab samples of 18-19 years from 1995 to 2014 recorded at outlets of 7 Tallinn watersheds were analysed for monotonic trend through seasonal Mann Kendall test for long-term, short-term, baseflow and stormflow. Statistically significant downward trends (P-value (p 0.05 and < 0.2 for 3 – SS, 1 – BOD, 1 – TN and 1 – TP were identified. Statistically significant long-term upward trends of pH were revealed in 5 basins, which reduced to 2 with 5 less significant upward trends over the 10 year period, indicating improvements in pH reduction. Härjapea has the highest pH without trend but it includes an upward trend of TN at p = 0.051. The highly possible causes for downward trends are street sweeping, sewer network improvement, decline in sub-urban agricultural areas, etc. The upward trend results of pH are related to increased alkalinisation due to acidic rain, weathering of carbonate rocks, sewage discharge and alkaline road dust. In most of the basins, stormflow has more influence on trends than baseflow.

Wellness, hard to define, reduces trend up to 4 percent.

Science.gov (United States)

Nayer, Cyndy; Berger, Jan; Mahoney, Jack

2010-04-01

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify a common language for "wellness" and a correlating health cost trend reduction through incentive-driven prevention and wellness. Mapping the results of the survey with the trend lines reported by innovative employers could uncover increased financial value in health investments. A 10-question survey was designed for telephone interviews with 26 businesses (Innovators) from the Board of the Center for Health Value Innovation; a paper-based survey with the same questions was completed by attendees at a seminar. Then, an online trend survey was conducted with members of the Board (Innovators) to track the total health cost trends in their companies over the past 3-4 years. Responses were compared and analysis of alignment and differences were recorded by graphing. The trend survey results were mapped and tracked with weighted averages. Innovators' responses to the phone survey showed broader definitions of "wellness" than other companies, with little difference in the Innovators' responses when subdivided by size of company. The online trend survey showed that companies that provided incentives for wellness averaged a trend of 4% over the past 3-4 years-approximately 50% of the national trends of 8%-10% over the same time frame. Innovators have defined wellness in ways that would accelerate adoption in the broader business community and drive implementation of wellness programs. The bigger win could be the community-level shift to a culture of health as employees carry these health competencies to the next business in the community.

Acoustic and biological trends on coral reefs off Maui, Hawaii

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Maxwell B.; Lammers, Marc O.; Zang, Eden; Aran Mooney, T.

2018-03-01

Coral reefs are characterized by high biodiversity, and evidence suggests that reef soundscapes reflect local species assemblages. To investigate how sounds produced on a given reef relate to abiotic and biotic parameters and how that relationship may change over time, an observational study was conducted between September 2014 and January 2016 at seven Hawaiian reefs that varied in coral cover, rugosity, and fish assemblages. The reefs were equipped with temperature loggers and acoustic recording devices that recorded on a 10% duty cycle. Benthic and fish visual survey data were collected four times over the course of the study. On average, reefs ranged from 0 to 80% live coral cover, although changes between surveys were noted, in particular during the major El Niño-related bleaching event of October 2015. Acoustic analyses focused on two frequency bands (50-1200 and 1.8-20.5 kHz) that corresponded to the dominant spectral features of the major sound-producing taxa on these reefs, fish, and snapping shrimp, respectively. In the low-frequency band, the presence of humpback whales (December-May) was a major contributor to sound level, whereas in the high-frequency band sound level closely tracked water temperature. On shorter timescales, the magnitude of the diel trend in sound production was greater than that of the lunar trend, but both varied in strength among reefs, which may reflect differences in the species assemblages present. Results indicated that the magnitude of the diel trend was related to fish densities at low frequencies and coral cover at high frequencies; however, the strength of these relationships varied by season. Thus, long-term acoustic recordings capture the substantial acoustic variability present in coral-reef ecosystems and provide insight into the presence and relative abundance of sound-producing organisms.

Demographic patterns and trends in patenting: Gender, age, and education of inventors

OpenAIRE

Ejermo, Olof; Jung, Taehyun

2012-01-01

This paper uses register-linked patent records covering an extended period 1985-2007 to analyze detailed demographic profiles of inventors. The analysis covers about 80 percent of all inventors with Swedish addresses listed on European Patent Office records. Examining temporal trends of gender, age, and education shows that the body of inventors is becoming more balanced in gender, younger, and more educated. However, the rate at which female inventors are entering into patenting has slowed d...

Temperature and ice layer trends in the summer middle atmosphere

Science.gov (United States)

Lübken, F.-J.; Berger, U.

2012-04-01

We present results from our LIMA model (Leibniz Institute Middle Atmosphere Model) which nicely reproduces mean conditions of the summer mesopause region and also mean characteristics of ice layers known as noctilucent clouds. LIMA nudges to ECMWF data in the troposphere and lower stratosphere which influences the background conditions in the mesosphere. We study temperature trends in the mesosphere at middle and polar latitudes and compared with temperature trends from satellites, lidar, and phase height observations. For the first time large observed temperature trends in the summer mesosphere can be reproduced and explained by a model. As will be shown, stratospheric ozone has a major impact on temperature trends in the summer mesosphere. The temperature trend is not uniform in time: it is moderate from 1961 (the beginning of our record) until the beginning of the 1980s. Thereafter, temperatures decrease much stronger until the mid 1990s. Thereafter, temperatures are nearly constant or even increase with time. As will be shown, trends in ozone and carbon dioxide explain most of this behavior. Ice layers in the summer mesosphere are very sensitive to background conditions and are therefore considered to be appropriate tracers for long term variations in the middle atmosphere. We use LIMA background conditions to determine ice layer characteristics in the mesopause region. We compare our results with measurements, for example with albedos from the SBUV satellites, and show that we can nicely reproduce observed trends. It turns out that temperature trends are positive (negative) in the upper (lower) part of the ice layer regime. This complicates an interpretation of NLC long term variations in terms of temperature trends.

Century Scale Evaporation Trend: An Observational Study

Science.gov (United States)

Bounoui, Lahouari

2012-01-01

Several climate models with different complexity indicate that under increased CO2 forcing, runoff would increase faster than precipitation overland. However, observations over large U.S watersheds indicate otherwise. This inconsistency between models and observations suggests that there may be important feedbacks between climate and land surface unaccounted for in the present generation of models. We have analyzed century-scale observed annual runoff and precipitation time-series over several United States Geological Survey hydrological units covering large forested regions of the Eastern United States not affected by irrigation. Both time-series exhibit a positive long-term trend; however, in contrast to model results, these historic data records show that the rate of precipitation increases at roughly double the rate of runoff increase. We considered several hydrological processes to close the water budget and found that none of these processes acting alone could account for the total water excess generated by the observed difference between precipitation and runoff. We conclude that evaporation has increased over the period of observations and show that the increasing trend in precipitation minus runoff is correlated to observed increase in vegetation density based on the longest available global satellite record. The increase in vegetation density has important implications for climate; it slows but does not alleviate the projected warming associated with greenhouse gases emission.

Abrupt warming of the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Raitsos, D. E.; Hoteit, Ibrahim; Prihartato, Perdana; Chronis, T.; Triantafyllou, G.; Abualnaja, Y.

2011-01-01

marine temperature. The comparisons with Northern Hemisphere temperatures revealed that the observed warming is part of global climate change trends. The hitherto results also raise additional questions regarding other broader climatic impacts over

Dementia incidence trend over 1992-2014 in the Netherlands: Analysis of primary care data

Science.gov (United States)

van Bussel, Emma F.; Richard, Edo; Coloma, Preciosa M.; de Waal, Margot W. M.; van den Akker, Marjan; Nielen, Markus M. J.; van Boven, Kees; Busschers, Wim B.; van Gool, Willem A.

2017-01-01

Background Recent reports have suggested declining age-specific incidence rates of dementia in high-income countries over time. Improved education and cardiovascular health in early age have been suggested to be bringing about this effect. The aim of this study was to estimate the age-specific dementia incidence trend in primary care records from a large population in the Netherlands. Methods and findings A dynamic cohort representative of the Dutch population was composed using primary care records from general practice registration networks (GPRNs) across the country. Data regarding dementia incidence were obtained using general-practitioner-recorded diagnosis of dementia within the electronic health records. Age-specific dementia incidence rates were calculated for all persons aged 60 y and over; negative binomial regression analysis was used to estimate the time trend. Nine out of eleven GPRNs provided data on more than 800,000 older people for the years 1992 to 2014, corresponding to over 4 million person-years and 23,186 incident dementia cases. The annual growth in dementia incidence rate was estimated to be 2.1% (95% CI 0.5% to 3.8%), and incidence rates were 1.08 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.13) times higher for women compared to men. Despite their relatively low numbers of person-years, the highest age groups contributed most to the increasing trend. There was no significant overall change in incidence rates since the start of a national dementia program in 2003 (−0.025; 95% CI −0.062 to 0.011). Increased awareness of dementia by patients and doctors in more recent years may have influenced dementia diagnosis by general practitioners in electronic health records, and needs to be taken into account when interpreting the data. Conclusions Within the clinical records of a large, representative sample of the Dutch population, we found no evidence for a declining incidence trend of dementia in the Netherlands. This could indicate true stability in incidence rates, or

Dementia incidence trend over 1992-2014 in the Netherlands: Analysis of primary care data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emma F van Bussel

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Recent reports have suggested declining age-specific incidence rates of dementia in high-income countries over time. Improved education and cardiovascular health in early age have been suggested to be bringing about this effect. The aim of this study was to estimate the age-specific dementia incidence trend in primary care records from a large population in the Netherlands.A dynamic cohort representative of the Dutch population was composed using primary care records from general practice registration networks (GPRNs across the country. Data regarding dementia incidence were obtained using general-practitioner-recorded diagnosis of dementia within the electronic health records. Age-specific dementia incidence rates were calculated for all persons aged 60 y and over; negative binomial regression analysis was used to estimate the time trend. Nine out of eleven GPRNs provided data on more than 800,000 older people for the years 1992 to 2014, corresponding to over 4 million person-years and 23,186 incident dementia cases. The annual growth in dementia incidence rate was estimated to be 2.1% (95% CI 0.5% to 3.8%, and incidence rates were 1.08 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.13 times higher for women compared to men. Despite their relatively low numbers of person-years, the highest age groups contributed most to the increasing trend. There was no significant overall change in incidence rates since the start of a national dementia program in 2003 (-0.025; 95% CI -0.062 to 0.011. Increased awareness of dementia by patients and doctors in more recent years may have influenced dementia diagnosis by general practitioners in electronic health records, and needs to be taken into account when interpreting the data.Within the clinical records of a large, representative sample of the Dutch population, we found no evidence for a declining incidence trend of dementia in the Netherlands. This could indicate true stability in incidence rates, or a balance between increased

Measured wind speed trends on the west coast of Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Tuller, Stanton E.

2004-09-01

Trends in measured wind speed are discussed for four stations on the west coast of Canada. Periods of record vary with the station. They begin in the late 1940s or the 1950s and run through to the early to mid 1990s. The most prominent feature of the time series was a decline in mean annual and winter wind speeds at Cape St James, Victoria International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport during the middle portion of the record. Declines in mean annual wind speed are matched by increases in the percentage of calms and decreases in high wind speed observations. The pressure gradient between Victoria, Vancouver and Comox, the Pacific North American index, the Pacific decadal oscillation index, and other climate elements in British Columbia and the northwestern USA show trends at roughly the same time, indicating a natural cause of the wind speed decrease. Comox Airport mean wind speeds increased, however, perhaps the result of reduced friction in the vicinity of the anemometer outweighing the decrease in the regional pressure gradient.

Spatio-temporal trends in monthly pan evaporation in Aguascalientes, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Ruiz-Alvarez, Osias; Singh, Vijay P.; Medina, Juan Enciso; Munster, Clyde; Kaiser, Ronald; Ontiveros-Capurata, Ronald Ernesto; Diaz-Garcia, Luis Antonio; dos Santos, Carlos Antonio Costa

2018-05-01

Emission of greenhouse gases is being alleged to be causing climate change in different regions of the world. The objective of this study was to analyze the spatio-temporal trends of monthly evaporation at 52 weather stations in the state of Aguascalientes (Mexico) which have hydrometeorological records of long periods. The autocorrelation was eliminated with an auto-regressive model, and the trend was determined using the Spearman (S) and Kendall (K) tests. The statistical significance of the trend was determined with the Spearman correlation coefficient (r s) and the Z statistic (the test statistic of the normal distribution) both indicated that that there were statistically significant trends in 107 time series, of these 88 series had negative trends and 19 series had positive trends. Negative trends were present in all months of the year, while positive trends occurred from February to May and from October to December only. The reduction of evaporation from - 4.10 to - 20.50 mm/month/year from June to September showed a hopeful future scenario for rainfed agriculture. Irrigated agriculture during dry months could have a reduction of irrigation requirements as a consequence of the reduction in reference and crop evapotranspiration. The evaporation increase during dry months could increase irrigation requirements and pumping, mainly in March, April, and November when there are trends with increases of about 26.90, 24.60, and 23.90 mm/month/year, respectively. The spatial variability of evaporation trend means that other effects of climate change could vary in different parts of the state. Results of this study will be useful for farmers and institutions in charge of the administration of water resources for developing adaptation and mitigation strategies to climate change.

The ichnologic record of the continental invertebrate invasion: evolutionary trends in environmental expansion, ecospace utilization, and behavioral complexity

Science.gov (United States)

Buatois, L.A.; Mangano, M.G.; Genise, Jorge F.; Taylor, T.N.

1998-01-01

The combined study of continental trace fossils and associated sedimentary facies provides valuable evidence of colonization trends and events throughout the Phanerozoic. Colonization of continental environments was linked to the exploitation of empty or under-utilized ecospace. Although the nonmarine trace fossil record probably begins during the Late Ordovician, significant invasion of nonmarine biotopes began close to the Silurian-Devonian transition with the establishment of a mobile arthropod epifauna (Diplichnites ichnoguild) in coastal marine to alluvial plain settings. Additionally, the presence of vertical burrows in Devonian high-energy fluvial deposits reflects the establishment of a stationary, deep suspension-feeding infauna of the Skolithos ichnoguild. The earliest evidence of plant-arthropod interaction occurred close to the Silurian-Devonian boundary, but widespread and varied feeding patterns are known from the Carboniferous. During the Carboniferous, permanent subaqueous lacustrine settings were colonized by a diverse, mobile detritus-feeding epifauna of the Mermia ichnoguild, which reflects a significant palaeoenvironmental expansion of trace fossils. Paleozoic ichnologic evidence supports direct routes to the land from marginal marine environments, and migration to lakes from land settings. All nonmarine sedimentary environments were colonized by the Carboniferous, and subsequent patterns indicate an increase in ecospace utilization within already colonized depositional settings. During the Permian, back-filled traces of the Scoyenia ichnoguild record the establishment of a mobile, intermediate-depth, deposit-feeding in-fauna in alluvial and transitional alluvial-lacustrine sediment. Diversification of land plants and the establishment of ecologically diverse plant communities through time provided new niches to be exploited by arthropods. Nevertheless, most ot the evolutionary feeding innovations took place relatively early, during the Late

Mapping trends of large and medium size carnivores of conservation interest in Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Constantin Cazacu

2014-07-01

Full Text Available We analysed yearly estimates of population size data during 2001-2012 for five carnivores species of conservation interest (Ursus arctos, Canis lupus, Lynx lynx, Felis silvestris and Canis aureus. Population size estimations were done by the game management authorities and integrated by the competent authorities on the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. Trends in data were detected using non-parametric Mann-Kendall test. This test was chosen considering the short length of data series and its usefulness for non-normal distributed data. The trend was tested at three spatial scales: game management units (n=1565, biogeographical region (n=5 and national. Trends depicted for each game management unit were plotted using ArcGIS, resulting species trend distribution maps. For the studied period increasing population trends were observed for Ursus arctos, Canis lupus, Canis aureus and Lynx lynx, while for Felis silvestris there was no trend recorded. Such an analysis in especially useful for conservation proposes, game management and reporting obligations under article 17 of the EC Habitat Directive, using population trend as a proxy for population dynamics. We conclude that the status of the five carnivore species is favourable during the study period.

Lake Baikal isotope records of Holocene Central Asian precipitation

Science.gov (United States)

Swann, George E. A.; Mackay, Anson W.; Vologina, Elena; Jones, Matthew D.; Panizzo, Virginia N.; Leng, Melanie J.; Sloane, Hilary J.; Snelling, Andrea M.; Sturm, Michael

2018-06-01

Climate models currently provide conflicting predictions of future climate change across Central Asia. With concern over the potential for a change in water availability to impact communities and ecosystems across the region, an understanding of historical trends in precipitation is required to aid model development and assess the vulnerability of the region to future changes in the hydroclimate. Here we present a record from Lake Baikal, located in the southern Siberian region of central Asia close to the Mongolian border, which demonstrates a relationship between the oxygen isotope composition of diatom silica (δ18Odiatom) and precipitation to the region over the 20th and 21st Century. From this, we suggest that annual rates of precipitation in recent times are at their lowest for the past 10,000 years and identify significant long-term variations in precipitation throughout the early to late Holocene interval. Based on comparisons to other regional records, these trends are suggested to reflect conditions across the wider Central Asian region around Lake Baikal and highlight the potential for further changes in precipitation with future climate change.

Trends in stream nitrogen concentrations for forested reference catchments across the USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Argerich, A; Greathouse, E; Johnson, S L; Sebestyen, S D; Rhoades, C C; Knoepp, J D; Adams, M B; Likens, G E; Campbell, J L; McDowell, W H; Scatena, F N; Ice, G G

2013-01-01

To examine whether stream nitrogen concentrations in forested reference catchments have changed over time and if patterns were consistent across the USA, we synthesized up to 44 yr of data collected from 22 catchments at seven USDA Forest Service Experimental Forests. Trends in stream nitrogen presented high spatial variability both among catchments at a site and among sites across the USA. We found both increasing and decreasing trends in monthly flow-weighted stream nitrate and ammonium concentrations. At a subset of the catchments, we found that the length and period of analysis influenced whether trends were positive, negative or non-significant. Trends also differed among neighboring catchments within several Experimental Forests, suggesting the importance of catchment-specific factors in determining nutrient exports. Over the longest time periods, trends were more consistent among catchments within sites, although there are fewer long-term records for analysis. These findings highlight the critical value of long-term, uninterrupted stream chemistry monitoring at a network of sites across the USA to elucidate patterns of change in nutrient concentrations at minimally disturbed forested sites. (letter)

On the urban heat island effect dependence on temperature trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camilloni, I.; Barros, V.

1997-01-01

For US, Argentine and Australian cities, yearly mean urban to rural temperature differences (ΔT u-r ) and rural temperatures (T r ) are negatively correlated in almost every case, suggesting that urban heat island intensity depends, among other parameters on the temperature itself. This negative correlation is related to the fact that interannual variability of temperature is generally lower in urban environments than in rural areas. This seems to hold true at low frequencies leading to opposite trends in the two variables. Hence, urban stations are prone to have lower trends in absolute value than rural ones. Therefore, regional data sets including records from urban locations, in addition to urban growth bias may have a second type of urban bias associated with temperature trends. A bulk estimate of this second urban bias trend for the contiguous United States during 1901-1984 indicates that it could be of the same order as the urban growth bias and of opposite sign. If these results could be extended to global data, it could be expected that the spurious influence of urban growth on global temperature trends during warming periods will be offset by the diminishing of the urban heat island intensity. 36 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs

Reconciling divergent trends and millennial variations in Holocene temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Marsicek, Jeremiah; Shuman, Bryan N.; Bartlein, Patrick J.; Shafer, Sarah L.; Brewer, Simon

2018-02-01

Cooling during most of the past two millennia has been widely recognized and has been inferred to be the dominant global temperature trend of the past 11,700 years (the Holocene epoch). However, long-term cooling has been difficult to reconcile with global forcing, and climate models consistently simulate long-term warming. The divergence between simulations and reconstructions emerges primarily for northern mid-latitudes, for which pronounced cooling has been inferred from marine and coastal records using multiple approaches. Here we show that temperatures reconstructed from sub-fossil pollen from 642 sites across North America and Europe closely match simulations, and that long-term warming, not cooling, defined the Holocene until around 2,000 years ago. The reconstructions indicate that evidence of long-term cooling was limited to North Atlantic records. Early Holocene temperatures on the continents were more than two degrees Celsius below those of the past two millennia, consistent with the simulated effects of remnant ice sheets in the climate model Community Climate System Model 3 (CCSM3). CCSM3 simulates increases in ‘growing degree days’—a measure of the accumulated warmth above five degrees Celsius per year—of more than 300 kelvin days over the Holocene, consistent with inferences from the pollen data. It also simulates a decrease in mean summer temperatures of more than two degrees Celsius, which correlates with reconstructed marine trends and highlights the potential importance of the different subseasonal sensitivities of the records. Despite the differing trends, pollen- and marine-based reconstructions are correlated at millennial-to-centennial scales, probably in response to ice-sheet and meltwater dynamics, and to stochastic dynamics similar to the temperature variations produced by CCSM3. Although our results depend on a single source of palaeoclimatic data (pollen) and a single climate-model simulation, they reinforce the notion that

Area-level risk factors for adverse birth outcomes: trends in urban and rural settings

OpenAIRE

Kent, Shia T; McClure, Leslie A; Zaitchik, Ben F; Gohlke, Julia M

2013-01-01

Background Significant and persistent racial and income disparities in birth outcomes exist in the US. The analyses in this manuscript examine whether adverse birth outcome time trends and associations between area-level variables and adverse birth outcomes differ by urban?rural status. Methods Alabama births records were merged with ZIP code-level census measures of race, poverty, and rurality. B-splines were used to determine long-term preterm birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW) trends b...

A Porites lutea climate record from Sodwana Bay, South Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An overall decrease in coral growth rate was seen over this period, possibly linked to global temperature and acidification trends. ... The insignificant ocean warming recorded in the coral supports the existence of a local, self-regulating, cold-water upwelling system from the adjacent shelf break and canyons that is ...

Trend analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, M.; Jones, D.R.

1991-01-01

The goal of exploration is to find reserves that will earn an adequate rate of return on the capital invested. Neither exploration nor economics is an exact science. The authors must therefore explore in those trends (plays) that have the highest probability of achieving this goal. Trend analysis is a technique for organizing the available data to make these strategic exploration decisions objectively and is in conformance with their goals and risk attitudes. Trend analysis differs from resource estimation in its purpose. It seeks to determine the probability of economic success for an exploration program, not the ultimate results of the total industry effort. Thus the recent past is assumed to be the best estimate of the exploration probabilities for the near future. This information is combined with economic forecasts. The computer software tools necessary for trend analysis are (1) Information data base - requirements and sources. (2) Data conditioning program - assignment to trends, correction of errors, and conversion into usable form. (3) Statistical processing program - calculation of probability of success and discovery size probability distribution. (4) Analytical processing - Monte Carlo simulation to develop the probability distribution of the economic return/investment ratio for a trend. Limited capital (short-run) effects are analyzed using the Gambler's Ruin concept in the Monte Carlo simulation and by a short-cut method. Multiple trend analysis is concerned with comparing and ranking trends, allocating funds among acceptable trends, and characterizing program risk by using risk profiles. In summary, trend analysis is a reality check for long-range exploration planning

First record of Stygnidae for the state of Espírito Santo and description of a new Protimesius (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores Primeiro registro de Stygnidae para o estado do Espírito Santo e descrição de um novo Protimesius (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriano B. Kury

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Protimesius osvaldoi sp. nov. is described from the Reserva Biológica de Sooretama, state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil, being the first record of Stygnidae from this State and the southernmost record of the family in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (hitherto, the family was recorded down to Bahia only, extending in 210 km south of the previously known distribution. This is a large species, with armature of leg IV very reduced and penial morphology differing from the closest counterparts mainly in the ventral plate, which recedes deeply at the lateral borders and has the distal margin curved ventrally and by the presence of two small intermediate setae. Protimesius Roewer, 1913 consisted hitherto of 17 species, recorded from northern/northeastern Brazil and Amazonia of adjacent countries. A key is given for the 17 species of Protimesius for which males are known.Protimesius osvaldoi sp. nov. é descrita da Reserva Biológica de Sooretama, Espírito Santo, sudeste do Brasil, sendo considerado o primeiro registro de Stygnidae para este Estado (até então a distribuição registrada para a família se estendia apenas até a Bahia e o registro mais ao sul na Floresta Atlântica, aumentando em 210 km ao sul a distribuição do grupo. Protomesius osvaldoi é uma espécie de tamanho grande, com armação reduzida na perna IV e placa ventral. Protimesius possui 17 espécies, registradas no norte e nordeste do Brasil e Região Amazônica. É apresentada uma chave para as 17 espécies de Protimesius com machos conhecidos.

Lecture Recording: Structural and Symbolic Information vs. Flexibility of Presentation

Science.gov (United States)

Stolzenberg, Daniel; Pforte, Stefan

2007-01-01

Rapid eLearning is an ongoing trend which enables flexible and cost-effective creation of learning materials. Especially, lecture recording has turned out to be a lightweight method particularly suited for existing lectures and blended learning strategies. In order to not only sequentially play back but offer full fledged navigation, search and…

Performance comparison of extracellular spike sorting algorithms for single-channel recordings.

Science.gov (United States)

Wild, Jiri; Prekopcsak, Zoltan; Sieger, Tomas; Novak, Daniel; Jech, Robert

2012-01-30

Proper classification of action potentials from extracellular recordings is essential for making an accurate study of neuronal behavior. Many spike sorting algorithms have been presented in the technical literature. However, no comparative analysis has hitherto been performed. In our study, three widely-used publicly-available spike sorting algorithms (WaveClus, KlustaKwik, OSort) were compared with regard to their parameter settings. The algorithms were evaluated using 112 artificial signals (publicly available online) with 2-9 different neurons and varying noise levels between 0.00 and 0.60. An optimization technique based on Adjusted Mutual Information was employed to find near-optimal parameter settings for a given artificial signal and algorithm. All three algorithms performed significantly better (psorting algorithm, receiving the best evaluation score for 60% of all signals. OSort operated at almost five times the speed of the other algorithms. In terms of accuracy, OSort performed significantly less well (palgorithms was optimal in general. The accuracy of the algorithms depended on proper choice of the algorithm parameters and also on specific properties of the examined signal. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Volatile element trends in gas-rich meteorites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bart, G; Lipschutz, M E [Purdue Univ., Lafayette, IN (USA). Dept. of Chemistry

1979-09-01

Study of 10 volatile elements (and non-volatile Co) in co-existing light and dark portions of 5 gas-rich chondrites indicates patterns of distinct but non-uniform enrichment of volatile elements. Only Cs is enriched in all samples; Bi and Tl enrichments covary. The observed enrichments are inconsistent with prior suggestions of admixture of C1 or C2 chondritic matter, whether pristine or partly devolatilized, but suggest that both light and dark portions of each chondrite represents a compositionally more extended sampling of parental nebular material than hitherto known.

Coral Records of 20th Century Central Tropical Pacific SST and Salinity: Signatures of Natural and Anthropogenic Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Nurhati, I. S.; Cobb, K.; Di Lorenzo, E.

2011-12-01

Accurate forecasts of regional climate changes in many regions of the world largely depend on quantifying anthropogenic trends in tropical Pacific climate against its rich background of interannual to decadal-scale climate variability. However, the strong natural climate variability combined with limited instrumental climate datasets have obscured potential anthropogenic climate signals in the region. Here, we present coral-based sea-surface temperature (SST) and salinity proxy records over the 20th century (1898-1998) from the central tropical Pacific - a region sensitive to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) whose variability strongly impacts the global climate. The SST and salinity proxy records are reconstructed via coral Sr/Ca and the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater (δ18Osw), respectively. On interannual (2-7yr) timescales, the SST proxy record tracks both eastern- and central-Pacific flavors of ENSO variability (R=0.65 and R=0.67, respectively). Interannual-scale salinity variability in our coral record highlights profound differences in precipitation and ocean advections during the two flavors of ENSO. On decadal (8yr-lowpassed) timescales, the central tropical Pacific SST and salinity proxy records are controlled by different sets of dynamics linked to the leading climate modes of North Pacific climate variability. Decadal-scale central tropical Pacific SST is highly correlated to the recently discovered North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO; R=-0.85), reflecting strong dynamical links between the central Pacific warming mode and extratropical decadal climate variability. Whereas decadal-scale salinity variations in the central tropical Pacific are significantly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO; R=0.54), providing a better understanding on low-frequency salinity variability in the region. Having characterized natural climate variability in this region, the coral record shows a +0.5°C warming trend throughout the last century

Continuing the Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Climate Data Record

Science.gov (United States)

Coddington, O.; Pilewskie, P.; Kopp, G.; Richard, E. C.; Sparn, T.; Woods, T. N.

2017-12-01

Radiative energy from the Sun establishes the basic climate of the Earth's surface and atmosphere and defines the terrestrial environment that supports all life on the planet. External solar variability on a wide range of scales ubiquitously affects the Earth system, and combines with internal forcings, including anthropogenic changes in greenhouse gases and aerosols, and natural modes such as ENSO, and volcanic forcing, to define past, present, and future climates. Understanding these effects requires continuous measurements of total and spectrally resolved solar irradiance that meet the stringent requirements of climate-quality accuracy and stability over time. The current uninterrupted 39-year total solar irradiance (TSI) climate data record is the result of several overlapping instruments flown on different missions. Measurement continuity, required to link successive instruments to the existing data record to discern long-term trends makes this important climate data record susceptible to loss in the event of a gap in measurements. While improvements in future instrument accuracy will reduce the risk of a gap, the 2017 launch of TSIS-1 ensures continuity of the solar irradiance record into the next decade. There are scientific and programmatic motivations for addressing the challenges of maintaining the solar irradiance data record beyond TSIS-1. The science rests on well-founded requirements of establishing a trusted climate observing network that can monitor trends in fundamental climate variables. Programmatically, the long-term monitoring of solar irradiance must be balanced within the broader goals of NASA Earth Science. New concepts for a low-risk, cost efficient observing strategy is a priority. New highly capable small spacecraft, low-cost launch vehicles and a multi-decadal plan to provide overlapping TSI and SSI data records are components of a low risk/high reliability plan with lower annual cost than past implementations. This paper provides the

Trend of Complete Hydatidiform Mole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Thapa

2010-03-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Complete Hydatidiform mole is one of the most frequent abnormal pregnancies. This review studies the trend of complete mole in Paropakar Maternity and Women's hospital and clinical ability to detect it. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 504 cases of complete hydatidiform mole recorded at Paropakar maternity and women's hospital, Kathmandu, during 2058-2065 B.S. Medical records were reviewed and incidence, clinical presentation and method of diagnosis were studied. RESULTS: During the study period, there were 13,9117 births and 504 complete moles, 12 partial moles, 48 persistent gestational tumours, six choriocarcinoma and four invasive moles recorded in the hospital. The incidence of complete mole was one per 276 births. It was prevalent among women younger than 29 years (80% and among the primigravidae (36.7%. More than 90% women presented in the first half of their pregnancy and vaginal bleeding was the main complaint (68.3%. Suction evacuation, dilation and evacuation followed by sharp curettage and abdominal hysterectomy were performed in 80.6%, 17.6% and 1.2% of the women respectively. Persistent mole and choriocarcinoma developed in 9.5% and 0.4% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Complete mole has the highest incidence. It affects mostly younger women and presents with vaginal bleeding most of the time, usually in the first half of their pregnancy. Keywords: complete hydatidiform mole, gestational trophoblastic disease, persistent gestational tumours.

TRENDS '90: A compendium of data on global change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sepanski, R.J.; Stoss, F.W. (eds.); Boden, T.A.; Kanciruk, P.; Farrell, M.P.

1990-08-01

This document is a source of frequently used global change data. This first issue includes estimates for global and national CO{sub 2} emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and from the production of cement, historical and modern records of atmospheric CO{sub 2} and methane concentrations, and several long-term temperature records. Included are tabular and graphical presentations of the data, discussions of trends in the data, and references to publications that provide further information. Data are presented in a two-page format, each dealing with a different data set. All data are available in digital form from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center.

Recent trends in cancer mortality in Uruguay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garau, M.; Alonso, R.; Musetti, C.; Barrios, E.

2010-01-01

Objective: To analyze trends in cancer mortality in Uruguay in the period 1989-2008. Methodology: The National Cancer Registry (NCR) collects information from cancer mortality from the death certificates: 147 631 deaths were identified in the period from cancer, which was recorded topography, sex and age. They were calculated for each year mortality rates adjusted for age (TMAE) using as standard the world population. Trends were assessed using the method and calculated the joinpoint Estimated Annual Percent Change (ESPP). Results: The TMAE presents downward trend in both sexes (ESPP = significant -0.60 in men and -0.49 In women). In the period studied, mortality presented decreasing trend when it comes to cancer breast cancer in women (ESPP -0.79, significant), and increased for prostate cancer (ESPP = 0.70) and kidney (ESPP = 1.82 and 1.71 in men and women respectively). As regards the digestive system decreased mortality observed for esophageal cancer (ESPP in = -1.93 men and women = -1.78) and stomach (ESPP = -2.22 men and women -2.24 ). Mortality for cancer of colorectum is stable in men (ESPP = 0.35 No significant (NS)) and shows a decline slight but steady in women (ESPP -0.5). As for cancers that show strong association with smoking, decreased mortality observed lung and laryngeal cancer in men (ESPP = -1.11 and -2.05 respectively), confirming the trend found between 1990 and 2001; in women there is increased mortality from lung cancer (ESPP = 2.76) that is not accompanied by increased mortality from laryngeal cancer (-0.1 ESPP = NS). Mortality from cancers oral cavity and pharynx is stable, but in women a significant increase (ESPP = 1.84) is observed when the oral cavity is analyzed in isolation (lip, tongue, gums, palate). As cervical cancer, mortality trends in 20 years is to increase (ESPP = 1.14), however, if consider only the past decade, mortality appears stabilized (ESPP = 0.57 NS). Conclusions: The overall trend of cancer mortality (all sites

Online Marketing Trends

OpenAIRE

Horecká, Ivana

2015-01-01

This thesis deals with online marketing trends. Its main goal is to define the latest online marketing trends, create a website with the free online marketing trends, and analyse their effectiveness. The theoretical part brings a thorough description of the latest online marketing trends. Moreover, it provides an insight into the latest trends in the website development. The chosen online marketing trends defined in the theoretical part are subsequently applied on a newly created website. All...

Evidence for acid-precipitation-induced trends in stream chemistry at hydrologic bench-mark stations

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Richard A.; Alexander, Richard B.

1983-01-01

Ten- to 15-year water-quality records from a network of headwater sampling stations show small declines in stream sulfate concentrations at stations in the northeastern quarter of the Nation and small increases in sulfate at most southeastern and western sites. The regional pattern of stream sulfate trends is similar to that reported for trends in S02 emissions to the atmosphere during the same period. Trends in the ratio of alkalinity to total major cation concentrations at the stations follow an inverse pattern of small increases in the Northeast and small, but widespread decreases elsewhere. The undeveloped nature of the sampled basins and the magnitude and direction of observed changes in relation to SO2 emissions support the hypothesis that the observed patterns in water quality trends reflect regional changes in the rates of acid deposition.

Placing the Common Era in a Holocene context: millennial to centennial patterns and trends in the hydroclimate of North America over the past 2000 years

Science.gov (United States)

Shuman, Bryan N.; Routson, Cody; McKay, Nicholas; Fritz, Sherilyn; Kaufman, Darrell; Kirby, Matthew E.; Nolan, Connor; Pederson, Gregory T.; St-Jacques, Jeannine-Marie

2018-05-01

A synthesis of 93 hydrologic records from across North and Central America, and adjacent tropical and Arctic islands, reveals centennial to millennial trends in the regional hydroclimates of the Common Era (CE; past 2000 years). The hydrological records derive from materials stored in lakes, bogs, caves, and ice from extant glaciers, which have the continuity through time to preserve low-frequency ( > 100 year) climate signals that may extend deeper into the Holocene. The most common pattern, represented in 46 (49 %) of the records, indicates that the centuries before 1000 CE were drier than the centuries since that time. Principal component analysis indicates that millennial-scale trends represent the dominant pattern of variance in the southwestern US, northeastern US, mid-continent, Pacific Northwest, Arctic, and tropics, although not all records within a region show the same direction of change. The Pacific Northwest and the southernmost tier of the tropical sites tended to dry toward present, as many other areas became wetter than before. In 22 records (24 %), the Medieval Climate Anomaly period (800-1300 CE) was drier than the Little Ice Age (1400-1900 CE), but in many cases the difference was part of the longer millennial-scale trend, and, in 25 records (27 %), the Medieval Climate Anomaly period represented a pluvial (wet) phase. Where quantitative records permitted a comparison, we found that centennial-scale fluctuations over the Common Era represented changes of 3-7 % in the modern interannual range of variability in precipitation, but the accumulation of these long-term trends over the entirety of the Holocene caused recent centuries to be significantly wetter, on average, than most of the past 11 000 years.

Culinary Tourism. A New Trend on the Tourism Market

OpenAIRE

Oana DURALIA

2017-01-01

Seen as a new form of manifestation of the behavior of the consumer of tourism products and services, culinary tourism has recorded an ascending trending the last years, with a positive forecast for the following years. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is the orientation and encouragement of the tourist services providers to adopt regional development strategies that harness traditional local resources and products in a context where the contemporary consumer no longer only pursues ...

National Status and Trends, Benthic Surveillance Project Sites, 1984-1992, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This data set reports information regarding the nominal sampling locations for the National Status and Trends Benthic Surveillance Project sites. One record is...

Challenges, issues and trends in fall detection systems

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Since falls are a major public health problem among older people, the number of systems aimed at detecting them has increased dramatically over recent years. This work presents an extensive literature review of fall detection systems, including comparisons among various kinds of studies. It aims to serve as a reference for both clinicians and biomedical engineers planning or conducting field investigations. Challenges, issues and trends in fall detection have been identified after the reviewing work. The number of studies using context-aware techniques is still increasing but there is a new trend towards the integration of fall detection into smartphones as well as the use of machine learning methods in the detection algorithm. We have also identified challenges regarding performance under real-life conditions, usability, and user acceptance as well as issues related to power consumption, real-time operations, sensing limitations, privacy and record of real-life falls. PMID:23829390

Spring onset variations and long-term trends from new hemispheric-scale products and remote sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Dye, D. G.; Li, X.; Ault, T.; Zurita-Milla, R.; Schwartz, M. D.

2015-12-01

Spring onset is commonly characterized by plant phenophase changes among a variety of biophysical transitions and has important implications for natural and man-managed ecosystems. Here, we present a new integrated analysis of variability in gridded Northern Hemisphere spring onset metrics. We developed a set of hemispheric temperature-based spring indices spanning 1920-2013. As these were derived solely from meteorological data, they are used as a benchmark for isolating the climate system's role in modulating spring "green up" estimated from the annual cycle of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Spatial patterns of interannual variations, teleconnections, and long-term trends were also analyzed in all metrics. At mid-to-high latitudes, all indices exhibit larger variability at interannual to decadal time scales than at spatial scales of a few kilometers. Trends of spring onset vary across space and time. However, compared to long-term trend, interannual to decadal variability generally accounts for a larger portion of the total variance in spring onset timing. Therefore, spring onset trends identified from short existing records may be aliased by decadal climate variations due to their limited temporal depth, even when these records span the entire satellite era. Based on our findings, we also demonstrated that our indices have skill in representing ecosystem-level spring phenology and may have important implications in understanding relationships between phenology, atmosphere dynamics and climate variability.

Prevailing climatic trends and runoff response from Hindukush–Karakoram–Himalaya, upper Indus Basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. U. Hasson

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Largely depending on the meltwater from the Hindukush–Karakoram–Himalaya, withdrawals from the upper Indus Basin (UIB contribute half of the surface water availability in Pakistan, indispensable for agricultural production systems, industrial and domestic use, and hydropower generation. Despite such importance, a comprehensive assessment of prevailing state of relevant climatic variables determining the water availability is largely missing. Against this background, this study assesses the trends in maximum, minimum and mean temperatures, diurnal temperature range and precipitation from 18 stations (1250–4500 m a.s.l. for their overlapping period of record (1995–2012 and, separately, from six stations of their long-term record (1961–2012. For this, a Mann–Kendall test on serially independent time series is applied to detect the existence of a trend, while its true slope is estimated using the Sen's slope method. Further, locally identified climatic trends are statistically assessed for their spatial-scale significance within 10 identified subregions of the UIB, and the spatially (field- significant climatic trends are then qualitatively compared with the trends in discharge out of corresponding subregions. Over the recent period (1995–2012, we find warming and drying of spring (field-significant in March and increasing early melt season discharge from most of the subregions, likely due to a rapid snowmelt. In stark contrast, most of the subregions feature a field-significant cooling within the monsoon period (particularly in July and September, which coincides well with the main glacier melt season. Hence, a decreasing or weakly increasing discharge is observed from the corresponding subregions during mid- to late melt season (particularly in July. Such tendencies, being largely consistent with the long-term trends (1961–2012, most likely indicate dominance of the nival but suppression of the glacial melt regime

Prevailing climatic trends and runoff response from Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya, upper Indus Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Hasson, Shabeh ul; Böhner, Jürgen; Lucarini, Valerio

2017-05-01

Largely depending on the meltwater from the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya, withdrawals from the upper Indus Basin (UIB) contribute half of the surface water availability in Pakistan, indispensable for agricultural production systems, industrial and domestic use, and hydropower generation. Despite such importance, a comprehensive assessment of prevailing state of relevant climatic variables determining the water availability is largely missing. Against this background, this study assesses the trends in maximum, minimum and mean temperatures, diurnal temperature range and precipitation from 18 stations (1250-4500 m a.s.l.) for their overlapping period of record (1995-2012) and, separately, from six stations of their long-term record (1961-2012). For this, a Mann-Kendall test on serially independent time series is applied to detect the existence of a trend, while its true slope is estimated using the Sen's slope method. Further, locally identified climatic trends are statistically assessed for their spatial-scale significance within 10 identified subregions of the UIB, and the spatially (field-) significant climatic trends are then qualitatively compared with the trends in discharge out of corresponding subregions. Over the recent period (1995-2012), we find warming and drying of spring (field-significant in March) and increasing early melt season discharge from most of the subregions, likely due to a rapid snowmelt. In stark contrast, most of the subregions feature a field-significant cooling within the monsoon period (particularly in July and September), which coincides well with the main glacier melt season. Hence, a decreasing or weakly increasing discharge is observed from the corresponding subregions during mid- to late melt season (particularly in July). Such tendencies, being largely consistent with the long-term trends (1961-2012), most likely indicate dominance of the nival but suppression of the glacial melt regime, altering overall hydrology of the UIB in

Arctic temperature and moisture trends during the past 2000 years - Progress from multiproxy-paleoclimate data compilations

Science.gov (United States)

Kaufman, Darrell; Routson, Cody; McKay, Nicholas; Beltrami, Hugo; Jaume-Santero, Fernando; Konecky, Bronwen; Saenger, Casey

2017-04-01

Instrumental climate data and climate-model projections show that Arctic-wide surface temperature and precipitation are positively correlated. Higher temperatures coincide with greater moisture by: (1) expanding the duration and source area for evaporation as sea ice retracts, (2) enhancing the poleward moisture transport, and (3) increasing the water-vapor content of the atmosphere. Higher temperature also influences evaporation rate, and therefore precipitation minus evaporation (P-E), the climate variable often sensed by paleo-hydroclimate proxies. Here, we test whether Arctic temperature and moisture also correlate on centennial timescales over the Common Era (CE). We use the new PAGES2k multiproxy-temperature dataset along with a first-pass compilation of moisture-sensitive proxy records to calculate century-scale composite timeseries, with a focus on longer records that extend back through the first millennium CE. We present a new Arctic borehole temperature reconstruction as a check on the magnitude of Little Ice Age cooling inferred from the proxy records, and we investigate the spatial pattern of centennial-scale variability. Similar to previous reconstructions, v2 of the PAGES2k proxy temperature dataset shows that, prior to the 20th century, mean annual Arctic-wide temperature decreased over the CE. The millennial-scale cooling trend is most prominent in proxy records from glacier ice, but is also registered in lake and marine sediment, and trees. In contrast, the composite of moisture-sensitive (primarily P-E) records does not exhibit a millennial-scale trend. Determining whether fluctuations in the mean state of Arctic temperature and moisture were in fact decoupled is hampered by the difficulty in detecting a significant trend within the relatively small number of spatially heterogeneous multi-proxy moisture-sensitive records. A decoupling of temperature and moisture would indicate that evaporation had a strong counterbalancing effect on precipitation

Examining secular trend  and seasonality in count data using dynamic generalized linear modelling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lundbye-Christensen, Søren; Dethlefsen, Claus; Gorst-Rasmussen, Anders

series regression model for Poisson counts. It differs in allowing the regression coefficients to vary gradually over time in a random fashion. Data  In the period January 1980 to 1999, 17,989 incidents of acute myocardial infarction were recorded in the county of Northern Jutland, Denmark. Records were......Aims  Time series of incidence counts often show secular trends and seasonal patterns. We present a model for incidence counts capable of handling a possible gradual change in growth rates and seasonal patterns, serial correlation and overdispersion. Methods  The model resembles an ordinary time...... updated daily. Results  The model with a seasonal pattern and an approximately linear trend was fitted to the data, and diagnostic plots indicate a good model fit. The analysis with the dynamic model revealed peaks coinciding with influenza epidemics. On average the peak-to-trough ratio is estimated...

Is the global mean temperature trend too low?

Science.gov (United States)

Venema, Victor; Lindau, Ralf

2015-04-01

The global mean temperature trend may be biased due to similar technological and economic developments worldwide. In this study we want to present a number of recent results that suggest that the global mean temperature trend might be steeper as generally thought. In the Global Historical Climate Network version 3 (GHCNv3) the global land surface temperature is estimated to have increased by about 0.8°C between 1880 and 2012. In the raw temperature record, the increase is 0.6°C; the 0.2°C difference is due to homogenization adjustments. Given that homogenization can only reduce biases, this 0.2°C stems from a partial correction of bias errors and it seems likely that the real non-climatic trend bias will be larger. Especially in regions with sparser networks, homogenization will not be able to improve the trend much. Thus if the trend bias in these regions is similar to the bias for more dense networks (industrialized countries), one would expect the real bias to be larger. Stations in sparse networks are representative for a larger region and are given more weight in the computation of the global mean temperature. If all stations are given equal weight, the homogenization adjustments of the GHCNv3 dataset are about 0.4°C per century. In the subdaily HadISH dataset one break with mean size 0.12°C is found every 15 years for the period 1973-2013. That would be a trend bias of 0.78°C per century on a station by station basis. Unfortunately, these estimates strongly focus on Western countries having more stations. It is known from the literature that rich countries have a (statistically insignificant) stronger trend in the global datasets. Regional datasets can be better homogenized than global ones, the main reason being that global datasets do not contain all stations known to the weather services. Furthermore, global datasets use automatic homogenization methods and have less or no metadata. Thus while regional data can be biased themselves, comparing them

Trends in Surface-Water Quality at Selected Ambient-Monitoring Network Stations in Kentucky, 1979-2004

Science.gov (United States)

Crain, Angela S.; Martin, Gary R.

2009-01-01

Increasingly complex water-management decisions require water-quality monitoring programs that provide data for multiple purposes, including trend analyses, to detect improvement or deterioration in water quality with time. Understanding surface-water-quality trends assists resource managers in identifying emerging water-quality concerns, planning remediation efforts, and evaluating the effectiveness of the remediation. This report presents the results of a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet-Kentucky Division of Water, to analyze and summarize long-term water-quality trends of selected properties and water-quality constituents in selected streams in Kentucky's ambient stream water-quality monitoring network. Trends in surface-water quality for 15 properties and water-quality constituents were analyzed at 37 stations with drainage basins ranging in size from 62 to 6,431 square miles. Analyses of selected physical properties (temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, hardness, and suspended solids), for major ions (chloride and sulfate), for selected metals (iron and manganese), for nutrients (total phosphorus, total nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrite plus nitrate), and for fecal coliform were compiled from the Commonwealth's ambient water-quality monitoring network. Trend analyses were completed using the S-Plus statistical software program S-Estimate Trend (S-ESTREND), which detects trends in water-quality data. The trend-detection techniques supplied by this software include the Seasonal Kendall nonparametric methods for use with uncensored data or data censored with only one reporting limit and the Tobit-regression parametric method for use with data censored with multiple reporting limits. One of these tests was selected for each property and water-quality constituent and applied to all station records so that results of the trend procedure could be compared among

Applying Metrological Techniques to Satellite Fundamental Climate Data Records

Science.gov (United States)

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

2018-02-01

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

Streamflow characteristics and trends along Soldier Creek, Northeast Kansas

Science.gov (United States)

Juracek, Kyle E.

2017-08-16

Historical data for six selected U.S. Geological Survey streamgages along Soldier Creek in northeast Kansas were used in an assessment of streamflow characteristics and trends. This information is required by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation for the effective management of tribal water resources, including drought contingency planning. Streamflow data for the period of record at each streamgage were used to assess annual mean streamflow, annual mean base flow, mean monthly flow, annual peak flow, and annual minimum flow.Annual mean streamflows along Soldier Creek were characterized by substantial year-to-year variability with no pronounced long-term trends. On average, annual mean base flow accounted for about 20 percent of annual mean streamflow. Mean monthly flows followed a general seasonal pattern that included peak values in spring and low values in winter. Annual peak flows, which were characterized by considerable year-to-year variability, were most likely to occur in May and June and least likely to occur during November through February. With the exception of a weak yet statistically significant increasing trend at the Soldier Creek near Topeka, Kansas, streamgage, there were no pronounced long-term trends in annual peak flows. Annual 1-day, 30-day, and 90-day mean minimum flows were characterized by considerable year-to-year variability with no pronounced long-term trend. During an extreme drought, as was the case in the mid-1950s, there may be zero flow in Soldier Creek continuously for a period of one to several months.

Labour force participation in Canada: Trends and shifts

OpenAIRE

Irene Ip

1998-01-01

A key determinant of the potential growth of an economy is the rate at which the labour force increases, which depends both on population growth and on changes in the participation rate. Cyclical factors related to the economic environment can play a significant role in affecting the participation rate, as can structural factors and demographic trends. From the mid-1970s to the end of the 1980s, the participation rate rose almost without interruption to a record high of 67.5 per cent. In cont...

Timing and structure of the penultimate deglaciation in north China constrained by a precisely dated stalagmite record

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, W.; Cheng, H.; Tan, M.; Li, X.; Edwards, R. L.

2017-12-01

The timing and structure of the penultimate deglaciation (Termination II, T-II) is still controversial due to the lack of precise-date and high-resolution paleoclimate documents. This study firstly presents high-precision stalagmite δ18O data encompassing T-II from north China, near the northern limit of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), an area sensitive to climate change. An obvious 2200-year long 18O-depleted excursion was identified within T-II, 1500 years later than in south China, mostly indicating it's a hitherto unidentified interstadial event, but the possibility of a local signal linked to karst hydrologic changes cannot be excluded. The sharpest T-II transition occurred at 129.20 ka BP (BP=before AD 1950), consistent with other EASM records but 3000 years later than mid-high-latitudinal cave records in Europe and North America. The different ages between them are attributed to that the original ice sheet melting during T-II did not inhibit the overturning in the Nordic Seas, leaving the heat transport to western Europe unaffected. Furthermore, the rise in EASM after the main T-II transition was interrupted by a significant "pause" in our record, whereas only expressed as a "slowdown" in south Chinese caves, further confirming the higher sensitivity of climate in north China. Compared with the last deglaciation (T-I), this climate pause could be considered as a Younger Dryas (YD)-type event that was shifted into the early stage of the last interglacial period, though its intensity and duration were not as strong as the YD during T-I. Key words: North China stalagmite record Timing and structure Termination II

Trends of climatic changes considering over years 1894-1993 and 1894-2003 for Sarajevo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majstorovic, Zeljko; Toromanovic, Aida; Halilovic, Senada

2004-01-01

Linear trends of changes in climatic parameters have been observed for Sarajevo and we considered correlation with world's trends and mutual correlation of years .1894-1993 and 1894-2003, both for the same meteorological station Sarajevo. In purpose of ascertaining correlation with global climate's changes, Sarajevo's records have been studied over the primary climatic parameters: average annual temperatures, absolute annual maximum and minimum temperatures, annual sum of rainfalls and drought index. We used method of adding of linear trends. Correlation with global tendency of climate has be shown as follow: - We notice increase of average temperature about 0.7 o C in past 100 years - We notice a rapid increase of absolute minimum temperature in compare with values of absolute maximum temperatures. - Annual sum of rainfalls doesn't show drastic changes. - We notice asymmetry trend for some actual seasons. - We notice increase of drought. During correlation of trends for years 1894-1993 and 1894-2003 has been noticed rapid increase of temperature and drought-index, while considering rainfalls there has not been drastic changes. (Author)

Trends in records and contribution of non-indigenous species (NIS) to biotic communities in Danish marine waters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stæhr, Peter Anton; Jakobsen, Hans Henrik; Hansen, Jørgen L.S.

The report investigates trends in the temporal and spatial changes of non-indigenous marine species in the Danish part of the OSPAR and HELCOM regions. The assessment is based on a quantitative analysis of data available in national monitoring databases and covers the period 1989 to 2014 and othe...

Placing the Common Era in a Holocene context: Millennial to centennial patterns and trends in the hydroclimate of North America over the past 2000 years

Science.gov (United States)

Shuman, Bryan; Routson, Cody C.; McKay, Nicholas P.; Fritz, Sherilyn; Kaufman, Darrell S.; Kirby, Matthew; Nolan, Connor; Pederson, Gregory T.; St. Jacques, Jeannine-Marie

2018-01-01

A synthesis of 93 hydrologic records from across North and Central America, and adjacent tropical and Arctic islands, reveals centennial to millennial trends in the regional hydroclimates of the Common Era (CE; past 2000 years). The hydrological records derive from materials stored in lakes, bogs, caves, and ice from extant glaciers, which have the continuity through time to preserve low-frequency ( > 100 year) climate signals that may extend deeper into the Holocene. The most common pattern, represented in 46 (49 %) of the records, indicates that the centuries before 1000 CE were drier than the centuries since that time. Principal component analysis indicates that millennial-scale trends represent the dominant pattern of variance in the southwestern US, northeastern US, mid-continent, Pacific Northwest, Arctic, and tropics, although not all records within a region show the same direction of change. The Pacific Northwest and the southernmost tier of the tropical sites tended to dry toward present, as many other areas became wetter than before. In 22 records (24 %), the Medieval Climate Anomaly period (800–1300 CE) was drier than the Little Ice Age (1400–1900 CE), but in many cases the difference was part of the longer millennial-scale trend, and, in 25 records (27 %), the Medieval Climate Anomaly period represented a pluvial (wet) phase. Where quantitative records permitted a comparison, we found that centennial-scale fluctuations over the Common Era represented changes of 3–7 % in the modern interannual range of variability in precipitation, but the accumulation of these long-term trends over the entirety of the Holocene caused recent centuries to be significantly wetter, on average, than most of the past 11 000 years.

Trends and Variability in Temperature Sensitivity of Lilac Flowering Phenology

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Huanjiong; Dai, Junhu; Rutishauser, This; Gonsamo, Alemu; Wu, Chaoyang; Ge, Quansheng

2018-03-01

The responses of plant phenology to temperature variability have many consequences for ecological processes, agriculture, forestry, and human health. Temperature sensitivity (ST) of phenology could measure how and to what degree plant could phenologically track climate change. The long-term trends and spatial patterns in ST have been well studied for vegetative phenology such as leaf unfolding, but trends to be expected for reproductive phenology in the future remain unknown. Here we investigate trends and factors driving the temporal variation of ST of first bloom date (FBD). Using the long-term FBD records during 1963-2013 for common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) from 613 stations in Europe, we compared changes in ST from the beginning to the end of the study period. The Spearman partial correlations were used to assess the importance of four influencing factors. The results showed that the temporal changes in ST of FBD varied considerably among time scales. Mean ST decreased significantly by 0.92 days °C-1 from 1963-1972 to 2004-2013 (P plant species in other climates and environments using similar methods to our study.

Updated review of marine alien species and other ‘newcomers’ recorded from the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. EVANS

2015-03-01

Full Text Available An updated review of marine alien species and other ‘newcomers’ recorded from the Maltese Islands is presented on account of new records and amendments to a previous review in 2007. Species were classified according to their establishment status (‘Questionable’, ‘Casual’, ‘Established’, ‘Invasive’ and origin (‘Alien’, ‘Range expansion’, ‘Cryptogenic’. A total of 31 species were added to the inventory, while 6 species have been removed, bringing the total number of species to 73. Of these, 66 are considered to be aliens (or putative aliens but with uncertain origin with the remaining 7 resulting from range expansion. Six records are considered to be questionable and hence unverified. For verified records, the dominant taxonomic groups are Mollusca (represented by 21 species and Actinopterygii (15 species, followed by Crustacea (8 species and Rhodophyta (7 species. Eight of these species (aliens: Caulerpa cylindracea, Lophocladia lallemandi, Womersleyella setacea, Brachidontes pharaonis, Percnon gibbesi, Fistularia commersonii, Siganus luridus; range extender: Sphoeroides pachygaster are considered to be invasive. The introduction pathway for 30 species is unknown. Amongst the alien species, ‘Shipping’ is the most common introduction pathway, followed by ‘Secondary dispersal’ from elsewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. An increasing trend in the number of alien marine species reported from the Maltese Islands is evident, with a peak of 22 species recorded during the last decade (2001–2010. A discussion on the rationale for including range-expanding species in national inventories of recent arrivals, and in the analysis of trends in records from the Maltese Islands, is included. In particular, the general warming trend of Mediterranean surface waters appears to be facilitating the westward spread of thermophilic alien species from the Eastern to the Central Mediterranean, and the eastward range expansion of

Tornado frequency in the USA - meteorological and non-meteorological factors of a downward trend

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihajlović Jovan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Citing numerical simulations, climate alarmists believe that global warming will lead to more frequent and more intensive tornadoes. Considering temperature increase data in the contiguous USA, this study has investigated the trend of strong tornadoes in F3+ category in the 1954-2012 period. Statistically significant decrease of tornadoes per year at an average rate of 0.44 has been recorded, that is, 4.4 tornadoes per decade. Tornado increase has been recorded with F0 and F1 categories and the cause of this increase lies in meteorological and non-meteorological factors. By using upper and lower standard deviation values, the stages of tornado activity have been singled out. The 1957-1974 period may be considered as an active stage and the 1978-2009 period as an inactive stage. Upward trend of air temperature increase does not correspond with the downward trend of the number of F3+ tornado category, while the correlation coefficient between these two variables is R = −0.14. This fact does not correspond with the simulation results and output data of various numerical models anticipating an increase in the number and intensity of tornado events in the conditions of surface air temperature growth.

High resolution Holocene paleomagnetic secular variation records from Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Usapkar, A.; Dewangan, P.; Badesab, F.K.; Mazumdar, A.; Ramprasad, T.; Krishna, K.S.; Basavaiah, N.

/8 probably due to local effects. Paleoinclination records of MD161/8, MD161/11 and MD161/13 show a low between ~2.4 and 2.0 cal. kyr BP, an increase between 2.0 and 1.4 cal. kyr BP and a decrease towards the present. To varying degrees these trends can...

Homogeneity of a Global Multisatellite Soil Moisture Climate Data Record

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Chun-Hsu; Ryu, Dongryeol; Dorigo, Wouter; Zwieback, Simon; Gruber, Alexander; Albergel, Clement; Reichle, Rolf H.; Wagner, Wolfgang

2016-01-01

Climate Data Records (CDR) that blend multiple satellite products are invaluable for climate studies, trend analysis and risk assessments. Knowledge of any inhomogeneities in the CDR is therefore critical for making correct inferences. This work proposes a methodology to identify the spatiotemporal extent of the inhomogeneities in a 36-year, global multisatellite soil moisture CDR as the result of changing observing systems. Inhomogeneities are detected at up to 24 percent of the tested pixels with spatial extent varying with satellite changeover times. Nevertheless, the contiguous periods without inhomogeneities at changeover times are generally longer than 10 years. Although the inhomogeneities have measurable impact on the derived trends, these trends are similar to those observed in ground data and land surface reanalysis, with an average error less than 0.003 cubic meters per cubic meter per year. These results strengthen the basis of using the product for long-term studies and demonstrate the necessity of homogeneity testing of multisatellite CDRs in general.

Sea level differences between Topex/Poseidon altimetry and tide gauges: observed trends and vertical land motions

Science.gov (United States)

Lombard, A.; Dominh, K.; Cazenave, A.; Calmant, S.; Cretaux, J.

2002-12-01

Nine year-long (1993-2001) sea level difference time series have been constructed by comparing sea level recorded by tide gauges and Topex/Poseidon altimetry. Although the primary goal of such an analysis is to define a sub network of good quality tide gauges for calibration of satellite altimetry systems, in particular Jason-1. The difference time series displaying large positive or negative trends may give evidence of vertical land motion at the tide gauge site. We have analyzed 98 tide gauge records from the UHSLC. Among them, 42 sites mainly located on open ocean islands, give very good agreement (better than 2 mm/year) with Topex/Poseidon-derived sea level trends. 22 other sites, mainly located along the continental coastlines of the Pacific Ocean, present sea level trends differing by more than 5 mm/year with Topex/Poseidon. Many of these sites are located in active tectonic areas (either in the vicinity of subduction zones or in active volcanic areas), where vertical land motions (either transient or long-term) are expected. For example, this is the case at Kushimoto, Ofunato, Kushiro (Japan), Kodiak Island and Yakutat (Alaska), La Libertad, Callao, Caldera (western south America), and Rabaul (western Pacific). When possible, we compare these observed trends in sea level differences with GPS and/or DORIS observations.

Trend Switching Processes in Financial Markets

Science.gov (United States)

Preis, Tobias; Stanley, H. Eugene

For an intriguing variety of switching processes in nature, the underlying complex system abruptly changes at a specific point from one state to another in a highly discontinuous fashion. Financial market fluctuations are characterized by many abrupt switchings creating increasing trends ("bubble formation") and decreasing trends ("bubble collapse"), on time scales ranging from macroscopic bubbles persisting for hundreds of days to microscopic bubbles persisting only for very short time scales. Our analysis is based on a German DAX Future data base containing 13,991,275 transactions recorded with a time resolution of 10- 2 s. For a parallel analysis, we use a data base of all S&P500 stocks providing 2,592,531 daily closing prices. We ask whether these ubiquitous switching processes have quantifiable features independent of the time horizon studied. We find striking scale-free behavior of the volatility after each switching occurs. We interpret our findings as being consistent with time-dependent collective behavior of financial market participants. We test the possible universality of our result by performing a parallel analysis of fluctuations in transaction volume and time intervals between trades. We show that these financial market switching processes have features similar to those present in phase transitions. We find that the well-known catastrophic bubbles that occur on large time scales - such as the most recent financial crisis - are no outliers but in fact single dramatic representatives caused by the formation of upward and downward trends on time scales varying over nine orders of magnitude from the very large down to the very small.

Decadal trends of the upper ocean salinity in the tropical Indo-Pacific since mid-1990s.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Yan; Zhang, Yuhong; Feng, Ming; Wang, Tianyu; Zhang, Ningning; Wijffels, Susan

2015-11-02

A contrasting trend pattern of sea surface salinity (SSS) between the western tropical Pacific (WTP) and the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean (SETIO) is observed during 2004-2013, with significant salinity increase in the WTP and freshening in the SETIO. In this study, we show that increased precipitation around the Maritime Continent (MC), decreased precipitation in the western-central tropical Pacific, and ocean advection processes contribute to the salinity trends in the region. From a longer historical record, these salinity trends started in the mid-1990s, a few years before the Global Warming Hiatus from 1998 to present. The salinity trends are associated a strengthening trend of the Walker Circulation over the tropical Indo-Pacific, which have reversed the long-term salinity changes in the tropical Indo-Pacific as a consequence of global warming. Understanding decadal variations of SSS in the tropical Indo-Pacific will better inform on how the tropical hydrological cycle will be affected by the natural variability and a warming climate.

Trends in lake chemistry in response to atmospheric deposition and climate in selected Class I wilderness areas in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, 1993-2009

Science.gov (United States)

Mast, M. Alisa; Ingersoll, George P.

2011-01-01

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Air Resource Management, began a study to evaluate long-term trends in lake-water chemistry for 64 high-elevation lakes in selected Class I wilderness areas in Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming during 1993 to 2009. The purpose of this report is to describe trends in the chemical composition of these high-elevation lakes. Trends in emissions, atmospheric deposition, and climate variables (air temperature and precipitation amount) are evaluated over a similar period of record to determine likely drivers of changing lake chemistry. Sulfate concentrations in precipitation decreased over the past two decades at high-elevation monitoring stations in the Rocky Mountain region. The trend in deposition chemistry is consistent with regional declines in sulfur dioxide emissions resulting from installation of emission controls at large stationary sources. Trends in nitrogen deposition were not as widespread as those for sulfate. About one-half of monitoring stations showed increases in ammonium concentrations, but few showed significant changes in nitrate concentrations. Trends in nitrogen deposition appear to be inconsistent with available emission inventories, which indicate modest declines in nitrogen emissions in the Rocky Mountain region since the mid-1990s. This discrepancy may reflect uncertainties in emission inventories or changes in atmospheric transformations of nitrogen species that may be affecting deposition processes. Analysis of long-term climate records indicates that average annual mean air temperature minimums have increased from 0.57 to 0.75 °C per decade in mountain areas of the region with warming trends being more pronounced in Colorado. Trends in annual precipitation were not evident over the period 1990 to 2006, although wetter than average years during 1995 to 1997 and drier years during 2001 to 2004 caused a notable decline in precipitation

Trends in Life Expectancy by Level of Education and Occupational Social Class in Finland 1981-2000

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tapani Valkonen

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The study analyses trends in life expectancy by level of education and by occupational social class in Finland from 1981 to 2000 to assess to what extent these trends have been in accordance with the target of reducing socioeconomic differences in life expectancy set in the Government public health programme. The study is based on the census records for the population aged 35 or over, which have been linked to the death records for the years 1981 to 2000. The results show that, contrary to the public health target, the difference in the life expectancy between persons with tertiary and basic education and that between upper non-manual and manual occupational classes increased during the 1990s. Differences in the trends in mortality from alcohol-related causes of death and from other cancers than lung cancer accounted for most the increase in the socioeconomic gap among men. Different from the 1980s changes in cardiovascular mortality did not contribute to the increase in the socioeconomic gap. Among women the increase in the socioeconomic gap was mainly due to the heterogeneous group of other diseases and cancers other than lung and breast cancer

Quantification of Impact of Orbital Drift on Inter-Annual Trends in AVHRR NDVI Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jyoteshwar R. Nagol

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI time-series data derived from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR have been extensively used for studying inter-annual dynamics of global and regional vegetation. However, there can be significant uncertainties in the data due to incomplete atmospheric correction and orbital drift of the satellites through their active life. Access to location specific quantification of uncertainty is crucial for appropriate evaluation of the trends and anomalies. This paper provides per pixel quantification of orbital drift related spurious trends in Long Term Data Record (LTDR AVHRR NDVI data product. The magnitude and direction of the spurious trends was estimated by direct comparison with data from MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS Aqua instrument, which has stable inter-annual sun-sensor geometry. The maps show presence of both positive as well as negative spurious trends in the data. After application of the BRDF correction, an overall decrease in positive trends and an increase in number of pixels with negative spurious trends were observed. The mean global spurious inter-annual NDVI trend before and after BRDF correction was 0.0016 and −0.0017 respectively. The research presented in this paper gives valuable insight into the magnitude of orbital drift related trends in the AVHRR NDVI data as well as the degree to which it is being rectified by the MODIS BRDF correction algorithm used by the LTDR processing stream.

Trends in food and nutritional intakes of French adults from 1999 to 2007: results from the INCA surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubuisson, Carine; Lioret, Sandrine; Touvier, Mathilde; Dufour, Ariane; Calamassi-Tran, Gloria; Volatier, Jean-Luc; Lafay, Lionel

2010-04-01

Two independent cross-sectional dietary surveys (the Individual and National Food Consumption Surveys, INCA), performed in 1998-99 (INCA1) and in 2006-07 (INCA2) on nationally representative samples of French people, were used to analyse trends in the dietary habits and nutritional intake of French adults. Food consumption was recorded through 7-d dietary records, and nutritional intakes were assessed using the French food composition database. After exclusion of under-reporters, analyses were performed on 3267 adults, aged 18-79 years: 1345 from INCA1 and 1922 from INCA2. The trends highlighted over the 8-year period showed a decrease in consumption of dairy products, meat, bread, potatoes, pastries/croissant-like pastries/cakes/biscuits and sugar/confectionery. In contrast, the consumption of fruits and vegetables, rice, ice cream and chocolate increased. Other food groups, like fish and snacking foods, remained stable. Food choices were mostly age specific. These age differences remained consistent over the years and underlined two opposite dietary trends: a 'traditional' one mainly followed by the elderly, and a 'snacking and convenience' one mainly adopted by young adults. The overall trends in food consumption did not influence the mean energy intake, but did slightly modify the contribution of each macronutrient to energy intake. These repeated surveys highlighted the fact that trends in French food habits have moved towards an average European diet at the crossroads between Mediterranean and Northern diets, and that food consumption changes impacted, to a lesser extent, nutritional intake.

Decoupling Solar Variability and Instrument Trends Using the Multiple Same-Irradiance-Level (MuSIL) Analysis Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, Thomas N.; Eparvier, Francis G.; Harder, Jerald; Snow, Martin

2018-05-01

The solar spectral irradiance (SSI) dataset is a key record for studying and understanding the energetics and radiation balance in Earth's environment. Understanding the long-term variations of the SSI over timescales of the 11-year solar activity cycle and longer is critical for many Sun-Earth research topics. Satellite measurements of the SSI have been made since the 1970s, most of them in the ultraviolet, but recently also in the visible and near-infrared. A limiting factor for the accuracy of previous solar variability results is the uncertainties for the instrument degradation corrections, which need fairly large corrections relative to the amount of solar cycle variability at some wavelengths. The primary objective of this investigation has been to separate out solar cycle variability and any residual uncorrected instrumental trends in the SSI measurements from the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) mission and the Thermosphere, Mesosphere, Ionosphere, Energetic, and Dynamics (TIMED) mission. A new technique called the Multiple Same-Irradiance-Level (MuSIL) analysis has been developed, which examines an SSI time series at different levels of solar activity to provide long-term trends in an SSI record, and the most common result is a downward trend that most likely stems from uncorrected instrument degradation. This technique has been applied to each wavelength in the SSI records from SORCE (2003 - present) and TIMED (2002 - present) to provide new solar cycle variability results between 27 nm and 1600 nm with a resolution of about 1 nm at most wavelengths. This technique, which was validated with the highly accurate total solar irradiance (TSI) record, has an estimated relative uncertainty of about 5% of the measured solar cycle variability. The MuSIL results are further validated with the comparison of the new solar cycle variability results from different solar cycles.

Software Development Framework For Electronic Land Titles ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Record keeping is a fundamental activity of public administration. Land Titles management in Nigeria, by virtue of the Land use act 1990, is one of the functions of government. Most of the records hitherto used in managing the records of lands are documented on paper. We carried out an investigation into the suitability of ...

The Effect of Electronic Health Record Use and Patient-Centered Communication on Cancer Screening Behavior: An Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Totzkay, Daniel; Silk, Kami J; Sheff, Sarah E

2017-07-01

The present study used the 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey (N = 3185) to examine the effects of patient-centered communication (PCC) and the use of electronic health records (EHRs) on the likelihood of patients receiving a recommended screening for cancer (i.e., mammogram, PSA test). Self-determination theory, a framework of self-initiated extrinsic behaviors, was applied to test mediation models of PCC and EHR use, respectively, through patient activation. The results demonstrated that PCC and EHR use predicted cancer screening (mediated through patient activation), but only for women recommended for biannual mammograms. The aforementioned relationship was not found for men who are recommended for prostate cancer screening. PCC and EHRs do appear to facilitate a patient's ability to take care of their own health, but only under certain circumstances. It was additionally found that men were more likely to report higher degrees of physician PCC when their physicians maintained an EHR, whereas women reported no difference. Future research should examine more nuanced personality factors that affect the perception of PCC in the presence of EHRs and the relationship between men's activation and likelihood of receiving a cancer screen.

Assessing the fitness-for-purpose of satellite multi-mission ocean color climate data records: A protocol applied to OC-CCI chlorophyll-a data.

Science.gov (United States)

Mélin, F; Vantrepotte, V; Chuprin, A; Grant, M; Jackson, T; Sathyendranath, S

2017-12-15

In this work, trend estimates are used as indicators to compare the multi-annual variability of different satellite chlorophyll- a (Chl a ) data and to assess the fitness-for-purpose of multi-mission Chl a products as climate data records (CDR). Under the assumption that single-mission products are free from spurious temporal artifacts and can be used as benchmark time series, multi-mission CDRs should reproduce the main trend patterns observed by single-mission series when computed over their respective periods. This study introduces and applies quantitative metrics to compare trend distributions from different data records. First, contingency matrices compare the trend diagnostics associated with two satellite products when expressed in binary categories such as existence, significance and signs of trends. Contingency matrices can be further summarized by metrics such as Cohen's κ index that rates the overall agreement between the two distributions of diagnostics. A more quantitative measure of the discrepancies between trends is provided by the distributions of differences between trend slopes. Thirdly, maps of the level of significance P of a t -test quantifying the degree to which two trend estimates differ provide a statistical, spatially-resolved, evaluation. The proposed methodology is applied to the multi-mission Ocean Colour-Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) Chl a data. The agreement between trend distributions associated with OC-CCI data and single-mission products usually appears as good as when single-mission products are compared. As the period of analysis is extended beyond 2012 to 2015, the level of agreement tends to be degraded, which might be at least partly due to the aging of the MODIS sensor on-board Aqua. On the other hand, the trends displayed by the OC-CCI series over the short period 2012-2015 are very consistent with those observed with VIIRS. These results overall suggest that the OC-CCI Chl a data can be used for multi-annual time

Anesthesia Practice and Clinical Trends in Interventional Radiology: A European Survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haslam, Philip J.; Yap, Bernard; Mueller, Peter R.; Lee, Michael J.

2000-01-01

Purpose: To determine current European practice in interventional radiology regarding nursing care, anesthesia, and clinical care trends.Methods: A survey was sent to 977 European interventional radiologists to assess the use of sedoanalgesia, nursing care, monitoring equipment, pre- and postprocedural care, and clinical trends in interventional radiology. Patterns of sedoanalgesia were recorded for both vascular and visceral interventional procedures. Responders rated their preferred level of sedoanalgesia for each procedure as follows: (a) awake/alert, (b) drowsy/arousable, (c) asleep/arousable, (d) deep sedation, and (e) general anesthesia. Sedoanalgesic drugs and patient care trends were also recorded. A comparison was performed with data derived from a similar survey of interventional practice in the United States.Results: Two hundred and forty-three of 977 radiologists responded (25%). The total number of procedures analyzed was 210,194. The majority (56%) of diagnostic and therapeutic vascular procedures were performed at the awake/alert level of sedation, 32% were performed at the drowsy/arousable level, and 12% at deeper levels of sedation. The majority of visceral interventional procedures were performed at the drowsy/arousable level of sedation (41%), 29% were performed at deeper levels of sedation, and 30% at the awake/alert level. In general, more sedoanalgesia is used in the United States. Eighty-three percent of respondents reported the use of a full-time radiology nurse, 67% used routine blood pressure/pulse oximetry monitoring, and 46% reported the presence of a dedicated recovery area. Forty-nine percent reported daily patient rounds, 30% had inpatient hospital beds, and 51% had day case beds.Conclusion: This survey shows clear differences in the use of sedation for vascular and visceral interventional procedures. Many, often complex, procedures are performed at the awake/alert level of sedation in Europe, whereas deeper levels of sedation are

Relative Sea Level Trends Along the Coast of the Bay of Bengal

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, M.; Calmant, S.; Papa, F.; Delebecque, C.; Islam, A. S.; Shum, C. K.

2016-12-01

In the coastal belt of the Bay of Bengal, the sea level rise is one of a major threat, linked to climate change, which drastically affects the livelihoods of millions of people. A comprehensive understanding of sea level trends and its variability in this region is therefore crucial and should help to anticipate the impacts of climate change and implement adaptation strategies. This region is bordered mostly by Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Here, we revisit the sea level changes in the Bay of Bengal region from tide gauges and satellite altimetry over the period 1993-2014. The 23 monthly mean tide gauge records, used in this study, are retrieved from PSMSL (15 records) and supplemented with Bangladeshi observations (8 records). We show that, over the satellite altimetry era, the sea level interannual/decadal variability is mainly due to ocean thermal expansion variability driven by IOD/ENSO events and their low frequency modulation. We focus on relative sea level rise at major coastal cities and try to separate the climatic signal (long term trend plus interannual/decadal variability) from local effects, in particular vertical land movements. Results from GPS are analysed where available. When no such data exist, vertical land movements are deduced from the combined use of tide gauge and altimetry data. While the analysis is performed over the whole region, a particular attention is given to the low-lyingBangladesh's coastal area.

Microcontroller-based wireless recorder for biomedical signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, C-N; Hsu, H-W; Jang, J-K; Rau, C-L; Jaw, F-S

2005-01-01

A portable multichannel system is described for the recording of biomedical signals wirelessly. Instead of using the conversional time-division analog-modulation method, the technique of digital multiplexing was applied to increase the number of signal channels to 4. Detailed design considerations and functional allocation of the system is discussed. The frontend unit was modularly designed to condition the input signal in an optimal manner. Then, the microcontroller handled the tasks of data conversion, wireless transmission, as well as providing the ability of simple preprocessing such as waveform averaging or rectification. The low-power nature of this microcontroller affords the benefit of battery operation and hence, patient isolation of the system. Finally, a single-chip receiver, which compatible with the RF transmitter of the microcontroller, was used to implement a compact interface with the host computer. An application of this portable recorder for low-back pain studies is shown. This device can simultaneously record one ECG and two surface EMG wirelessly, thus, is helpful in relieving patients' anxiety devising clinical measurement. Such an approach, microcontroller-based wireless measurement, could be an important trend for biomedical instrumentation and we help that this paper could be useful for other colleagues.

Possible connections of the opposite trends in Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice cover.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Lejiang; Zhong, Shiyuan; Winkler, Julie A; Zhou, Mingyu; Lenschow, Donald H; Li, Bingrui; Wang, Xianqiao; Yang, Qinghua

2017-04-05

Sea ice is an important component of the global climate system and a key indicator of climate change. A decreasing trend in Arctic sea-ice concentration is evident in recent years, whereas Antarctic sea-ice concentration exhibits a generally increasing trend. Various studies have investigated the underlying causes of the observed trends for each region, but possible linkages between the regional trends have not been studied. Here, we hypothesize that the opposite trends in Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice concentration may be linked, at least partially, through interdecadal variability of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Although evaluation of this hypothesis is constrained by the limitations of the sea-ice cover record, preliminary statistical analyses of one short-term and two long-term time series of observed and reanalysis sea-ice concentrations data suggest the possibility of the hypothesized linkages. For all three data sets, the leading mode of variability of global sea-ice concentration is positively correlated with the AMO and negatively correlated with the PDO. Two wave trains related to the PDO and the AMO appear to produce anomalous surface-air temperature and low-level wind fields in the two polar regions that contribute to the opposite changes in sea-ice concentration.

Striking trends in the incidence of health problems in The Netherlands (2002-05). Findings from a new strategy for surveillance in general practice.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Biermans, M.C.J.; Spreeuwenberg, P.; Verheij, R.A.; Bakker, D.H. de; Vries Robbe, P.F. de; Zielhuis, G.A.

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to detect striking trends based on a new strategy for monitoring public health. METHODS: We used data over 4 years from electronic medical records of a large, nationally representative network of general practices. Episodes were either directly recorded by general

Spatial variability and trends of the rain intensity over Greece

Science.gov (United States)

Kambezidis, H. D.; Larissi, I. K.; Nastos, P. T.; Paliatsos, A. G.

2010-07-01

In this study, the spatial and temporal variability of the mean annual rain intensity in Greece are examined during a 41-year period (1962-2002). The meteorological datasets concern monthly rain amounts (mm) and the respective monthly durations (h) recorded at thirty two meteorological stations of the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, which are uniformly distributed on Greek territory, in order to calculate the mean monthly rain intensity. All the rain time series used in the analysis were tested by the application of the short-cut Bartlett test of homogeneity. The spatial distribution of the mean annual rain intensity is studied using the Kriging interpolation method, while the temporal variability, concerning the mean annual rain intensity trends along with their significance (Mann-Kendall test), is analysed. The findings of the analysis show that statistically significant negative trends (95% confidence level) appear mainly in the west sub-regions of Greece, while statistically significant positive trends (95% confidence level) appear in the wider area of Athens and the complex of Cyclades Islands. Further analysis concerning the seasonal rain intensity is needed, because there are different seasonal patterns, taking into account that, convective rain in Greece occurs mainly within the summer season.

Tipping point analysis of a large ocean ambient sound record

Science.gov (United States)

Livina, Valerie N.; Harris, Peter; Brower, Albert; Wang, Lian; Sotirakopoulos, Kostas; Robinson, Stephen

2017-04-01

We study a long (2003-2015) high-resolution (250Hz) sound pressure record provided by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) from the hydro-acoustic station Cape Leeuwin (Australia). We transform the hydrophone waveforms into five bands of 10-min-average sound pressure levels (including the third-octave band) and apply tipping point analysis techniques [1-3]. We report the results of the analysis of fluctuations and trends in the data and discuss the BigData challenges in processing this record, including handling data segments of large size and possible HPC solutions. References: [1] Livina et al, GRL 2007, [2] Livina et al, Climate of the Past 2010, [3] Livina et al, Chaos 2015.

Making texts in electronic health records comprehensible to consumers: a prototype translator.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng-Treitler, Qing; Goryachev, Sergey; Kim, Hyeoneui; Keselman, Alla; Rosendale, Douglas

2007-10-11

Narrative reports from electronic health records are a major source of content for personal health records. We designed and implemented a prototype text translator to make these reports more comprehensible to consumers. The translator identifies difficult terms, replaces them with easier synonyms, and generates and inserts explanatory texts for them. In feasibility testing, the application was used to translate 9 clinical reports. Majority (68.8%) of text replacements and insertions were deemed correct and helpful by expert review. User evaluation demonstrated a non-statistically significant trend toward better comprehension when translation is provided (p=0.15).

Automated anaesthesia record systems, observations on future trends of development.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrichs, W

1995-02-01

The introduction of electronic anaesthesia documentation systems was attempted as early as in 1979, although their efficient application has become reality only in the past few years. Today, documentation technology is offered by most of the monitor manufacturers and new systems are being developed by various working groups. The advantages of the electronic protocol are apparent: Continuous high quality documentation, comparability of data due to the availability of a anaesthesia data bank, reduction of the workload of the anaesthesia staff and availability of new additional information. Disadvantages of the electronic protocol have also been discussed. Typically, by going through the process of entering data on the course of the anaesthetic procedure on the protocol sheet, the information is mentally absorbed and evaluated by the anaesthetist. This mental processing of information may, however, be missing when the data are recorded fully automatically--without active involvement on the part of the anaesthetist. It seems that electronic anaesthesia protocols will be required in the near future. The advantages of accurate documentation and quality control in the presence of careful planning will outweight cost considerations. However, at this time, almost none of the commercially available systems have matured to a point where their purchase can be recommended without reservation. There is still a lack of standards for the subsequent exchange of data and a solution to a number of ergonomic problems still remains to be found.

Trends of rainfall regime in Peninsular Malaysia during northeast and southwest monsoons

Science.gov (United States)

Chooi Tan, Kok

2018-04-01

The trends of rainfall regime in Peninsular Malaysia is mainly affected by the seasonal monsoon. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of northeast and southwest monsoons on the monthly rainfall patterns over Badenoch Estate, Kedah. In addition, the synoptic maps of wind vector also being developed to identify the wind pattern over Peninsular Malaysia from 2007 – 2016. On the other hand, the archived daily rainfall data is acquired from Malaysian Meteorological Department. The temporal and trends of the monthly and annual rainfall over the study area have been analysed from 2007 to 2016. Overall, the average annual precipitation over the study area from 2007 to 2016 recorded by rain gauge is 2562.35 mm per year.

The sphecid wasps (Hym. Ampulicidae, Sphecidae & Crabronidae ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The list of Egyptian sphecid wasps includes the current names of those species recorded in the literature with indications where these have changed together with previously unrecorded genera and species. Three genera have not been recorded from Egypt hitherto (Spilomena, Crossocerus, Lestica). Twenty-four species ...

Novel root-fungus symbiosis in Ericaceae: sheathed ericoid mycorrhiza formed by a hitherto undescribed basidiomycete with affinities to Trechisporales.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Vohník

Full Text Available Ericaceae (the heath family are widely distributed calcifuges inhabiting soils with inherently poor nutrient status. Ericaceae overcome nutrient limitation through symbiosis with ericoid mycorrhizal (ErM fungi that mobilize nutrients complexed in recalcitrant organic matter. At present, recognized ErM fungi include a narrow taxonomic range within the Ascomycota, and the Sebacinales, basal Hymenomycetes with unclamped hyphae and imperforate parenthesomes. Here we describe a novel type of basidiomycetous ErM symbiosis, termed 'sheathed ericoid mycorrhiza', discovered in two habitats in mid-Norway as a co-dominant mycorrhizal symbiosis in Vaccinium spp. The basidiomycete forming sheathed ErM possesses clamped hyphae with perforate parenthesomes, produces 1- to 3-layer sheaths around terminal parts of hair roots and colonizes their rhizodermis intracellularly forming hyphal coils typical for ErM symbiosis. Two basidiomycetous isolates were obtained from sheathed ErM and molecular and phylogenetic tools were used to determine their identity; they were also examined for the ability to form sheathed ErM and lignocellulolytic potential. Surprisingly, ITS rDNA of both conspecific isolates failed to amplify with the most commonly used primer pairs, including ITS1 and ITS1F + ITS4. Phylogenetic analysis of nuclear LSU, SSU and 5.8S rDNA indicates that the basidiomycete occupies a long branch residing in the proximity of Trechisporales and Hymenochaetales, but lacks a clear sequence relationship (>90% similarity to fungi currently placed in these orders. The basidiomycete formed the characteristic sheathed ErM symbiosis and enhanced growth of Vaccinium spp. in vitro, and degraded a recalcitrant aromatic substrate that was left unaltered by common ErM ascomycetes. Our findings provide coherent evidence that this hitherto undescribed basidiomycete forms a morphologically distinct ErM symbiosis that may occur at significant levels under natural conditions, yet

Energy Trends 2012; Energie Trends 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Dril, T. (ed.); Gerdes, J. (ed.) [ECN Beleidsstudies, Petten (Netherlands); Marbus, S. (ed.) [Energie-Nederland, Den Haag (Netherlands); Boelhouwer, M. (ed.) [Netbeheer Nederland, Arnhem (Netherlands)

2012-11-15

In Energy Trends 2012, all figures and developments in the field of energy in the Netherlands are presented in conjunction. The book provides information on energy use by consumers and businesses, provides insight into the international energy trade, energy production and development of energy networks [Dutch] In Energie Trends 2012 staan alle cijfers en ontwikkelingen op het gebied van energie in Nederland in samenhang gepresenteerd. Het boek biedt informatie over energiegebruik door consumenten en bedrijven, geeft inzage in de internationale energiehandel en energieproductie en biedt inzicht in de ontwikkeling van de energienetten.

Trends in the Fractures and Fatalities of Farmyard Injuries in Ireland: A 10 year analysis

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Lee, MJ

2017-01-01

The farming and agricultural sector remains one of Ireland’s primary industries. Fatality rates remain higher than the European average. The aim of this study was to analyze the national trend in hospital in-patient admissions for farmyard related fractures and related fatalities in Ireland from 2005 to 2014. Relevant socioeconomic trends were used for comparison. There were 2,064 farm-related fractures and 187 fatalities recorded over the same period. Despite a decrease in incidence of farmyard fractures over 2005-2014, fatality rates have increased indicating the alarming continued occupational hazards and severity of sustained injuries.

Urbanization effect on trends in sunshine duration in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. Wang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available There is an ongoing debate on whether the observed decadal variations in surface solar radiation, known as dimming and brightening periods, are a large-scale or solely local phenomenon. We investigated this issue using long-term sunshine duration records from China, which experienced a rapid increase in urbanization during the past decades. Over the period 1960–2013, 172 pairs of urban and nearby rural stations were analyzed. Urban and rural sunshine duration trends show similar spatial patterns during a dimming phase (1960–1989 and a subsequent period during which trends were leveling off (1990–2013. This indicates that rather than local effects, the trends in sunshine duration are on more of a national or regional scale in China. Nevertheless, in the dimming phase, the declining rate of sunshine duration in rural areas is around two-thirds of that in urban areas. The ratio of rural to urban dimming generally increases from a minimum of 0.39 to a maximum of 0.87 with increasing indices of urbanization calculated based on the year 2013. It reaches a maximum when the urbanization level exceeds 50 %, the urban population exceeds 20 million, or the population density becomes higher than 250 person km−2. After the transition into the leveling-off period, sunshine duration trends are no longer significantly affected by urbanization. Meanwhile, the number of laws and regulations related to air pollution and investment in pollution treatment have been increasing in China.

TRENDS IN SPORTS INJURIES, 1982-1988 - AN IN-DEPTH STUDY ON 4 TYPES OF SPORT

NARCIS (Netherlands)

TENVERGERT, EM; TENDUIS, HJ; KLASEN, HJ

In this study, we analyzed the records of both in-patients and outpatients which were treated for acute sports injuries in the Trauma Department of the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) during the years 1982 to 1988. We examined whether there was a trend in sports injuries in this time

The Strontium Isotope Record of Zavkhan Terrane Carbonates: Strontium Isotope Stability Through the Ediacaran-Cambrian Transition

OpenAIRE

Petach, Tanya N.

2015-01-01

First order trends in the strontium isotopic (87Sr/86Sr) composition of seawater are controlled by radiogenic inputs from the continent and non-radiogenic inputs from exchange at mid-ocean ridges. Carbonates precipitated in seawater preserve trace amounts of strontium that record this isotope ratio and therefore record the relative importance of mid-ocean ridge and weathering chemical inputs to sea water composition. It has been proposed that environmental changes during the Ediacaran-Cambria...

Prolonged sitting in cars: prevalence, socio-demographic variations, and trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Sugiyama, Takemi; Merom, Dafna; van der Ploeg, Hidde P; Corpuz, Grace; Bauman, Adrian; Owen, Neville

2012-10-01

Prolonged sitting is detrimentally associated with health outcomes. However, the prevalence and characteristics of those who sit in cars for long periods are not well understood. This study examined the population prevalence, socio-demographic variations, and trends for prolonged sitting in cars among adults. Using the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Area Household Travel Survey, the prevalence of prolonged sitting time in cars (≥2 h/day) was calculated for four 3-year periods (1997-99, 2000-02, 2003-05, and 2006-08) for each population subgroup. Trends were calculated as the mean change in prevalence between adjacent survey periods. Cars were used for 66% of the total trips recorded (n=336,505). The prevalence of prolonged sitting time in cars was 16-18% in men, and 10-12% in women. Relatively higher prevalence rates were found among middle-age groups (men: 20-22%, women: 12-15%), full-time workers (men: 21-24%, women: 14-15%), those with higher income (men: 21-25%, women: 14-16%), couples with children (men: 20-21%, women: 12-14%), and those living in outer suburbs (men: 20-23%, women: 12-13%). Trends were stable in men, but increasing in women. Several subgroups (older age; living in regional suburbs) also showed increasing trends. These findings provide evidence to inform integrated approaches to measurement and policy development on prolonged car use among the public health, urban planning, and transport sectors. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Untenable nonstationarity: An assessment of the fitness for purpose of trend tests in hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Serinaldi, Francesco; Kilsby, Chris G.; Lombardo, Federico

2018-01-01

compromising the attempt to draw conclusions about trends spanning the period of records. Moreover, even though adjusting procedures accounting for correlation have been developed, some of them are insufficient or are applied only to some tests, while some others are theoretically flawed but still widely applied. In particular, using 250 unimpacted stream flow time series across the conterminous United States (CONUS), we show that the test results can dramatically change if the sequences of annual values are reproduced starting from daily stream flow records, whose larger sizes enable a more reliable assessment of the correlation structures.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

FluBreaks: early epidemic detection from Google flu trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Pervaiz, Fahad; Pervaiz, Mansoor; Abdur Rehman, Nabeel; Saif, Umar

2012-10-04

The Google Flu Trends service was launched in 2008 to track changes in the volume of online search queries related to flu-like symptoms. Over the last few years, the trend data produced by this service has shown a consistent relationship with the actual number of flu reports collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), often identifying increases in flu cases weeks in advance of CDC records. However, contrary to popular belief, Google Flu Trends is not an early epidemic detection system. Instead, it is designed as a baseline indicator of the trend, or changes, in the number of disease cases. To evaluate whether these trends can be used as a basis for an early warning system for epidemics. We present the first detailed algorithmic analysis of how Google Flu Trends can be used as a basis for building a fully automated system for early warning of epidemics in advance of methods used by the CDC. Based on our work, we present a novel early epidemic detection system, called FluBreaks (dritte.org/flubreaks), based on Google Flu Trends data. We compared the accuracy and practicality of three types of algorithms: normal distribution algorithms, Poisson distribution algorithms, and negative binomial distribution algorithms. We explored the relative merits of these methods, and related our findings to changes in Internet penetration and population size for the regions in Google Flu Trends providing data. Across our performance metrics of percentage true-positives (RTP), percentage false-positives (RFP), percentage overlap (OT), and percentage early alarms (EA), Poisson- and negative binomial-based algorithms performed better in all except RFP. Poisson-based algorithms had average values of 99%, 28%, 71%, and 76% for RTP, RFP, OT, and EA, respectively, whereas negative binomial-based algorithms had average values of 97.8%, 17.8%, 60%, and 55% for RTP, RFP, OT, and EA, respectively. Moreover, the EA was also affected by the region's population size

Trend analysis by a piecewise linear regression model applied to surface air temperatures in Southeastern Spain (1973–2014)

OpenAIRE

Campra, Pablo; Morales, Maria

2016-01-01

The magnitude of the trends of environmental and climatic changes is mostly derived from the slopes of the linear trends using ordinary least-square fitting. An alternative flexible fitting model, piecewise regression, has been applied here to surface air temperature records in southeastern Spain for the recent warming period (1973–2014) to gain accuracy in the description of the inner structure of change, dividing the time series into linear segments with different slopes. Breakpoint y...

Panorama 2012 - The oil market in 2011 and forward trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maisonnier, Guy

2012-02-01

Geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainties were the two forces that drove oil market trends in 2011. Revolutions in North Africa pushed the price of Brent crude to a record high of $111 bbl on average, despite a slowdown in the rate of global economic growth. 2012 could be fairly similar, with further economic decline and high oil prices ($100+) if the geopolitical context remains under strain. Going forward, an oil price that remains consistently above $100 bbl presents itself as an increasingly credible scenario. (author)

Documenting death: public access to government death records and attendant privacy concerns.

Science.gov (United States)

Boles, Jeffrey R

2012-01-01

This Article examines the contentious relationship between public rights to access government-held death records and privacy rights concerning the deceased, whose personal information is contained in those same records. This right of access dispute implicates core democratic principles and public policy interests. Open access to death records, such as death certificates and autopsy reports, serves the public interest by shedding light on government agency performance, uncovering potential government wrongdoing, providing data on public health trends, and aiding those investigating family history, for instance. Families of the deceased have challenged the release of these records on privacy grounds, as the records may contain sensitive and embarrassing information about the deceased. Legislatures and the courts addressing this dispute have collectively struggled to reconcile the competing open access and privacy principles. The Article demonstrates how a substantial portion of the resulting law in this area is haphazardly formed, significantly overbroad, and loaded with unintended consequences. The Article offers legal reforms to bring consistency and coherence to this currently disordered area of jurisprudence.

Time Trends in Breast Cancer Among Indian Women Population: An Analysis of Population Based Cancer Registry Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaturvedi, Meesha; Vaitheeswaran, K; Satishkumar, K; Das, Priyanka; Stephen, S; Nandakumar, A

2015-12-01

The trends observed in cancer breast among Indian women are an indication of effect of changing lifestyle in population. To draw an appropriate inference regarding the trends of a particular type of cancer in a country, it is imperative to glance at the reliable data collected by Population Based Cancer Registries over a period of time. To give an insight of changing trends of breast cancer which have taken place over a period of time among women in Cancer Registries of India. Breast Cancer trends for invasive breast cancer in women in Indian Registries have varied during the selected period. Occurrence of breast cancers has also shown geographical variation in India. This data was collected by means of a 'Standard Core Proforma' designed by NCRP conforming to the data fields as suggested by International norms. The Proforma was filled by trained Registry workers based on interview/ hospital medical records/ supplementing data by inputs from treating surgeons/radiation oncologists/involved physicians/pathologists. The contents of the Proforma are entered into specifically created software and transmitted electronically to the coordinating center at Bangalore. The registries contributing to more number of years of data are called as older registries, while other recently established registries are called newer registries. While there has been an increase recorded in breast cancer in most of the registries, some of them have recorded an insignificant increase. Comparison of Age Adjusted Rates (AARs) among Indian Registries has been carried out after which trends observed in populations covered by Indian Registries are depicted. A variation in broad age groups of females and the proneness of females developing breast cancer over the period 1982 to 2010 has been shown. Comparisons of Indian registries with International counterparts have also been carried out. There are marked changes in incidence rates of cancer breast which have occurred in respective registries in a

Mobile, portable lightweight wireless video recording solutions for homeland security, defense, and law enforcement applications

Science.gov (United States)

Sandy, Matt; Goldburt, Tim; Carapezza, Edward M.

2015-05-01

It is desirable for executive officers of law enforcement agencies and other executive officers in homeland security and defense, as well as first responders, to have some basic information about the latest trend on mobile, portable lightweight wireless video recording solutions available on the market. This paper reviews and discusses a number of studies on the use and effectiveness of wireless video recording solutions. It provides insights into the features of wearable video recording devices that offer excellent applications for the category of security agencies listed in this paper. It also provides answers to key questions such as: how to determine the type of video recording solutions most suitable for the needs of your agency, the essential features to look for when selecting a device for your video needs, and the privacy issues involved with wearable video recording devices.

A preliminary study for investigating idiopatic normal pressure hydrocephalus by means of statistical parameters classification of intracranial pressure recordings.

Science.gov (United States)

Calisto, A; Bramanti, A; Galeano, M; Angileri, F; Campobello, G; Serrano, S; Azzerboni, B

2009-01-01

The objective of this study is to investigate Id-iopatic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (INPH) through a multidimensional and multiparameter analysis of statistical data obtained from accurate analysis of Intracranial Pressure (ICP) recordings. Such a study could permit to detect new factors, correlated with therapeutic response, which are able to validate a predicting significance for infusion test. The algorithm developed by the authors computes 13 ICP parameter trends on each of the recording, afterward 9 statistical information from each trend is determined. All data are transferred to the datamining software WEKA. According to the exploited feature-selection techniques, the WEKA has revealed that the most significant statistical parameter is the maximum of Single-Wave-Amplitude: setting a 27 mmHg threshold leads to over 90% of correct classification.

[Homicides in the Americas region: magnitude, distribution and trends, 1999-2009].

Science.gov (United States)

Gawryszewski, Vilma Pinheiro; Sanhueza, Antonio; Martinez-Piedra, Ramon; Escamilla, José Antonio; de Souza, Maria de Fátima Marinho

2012-12-01

The scope of this study was to describe the magnitude and distribution of deaths by homicide in the Americas and to analyze the prevailing trends. Deaths by homicide (X85 to Y09 and Y35) were analyzed in 32 countries of the Americas Region from 1999 to 2009, recorded in the Mortality Information System/Pan American Health Organization. A negative binomial model was used to study the trends. There were around 121,297 homicides (89% men and 11% women) in the Americas, annually, predominantly in the 15 to 24 and 25 to 39 year age brackets. In 2009 the homicide age-adjusted mortality rate was 15.5/100,000 in the region. Countries with lower rates/100,000 were Canada (1.8), Argentina (4.4), Cuba (4.8), Chile (5.2), and the United States (5.8), whereas the highest rates/100,000 were in El Salvador (62.9), Guatemala (51.2), Colombia (42.5), Venezuela (33.2), and Puerto Rico (25.8). From 1999-2009, the homicide trend in the region was stable. They increased in nine countries: Venezuela (phomicide rates and they are on the increase.

On the Nature of Trends

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mackinney-Valentin, Maria

2010-01-01

A consolidation of the field Trend Studies through mapping, updating and developing trend theory.......A consolidation of the field Trend Studies through mapping, updating and developing trend theory....

An age-calibrated record of upper Campanian – Maastrichtian climate change in the Boreal Realm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thibault, Nicolas Rudolph; Schovsbo, Niels; Harlou, Rikke

nannofossil chalk is in agreement with planktic biotic events of the latest Cretaceous and matches well with climatic trends of intermediate- and deep-waters from other oceanic basins recorded through benthic foraminiferal d18O (Barrera and Savin, 1999). However, most planktic foraminiferal d18O data do......The latest Cretaceous climate of the Boreal Realm was recorded through high-resolution bulk carbon- and oxygen-stable isotopes and a nannofossil temperature index (NTI) on the Stevns-1 core (Denmark) which recovered 456 m of upper Campanian to basal Danian chalk with ~100% recovery and an excellent...... temperatures (SSTs) in the Boreal Realm. Three warming events punctuate the overall cooling trend of the latest Cretaceous: (1) the late Campanian climatic optimum (73.9–71.6 Ma) is characterized by maximum SSTs of 20°C, (2) the mid-Maastrichtian warming (69.7–68 Ma) is characterized by stable SSTs around 17°C...

Splenic conservation in children with splenic injury at Nnewi - South ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Hitherto, the mode of treatment has been towards resuscitation and splenectomy but over the past one and half decades, the trend moved to conserve. Objective: We therefore review the management of splenic injuries in children over the past ten years as well as highlight management problems. Patients and Methods: ...

Was everything bigger in Texas? Characterization and trends of a land-based recreational shark fishery

Science.gov (United States)

Ajemian, Matthew J.; Jose, Philip D.; Froeschke, John T.; Wildhaber, Mark L.; Stunz, Gregory W.

2016-01-01

Although current assessments of shark population trends involve both fishery-independent and fishery-dependent data, the latter are generally limited to commercial landings that may neglect nearshore coastal habitats. Texas has supported the longest organized land-based recreational shark fishery in the United States, yet no studies have used this “non-traditional” data source to characterize the catch composition or trends in this multidecadal fishery. We analyzed catch records from two distinct periods straddling heavy commercial exploitation of sharks in the Gulf of Mexico (historical period = 1973–1986; modern period = 2008–2015) to highlight and make available the current status and historical trends in Texas’ land-based shark fishery. Catch records describing large coastal species (>1,800 mm stretched total length [STL]) were examined using multivariate techniques to assess catch seasonality and potential temporal shifts in species composition. These fishery-dependent data revealed consistent seasonality that was independent of the data set examined, although distinct shark assemblages were evident between the two periods. Similarity percentage analysis suggested decreased contributions of Lemon Shark Negaprion brevirostris over time and a general shift toward the dominance of Bull Shark Carcharhinus leucas and Blacktip Shark C. limbatus. Comparisons of mean STL for species captured in historical and modern periods further identified significant decreases for both Bull Sharks and Lemon Sharks. Size structure analysis showed a distinct paucity of landed individuals over 2,000 mm STL in recent years. Although inherent biases in reporting and potential gear-related inconsistencies undoubtedly influenced this fishery-dependent data set, the patterns in our findings documented potential declines in the size and occurrence of select large coastal shark species off Texas, consistent with declines reported in the Gulf of Mexico. Future management efforts

Botulinum Toxin Dosing Trends in Spasmodic Dysphonia Over a 20-year Period.

Science.gov (United States)

Namin, Arya W; Christopher, Kara M; Eisenbeis, John F

2017-01-01

The study aims to (1) identify the botulinum toxin (BTX) dosing trend in a cohort of patients who received at least 20 injections for the treatment of adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD), (2) describe two distinct BTX dosing trends in treating ADSD (a "classic" dosing trend that initially decreases before stabilizing, and a "fluctuating" dosing trend), and (3) determine if patients with the "classic" dosing trend differed in age or in dosing intervals from those with the "fluctuating" dosing trend. This is a retrospective case series. Of 149 patients who received a total of 2484 BTX injections for the treatment of spasmodic dysphonia in 1993-2013, 49 patients received at least 20 injections. The BTX dose and the interval between doses were recorded. The mean dose of injections 1-20 was determined. The age at initial injection, initial dose, and interval in days between treatments were compared for the "fluctuating" and "classic" groups. The cohort exhibits a significant decrease in dose during the first 10-15 injections. The "fluctuating" group had a significantly shorter interval between injections (mean interval = 97.09 days, SD = 29.41; mean interval = 136.90 days, SD = 43.76, P = 0.002). The mean age at initial dose was not significantly different between the "classic" and "fluctuating" groups. The average BTX dose of patients with ADSD who receive long-term injections significantly decreases during the initial 10-15 injections before stabilizing. Patients who exhibit the "fluctuating" dosing pattern have a significantly shorter interval between injections than those with the "classic" dosing pattern. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Application of a Weighted Regression Model for Reporting Nutrient and Sediment Concentrations, Fluxes, and Trends in Concentration and Flux for the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Water-Quality Monitoring Network, Results Through Water Year 2012

Science.gov (United States)

Chanat, Jeffrey G.; Moyer, Douglas L.; Blomquist, Joel D.; Hyer, Kenneth E.; Langland, Michael J.

2016-01-13

In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, estimated fluxes of nutrients and sediment from the bay’s nontidal tributaries into the estuary are the foundation of decision making to meet reductions prescribed by the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and are often the basis for refining scientific understanding of the watershed-scale processes that influence the delivery of these constituents to the bay. Two regression-based flux and trend estimation models, ESTIMATOR and Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS), were compared using data from 80 watersheds in the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Water-Quality Monitoring Network (CBNTN). The watersheds range in size from 62 to 70,189 square kilometers and record lengths range from 6 to 28 years. ESTIMATOR is a constant-parameter model that estimates trends only in concentration; WRTDS uses variable parameters estimated with weighted regression, and estimates trends in both concentration and flux. WRTDS had greater explanatory power than ESTIMATOR, with the greatest degree of improvement evident for records longer than 25 years (30 stations; improvement in median model R2= 0.06 for total nitrogen, 0.08 for total phosphorus, and 0.05 for sediment) and the least degree of improvement for records of less than 10 years, for which the two models performed nearly equally. Flux bias statistics were comparable or lower (more favorable) for WRTDS for any record length; for 30 stations with records longer than 25 years, the greatest degree of improvement was evident for sediment (decrease of 0.17 in median statistic) and total phosphorus (decrease of 0.05). The overall between-station pattern in concentration trend direction and magnitude for all constituents was roughly similar for both models. A detailed case study revealed that trends in concentration estimated by WRTDS can operationally be viewed as a less-constrained equivalent to trends in concentration estimated by ESTIMATOR. Estimates of annual mean flow

The trend of road traffic crashes at urban signalised intersection

Science.gov (United States)

Farhana Nasarrudin, Nurul; Razelan, Intan Suhana Mohd

2018-04-01

Road traffic crash is one of the main contributing factors for deaths in the world. Intersection is listed as the second road type which road crashes occurred frequently. Hence, the traffic light was installed to minimise the road crashes at intersection. However, the crashes are still occurring and arising. The objective of this study was to exhibit the trend of road crashes at the signalised intersections. The data of road crashes for the past 6 years were analysed using descriptive analysis. The results showed that the road traffic crashes at three- and four-legged signalised intersection recorded the increasing trend. In conclusion, this finding shows that the road traffic crashes for these types of signalised intersection in Malaysia is rising. It is also one the contributors to the increasing number of crashes in Malaysia. This finding will encourage the local authority to conduct awareness programs on the safety at the signalised intersection.

Stratospheric effects on trends of mesospheric ice clouds (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Luebken, F.; Baumgarten, G.; Berger, U.

2009-12-01

Ice layers in the summer mesosphere at middle and polar latitudes appear as `noctilucent clouds' (NLC) and `polar mesosphere clouds'(PMC) when observed by optical methods from the ground or from satellites, respectively. A newly developed model of the atmosphere called LIMA (Leibniz Institute Middle Atmosphere Model) nicely reproduces the mean conditions of the summer mesopause region and is used to study the ice layer morphology (LIMA/ice). LIMA nudges to ECMWF data in the troposphere and lower stratosphere which influences the background conditions in the mesosphere and ice cloud morphology. Since ice layer formation is very sensitive to the thermal structure of the mesopause region the morphology of NLC and PMC is frequently discussed in terms of long term variations. Model runs of LIMA/ice are now available for 1961 until 2008. A strong correlation between temperatures and PMC altitudes is observed. Applied to historical measurements this gives negligible temperature trends at PMC altitudes (approximately 0.01-0.02 K/y). Trace gas concentrations are kept constant in LIMA except for water vapor which is modified by variable solar radiation. Still, long term trends in temperatures and ice layer parameters are observed, consistent with observations. We present results regarding inter-annual variability of upper mesosphere temperatures, water vapor, and ice clouds, and also long term variations. We compare our model results with satellite borne and lidar observations including some record high NLC parameters measured in the summer season of 2009. The latitudinal dependence of trends and ice layer parameters is discussed, including a NH/SH comparison. We will present an explanation of the trends in the background atmosphere and ice layer parameters.

The agreement between self-reported cervical smear abnormalities and screening programme records.

Science.gov (United States)

Canfell, Karen; Beral, Valerie; Green, Jane; Cameron, Rebecca; Baker, Krys; Brown, Anna

2006-01-01

The Million Women Study is a cohort study of women aged 50-64 years in England and Scotland. As a component of the follow-up questionnaire, participants were asked to indicate if they had an abnormal cervical smear in the previous five years. This study compared self-reported cervical abnormalities with screening records obtained from the National Health Service Cervical Screening Programme. For 1944 randomly selected Million Women Study participants in Oxfordshire, screening records were assessed over a six-year period prior to the date of self-reporting. The six-year period was chosen to allow for errors in the recall of timing of abnormal smears. A total of 68 women (3.5%) had a record of at least one equivocal or abnormal smear within the last six years, whereas 49 women (2.5%) self-reported an abnormality. There was a strong trend for an increased probability of self-reporting a history of an abnormal smear as the severity of the recorded abnormality increased (P screening programme records show an abnormal smear, the proportion self-reporting an abnormality increases with the severity of the recorded lesion. Almost all women with a record of negative or inadequate smear(s) correctly interpret the result and do not self-report an abnormality.

Trends in self-harm in Kuala Lumpur, 2005–2011

OpenAIRE

Armitage, Christopher J.; Abdul Rahim, Wirda; Rowe, Richard; O'Connor, Rory C.

2016-01-01

Acts of self-harm are not routinely tracked in Malaysia. The present study investigates the prevalence of self-harm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, over a 7-year period. The aims were to: (a) assess the prevalence of self-harm; (b) examine any changes over a period of 7 years, and (c) identify correlates of methods of self-harm. Data were extracted from the hospital records of Kuala Lumpur Hospital to review trends in self-harm between 2005 and 2011. There were 918 episodes of self-harm across the...

Adaptation, plant evolution, and the fossil record

Science.gov (United States)

Knoll, A. H.; Niklas, K. J.

1987-01-01

The importance of adaptation in determining patterns of evolution has become an important focus of debate in evolutionary biology. As it pertains to paleobotany, the issue is whether or not adaptive evolution mediated by natural selection is sufficient to explain the stratigraphic distributions of taxa and character states observed in the plant fossil record. One means of addressing this question is the functional evaluation of stratigraphic series of plant organs set in the context of paleoenvironmental change and temporal patterns of floral composition within environments. For certain organ systems, quantitative estimates of biophysical performance can be made on the basis of structures preserved in the fossil record. Performance estimates for plants separated in time or space can be compared directly. Implicit in different hypotheses of the forces that shape the evolutionary record (e.g. adaptation, mass extinction, rapid environmental change, chance) are predictions about stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental trends in the efficacy of functional performance. Existing data suggest that following the evolution of a significant structural innovation, adaptation for improved functional performance can be a major determinant of evolutionary changes in plants; however, there are structural and development limits to functional improvement, and once these are reached, the structure in question may no longer figure strongly in selection until and unless a new innovation evolves. The Silurian-Devonian paleobotanical record is consistent with the hypothesis that the succession of lowland floodplain dominants preserved in the fossil record of this interval was determined principally by the repeated evolution of new taxa that rose to ecological importance because of competitive advantages conferred by improved biophysical performance. This does not seem to be equally true for Carboniferous-Jurassic dominants of swamp and lowland floodplain environments. In these cases

Precipitation variations recorded in Guliya ice core in the past 400 years

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2000-01-01

Based on the Guliya ice core records, the precipitation in the past 400 years was retrieved. Its rela tions with other regions were also analyzed. The results demonstrated that there were two high-precipitation periods and two low-precipitation periods in Guliya ice core since 1571 AD. The average precipitation in the two high-precipitation periods was 42 mm (21%) higher than that in the two low-precipitation periods. The precipitation recorded in the Guliya ice core was consistent with that in Dunde ice core. The variation trends of precipitation in the Guliya ice core and the northern hemisphere are similar. During the extremely wet years in the northern hemisphere, the precipitation recorded in the Guliya ice core was two times the long-term average. However, the annual precipitation was 38% less than that of the long-term average in extremely dry years.

Multiyear Rainfall and Temperature Trends in the Volta River Basin and their Potential Impact on Hydropower Generation in Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amos T. Kabo-Bah

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The effects of temperature and rainfall changes on hydropower generation in Ghana from 1960–2011 were examined to understand country-wide trends of climate variability. Moreover, the discharge and the water level trends for the Akosombo reservoir from 1965–2014 were examined using the Mann-Kendall test statistic to assess localised changes. The annual temperature trend was positive while rainfall showed both negative and positive trends in different parts of the country. However, these trends were not statistically significant in the study regions in 1960 to 2011. Rainfall was not evenly distributed throughout the years, with the highest rainfall recorded between 1960 and 1970 and the lowest rainfalls between 2000 and 2011. The Mann-Kendall test shows an upward trend for the discharge of the Akosombo reservoir and a downward trend for the water level. However, the discharge irregularities of the reservoir do not necessarily affect the energy generated from the Akosombo plant, but rather the regular low flow of water into the reservoir affected power generation. This is the major concern for the operations of the Akosombo hydropower plant for energy generation in Ghana.

Career Preparedness and School Achievement of Portuguese Children: Longitudinal Trend Articulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria do Céu Taveira

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Social Cognitive Career Theory suggests that students' preparedness for the school-to-work transition is a developmental process. Middle school children explore various careers, obtain feedback about their academic progress, and develop career self-efficacy and outcome expectations. These processes advance provisional educational/occupational goals. The literature has suggested articulations between career and academic development and how both vary across demographic characteristics, but longitudinal studies linking these processes are scarce. This study tested articulations between career preparedness and academic achievement during middle school years and employed gender and geographical location as potential moderators affecting the linkage between career and school domains. Participants included 429 children (47.8% girls from northern (69.5% and central Portugal (30.5% followed across four occasions of measurement (MageWave1 = 10.23, SD = 0.50. Data was collected with school records, the Multidimensional Scales of Perceived Self-Efficacy, Career Exploratory Outcome Expectations Scale, Childhood Career Exploration Inventory and Childhood Career Development Scale. Average and orthnormalized linear, quadratic and cubic trends were computed. Pearson correlation coefficients suggested positive and statistically significant associations between career exploratory outcome expectations and academic achievement average trends. Career planning and self-efficacy expectations were negatively associated with academic achievement quadratic trends. Multiple linear regression models suggested that career exploratory outcome expectations and career planning were respectively statistically significant predictors of the average and quadratic trends of academic achievement. Gender moderated the association between the career variables and academic achievement linear trends as well as the relation of career planning and self-efficacy with academic achievement

Adoption research, practice, and societal trends: Ten years of progress.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiley, Mary O'Leary

2017-12-01

Adoption involves the legal transfer of parental rights and responsibilities from a child's birth parents to adults who will raise the child (Reitz & Watson, 1992). Research related to adoption has expanded over the past 10 years and has incorporated more focus on implications for practice and public policy. This expansion has reflected increased awareness of the lived experience of adopted individuals, in addition to that of adoptive families and birth or first parents and families, collectively known as the adoption kinship network (Grotevant & McRoy, 1998). Trends discussed included research and social trends or movements (2007-2017) since the publication of the final article in a series of articles in the psychological literature related to adoption in The Counseling Psychologist (Baden & Wiley, 2007; Lee, 2003; O'Brien & Zamostny, 2003; Wiley & Baden, 2005; Zamostny, O'Brien, Baden, & Wiley, 2003; Zamostny, Wiley, O'Brien, Lee, & Baden, 2003). This article summarizes the social trends and research related to adoption over the last 10 years, including longitudinal and meta-analytic studies, increased research and conceptualization of ethnic and racial identity development, research on microaggressions, and research on diverse adoptive families, including those with gay and lesbian parents. Social trends included increased knowledge related to Internet accessibility, genetic information, continued focus on openness, and viewing adoption through a more critical lens. Implications are discussed for the development of programs that enhance competence of mental health professionals and adoption professionals in adoption-competent practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Trend of electric business in the world. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

A trend of supply and demand of energy, nuclear power generation in the world and each country are reported. The past record of energy expenditure in the world in 2010 showed increase of percentage change year-over-year. The crude oil cost was 103.88 dollar/barrel in October, 2011. 436 nuclear power plants are in operation and the total power 392,200,000 kW, which increased 4 plants and 3,047,000 kW year-over-year in the world. The conditions of nuclear power plant of USA, England, France, German, Russia, Korea and China are stated. The past record of energy expenditure in 2010, outline of nuclear power plants in the world as of January 1st, 2011, nuclear power plants in operation in England, closing schedule of each nuclear power plant in German, nuclear power plant in operation in Russia, 2010, nuclear power plants in operation and building in Korea as of December, 2010, nuclear power plants in operation in China as of August, 2011 are illustrated. (S.Y.)

Forty-year trends in the flux and concentration of phosphorus in British rivers

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Civan, Aylin; Worrall, Fred; Jarvie, Helen P.; Howden, Nicholas J. K.; Burt, Tim P.

2018-03-01

Given the importance of phosphorus (P) in the eutrophication of natural waters, this study considered the long-term time series of total phosphorus (TP) and total reactive phosphorus (TRP) in British rivers from 1974 to 2012. The approach included not only trend analysis of fluxes and concentrations but also change point analysis. TP and TRP concentrations and fluxes in British rivers have declined since the mid-1980s. Over the last decade of the record the majority of individual sites did show significant downward trends in TP and TRP concentrations but, in 28% of cases for TRP concentration and 14% of cases for TP concentration, the decadal trend was a significant increase. Out of 230 sites, 136 showed a significant step decrease in TRP concentration; no sites showed a significant step increase. The modal year for the step changes for both TRP concentration and flux was 1997. Step changes are likely associated with improvements made at sewage treatment works to comply with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC). The decrease in TRP concentration due to the step change were in the range of 0.68% and 89% with a geometric mean of 22%, with the rest of the decrease accounted by long-term, persistent downward trend.

The end of the decline in cervical cancer mortality in Spain: trends across the period 1981-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Cervantes-Amat, Marta; López-Abente, Gonzalo; Aragonés, Nuria; Pollán, Marina; Pastor-Barriuso, Roberto; Pérez-Gómez, Beatriz

2015-04-15

In Spain, cervical cancer prevention is based on opportunistic screening, due to the disease's traditionally low incidence and mortality rates. Changes in sexual behaviour, tourism and migration have, however, modified the probability of exposure to human papilloma virus among Spaniards. This study thus sought to evaluate recent cervical cancer mortality trends in Spain. We used annual female population figures and individual records of deaths certified as cancer of cervix, reclassifying deaths recorded as unspecified uterine cancer to correct coding quality problems. Joinpoint models were fitted to estimate change points in trends, as well as the annual (APC) and average annual percentage change. Log-linear Poisson models were also used to study age-period-cohort effects on mortality trends and their change points. 1981 marked the beginning of a decline in cervical cancer mortality (APC(1981-2003): -3.2; 95% CI:-3.4;-3.0) that ended in 2003, with rates reaching a plateau in the last decade (APC2003-2012: 0.1; 95% CI:-0.9; 1.2). This trend, which was observable among women aged 45-46 years (APC(2003-2012): 1.4; 95% CI:-0.1;2.9) and over 65 years (APC(2003-2012): -0.1; 95% CI:-1.9;1.7), was clearest in Spain's Mediterranean and Southern regions. The positive influence of opportunistic screening is not strong enough to further reduce cervical cancer mortality rates in the country. Our results suggest that the Spanish Health Authorities should reform current prevention programmes and surveillance strategies in order to confront the challenges posed by cervical cancer.

Zika pandemic online trends, incidence and health risk communication: a time trend study.

Science.gov (United States)

Adebayo, Gbenga; Neumark, Yehuda; Gesser-Edelsburg, Anat; Abu Ahmad, Wiessam; Levine, Hagai

2017-01-01

We aimed to describe the online search trends of Zika and examine their association with Zika incidence, assess the content of Zika-related press releases issued by leading health authorities and examine the association between online trends and press release timing. Using Google Trends, the 1 May 2015 to 30 May 2016 online trends of Zika and associated search terms were studied globally and in the five countries with the highest numbers of suspected cases. Correlations were then examined between online trends and Zika incidence in these countries. All Zika-related press releases issued by WHO/Pan America Health Organization (PAHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the study period were assessed for transparency, uncertainty and audience segmentation. Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model was applied to assess self-efficacy, response efficacy, susceptibility and severity. AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average with an eXogenous predictor variable (ARIMAX) (p,d,q) regression modelling was used to quantify the association between online trends and the timing of press releases. Globally, Zika online search trends were low until the beginning of 2016, when interest rose steeply. Strong correlations (r=0.748-0.922; ponline trends and the number of suspected Zika cases in four of the five countries studied. Compared with press releases issued by WHO/PAHO, CDC press releases were significantly more likely to provide contact details and links to other resources, include figures/graphs, be risk-advisory in nature and be more readable and briefer. ARIMAX modelling results indicate that online trends preceded by 1 week press releases by WHO (stationary-R 2 =0.345; ponline trends can aid in pandemic surveillance. Identification of shortcomings in the content and timing of Zika press releases can help guide health communication efforts in the current pandemic and future public health emergencies.

Trends in overweight and obesity prevalence in Dutch, Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese South Asian children in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wilde, J.A. de; Dommelen, P. van; Middelkoop, B.J.C.; Verkerk, P.H.

2009-01-01

Objective: To determine trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children in The Hague (the Netherlands) from 1999 through 2007. Design: Population-based study of a series of cross-sectional assessments of height and weight from electronic health records. Setting: Child Health Care

Tetraether biomarker records from a loess-paleosol sequence in the western Chinese Loess Plateau

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Guodong eJia

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The ubiquitous occurrence of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs in soils and their ability to record temperature and environmental changes offer the prospect of independently reconstructing continental paleotemperature and paleoenvironment from the loess-paleosol sequences (LPS from the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP. In this study we present records of GDGT-derived proxies for the last 70 kyr from the Yuanbao LPS, western CLP. Temperature record reconstructed from the cyclization and methylation index of branched tetraethers (MBT-CBT displays that the onset of deglacial warming at ~20 kyr before present (BP precedes the strengthening of summer monsoon at ~15 kyr BP, which is in agreement in timing with previous MBT-CBT temperature records from the southeastern CLP. The maximal deglacial warming of ~10 °C is slightly higher than those in the southeastern CLP, perhaps due to the higher latitude and farther inland of the study site. The Branched and Isoprenoid Tetraether (BIT index shows higher values (0.87–0.96 range, 0.93 average in the glacial loess and lower values (0.76–0.91 range, 0.83 average in the Holocene paleosols, with a steady decreasing trend since the early Holocene. The decreasing trend could suggest enhanced Thaumarchaeota relative to GDGT producing bacteria activity since the early Holocene, but other possibilities, such as preferential degradation of isoprenoid GDGTs or upward increase in living archaea relative to bacteria in the paleosol profile, cannot be fully excluded. Our results thus demonstrate the need of future study on microbial community structure in soil column and differential degradation of GDGT molecules.

Trends of abortion complications in a transition of abortion law revisions in Ethiopia.

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Gebrehiwot, Yirgu; Liabsuetrakul, Tippawan

2009-03-01

Evidence from developed countries has shown that abortion-related mortality and morbidity has decreased with the liberalization of the abortion law. This study aimed to assess the trend of hospital-based abortion complications during the transition of legalization in Ethiopia in May 2005. Medical records of women with abortion complications from 2003 to 2007 were reviewed (n = 773). Abortion and its complications with regard to legalization were described by rates and ratios, and predictors of fatal outcomes were analyzed by logistic regression. The overall and abortion-related maternal mortality ratios (AMMRs) showed a non-statistically significant downward trend over the 5-year period. However, the case fatality rate of abortion increased from 1.1% in 2003 to 3.6% in 2007. Late gestational age, history of interference and presenting after new abortion legislation passed have been found to be significant predictors of mortality. Decreased trends of abortion ratio and the AMMR were identified, but the severity of abortion complications and the case fatality rate increased during the transition of legal revision.

Trends in Education.

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School Planning & Management, 2002

2002-01-01

Several architects, planners, administrators, and contractors answer questions about trends related to school construction, interior design, business, security, and technology. Trends concern funding issues, specialized designs, planning for safety, technological integration, and equity in services. (EV)

Lung Cancer Trends

Science.gov (United States)

... the Biggest Cancer Killer in Both Men and Women” Stay Informed Trends for Other Kinds of Cancer Breast Cervical Colorectal (Colon) Ovarian Prostate Skin Cancer Home Lung Cancer Trends Language: English Español (Spanish) Recommend ...

World trends from 2017

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Janković Slobodan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Issue of prognosis, analyses of future trends is companion to statecraft, political, economic and military planning. How we plan, what does IR says about scientific prognosis. Jankovic starts with this set of issues in order to pass into prognosis itself based on observable world trends. He claims that European Union has entered its climax comparing it foreign policy situation with that of war situation of Third Reich in 1943. Article is divided in five parts. After presenting and criticizing Anglo-American approach in prognosis, he starts with analysis of the world order changes, of EU trends, Middle, Far East and some trends regarding Africa. Author presents macro trends in North - West Pacific, in Israel-Palestine, in Syria, Iraq, in Europe.

Near Field Intensity Trends of Main Laser Alignment Images in the National Ignition Facility (NIF)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leach, R R; Beltsar, I; Burkhart, S; Lowe-Webb, R; Kamm, V M; Salmon, T; Wilhelmsen, K

2015-01-22

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) utilizes 192 high-energy laser beams focused with enough power and precision on a hydrogen-filled spherical, cryogenic target to potentially initiate a fusion reaction. NIF has been operational for six years; during that time, thousands of successful laser firings or shots have been executed. Critical instrument measurements and camera images are carefully recorded for each shot. The result is a massive and complex database or ‘big data’ archive that can be used to investigate the state of the laser system at any point in its history or to locate and track trends in the laser operation over time. In this study, the optical light throughput for more than 1600 NIF shots for each of the 192 main laser beams and 48 quads was measured over a three year period from January 2009 to October 2012. The purpose was to verify that the variation in the transmission of light through the optics over time performed within design expectations during this time period. Differences between average or integrated intensity from images recorded by the input sensor package (ISP) and by the output sensor package (OSP) in the NIF beam-line were examined. A metric is described for quantifying changes in the integrated intensity measurements and was used to view potential trends. Results are presented for the NIF input and output sensor package trends and changes over the three year time-frame.

Investigation of Breakpoint and Trend of Daily Air Temperature Range for Mashhad, Iran

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shideh shams

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Air temperature as an important climatic factor can influence variability and distribution of other climatic parameters. Therefore, tracking the changes in air temperature is a popular procedure in climate change studies.. According to the national academy in the last decade, global temperature has raised 0.4 to 0.8⁰C. Instrumental records show that, with the exception of 1998, the 10 warmest year (during the last 150 years, occurred since 2000, and 2014 was the warmest year. Investigation of maximum and minimum air temperature temporal trend indicates that these two parameters behave differently over time. It has been shown that the minimum air temperature raises noticeably more than the maximum air temperature, which causes a reduction in the difference of maximum and minimum daily air temperature (daily temperature range, DTR. There are several factors that have an influence on reducing DTR such as: Urban development, farms’ irrigation and desertification. It has been shown that DTR reduction occurs mostly during winter and is less frequent during summer, which shows the season’s effect on the temperature trend. Considering the significant effects of the climatological factors on economic and agricultural management issues, the aim of this study is to investigate daily air temperature range for yearly, seasonal and monthly time scales, using available statistical methods. Materials and Methods: Daily maximum and minimum air temperature records (from 1950 to 2010 were obtained from Mashhad Meteorological Organization. In order to control the quality of daily Tmax and Tmin data, four different types of quality controls were applied. First of all, gross errors were checked. In this step maximum and minimum air temperature data exceeding unlikely air temperature values, were eliminated from data series. Second, data tolerance was checked by searching for periods longer than a certain number of consecutive days with exactly the

Snow Accumulation Variability Over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Since 1900: A Comparison of Ice Core Records With ERA-20C Reanalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yetang; Thomas, Elizabeth R.; Hou, Shugui; Huai, Baojuan; Wu, Shuangye; Sun, Weijun; Qi, Shanzhong; Ding, Minghu; Zhang, Yulun

2017-11-01

This study uses a set of 37 firn core records over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) to test the performance of the twentieth century from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ERA-20C) reanalysis for snow accumulation and quantify temporal variability in snow accumulation since 1900. The firn cores are allocated to four geographical areas demarcated by drainage divides (i.e., Antarctic Peninsula (AP), western WAIS, central WAIS, and eastern WAIS) to calculate stacked records of regional snow accumulation. Our results show that the interannual variability in ERA-20C precipitation minus evaporation (P - E) agrees well with the corresponding ice core snow accumulation composites in each of the four geographical regions, suggesting its skill for simulating snow accumulation changes before the modern satellite era (pre-1979). Snow accumulation experiences significantly positive trends for the AP and eastern WAIS, a negative trend for the western WAIS, and no significant trend for the central WAIS from 1900 to 2010. The contrasting trends are associated with changes in the large-scale moisture transport driven by a deepening of the low-pressure systems and anomalies of sea ice in the Amundsen Sea Low region.

Computer architecture technology trends

CERN Document Server

1991-01-01

Please note this is a Short Discount publication. This year's edition of Computer Architecture Technology Trends analyses the trends which are taking place in the architecture of computing systems today. Due to the sheer number of different applications to which computers are being applied, there seems no end to the different adoptions which proliferate. There are, however, some underlying trends which appear. Decision makers should be aware of these trends when specifying architectures, particularly for future applications. This report is fully revised and updated and provides insight in

Comparison between linear and nonlinear trends in NOAA-15 AMSU-A brightness temperatures during 1998-2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qin, Z. [Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Center of Data Assimilation for Research and Application, Nanjing (China); Zou, X. [Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Center of Data Assimilation for Research and Application, Nanjing (China); Florida State University, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Tallahassee, FL (United States); Weng, F. [NOAA/NESDIS, Center for Satellite Applications and Research, Camp Springs, MD (United States)

2012-10-15

Brightness temperature observations from Microwave Sounding Unit and Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) on board National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites have been widely utilized for estimating the global climate trend in the troposphere and stratosphere. A common approach for deriving the trend is linear regression, which implicitly assumes the trend being a straight line over the whole length of a time series and is often highly sensitive to the data record length. This study explores a new adaptive and temporally local data analysis method - Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) - for estimating the global trends. In EEMD, a non-stationary time series is decomposed adaptively and locally into a sequence of amplitude-frequency modulated oscillatory components and a time-varying trend. The AMSU-A data from the NOAA-15 satellite over the time period from October 26, 1998 to August 7, 2010 are employed for this study. Using data over Amazon rainforest areas, it is shown that channel 3 is least sensitive to the orbital drift among four AMSU-A surface sensitive channels. The decadal trends of AMSU-A channel 3 and other eight channels in the troposphere and stratosphere are deduced and compared using both methods. It is shown that the decadal climate trends of most AMSU-A channels are nonlinear except for channels 3-4 in Northern Hemisphere only and channels 12-13. Although the decadal trend variation of the global average brightness temperature is no more than 0.2 K, the regional decadal trend variation could be more (less) than 3 K (-3 K) in high latitudes and over high terrains. (orig.)

Survey the status and trend of traffic accidents in Qazvin Province (2006-2015

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K. Hosseinzadeh

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Background: The road traffic accidents (RTAs have caused life losses and economical damages in Iran. In spite of the high rate of RTAs and related death, no study has been conducted on RTAs in Qazvin province. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the status and trend of RTAs in Qazvin from 2006 to 2015. Methods: This is a 10 years epidemiological study on documented data in accidents recording system (ARS at non-communicable disease control center of Qazvin. ARS is an intelligent managed system in which the figures of all accidents and injuries records. All data from ARS were extracted from RAS by an expert staff and analyzed. Findings: Total number of traffic accidents in Qazvin from 2006 to 2015 was 65945; the central city (Qazvin with 50168 and Takestan city with 7213 were in the top position of RTAs in Qazvin. The number of RTAs was associated with fluctuation, annually. The lowest and highest number of RTAs have been occurred in 2014 (n=5720 and 2012 (n=9718, respectively. Conclusion: This study revealed the increasing trend of RTAs specific rates per thousands of population from 2013 which has direct and indirect cost effects on the community.

Marine water mites (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Pontarachnidae) from Taiwan, Korea and India, with the first description of the male of Pontarachna australis Smit, 2003

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Pesic, V.; Chatterjee, T.; Chan, B.K.K.; Ingole, B.S.

he hitherto unknown male of the marine water mite Pontarachna australis Smit, 2003 (Acari: Hydrachnidia: Pontarachnidae) is described and recorded from Taiwan for the first time. Another marine water mite, Litarachna denhami (Lohmann, 1909...

Marketing trends impede conceptual integration in psychology courses: Comment on Gurung et al. (2016).

Science.gov (United States)

Carver, Charles S

2017-01-01

A recent American Psychologist article on teaching (Gurung et al., 2016) stressed the importance of fostering integration across topic areas. A current trend in publishing and marketing of textbooks is creating pressure that makes this goal harder to implement. The trend is offering custom tailoring of online texts by adopters, letting instructors assign some sections and make other sections unavailable to students. To permit this option, textbook publishers now insist that authors not cross-reference anywhere, so that no instructor will face the possibility of a student looking for material that has not been assigned and thus does not exist. Ironically, this pressure from publishers actively impedes conceptual integration in our textbooks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Examination of Regional Trends in Cloud Properties over Surface Sites Derived from MODIS and AVHRR using the CERES Cloud Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, W. L., Jr.; Minnis, P.; Bedka, K. M.; Sun-Mack, S.; Chen, Y.; Doelling, D. R.; Kato, S.; Rutan, D. A.

2017-12-01

Recent studies analyzing long-term measurements of surface insolation at ground sites suggest that decadal-scale trends of increasing (brightening) and decreasing (dimming) downward solar flux have occurred at various times over the last century. Regional variations have been reported that range from near 0 Wm-2/decade to as large as 9 Wm-2/decade depending on the location and time period analyzed. The more significant trends have been attributed to changes in overhead clouds and aerosols, although quantifying their relative impacts using independent observations has been difficult, owing in part to a lack of consistent long-term measurements of cloud properties. This paper examines new satellite based records of cloud properties derived from MODIS (2000-present) and AVHRR (1981- present) data to infer cloud property trends over a number of surface radiation sites across the globe. The MODIS cloud algorithm was developed for the NASA Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project to provide a consistent record of cloud properties to help improve broadband radiation measurements and to better understand cloud radiative effects. The CERES-MODIS cloud algorithm has been modified to analyze other satellites including the AVHRR on the NOAA satellites. Compared to MODIS, obtaining consistent cloud properties over a long period from AVHRR is a much more significant challenge owing to the number of different satellites, instrument calibration uncertainties, orbital drift and other factors. Nevertheless, both the MODIS and AVHRR cloud properties will be analyzed to determine trends, and their level of consistency and correspondence with surface radiation trends derived from the ground-based radiometer data. It is anticipated that this initial study will contribute to an improved understanding of surface solar radiation trends and their relationship to clouds.

Trend in BMI z-score among Private Schools’ Students in Delhi using Multiple Imputation for Growth Curve Model

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Vinay K Gupta

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the trend in mean BMI z-score among private schools’ students from their anthropometric records when there were missing values in the outcome. Methodology: The anthropometric measurements of student from class 1 to 12 were taken from the records of two private schools in Delhi, India from 2005 to 2010. These records comprise of an unbalanced longitudinal data that is not all the students had measurements recorded at each year. The trend in mean BMI z-score was estimated through growth curve model. Prior to that, missing values of BMI z-score were imputed through multiple imputation using the same model. A complete case analysis was also performed after excluding missing values to compare the results with those obtained from analysis of multiply imputed data. Results: The mean BMI z-score among school student significantly decreased over time in imputed data (β= -0.2030, se=0.0889, p=0.0232 after adjusting age, gender, class and school. Complete case analysis also shows a decrease in mean BMI z-score though it was not statistically significant (β= -0.2861, se=0.0987, p=0.065. Conclusions: The estimates obtained from multiple imputation analysis were better than those of complete data after excluding missing values in terms of lower standard errors. We showed that anthropometric measurements from schools records can be used to monitor the weight status of children and adolescents and multiple imputation using growth curve model can be useful while analyzing such data

Trends in Arctic Sea Ice Volume 2010-2013 from CryoSat-2

Science.gov (United States)

Tilling, R.; Ridout, A.; Wingham, D.; Shepherd, A.; Haas, C.; Farrell, S. L.; Schweiger, A. J.; Zhang, J.; Giles, K.; Laxon, S.

2013-12-01

Satellite records show a decline in Arctic sea ice extent over the past three decades with a record minimum in September 2012, and results from the Pan-Arctic Ice-Ocean Modelling and Assimilation System (PIOMAS) suggest that this has been accompanied by a reduction in volume. We use three years of measurements recorded by the European Space Agency CryoSat-2 (CS-2) mission, validated with in situ data, to generate estimates of seasonal variations and inter-annual trends in Arctic sea ice volume between 2010 and 2013. The CS-2 estimates of sea ice thickness agree with in situ estimates derived from upward looking sonar measurements of ice draught and airborne measurements of ice thickness and freeboard to within 0.1 metres. Prior to the record minimum in summer 2012, autumn and winter Arctic sea ice volume had fallen by ~1300 km3 relative to the previous year. Using the full 3-year period of CS-2 observations, we estimate that winter Arctic sea ice volume has decreased by ~700 km3/yr since 2010, approximately twice the average rate since 1980 as predicted by the PIOMAS.

Infant feeding practices within a large electronic medical record database.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartsch, Emily; Park, Alison L; Young, Jacqueline; Ray, Joel G; Tu, Karen

2018-01-02

The emerging adoption of the electronic medical record (EMR) in primary care enables clinicians and researchers to efficiently examine epidemiological trends in child health, including infant feeding practices. We completed a population-based retrospective cohort study of 8815 singleton infants born at term in Ontario, Canada, April 2002 to March 2013. Newborn records were linked to the Electronic Medical Record Administrative data Linked Database (EMRALD™), which uses patient-level information from participating family practice EMRs across Ontario. We assessed exclusive breastfeeding patterns using an automated electronic search algorithm, with manual review of EMRs when the latter was not possible. We examined the rate of breastfeeding at visits corresponding to 2, 4 and 6 months of age, as well as sociodemographic factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding. Of the 8815 newborns, 1044 (11.8%) lacked breastfeeding information in their EMR. Rates of exclusive breastfeeding were 39.5% at 2 months, 32.4% at 4 months and 25.1% at 6 months. At age 6 months, exclusive breastfeeding rates were highest among mothers aged ≥40 vs. database.

Significance of Two New Pleistocene Plant Records from Western Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Field, Michael H.; Velichkevich, Felix Y.; Andrieu-Ponel, Valerie; Woltz, Phillipe

2000-09-01

The first records of extinct Caulinia goretskyi (Dorofeev) Dorofeev (synonym Najas goretskyi Dorofeev) in western Europe and of Potamogeton occidentalis M.H. Field sp. nov. were obtained from plant macrofossil analyses of Middle Pleistocene temperate stage deposits exposed at Trez Rouz, Brittany, France. Palynological assemblages recovered suggest correlation with the Holsteinian Stage. This discovery greatly expands the western limit of the paleogeographical distribution of Caulinia goretskyi. The record of Potamogeton occidentalis indicates an affinity with the eastern Asiatic flora, as the fruits resemble those of the extant Potamogeton maackianus A. Bennett. Other extinct Pleistocene species related to P. maackianus have been described, and it is possible to follow the development of this group through the Pleistocene in the European fossil record. These new finds illustrate the importance of a complete paleobotanical approach (both plant macrofossil and palynological analyses). The plant macrofossil assemblages not only provide detailed insight into local vegetation and environment, because they are often not transported long distances (in temperate areas) and can frequently be identified to species level; they can also offer the opportunity to investigate Pleistocene evolutionary trends.

Impact of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) on deriving anthropogenic warming rates from the instrumental temperature record

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Werf, G.R.; Dolman, A.J.

2014-01-01

The instrumental surface air temperature record has been used in several statistical studies to assess the relative role of natural and anthropogenic drivers of climate change. The results of those studies varied considerably, with anthropogenic temperature trends over the past 25-30 years suggested

Variability and trend in ozone over the southern tropics and subtropics

Science.gov (United States)

Toihir, Abdoulwahab Mohamed; Portafaix, Thierry; Sivakumar, Venkataraman; Bencherif, Hassan; Pazmiño, Andréa; Bègue, Nelson

2018-03-01

Long-term variability in ozone trends was assessed over eight Southern Hemisphere tropical and subtropical sites (Natal, Nairobi, Ascension Island, Java, Samoa, Fiji, Reunion and Irene), using total column ozone data (TCO) and vertical ozone profiles (altitude range 15-30 km) recorded during the period January 1998-December 2012. The TCO datasets were constructed by combination of satellite data (OMI and TOMS) and ground-based observations recorded using Dobson and SAOZ spectrometers. Vertical ozone profiles were obtained from balloon-sonde experiments which were operated within the framework of the SHADOZ network. The analysis in this study was performed using the Trend-Run model. This is a multivariate regression model based on the principle of separating the variations of ozone time series into a sum of several forcings (annual and semi-annual oscillations, QBO (Quasi-Biennial Oscillation), ENSO, 11-year solar cycle) that account for most of its variability. The trend value is calculated based on the slope of a normalized linear function which is one of the forcing parameters included in the model. Three regions were defined as follows: equatorial (0-10° S), tropical (10-20° S) and subtropical (20-30° S). Results obtained indicate that ozone variability is dominated by seasonal and quasi-biennial oscillations. The ENSO contribution is observed to be significant in the tropical lower stratosphere and especially over the Pacific sites (Samoa and Java). The annual cycle of ozone is observed to be the most dominant mode of variability for all the sites and presents a meridional signature with a maximum over the subtropics, while semi-annual and quasi-biannual ozone modes are more apparent over the equatorial region, and their magnitude decreases southward. The ozone variation mode linked to the QBO signal is observed between altitudes of 20 and 28 km. Over the equatorial zone there is a strong signal at ˜ 26 km, where 58 % ±2 % of total ozone variability is

Trends in hip fracture-related mortality in Texas, 1990-2007.

Science.gov (United States)

Orces, Carlos H; Alamgir, Abul H

2011-07-01

There are limited data about trends in hip fracture-related mortality. In this study, we examined temporal trends in hip fracture mortality rates among persons aged 50 years or older in Texas between 1990 and 2007. Hip fracture-related mortality was defined as a death on the multiple cause of death record for which hip fracture was listed as a contributing cause. Population estimates for Texas were used as the denominator to calculate mortality rates per 100,000 persons. The joinpoint regression analysis was used to identify points where a statistically significant change occurred in the linear slope of the rates. A total of 14,350 death certificates listed hip fracture as a contributing cause of death. Hip fracture rates decreased predominantly among men by 0.8% (95% CI, -1.5 to -0.1) per year. Conversely, age-adjusted rates among women increased by 0.3% (95% CI, -0.4 to 1.0) per year. By race/ethnicity, hip fracture mortality rates increased annually 2.2% (95% CI, -0.1 to 4.4) among blacks, whereas the rates among whites and Hispanics remained steady. Moreover, the proportion of death records that listed nursing homes and residence as a place of death increased by 2.2% (95% CI, 1.6 to 2.9) and 8.7% (95% CI, 6.3 to 11.0) per year, respectively. Hip fracture mortality rates decreased predominantly among men in Texas during the study period. Increasing hip fracture mortality rates among blacks and nursing home residents merit further research.

Assessing the trends, scale and nature of economic cybercrimes: overview and issues

OpenAIRE

Levi, Michael

2017-01-01

Trends in police-recorded and (where they exist) household survey-measured cybercrimes for economic gain are reviewed in a range of developed countries – Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the US - and their implications for criminal policy are considered. The datasets indicate a substantial rise in online fraud – though one that is lower than the rise in online shopping and other ‘routine activity’ indicators - but it is not obvious whether this is jus...

Antithrombotic Utilization Trends after Noncardioembolic Ischemic Stroke or TIA in the Setting of Large Antithrombotic Trials (2002–2009)

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Amir S.; Qureshi, Adnan I.

2015-01-01

Background and Purpose Several large trials published over the last decade have significantly altered recommended guidelines for therapy following a noncardioembolic ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). The impact of these studies on patient usage of alternative antithrombotic agents has hitherto not been evaluated. We examined the usage of these agents in the United States over the last decade, with regard to the publication of the Management of Atherothrombosis with Clopidogrel in High-Risk Patients (MATCH), European/Australasian Stroke Prevention in Reversible Ischaemia Trial (ESPRIT), and Prevention Regimen for Effectively Avoiding Second Strokes (PRoFESS) clinical trials, in order to test the hypothesis that resulting recommendations are reflected in usage trends. Methods Antithrombotic utilization was prospectively collected as part of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) on a total of 53,608,351 patients in the United States between 2002 and 2009. Patients with a history of ischemic stroke or TIA were included. Patients were excluded if there was a prior history of subarachnoid or intracerebral hemorrhage, or if other indications for antithrombotic treatment were present, including deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, atrial fibrillation or flutter, mechanical cardiac valve replacement, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Annual utilization of the following antithrombotic strategies was compared in 53,608,351 patients: 1) aspirin monotherapy, 2) clopidogrel monotherapy, 3) combined clopidogrel and aspirin, 4) combined extended-release dipyridamole (ERDP) and aspirin, and 5) warfarin. Annual utilization was compared before and after publication of MATCH, ESPRIT, and PRoFESS in 2004, 2006, and 2008, respectively. Trend analysis was performed with the Mantel–Haenszel test for trends. Sensitivity analysis of demographic and clinical characteristics

An 18,000 year-long eruptive record from Volcán Chaitén, northwestern Patagonia: Paleoenvironmental and hazard-assessment implications

Science.gov (United States)

Alloway, Brent V.; Pearce, Nick J. G.; Moreno, Patricio I.; Villarosa, Gustavo; Jara, Ignacio; De Pol-Holz, Ricardo; Outes, Valeria

2017-07-01

The 2008 eruption of Volcán Chaitén (VCha) in northwestern Patagonia was the first explosive rhyolitic eruption to have occurred within a century and provided an unprecedented scientific opportunity to examine all facets of the eruption ranging from magma rheology/ascent rates to ash-fall effects on biota and infrastructure. Up to very recently it was thought that the latest eruption prior to the 2008 event occurred c. 9750 cal. a BP. Although a number of researchers have recognised additional eruptive products, but their stratigraphy, age, and geochemical attributes have not been systematically described and/or recorded. In this study, we provide a detailed examination of andic cover-beds and tephra-bearing lake sequences located both proximally and distally to VCha, which record a series of hitherto unknown rhyolitic eruptive products and place all previous observations firmly within a coherent stratigraphic framework. Through major- and trace-element glass shard geochemistry we are able to confidently verify eruptive source. A total of 20 discrete tephra beds are recognised, with at least 10 having widespread areal distributions and/or depositional imprints broadly comparable to, or greater than, the 2008-tephra event. This record indicates that VCha has been continuously but intermittently active as far back as the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (c. 18,000 cal a BP) with two dominant, genetically related magma types and an intermediary 'mixed' type. Before this the eruptive record has been largely obscured and/or erased by widespread Andean piedmont glaciation. However, based on the tempo of VCha activity over the last c. 18,000 years, older VCha eruptives can be anticipated to occur as well as future hazardous explosive events. The new eruptive inventory will ultimately be useful for correlating equivalent-aged sequences and refining long-term eruptive tempo as well as corresponding temporal changes in magmatic evolution.

Quality assurance records and records' system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Link, M.; Martinek, J.

1980-01-01

For nuclear power plants extensive proof of quality is required which has to be documented reliably by quality records. With respect to the paper volume it is the most comprehensive 'curriculum vitae' of the technique. Traditional methods of information and recording are unsatisfactory for meeting regulatory requirements for maintaining the QA-aspects of status reporting, completeness, traceability and retrieval. Therefore KWU has established a record (documentation) subsystem within the overall component qualification system. Examples of the general documentation requirements, the procedure and handling in accordance with this subsystem for mechanical equipment are to be described examplarily. Topics are: - National and international requirements - Definition of QA records - Modular and product orientated KWU-record subsystem - Criteria for developing records - Record control, distribution, collection, storage - New documentation techniques (microfilm, data processing) - Education and training of personnel. (orig./RW)

Depth-time interpolation of feature trends extracted from mobile microelectrode data with kernel functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Stephen; Hargreaves, Eric L; Baltuch, Gordon H; Jaggi, Jurg L; Danish, Shabbar F

2012-01-01

Microelectrode recording (MER) is necessary for precision localization of target structures such as the subthalamic nucleus during deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. Attempts to automate this process have produced quantitative temporal trends (feature activity vs. time) extracted from mobile MER data. Our goal was to evaluate computational methods of generating spatial profiles (feature activity vs. depth) from temporal trends that would decouple automated MER localization from the clinical procedure and enhance functional localization in DBS surgery. We evaluated two methods of interpolation (standard vs. kernel) that generated spatial profiles from temporal trends. We compared interpolated spatial profiles to true spatial profiles that were calculated with depth windows, using correlation coefficient analysis. Excellent approximation of true spatial profiles is achieved by interpolation. Kernel-interpolated spatial profiles produced superior correlation coefficient values at optimal kernel widths (r = 0.932-0.940) compared to standard interpolation (r = 0.891). The choice of kernel function and kernel width resulted in trade-offs in smoothing and resolution. Interpolation of feature activity to create spatial profiles from temporal trends is accurate and can standardize and facilitate MER functional localization of subcortical structures. The methods are computationally efficient, enhancing localization without imposing additional constraints on the MER clinical procedure during DBS surgery. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Twelve-year analysis of microbial keratitis trends at a UK tertiary hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, S Z; Walkden, A; Au, L; Fullwood, C; Hamilton, A; Qamruddin, A; Armstrong, M; Brahma, A K; Carley, F

2017-08-01

PurposeTo investigate the frequencies, trends, and in vitro drug susceptibilities of the causative pathogens in microbial keratitis in Manchester Royal Eye Hospital.Patients and methodsCorneal scrape results recorded by the microbiology service between 2004 and 2015 were extracted from an established database. A total of 4229 corneal scrape specimens were identified from an established database. First-line antibiotic treatment in our centre during the study period was ofloxacin and second line was cefuroxime and gentamicin.ResultsMean age was 45.9±21.0. A total of 1379 samples (32.6%) were culture positive. One hundred forty-eight (10.7%) specimens cultured multiple organisms. Of the 1539 organisms identified, 63.3% were Gram-positive bacteria, 27.3% Gram-negative bacteria, 7.1% fungi, and 2.3% Acanthamoebae. A decreasing trend in Gram-positive isolates was found together with a stable trend in Gram negatives and an increasing trend in Acanthamoeba and fungi. There appeared to be a significant increasing trend of Moraxella infection (P=0.001). In all, 83.1 and 90.8% of Gram-positive and -negative isolates tested were susceptible to ofloxacin, respectively. Cefuroxime covered 86.6% of Gram-positive and 61.4% of Gram-negative isolates, whereas gentamicin covered 88.8 and 96.5% of Gram-positive and -negative isolates, respectively.ConclusionWe found a change in the type of Gram-negative organisms isolated over time, with the Moraxella species on the rise. Reassuringly, no significant increase in resistance was observed in vitro for any of the commonly used antibiotics. Ofloxacin remains a good first-line antibiotic treatment but duo-therapy does have broader coverage and should be considered in non-responsive cases.

Detection of anthropogenic climate change in satellite records of ocean chlorophyll and productivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. A. Henson

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Global climate change is predicted to alter the ocean's biological productivity. But how will we recognise the impacts of climate change on ocean productivity? The most comprehensive information available on its global distribution comes from satellite ocean colour data. Now that over ten years of satellite-derived chlorophyll and productivity data have accumulated, can we begin to detect and attribute climate change-driven trends in productivity? Here we compare recent trends in satellite ocean colour data to longer-term time series from three biogeochemical models (GFDL, IPSL and NCAR. We find that detection of climate change-driven trends in the satellite data is confounded by the relatively short time series and large interannual and decadal variability in productivity. Thus, recent observed changes in chlorophyll, primary production and the size of the oligotrophic gyres cannot be unequivocally attributed to the impact of global climate change. Instead, our analyses suggest that a time series of ~40 years length is needed to distinguish a global warming trend from natural variability. In some regions, notably equatorial regions, detection times are predicted to be shorter (~20–30 years. Analysis of modelled chlorophyll and primary production from 2001–2100 suggests that, on average, the climate change-driven trend will not be unambiguously separable from decadal variability until ~2055. Because the magnitude of natural variability in chlorophyll and primary production is larger than, or similar to, the global warming trend, a consistent, decades-long data record must be established if the impact of climate change on ocean productivity is to be definitively detected.

1990-2016 surface solar radiation variability and trend over the Piedmont region (northwest Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Manara, Veronica; Bassi, Manuela; Brunetti, Michele; Cagnazzi, Barbara; Maugeri, Maurizio

2018-05-01

A new surface solar radiation database of 74 daily series is set up for the Piedmont region (northwest Italy) for the 1990-2016 period. All the series are subjected to a detailed quality control, homogenization and gap-filling procedure and are transformed into relative annual/seasonal anomaly series. Finally, a gridded version (0.5°×0.5°) of the database is generated. The resulting series show an increasing tendency of about + 2.5% per decade at annual scale, with strongest trend in autumn (+ 4% per decade). The only exception is winter, showing a negative but not significant trend. Considering the plain and mountain mean series, the trends are more intense for low than for high elevations with a negative vertical gradient of about - 0.03% per decade per 100 m at annual scale and values up to - 0.07% per decade per 100 m in spring. Focusing on clear days only (selected by CM SAF ClOud fractional cover dataset from METeosat first and second generation—Edition 1 satellite data over the 1991-2015 period), trend significance strongly increases and both low and high elevation records exhibit a positive trend in all seasons. However, the trends result slightly lower than for all-sky days (with the only exception of winter). The differences observed under clear-sky conditions between low and high elevations are more pronounced in winter, where the trend shows a negative vertical gradient of about - 0.1% per decade every 100 m. Overall, this paper shows how a high station density allows performing a more detailed quality control thanks to the higher performances in detecting the inhomogeneities with higher data availability and capturing regional peculiarities otherwise impossible to observe.

Evaluation of the process of recording patient education, consistency of record-keeping with perception, and patient satisfaction after implementing clinical supervision: An embedded evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khorasani Parvaneh

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Background and Objective: Currently, patient education has been considered in medical centers. Clinical provision, which is one of the legal tools with training-support dimensions, can evaluate the consistency between the implemented procedures and the planned ones. This study aimed to evaluate the process of recording patient education, consistency of record-keeping with perception, and patient satisfaction after implementing clinical supervision. Materials and Methods: This longitudinal, embedded study was conducted during 2013-2015 in three stages of designing, implementation, and evaluation of the supervision program using randomized convenience sampling on 786 monitoring units (medical records of patients being discharged at Alzahra University Hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. In the designing stage, the checklists for supervision of recording patient education and consistency of patient perception with the recorded trainings and the patient satisfaction questionnaire were designed and their valididty and reliability were established. In the implementation stage, structure of the monitoring program was designed with the cooperation of eight supervisors. During 12 months, 2333 checklists and questionnaires were completed at the time of hospital discharge in the evaluation stage. Data analysis was performed in SPSS, version 18, using One-way ANOVA. Results: After 12 months of embedded evaluation, the mean score of recording patient education was 88.5±21.75, and the mean scores of patient satisfaction with the training process and consistency between patients’ perception and the recorded trainings were 47.17±21.48 and 73±25.13, respectively. The mean scores of recording patient training and consistency between patients’ perception and the recorded trainings had an increasing trend (P<0.001, while the mean score of patient satisfaction reduced (P<0.001. Conclusion: The results of clinical supervision during

The effect of interpolation methods in temperature and salinity trends in the Western Mediterranean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. VARGAS-YANEZ

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Temperature and salinity data in the historical record are scarce and unevenly distributed in space and time and the estimation of linear trends is sensitive to different factors. In the case of the Western Mediterranean, previous works have studied the sensitivity of these trends to the use of bathythermograph data, the averaging methods or the way in which gaps in time series are dealt with. In this work, a new factor is analysed: the effect of data interpolation. Temperature and salinity time series are generated averaging existing data over certain geographical areas and also by means of interpolation. Linear trends from both types of time series are compared. There are some differences between both estimations for some layers and geographical areas, while in other cases the results are consistent. Those results which do not depend on the use of interpolated or non-interpolated data, neither are influenced by data analysis methods can be considered as robust ones. Those results influenced by the interpolation process or the factors analysed in previous sensitivity tests are not considered as robust results.

Trends of mortality from Alzheimer's disease in the European Union, 1994-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, H; Alvarez-Alvarez, I; Guillen-Grima, F; Al-Rahamneh, M J; Aguinaga-Ontoso, I

2017-06-01

In many countries, Alzheimer's disease (AD) has gradually become a common disease in elderly populations. The aim of this study was to analyse trends of mortality caused by AD in the 28 member countries in the European Union (EU) over the last two decades. We extracted data for AD deaths for the period 1994-2013 in the EU from the Eurostat and World Health Organization database. Age-standardized mortality rates per 100 000 were computed. Joinpoint regression was used to analyse the trends and compute the annual percent change in the EU as a whole and by country. Analyses by gender and by European regions were conducted. Mortality from AD has risen in the EU throughout the study period. Most of the countries showed upward trends, with the sharpest increases in Slovakia, Lithuania and Romania. We recorded statistically significant increases of 4.7% and 6.0% in mortality rates in men and women, respectively, in the whole EU. Several countries showed changing trends during the study period. According to the regional analysis, northern and eastern countries showed the steepest increases, whereas in the latter years mortality has declined in western countries. Our findings provide evidence that AD mortality has increased in the EU, especially in eastern and northern European countries and in the female population. Our results could be a reference for the development of primary prevention policies. © 2017 EAN.

Ocean Color and Earth Science Data Records

Science.gov (United States)

Maritorena, S.

2014-12-01

The development of consistent, high quality time series of biogeochemical products from a single ocean color sensor is a difficult task that involves many aspects related to pre- and post-launch instrument calibration and characterization, stability monitoring and the removal of the contribution of the atmosphere which represents most of the signal measured at the sensor. It is even more challenging to build Climate Data Records (CDRs) or Earth Science Data Records (ESDRs) from multiple sensors as design, technology and methodologies (bands, spectral/spatial resolution, Cal/Val, algorithms) differ from sensor to sensor. NASA MEaSUREs, ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI) and IOCCG Virtual Constellation are some of the underway efforts that investigate or produce ocean color CDRs or ESDRs from the recent and current global missions (SeaWiFS, MODIS, MERIS). These studies look at key aspects of the development of unified data records from multiple sensors, e.g. the concatenation of the "best" individual records vs. the merging of multiple records or band homogenization vs. spectral diversity. The pros and cons of the different approaches are closely dependent upon the overall science purpose of the data record and its temporal resolution. While monthly data are generally adequate for biogeochemical modeling or to assess decadal trends, higher temporal resolution data records are required to look into changes in phenology or the dynamics of phytoplankton blooms. Similarly, short temporal resolution (daily to weekly) time series may benefit more from being built through the merging of data from multiple sensors while a simple concatenation of data from individual sensors might be better suited for longer temporal resolution (e.g. monthly time series). Several Ocean Color ESDRs were developed as part of the NASA MEaSUREs project. Some of these time series are built by merging the reflectance data from SeaWiFS, MODIS-Aqua and Envisat-MERIS in a semi-analytical ocean color

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-12-01

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

Climate-influenced ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) seed masting trends in western Montana, USA

OpenAIRE

Keyes, Christopher R.; Gonzalez, Ruben Manso

2015-01-01

Aim of study: The aim of this study was to analyze 10-year records of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) seed production, in order to confirm synchronic seed production and to evaluate cyclical masting trends, masting depletion effect, and climate-masting relationships. Area of study: The study area was located in a P. ponderosa stand in the northern Rocky Mountains (western Montana, USA). Material and methods: The study was conducted in one stand that had been subjected to a silvicul...

Notes on the fishes collected by the R.V. “TRIDENS” on the North West African shelf, 19-25 January 1969

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groot, de S.J.; Nijssen, H.

1971-01-01

On the North West African shelf 98 species of fishes were collected of which a classification is given. Three species have hitherto been recorded only farther South. The status of Platophrys podas africanus (Nielsen, 1961) is discussed.

Evaluation of surface air temperature trend and climate change in the north - east of I. R. of Iran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alireza, Shahabfar

2004-01-01

In this paper maximum, minimum and mean surface air temperature recorded, analysed to reveal spatial and temporal patterns of long-term trends, change points, significant warming (cooling) periods and linear trend per decade. According to this research summer minimum temperatures have generally increased at a larger rate than in spring and autumn minimum temperatures. On the other hand, nighttime warming rates of spring and summer are generally stronger than those that exist in spring and summer daytime temperatures. Considering the significant increasing trends in annual, spring and summer temperatures, it is seen that night-time warming rates are stronger in the northern regions, which are characterized by the Khorasan Province macro climate type: a very hot summer, a relatively hot and late spring and early autumn, and a moderate winter. We have seriously considered the strong warming trends in spring and summer and thus likely in annual minimum air temperatures. It is very likely that significant and very rapid night-time warming trends over much of the province can be related to the widespread, rapid and increased urbanization in Khorasan Province, in addition to long-term and global effects of the human-induced climate change on air temperatures. (Author)

The hydrologic bench-mark program; a standard to evaluate time-series trends in selected water-quality constituents for streams in Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Buell, G.R.; Grams, S.C.

1985-01-01

Significant temporal trends in monthly pH, specific conductance, total alkalinity, hardness, total nitrite-plus-nitrite nitrogen, and total phosphorus measurements at five stream sites in Georgia were identified using a rank correlation technique, the seasonal Kendall test and slope estimator. These sites include a U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Bench-Mark site, Falling Creek near Juliette, and four periodic water-quality monitoring sites. Comparison of raw data trends with streamflow-residual trends and, where applicable, with chemical-discharge trends (instantaneous fluxes) shws that some of these trends are responses to factors other than changing streamflow. Percentages of forested, agricultural, and urban cover with each basin did not change much during the periods of water-quality record, and therefore these non-flow-related trends are not obviously related to changes in land cover or land use. Flow-residual water-quality trends at the Hydrologic Bench-Mark site and at the Chattooga River site probably indicate basin reponses to changes in the chemical quality of atmospheric deposition. These two basins are predominantly forested and have received little recent human use. Observed trends at the other three sites probably indicate basin responses to various land uses and water uses associated with agricultural and urban land or to changes in specific uses. (USGS)

Millennial- to century-scale variability in Gulf of Mexico Holocene climate records

Science.gov (United States)

Poore, R.Z.; Dowsett, H.J.; Verardo, S.; Quinn, T.M.

2003-01-01

Proxy records from two piston cores in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) provide a detailed (50-100 year resolution) record of climate variability over the last 14,000 years. Long-term (millennial-scale) trends and changes are related to the transition from glacial to interglacial conditions and movement of the average position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) related to orbital forcing. The ??18O of the surface-dwelling planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber show negative excursions between 14 and 10.2 ka (radiocarbon years) that reflect influx of meltwater into the western GOM during melting of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The relative abundance of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer is related to transport of Caribbean water into the GOM. Maximum transport of Caribbean surface waters and moisture into the GOM associated with a northward migration of the average position of the ITCZ occurs between about 6.5 and 4.5 ka. In addition, abundance variations of G. sacculifer show century-scale variability throughout most of the Holocene. The GOM record is consistent with records from other areas, suggesting that century-scale variability is a pervasive feature of Holocene climate. The frequency of several cycles in the climate records is similar to cycles identified in proxy records of solar variability, indicating that at least some of the century-scale climate variability during the Holocene is due to external (solar) forcing.

Camera Traps on Wildlife Crossing Structures as a Tool in Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) Management - Five-Years Monitoring of Wolf Abundance Trends in Croatia.

Science.gov (United States)

Šver, Lidija; Bielen, Ana; Križan, Josip; Gužvica, Goran

2016-01-01

The conservation of gray wolf (Canis lupus) and its coexistence with humans presents a challenge and requires continuous monitoring and management efforts. One of the non-invasive methods that produces high-quality wolf monitoring datasets is camera trapping. We present a novel monitoring approach where camera traps are positioned on wildlife crossing structures that channel the animals, thereby increasing trapping success and increasing the cost-efficiency of the method. In this way we have followed abundance trends of five wolf packs whose home ranges are intersected by a motorway which spans throughout the wolf distribution range in Croatia. During the five-year monitoring of six green bridges we have recorded 28 250 camera-events, 132 with wolves. Four viaducts were monitored for two years, recording 4914 camera-events, 185 with wolves. We have detected a negative abundance trend of the monitored Croatian wolf packs since 2011, especially severe in the northern part of the study area. Further, we have pinpointed the legal cull as probable major negative influence on the wolf pack abundance trends (linear regression, r2 > 0.75, P Croatia until there is more data proving population stability. In conclusion, quantitative methods, such as the one presented here, should be used as much as possible when assessing wolf abundance trends.

Canadian snow and sea ice: historical trends and projections

Science.gov (United States)

Mudryk, Lawrence R.; Derksen, Chris; Howell, Stephen; Laliberté, Fred; Thackeray, Chad; Sospedra-Alfonso, Reinel; Vionnet, Vincent; Kushner, Paul J.; Brown, Ross

2018-04-01

The Canadian Sea Ice and Snow Evolution (CanSISE) Network is a climate research network focused on developing and applying state of the art observational data to advance dynamical prediction, projections, and understanding of seasonal snow cover and sea ice in Canada and the circumpolar Arctic. Here, we present an assessment from the CanSISE Network on trends in the historical record of snow cover (fraction, water equivalent) and sea ice (area, concentration, type, and thickness) across Canada. We also assess projected changes in snow cover and sea ice likely to occur by mid-century, as simulated by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) suite of Earth system models. The historical datasets show that the fraction of Canadian land and marine areas covered by snow and ice is decreasing over time, with seasonal and regional variability in the trends consistent with regional differences in surface temperature trends. In particular, summer sea ice cover has decreased significantly across nearly all Canadian marine regions, and the rate of multi-year ice loss in the Beaufort Sea and Canadian Arctic Archipelago has nearly doubled over the last 8 years. The multi-model consensus over the 2020-2050 period shows reductions in fall and spring snow cover fraction and sea ice concentration of 5-10 % per decade (or 15-30 % in total), with similar reductions in winter sea ice concentration in both Hudson Bay and eastern Canadian waters. Peak pre-melt terrestrial snow water equivalent reductions of up to 10 % per decade (30 % in total) are projected across southern Canada.

Marketing Trends to Watch

Science.gov (United States)

Circle, Alison

2009-01-01

This article identifies 13 cultural trends that libraries can turn into opportunites to reach patrons. These trends include: Twitter, online reputation management, value added content, mobile marketing, and emotional connection.

100,000-year-long terrestrial record of millennial-scale linkage between eastern North American mid-latitude paleovegetation shifts and Greenland ice-core oxygen isotope trends

Science.gov (United States)

Litwin, Ronald J.; Smoot, Joseph P.; Pavich, Milan J.; Markewich, Helaine Walsh; Brook, George; Durika, Nancy J.

2013-01-01

We document frequent, rapid, strong, millennial-scale paleovegetation shifts throughout the late Pleistocene, within a 100,000+ yr interval (~ 115–15 ka) of terrestrial sediments from the mid-Atlantic Region (MAR) of North America. High-resolution analyses of fossil pollen from one core locality revealed a continuously shifting sequence of thermally dependent forest assemblages, ranging between two endmembers: subtropical oak-tupelo-bald cypress-gum forest and high boreal spruce-pine forest. Sedimentary textural evidence indicates fluvial, paludal, and loess deposition, and paleosol formation, representing sequential freshwater to subaerial environments in which this record was deposited. Its total age"depth model, based on radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence ages, ranges from terrestrial oxygen isotope stages (OIS) 6 to 1. The particular core sub-interval presented here is correlative in trend and timing to that portion of the oxygen isotope sequence common among several Greenland ice cores: interstades GI2 to GI24 (≈ OIS2–5 d). This site thus provides the first evidence for an essentially complete series of "Dansgaard"Oeschger" climate events in the MAR. These data reveal that the ~ 100,000 yr preceding the Late Glacial and Holocene in the MAR of North America were characterized by frequently and dynamically changing climate states, and by vegetation shifts that closely tracked the Greenland paleoclimate sequence.

Trends in the oncological incidence and mortality rates in Buhovo, Dolni Bogrov, Gorni Bogrov - regions with radio ecological problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yagova, A.; Chobanova, N.; Bajrakova, A.

2001-01-01

A retrospective study is carried out to analyze the incidence and mortality trends of some malignant neoplasms in regions at relatively high radioecological risk near former uranium sites (Buhovo, Dolni Bogrov, Gorni Bogrov). Information sources are official medical statistics data, original records and database of the Oncological Dispensary in Sofia. A package of statistical programs SPSS, version 7.5, is used for the statistical analysis. The analysis didn't confirm the increase of incidence /mortality rate trends of radiation-related diseases in these regions in comparison with the same indices for the country within that period. (author)

Variability and trend in ozone over the southern tropics and subtropics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. M. Toihir

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Long-term variability in ozone trends was assessed over eight Southern Hemisphere tropical and subtropical sites (Natal, Nairobi, Ascension Island, Java, Samoa, Fiji, Reunion and Irene, using total column ozone data (TCO and vertical ozone profiles (altitude range 15–30 km recorded during the period January 1998–December 2012. The TCO datasets were constructed by combination of satellite data (OMI and TOMS and ground-based observations recorded using Dobson and SAOZ spectrometers. Vertical ozone profiles were obtained from balloon-sonde experiments which were operated within the framework of the SHADOZ network. The analysis in this study was performed using the Trend-Run model. This is a multivariate regression model based on the principle of separating the variations of ozone time series into a sum of several forcings (annual and semi-annual oscillations, QBO (Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, ENSO, 11-year solar cycle that account for most of its variability. The trend value is calculated based on the slope of a normalized linear function which is one of the forcing parameters included in the model. Three regions were defined as follows: equatorial (0–10° S, tropical (10–20° S and subtropical (20–30° S. Results obtained indicate that ozone variability is dominated by seasonal and quasi-biennial oscillations. The ENSO contribution is observed to be significant in the tropical lower stratosphere and especially over the Pacific sites (Samoa and Java. The annual cycle of ozone is observed to be the most dominant mode of variability for all the sites and presents a meridional signature with a maximum over the subtropics, while semi-annual and quasi-biannual ozone modes are more apparent over the equatorial region, and their magnitude decreases southward. The ozone variation mode linked to the QBO signal is observed between altitudes of 20 and 28 km. Over the equatorial zone there is a strong signal at  ∼ 26�

Socio-demographic, ecological factors and dengue infection trends in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Akter, Rokeya; Naish, Suchithra; Hu, Wenbiao; Tong, Shilu

2017-01-01

Dengue has been a major public health concern in Australia. This study has explored the spatio-temporal trends of dengue and potential socio- demographic and ecological determinants in Australia. Data on dengue cases, socio-demographic, climatic and land use types for the period January 1999 to December 2010 were collected from Australian National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, and Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, respectively. Descriptive and linear regression analyses were performed to observe the spatio-temporal trends of dengue, socio-demographic and ecological factors in Australia. A total of 5,853 dengue cases (both local and overseas acquired) were recorded across Australia between January 1999 and December 2010. Most the cases (53.0%) were reported from Queensland, followed by New South Wales (16.5%). Dengue outbreak was highest (54.2%) during 2008-2010. A highest percentage of overseas arrivals (29.9%), households having rainwater tanks (33.9%), Indigenous population (27.2%), separate houses (26.5%), terrace house types (26.9%) and economically advantage people (42.8%) were also observed during 2008-2010. Regression analyses demonstrate that there was an increasing trend of dengue incidence, potential socio-ecological factors such as overseas arrivals, number of households having rainwater tanks, housing types and land use types (e.g. intensive uses and production from dryland agriculture). Spatial variation of socio-demographic factors was also observed in this study. In near future, significant increase of temperature was also projected across Australia. The projected increased temperature as well as increased socio-ecological trend may pose a future threat to the local transmission of dengue in other parts of Australia if Aedes mosquitoes are being established. Therefore, upgraded mosquito and disease surveillance at different ports should

Analysis of trends in aviation maintenance risk: An empirical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marais, Karen B.; Robichaud, Matthew R.

2012-01-01

Safety is paramount in the airline industry. A significant amount of effort has been devoted to reducing mechanical failures and pilot errors. Recently, more attention has been devoted to the contribution of maintenance to accidents and incidents. This study investigates and quantifies the contribution of maintenance, both in terms of frequency and severity, to passenger airline risk by analyzing three different sources of data from 1999 to 2008: 769 NTSB accident reports, 3242 FAA incident reports, and 7478 FAA records of fines and other legal actions taken against airlines and associated organizations. We analyze several safety related metrics and develop an aviation maintenance risk scorecard that collects these metrics to synthesize a comprehensive track record of maintenance contribution to airline accidents and incidents. We found for example that maintenance-related accidents are approximately 6.5 times more likely to be fatal than accidents in general, and that when fatalities do occur, maintenance accidents result in approximately 3.6 times more fatalities on average. Our analysis of accident trends indicates that this contribution to accident risk has remained fairly constant over the past decade. Our analysis of incidents and FAA fines and legal actions also revealed similar trends. We found that at least 10% of incidents involving mechanical failures such as ruptured hydraulic lines can be attributed to maintenance, suggesting that there may be issues surrounding both the design of and compliance with maintenance plans. Similarly 36% of FAA fines and legal actions involve inadequate maintenance, with recent years showing a decline to about 20%, which may be a reflection of improved maintenance practices. Our results can aid industry and government in focusing resources to continue improving aviation safety.

Extent, trends, and perpetrators of prostitution-related homicide in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, Devon D; Dudek, Jonathan A; Potterat, John J; Muth, Stephen Q; Roberts, John M; Woodhouse, Donald E

2006-09-01

Prostitute women have the highest homicide victimization rate of any set of women ever studied. We analyzed nine diverse homicide data sets to examine the extent, trends, and perpetrators of prostitution-related homicide in the United States. Most data sources substantially under-ascertained prostitute homicides. As estimated from a conservative capture-recapture analysis, 2.7% of female homicide victims in the United States between 1982 and 2000 were prostitutes. Frequencies of recorded prostitute and client homicides increased substantially in the late 1980s and early 1990s; nearly all of the few observed pimp homicides occurred before the late 1980s. These trends may be linked to the rise of crack cocaine use. Prostitutes were killed primarily by clients, clients were killed mainly by prostitutes, and pimps were killed predominantly by pimps. Another conservative estimate suggests that serial killers accounted for 35% of prostitute homicides. Proactive surveillance of, and evidence collection from, clients and prostitutes might enhance the investigation of prostitution-related homicide.

Abrupt Greenland Ice Sheet runoff and sea water temperature changes since 1821, recorded by coralline algae

Science.gov (United States)

Kamenos, N.; Hoey, T.; Bedford, J.; Claverie, T.; Fallick, A. E.; Lamb, C. M.; Nienow, P. W.; O'Neill, S.; Shepherd, I.; Thormar, J.

2012-12-01

The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) contains the largest store of fresh water in the northern hemisphere, equivalent to ~7.4m of eustatic sea level rise, but its impacts on current, past and future sea level, ocean circulation and European climate are poorly understood. Previous estimates of GrIS melt, from 26 years of satellite observations and temperature driven melt-models over 48 years, show a trend of increasing melt. There are however no runoff data of comparable duration with which to validate temperature-based runoff models, or relationships between the spatial extent of melt and runoff. Further, longer runoff records that extend GrIS melt records to centennial timescales will enable recently observed trends to be put into a better historical context. We measured Mg/Ca, δ18O and structural cell size in annual growth bands of red coralline algae to reconstruct: (1) near surface sea water temperature; and, (2) melt/runoff from the GrIS. (1) Temperature: we reconstructed the longest (1821-2009) sub-annual resolution record of water temperature in Disko Bugt (western Greenland) showing an abrupt change in temperature oscillation patterns during the 1920s which may be attributable to the interaction between atmospheric temperature and mass loss from Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier. (2) GrIS runoff: using samples from distal parts of Søndre Strømfjord we produced the first reconstruction of decadal (1939-2002) GrIS runoff. We observed significant negative relationships between historic runoff, relative salinity and marine summer temperature. Our reconstruction shows a trend of increasing reconstructed runoff since the mid 1980s. In situ summer marine temperatures followed a similar trend. We suggest that since 1939 atmospheric temperatures have been important in forcing runoff. Subject to locating in situ coralline algae samples, these methods can be applied across hundreds to thousands of years. These results show that our technique has significant potential to enhance

High-resolution records of the beryllium-10 solar activity proxy in ice from Law Dome, East Antarctica: measurement, reproducibility and principal trends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. B. Pedro

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Three near-monthly resolution ¹⁰Be records are presented from the Dome Summit South (DSS ice core site, Law Dome, East Antarctica. The chemical preparation and Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS measurement of these records is described. The reproducibility of ¹⁰Be records at DSS is assessed through intercomparison of the ice core data with data from two previously published and contemporaneous snow pits. We find generally good agreement between the five records, comparable to that observed between other trace chemical records from the site. This result allays concerns raised by a previous Antarctic study (Moraal et al., 2005 about poor reproducibility of ice core ¹⁰Be records. A single composite series is constructed from the three ice cores providing a monthly-resolved record of ¹⁰Be concentrations at DSS over the past decade (1999 to 2009. To our knowledge, this is the first published ice core data spanning the recent exceptional solar minimum of solar cycle 23. ¹⁰Be concentrations are significantly correlated to the cosmic ray flux recorded by the McMurdo neutron monitor (r_xy = 0.64, with 95 % CI of 0.53 to 0.71, suggesting that solar modulation of the atmospheric production rate may explain up to ~40 % of the variance in ¹⁰Be concentrations at DSS. Sharp concentration peaks occur in most years during the summer-to-autumn, possibly caused by stratospheric incursions. Our results underscore the presence of both production and meteorological signals in ice core ¹⁰Be data.

Ancyrocephalidae (Monogenea of Lake Tanganyika: I: Four new species of Cichlidogyrus from Ophthalmotilapia ventralis (Teleostei: Cichlidae, the first record of this parasite family in the basin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maarten P. M. Vanhove

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Examination of gill parasites from Ophthalmotilapia ventralis (Boulenger, 1898 in Lake Tanganyika (Africa revealed the presence of four new species of Monogenea, all members of Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960 (Ancyrocephalidae. In view of the systematic importance of haptoral structure, the fish host shows a remarkable diversity of morphological groups. Cichlidogyrus vandekerkhovei sp. nov. and C. makasai sp. nov. are especially characterized by the unusual length of the dorsal transverse bar auricles, while C. sturmbaueri sp. nov. is distinguished by the unique shape of the accessory piece of its male copulatory organ. Importantly, C. centesimus sp. nov. displays a number of features new to the genus, namely a spirally coiled thickening at the end of the penis, the absence of an accessory piece in the genital apparatus, and a hitherto unknown uncinuli configuration in the haptor. This is the first record of ancyrocephalid parasites from the Tanganyika basin. Some mechanisms possibly contributing to this yet unknown diversity are discussed, identifying topics deserving further scientific scrutiny.

Seasonal Distribution and Historic Trends in Abundance of White Sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, in the Western North Atlantic Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Tobey H.; McCandless, Camilla T.; Carlson, John K.; Skomal, Gregory B.; Kohler, Nancy E.; Natanson, Lisa J.; Burgess, George H.; Hoey, John J.; Pratt, Harold L.

2014-01-01

Despite recent advances in field research on white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in several regions around the world, opportunistic capture and sighting records remain the primary source of information on this species in the northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA). Previous studies using limited datasets have suggested a precipitous decline in the abundance of white sharks from this region, but considerable uncertainty in these studies warrants additional investigation. This study builds upon previously published data combined with recent unpublished records and presents a synthesis of 649 confirmed white shark records from the NWA compiled over a 210-year period (1800-2010), resulting in the largest white shark dataset yet compiled from this region. These comprehensive records were used to update our understanding of their seasonal distribution, relative abundance trends, habitat use, and fisheries interactions. All life stages were present in continental shelf waters year-round, but median latitude of white shark occurrence varied seasonally. White sharks primarily occurred between Massachusetts and New Jersey during summer and off Florida during winter, with broad distribution along the coast during spring and fall. The majority of fishing gear interactions occurred with rod and reel, longline, and gillnet gears. Historic abundance trends from multiple sources support a significant decline in white shark abundance in the 1970s and 1980s, but there have been apparent increases in abundance since the 1990s when a variety of conservation measures were implemented. Though the white shark's inherent vulnerability to exploitation warrants continued protections, our results suggest a more optimistic outlook for the recovery of this iconic predator in the Atlantic. PMID:24918579

De-trending of turbulence measurements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose; Larsen, Gunner Chr.

2006-01-01

contribution to the wind speed turbulence intensity for a number of representative locations. A linear de-trending process has been implemented during indexing of the time-series. The observed de-trended turbulence intensities are reduced 3 – 15 % compared to the raw turbulence intensity. This reduction...... depends primarily on site characteristics and local mean wind speed variations. Reduced turbulence intensity will result in lower design fatigue loads. This aspect of de-trending is discussed by use of a simple heuristic load model. Finally an empirical model for de-trending wind resource data...

The use and trends of information and communication technology (ICT) during middle childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Louw, Anet E; Winter, Melanie

2011-06-01

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have become an integral part of people's lives. Trends suggest that the age when technology is used for the first time is rapidly decreasing and that children are exposed to ICT daily. However, the focus of the existing research has been on adolescents, and there is a dearth of knowledge about the use of ICT amongst children in middle childhood in South Africa. The objective of this study was to address this issue. The research participants included 12 children aged between 6 and 12 years old from two private schools (a boys' school and a girls' school) in the Gauteng region. A phenomenological approach was used to explore the use and trends of ICT among this age group. A semi-structured interview approach was employed for the data collection and each interview was tape-recorded and transcribed by the researcher. The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse and interpret the data collected. Various themes were identified. While all the participants had been exposed to and used ICT, a clear developmental trend was observed: not only were younger children less sophisticated users of ICT, but they were also less informed about the dangers of ICT usage. The participants were generally not supervised but some rules were implemented by the parents. Although the children did not experience cyber bullying, they did report exposure to pornography. The results suggest various implications for developmental trends and protection of children.

Maturation of Metapenaeus moyebi (Kishinouye) in Goa estuaries

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nair, S.R.S.; Achuthankutty, C.T; Parulekar, A

An assessment of the stake net fishery in the Mandovi and Zuari estuaries of Goa revealed that Metapenaeus moyebi, a penaeid prawn hitherto rarely recorded in Indian waters, formed a good percentage of the estuarine prawn fishery of Goa. At one...

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Trend and Expenditure in Louisiana Medicaid, 2003-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Okoroh, Ekwutosi M; Gee, Rebekah E; Jiang, Baogong; McNeil, Melissa B; Hardy-Decuir, Beverly A; Zapata, Amy L

2017-07-01

Objectives Determine trends in incidence and expenditure for perinatal drug exposure and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) among Louisiana's Medicaid population. We also describe the maternal characteristics of NAS affected infants. Methods Retrospective cohort analysis using linked Medicaid and vital records data from 2003 to 2013. Conducted incidence and cost trends for drug exposed infants with and without NAS. Also performed comparison statistics among drug exposed infants with and without NAS and those not drug exposed. Results As rate of perinatal drug exposure increased, NAS rate per 1000 live Medicaid births also increased, from 2.1 (2003) to 3.6 (2007) to 8.0 (2013) (P for trend Medicaid also increased from $1.3 million to $3.6 million to $8.7 million (P for trend Medicaid infants quadrupled and the cost for caring for the affected infants increased six-fold. Medicaid, as the predominant payer for pregnant women and children affected by substance use disorders, must play a more active role in expanding access to comprehensive substance abuse treatment programs.

A mechanism for land-ocean contrasts in global monsoon trends in a warming climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fasullo, J. [National Center for Atmospheric Research, CAS/NCAR, Boulder, CO (United States)

2012-09-15

A central paradox of the global monsoon record involves reported decreases in rainfall over land during an era in which the global hydrologic cycle is both expected and observed to intensify. It is within this context that this work develops a physical basis for both interpreting the observed record and anticipating changes in the monsoons in a warming climate while bolstering the concept of the global monsoon in the context of shared feedbacks. The global-land monsoon record across multiple reanalyses is first assessed. Trends that in other studies have been taken as real are shown to likely be spurious as a result of changes in the assimilated data streams both prior to and during the satellite era. Nonetheless, based on satellite estimates, robust increases in monsoon rainfall over ocean do exist and a physical basis for this land-ocean contrast remains lacking. To address the contrast's causes, simulated trends are therefore assessed. While projections of total rainfall are inconsistent across models, the robust land-ocean contrast identified in observations is confirmed. A feedback mechanism is proposed rooted in the facts that land areas warm disproportionately relative to ocean, and onshore flow is the chief source of monsoonal moisture. Reductions in lower tropospheric relative humidity over land domains are therefore inevitable and these have direct consequences for the monsoonal convective environment including an increase in the lifting condensation level and a shift in the distribution of convection generally towards less frequent and potentially more intense events. The mechanism is interpreted as an important modulating influence on the ''rich-get-richer'' mechanism. Caveats for regional monsoons exist and are discussed. (orig.)

Inferring regional vertical crustal velocities from averaged relative sea level trends: A proof of concept

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bâki Iz H.

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This study demonstrates that relative sea level trends calculated from long-term tide gauge records can be used to estimate relative vertical crustal velocities in a region with high accuracy. A comparison of the weighted averages of the relative sea level trends estimated at six tide gauge stations in two clusters along the Eastern coast of United States, in Florida and in Maryland, reveals a statistically significant regional vertical crustal motion of Maryland with respect to Florida with a subsidence rate of −1.15±0.15 mm/yr identified predominantly due to the ongoing glacial isostatic adjustment process. The estimate is a consilience value to validate vertical crustal velocities calculated from GPS time series as well as towards constraining predictive GIA models in these regions.

Surface-temperature trends and variability in the low-latitude North Atlantic since 1552

KAUST Repository

Saenger, Casey

2009-06-21

Sea surface temperature variability in the North Atlantic Ocean recorded since about 1850 has been ascribed to a natural multidecadal oscillation superimposed on a background warming trend1-6. It has been suggested that the multidecadal variability may be a persistent feature6-8, raising the possibility that the associated climate impacts may be predictable7,8. owever, our understanding of the multidecadal ocean variability before the instrumental record is based on interpretations of high-latitude terrestrial proxy records. Here we present an absolutely dated and annually resolved record of sea surface temperature from the Bahamas, based on a 440-year time series of coral growth rates. The reconstruction indicates that temperatures were as warm as today from about 1552 to 1570, then cooled by about 1° C from 1650 to 1730 before warming until the present. Our estimates of background variability suggest that much of the warming since 1900 was driven by anthropogenic forcing. Interdecadal variability with a period of 15-25 years is superimposed on most of the record, but multidecadal variability becomes significant only after 1730. We conclude that the multidecadal variability in sea surface temperatures in the low-latitude western Atlantic Ocean may not be persistent, potentially making accurate decadal climate forecasts more difficult to achieve. © 2009 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Surface-temperature trends and variability in the low-latitude North Atlantic since 1552

KAUST Repository

Saenger, Casey; Cohen, Anne L.; Oppo, Delia W.; Halley, Robert B.; Carilli, Jessica E.

2009-01-01

Sea surface temperature variability in the North Atlantic Ocean recorded since about 1850 has been ascribed to a natural multidecadal oscillation superimposed on a background warming trend1-6. It has been suggested that the multidecadal variability may be a persistent feature6-8, raising the possibility that the associated climate impacts may be predictable7,8. owever, our understanding of the multidecadal ocean variability before the instrumental record is based on interpretations of high-latitude terrestrial proxy records. Here we present an absolutely dated and annually resolved record of sea surface temperature from the Bahamas, based on a 440-year time series of coral growth rates. The reconstruction indicates that temperatures were as warm as today from about 1552 to 1570, then cooled by about 1° C from 1650 to 1730 before warming until the present. Our estimates of background variability suggest that much of the warming since 1900 was driven by anthropogenic forcing. Interdecadal variability with a period of 15-25 years is superimposed on most of the record, but multidecadal variability becomes significant only after 1730. We conclude that the multidecadal variability in sea surface temperatures in the low-latitude western Atlantic Ocean may not be persistent, potentially making accurate decadal climate forecasts more difficult to achieve. © 2009 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Trends in precipitation and streamflow and changes in stream morphology in the Fountain Creek watershed, Colorado, 1939-99

Science.gov (United States)

Stogner, Sr., Robert W.

2000-01-01

The Fountain Creek watershed, located in and along the eastern slope of the Front Range section of the southern Rocky Mountains, drains approximately 930 square miles of parts of Teller, El Paso, and Pueblo Counties in eastern Colorado. Streamflow in the watershed is dominated by spring snowmelt runoff and storm runoff during the summer monsoon season. Flooding during the 1990?s has resulted in increased streambank erosion. Property loss and damage associated with flooding and bank erosion has cost area residents, businesses, utilities, municipalities, and State and Federal agencies millions of dollars. Precipitation (4 stations) and streamflow (6 stations) data, aerial photographs, and channel reconnaissance were used to evaluate trends in precipitation and streamflow and changes in channel morphology. Trends were evaluated for pre-1977, post-1976, and period-of-record time periods. Analysis revealed the lack of trend in total annual and seasonal precipitation during the pre-1977 time period. In general, the analysis also revealed the lack of trend in seasonal precipitation for all except the spring season during the post-1976 time period. Trend analysis revealed a significant upward trend in long-term (period of record) total annual and spring precipitation data, apparently due to a change in total annual precipitation throughout the Fountain Creek watershed. During the pre-1977 time period, precipitation was generally below average; during the post- 1976 time period, total annual precipitation was generally above average. During the post- 1976 time period, an upward trend in total annual and spring precipitation was indicated at two stations. Because two of four stations evaluated had upward trends for the post-1976 period and storms that produce the most precipitation are isolated convection storms, it is plausible that other parts of the watershed had upward precipitation trends that could affect trends in streamflow. Also, because of the isolated nature of

Towards the Adoption of Open Source and Open Access Electronic Health Record Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilias Maglogiannis

2012-01-01

Full Text Available As the Electronic Health Record (EHR systems constantly expand to support more clinical activities and their implementations in healthcare organizations become more widespread, several communities have been working intensively for several years to develop open access and open source EHR software, aiming at reducing the costs of EHR deployment and maintenance. In this paper, we describe and evaluate the most popular open source electronic medical records such as openEMR, openMRS and patientOS, providing their technical features and potentials. These systems are considered quite important due to their prevalence. The article presents the key features of each system and outlines the advantages and problems of Open Source Software (OSS Systems through a review of the literature, in order to demonstrate the possibility of their adoption in modern electronic healthcare systems. Also discussed are the future trends of OS EHRs in the context of the Personal Health Records and mobile computing paradigm.

Trends in photoprotection in American fashion magazines, 1983-1993. will fashion make you look old and ugly?

Science.gov (United States)

George, P M; Kuskowski, M; Schmidt, C

1996-03-01

During the past 50 years recreational sun exposure has greatly increased in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the photoprotecion message of American fashion magazines and to identify recent trends. We evaluated models for tan, skin exposure, and other sun-related criteria in six leading fashion magazines between 1983 and 1993. We also recorded the number of sunscreen advertisements and sun awareness articles. We evaluated 3031 models. Adult models had darker tans and greater skin exposure than adolescents and children. Men had darker tans than women. We noted trends toward lighter tans, more women wearing hats, more sunscreen advertisements, and sun awareness articles. Many sunscreen advertisements glorified tanning. Their models had darker tans and more skin exposure, and fewer wore a hat than did nonadvertisement models. The fashion industry and especially sunsreen manufacturers promote excessive sun exposure. Although we found encouraging trends, gains were modest, especially in men's magazines.

Teleconnection stationarity, variability and trends of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) during the last millennium

Science.gov (United States)

Dätwyler, Christoph; Neukom, Raphael; Abram, Nerilie J.; Gallant, Ailie J. E.; Grosjean, Martin; Jacques-Coper, Martín; Karoly, David J.; Villalba, Ricardo

2017-11-01

The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is the leading mode of atmospheric interannual variability in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) extra-tropics. Here, we assess the stationarity of SAM spatial correlations with instrumental and paleoclimate proxy data for the past millennium. The instrumental period shows that temporal non-stationarities in SAM teleconnections are not consistent across the SH land areas. This suggests that the influence of the SAM index is modulated by regional effects. However, within key-regions with good proxy data coverage (South America, Tasmania, New Zealand), teleconnections are mostly stationary over the instrumental period. Using different stationarity criteria for proxy record selection, we provide new austral summer and annual mean SAM index reconstructions over the last millennium. Our summer SAM reconstructions are very robust to changes in proxy record selection and the selection of the calibration period, particularly on the multi-decadal timescale. In contrast, the weaker performance and lower agreement in the annual mean SAM reconstructions point towards changing teleconnection patterns that may be particularly important outside the summer months. Our results clearly portend that the temporal stationarity of the proxy-climate relationships should be taken into account in the design of comprehensive regional and hemispherical climate reconstructions. The summer SAM reconstructions show no significant relationship to solar, greenhouse gas and volcanic forcing, with the exception of an extremely strong negative anomaly following the AD 1257 Samalas eruption. Furthermore, reconstructed pre-industrial summer SAM trends are very similar to trends obtained by model control simulations. We find that recent trends in the summer SAM lie outside the 5-95% range of pre-industrial natural variability.

Contribution of records management to audit opinions and accountability in government

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodreck David

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Auditing can support national democratic processes, national development and government good will. Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI, such as offices of Auditor General, publish consolidated reports on audit outcomes for local authorities, government departments, parastatals and related public entities. These reports identify broad areas analysed during audit exercises that often include financial management, governance, asset management, risk management, revenue collection and debt recovery. They highlight trends that were detected during audit exercises at the end of a financial year. The reports further show how records and records management affect audit exercises as well as financial management within the audited institutions. Objectives: The intention of the research was to ascertain the contribution of records management to audit opinions and accountability in financial management in Zimbabwean government entities. Method: A document analysis of Comptroller and Auditor General of Zimbabwe (CAGZ’s reports was used to identify the types of decisions and recommendations (audit opinions issued, in juxtaposition to the records management issues raised. Results and Conclusion: This study shows that there is a strong correlation between records management concerns and audit opinions raised by the CAGZ’s narrative audit reports. Inadequate records management within government entities was associated with adverse and qualified opinions and, in some cases, unqualified opinions that had emphases of matter. There was a causal loop in which lack of documentary evidence of financial activities was the source cause of poor accounting and poor audit reports. Errors resulting from incomplete or inaccurate records meant that government entities were not showing a true picture of their financial status and their financial statements could be materially misstated. As an important monitoring and control system, records management should be

Trends of Sustainable Residential Architecture

OpenAIRE

Narvydas, A

2014-01-01

The article is based on Master’s research conducted during Scottish Housing Expo 2010. The aim of the research was to determine the prevailing trends in sustainable residential architecture. Each trend can be described by features detected during visual and technical observation of project data. Based on that architects may predict possible problems related to a specific trend.

Trends of pesticide exposure and related cases in the Philippines.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Jinky Leilanie; Cosca, Katherine Z; Del Mundo, Jocelyn

2010-01-01

The study aims to provide a comprehensive trend of pesticide poisoning cases in the Philippines as well as pesticide exposures, and risk factors related to the adverse effects of pesticide. Records were gathered from the National Poison Control and Management Center (NPCMC), the Philippine General Hospital, De La Salle Medical Center, and other hospitals, and reviewed research studies conducted in the Philippines. Based on hospital surveys, the number of pesticide cases as well as mortality trends have been increasing. Studies from 2006 to 2010 showed that human health especially those of the farmers is at risk due to pesticide exposure. Illnesses and symptoms such as headache, skin abnormalities, fatigue, fever, and weaknesses were the common health complaints experienced by the farmers as reported in the research studies. Moreover, the studies showed risk factors to pesticide exposure, work practices, and pesticide residues in environmental media that could be contributory to pesticide poisoning cases. Government agencies should intensify their surveillance and regulation on both household and agricultural pesticides. The state of pesticide-related illnesses mirrors the poor safety practices among farmers as well as lack of necessary supervision from the government agencies.

Which Trend is your Friend?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Levine, Ari; Heje Pedersen, Lasse

2016-01-01

Managed futures funds and commodity trading advisers (CTAs) use heuristics or statistical measures often called “filters” to trade on price trends. Two key statistical measures of trends are “time-series momentum” and “moving-average crossovers.” We show, empirically and theoretically, that these......Managed futures funds and commodity trading advisers (CTAs) use heuristics or statistical measures often called “filters” to trade on price trends. Two key statistical measures of trends are “time-series momentum” and “moving-average crossovers.” We show, empirically and theoretically......, that these trend indicators are closely related. In fact, they are equivalent representations in their most general forms. They also capture many other types of filters, such as the Hodrick–Prescott (HP) filter, the Kalman filter, and all other linear filters. We show how these filters can be represented through...

Design and use of climatological data banks, with emphasis on the preparation and homogenization of surface monthly records

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palutikof, J P; Goodess, C M

1986-01-01

The procedures involved in constructing data banks for use in climatological research are described. Such data banks will normally have two component parts: the meteorological records themselves, and the accompanying documentary and information systems. As a first step, meteorological records appropriate for the intended application of the data bank must be collected and stored, commonly in a computer. Individual records must then be merged into a form convenient for the user. Procedures for quality control of the data are discussed. The authors emphasize the need to ensure that records are homogeneous, i.e., that they do not contain spurious jumps or trends caused by non-climatic factor such as site change or urbanization. Some techniques to correct inhomogeneities in meteorological records are described. The documentation accompanying the meteorological records has three components: first, information on the individual records, second, a list of data sources, third, station histories. The station histories will be added to as work progresses on the data bank, to describe any attempts to homogenize records, and ultimately to give the compiler's assessment of the reliability of each record. User needs must be considered at all stages of data bank design and construction.

SRS environmental air surveillance program 1954-2015: General trends

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abbott, K. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Jannik, T. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2016-06-02

The radiological monitoring program at SRS was established under the DuPont Company in June 1951 and was used as a measurement of the effectiveness of plant controls and as an authoritative record of environmental conditions surrounding the plant. It also served as a method of demonstrating compliance with applicable federal regulations and guidance. This document serves as a general summary of changes made specifically to the environmental air monitoring program since its inception, and a discussion of the general trends seen in the air monitoring program at SRS from 1954 to 2015. Initially, the environmental air surveillance program focused not only on releases from SRS but also on fallout from various weapons testing performed through the end of 1978. Flypaper was used to measure the amount of fallout in the atmosphere during this period, and was present at each of the 10 monitoring stations. By 1959, all site stacks were included in the air monitoring program to determine their contribution to the airborne radioactivity onsite, and the number of air surveillance samplers rose to 18. This trend of an increased number of sampling locations continued to a peak of 35 sampling locations before shifting to a downward trend in the mid-1990s. In 1962, 4 outer-range samplers were placed in Savannah and Macon, GA, and in Greenville and Columbia, SC. Until 1976, air samplers were simply placed around the perimeter of the various operation locations (after 1959, this included stacks to determine their contribution to the airborne radioactivity), with the intent of creating as representative a distribution as possible of the air surrounding operations.

The Development Strategies for the Management Models of the Electronic Documents and Records in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiu-Yen Lin

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The trend toward electronic government has espoused a large quantity of electronic records, which challenge the existing records management models in the modern countries. This paper describes and compares the development and transition toward electronic records management in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia to show how the three advanced countries evolved the government records management practices. The analysis emphasized on the holistic policy initiative perspective and compared the directives and regulations, research and development programs and plans, the emerging structures of governance, staffing and professional training, and risk management provisions. The comparison may shed lights on the government electronic management in the other countries. [Article content in Chinese

The Greening of Innovation Systems for Eco-innovation - Towards an Evolutionary Climate Mitigation Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Maj Munch; Foxon, Timothy J.

2009-01-01

Policies for mitigating climate change have never received as much attention worldwide as now. At the same time another upcoming policy trend is the increasing synthesis between innovation- and environmental policy, a synthesis that is captured by the “eco-innovation” concept. However, the climate...... and innovation policy areas are currently little aligned and have in fact been considered “opposites” until very recently. The paper seeks to identify how evolutionary economic theory, hitherto very little applied to the environmental area, may guide the development of climate policies and eco...... implications of this shift are considerable and have hitherto gained little attention. A deeper understanding of eco-innovation dynamics is strongly needed for informing both climate and innovation policies. The paper argues that the fact that environmental problems have largely been neglected by evolutionary...

Temporal trends in reproductive performance in Irish dairy herds and associated risk factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mee John F

2004-03-01

Full Text Available Irish dairy herd fertility has been declining since the 1980s. The extent, nature and causes of this decline in fertility and the current status of Irish dairy herd fertility were described. An increase in calving interval of approximately one day per year has been recorded. The principal components of this trend have been an increased incidence of postpartum endocrinopathies, reduced expression of oestrus and a fall in conception rate. Both submission rate and calving-to-service interval have increased slightly over time. Significant risk factors associated with these trends have been strain substitution within the Holstein-Friesian breed and single trait selection for milk production. Critically, these changes have been reflected in loss of body condition. Contributory factors included increased herd size and possibly increased use of DIYAI. The most recent Irish study showed that 48% of cows conceived to first service and 14% of cows were not pregnant at the end of the industry-average 15-week spring breeding season. However, the top quartile of herds achieved a first-service conception rate of 59%, illustrating the wide variation between herds. These phenotypic trends were attributed to both genetic and environmental factors and their interactions. Recent Irish dairy herd fertility performance falls short of the targets set for seasonal compact calving.

Concurrent and opposed environmental trends during the last glacial cycle between the Carpathian Basin and the Black Sea coast: evidence from high resolution enviromagnetic loess records

Science.gov (United States)

Hambach, Ulrich; Zeeden, Christian; Veres, Daniel; Obreht, Igor; Bösken, Janina; Marković, Slobodan B.; Eckmeier, Eileen; Fischer, Peter; Lehmkuhl, Frank

2015-04-01

Aeolian dust sediments (loess) are beside marine/lacustrine sediments, speleothemes and arctic ice cores the key archives for the reconstruction of the Quaternary palaeoenvironment in the Eurasian continental mid-latitudes. The Eurasian loess-belt has its western end in the Middle (Carpathian) and the Lower Danube Basin where one can find true loess plateaus dating back more than one million years and comprising a semi-continuous record of Pleistocene environmental change. The loess-palaeosol sequences (LPSS) of the region allow inter-regional and trans-regional comparison and, even more importantly, the analysis of temporal and spatial trends in Pleistocene environments, even on a hemispheric scale. However, the general temporal resolution of the LPSS seems mostly limited to the orbital scale patterns, enabling the general comparision of their well documented palaeoclimate record to the marine isotope stages (MIS) and thus to the course of the global ice volume with time. Following the widespread conventional wisdom in loess research, cold and more importantly dry conditions are generally assumed to lead to relatively high accumulation rates of loess, whereas during warmer and more humid environmental conditions the vegetation cover prevents ablation and clastic silt production. Moreover, synsedimentary pedogenesis prevails and hence, (embryonic) soils are formed which are rapidly buried by loess as soon as the climate returns to drier conditions. In the last decades, mineral magnetic parameters became fundamental palaeoclimate proxies in loess research. The magnetic susceptibility (χ) and its dependence on the frequency of the applied field (χfd) turned out to be beside grain size and geochemical indices a highly sensitive proxy especially for soil humidity during loess accumulation. Here we present the first results of an ongoing study on two Late Pleistocene LPSS from the southern Carpathian Basin (Titel-Plateau, Vojvodina, Serbia) and the eastern Lower

Ferromanganese micronodules from Bengal Fan

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chauhan, O.S.; Gujar, A.R.; Rao, Ch.M.

The occurrence of ferromanganese micronodules, hitherto unreported from any fan-valley system of the world, has been recorded from over 0.22 million km sup(2) area located in the middle fan region of the Bay of Bengal. Their abundance is higher...

Twenty-year trends in benzodiazepine dispensing in the Australian population.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, M M; Conigrave, K M; Day, C A; Nguyen, Y; Haber, P S

2014-01-01

Considerable concern has been expressed about overprescribing of benzodiazepines and related harms. Past analyses have relied on World Health Organization-defined daily doses (DDD) which are sometimes out of keeping with clinical usage. This study examines 20-year (1992-2011) trends of benzodiazepine dispensing in Australia using both DDD and Ashton equivalent dose. Data from the Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) website were analysed. Trends in number of prescriptions, DDD/1000 people/day and DDD/prescription were examined over time, and between states/territories. In the 20-year period, 174 080 904 scripts were recorded, with temazepam the most dispensed benzodiazepine (35% of scripts), followed by diazepam (23%). Overall recorded utilisation fell from 27.7 DDD/1000 people/day in 1992 to 20.8 in 2011 (24.9% decrease). There were striking changes in use of individual benzodiazepines over time, with reductions in oxazepam and flunitrazepam and dramatic increases in alprazolam. Since 1998, there has been a steady increase, albeit modest, in per script DDD. The DDD/1000 people/day for items dispensed through PBS/Repatriaton-PBS was highest in Tasmania and lowest in Northern Territory. Despite a modest overall decline in the amount of benzodiazepine dispensed, the level of use is still likely to reflect relative over-prescribing given the paucity of accepted indications for long-term use. Since 1998, there was a polynomial increase in quantity dispensed per script. The WHO-defined DDD for clonazepam seems inappropriate and could impede monitoring of its abuse. Other problems include lack of national data for medications not subsidised on PBS/Repatriation PBS. A broad policy approach is required, not one which targets only one particular benzodiazepine. © 2013 The Authors; Internal Medicine Journal © 2013 Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Accomplishments and Compromises in Prediction Research for World Records and Best Performances in Track and Field and Swimming

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuanlong; Paul, Stanley; Fu, Frank H.

2012-01-01

The conductors of this study reviewed prediction research and studied the accomplishments and compromises in predicting world records and best performances in track and field and swimming. The results of the study showed that prediction research only promises to describe the historical trends in track and field and swimming performances, to study…

"But They Won't Come to Lectures..." The Impact of Audio Recorded Lectures on Student Experience and Attendance

Science.gov (United States)

Larkin, Helen E.

2010-01-01

The move to increasingly flexible platforms for student learning and experience through provision of online lecture recordings is often interpreted by educators as students viewing attendance at lectures as optional. The trend toward the use of this technology is often met with resistance from some academic staff who argue that student attendance…

Trends in der IT-Sicherheit

Science.gov (United States)

Eckert, Claudia

Ich möchte Ihnen einen Überblick geben über Trends, Challenges, offene Fragestellungen sowie Lösungsansätze aus dem Bereich der IT-Sicherheit. Meine Vorredner haben mir schon eine wunderbare Basis dafür geschaffen, indem sie wichtige Trends im Bereich IT bereits angesprochen haben. Deshalb werde ich auf diese Trends, nämlich das Internet of Things and Services nur noch einmal kurz eingehen, um daran dann die IT-Sicherheitsthemen, die sich aus diesen IT-Trends ergeben, zu skizzieren und anschließend Lösungen vorstellen, die insbesondere im Forschungsumfeld entwickelt werden, aber schon reif sind, auch in die unternehmerische Praxis übernommen zu werden.

Current trends in the health of children and young people in learning environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.V. Garkusha

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Determined by the dynamics in the health of students and medical teams consisting of physical training in secondary schools. Analyzed the records in-depth inspection of magazines and leaflets health of 32484 schoolchildren of Chernigov for the period 2008-2012. Established a steady trend to a significant deterioration in the health of schoolchildren. A decline in the number of healthy children with the increase in the period of study from 1 to 11. Revealed negative trend decline in the health of children in the main medical group. Shows a tendency to increase the number of children belonging to the preparatory and special medical groups. It is recommended to use a recreational form of physical education and health educational use of technology. It is recommended to include in the training sessions: gymnastics, gymnastic minutes during lessons, exercise, and outdoor games on the elongated recess and daily physical education classes in the extended day, independent study after school, sports and mass work in the community.

New records of tick-associated spotted fever group Rickettsia in an Amazon-Savannah ecotone, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguirre, A A R; Garcia, Marcos Valério; Costa, Ivaneide Nunes da; Csordas, Bárbara Guimarães; Rodrigues, Vinícius da Silva; Medeiros, Jansen Fernandes; Andreotti, Renato

2018-05-01

Human rickettsiosis has been recorded in the Amazon Biome. However, the epidemiological cycle of causative rickettsiae has not been fully accounted for in the Amazon region. This study investigates the presence of spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia spp. in free-living unfed ticks of the Amblyomma genus. The study was conducted in seven municipalities in Rondonia State, Brazil, where the main biomes are Amazon forest, Brazilian Savannah and their ecotones (areas of ecological tension between open ombrophilous forest and savannah). The following tick species were collected: Amblyomma cajennense (sensu lato) s.l., A. cajennense (sensu stricto) s.s., A. coelebs, A. naponense, A. oblongoguttatum, A. romitii, A. scalpturatum and A. sculptum. A total of 167 adults, 248 nymphs and 1004 larvae were subjected to DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine the presence of SFG Rickettsia spp. PCR-positive samples included: one A. cajennense s.s. female and one A. cajennense s.l. male from a rural area in Vilhena Municipality; 10 nymphs and a sample of larvae of A. cajennense s.l. from a peri-urban area in Cacoal Municipality; and an A. oblongoguttatum adult male from a rural area of Pimenta Bueno Municipality. All sequences obtained exhibited 100% identity with Rickettsia amblyommatis sequences. This is the first confirmation of SFG Rickettsia in an A. oblongoguttatum tick. Furthermore, this is the first record of SFG Rickettsia in the municipalities targeted by this study. These results warn that SFG Rickettsia circulation poses a threat in Rondonia State (among Amazon-Savannah ecotones), and that this threat is increased by the fact that SFG Rickettsia infect a human-biting tick species hitherto unconfirmed as a vector. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Comparing the Global Charcoal Database with Burned Area Trends from an Offline Fire Model Driven by the NCAR Last Millennium Ensemble

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, A.; Magi, B. I.; Marlon, J. R.; Bartlein, P. J.

2017-12-01

This study uses an offline fire model driven by output from the NCAR Community Earth System Model Last Millennium Ensemble (LME) to evaluate how climate, ecological, and human factors contributed to burned area over the past millennium, and uses the Global Charcoal Database (GCD) record of fire activity as a constraint. The offline fire model is similar to the fire module within the NCAR Community Land Model. The LME experiment includes 13 simulations of the Earth system from 850 CE through 2005 CE, and the fire model simulates burned area using LME climate and vegetation with imposed land use and land cover change. The fire model trends are compared to GCD records of charcoal accumulation rates derived from sediment cores. The comparisons are a way to assess the skill of the fire model, but also set up a methodology to directly test hypotheses of the main drivers of fire patterns over the past millennium. The focus is on regions selected from the GCD with high data density, and that have lake sediment cores that best capture the last millennium. Preliminary results are based on a fire model which excludes burning cropland and pasture land cover types, but this allows some assessment of how climate variability is captured by the fire model. Generally, there is good agreement between modeled burned area trends and fire trends from GCD for many regions of interest, suggesting the strength of climate variability as a control. At the global scale, trends and features are similar from 850 to 1700, which includes the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age. After 1700, the trends significantly deviate, which may be due to non-cultivated land being converted to cultivated. In key regions of high data density in the GCD such as the Western USA, the trends agree from 850 to 1200 but diverge from 1200 to 1300. From 1300 to 1800, the trends show good agreement again. Implementing processes to include burning cultivated land within the fire model is anticipated to

The assessment report of QA program through the analysis of quality trend in 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yung Se; Hong, Kyung Sik; Park, Sang Pil; Park, Kun Woo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1995-04-01

Effectiveness and adequacy of KAERI Qualify Assurance Program is assessed through the analysis of quality trend. As a result of assessment, Quality Assurance System for each project has reached the stage of stabilization, and especially, significant improvement of the conformance to QA procedure, the control of QA Records and documents and the inspiration of quality mind for the job has been made. However, some problems discovered in this trend analysis, ie, improvement of efficiency of quality training and economies of design verification system, are required to take preventive actions and consider appropriate measures. In the future, QA is expected to be a support to assurance of nuclear safety and development of advanced technology by making it possible to establish the best quality system suitable for our situation, based on the assessment method for quality assurance program presented in this study. 5 figs., 30 tabs. (Author).

The assessment report of QA program through the analysis of quality trend in 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yung Se; Hong, Kyung Sik; Park, Sang Pil; Park, Kun Woo

1995-04-01

Effectiveness and adequacy of KAERI Qualify Assurance Program is assessed through the analysis of quality trend. As a result of assessment, Quality Assurance System for each project has reached the stage of stabilization, and especially, significant improvement of the conformance to QA procedure, the control of QA Records and documents and the inspiration of quality mind for the job has been made. However, some problems discovered in this trend analysis, ie, improvement of efficiency of quality training and economies of design verification system, are required to take preventive actions and consider appropriate measures. In the future, QA is expected to be a support to assurance of nuclear safety and development of advanced technology by making it possible to establish the best quality system suitable for our situation, based on the assessment method for quality assurance program presented in this study. 5 figs., 30 tabs. (Author)

A 21-Year Record of Arctic Sea Ice Extents and Their Regional, Seasonal, and Monthly Variability and Trends

Science.gov (United States)

Parkinson, Claire L.; Cavalieri, Donald J.; Zukor, Dorothy J. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Satellite passive-microwave data have been used to calculate sea ice extents over the period 1979-1999 for the north polar sea ice cover as a whole and for each of nine regions. Over this 21-year time period, the trend in yearly average ice extents for the ice cover as a whole is -32,900 +/- 6,100 sq km/yr (-2.7 +/- 0.5 %/decade), indicating a reduction in sea ice coverage that has decelerated from the earlier reported value of -34,000 +/- 8,300 sq km/yr (-2.8 +/- 0.7 %/decade) for the period 1979-1996. Regionally, the reductions are greatest in the Arctic Ocean, the Kara and Barents Seas, and the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan, whereas seasonally, the reductions are greatest in summer, for which season the 1979-1999 trend in ice extents is -41,600 +/- 12,900 sq km/ yr (-4.9 +/- 1.5 %/decade). On a monthly basis, the reductions are greatest in July and September for the north polar ice cover as a whole, in September for the Arctic Ocean, in June and July for the Kara and Barents Seas, and in April for the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan. Only two of the nine regions show overall ice extent increases, those being the Bering Sea and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.For neither of these two regions is the increase statistically significant, whereas the 1079 - 1999 ice extent decreases are statistically significant at the 99% confidence level for the north polar region as a whole, the Arctic Ocean, the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan, and Hudson Bay.

Global fertility and population trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Bongaarts, John

2015-01-01

Over the past several decades, the world and most countries have undergone unprecedented demographic change. The most obvious example of this change is the rise in human numbers, and there are also important trends in fertility, family structure, mortality, migration, urbanization, and population aging. This paper summarizes past trends and projections in fertility and population. After reaching 2.5 billion in 1950, the world population grew rapidly to 7.2 billion in 2013 and the projections expect this total to be 10.9 billion by 2100. World regions differ widely in their demographic trends, with rapid population growth and high fertility continuing in the poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, while population decline, population aging, and very low fertility are now a key concern in many developed countries. These trends have important implications for human welfare and are of interest to policy makers. The conclusion comments briefly on policy options to address these adverse trends. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Use of Electronic Health Records and Administrative Data for Public Health Surveillance of Eye Health and Vision-Related Conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Elliott, Amanda; Davidson, Arthur; Lum, Flora; Chiang, Michael; Saaddine, Jinan B; Zhang, Xinzhi; Crews, John E.; Chou, Chiu-Fang

2014-01-01

Purpose To discuss the current trend toward greater use of electronic health records and how these records could enhance public health surveillance of eye health and vision-related conditions. Methods We describe three currently available sources of electronic health data (Kaiser Permanente, the Veterans Health Administration, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) and how these sources can contribute to a comprehensive vision and eye health surveillance system. Results Each of the three sources of electronic health data can contribute meaningfully to a comprehensive vision and eye health surveillance system, but none currently provide all the information required. The use of electronic health records for vision and eye health surveillance has both advantages and disadvantages. Conclusions Electronic health records may provide additional information needed to create a comprehensive vision and eye health surveillance system. Recommendations for incorporating electronic health records into such a system are presented. PMID:23158225

Wage Sorting Trends

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bagger, Jesper; Vejlin, Rune Majlund; Sørensen, Kenneth Lykke

Using a population-wide Danish Matched Employer-Employee panel from 1980-2006, we document a strong trend towards more positive assortative wage sorting. The correlation between worker and firm fixed effects estimated from a log wage regression increases from -0.07 in 1981 to .14 in 2001. The non......Using a population-wide Danish Matched Employer-Employee panel from 1980-2006, we document a strong trend towards more positive assortative wage sorting. The correlation between worker and firm fixed effects estimated from a log wage regression increases from -0.07 in 1981 to .14 in 2001....... The nonstationary wage sorting pattern is not due to compositional changes in the labor market, primarily occurs among high wage workers, and comprises 41 percent of the increase in the standard deviation of log real wages between 1980 and 2006. We show that the wage sorting trend is associated with worker...

Trend Extraction in Functional Data of Amplitudes of R and T Waves in Exercise Electrocardiogram

Science.gov (United States)

Cammarota, Camillo; Curione, Mario

The amplitudes of R and T waves of the electrocardiogram (ECG) recorded during the exercise test show both large inter- and intra-individual variability in response to stress. We analyze a dataset of 65 normal subjects undergoing ambulatory test. We model the dataset of R and T series in the framework of functional data, assuming that the individual series are realizations of a non-stationary process, centered at the population trend. We test the time variability of this trend computing a simultaneous confidence band and the zero crossing of its derivative. The analysis shows that the amplitudes of the R and T waves have opposite responses to stress, consisting respectively in a bump and a dip at the early recovery stage. Our findings support the existence of a relationship between R and T wave amplitudes and respectively diastolic and systolic ventricular volumes.

Seasonal distribution and historic trends in abundance of white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, in the western North Atlantic Ocean.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobey H Curtis

Full Text Available Despite recent advances in field research on white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias in several regions around the world, opportunistic capture and sighting records remain the primary source of information on this species in the northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA. Previous studies using limited datasets have suggested a precipitous decline in the abundance of white sharks from this region, but considerable uncertainty in these studies warrants additional investigation. This study builds upon previously published data combined with recent unpublished records and presents a synthesis of 649 confirmed white shark records from the NWA compiled over a 210-year period (1800-2010, resulting in the largest white shark dataset yet compiled from this region. These comprehensive records were used to update our understanding of their seasonal distribution, relative abundance trends, habitat use, and fisheries interactions. All life stages were present in continental shelf waters year-round, but median latitude of white shark occurrence varied seasonally. White sharks primarily occurred between Massachusetts and New Jersey during summer and off Florida during winter, with broad distribution along the coast during spring and fall. The majority of fishing gear interactions occurred with rod and reel, longline, and gillnet gears. Historic abundance trends from multiple sources support a significant decline in white shark abundance in the 1970s and 1980s, but there have been apparent increases in abundance since the 1990s when a variety of conservation measures were implemented. Though the white shark's inherent vulnerability to exploitation warrants continued protections, our results suggest a more optimistic outlook for the recovery of this iconic predator in the Atlantic.

A new daily observational record from Grytviken, South Georgia: exploring 20th century extremes in the South Atlantic

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Z.; Turney, C. S.; Allan, R.; Colwell, S.; Kelly, G.; Lister, D.; Jones, P. D.; Beswick, M.; Alexander, L. V.; Lippmann, T.; Herold, N.; Jones, R. T.

2017-12-01

Although recent work has highlighted a host of significant late 20th century environmental changes across the mid to high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere, the sparse nature of observational records limits our ability to place these changes in the context of long-term (multi-decadal and centennial) variability. As a result, investigating the impact of anthropogenic forcing on climate modes of variability and ecosystems is particularly challenging. Sub-Antarctic islands are particularly important in this regard, straddling major ocean and atmospheric boundaries and offering the potential to develop highly resolved records of change. In 1905, a whaling and meteorological station was established at Grytviken on Sub-Antarctic South Georgia in the South Atlantic (54°S) providing near-continuous observations through to present day. Although South Georgia lies in a strategic location for understanding Southern Ocean atmosphere-ocean dynamics, only a monthly resolved dataset has until now been available. Here we report a near continuous daily observational record from Grytviken for temperature and precipitation, which we compare to different datasets (including Twentieth Century Reanalysis; 20CR version 2c). A warming trend over the 20th century is observed in mean daily temperature at Grytviken with an average rate of temperature rise of 0.14°C per decade over the period 1907-2016 (p<0.0001). We find a significant trend towards increasingly warmer daytime extremes commencing from the mid-20th century accompanied by warmer night-time temperatures. Analysis of these data, and reanalysis products, suggest a realignment of synoptic conditions across the mid to high-latitudes, with a link between increasing temperature trends and atmospheric circulation dominated by stronger westerly airflow, resulting in significant foehn-related warming.

Historical evidence concerning the Sun: interpretation of sunspot records during the telescopic and pretelescopic eras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stephenson, F.R.

1990-01-01

The value of sunspot observations in investigating solar activity trends - mainly on the centennial to millennial timescale - is considered in some detail. It is shown that although observations made since the mid-eighteenth century are in general very reliable indicators of solar activity, older data are of dubious quality and utility. The sunspot record in both the pretelescopic and early telescopic periods appears to be confused by serious data artefacts. (author)

Time trends in the thesis work by post-graduate students of Community Medicine: A record based descriptive study of 40 years

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M M Nagargoje

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Thesis work conducted by post-graduate students of Community Medicine is critically appraised by not only their examiners but also by many other public health experts and researchers. Issues related to the repetition of work and quality of thesis work is raised by various authors. Objective: To assess the time trend in the thesis work done by post-graduate students of Community Medicine. Material and methods: This is a record based descriptive observational study conducted in the department of Community Medicine of S. N. Medical College, Agra (Uttar Pradesh. Data from all the 66 theses which were submitted by the Post Graduate students of our department till date was collected and assessed systematically. Result: Most preferred areas of research were MCH/Family Planning (28.79% and Programme/Service evaluation (22.73%. 77.27% of theses were community based, 36.37% were done exclusively in a rural area, 24.24% of theses had children/adolescent as their study subjects and 28.79% were conducted exclusively among females. A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP or Knowledge, attitude, behavior and practice (KABP study was part of many theses but exclusive KAP/KABP study was done only in 12.12% of theses. A purposive or convenience sampling was done in only 18.33% of theses, 86.67% were cross-sectional in design and median sample size was 450 participants per thesis. In comparison to the theses done upto the year 2000, theses thereafter were more often based in an urban area and less often done in an exclusive rural area (p=0.0003 and all KAP/KABP studies were done after the year 2000 (p=0.004. Conclusion: There is no repetition or excessive use of KAP/KABP studies in the theses done by post-graduate students of the department of Community Medicine, S. N. Medical College, Agra

Long-term citizen-collected data reveal geographical patterns and temporal trends in lake water clarity

Science.gov (United States)

Lottig, Noah R.; Wagner, Tyler; Henry, Emily N.; Cheruvelil, Kendra Spence; Webster, Katherine E.; Downing, John A.; Stow, Craig A.

2014-01-01

We compiled a lake-water clarity database using publically available, citizen volunteer observations made between 1938 and 2012 across eight states in the Upper Midwest, USA. Our objectives were to determine (1) whether temporal trends in lake-water clarity existed across this large geographic area and (2) whether trends were related to the lake-specific characteristics of latitude, lake size, or time period the lake was monitored. Our database consisted of >140,000 individual Secchi observations from 3,251 lakes that we summarized per lake-year, resulting in 21,020 summer averages. Using Bayesian hierarchical modeling, we found approximately a 1% per year increase in water clarity (quantified as Secchi depth) for the entire population of lakes. On an individual lake basis, 7% of lakes showed increased water clarity and 4% showed decreased clarity. Trend direction and strength were related to latitude and median sample date. Lakes in the southern part of our study-region had lower average annual summer water clarity, more negative long-term trends, and greater inter-annual variability in water clarity compared to northern lakes. Increasing trends were strongest for lakes with median sample dates earlier in the period of record (1938–2012). Our ability to identify specific mechanisms for these trends is currently hampered by the lack of a large, multi-thematic database of variables that drive water clarity (e.g., climate, land use/cover). Our results demonstrate, however, that citizen science can provide the critical monitoring data needed to address environmental questions at large spatial and long temporal scales. Collaborations among citizens, research scientists, and government agencies may be important for developing the data sources and analytical tools necessary to move toward an understanding of the factors influencing macro-scale patterns such as those shown here for lake water clarity.

Multiple long-term trends and trend reversals dominate environmental conditions in a man-made freshwater reservoir.

Science.gov (United States)

Znachor, Petr; Nedoma, Jiří; Hejzlar, Josef; Seďa, Jaromír; Kopáček, Jiří; Boukal, David; Mrkvička, Tomáš

2018-05-15

Man-made reservoirs are common across the world and provide a wide range of ecological services. Environmental conditions in riverine reservoirs are affected by the changing climate, catchment-wide processes and manipulations with the water level, and water abstraction from the reservoir. Long-term trends of environmental conditions in reservoirs thus reflect a wider range of drivers in comparison to lakes, which makes the understanding of reservoir dynamics more challenging. We analysed a 32-year time series of 36 environmental variables characterising weather, land use in the catchment, reservoir hydrochemistry, hydrology and light availability in the small, canyon-shaped Římov Reservoir in the Czech Republic to detect underlying trends, trend reversals and regime shifts. To do so, we fitted linear and piecewise linear regression and a regime shift model to the time series of mean annual values of each variable and to principal components produced by Principal Component Analysis. Models were weighted and ranked using Akaike information criterion and the model selection approach. Most environmental variables exhibited temporal changes that included time-varying trends and trend reversals. For instance, dissolved organic carbon showed a linear increasing trend while nitrate concentration or conductivity exemplified trend reversal. All trend reversals and cessations of temporal trends in reservoir hydrochemistry (except total phosphorus concentrations) occurred in the late 1980s and during 1990s as a consequence of dramatic socioeconomic changes. After a series of heavy rains in the late 1990s, an administrative decision to increase the flood-retention volume of the reservoir resulted in a significant regime shift in reservoir hydraulic conditions in 1999. Our analyses also highlight the utility of the model selection framework, based on relatively simple extensions of linear regression, to describe temporal trends in reservoir characteristics. This approach can

Supercomputers and the future of computational atomic scattering physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Younger, S.M.

1989-01-01

The advent of the supercomputer has opened new vistas for the computational atomic physicist. Problems of hitherto unparalleled complexity are now being examined using these new machines, and important connections with other fields of physics are being established. This talk briefly reviews some of the most important trends in computational scattering physics and suggests some exciting possibilities for the future. 7 refs., 2 figs

Brest sea level record: a time series construction back to the early eighteenth century

Science.gov (United States)

Wöppelmann, Guy; Pouvreau, Nicolas; Simon, Bernard

2006-12-01

The completeness and the accuracy of the Brest sea level time series dating from 1807 make it suitable for long-term sea level trend studies. New data sets were recently discovered in the form of handwritten tabulations, including several decades of the eighteenth century. Sea level observations have been made in Brest since 1679. This paper presents the historical data sets which have been assembled so far. These data sets span approximately 300 years and together constitute the longest, near-continuous set of sea level information in France. However, an important question arises: Can we relate the past and the present-day records? We partially provide an answer to this question by analysing the documents of several historical libraries with the tidal data using a ‘data archaeology’ approach advocated by Woodworth ( Geophys Res Lett 26:1589 1592, 1999b). A second question arises concerning the accuracy of such records. Careful editing was undertaken by examining the residuals between tidal predictions and observations. It proved useful to remove the worst effects of timing errors, in particular the sundial correction to be applied prior to August 1, 1714. A refined correction based on sundial literature [Savoie, La gnomique, Editions Les Belles Lettres, Paris, 2001] is proposed, which eliminates the systematic offsets seen in the discrepancies in timing of the sea level measurements. The tidal analysis has also shown that shallow-water tidal harmonics at Brest causes a systematic difference of 0.023 m between mean sea level (MSL) and mean tide level (MTL). Thus, MTL should not be mixed with the time series of MSL because of this systematic offset. The study of the trends in MTL and MSL however indicates that MTL can be used as a proxy for MSL. Three linear trend periods are distinguished in the Brest MTL time series over the period 1807 2004. Our results support the recent findings of Holgate and Woodworth ( Geophys Res Lett) of an enhanced coastal sea level

Genetics and morphology of the genus Tritetrabdella (Hirudinea, Haemadipsidae) from the mountainous rain forests of Sabah, Borneo, reveal a new species with two new subspecies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kappes, H.

2013-01-01

Blood-feeding terrestrial leeches of the family Haemadipsidae are a notorious part of the invertebrate diversity in Asian and Australian rain forests. All hitherto published records of terrestrial leeches of Borneo belong to the genus Haemadipsa. Here, a second, poorly known haemadipsid genus is

Progress in Malesian botany

NARCIS (Netherlands)

NN,

1966-01-01

Dr. R. Grolle, Jena, started a revision of the hitherto published records and determination of unstudied collections of Hepaticae from New Guinea (and neighbouring regions). The results will be successively published in the Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory under the title ”Lebermoose aus

On Hypopygus lepturus, a little known dwarf gymnotid fish from South America (Pisces, Cypriniformes, Gymnotoidei)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijssen, H.; Isbrücker, I.J.H.

1972-01-01

Hypopygus lepturus Hoedeman, 1062, was hitherto known from the holotype and one paratype only, both imported aquarium specimens. In this paper the type locality of the species is restricted. Additional distributional data from Surinam are given, together with records on the occurrence of H. lepturus

Drift-corrected Odin-OSIRIS ozone product: algorithm and updated stratospheric ozone trends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. E. Bourassa

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A small long-term drift in the Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imager System (OSIRIS stratospheric ozone product, manifested mostly since 2012, is quantified and attributed to a changing bias in the limb pointing knowledge of the instrument. A correction to this pointing drift using a predictable shape in the measured limb radiance profile is implemented and applied within the OSIRIS retrieval algorithm. This new data product, version 5.10, displays substantially better both long- and short-term agreement with Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS ozone throughout the stratosphere due to the pointing correction. Previously reported stratospheric ozone trends over the time period 1984–2013, which were derived by merging the altitude–number density ozone profile measurements from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II satellite instrument (1984–2005 and from OSIRIS (2002–2013, are recalculated using the new OSIRIS version 5.10 product and extended to 2017. These results still show statistically significant positive trends throughout the upper stratosphere since 1997, but at weaker levels that are more closely in line with estimates from other data records.

Striking trends in the incidence of health problems in The Netherlands (2002-05). Findings from a new strategy for surveillance in general practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Biermans, Marion C J; Spreeuwenberg, Peter; Verheij, Robert A; de Bakker, Dinny H; de Vries Robbé, Pieter F; Zielhuis, Gerhard A

2009-06-01

This study aimed to detect striking trends based on a new strategy for monitoring public health. We used data over 4 years from electronic medical records of a large, nationally representative network of general practices. Episodes were either directly recorded by general practitioners (GPs) or were constructed using a new record linkage method (EPICON). The episodes were used to estimate raw morbidity rates for all codes of the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC). Multilevel Poisson regression models were used to analyse the trend over time for 15 health problems that showed an obvious change over time. Based on these models, we calculated adjusted incidence rates corrected for clustering, sex and age. During 2002-05, both men and women increasingly consulted the GP because of concern about a drug reaction, a change in faeces/bowel movements and urination problems. Men showed an increase in consultations for prostate problems and venereal diseases. The incidence of chronic internal knee derangement decreased for both sexes. Women consulted their GP less frequently about sterilization and fear of being pregnant. The strategy developed proved to be useful to detect trends across a short period of time. Changes in the health care market, such as the increasing availability of over-the-counter drugs and various large advertising campaigns for medications may explain some of the findings. The increasing incidence of health problems in the urogenital area deserves attention as it could reflect increases in the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and urinary tract infections.

Googling trends in conservation biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Proulx, Raphaël; Massicotte, Philippe; Pépino, Marc

2014-02-01

Web-crawling approaches, that is, automated programs data mining the internet to obtain information about a particular process, have recently been proposed for monitoring early signs of ecosystem degradation or for establishing crop calendars. However, lack of a clear conceptual and methodological framework has prevented the development of such approaches within the field of conservation biology. Our objective was to illustrate how Google Trends, a freely accessible web-crawling engine, can be used to track changes in timing of biological processes, spatial distribution of invasive species, and level of public awareness about key conservation issues. Google Trends returns the number of internet searches that were made for a keyword in a given region of the world over a defined period. Using data retrieved online for 13 countries, we exemplify how Google Trends can be used to study the timing of biological processes, such as the seasonal recurrence of pollen release or mosquito outbreaks across a latitudinal gradient. We mapped the spatial extent of results from Google Trends for 5 invasive species in the United States and found geographic patterns in invasions that are consistent with their coarse-grained distribution at state levels. From 2004 through 2012, Google Trends showed that the level of public interest and awareness about conservation issues related to ecosystem services, biodiversity, and climate change increased, decreased, and followed both trends, respectively. Finally, to further the development of research approaches at the interface of conservation biology, collective knowledge, and environmental management, we developed an algorithm that allows the rapid retrieval of Google Trends data. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Trend Monitoring and Forecasting

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-11

including breaking news, meme , and commemorative day, on the context patterns. Table 2 shows the example pattern of classifying context pattern feature...used the following rule to find the ‘ meme ’. If the trending topic contains ‘#’ AND ‘subject+verb’, then trending topic is ‘ Meme ’. Table 2 Context

Understanding the NAO from Iberian and UK paleoclimate records. The NAOSIPUK project

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Alix, Antonio; Toney, Jaime L.; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; Slaymark, Charlotte; José Ramos-Román, Maria; Camuera, Jon; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco J.; Anderson, R. Scott

2017-04-01

The main goal of the NAOSIPUK project was to understand the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during the Holocene, because the NAO is one major climate mode influencing climate patterns across Europe, and therefore, economy and society (Hurrell, 1995). We analysed several sedimentary records in two regions with opposing NAO responses. Our sedimentary surface survey from numerous lakes and bogs, led to further investigation of four records in the southern Iberian Peninsula and three in the central/northern UK. Past environments of the different sites were analysed using pollen and charcoal analysis, organic and inorganic geochemistry analyses, and sedimentary and geophysical surveys were performed. This work compares general environmental trends in both regions as deduced from the organic matter from bulk sediment to get an idea of the organic matter source, as well as specific organic compounds extracted from the sediment, such as leaf waxes (n-alkanes), algae-related compounds (diols and alkenones), and bacteria-related compounds (hopanes), to specify the sources of the organic matter, environmental temperature ranges, as well as hydrological changes. Our preliminary results show that the palaeoenvironmental indices developed from n-alkanes agree with the variations deduced from the carbon and nitrogen atomic ratios, as well as the carbon isotopic composition from bulk sediments in southern Iberia records. Interestingly, these indices show that some locations display opposite trends from one another, and are used to distinguish regional versus local effects of climate change, human impacts, and aeolian dust inputs. During the late Holocene solar forcing and NAO fluctuations are the main drivers of the environmental evolution in most of the Iberian and UK sites. However, we do detect the influence of the NAO in the temperatures oscillations of the studied sites in southern Iberia. This influence is much more important in the north/central UK sites. The regional

Temporal Trends in Airborne Dust Concentrations at a Large Chrysotile Mine and its Asbestos-enrichment Factories in the Russian Federation During 1951-2001

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schonfeld, Sara J; Kovalevskiy, Evgeny V; Feletto, Eleonora; Bukhtiyarov, Igor V; Kashanskiy, Sergey V; Moissonier, Monika; Straif, Kurt; McCormack, Valerie A; Schüz, Joachim; Kromhout, Hans

2017-01-01

Objectives: Mining and processing of chrysotile, an established carcinogen, has been undertaken in Asbest, Russian Federation since the late 1800s. Dust concentrations were routinely recorded at the open-pit mine and its asbestos-enrichment factories. We examined the temporal trends in these dust

Automating Trend Analysis for Spacecraft Constellations

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, George; Cooter, Miranda; Updike, Clark; Carey, Everett; Mackey, Jennifer; Rykowski, Timothy; Powers, Edward I. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Spacecraft trend analysis is a vital mission operations function performed by satellite controllers and engineers, who perform detailed analyses of engineering telemetry data to diagnose subsystem faults and to detect trends that may potentially lead to degraded subsystem performance or failure in the future. It is this latter function that is of greatest importance, for careful trending can often predict or detect events that may lead to a spacecraft's entry into safe-hold. Early prediction and detection of such events could result in the avoidance of, or rapid return to service from, spacecraft safing, which not only results in reduced recovery costs but also in a higher overall level of service for the satellite system. Contemporary spacecraft trending activities are manually intensive and are primarily performed diagnostically after a fault occurs, rather than proactively to predict its occurrence. They also tend to rely on information systems and software that are oudated when compared to current technologies. When coupled with the fact that flight operations teams often have limited resources, proactive trending opportunities are limited, and detailed trend analysis is often reserved for critical responses to safe holds or other on-orbit events such as maneuvers. While the contemporary trend analysis approach has sufficed for current single-spacecraft operations, it will be unfeasible for NASA's planned and proposed space science constellations. Missions such as the Dynamics, Reconnection and Configuration Observatory (DRACO), for example, are planning to launch as many as 100 'nanospacecraft' to form a homogenous constellation. A simple extrapolation of resources and manpower based on single-spacecraft operations suggests that trending for such a large spacecraft fleet will be unmanageable, unwieldy, and cost-prohibitive. It is therefore imperative that an approach to automating the spacecraft trend analysis function be studied, developed, and applied to

Decreasing pH trend estimated from 25-yr time series of carbonate parameters in the western North Pacific

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Midorikawa, Takashi; Ishii, Masao; Sasano, Daisuke; Kosugi, Naohiro (Geochemical Research Dept., Meteorological Research Institute Tsukuba (Japan)), e-mail: midorika@mri-jma.go.jp; Saito, Shu (Geochemical Research Dept., Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan); Institute of Observational Research for Global Change (IORGC), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Yokosuka (Japan)); Motoi, Tatsuo (Oceanographic Research Dept., Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba (Japan)); Kamiya, Hitomi; Nakadate, Akira; Nemoto, Kazuhiro (Global Environment and Marine Dept., Japan Meteorological Agency, Tokyo (Japan)); Inoue, Hisayuki Y. (Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo (Japan))

2010-11-15

We estimated long-term trends of ocean acidification in surface waters in latitudinal zones from 3 deg N to 33 deg N along the repeat hydrographic line at 137 deg E in the western North Pacific Ocean. Estimates were based on the observational records of oceanic CO{sub 2} partial pressure and related surface properties over the last two decades. The computed pH time series both for 25 yr in winter (late January to early February) and for 21 yr in summer (June-July) exhibited significant decreasing trends in the extensive subtropical to equatorial zones, with interannual variations that were larger in summer. The calculated rates of pH decrease ranged from 0.0015 to 0.0021 yr-1 (average, 0.0018 +- 0.0002 yr-1) in winter and from 0.0008 to 0.0019 yr-1 (average, 0.0013 +- 0.0005 yr-1 ) in summer. The thermodynamic effects of rising sea surface temperature (SST) accounted for up to 44% (average, 15%) of the trend of pH decrease in the subtropical region in winter, whereas a trend of decreasing SST slowed the pH decrease in the northern subtropical region (around 25 deg N) in summer. We used the results from recent trends to evaluate future possible thermodynamic changes in the upper ocean carbonate system

The Afrotropical Miomantiscaffra Saussure 1871 and Miomantispaykullii Stal 1871: first records of alien mantid species in Portugal and Europe, with an updated checklist of Mantodea in Portugal (Insecta: Mantodea).

Science.gov (United States)

Marabuto, Eduardo

2014-01-01

The recent growing interest on the Mantodea fauna of southern Europe and Portugal in particular, has enabled the discovery of two geographically separated populations of hitherto unknown species in Europe. Analysis of specimens shows that they belong to two Afrotropical mantids: Miomantiscaffra Saussure, 1871 and Miomantispaykullii Stal, 1871, thus raising the number of known species in Europe to 39 and in Portugal to 11. While these are remarkable findings, they also represent the first alien mantis species recorded from this continent. As yet, these species appear to be confined to artificial humanised gardened areas but call for more attention to the problem of biological invasions and the need for better bio-security measures for the conservation of natural ecosystems. In the absence of recent revisionary work on the Mantodea of Portugal and given the need to provide an accessible identification tool, both a checklist and a key to species are provided for all species in the country.

Water quality and trend analysis of Colorado--Big Thompson system reservoirs and related conveyances, 1969 through 2000

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Michael R.

2003-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in an ongoing cooperative monitoring program with the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, Bureau of Reclamation, and City of Fort Collins, has collected water-quality data in north-central Colorado since 1969 in reservoirs and conveyances, such as canals and tunnels, related to the Colorado?Big Thompson Project, a water-storage, collection, and distribution system. Ongoing changes in water use among agricultural and municipal users on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, changing land use in reservoir watersheds, and other water-quality issues among Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District customers necessitated a reexamination of water-quality trends in the Colorado?Big Thompson system reservoirs and related conveyances. The sampling sites are on reservoirs, canals, and tunnels in the headwaters of the Colorado River (on the western side of the transcontinental diversion operations) and the headwaters of the Big Thompson River (on the eastern side of the transcontinental diversion operations). Carter Lake Reservoir and Horsetooth Reservoir are off-channel water-storage facilities, located in the foothills of the northern Colorado Front Range, for water supplied from the Colorado?Big Thompson Project. The length of water-quality record ranges from approximately 3 to 30 years depending on the site and the type of measurement or constituent. Changes in sampling frequency, analytical methods, and minimum reporting limits have occurred repeatedly over the period of record. The objective of this report was to complete a retrospective water-quality and trend analysis of reservoir profiles, nutrients, major ions, selected trace elements, chlorophyll-a, and hypolimnetic oxygen data from 1969 through 2000 in Lake Granby, Shadow Mountain Lake, and the Granby Pump Canal in Grand County, Colorado, and Horsetooth Reservoir, Carter Lake, Lake Estes, Alva B. Adams Tunnel, and Olympus Tunnel in Larimer County, Colorado

Temporal trends of latency period and perinatal survival after very early preterm premature rupture of fetal membranes.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Mesa, Ernesto; Herrera, José A; Urgal, Amaya; Lazarraga, Cristina; Benítez, María J; Gómez, Cristina

2012-08-01

This paper shows temporal trends of latency period and perinatal survival after preterm premature rupture of membranes at or before 28 weeks (very early PPROM). We have studied retrospectively medical records of all cases of very early PPROM attended in our Obstetric Department from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2010. A total of 327 cases of very early PPROM were attended, representing 0.4 % of all deliveries, 3.68 % of all preterm births and 15 % of cases all of PPROM. The mean gestational age at delivery was 27 weeks (range 20-34). The mean duration of latency period for the total of 327 cases was 12.1 days (range 0-83, SD 13.3), with a clear trend to its increase from 2005 (p 2000-2010, perinatal deaths reached 30.6 % of all cases, with a clear trend to decrease as gestational age at diagnosis increased, and over the years of study. We have also found a high rate of obstetric complications and a high rate of cesarean deliveries. The upward trend in the duration of latency period in all groups over the years of study and the encouraging perinatal survival observed, even in previable PPROM, are incentives to follow expectant/conservative management in these cases.

Trends in food choice and nutrition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G

2012-01-01

'Trends' in the way we eat are discussed in this chapter. Three potential trends are taken as points of departure, namely health concerns, convenience, and process characteristics. Some of the evidence provided may not necessarily be evidence of a trend itself, but can be regarded as indicators o...

Decadal climate variation recorded in modern global carbonate archives (brachiopods, molluscs)

Science.gov (United States)

Romanin, Marco; Zaki, Amir H.; Davis, Alyssa; Shaver, Kristen; Wang, Lisha; Aleksandra Bitner, Maria; Capraro, Luca; Preto, Nereo; Brand, Uwe

2017-04-01

The progress of the Earth's warming trend has rapidly accelerated in the last few decades due to the increase in emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. The exchange of heat between the atmosphere and seawater has consequently elevated the rate of temperature buildup in the low and high latitude ocean. Records of the variation in seawater temperature in response to local and global changes in climate are preserved within the carbonate structures of marine biogenic archives. Investigating the isotopic composition of the archives' growth increments documents the magnitude of sea surface temperature (SST) change. A long-term (1956-2012) record of temperature change in sub-tropical seawater was acquired from the giant clam Tridacna maxima collected from the Red Sea in conjunction with published results of the oyster Hyotissa hyotis (Titschack et al., 2010). Variation in polar-subpolar SST was obtained from the brachiopod Magellania venosa recovered from the coastal area of southern Chile, and from the proxy record of Hemithiris psittacea of Hudson Bay (Brand et al., 2014). The former reveals a long-term (1961-2012) time-series of Antarctic-induced oceanographic change in the southern hemisphere, while the latter represents a trend of Hudson Bay seawater SST in the northern hemisphere. Evaluation of the isotopic compositions confirms the equilibrium incorporation of oxygen isotopes with respect to ambient seawater in brachiopods and some bivalves. A general trend of decreasing δ18O values in the Red Sea molluscs is observed, indicating an increase in tropical seawater temperature of about 0.79°C since 1988. The δ18O values of the polar-subpolar brachiopods display similar depletion slopes but of larger magnitudes than that of the Red Sea archives. This signifies a rise in seawater temperature of about 1.47°C in Hudson Bay since 1991, and about 2.08°C in southern Chile since 1988. The 2013 IPCC report suggests an increase in SST of +0.094°C per decade (average

Long Term Monitoring of Atmospheric Composition at NOAA - Driving Science with 60 Year-old Records

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, J. H.

2017-12-01

NOAA's Global Monitoring Division and its precursor organizations have provided some of the longest real-time records of the trends and distributions of climatically relevant substances in the atmosphere, some going back for 60 years (http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd). The focus of these measurements has been on obtaining reliable records of global trends and distributions of these substances, but the experimental design and use of measurements have advanced over time with evolving scientific questions. Today, and into this century, scientific questions continue to progress and the observing systems that address them will need to progress accordingly. Long-term, ground based observing systems in NOAA's Global Monitoring Division focus largely on three sets of questions, two of which align with WCRP grand challenges. These are Carbon Cycle System Feedbacks, Trends in Surface Radiation and Cloud Distributions, and Recovery of Stratospheric Ozone. The data collected and analyzed help us understand radiative forcing, climate sensitivity, air quality, climate modification, renewable energy options, and arctic processes, and they are useful for verifying model output and satellite retrievals. Regional information will become increasingly important for mitigating and adapting to climate change, and this information must be accurate, precise, and without bias. NOAA, with its long-standing networks and its role in providing calibrations for partnering organizations, is well positioned to provide the linkages necessary to assure that regional measurements are comparable. This presentation will identify major, climate-relevant findings that have come from NOAA's networks in the past and will address the long-term monitoring needs to support decision-making over coming decades as society begins to seriously address climate change.

Flood frequency analysis for nonstationary annual peak records in an urban drainage basin

Science.gov (United States)

Villarini, Gabriele; Smith, James A.; Serinaldi, Francesco; Bales, Jerad; Bates, Paul D.; Krajewski, Witold F.

2009-08-01

Flood frequency analysis in urban watersheds is complicated by nonstationarities of annual peak records associated with land use change and evolving urban stormwater infrastructure. In this study, a framework for flood frequency analysis is developed based on the Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape parameters (GAMLSS), a tool for modeling time series under nonstationary conditions. GAMLSS is applied to annual maximum peak discharge records for Little Sugar Creek, a highly urbanized watershed which drains the urban core of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is shown that GAMLSS is able to describe the variability in the mean and variance of the annual maximum peak discharge by modeling the parameters of the selected parametric distribution as a smooth function of time via cubic splines. Flood frequency analyses for Little Sugar Creek (at a drainage area of 110km) show that the maximum flow with a 0.01-annual probability (corresponding to 100-year flood peak under stationary conditions) over the 83-year record has ranged from a minimum unit discharge of 2.1mskm to a maximum of 5.1mskm. An alternative characterization can be made by examining the estimated return interval of the peak discharge that would have an annual exceedance probability of 0.01 under the assumption of stationarity (3.2mskm). Under nonstationary conditions, alternative definitions of return period should be adapted. Under the GAMLSS model, the return interval of an annual peak discharge of 3.2mskm ranges from a maximum value of more than 5000 years in 1957 to a minimum value of almost 8 years for the present time (2007). The GAMLSS framework is also used to examine the links between population trends and flood frequency, as well as trends in annual maximum rainfall. These analyses are used to examine evolving flood frequency over future decades.

NEW TRENDS IN MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Micu Alexandra

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Over the last years, management have been facing a series of profound changes in trends coming and going, one being more productive than other or causing more damage when applied improperly. The paper focuses on the last trends in management that have evolved in the last years, trends that have been marked by a Darwinian business environment and made more unforgiving since the financial crisis and the innovations in technology, social media and management philosophy. The paper will present and describe the most important new trends in management that enabled select organisations to remain competitive and overcome the multiple difficulties caused by the ever-changing economy based on a qualitative research. From the “outside innovation” that is considered always to be the key in overcoming the obstacles facing an organization, to the new buzzword “design”, that is said to ensure the organization long-term competitive advantage, the paper will analyse new trends and also will be describing the impact they have on the welfare of the organization. The research has also shown that managers tend to put a greater accent on searching for innovation rather than efficiency in order to ensure a continuous progress in the organization and to maintain business sustainability. The paper will not be comparing the efficiency of these different philosophies, or the results they generated, as time will still be the ultimate judge.

Homogeneity testing of the global ESA CCI multi-satellite soil moisture climate data record

Science.gov (United States)

Preimesberger, Wolfgang; Su, Chun-Hsu; Gruber, Alexander; Dorigo, Wouter

2017-04-01

ESA's Climate Change Initiative (CCI) creates a global, long-term data record by merging multiple available earth observation products with the goal to provide a product for climate studies, trend analysis, and risk assessments. The blending of soil moisture (SM) time series derived from different active and passive remote sensing instruments with varying sensor characteristics, such as microwave frequency, signal polarization or radiometric accuracy, could potentially lead to inhomogeneities in the merged long-term data series, undercutting the usefulness of the product. To detect the spatio-temporal extent of contiguous periods without inhomogeneities as well as subsequently minimizing their negative impact on the data records, different relative homogeneity tests (namely Fligner-Killeen test of homogeneity of variances and Wilcoxon rank-sums test) are implemented and tested on the combined active-passive ESA CCI SM data set. Inhomogeneities are detected by comparing the data against reference data from in-situ data from ISMN, and model-based estimates from GLDAS-Noah and MERRA-Land. Inhomogeneity testing is performed over the ESA CCI SM data time frame of 38 years (from 1978 to 2015), on a global quarter-degree grid and with regard to six alterations in the combination of observation systems used in the data blending process. This study describes and explains observed variations in the spatial and temporal patterns of inhomogeneities in the combined products. Besides we proposes methodologies for measuring and reducing the impact of inhomogeneities on trends derived from the ESA CCI SM data set, and suggest the use of inhomogeneity-corrected data for future trend studies. This study is supported by the European Union's FP7 EartH2Observe "Global Earth Observation for Integrated Water Resource Assessment" project (grant agreement number 331 603608).

Signal trend identification with fuzzy methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reifman, J.; Tsoukalas, L. H.; Wang, X.; Wei, T. Y. C.

1999-01-01

A fuzzy-logic-based methodology for on-line signal trend identification is introduced. Although signal trend identification is complicated by the presence of noise, fuzzy logic can help capture important features of on-line signals and classify incoming power plant signals into increasing, decreasing and steady-state trend categories. In order to verify the methodology, a code named PROTREN is developed and tested using plant data. The results indicate that the code is capable of detecting transients accurately, identifying trends reliably, and not misinterpreting a steady-state signal as a transient one

The effect of submerged aquatic vegetation expansion on a declining turbidity trend in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

Science.gov (United States)

Hestir, E.L.; Schoellhamer, David H.; Jonathan Greenberg,; Morgan-King, Tara L.; Ustin, S.L.

2016-01-01

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) has well-documented effects on water clarity. SAV beds can slow water movement and reduce bed shear stress, promoting sedimentation and reducing suspension. However, estuaries have multiple controls on turbidity that make it difficult to determine the effect of SAV on water clarity. In this study, we investigated the effect of primarily invasive SAV expansion on a concomitant decline in turbidity in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The objective of this study was to separate the effects of decreasing sediment supply from the watershed from increasing SAV cover to determine the effect of SAV on the declining turbidity trend. SAV cover was determined by airborne hyperspectral remote sensing and turbidity data from long-term monitoring records. The turbidity trends were corrected for the declining sediment supply using suspended-sediment concentration data from a station immediately upstream of the Delta. We found a significant negative trend in turbidity from 1975 to 2008, and when we removed the sediment supply signal from the trend it was still significant and negative, indicating that a factor other than sediment supply was responsible for part of the turbidity decline. Turbidity monitoring stations with high rates of SAV expansion had steeper and more significant turbidity trends than those with low SAV cover. Our findings suggest that SAV is an important (but not sole) factor in the turbidity decline, and we estimate that 21–70 % of the total declining turbidity trend is due to SAV expansion.

Epidemiology Characteristics and Trends of Lung Cancer Incidence in Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Almasi, Zeinab; Salehiniya, Hamid; Amoori, Neda; Enayatrad, Mostafa

2016-01-01

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and a major cause of death from cancer. One of the important indicators to compare the prevalence and incidence of the disease is a change in the trend. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the incidence of lung cancer in Iran. This study was conducted based on existing data obtained from a national registry of cancer cases and the Disease Management Center of Ministry of Health in Iran. All cases registered in the country were included during 2003-2008. Incidence rates were reported based on the direct method and standard population of World Health Organization. The study also examined the morphology of common lung cancers. Trends in incidence underwent joinpoint regression analysis. Based on the results of this study, 14,403 cases of lung cancer have been recorded of which 10,582 cases were in men and 3,821 in women. Highest incidence rates were observed in the 80-84 age group. Considerable variation across provinces was evident. In females squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) demonstrated a reduction from 24% to 16% of lesions over the period of study, while adenocarcinoma rose from 21% to 29%. In males a similar reduction in SCC was apparent (42% to 29%, again with increase in AC (13 % to 18%). The results show that the increase in the incidence of lung cancer the trend is that more men than women and in men and may be caused by changes in smoking pattern. The incidence of lung cancer in the North West and West provinces was higher than in other regions.

RECORDS REACHING RECORDING DATA TECHNOLOGIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. W. L. Gresik

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The goal of RECORDS (Reaching Recording Data Technologies is the digital capturing of buildings and cultural heritage objects in hard-to-reach areas and the combination of data. It is achieved by using a modified crane from film industry, which is able to carry different measuring systems. The low-vibration measurement should be guaranteed by a gyroscopic controlled advice that has been , developed for the project. The data were achieved by using digital photography, UV-fluorescence photography, infrared reflectography, infrared thermography and shearography. Also a terrestrial 3D laser scanner and a light stripe topography scanner have been used The combination of the recorded data should ensure a complementary analysis of monuments and buildings.

Records Reaching Recording Data Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Gresik, G. W. L.; Siebe, S.; Drewello, R.

2013-07-01

The goal of RECORDS (Reaching Recording Data Technologies) is the digital capturing of buildings and cultural heritage objects in hard-to-reach areas and the combination of data. It is achieved by using a modified crane from film industry, which is able to carry different measuring systems. The low-vibration measurement should be guaranteed by a gyroscopic controlled advice that has been , developed for the project. The data were achieved by using digital photography, UV-fluorescence photography, infrared reflectography, infrared thermography and shearography. Also a terrestrial 3D laser scanner and a light stripe topography scanner have been used The combination of the recorded data should ensure a complementary analysis of monuments and buildings.

Seasonal Trends and Inter-Individual Heterogeneity: A multi-species record of Mg, Sr, Ba, & Mn in Planktic Foraminifera from the Modern Cariaco Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, C. V.; Thunell, R.; Astor, Y. M.

2017-12-01

The trace element to calcium ratios (TE/Ca) of planktic foraminifera shells are a valuable tool for paleoceanographic reconstructions, and represent a combination of environmental, ecological and biological signals. We present here a three-year record (2010-2013) of TE/Ca (Mg, Sr, Ba, Mn) from four species of foraminifera (Orbulina universa, Globigerina ruber, Globigerinella siphonifera, and Globorotalia menardii) collected by plankton tow in the modern Cariaco basin. Each tow is paired with in situ measurements of water column properties, allowing a direct comparison between shell geochemistry and calcification environment. A combination of Laser Ablation and solution ICP-MS analyses are used to document seasonality, primarily due to the alternating influence of wind-driven coastal upwelling and riverine inputs, in shell TE/Ca. Individual shell data further allows for the quantification of trace element heterogeneity among individual shells within single tows. All TE/Ca ratios vary temporally and show inter-individual variability within single tows. The spread in TE/Ca differs between element and species, with Mg/Ca ratios being the most variable. Despite this, Mg/Ca still tracks temperature changes in G. ruber, O. universa, and G. menardii, with G. ruber most closely reproducing sea surface temperature. Some species show chamber-to-chamber differences in trace element ratios, with G. ruber Mg/Ca and Ba/Ca decreasing in younger chambers (but not other elements) and Mg/Ca, Mn/Ca and Ba/Ca decreasing in younger chambers in G. siphonifera. We find the original Mn/Ca to be variable both temporally and between species, with G. menardii in some samples having extremely high ratios (100 μmol/mol). Assessing seasonal trends and environmental drivers of TE/Ca variability and quantifying the extent of inter-individual heterogeneity in these species will inform the use of their shells as geochemical proxies.

Analysis of gravity data using trend surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Asimopolos, Natalia-Silvia; Asimopolos, Laurentiu

2013-04-01

In this paper we have developed algorithms and related software programs for calculating of trend surfaces of higher order. These methods of analysis of trends, like mobile media applications are filtration systems for geophysical data in surface. In particular we presented few case studies for gravity data and gravity maps. Analysis with polynomial trend surfaces contributes to the recognition, isolation and measurement of trends that can be represented by surfaces or hyper-surfaces (in several sizes), thus achieving a separation in regional variations and local variations. This separation is achieved by adjusting the trend function at different values. Trend surfaces using the regression analysis satisfy the criterion of least squares. The difference between the surface of trend and the observed value in a certain point is the residual value. Residual sum of squares of these values should be minimal as the criterion of least squares. The trend surface is considered as regional or large-scale and the residual value will be regarded as local or small-scale component. Removing the regional trend has the effect of highlighting local components represented by residual values. Surface analysis and hyper-surfaces principles are applied to the surface trend and any number of dimensions. For hyper-surfaces we can work with polynomial functions with four or more variables (three variables of space and other variables for interest parameters) that have great importance in some applications. In the paper we presented the mathematical developments about generalized trend surfaces and case studies about gravimetric data. The trend surfaces have the great advantage that the effect of regional anomalies can be expressed as analytic functions. These tendency surfaces allows subsequent mathematical processing and interesting generalizations, with great advantage to work with polynomial functions compared with the original discrete data. For gravity data we estimate the depth of

Interannual variations and trends in global land surface phenology derived from enhanced vegetation index during 1982-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaoyang; Tan, Bin; Yu, Yunyue

2014-05-01

Land surface phenology is widely retrieved from satellite observations at regional and global scales, and its long-term record has been demonstrated to be a valuable tool for reconstructing past climate variations, monitoring the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems in response to climate impacts, and predicting biological responses to future climate scenarios. This study detected global land surface phenology from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from 1982 to 2010. Based on daily enhanced vegetation index at a spatial resolution of 0.05 degrees, we simulated the seasonal vegetative trajectory for each individual pixel using piecewise logistic models, which was then used to detect the onset of greenness increase (OGI) and the length of vegetation growing season (GSL). Further, both overall interannual variations and pixel-based trends were examined across Koeppen's climate regions for the periods of 1982-1999 and 2000-2010, respectively. The results show that OGI and GSL varied considerably during 1982-2010 across the globe. Generally, the interannual variation could be more than a month in precipitation-controlled tropical and dry climates while it was mainly less than 15 days in temperature-controlled temperate, cold, and polar climates. OGI, overall, shifted early, and GSL was prolonged from 1982 to 2010 in most climate regions in North America and Asia while the consistently significant trends only occurred in cold climate and polar climate in North America. The overall trends in Europe were generally insignificant. Over South America, late OGI was consistent (particularly from 1982 to 1999) while either positive or negative GSL trends in a climate region were mostly reversed between the periods of 1982-1999 and 2000-2010. In the Northern Hemisphere of Africa, OGI trends were mostly insignificant, but prolonged GSL was evident over individual climate regions during the last 3

Recent Advances in Neural Recording Microsystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benoit Gosselin

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The accelerating pace of research in neuroscience has created a considerable demand for neural interfacing microsystems capable of monitoring the activity of large groups of neurons. These emerging tools have revealed a tremendous potential for the advancement of knowledge in brain research and for the development of useful clinical applications. They can extract the relevant control signals directly from the brain enabling individuals with severe disabilities to communicate their intentions to other devices, like computers or various prostheses. Such microsystems are self-contained devices composed of a neural probe attached with an integrated circuit for extracting neural signals from multiple channels, and transferring the data outside the body. The greatest challenge facing development of such emerging devices into viable clinical systems involves addressing their small form factor and low-power consumption constraints, while providing superior resolution. In this paper, we survey the recent progress in the design and the implementation of multi-channel neural recording Microsystems, with particular emphasis on the design of recording and telemetry electronics. An overview of the numerous neural signal modalities is given and the existing microsystem topologies are covered. We present energy-efficient sensory circuits to retrieve weak signals from neural probes and we compare them. We cover data management and smart power scheduling approaches, and we review advances in low-power telemetry. Finally, we conclude by summarizing the remaining challenges and by highlighting the emerging trends in the field.

Trends in leprosy case detection in Rwanda, 1995–2011: analysis of 17 years of laboratory data

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Innocent Uwimana

2017-02-01

Objective: We analysed laboratory records to assess trends in prevalence rates and case detection rates (CDRs in Rwanda. Methods: A retrospective review of detected leprosy cases from the records of the Rwanda National Reference Laboratory over a 17-year period (1995–2011 was conducted. Skin biopsy samples were analysed microscopically using Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique to identify M. leprae. Results: Cumulatively, 266 suspected cases were reported between 1995 and 2011. Of the suspected cases, 77 (28.9% were laboratory confirmed as having leprosy. Among detected cases, 59 (76.6% were men and 18 (23.4% women. The male:female ratio was 3:1. There were 77 registered leprosy cases over the 17-year period of the study, and the prevalence rate was 0.005 per 10 000 population. A gradual decrease in the prevalence rate was observed from 0.015 per 10 000 population in 2003 to 0.003 per 10 000 population in 2010. From 1995 to 2011, the CDR did not exceed one per 10 000 population. Conclusion: This laboratory review demonstrates a declining trend in prevalence rates and CDR during the period of the study. Early case detection and a sustainable leprosy control programme remain the cornerstones of reducing the physical and socio-economic burden of leprosy in Rwanda.

U.S. industry targets record highs after recent severe downturn

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutton, M.F.; Cannon, R.E.

1992-01-01

This paper reports that the U.S. gas-processing industry is nearing production, total supply, and demand records. These trends make gas processing one of the few bright spots in the petroleum industry and are especially welcome after the severe conditions of 1986-89. Barring unforeseen industry upheavals, the current year promises a continuation of moderate production increases, stable demand in most major markets, and reasonable product values. A review of current trends, both inside and outside the industry, and an attempt to assess the immediate future, may help prevent the current sense of stability from becoming complacency. Although not broken out in the graphs, other significant milestones in 1991 include the following: Gas-plant ethane production totalled 193 million bbl, the highest in history. This total represents an increase of 33% since 1981 and makes ethane the principal gas-plant product today. Gas-plant propane production totalled 177 million bbl. Supplemented by 153 million bbl of refinery production and 31 million bbl of imports, both domestic production and total supply of propane in 1991 were the second highest in history. Including refinery production, total domestic gas-liquids production in 1991 was 785 million bbl, an all-time high

21 CFR 225.102 - Master record file and production records.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... or production run of medicated feed to which it pertains. The Master Record File or card shall... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Master record file and production records. 225.102....102 Master record file and production records. (a) The Master Record File provides the complete...

Paleogene Seawater Osmium Isotope Records

Science.gov (United States)

Rolewicz, Z.; Thomas, D. J.; Marcantonio, F.

2012-12-01

Paleoceanographic reconstructions of the Late Cretaceous and early Cenozoic require enhanced geographic coverage, particularly in the Pacific, in order to better constrain meridional variations in environmental conditions. The challenge with the existing inventory of Pacific deep-sea cores is that they consist almost exclusively of pelagic clay with little existing age control. Pelagic clay sequences are useful for reconstructions of dust accumulation and water mass composition, but accurate correlation of these records to other sites requires improved age control. Recent work indicates that seawater Os isotope analyses provide useful age control for red clay sequences. The residence time of Os in seawater is relatively long compared to oceanic mixing, therefore the global seawater 187Os/188Os composition is practically homogeneous. A growing body of Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic data has constrained the evolution of the seawater Os isotopic composition and this curve is now a viable stratigraphic tool, employed in dating layers of Fe-Mn crusts (e.g., Klemm et al., 2005). Ravizza (2007) also demonstrated that the seawater Os isotopic composition can be extracted reliably from pelagic red clay sediments by analyzing the leached oxide minerals. The drawback to using seawater Os isotope stratigraphy to date Paleogene age sediments is that the compilation of existing data has some significant temporal gaps, notably between ~38 and 55 Ma. To improve the temporal resolution of the seawater Os isotope curve, we present new data from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 865 in the equatorial Pacific. Site 865 has excellent biostratigraphic age control over the interval ~38-55Ma. Preliminary data indicate an increase in the seawater composition from 0.427 at 53.4 Ma to 0.499 by 43 Ma, consistent with the apparent trend in the few existing data points. We also analyzed the Os isotopic composition recorded by oxide minerals at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1370

Predicting and analyzing the trend of traffic accidents deaths in Iran in 2014 and 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehmandar, Mohammadreza; Soori, Hamid; Mehrabi, Yadolah

2016-01-01

Predicting the trend in traffic accidents deaths and its analysis can be a useful tool for planning and policy-making, conducting interventions appropriate with death trend, and taking the necessary actions required for controlling and preventing future occurrences. Predicting and analyzing the trend of traffic accidents deaths in Iran in 2014 and 2015. It was a cross-sectional study. All the information related to fatal traffic accidents available in the database of Iran Legal Medicine Organization from 2004 to the end of 2013 were used to determine the change points (multi-variable time series analysis). Using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, traffic accidents death rates were predicted for 2014 and 2015, and a comparison was made between this rate and the predicted value in order to determine the efficiency of the model. From the results, the actual death rate in 2014 was almost similar to that recorded for this year, while in 2015 there was a decrease compared with the previous year (2014) for all the months. A maximum value of 41% was also predicted for the months of January and February, 2015. From the prediction and analysis of the death trends, proper application and continuous use of the intervention conducted in the previous years for road safety improvement, motor vehicle safety improvement, particularly training and culture-fostering interventions, as well as approval and execution of deterrent regulations for changing the organizational behaviors, can significantly decrease the loss caused by traffic accidents.

TREND MECHANISMS IN CONTEMPORARY FASHION

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mackinney-Valentin, Maria

2013-01-01

Explores a spatial approach to trend mechanisms that is argued to be more contemporary than the traditional temporal appraoch.......Explores a spatial approach to trend mechanisms that is argued to be more contemporary than the traditional temporal appraoch....

Regional trends for bud burst and flowering of woody plants in Norway as related to climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Nordli, Ø.; Wielgolaski, F. E.; Bakken, A. K.; Hjeltnes, S. H.; Måge, F.; Sivle, A.; Skre, O.

2008-09-01

Data series for bud burst, beginning of flowering and petal fall for 20 species of deciduous trees and conifers at four sites in different regions of southern Norway have been analysed and related to temperature series. On average, the spring phenophases occurred 7 days earlier during the period 1971-2005. The most significant linear trends were observed for the earliest phases. The trends in this period were compared with trends in other periods, the longest one starting in 1927. Those starting in cold decades and ending in 2005 were in most instances statistically significant, whereas hardly any significant trend appeared for series starting in warm decades. This fact showed that the results of trend studies are very sensitive to the choice of starting year. There were significant decadal variations in 40% of the series. The dates of occurrence of the phenophases, varying from the first days of May to the first days of June, correlated with seasonal temperature series, in most cases strongest to mean temperatures for the seasons March-May and April-May. The North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) for January and February appeared to have some predictive power for the date of occurrence of the recorded phases. The basis for this may be that the oscillations described by the index are of importance for the fulfilment of physiological chilling requirements needed to break bud dormancy. The same genotypes of the trees were grown in region West Norway and in Central Norwegian region; during the period 1965-2005 the trends towards earlier bud burst were more pronounced and steeper at the western site.

Stratospheric Temperature Trends Observed by TIMED/SABER

Science.gov (United States)

Xian, T.; Tan, R.

2017-12-01

Trends in the stratospheric temperature are studied based on the temperature profile observation from the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER). The spatially trends are evaluated in different time scales ranging from decadal to monthly resolved. The results indicate a signature of BDC acceleration. There are strong warming trends (up to 9 K/decade) in the middle to upper stratosphere in the high latitude spring, summer, and autumn seasons, accompanied by strong cooling trends in the lower stratosphere. Besides, strong warming trends occurs through the whole stratosphere over the Southern Hemisphere, which confirms Antarctic ozone layer healing since 2000. In addition, the results demonstrate a significant warming trends in the middle of tropical stratosphere, which becomes strongest during June-July-August.

Cancer incidence rates and trends among children and adolescents in Piedmont, 1967-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Isaevska, Elena; Manasievska, Milena; Alessi, Daniela; Mosso, Maria Luisa; Magnani, Corrado; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Pastore, Guido; Fagioli, Franca; Merletti, Franco; Maule, Milena

2017-01-01

In the past, increases in childhood cancer incidence were reported in Europe and North America. The aim of this study is to show updated patterns of temporal behavior using data of the Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont (CCRP), a region with approximately 4.5 million inhabitants in North-West Italy. CCRP has been recording incident cases in children (0-14 years) since 1967 and in adolescents (15-19) since 2000. Time trends were estimated as annual percent change (APC) over the 1976-2011 period for children, and over 2000-2011 for both children and adolescents. CCRP registered 5020 incident cases from 1967 to 2011. Incidence rates were 157 per million person-years for children (1967-2011) and 282 for adolescents (2000-2011). From 1976-2011, increasing trends were observed in children for all neoplasms (APC 1.1, 95%CI: 0.8; 1.5) and for both embryonal and non-embryonal tumors: 1.1%, (0.5; 1.6) and 1.2%, (0.7; 1.6), respectively. Increases were observed in several tumor types, including leukemia, lymphoma, central nervous system tumors and neuroblastoma. In 2000-2011, incidence rates showed mostly non statistically significant variations and large variability. The observation of trends over a long period shows that the incidence of most tumors has increased, and this is only partially explained by diagnostic changes. Large rate variability hampers interpretation of trend patterns in short periods. Given that no satisfying explanation for the increases observed in the past was ever found, efforts must be made to understand and interpret this peculiar and still ununderstood pattern of childhood cancer incidence.

Cancer incidence rates and trends among children and adolescents in Piedmont, 1967-2011.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Isaevska

Full Text Available In the past, increases in childhood cancer incidence were reported in Europe and North America. The aim of this study is to show updated patterns of temporal behavior using data of the Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont (CCRP, a region with approximately 4.5 million inhabitants in North-West Italy. CCRP has been recording incident cases in children (0-14 years since 1967 and in adolescents (15-19 since 2000. Time trends were estimated as annual percent change (APC over the 1976-2011 period for children, and over 2000-2011 for both children and adolescents. CCRP registered 5020 incident cases from 1967 to 2011. Incidence rates were 157 per million person-years for children (1967-2011 and 282 for adolescents (2000-2011. From 1976-2011, increasing trends were observed in children for all neoplasms (APC 1.1, 95%CI: 0.8; 1.5 and for both embryonal and non-embryonal tumors: 1.1%, (0.5; 1.6 and 1.2%, (0.7; 1.6, respectively. Increases were observed in several tumor types, including leukemia, lymphoma, central nervous system tumors and neuroblastoma. In 2000-2011, incidence rates showed mostly non statistically significant variations and large variability. The observation of trends over a long period shows that the incidence of most tumors has increased, and this is only partially explained by diagnostic changes. Large rate variability hampers interpretation of trend patterns in short periods. Given that no satisfying explanation for the increases observed in the past was ever found, efforts must be made to understand and interpret this peculiar and still ununderstood pattern of childhood cancer incidence.

Chronic groundwater decline: A multi-decadal analysis of groundwater trends under extreme climate cycles

Science.gov (United States)

Le Brocque, Andrew F.; Kath, Jarrod; Reardon-Smith, Kathryn

2018-06-01

Chronic groundwater decline is a concern in many of the world's major agricultural areas. However, a general lack of accurate long-term in situ measurement of groundwater depth and analysis of trends prevents understanding of the dynamics of these systems at landscape scales. This is particularly worrying in the context of future climate uncertainties. This study examines long-term groundwater responses to climate variability in a major agricultural production landscape in southern Queensland, Australia. Based on records for 381 groundwater bores, we used a modified Mann-Kendall non-parametric test and Sen's slope estimator to determine groundwater trends across a 26-year period (1989-2015) and in distinct wet and dry climatic phases. Comparison of trends between climatic phases showed groundwater level recovery during wet phases was insufficient to offset the decline in groundwater level from the previous dry phase. Across the entire 26-year sampling period, groundwater bore levels (all bores) showed an overall significant declining trend (p 0.05). Spatially, both declining and rising bores were highly clustered. We conclude that over 1989-2015 there is a significant net decline in groundwater levels driven by a smaller subset of highly responsive bores in high irrigation areas within the catchment. Despite a number of targeted policy interventions, chronic groundwater decline remains evident in the catchment. We argue that this is likely to continue and to occur more widely under potential climate change and that policy makers, groundwater users and managers need to engage in planning to ensure the sustainability of this vital resource.

On-line signal trend identification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tambouratzis, T.; Antonopoulos-Domis, M.

2004-01-01

An artificial neural network, based on the self-organizing map, is proposed for on-line signal trend identification. Trends are categorized at each incoming signal as steady-state, increasing and decreasing, while they are further classified according to characteristics such signal shape and rate of change. Tests with model-generated signals illustrate the ability of the self-organizing map to accurately and reliably perform on-line trend identification in terms of both detection and classification. The proposed methodology has been found robust to the presence of white noise

Trends in fatal snakebites in Venezuela, 1995-2002.

Science.gov (United States)

Benítez, Jesús A; Rifakis, Pedro M; Vargas, Jair A; Cabaniel, Gilberto; Rodríguez-Morales, Alfonso J

2007-01-01

There have been few studies evaluating snakebite mortality in Venezuela and South America. In this study we evaluate trends in fatal snakebites occurring in Venezuela between 1995 and 2002. Epidemiological data for this study were retrieved from the records of the Ministry of Health of Venezuela. Using these data, we analyzed the impact of snakebites in Venezuela during the study period. During the study period, there were 266 reports of death due to snakebite; 79.7% were males, and 20.3% were females (P Mortality rate by age showed an age-dependent rate, with higher rates in older ages (P = .038). Snake envenomations are an important cause of injury and deaths in Venezuela as in many American countries. Surveillance of envenomations is essential for establishing guidelines, planning therapeutic supplies, and training medical staff on snakebite treatment, as well as assessing risk zones for travelers.

An assessment of an environmental gradient using coral geochemical records, Whitsunday Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, S.E.; Brodie, J.E.; McCulloch, M.T.; Mallela, J.; Jupiter, S.D.; Stuart Williams, H.; Lough, J.M.; Matson, E.G.

2012-01-01

Coral cores were collected along an environmental and water quality gradient through the Whitsunday Island group, Great Barrier Reef (Australia), for trace element and stable isotope analysis. The primary aim of the study was to examine if this gradient could be detected in coral records and, if so, whether the gradient has changed over time with changing land use in the adjacent river catchments. Y/Ca was the trace element ratio which varied spatially across the gradient, with concentrations progressively decreasing away from the river mouths. The Ba/Ca and Y/Ca ratios were the only indicators of change in the gradient through time, increasing shortly after European settlement. The Mn/Ca ratio responded to local disturbance related to the construction of tourism infrastructure. Nitrogen isotope ratios showed no apparent trend over time. This study highlights the importance of site selection when using coral records to record regional environmental signals.

Fuzzy forecasting based on two-factors second-order fuzzy-trend logical relationship groups and the probabilities of trends of fuzzy logical relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shyi-Ming; Chen, Shen-Wen

2015-03-01

In this paper, we present a new method for fuzzy forecasting based on two-factors second-order fuzzy-trend logical relationship groups and the probabilities of trends of fuzzy-trend logical relationships. Firstly, the proposed method fuzzifies the historical training data of the main factor and the secondary factor into fuzzy sets, respectively, to form two-factors second-order fuzzy logical relationships. Then, it groups the obtained two-factors second-order fuzzy logical relationships into two-factors second-order fuzzy-trend logical relationship groups. Then, it calculates the probability of the "down-trend," the probability of the "equal-trend" and the probability of the "up-trend" of the two-factors second-order fuzzy-trend logical relationships in each two-factors second-order fuzzy-trend logical relationship group, respectively. Finally, it performs the forecasting based on the probabilities of the down-trend, the equal-trend, and the up-trend of the two-factors second-order fuzzy-trend logical relationships in each two-factors second-order fuzzy-trend logical relationship group. We also apply the proposed method to forecast the Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) and the NTD/USD exchange rates. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the existing methods.

Modern climate challenges and the geological record

Science.gov (United States)

Cronin, Thomas M.

2010-01-01

Today's changing climate poses challenges about the influence of human activity, such as greenhouse gas emissions and land use changes, the natural variability of Earth's climate, and complex feedback processes. Ice core and instrumental records show that over the last century, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations have risen to 390 parts per million volume (ppmv), about 40% above pre-Industrial Age concentrations of 280 ppmv and nearly twice those of the last glacial maximum about 22,000 years ago. Similar historical increases are recorded in atmospheric methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). There is general agreement that human activity is largely responsible for these trends. Substantial evidence also suggests that elevated greenhouse gas concentrations are responsible for much of the recent atmospheric and oceanic warming, rising sea level, declining Arctic sea-ice cover, retreating glaciers and small ice caps, decreased mass balance of the Greenland and parts of the Antarctic ice sheets, and decreasing ocean pH (ocean "acidification"). Elevated CO2 concentrations raise concern not only from observations of the climate system, but because feedbacks associated with reduced reflectivity from in land and sea ice, sea level, and land vegetation relatively slowly (centuries or longer) to elevated 2 levels. This means that additional human-induced climate change is expected even if the rate of CO2 emissions is reduced or concentrations immediately stabilized.

Interior Design Trends in Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Sager, Don, Ed.

2000-01-01

Four contributing authors discuss perspectives on current trends in library interior design. Articles include: "Trends in Library Furnishings: A Manufacturer's Perspective" (Andrea Johnson); "Libraries, Architecture, and Light: The Architect's Perspective" (Rick McCarthy); "The Library Administrator's Perspective" (Chadwick Raymond); and "The…

World record of PV solar competitiveness: 2.6 cent per KWh in Dubai

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danielo, Olivier; Thouverez, Pierre

2016-01-01

A proposition of 2.99 cent per KWh of solar photovoltaic power has been made to the local electric power operator (DEWA) by a Saudi and Spanish venture, and DEWA is now to examine technical and commercial aspects to choose between this proposition and those made by a Chinese company (JinkoSolar), a Saudi and American venture, Engie and EDF. The author of this article outlines that such a competitive trend can be noticed in other countries (in the Emirates, in Mexico, in Peru, in the USA). The competitiveness record in Dubai is due to a low labour cost and to an optimal sunning. The author then discusses the fact that solar PV in France is now nearly as cheap as nuclear, and the main consequence of this trend: nuclear will never be competitive with respect to solar energy any longer. He finally evokes Wattway, the project of a solar road in France, and quotes various reactions and opinions about it

Evaluating temporal consistency of long-term global NDVI datasets for trend analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tian, Feng; Fensholt, Rasmus; Verbesselt, Jan

2015-01-01

-sensor NDVI time series by analyzing the co-occurrence between breaks in the NDVI time series and sensor shifts from GIMMS3g (Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies 3rd generation), VIP3 (Vegetation Index and Phenology version 3), LTDR4 (Long Term Data Record version 4) and SPOT-VGT (Système Pour l......, potentially introducing uncertainties in NDVI trend analysis. Platform/sensor change from VGT-1 to VGT-2 is found to cause a significant positive break in the SPOT-VGT NDVI time series. Potential artifacts exist in humid, dry-subhumid, semi-arid and hyper-arid regions of GIMMS3g NDVI, whereas no signs...

Long-term ice phenology records from eastern-central Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Takács, Katalin; Kern, Zoltán; Pásztor, László

2018-03-01

A dataset of annual freshwater ice phenology was compiled for the largest river (Danube) and the largest lake (Lake Balaton) in eastern-central Europe, extending regular river and lake ice monitoring data through the use of historical observations and documentary records dating back to AD 1774 and AD 1885, respectively. What becomes clear is that the dates of the first appearance of ice and freeze-up have shifted, arriving 12-30 and 4-13 days later, respectively, per 100 years. Break-up and ice-off have shifted to earlier dates by 7-13 and 9-27 days/100 years, except on Lake Balaton, where the date of break-up has not changed significantly. The datasets represent a resource for (paleo)climatological research thanks to the strong, physically determined link between water and air temperature and the occurrence of freshwater ice phenomena. The derived centennial records of freshwater cryophenology for the Danube and Balaton are readily available for detailed analysis of the temporal trends, large-scale spatial comparison, or other climatological purposes. The derived dataset is publicly available via PANGAEA at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.881056" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.881056.

Long-term ice phenology records from eastern–central Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Takács

2018-03-01

Full Text Available A dataset of annual freshwater ice phenology was compiled for the largest river (Danube and the largest lake (Lake Balaton in eastern–central Europe, extending regular river and lake ice monitoring data through the use of historical observations and documentary records dating back to AD 1774 and AD 1885, respectively. What becomes clear is that the dates of the first appearance of ice and freeze-up have shifted, arriving 12–30 and 4–13 days later, respectively, per 100 years. Break-up and ice-off have shifted to earlier dates by 7–13 and 9–27 days/100 years, except on Lake Balaton, where the date of break-up has not changed significantly. The datasets represent a resource for (paleoclimatological research thanks to the strong, physically determined link between water and air temperature and the occurrence of freshwater ice phenomena. The derived centennial records of freshwater cryophenology for the Danube and Balaton are readily available for detailed analysis of the temporal trends, large-scale spatial comparison, or other climatological purposes. The derived dataset is publicly available via PANGAEA at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.881056.

Italian cancer figures, report 2009: Cancer trend (1998-2005).

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

the aim of this collaborative project of the Italian Network of Cancer Registries (Airtum; www.registri-tumori.it) was to analyse cancer incidence and mortality trends in Italy with special reference to the period 1998-2005. the study was based on the Airtum database, which collects and checks data from all the Airtum registries. The present study was based on 20 general and 2 specific populationbased cancer registries. Overall, we analysed 818,017 incident cases and 342,444 cancer deaths for the time period 1998-2005. Seventy percent of the analysed population was from the North of Italy, 17% from the Centre, and 13% from the South. A joinpoint analysis was carried out to detect the point in time where the trend changed; trends are described by means of the estimated annual percent change (APC), with appropriate 95% confidence intervals. Crude and standardized incidence and mortality rates were computed for 36 cancer sites, for both sexes, three age-classes (0-49, 50-69 and 70+ years), and three geographic areas (North, Centre, and South of Italy). Specific chapters are devoted to long-term trends (1986-2005), differences among age-groups, and international comparisons. In 1998-2005, cancer mortality for all sites showed a statistically significant decrease among men (APC - 1.7) and women (- 0.8). Mortality significantly decreased in both sexes for stomach cancer, rectum cancer, liver cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma. Mortality also decreased among men for cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract, oesophagus, lung, prostate, urinary bladder, and leukaemia. Among women mortality decreased for cancers of the colon, bone, breast, and uterus not otherwise specified. An increase in mortality was recorded for lung cancer among women (+1.5) and melanoma among men (+2.6). Incidence for all cancers together (except non-melanoma skin cancers) increased among men (APC +0.3) and remained stable among women. Cancer sites which showed increasing incidence were thyroid and melanoma

Unreported employment and tax evasion in mid-transition : comparing developments and causes in the Baltic States

OpenAIRE

Jaanika Meriküll; Karsten Staehr

2008-01-01

This paper compares the prevalence and determinants of unreported employment in the three Baltic States in 1998 and 2002 using a hitherto little used dataset. The prevalence of unreported employment varies substantially across the three countries and across the two sampling years. Microeconometric estimations show that firm-related characteristics, such as sectoral activity, firm size and employment trends, are important determinants of unreported employment in all three countries, whereas th...

Global Energy Trends - 2016 edition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

of CO_2 emissions is good news compared to previous years. This is mainly due to the relative weakness of economic growth. Achieving the goals discussed at the COP21 (1.5 to 2 deg. temperature increase by the end of the century), in fact requires a lasting stagnation of global energy consumption and a strong reduction of CO_2 emissions. Thus, with a global GDP growth assumption of 3% per year, this would imply an average carbon intensity reduction target of 5 to 6% per year... (Source: EnerFuture Scenarios - Enerdata) If energy consumption is stagnating, however, we find different trends according to the markets: The oil market is particularly linked to the transport sector; the increase in demand recorded in 2015 (+2%) derives primarily from the increase in vehicle fleet (China, India...) and to a lesser extent from lower prices (particularly in the US). The decline in investments in the upstream sector leaves us to predict, however, a decrease in mid-term production capacity and new pressure on supply/demand.. Gas demand remained stable in 2015: The structural increase continues in the US (replacing coal); in a more cyclical manner, the demand benefited from a colder climate in Europe but fell sharply in Russia (economic recession). At the production level, the US is No. 1 worldwide before Russia, but with a downward trend for several months (shale gas). Coal consumption decreases: Confirming the surprise in 2014: thanks to a new decline observed in China (-3.7%) and in the US (-11%), and despite continued strong growth in India, demand for coal shrinks at the G20 level (-2.7%). Stagnation of power consumption: The demand in power has been stagnant for several years in developed countries. The result is more surprising for non-OECD countries, where growth shrinks significantly. Is this a sign of a slowdown of the increasing weight of power in the overall mix? Power mix continues its slow transformation: In recent years, energy policies have shown visible effects

A comparison of methods to estimate vertical land motion trends from GNSS and altimetry at tide gauge stations

Science.gov (United States)

Kleinherenbrink, Marcel; Riva, Riccardo; Frederikse, Thomas

2018-03-01

Tide gauge (TG) records are affected by vertical land motion (VLM), causing them to observe relative instead of geocentric sea level. VLM can be estimated from global navigation satellite system (GNSS) time series, but only a few TGs are equipped with a GNSS receiver. Hence, (multiple) neighboring GNSS stations can be used to estimate VLM at the TG. This study compares eight approaches to estimate VLM trends at 570 TG stations using GNSS by taking into account all GNSS trends with an uncertainty smaller than 1 mm yr-1 within 50 km. The range between the methods is comparable with the formal uncertainties of the GNSS trends. Taking the median of the surrounding GNSS trends shows the best agreement with differenced altimetry-tide gauge (ALT-TG) trends. An attempt is also made to improve VLM trends from ALT-TG time series. Only using highly correlated along-track altimetry and TG time series reduces the SD of ALT-TG time series by up to 10 %. As a result, there are spatially coherent changes in the trends, but the reduction in the root mean square (RMS) of differences between ALT-TG and GNSS trends is insignificant. However, setting correlation thresholds also acts like a filter to remove problematic TG time series. This results in sets of ALT-TG VLM trends at 344-663 TG locations, depending on the correlation threshold. Compared to other studies, we decrease the RMS of differences between GNSS and ALT-TG trends (from 1.47 to 1.22 mm yr-1), while we increase the number of locations (from 109 to 155), Depending on the methods the mean of differences between ALT-TG and GNSS trends vary between 0.1 and 0.2 mm yr-1. We reduce the mean of the differences by taking into account the effect of elastic deformation due to present-day mass redistribution. At varying ALT-TG correlation thresholds, we provide new sets of trends for 759 to 939 different TG stations. If both GNSS and ALT-TG trend estimates are available, we recommend using the GNSS trend estimates because residual

Interfractional trend analysis of dose differences based on 2D transit portal dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persoon, L C G G; Nijsten, S M J J G; Wilbrink, F J; Podesta, M; Snaith, J A D; Lustberg, T; Van Elmpt, W J C; Van Gils, F; Verhaegen, F

2012-01-01

Dose delivery of a radiotherapy treatment can be influenced by a number of factors. It has been demonstrated that the electronic portal imaging device (EPID) is valuable for transit portal dosimetry verification. Patient related dose differences can emerge at any time during treatment and can be categorized in two types: (1) systematic—appearing repeatedly, (2) random—appearing sporadically during treatment. The aim of this study is to investigate how systematic and random information appears in 2D transit dose distributions measured in the EPID plane over the entire course of a treatment and how this information can be used to examine interfractional trends, building toward a methodology to support adaptive radiotherapy. To create a trend overview of the interfractional changes in transit dose, the predicted portal dose for the different beams is compared to a measured portal dose using a γ evaluation. For each beam of the delivered fraction, information is extracted from the γ images to differentiate systematic from random dose delivery errors. From the systematic differences of a fraction for a projected anatomical structures, several metrics are extracted like percentage pixels with |γ| > 1. We demonstrate for four example cases the trends and dose difference causes which can be detected with this method. Two sample prostate cases show the occurrence of a random and systematic difference and identify the organ that causes the difference. In a lung cancer case a trend is shown of a rapidly diminishing atelectasis (lung fluid) during the course of treatment, which was detected with this trend analysis method. The final example is a breast cancer case where we show the influence of set-up differences on the 2D transit dose. A method is presented based on 2D portal transit dosimetry to record dose changes throughout the course of treatment, and to allow trend analysis of dose discrepancies. We show in example cases that this method can identify the causes of

Miscellaneous botanical Notes VIII

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steenis, van C.G.G.J.

1957-01-01

The only record of Thesium in Malaysia was hitherto the Southern Chinese Thesium psilotoides Hance from medium altitudes of the Benguet and Bontoe Mountain Provinces in North Luzon, according to Merrill (Enum. Philip. Fl. Pl. 2, 1923, 115), occurring between 1200 and 1500 m. The same species has

Your digital home is no longer your castle: how cloud computing transforms the (legal) relationship between individuals and their personal records

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Irion, K.

2015-01-01

In line with the overall trend individuals’ personal affairs, too, are composed of digital records to an increasing amount. At about the same time, the era of local storage in end-user equipment is about to give way to remote computing where data resides on third party equipment (cloud computing).

Trends of solar ultraviolet irradiance at Barrow, Alaska, and the effect of measurement uncertainties on trend detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Bernhard

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Spectral ultraviolet (UV irradiance has been observed near Barrow, Alaska (71° N, 157° W between 1991 and 2011 with an SUV-100 spectroradiometer. The instrument was historically part of the US National Science Foundation's UV Monitoring Network and is now a component of NSF's Arctic Observing Network. From these measurements, trends in monthly average irradiance and their uncertainties were calculated. The analysis focuses on two quantities, the UV Index (which is affected by atmospheric ozone concentrations and irradiance at 345 nm (which is virtually insensitive to ozone. Uncertainties of trend estimates depend on variations in the data due to (1 natural variability, (2 systematic and random errors of the measurements, and (3 uncertainties caused by gaps in the time series. Using radiative transfer model calculations, systematic errors of the measurements were detected and corrected. Different correction schemes were tested to quantify the sensitivity of the trend estimates on the treatment of systematic errors. Depending on the correction method, estimates of decadal trends changed between 1.5% and 2.9%. Uncertainties in the trend estimates caused by error sources (2 and (3 were set into relation with the overall uncertainty of the trend determinations. Results show that these error sources are only relevant for February, March, and April when natural variability is low due to high surface albedo. This method of addressing measurement uncertainties in time series analysis is also applicable to other geophysical parameters. Trend estimates varied between −14% and +5% per decade and were significant (95.45% confidence level only for the month of October. Depending on the correction method, October trends varied between −11.4% and −13.7% for irradiance at 345 nm and between −11.7% and −14.1% for the UV Index. These large trends are consistent with trends in short-wave (0.3–3.0 μm solar irradiance measured with pyranometers at NOAA

Capturing public interest toward new tools for controlling human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection exploiting data from Google Trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahroum, Naim; Bragazzi, Nicola Luigi; Brigo, Francesco; Waknin, Roy; Sharif, Kassem; Mahagna, Hussein; Amital, Howard; Watad, Abdulla

2018-04-01

Human immunodeficiency virus vaccination and pre-exposure prophylaxis represent two different emerging preventive tools. Google Trends was used to assess the public interest toward these tools in terms of digital activities. Worldwide web searches concerning the human immunodeficiency virus vaccine represented 0.34 percent, 0.03 percent, and 46.97 percent of human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome treatment-related Google Trends queries, respectively. Concerning temporal trends, digital activities were shown to increase from 0 percent as of 1 January 2004 percent to 46 percent as of 8 October 2017 with two spikes observed in May and July 2012, coinciding with the US Food and Drug Administration approval. Bursts in search number and volume were recorded as human immunodeficiency virus vaccine trials emerged. This search topic has decreased in the past decade in parallel to the increase in Truvada-related topics. Concentrated searches were noticed among African countries with high human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome prevalence. Stakeholders should take advantage of public interest especially in preventive medicine in high disease burden countries.

Feather mites (Acari, Astigmata associated with birds in an Atlantic Forest fragment in Northeastern Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

HM Silva

Full Text Available AbstractThe present study reports associations between feather mites (Astigmata and birds in an Atlantic Forest fragment in Rio Grande do Norte state, in Brazil. In the laboratory, mites were collected through visual examination of freshly killed birds. Overall, 172 individuals from 38 bird species were examined, between October 2011 and July 2012. The prevalence of feather mites was 80.8%, corresponding to 139 infested individuals distributed into 30 species and 15 families of hosts. Fifteen feather mite taxa could be identified to the species level, sixteen to the genus level and three to the subfamily level, distributed into the families Analgidae, Proctophyllodidae, Psoroptoididae, Pteronyssidae, Xolalgidae, Trouessartiidae, Falculiferidae and Gabuciniidae. Hitherto unknown associations between feather mites and birds were recorded for eleven taxa identified to the species level, and nine taxa were recorded for the first time in Brazil. The number of new geographic records, as well as the hitherto unknown mite-host associations, supports the high estimates of diversity for feather mites of Brazil and show the need for research to increase knowledge of plumicole mites in the Neotropical region.

SU-F-T-458: Tracking Trends of TG-142 Parameters Via Analysis of Data Recorded by 2D Chamber Array

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alexandrian, A; Kabat, C; Defoor, D; Saenz, D; Rasmussen, K; Kirby, N; Gutierrez, A; Papanikolaou, N; Stathakis, S [University of Texas HSC SA, San Antonio, TX (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: With increasing QA demands of medical physicists in clinical radiation oncology, the need for an effective method of tracking clinical data has become paramount. A tool was produced which scans through data automatically recorded by a 2D chamber array and extracts relevant information recommended by TG-142. Using this extracted information a timely and comprehensive analysis of QA parameters can be easily performed enabling efficient monthly checks on multiple linear accelerators simultaneously. Methods: A PTW STARCHECK chamber array was used to record several months of beam outputs from two Varian 2100 series linear accelerators and a Varian NovalisTx−. In conjunction with the chamber array, a beam quality phantom was used to simultaneously to determine beam quality. A minimalist GUI was created in MatLab that allows a user to set the file path of the data for each modality to be analyzed. These file paths are recorded to a MatLab structure and then subsequently accessed by a script written in Python (version 3.5.1) which then extracts values required to perform monthly checks as outlined by recommendations from TG-142. The script incorporates calculations to determine if the values recorded by the chamber array fall within an acceptable threshold. Results: Values obtained by the script are written to a spreadsheet where results can be easily viewed and annotated with a “pass” or “fail” and saved for further analysis. In addition to creating a new scheme for reviewing monthly checks, this application allows for able to succinctly store data for follow up analysis. Conclusion: By utilizing this tool, parameters recommended by TG-142 for multiple linear accelerators can be rapidly obtained and analyzed which can be used for evaluation of monthly checks.

Review and meta-analysis of trends in precipitation regime in Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Caporali, Enrica; Chiarello, Valentina; Defina, Ilaria; Fatichi, Simone

2017-04-01

Research to detect changes in climatic variables has become a topic of particular interest to observe signals of climate change as well as to understand drivers of modifications in water resources availability and suggest management adaptations. We specifically focus on Italy, outlining the "state of the art" of the Italian precipitation regime through a review of 46 published studies on rainfall trend analyses. The aim is to combine a large body of knowledge in a single review and to explain the main patterns of rainfall changes occurred in the last decades. The review results are analyzed for the entire Italian peninsula and separately for three macro areas: North, Central and South&Islands. The attention is focused on three indexes at the annual and seasonal scale: mean Total Precipitation (TP), number of Wet Days (WDs) and Precipitation Intensity (PI). Two other aspects are briefly investigated: drought and extreme rainfall events. Different geographic areas, time series length and number of stations, are taken into account using a "weight factor Fi". Subsequently, for each index, findings in terms of increasing or decreasing trends are collected into five principal categories: Negative (N), Negative Significant (NS), Positive (P), Positive Significant (PS), and No Trend (NT). Overall, there is an agreement about the tendency of the WDs that are decreasing on the whole Italy, with some discrepancies regarding the spring and the summer seasons. This is substantially in agreement with the tendency of the TP, especially at annual scale where the presence of a decreasing trend is detected. An opposite behavior is detected for PI, which increases both on an annual and on a seasonal basis. It is worth to point out that PI is analyzed just in few studies and it is strongly influenced on the classification in precipitation intensity intervals. A general finding is that signal to noise ratio on precipitation metrics is quite low, which hampers a clear definition of

Trends in state/territorial obesity prevalence by race/ethnicity among U.S. low-income, preschool-aged children.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, L; Grummer-Strawn, L M; McGuire, L C; Park, S; Blanck, H M

2016-10-01

Understanding state/territorial trends in obesity by race/ethnicity helps focus resources on populations at risk. This study aimed to examine trends in obesity prevalence among low-income, preschool-aged children from 2008 through 2011 in U.S. states and territories by race/ethnicity. We used measured weight and height records of 11.1 million children aged 2-4 years who participated in federally funded health and nutrition programmes in 40 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories. We used logistic regression to examine obesity prevalence trends, controlling for age and sex. From 2008 through 2011, the aggregated obesity prevalence declined among all racial/ethnic groups (decreased by 0.4-0.9%) except American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs); the largest decrease was among Asians/Pacific Islanders (A/PIs). Declines were significant among non-Hispanic whites in 14 states, non-Hispanic blacks in seven states/territories, Hispanics in 13 states, A/PIs in five states and AI/ANs in one state. Increases were significant among non-Hispanic whites in four states, non-Hispanic blacks in three states, Hispanics in two states and A/PIs in one state. The majority of the states/territories had no change in obesity prevalence. Our findings indicate slight reductions in obesity prevalence and variations in obesity trends, but disparities exist for some states and racial/ethnic groups. © 2015 World Obesity.

A critical review of records of alien marine species from the Maltese Islands and surrounding waters (Central Mediterranean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. SCIBERRAS

2007-06-01

Full Text Available An updated list of alien marine species recorded from the Maltese Islands and surrounding waters, compiled from scientific and ‘grey’ literature and from authenticated unpublished reports to the authors, is presented. The listed species are classified in one of four categories as regards establishment status: established, casual, invasive and questionable. Doubtful records are listed as ‘?’. A total of 48 species, including nine dubious ones, are included in the list. Of the accepted records, 64% are established, of which 15.4% are invasive, 18% are casual and 18% are questionable. The most represented groups are molluscs (14 species, fish (13 species and macrophytes (10 species. Six species are classified as invasive in Maltese waters: Lophocladia lallemandii, Womersleyella setacea, Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea, Percnon gibbesi, Fistularia commersonii and Sphoeroides pachygaster; impacts of some of these species on local ecosystems are discussed. Since the early 1900s, there has been an increasing trend in the number of alien marine species reported from the Maltese Islands. Transportation via shipping and in connection with aquaculture, as well as the range expansion of Lessepsian immigrants, appear to be the most common vectors for entry, accounting for 20%, 11% and 32% respectively of the alien species included in this review. The general warming trend of Mediterranean waters and increasing marine traffic may be facilitating the spread of warm-water Atlantic and Indo-Pacific species to the central Mediterranean, including the Maltese Islands.

Selected Trends of the Cybercrime

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josef Požár

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The contribution paid particular attention to trends of the cybercrime in future period dedicated to combating negative phenomena in the context of cyberspace. The structure of article concern of definition of cybercrime, its legal classification especially choosing trends of cybercrime in future period.

Business trend analysis by simulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schonenberg, H.; Jian, J.; Sidorova, N.; Aalst, van der W.M.P.; Pernici, B.

2010-01-01

Business processes are constantly affected by the environment in which they execute. The environment can change due to seasonal and financial trends. For organisations it is crucial to understand their processes and to be able to estimate the effects of these trends on the processes. Business

Trends in the Use of Medical Imaging to Diagnose Appendicitis at an Academic Medical Center.

Science.gov (United States)

Repplinger, Michael D; Weber, Andrew C; Pickhardt, Perry J; Rajamanickam, Victoria P; Svenson, James E; Ehlenbach, William J; Westergaard, Ryan P; Reeder, Scott B; Jacobs, Elizabeth A

2016-09-01

To quantify the trends in imaging use for the diagnosis of appendicitis. A retrospective study covering a 22-year period was conducted at an academic medical center. Patients were identified by International Classification of Diseases-9 diagnosis code for appendicitis. Medical record data extraction of these patients included imaging test used (ultrasound, CT, or MRI), gender, age, and body mass index (BMI). The proportion of patients undergoing each scan was calculated by year. Regression analysis was performed to determine whether age, gender, or BMI affected imaging choice. The study included a total of 2,108 patients, including 967 (43.5%) females and 599 (27%) children (imaging used for the diagnosis of appendicitis decreased over time (P medical center, CT use increased more than 20-fold. However, no statistically significant trend was found for increased use of ultrasound or MRI. Copyright © 2016 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Regional Trends in Electromobility - Regional Study North America

OpenAIRE

Turrentine, Tom; Garas, Dhalia

2015-01-01

The subproject “Regional Trends in Electro mobility” aims at identifying and analyzing major trends in the field of electro mobility. The trend analysis will monitor research effort and upcoming technologies, policies, products and market developments in different focus regions around the world continuously to enable a systematic analysis of global trends. The regional trend analysis for electro mobility is a major keystone for the project success and therefore cooperation with...

Billing Trends

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Billing Trends. Internet access: Bandwidth becoming analogous to electric power. Only maximum capacity (load) is fixed; Charges based on usage (units). Leased line bandwidth: Billing analogous to phone calls. But bandwidth is variable.

Trends in picture communication

OpenAIRE

Speidel, Joachim

1993-01-01

In the past years significant progress was made with digital transmission of audiovisual services and most interesting trends are visible for the future. Such applications encompass interactive services, like videoconferencing, ISDN-videophone, storage of moving video and audio in computers or on CD, e.g. for multimedia applications. For distribution services, there is an unbroken trend from TV to HDTV. Strong emphasis is on compressed digital video even for transmission to the home.

Trends in Business Investment

OpenAIRE

Lydon, Reamonn; Scally, John

2014-01-01

This article examines trends in business investment in Ireland. Consistent with the international evidence on investment cycles, we show that business investment in Ireland exhibits large cyclical movements around a long-run trend relative to GDP. Changes in business investment broadly coincide with the overall business cycle, although swings in investment tend to be far greater, with extended periods of both over- and under-investment relative to GDP. The sharp fall in business investment si...

TREND: a program using cumulative sum methods to detect long-term trends in data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cranston, R.J.; Dunbar, R.M.; Jarvis, R.G.

1976-01-01

TREND is a computer program, in FORTRAN, to investigate data for long-term trends that are masked by short-term statistical fluctuations. To do this, it calculates and plots the cumulative sum of deviations from a chosen mean. As a further aid to diagnosis, the procedure can be repeated with a summation of the cumulative sum itself. (author)

Trend assessment: applications for hydrology and climate research

Science.gov (United States)

Kallache, M.; Rust, H. W.; Kropp, J.

2005-02-01

The assessment of trends in climatology and hydrology still is a matter of debate. Capturing typical properties of time series, like trends, is highly relevant for the discussion of potential impacts of global warming or flood occurrences. It provides indicators for the separation of anthropogenic signals and natural forcing factors by distinguishing between deterministic trends and stochastic variability. In this contribution river run-off data from gauges in Southern Germany are analysed regarding their trend behaviour by combining a deterministic trend component and a stochastic model part in a semi-parametric approach. In this way the trade-off between trend and autocorrelation structure can be considered explicitly. A test for a significant trend is introduced via three steps: First, a stochastic fractional ARIMA model, which is able to reproduce short-term as well as long-term correlations, is fitted to the empirical data. In a second step, wavelet analysis is used to separate the variability of small and large time-scales assuming that the trend component is part of the latter. Finally, a comparison of the overall variability to that restricted to small scales results in a test for a trend. The extraction of the large-scale behaviour by wavelet analysis provides a clue concerning the shape of the trend.

Curricular trends in Malaysian medical schools: innovations within.

Science.gov (United States)

Azila, Nor Mohd Adnan; Rogayah, Jaafar; Zabidi-Hussin, Zabidi Azhar Mohd Hussin

2006-09-01

Various curricular innovations were adopted by medical schools worldwide in an attempt to produce medical graduates that could meet future healthcare needs of society locally and globally. This paper presents findings on curricular approaches implemented in Malaysian medical schools, in trying to meet those needs. Information was obtained from published records, responses from various questionnaires, personal communication and involvement with curricular development. Curricular innovations tended to be implemented in new medical schools upon their establishment. Established medical schools seemed to implement these innovations much later. Curricular trends appear to move towards integration, student-centred and problem-based learning as well as community-oriented medical education, with the Student-centred learning, Problem-based learning, Integrated teaching, Community-based education, Electives and Systematic programme (SPICES) model used as a reference. The focus is based on the premise that although the short-term aim of undergraduate medical education in Malaysia is to prepare graduates for the pre-registration house officer year, they must be able to practise and make decisions independently and be sensitive to the needs of the country's multiracial, multi-religious, and often remote communities. In most cases, curricular planning starts with a prescriptive model where planners focus on several intended outcomes. However, as the plan is implemented and evaluated it becomes descriptive as the planners reassess the internal and external factors that affect outcomes. A common trend in community-oriented educational activities is evident, with the introduction of interesting variations, to ensure that the curriculum can be implemented, sustained and the intended outcomes achieved.

Trends in Global Gender Inequality

Science.gov (United States)

Dorius, Shawn F.; Firebaugh, Glenn

2010-01-01

This study investigates trends in gender inequality throughout the world. Using data encompassing a large majority of the world's population, we examine trends in recent decades for key indicators of gender inequality in education, mortality, political representation and economic activity. We find that gender inequality is declining in virtually…

Trends in gender differences in accidents mortality: Relationships to changing gender roles and other societal trends

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Inga Earle

2005-11-01

Full Text Available This study tests five hypotheses concerning trends in gender differences in accidents mortality and accident-related behavior, using data for the US, UK, France, Italy, and Japan, 1950-98. As predicted by the Convergence Hypothesis, gender differences have decreased for amount of driving, motor vehicle accidents mortality, and occupational accidents mortality. However, for many types of accidents mortality, gender differences were stable or increased; these trends often resulted from the differential impact on male and female mortality of general societal trends such as increased illicit drug use or improved health care. Similarly, trends in gender differences in accident-related behavior have shown substantial variation and appear to have been influenced by multiple factors, including gender differences in rates of adoption of different types of innovations.

First record of Platygaster luteipes Buhl (Hymenoptera Platygastridae) from leaf galls on black pepper along with first report of the species from India

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Anjana, M.; Rajmohana, K.; Buhl, Peter Neerup

2016-01-01

Platygaster luteipes Buhl (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) is reported for the first time from India. Several specimens of both sexes of the species were reared from the globular galls on mature leaves of black pepper. The hitherto undescribed male of the species is characterized and illustrated....

Trend patterns in global sea surface temperature

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barbosa, S.M.; Andersen, Ole Baltazar

2009-01-01

Isolating long-term trend in sea surface temperature (SST) from El Nino southern oscillation (ENSO) variability is fundamental for climate studies. In the present study, trend-empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis, a robust space-time method for extracting trend patterns, is applied to iso...

Trends in mortality decrease and economic growth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Niu, G.; Melenberg, B.

2014-01-01

The vast literature on extrapolative stochastic mortality models focuses mainly on the extrapolation of past mortality trends and summarizes the trends by one or more latent factors. However, the interpretation of these trends is typically not very clear. On the other hand, explanation methods are

The Hermeneutics of Education Management Information Systems for Kitinga Primary School in Mwingi Central - Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Akaranga, Stephen Ifedha; Makau, Bretta Kavutha

2016-01-01

The data or information records are very important in any organization. With the increase in generation of data in the Kenyan education sector, there is need to devise appropriate means and strategies of storing and retrieving the available data which was hitherto written manually. The Modern Information Communication Technology has necessitated…

Modern trends in contemporary chemistry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Javed, H.; Pervez, H.; Qadeer, R.

1993-01-01

This publication contains a collection of papers presented at symposium on M odern Trends in Contemporary Chemistry , that was held in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 6-8, 1990. The symposium was divided into five sections for presentation of about 55 scientific and technical papers and 6 review papers. The contents of these papers were of good quality in the widespread concern in new trends of chemistry. The six reviews papers covered fields of ortho metallation reactions, evaluation of heterogeneous electron transfer rate contents, macro reticular ion-exchange resins, spectrochemical analytical techniques, liquid crystal-high technology materials for practical applications and trends in advanced ceramics. (A.B.)

Worldwide trends in dietary sugars intake.

OpenAIRE

Wittekind, Anna; Walton, Janette

2014-01-01

Estimating trends in dietary intake data is integral to informing national nutrition policy and monitoring progress towards dietary guidelines. Dietary intake of sugars is a controversial public health issue and guidance in relation to recommended intakes is particularly inconsistent. Published data relating to trends in sugars intake are relatively sparse. The purpose of the present review was to collate and review data from national nutrition surveys to examine changes and trends in dietary...

Ants of the Peloponnese, Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Borowiec Lech

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This paper relates to material obtained during two field trips to the Peloponnese in 2013 and 2016. With the inclusion of some hitherto unpublished ant material, it gives new records from a total of 92 sampling localities. 129 species (including morphospecies not attributed to any known taxon of ants have been recorded from the Peloponnese (southern Greece, 27 of which have been recorded from this region for the first time. Lasius reginae and 5 other morphospecies attributed only to species complexes are new to Greece.

Paired carbon stable-isotope records for the Cenomanian Stage (100.5 -93.9 Ma): correlation tool and Late Cretaceous pCO2 record?

Science.gov (United States)

Jarvis, Ian; Gröcke, Darren; Laurin, Jiří; Selby, David; Roest-Ellis, Sascha; Miles, Andrew; Lignum, John; Gale, Andrew; Kennedy, Jim

2016-04-01

- and long-term trends. Potential causes of the similarities and differences are examined, and it is concluded that major deviations of the paired isotope trends offer insights into long-term atmospheric pCO2 variation. The osmium 187Os/188Os isotope stratigraphy of the MCEI and OAE2 intervals provides evidence of varying volcanic CO2 input, in-part driving climate change. Spectral analyses of the δ13Corg time series reveals a strong ~100 kyr short eccentricity signal throughout the Cenomanian, with well-expressed ~40 kyr obliquity and ~20 kyr precession cycles in some intervals. A 400 kyr long eccentricity cycle is recorded in sedimentation rate changes and amplitude modulation of the 100 kyr cycle. The relative spacing of events, and comparison with the latest orbital solution La2011, further suggest that MCE I and OAE2 coincided with nodes in the ~2.2-Myr eccentricity modulation.

Trends in Classroom Observation Scores

Science.gov (United States)

Casabianca, Jodi M.; Lockwood, J. R.; McCaffrey, Daniel F.

2015-01-01

Observations and ratings of classroom teaching and interactions collected over time are susceptible to trends in both the quality of instruction and rater behavior. These trends have potential implications for inferences about teaching and for study design. We use scores on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Secondary (CLASS-S) protocol from…

World trends from 2017

OpenAIRE

Janković Slobodan

2016-01-01

Issue of prognosis, analyses of future trends is companion to statecraft, political, economic and military planning. How we plan, what does IR says about scientific prognosis. Jankovic starts with this set of issues in order to pass into prognosis itself based on observable world trends. He claims that European Union has entered its climax comparing it foreign policy situation with that of war situation of Third Reich in 1943. Article is divided in five parts. After presenting and criticizing...

Contribution of changing risk factors to the trend in breech presentation at term.

Science.gov (United States)

Bin, Yu Sun; Roberts, Christine L; Nicholl, Michael C; Nassar, Natasha; Ford, Jane B

2016-12-01

Recent population-wide changes in perinatal risk factors may affect rates of breech presentation at birth, and have implications for the provision of breech services and training in breech management. To investigate whether changes in maternal and pregnancy characteristics explain the observed trend in breech presentation at term. All singleton term (≥37 week) births in New South Wales during 2002-2012 were identified through birth and associated hospital records. Annual rates of breech presentation were determined. Logistic regression modelling was used to predict expected rates of breech presentation and these were compared with observed rates over time. A priori predictors included maternal age, country of birth, parity, smoking during pregnancy, diabetes, pregnancy hypertension, placenta praevia, previous singleton term breech, previous caesarean section, infant sex, gestational age, birthweight and congenital anomalies. Hospital and Medicare data were used to assess concomitant trends in external cephalic version. Among 914 147 singleton term births, 3.1% were breech at delivery. Rates of breech presentation declined from 3.6% in 2002 to 2.7% in 2012 (test for trend P breech presentation and previous caesarean section. However, use of external cephalic version appears to have increased over time. Breech presentation at delivery has decreased in New South Wales. Increased use of external cephalic version likely accounts for this decline, as changes in risk factors do not. © 2016 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Factors influencing recording of drug misuse in primary care: a qualitative study of GPs in England.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies-Kershaw, Hilary; Petersen, Irene; Nazareth, Irwin; Stevenson, Fiona

2018-04-01

Drug misuse is a serious public health problem. Evidence from previous epidemiological studies show that GPs are recording drug misuse in electronic patient records (EPR). However, although the recording trends are similar to national surveys, recording rates are much lower. To explore the factors that influence GPs to record drug misuse in the EPR, and to gain a clearer understanding of the gap between the amount of drug misuse recorded in primary care and that in national surveys and other studies. A semi-structured qualitative interview study of GPs working in general practices across England. Purposive sampling was employed to recruit 12 GPs, both with and without a special interest in drug misuse, from across England. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted to consider whether and why GPs record drug misuse, which methods GPs use for recording, GPs' actions if a patient asks for the information not to be recorded, and GPs' actions if they think a patient misuses drugs but does not disclose the information. Resulting data were analysed using a combination of inductive and deductive thematic analysis. The complexity of asking about drug misuse preceded GPs' decision to record. They described how the context of the general practice protocols, interaction between GP and patient, and the questioning process affected whether, how, and in which circumstances they asked about drug use. This led to GPs making a clinical decision on whether, who, and how to record in the EPR. When making decisions about whether or not to record drug misuse, GPs face complex choices. Aside from their own views, they reported feelings of pressure from the general practice environment in which they worked and their clinical commissioning group, as well as government policies. © British Journal of General Practice 2018.

Fertility trends and net reproduction in Agincourt, rural South Africa, 1992-2004.

Science.gov (United States)

Garenne, Michel L; Tollman, Stephen M; Collinson, Mark A; Kahn, Kathleen

2007-08-01

To analyse trends in fertility rates and net reproduction rates in Agincourt, a rural area of South Africa located in the former homeland of Gazankulu near the Mozambican border. Trends are analysed in the context of widely available modern contraceptive methods and increasing HIV/AIDS. A health and demographic surveillance system has been in place since 1992, covering a population of approximately 70,000 persons, with an annual census update and comprehensive recording of births and deaths. It was complemented by a retrospective study of fertility at baseline. Retrospective and prospective data were used to calculate trends in fertility, survival, and net reproduction. When possible, they were compared with data from other censuses and surveys in the same ethnic group. The fertility transition has almost ended over a course of 25 years in Agincourt. The total fertility rate (TFR) averaged 6.0 in 1979 and 2.3 in 2004. Fertility declined in proportionate fashion in all age groups including adolescents in the recent period. The net reproduction rate (NRR) declined from 1.8 to 1.0 during the prospective period (1992-2004). At current rates of change in fertility and mortality, the NRR can be expected to reach 0.63 by the year 2010. The situation of a below-replacement fertility level is new for rural Africa, and is likely to have many demographic, economic and social implications. The population could decline in the country as a whole, and is nearly static in Agincourt because of negative migration flows balancing the small excess from natural increase.

Climatic variability and trends in the surface waters of coastal British Columbia

Science.gov (United States)

Cummins, Patrick F.; Masson, Diane

2014-01-01

Multi-decadal records of monthly sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS) collected at a set of lighthouse stations are used to examine climatic variability and trends in the coastal waters of British Columbia. Particular attention is given to relations between the water property anomalies and variability in coastal freshwater discharge and alongshore wind stress. Within the Strait of Georgia, SSS anomalies are closely related to Fraser River discharge anomalies. Along the Pacific coast, anomalies in alongshore wind stress and freshwater runoff have the characteristics of white noise processes. A cross-correlation analysis demonstrates that SST and SSS variability along the open west coast is consistent with the response of a first-order autoregressive process driven by anomalous alongshore wind stress and coastal freshwater discharge, respectively. Thus climatic variability of SST and SSS along the Pacific coast of British Columbia occurs, in part, through the integration of noisy atmospheric forcing and coastal precipitation. Seasonal correlations show that SST is strongly related to wind stress during winter and fall. Conversely, SSS is relatively weakly related to the alongshore wind during spring, suggesting that variability in upwelling makes only a modest contribution to variability of SSS in the nearshore environment. Consistent with previous studies, secular trends indicate long-term warming and freshening of the coastal ocean at most stations. It is shown that long-term SST trends can be obscured by the pronounced climatic variability of these waters, requiring that time series extend for several decades to be reliably detected.

Trends and demographics in hip arthroscopy in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, Scott R; Ngo, Stephanie S; Hobson, Taylor; Nguyen, Shawn; Alluri, Ram; Wang, Jeffrey C; Hame, Sharon L

2013-04-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the trends and report on the demographics of patients undergoing hip arthroscopy in the United States. Patients who underwent hip arthroscopy from 2004 to 2009 were identified by searching Current Procedural Terminology codes in the PearlDiver Patient Records Database (PearlDiver Technologies, Fort Wayne, IN), a national database of orthopaedic insurance records. The year of procedure, age, gender, and region of the United States were recorded for each patient. Results were reported for each variable as the incidence of procedures identified per 10,000 patients searched in the database. In total, 3,447 cases of hip arthroscopy were identified between 2004 and 2009. The incidence of procedures increased significantly over the study period, from 1.20 cases per 10,000 patients in 2004 to 5.58 in 2009 (P arthroscopy was performed most commonly in patients aged 20 to 39 years (P arthroscopy was observed in the Western region with an incidence of 5.24 cases identified compared with 2.94, 2.70, and 2.56 in the Northeast, Midwest, and South, respectively (P arthroscopy was observed in the examined cohort of patients between 2004 and 2009. The majority of cases were performed in patients aged 20 to 39 years, with no difference in gender. The Western region of the United States was found to have a higher incidence of hip arthroscopy compared with the Midwest, South, and Northeast. Level IV, cross-sectional study. Copyright © 2013 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Decadal trends in tropospheric ozone over East Asian Pacific rim during 1998-2007: Implications for emerging Asian emissions impacts and comparison to European and North American records (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Tanimoto, H.; Ohara, T.; Uno, I.

2010-12-01

We examine springtime ozone trends at nine remote locations in East Asian Pacific rim during the last decade (1998-2007). The observed decadal ozone trends are relatively small at surface sites but are substantially larger at a mountainous site. The level and increasing rate of ozone at the mountainous site are both higher than those observed at background sites in Europe and North America. We use a regional chemistry-transport model to explore the observed changes and how changes in Asian anthropogenic emissions have contributed to the observed increasing trends. The model with yearly-dependent regional emissions successfully reproduces the levels, variability, and interannual variations of ozone at all the surface sites. It predicts increasing trends at the mountainous site, suggesting that increasing Asian anthropogenic emissions account for about half the observed increase. However, the discrepancy between the observation and model results after 2003 (the time of largest emission increase) suggests significant underestimation of the actual growth of the Asian anthropogenic emissions and/or incompleteness in the modeling of pollution export from continental Asia. These findings imply that improving emissions inventory and transport scheme is needed to better understand rapidly evolving tropospheric ozone in East Asia and its potential climatic and environmental impacts.

Trends in Energy. 'The consumer decides'; Trends in Energy. 'De consument bepaalt'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brzezowsky-Ruys, Y.; Van der Zalm, M.; Van Zutphen, M. [eds.

2012-03-15

A report is given of the Capgemini organised congress 'Trends in Energy 2011' which has the Dutch subtitle 'De consument bepaalt' (The consumer decides'. The focus of the articles, interviews, debates and presentations is on the role of the consumer in the supply of and demand for energy. Parts of the report are in Dutch and English [Dutch] Dit rapport bestaat uit een verslag van het congres 'Trends in Energy 2011. De consument bepaalt' en een aantal artikelen met achtergrondinformatie over onder meer de rol van de consument in vraag en aanbod van energie.

13C trend in an Egyptian recent tree as a record for global carbon dioxide behaviour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aly, A.I.M.; Belacy, N.; Abou El-Nour, F.

1988-01-01

The record of the 13 C content in tree rings of an Egyptian tree is used as indication for the increase of the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration. A decrease of the 13 C isotopic content of the tree rings is observed starting from 1940 coinciding with a significant increase in the global production of CO 2 due to combustion of fossil fuel depleted in 13 C with respect to the atmosphere. Considering the local as well as the global CO 2 production rates together with the measured isotopic data, it may be concluded that the behaviour of carbon dioxide in the investigated Eastern Delta province in Egypt reflects mainly a global rather than a local effect. (author)

Temporal trends and epidemiological aspects of ciguatera in French Polynesia: a 10-year analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chateau-Degat, Marie-Ludivine; Dewailly, Eric; Cerf, Nicole; Nguyen, Ngoc Lam; Huin-Blondey, Marie-Odile; Hubert, Bruno; Laudon, François; Chansin, René

2007-04-01

The purpose of this study was to report the temporal trends of the incidence of ciguatera poisoning from 1992 to 2001 in French Polynesia. This retrospective study analysed 7842 cases of ciguatera disease recorded over a period of 10 years. The annual incidence varied from 26.3 to 41.9 per 10,000 person-years. An analysis of cases grouped by archipelago revealed differences in incidences (P ciguatera poisoning appeared relatively stable during the 10 years of the study period. However, the gradient of remoteness observed suggests an adaptation of management of ciguatera disease to each archipelago.

FASHION TREND FOR A SILHOUETTE: BALENCIAGA CASE

OpenAIRE

ERTÜRK, Nilay; özüdoğru, şakir

2014-01-01

Fashion, in broad and accepted definition, is any temporary preference or a temporary new thing in any area of human life, which prevails for a certain period of time. The issue of how fashionable products would look like in a particular season is discussed under the concept of fashion trends. The main purpose of this study is to discuss the concept of fashion trends and the studies on predictions in fashion trends, to conduct a sample trend survey for a silhouette and observe whether or not ...

The trends in total energy, macronutrients and sodium intake among Japanese: findings from the 1995-2016 National Health and Nutrition Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Aki; Imai, Shino; Htun, Nay Chi; Okada, Emiko; Yoshita, Katsushi; Yoshiike, Nobuo; Takimoto, Hidemi

2018-06-04

Monitoring nutritional status of the population is essential in the development and evaluation of national or local health policies. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate analysis on the trends in dietary intake of energy and macronutrients, as well as Na, in Japanese population using the data of series of cross-sectional national surveys - the National Nutrition Survey (NNS) and the National Health Nutrition Survey (NHNS) - during the period from 1995 to 2016. The NNS and NHNS participants aged 20-79 years were included in the analysis. Dietary intake was estimated using 1-d household-based dietary record. The trend in total energy intake, energy intake from macronutrients (fat and protein), Na intake and energy-adjusted Na intake were analysed using regression models adjusted to 2010 age distribution and anthropometry status. A total of 94 270 men and 107 890 women were included the analysis. Total energy intake showed a decreasing trend in both men and women. Similarly, energy intake from protein decreased, but energy intake (%) from fat increased in both sexes. Energy-adjusted Na intake showed a decreasing trend in both men and women. This study identified the decrease in total energy intake and energy intake from protein, whereas there were inverse trends in energy intake from fat among Japanese adults. Continued monitoring of trends in dietary intake will be needed, and there should be efforts to increase the accuracy of current survey procedures.

Trends in surface-water quality at selected National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) stations, in Michigan

Science.gov (United States)

Syed, Atiq U.; Fogarty, Lisa R.

2005-01-01

To demonstrate the value of long-term, water-quality monitoring, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), initiated a study to evaluate potential trends in water-quality constituents for selected National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) stations in Michigan. The goal of this study is to assist the MDEQ in evaluating the effectiveness of water-pollution control efforts and the identification of water-quality concerns. The study included a total of nine NASQAN stations in Michigan. Approximately 28 constituents were analyzed for trend tests. Station selection was based on data availability, land-use characteristics, and station priority for the MDEQ Water Chemistry Monitoring Project. Trend analyses were completed using the uncensored Seasonal Kendall Test in the computer program Estimate Trend (ESTREND), a software program for the detection of trends in water-quality data. The parameters chosen for the trend test had (1) at least a 5-year period of record (2) about 5 percent of the observations censored at a single reporting limit, and (3) 40 percent of the values within the beginning one-fifth and ending one-fifth of the selected period. In this study, a negative trend indicates a decrease in concentration of a particular constituent, which generally means an improvement in water quality; whereas a positive trend means an increase in concentration and possible degradation of water quality. The results of the study show an overall improvement in water quality at the Clinton River at Mount Clemens, Manistee River at Manistee, and Pigeon River near Caseville. The detected trend for these stations show decreases in concentrations of various constituents such as nitrogen compounds, conductance, sulfate, fecal coliform bacteria, and fecal streptococci bacteria. The negative trend may indicate an overall improvement in agricultural practices, municipal and industrial wastewater

World trends in wind energy. A focus per country. Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kane, Mamadou

2016-01-01

A set of articles highlights and comments various trends related to the development of wind energy in 2015. More specifically, the articles outline that 2015 has been a record year for wind energy in the World (an increase of 63.900 MW in installed power), that wind energy covers 11.4 per cent of energy demand in Europe, that the wind energy sector is still in a very good health in the USA (more megawatts have been installed during the last quarter of 2015 than during the whole 2014 year and perspectives seem promising in terms of installed power, share of energy, costs and prices), that Denmark holds the world record of wind energy consumption in 2015 (42.1 per cent of its energy consumption in 2015), that Mauritania could be the engine of the wind energy sector in western Africa (a first important wind farm has been installed in 2012, followed by others with a higher production, and a 100 MW project), that Scotland awarded a 53 MW project to Siemens (using the Siemens G2 platform), and that Kenya signed a partnership with a Chinese company for a 102 MW project. The last article outlines that renewable energies appear to be resilient in front of the oil crisis

Development of time-trend model for analysing and predicting case pattern of dog bite injury induced rabies-like-illness in Liberia, 2014-2017.

Science.gov (United States)

Jomah, N D; Ojo, J F; Odigie, E A; Olugasa, B O

2014-12-01

The post-civil war records of dog bite injuries (DBI) and rabies-like-illness (RLI) among humans in Liberia is a vital epidemiological resource for developing a predictive model to guide the allocation of resources towards human rabies control. Whereas DBI and RLI are high, they are largely under-reported. The objective of this study was to develop a time model of the case-pattern and apply it to derive predictors of time-trend point distribution of DBI-RLI cases. A retrospective 6 years data of DBI distribution among humans countrywide were converted to quarterly series using a transformation technique of Minimizing Squared First Difference statistic. The generated dataset was used to train a time-trend model of the DBI-RLI syndrome in Liberia. An additive detenninistic time-trend model was selected due to its performance compared to multiplication model of trend and seasonal movement. Parameter predictors were run on least square method to predict DBI cases for a prospective 4 years period, covering 2014-2017. The two-stage predictive model of DBI case-pattern between 2014 and 2017 was characterised by a uniform upward trend within Liberia's coastal and hinterland Counties over the forecast period. This paper describes a translational application of the time-trend distribution pattern of DBI epidemics, 2008-2013 reported in Liberia, on which a predictive model was developed. A computationally feasible two-stage time-trend permutation approach is proposed to estimate the time-trend parameters and conduct predictive inference on DBI-RLI in Liberia.

Long-term trends of surface-water mercury and methylmercury concentrations downstream of historic mining within the Carson River watershed.

Science.gov (United States)

Morway, Eric D; Thodal, Carl E; Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark

2017-10-01

The Carson River is a vital water resource for local municipalities and migratory birds travelling the Pacific Flyway. Historic mining practices that used mercury (Hg) to extract gold from Comstock Lode ore has left much of the river system heavily contaminated with Hg, a practice that continues in many parts of the world today. Between 1998 and 2013, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) collected and analyzed Carson River water for Hg and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations resulting in a sixteen year record of unfiltered total mercury (uf.THg), filtered (dissolved) Hg (f.THg), total methylmercury (uf.MeHg), filtered MeHg (f.MeHg), and particulate-bound THg (p.THg) and MeHg (p.MeHg) concentrations. This represents one of the longest continuous records of Hg speciation data for any riverine system, thereby providing a unique opportunity to evaluate long-term trends in concentrations and annual loads. During the period of analysis, uf.THg concentration and load trended downward at rates of -0.85% and -1.8% per year, respectively. Conversely, the f.THg concentration increased at a rate of 1.7% per year between 1998 and 2005, and 4.9% per year between 2005 and 2013. Trends in flow-normalized partition coefficients for both Hg and MeHg suggest a statistically significant shift from the particulate to the filtered phase. The upwardly accelerating f.THg concentration and observed shift from the solid phase to the aqueous phase among the pools of Hg and MeHg within the river water column signals an increased risk of deteriorating ecological conditions in the lower basin with respect to Hg contamination. More broadly, the 16-year trend analysis, completed 140 years after the commencement of major Hg releases to the Carson River, provides a poignant example of the ongoing legacy left behind by gold and silver mining techniques that relied on Hg amalgamation, and a cautionary tale for regions still pursuing the practice in other countries. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Trends in communications satellites

CERN Document Server

Curtin, Denis J

1979-01-01

Trends in Communications Satellites offers a comprehensive look at trends and advances in satellite communications, including experimental ones such as NASA satellites and those jointly developed by France and Germany. The economic aspects of communications satellites are also examined. This book consists of 16 chapters and begins with a discussion on the fundamentals of electrical communications and their application to space communications, including spacecraft, earth stations, and orbit and wavelength utilization. The next section demonstrates how successful commercial satellite communicati

Trends in clinical diagnoses of Rocky Mountain spotted fever among American Indians, 2001-2008.

Science.gov (United States)

Folkema, Arianne M; Holman, Robert C; McQuiston, Jennifer H; Cheek, James E

2012-01-01

American Indians are at greater risk for Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) than the general U.S. population. The epidemiology of RMSF among American Indians was examined by using Indian Health Service inpatient and outpatient records with an RMSF International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis. For 2001-2008, 958 American Indian patients with clinical diagnoses of RMSF were reported. The average annual RMSF incidence was 94.6 per 1,000,000 persons, with a significant increasing incidence trend from 24.2 in 2001 to 139.4 in 2008 (P = 0.006). Most (89%) RMSF hospital visits occurred in the Southern Plains and Southwest regions, where the average annual incidence rates were 277.2 and 49.4, respectively. Only the Southwest region had a significant increasing incidence trend (P = 0.005), likely linked to the emergence of brown dog ticks as an RMSF vector in eastern Arizona. It is important to continue monitoring RMSF infection to inform public health interventions that target RMSF reduction in high-risk populations.

Trends in maternal mortality at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, 1999–2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TU Agan

2010-08-01

Full Text Available TU Agan1, EI Archibong1, JE Ekabua1, EI Ekanem1, S E Abeshi1, TA Edentekhe2, EE Bassey21Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and 2Department of Anesthesia, College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, NigeriaBackground: Maternal mortality remains a major public health challenge, not only at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, but in the developing world in general.Objective: The objective of this study was to assess trends in maternal mortality in a tertiary health facility, the maternal mortality ratio, the impact of sociodemographic factors in the deaths, and common medical and social causes of these deaths at the hospital.Methodology: This was a retrospective review of obstetric service delivery records of all maternal deaths over an 11-year period (01 January 1999 to 31 December 2009. All pregnancy-related deaths of patients managed at the hospital were included in the study.Results: A total of 15,264 live births and 231 maternal deaths were recorded during the period under review, giving a maternal mortality ratio of 1513.4 per 100,000 live births. In the last two years, there was a downward trend in maternal deaths of about 69.0% from the 1999 value. Most (63.3% of the deaths were in women aged 20–34 years, 33.33% had completed at least primary education, and about 55.41% were unemployed. Eight had tertiary education. Two-thirds of the women were married. Obstetric hemorrhage was the leading cause of death (32.23%, followed by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Type III delay accounted for 48.48% of the deaths, followed by Type I delay (35.5%. About 69.26% of these women had no antenatal care. The majority (61.04% died within the first 48 hours of admission.Conclusion: Although there was a downward trend in maternal mortality over the study period, the extent of the reduction is deemed inadequate. The medical and social causes of maternal deaths identified in this study are preventable, especially

Trends in neurology fellowship training

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jordan S.A. Williams; Trent S. Hodgson; Fernando D. Goldenberg; Rimas V. Lukas

2017-01-01

Aim:Aneed for Neurologists exists in the USA.The majority of Neurology residency graduates go on to additional subspecialty training. Methods: Data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education from 2001-2014 and the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties from was analyzed for trends in the number of Neurology subspecialty training programs and their composition. Results: There has been an overall trend of growth in the number of accredited Neurology subspecialty training programs and fellows. These trends vary between specific subspecialties. Conclusion: The authors provide an overview of the contemporary state of Neurology subspecialty training in the USA. A clearer understanding of subspecialty training allows for anticipation of workforce surpluses and deficits.

[Comparison of application of Cochran-Armitage trend test and linear regression analysis for rate trend analysis in epidemiology study].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, D Z; Wang, C; Shen, C F; Zhang, Y; Zhang, H; Song, G D; Xue, X D; Xu, Z L; Zhang, S; Jiang, G H

2017-05-10

We described the time trend of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) from 1999 to 2013 in Tianjin incidence rate with Cochran-Armitage trend (CAT) test and linear regression analysis, and the results were compared. Based on actual population, CAT test had much stronger statistical power than linear regression analysis for both overall incidence trend and age specific incidence trend (Cochran-Armitage trend P valuelinear regression P value). The statistical power of CAT test decreased, while the result of linear regression analysis remained the same when population size was reduced by 100 times and AMI incidence rate remained unchanged. The two statistical methods have their advantages and disadvantages. It is necessary to choose statistical method according the fitting degree of data, or comprehensively analyze the results of two methods.

Food Trends.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwenk, Nancy E.

1991-01-01

An overall perspective on trends in food consumption is presented. Nutrition awareness is at an all-time high; consumption is influenced by changes in disposable income, availability of convenience foods, smaller household size, and an increasing proportion of ethnic minorities in the population. (18 references) (LB)

Greater sage-grouse population trends across Wyoming

Science.gov (United States)

Edmunds, David; Aldridge, Cameron L.; O'Donnell, Michael; Monroe, Adrian

2018-01-01

The scale at which analyses are performed can have an effect on model results and often one scale does not accurately describe the ecological phenomena of interest (e.g., population trends) for wide-ranging species: yet, most ecological studies are performed at a single, arbitrary scale. To best determine local and regional trends for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Wyoming, USA, we modeled density-independent and -dependent population growth across multiple spatial scales relevant to management and conservation (Core Areas [habitat encompassing approximately 83% of the sage-grouse population on ∼24% of surface area in Wyoming], local Working Groups [7 regional areas for which groups of local experts are tasked with implementing Wyoming's statewide sage-grouse conservation plan at the local level], Core Area status (Core Area vs. Non-Core Area) by Working Groups, and Core Areas by Working Groups). Our goal was to determine the influence of fine-scale population trends (Core Areas) on larger-scale populations (Working Group Areas). We modeled the natural log of change in population size ( peak M lek counts) by time to calculate the finite rate of population growth (λ) for each population of interest from 1993 to 2015. We found that in general when Core Area status (Core Area vs. Non-Core Area) was investigated by Working Group Area, the 2 populations trended similarly and agreed with the overall trend of the Working Group Area. However, at the finer scale where Core Areas were analyzed separately, Core Areas within the same Working Group Area often trended differently and a few large Core Areas could influence the overall Working Group Area trend and mask trends occurring in smaller Core Areas. Relatively close fine-scale populations of sage-grouse can trend differently, indicating that large-scale trends may not accurately depict what is occurring across the landscape (e.g., local effects of gas and oil fields may be masked by increasing

Using informatics and the electronic medical record to describe antimicrobial use in the clinical management of diarrhea cases at 12 companion animal practices.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Michele Anholt

Full Text Available Antimicrobial drugs may be used to treat diarrheal illness in companion animals. It is important to monitor antimicrobial use to better understand trends and patterns in antimicrobial resistance. There is no monitoring of antimicrobial use in companion animals in Canada. To explore how the use of electronic medical records could contribute to the ongoing, systematic collection of antimicrobial use data in companion animals, anonymized electronic medical records were extracted from 12 participating companion animal practices and warehoused at the University of Calgary. We used the pre-diagnostic, clinical features of diarrhea as the case definition in this study. Using text-mining technologies, cases of diarrhea were described by each of the following variables: diagnostic laboratory tests performed, the etiological diagnosis and antimicrobial therapies. The ability of the text miner to accurately describe the cases for each of the variables was evaluated. It could not reliably classify cases in terms of diagnostic tests or etiological diagnosis; a manual review of a random sample of 500 diarrhea cases determined that 88/500 (17.6% of the target cases underwent diagnostic testing of which 36/88 (40.9% had an etiological diagnosis. Text mining, compared to a human reviewer, could accurately identify cases that had been treated with antimicrobials with high sensitivity (92%, 95% confidence interval, 88.1%-95.4% and specificity (85%, 95% confidence interval, 80.2%-89.1%. Overall, 7400/15,928 (46.5% of pets presenting with diarrhea were treated with antimicrobials. Some temporal trends and patterns of the antimicrobial use are described. The results from this study suggest that informatics and the electronic medical records could be useful for monitoring trends in antimicrobial use.

Synthesis of a new scintillator 2-phenyl-5(4-p-terphenylyl)Oxazole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhane, D.L.; Gaiki, G.M.

1979-01-01

Friedel-Crafts reaction between hippuryl chloride and p-terphenyl gave benzoylaminomethyl-(4-p-terphenylyl) ketone (II) which on cyclodehydration gave hitherto unreported 2-phenyl-5-(4-p-terphenylyl) oxazole (I). IR, UV absorption and fluorescence spectra of I have been recorded. The performance of I as a scintillator solute has been tested. (auth.)

Climate change in Inner Mongolia from 1955 to 2005-trends at regional, biome and local scales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, N; Wilske, B; John, R; Chen, J [Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606 (United States); Ni, J, E-mail: nan.lu@utoledo.ed, E-mail: burkhard.wilske@utoledo.ed, E-mail: jni@ibcas.ac.c, E-mail: ranjeet.john@utoledo.ed, E-mail: jiquan.chen@utoledo.ed [Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Telegrafenberg A43, D-14473 Potsdam (Germany)

2009-10-15

This study investigated the climate change in Inner Mongolia based on 51 meteorological stations from 1955 to 2005. The climate data was analyzed at the regional, biome (i.e. forest, grassland and desert) and station scales, with the biome scale as our primary focus. The climate records showed trends of warmer and drier conditions in the region. The annual daily mean, maximum and minimum temperature increased whereas the diurnal temperature range (DTR) decreased. The decreasing trend of annual precipitation was not significant. However, the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increased significantly. On the decadal scale, the warming and drying trends were more significant in the last 30 years than the preceding 20 years. The climate change varied among biomes, with more pronounced changes in the grassland and the desert biomes than in the forest biome. DTR and VPD showed the clearest inter-biome gradient from the lowest rate of change in the forest biome to the highest rate of change in the desert biome. The rates of change also showed large variations among the individual stations. Our findings correspond with the IPCC predictions that the future climate will vary significantly by location and through time, suggesting that adaptation strategies also need to be spatially viable.

Climate change in Inner Mongolia from 1955 to 2005-trends at regional, biome and local scales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, N; Wilske, B; John, R; Chen, J; Ni, J

2009-01-01

This study investigated the climate change in Inner Mongolia based on 51 meteorological stations from 1955 to 2005. The climate data was analyzed at the regional, biome (i.e. forest, grassland and desert) and station scales, with the biome scale as our primary focus. The climate records showed trends of warmer and drier conditions in the region. The annual daily mean, maximum and minimum temperature increased whereas the diurnal temperature range (DTR) decreased. The decreasing trend of annual precipitation was not significant. However, the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) increased significantly. On the decadal scale, the warming and drying trends were more significant in the last 30 years than the preceding 20 years. The climate change varied among biomes, with more pronounced changes in the grassland and the desert biomes than in the forest biome. DTR and VPD showed the clearest inter-biome gradient from the lowest rate of change in the forest biome to the highest rate of change in the desert biome. The rates of change also showed large variations among the individual stations. Our findings correspond with the IPCC predictions that the future climate will vary significantly by location and through time, suggesting that adaptation strategies also need to be spatially viable.

Trend analyses with river sediment rating curves

Science.gov (United States)

Warrick, Jonathan A.

2015-01-01

Sediment rating curves, which are fitted relationships between river discharge (Q) and suspended-sediment concentration (C), are commonly used to assess patterns and trends in river water quality. In many of these studies it is assumed that rating curves have a power-law form (i.e., C = aQb, where a and b are fitted parameters). Two fundamental questions about the utility of these techniques are assessed in this paper: (i) How well to the parameters, a and b, characterize trends in the data? (ii) Are trends in rating curves diagnostic of changes to river water or sediment discharge? As noted in previous research, the offset parameter, a, is not an independent variable for most rivers, but rather strongly dependent on b and Q. Here it is shown that a is a poor metric for trends in the vertical offset of a rating curve, and a new parameter, â, as determined by the discharge-normalized power function [C = â (Q/QGM)b], where QGM is the geometric mean of the Q values sampled, provides a better characterization of trends. However, these techniques must be applied carefully, because curvature in the relationship between log(Q) and log(C), which exists for many rivers, can produce false trends in â and b. Also, it is shown that trends in â and b are not uniquely diagnostic of river water or sediment supply conditions. For example, an increase in â can be caused by an increase in sediment supply, a decrease in water supply, or a combination of these conditions. Large changes in water and sediment supplies can occur without any change in the parameters, â and b. Thus, trend analyses using sediment rating curves must include additional assessments of the time-dependent rates and trends of river water, sediment concentrations, and sediment discharge.

25 CFR 15.504 - Who may inspect records and records management practices?

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2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Who may inspect records and records management practices... Records § 15.504 Who may inspect records and records management practices? (a) You may inspect the probate... Secretary and the Archivist of the United States may inspect records and records management practices and...

Measles Morbidity and Mortality Trend in Nigeria: A 10-Year Hospital-Based Retrospective Study in Lagos State, Nigeria

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Akeeb O. Bola Oyefolu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: This hospital-based retrospective cohort study was undertaken with a view to determine the epidemiological trend of measles in Lagos State, Nigeria Methods: Medical records of clinically diagnosed measles patients from nine referral public hospitals in Lagos State between 1998 and 2007 were retrieved, transcribed and reviewed. Data were analyzed using standard methods. Results: A total of 35,500 clinically confirmed cases and 835 deaths (case fatality rate = 2.35%/10 years were recorded. The mean incidence was estimated at 19 cases per 100,000 population/year. A consistent seasonality pattern of measles was observed for the study period. The under-fives accounted for the highest reported cases (76.30% while, the under-1 year recorded highest mortality (53.8%. Notable shift of measles vulnerability from under-1year to under-fives was observed. Although there was significant difference between cases and deaths among the age groups (p0.05. Conclusion: This study recorded high incidence and case fatality of measles, which poses serious public health threat. Poor demographic data collection and storage were revealed thus, computerization of medical records for collection, storage and retrieval of data is imperative for adequate planning and control of measles imperil in Nigeria. J Microbiol Infect Dis 2016;6(1:12-18

Conventional heart rate variability analysis of ambulatory electrocardiographic recordings fails to predict imminent ventricular fibrillation

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Vybiral, T.; Glaeser, D. H.; Goldberger, A. L.; Rigney, D. R.; Hess, K. R.; Mietus, J.; Skinner, J. E.; Francis, M.; Pratt, C. M.

1993-01-01

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this report was to study heart rate variability in Holter recordings of patients who experienced ventricular fibrillation during the recording. BACKGROUND. Decreased heart rate variability is recognized as a long-term predictor of overall and arrhythmic death after myocardial infarction. It was therefore postulated that heart rate variability would be lowest when measured immediately before ventricular fibrillation. METHODS. Conventional indexes of heart rate variability were calculated from Holter recordings of 24 patients with structural heart disease who had ventricular fibrillation during monitoring. The control group consisted of 19 patients with coronary artery disease, of comparable age and left ventricular ejection fraction, who had nonsustained ventricular tachycardia but no ventricular fibrillation. RESULTS. Heart rate variability did not differ between the two groups, and no consistent trends in heart rate variability were observed before ventricular fibrillation occurred. CONCLUSIONS. Although conventional heart rate variability is an independent long-term predictor of adverse outcome after myocardial infarction, its clinical utility as a short-term predictor of life-threatening arrhythmias remains to be elucidated.

Increases in the Pacific inflow to the Arctic from 1990 to 2015, and insights into seasonal trends and driving mechanisms from year-round Bering Strait mooring data

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Woodgate, Rebecca A.

2018-01-01

Year-round in situ Bering Strait mooring data (1990-2015) document a long-term increase (∼0.01 Sv/yr) in the annual mean transport of Pacific waters into the Arctic. Between 2002 and 2015, all annual mean transports (except 2005 and 2012) are greater than the previously accepted climatology (∼0.8 Sv). The record-length maximum (2014: 1.2 ± 0.1 Sv) is 70% higher than the record-length minimum (2001: 0.7 ± 0.1 Sv), corresponding to a reduction in the flushing time of the Chukchi Sea (to ∼4.5 months from ∼7.5 months). The transport increase results from stronger northward flows (not fewer southward flow events), yielding a 150% increase in kinetic energy, presumably with impacts on bottom suspension, mixing, and erosion. Curiously, we find no significant trends in annual mean flow in the Alaskan Coastal Current (ACC), although note that these data are only available 2002-2015. Record-length trends in annually integrated heat and freshwater fluxes (primarily driven by volume flux trends) are large (0.06 ± 0.05 × 1020 J/yr; 30 ± 20 km3/yr; relative to -1.9 °C and 34.8 psu), with heat flux lows in 2001 and 2012 (∼3 × 1020 J) and highs in 2007 and 2015 (∼5.5 × 1020 J), and a freshwater range of ∼2300 km3 (2001) to ∼3500 km3 (2014). High-flow year 2015 (volume transport ∼1.1 Sv) has the highest annual mean temperature recorded, ∼0.7 °C, astoundingly warmer than the record-length mean of 0.0 ± 0.2 °C, while low-flow year 2012 (∼0.8 Sv) is also remarkably cold (∼-0.6 °C), likely due to anomalously weak northward flow in January-March, partly driven by anomalously strong southward winds in March. A seasonal decomposition of properties of the main flow shows significant freshening in winter (∼0.03 psu/yr, January-March) likely due to sea-ice changes, but no trend (or perhaps salinization) in the rest of the year. A seasonal warming trend in the strait proper in May and June (∼0.04 °C/yr) is reflected in a trend to earlier arrival (0.9 �

Flood frequency analysis for nonstationary annual peak records in an urban drainage basin

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Villarini, G.; Smith, J.A.; Serinaldi, F.; Bales, J.; Bates, P.D.; Krajewski, W.F.

2009-01-01

Flood frequency analysis in urban watersheds is complicated by nonstationarities of annual peak records associated with land use change and evolving urban stormwater infrastructure. In this study, a framework for flood frequency analysis is developed based on the Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape parameters (GAMLSS), a tool for modeling time series under nonstationary conditions. GAMLSS is applied to annual maximum peak discharge records for Little Sugar Creek, a highly urbanized watershed which drains the urban core of Charlotte, North Carolina. It is shown that GAMLSS is able to describe the variability in the mean and variance of the annual maximum peak discharge by modeling the parameters of the selected parametric distribution as a smooth function of time via cubic splines. Flood frequency analyses for Little Sugar Creek (at a drainage area of 110 km2) show that the maximum flow with a 0.01-annual probability (corresponding to 100-year flood peak under stationary conditions) over the 83-year record has ranged from a minimum unit discharge of 2.1 m3 s- 1 km- 2 to a maximum of 5.1 m3 s- 1 km- 2. An alternative characterization can be made by examining the estimated return interval of the peak discharge that would have an annual exceedance probability of 0.01 under the assumption of stationarity (3.2 m3 s- 1 km- 2). Under nonstationary conditions, alternative definitions of return period should be adapted. Under the GAMLSS model, the return interval of an annual peak discharge of 3.2 m3 s- 1 km- 2 ranges from a maximum value of more than 5000 years in 1957 to a minimum value of almost 8 years for the present time (2007). The GAMLSS framework is also used to examine the links between population trends and flood frequency, as well as trends in annual maximum rainfall. These analyses are used to examine evolving flood frequency over future decades. ?? 2009 Elsevier Ltd.

Time Trends in School Well-Being Among Adolescents in Oslo: Can Trends be Explained by Social Relationships?

OpenAIRE

Wilhelmsen, Tiril

2017-01-01

Even though well-being in the domain of school is important for mental health, time trend research of this topic is limited. In particular, there is a lack of research investigating differences between ethnic minority and majority students, and there is a lack of literature empirically exploring possible explanations for the time trends in school well-being. The aims of this study were to investigate time trends in school well-being among adolescents in Oslo, explore moderations by gender and...

A synthesis of Plio-Pleistocene leaf wax biomarker records of hydrological variation in East Africa and their relationship with hominin evolution

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Lupien, R.; Russell, J. M.; Campisano, C. J.; Feibel, C. S.; Deino, A. L.; Kingston, J.; Potts, R.; Cohen, A. S.

2017-12-01

Climate change is thought to play a critical role in human evolution. However, the mechanisms behind this relationship are difficult to test due to a lack of long, high-quality paleoclimate records from hominin fossil locales. We improve the understanding of this relationship by examining Plio-Pleistocene lake sediment cores from East Africa that were drilled by the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project, an international effort to study the environment in which our hominin ancestors evolved and dispersed. We have analyzed organic geochemical signals of climate from drill cores from Ethiopia and Kenya spanning the Pliocene to recent time (from north to south: paleolake Hadar, Lake Turkana, Lake Baringo, and paleolake Koora). Specifically, we analyzed the hydrogen isotopic composition of terrestrial leaf waxes, which records changes in regional atmospheric circulation and hydrology. We reconstructed quantitative records of rainfall amount at each of the study sites, which host sediment spanning different geologic times and regions. By compiling these records, we test hominin evolutionary hypotheses as well as crucial questions about climate trend and variability. We find that there is a gradual or step-wise enrichment in δDwax, signifying a trend from a wet to dry climate, from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene, perhaps implying an influence of global temperature, ice sheet extent, and/or atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations on East African climate. However, the shift is small relative to the amplitude of orbital-scale isotopic variations. The records indicate a strong influence of eccentricity-modulated orbital precession, and imply that local insolation effects are the likely cause of East African precipitation. Several of the intervals of high isotopic variability coincide with key hominin fossil or technological transitions, suggesting that climate variability plays a key role in hominin evolution.

Security of electronic mental health communication and record-keeping in the digital age.

Science.gov (United States)

Elhai, Jon D; Frueh, B Christopher

2016-02-01

The mental health field has seen a trend in recent years of the increased use of information technology, including mobile phones, tablets, and laptop computers, to facilitate clinical treatment delivery to individual patients and for record keeping. However, little attention has been paid to ensuring that electronic communication with patients is private and secure. This is despite potentially deleterious consequences of a data breach, which are reported in the news media very frequently in modern times. In this article, we present typical security concerns associated with using technology in clinical services or research. We also discuss enhancing the privacy and security of electronic communication with clinical patients and research participants. We offer practical, easy-to-use software application solutions for clinicians and researchers to secure patient communication and records. We discuss such issues as using encrypted wireless networks, secure e-mail, encrypted messaging and videoconferencing, privacy on social networks, and others. © Copyright 2015 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Representativeness of single lidar stations for zonally averaged ozone profiles, their trends and attribution to proxies

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C. Zerefos

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper is focusing on the representativeness of single lidar stations for zonally averaged ozone profile variations over the middle and upper stratosphere. From the lower to the upper stratosphere, ozone profiles from single or grouped lidar stations correlate well with zonal means calculated from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (SBUV satellite overpasses. The best representativeness with significant correlation coefficients is found within ±15° of latitude circles north or south of any lidar station. This paper also includes a multivariate linear regression (MLR analysis on the relative importance of proxy time series for explaining variations in the vertical ozone profiles. Studied proxies represent variability due to influences outside of the earth system (solar cycle and within the earth system, i.e. dynamic processes (the Quasi Biennial Oscillation, QBO; the Arctic Oscillation, AO; the Antarctic Oscillation, AAO; the El Niño Southern Oscillation, ENSO, those due to volcanic aerosol (aerosol optical depth, AOD, tropopause height changes (including global warming and those influences due to anthropogenic contributions to atmospheric chemistry (equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine, EESC. Ozone trends are estimated, with and without removal of proxies, from the total available 1980 to 2015 SBUV record. Except for the chemistry related proxy (EESC and its orthogonal function, the removal of the other proxies does not alter the significance of the estimated long-term trends. At heights above 15 hPa an inflection point between 1997 and 1999 marks the end of significant negative ozone trends, followed by a recent period between 1998 and 2015 with positive ozone trends. At heights between 15 and 40 hPa the pre-1998 negative ozone trends tend to become less significant as we move towards 2015, below which the lower stratosphere ozone decline continues in agreement with findings of recent literature.

Representativeness of single lidar stations for zonally averaged ozone profiles, their trends and attribution to proxies

Science.gov (United States)

Zerefos, Christos; Kapsomenakis, John; Eleftheratos, Kostas; Tourpali, Kleareti; Petropavlovskikh, Irina; Hubert, Daan; Godin-Beekmann, Sophie; Steinbrecht, Wolfgang; Frith, Stacey; Sofieva, Viktoria; Hassler, Birgit

2018-05-01

This paper is focusing on the representativeness of single lidar stations for zonally averaged ozone profile variations over the middle and upper stratosphere. From the lower to the upper stratosphere, ozone profiles from single or grouped lidar stations correlate well with zonal means calculated from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Radiometer (SBUV) satellite overpasses. The best representativeness with significant correlation coefficients is found within ±15° of latitude circles north or south of any lidar station. This paper also includes a multivariate linear regression (MLR) analysis on the relative importance of proxy time series for explaining variations in the vertical ozone profiles. Studied proxies represent variability due to influences outside of the earth system (solar cycle) and within the earth system, i.e. dynamic processes (the Quasi Biennial Oscillation, QBO; the Arctic Oscillation, AO; the Antarctic Oscillation, AAO; the El Niño Southern Oscillation, ENSO), those due to volcanic aerosol (aerosol optical depth, AOD), tropopause height changes (including global warming) and those influences due to anthropogenic contributions to atmospheric chemistry (equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine, EESC). Ozone trends are estimated, with and without removal of proxies, from the total available 1980 to 2015 SBUV record. Except for the chemistry related proxy (EESC) and its orthogonal function, the removal of the other proxies does not alter the significance of the estimated long-term trends. At heights above 15 hPa an inflection point between 1997 and 1999 marks the end of significant negative ozone trends, followed by a recent period between 1998 and 2015 with positive ozone trends. At heights between 15 and 40 hPa the pre-1998 negative ozone trends tend to become less significant as we move towards 2015, below which the lower stratosphere ozone decline continues in agreement with findings of recent literature.

TRENDS IN CROATIAN HOTEL INDUSTRY

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Jasmina GRZINIC

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Tourism and hotel business is becoming one of the leading industries of theworld. Therefore, an increased attention needs to be paid to the study oftrends in tourism because they determine the trends in hotel industry. Thepurpose of the paper is to point out the importance of hotel industry as one ofthe most important elements of development in tourist economies. The paperaims at introducing the newest trends in modern hotel industry and offering areview of the recent trends of demand and the directions of hotel industrydevelopment. The importance of hotel industry on both micro and macro, i.e.global level is increasing. Besides a series of theoretical representations andconclusions, this paper brings some concrete data and examples frompractice in hotel management.

Emerging trends in nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weinberg, A.M.

1984-01-01

Nuclear energy is faltering in many places - especially in the USA: should it be written off. The author sees underlying trends that justify a more optimistic view of nuclear energy's future - the continuing tendency for the electricity intensity of economic activity to rise while the total energy intensity falls; a consistently favourable price trend for electricity compared with energy prices generally - a trend that may become more favourable if his judgment that nuclear plants will turn out to be very long-lived is borne out by events; the substitution of electricity-based processes in industry for older processes; and the development of ultra-safe reactors which will remove once and for all the fears of accidents such as the one that occurred at Three Mile Island. (author)

Trends in computer hardware and software.

Science.gov (United States)

Frankenfeld, F M

1993-04-01

Previously identified and current trends in the development of computer systems and in the use of computers for health care applications are reviewed. Trends identified in a 1982 article were increasing miniaturization and archival ability, increasing software costs, increasing software independence, user empowerment through new software technologies, shorter computer-system life cycles, and more rapid development and support of pharmaceutical services. Most of these trends continue today. Current trends in hardware and software include the increasing use of reduced instruction-set computing, migration to the UNIX operating system, the development of large software libraries, microprocessor-based smart terminals that allow remote validation of data, speech synthesis and recognition, application generators, fourth-generation languages, computer-aided software engineering, object-oriented technologies, and artificial intelligence. Current trends specific to pharmacy and hospitals are the withdrawal of vendors of hospital information systems from the pharmacy market, improved linkage of information systems within hospitals, and increased regulation by government. The computer industry and its products continue to undergo dynamic change. Software development continues to lag behind hardware, and its high cost is offsetting the savings provided by hardware.

Dismantling technologies trends

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devaux, P.

2009-01-01

In this work dismantling technologies trends realized by the CEA are reviewed. There following technologies are presented: Data acquisition from facilities; Scenario studies; Remote handling and carriers; Dismantling techniques; Decontamination.

Holocene precipitation changes in the deep tropics recorded by Speleothems (Invited)

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Wang, X.; Auler, A. S.; Edwards, R.; Kong, X.; Cheng, H.; Cruz, F. W.; Wang, Y.; Broecker, W. S.

2010-12-01

We have obtained a high-resolution oxygen isotope (δ18O) record of cave calcite from Paraiso Cave, eastern Amazon, which covers most of the Holocene. Its chronology was determined by U-Th ages from three column-shaped stalagmites. Their δ18O profiles replicate among their contemporaneous growth periods. Therefore, the samples were likely precipitated under equilibrium conditions and their oxygen isotopic variations are primarily caused by climate change. We find that the δ18O decreases steadily from ~11.0 to 5.0 thousand years ago, with a growth gap between ~8.4 to 6.3 thousand years ago, and then gradually increases until the present. The large amplitude of the δ18O change (up to 4 per mil) suggests that the variation in δ18O value is dominated by meteoric precipitation change at this equatorial site. In order to investigate the interactions between the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), monsoons and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity during the Holocene, we compare the Paraiso record to speleothem records from other locations in the deep tropics, namely, cave sites from Flores, Borneo and Peru. We find that all these speleothem records are consistent, with a progressive δ18O decrease (rainfall increase) during the early Holocene, probably in response to the southward retreat of the ITCZ from its northernmost location in the early Holocene. This is evident from the strong anti-correlation between the speleothem monsoonal records from China and southern Brazil. However, our record is distinct from the others during the last 4 thousand years, when it switches to a continuous δ18O increase (rainfall decrease) trend, while the others flatten out. We propose that, during the late Holocene, the strengthened South American Summer Monsoon may override the ENSO influence and cause the discrepancy in precipitation between eastern Amazon and other deep tropical cave sites.

Time trend of smoking scenes in Iranian movies during the past three decades (1982-2011): a historical analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Heydari, Gholamreza; Ebn Ahmady, Arezoo; Lando, Harry A; Chamyani, Fahimeh; Masjedi, Mohammad Reza; Shadmehr, Mohammad B; Fadaizadeh, Lida; Chaibakhsh, Samira

2016-09-01

Evidence from the USA and elsewhere has linked smoking depictions in movies with youth smoking initiation. Prior research has not focused on depictions in films produced in the Middle East, however. We reviewed the 10 most commercially successful Iranian films released each year over three decades (1982-2011) to determine trends in depictions of tobacco use over time. Each movie was reviewed in its entirety, and depictions of smoking were recorded and classified as direct (characters holding or using tobacco products) and indirect (tobacco products appearing in the frame, but not being used). Time trends in average duration of direct, indirect and total smoking depictions were analysed using linear regression and Cohen's κ coefficient. The mean duration of tobacco depictions in the most commercially successful Iranian films fluctuated yearly over the 3 decades, but with an overall significant upward trend (pfilm industry to minimise this important source of influence on tobacco initiation in young people. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

A late Holocene pollen record from proglacial Oblong Tarn, Mount Kenya.

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Colin J Courtney Mustaphi

Full Text Available High-elevation ecosystems, such as those on Mount Kenya are undergoing significant changes, with accelerated glacial ice losses over the twentieth century creating new space for alpine plants to establish. These ecosystems respond rapidly to climatic variability and within decades of glacial retreat, Afroalpine pioneering taxa stabilize barren land and facilitate soil development, promoting complex patches of alpine vegetation. Periglacial lake sediment records can be used to examine centennial and millennial scale variations in alpine and montane vegetation compositions. Here we present a 5300-year composite pollen record from an alpine tarn (4370 m asl in the Hausberg Valley of Mount Kenya. Overall, the record shows little apparent variation in the pollen assemblage through time with abundant montane forest taxa derived and transported from mid elevations, notably high abundances of aerophilous Podocarpus pollen. Afroalpine taxa included Alchemilla, Helichrysum and Dendrosenecio-type, reflecting local vegetation cover. Pollen from the ericaceous zone was present throughout the record and Poaceae percentages were high, similar to other high elevation pollen records from eastern Africa. The Oblong Tarn record pollen assemblage composition and abundances of Podocarpus and Poaceae since the late Holocene (~4000 cal yr BP-present are similar to pollen records from mid-to-high elevation sites of nearby high mountains such as Mount Elgon and Kilimanjaro. These results suggest a significant amount of uphill pollen transport with only minor apparent variation in local taxa. Slight decreasing trends in alpine and ericaceous taxonomic groups show a long-term response to global late Holocene cooling and a step decrease in rate of change estimated from the pollen assemblages at 3100 cal yr BP in response to regional hydroclimatic variability. Changes in the principal component axis scores of the pollen assemblage were coherent with an independent mid

Twenty-three years (1993-2015) of homicide trends in the Transkei region of South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Banwari, Meel

2018-01-01

Background Transkei is regarded as a rural part of South Africa. It was one of the black homelands where rigorous apartheid was practised. The incidence of firearm-related deaths used to be very high, but after the implementation of the Firearm Control Act in 2002, the trend changed. However, the murder rate is still a major public-health problem in this region of South Africa. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate 23 years (1993-2015) of homicide trends in the Transkei region of South Africa. Method A review of records of medico-legal autopsies performed at Mthatha Forensic Pathology Laboratory from 1993 to 2015 was undertaken. Results Between 1993 and 2015, the number of autopsies performed on people who had died unnatural deaths was 24,693. The records of 12,618 (51%) autopsies on victims of homicide between 1993 and 2015 were available for study. The average rate of murder was 85/100,000 of the population in this region. Of these deaths, on average 34/100,000 were caused by sharp-edged instruments, 30/100,000 by gunshot wounds and 21/100,000 by blunt trauma. The rate of murder of males was significantly higher than that of females, with a ratio of 5.7:1, and over the period of 23 years covered by this study, the incidence was highest (30.5/100,000) in the young age group between 21 and 30 years. Conclusion The rate of homicide is very high in the Transkei region of South Africa. It needs urgent intervention to curb unnecessary deaths.

Estimating decadal variability in sea level from tide gauge records: An application to the North Sea

OpenAIRE

Frederikse, Thomas; Riva, R.E.M.; Slobbe, Cornelis; Broerse, D.B.T.; Verlaan, Martin

2016-01-01

One of the primary observational data sets of sea level is represented by the tide gauge record. We propose a new method to estimate variability on decadal time scales from tide gauge data by using a state space formulation, which couples the direct observations to a predefined state space model by using a Kalman filter. The model consists of a time-varying trend and seasonal cycle, and variability induced by several physical processes, such as wind, atmospheric pressure changes and teleconne...

Water-quality trends in the nation’s rivers and streams, 1972–2012—Data preparation, statistical methods, and trend results

Science.gov (United States)

Oelsner, Gretchen P.; Sprague, Lori A.; Murphy, Jennifer C.; Zuellig, Robert E.; Johnson, Henry M.; Ryberg, Karen R.; Falcone, James A.; Stets, Edward G.; Vecchia, Aldo V.; Riskin, Melissa L.; De Cicco, Laura A.; Mills, Taylor J.; Farmer, William H.

2017-04-04

Since passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, Federal, State, and local governments have invested billions of dollars to reduce pollution entering rivers and streams. To understand the return on these investments and to effectively manage and protect the Nation’s water resources in the future, we need to know how and why water quality has been changing over time. As part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Program, data from the U.S. Geological Survey, along with multiple other Federal, State, Tribal, regional, and local agencies, have been used to support the most comprehensive assessment conducted to date of surface-water-quality trends in the United States. This report documents the methods used to determine trends in water quality and ecology because these methods are vital to ensuring the quality of the results. Specific objectives are to document (1) the data compilation and processing steps used to identify river and stream sites throughout the Nation suitable for water-quality, pesticide, and ecology trend analysis, (2) the statistical methods used to determine trends in target parameters, (3) considerations for water-quality, pesticide, and ecology data and streamflow data when modeling trends, (4) sensitivity analyses for selecting data and interpreting trend results with the Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season method, and (5) the final trend results at each site. The scope of this study includes trends in water-quality concentrations and loads (nutrient, sediment, major ion, salinity, and carbon), pesticide concentrations and loads, and metrics for aquatic ecology (fish, invertebrates, and algae) for four time periods: (1) 1972–2012, (2) 1982–2012, (3) 1992–2012, and (4) 2002–12. In total, nearly 12,000 trends in concentration, load, and ecology metrics were evaluated in this study; there were 11,893 combinations of sites, parameters, and trend periods. The