Common integration sites of published datasets identified using a graph-based framework

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Alessandro Vasciaveo

2016-01-01

Full Text Available With next-generation sequencing, the genomic data available for the characterization of integration sites (IS has dramatically increased. At present, in a single experiment, several thousand viral integration genome targets can be investigated to define genomic hot spots. In a previous article, we renovated a formal CIS analysis based on a rigid fixed window demarcation into a more stretchy definition grounded on graphs. Here, we present a selection of supporting data related to the graph-based framework (GBF from our previous article, in which a collection of common integration sites (CIS was identified on six published datasets. In this work, we will focus on two datasets, ISRTCGD and ISHIV, which have been previously discussed. Moreover, we show in more detail the workflow design that originates the datasets.

Common Ground on Climate Change: Pairing Opposing Viewpoints for Conversations about Climate Change

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Kirk, K. B.; Duggan-Haas, D.; Hayhoe, K.

2017-12-01

In American public discourse, people tend to strongly identify with the viewpoints held by their cultural and political tribes. However, entrenched positions do little to advance understanding, or work toward solving problems constructively. Worse yet, it has become commonplace to dismiss or demonize those coming from a different point of view - leading to the vitriolic stalemate that often characterizes social media and comment threads when it comes to climate change. One way to break this pattern is to invite people with opposing opinions to actually talk to one another. This presentation describes the lessons learned during the Common Ground on Climate Change project, in which people with contrasting views about climate change engage in a moderated interview with each other. Prior to the interview, participants complete a set of values-based questions. The goal is to reveal areas of common ground between apparent opposites, such as a sense of stewardship for Earth's resources, or an opinion that solutions to climate change will be more beneficial than harmful. The structure of the interviews is based on the hypothesis that if a conversation begins with an appreciation of common values, it becomes easier to broach areas of disagreement. Participants are matched up in one-on-one moderated interviews where they are encouraged to share their concerns, ideas, and priorities about the validity of climate science, the need for urgent action, and the types of solutions they find most tenable. Emerging themes from this series of interviews include the value of a diversity of outlooks, and the ability for moderated conversations to find surprising areas of agreement. Articles about the interviews also appear on the Yale Climate Connections website, https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/author/karin/.

Measures and mechanisms of common ground: backchannels, conversational repair, and interactive alignmentin free and task-oriented social interactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fusaroli, Riccardo; Tylén, Kristian; Madsen, Katrine Garly

A crucial aspect of everyday conversational interactions is our ability to establish and maintain common ground. Understanding the relevant mechanisms involved in such social coordination remains an important challenge for cognitive science. While common ground is often discussed in very general ...

Expectations for managing contaminated ground and groundwater: developing a common view of NDA and regulators - 16252

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, Anna

2009-01-01

The management of contaminated ground and groundwater is a notable contributor to dealing with the challenge we face in cleaning up the legacy of the UK's civil nuclear industry in a safe, cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner. To facilitate this mission, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Environmental Regulators and Safety Regulators are working together to develop common expectations for the management of contaminated ground and groundwater arising on and extending off nuclear licensed sites in the UK. The aims of this work are to: - set out shared expectations for land quality management, explaining any differing expectations where consensus is difficult; - interpret expectations to ensure they are clear and implementable, facilitating planning of programmes and deliverables; - provide a framework for dialogue against which progress in land quality management can be mapped; - promote positive action to manage land quality in a proportionate and sustainable manner to achieve consistent standards; and, - identify whether areas of the regulatory framework or NDA contractual requirements warrant review and propose improvements for consideration, as appropriate. This paper outlines the process currently ongoing to identify the best way of achieving these aims in a manner that avoids compromising the respective statutory obligations, duties and functions of each party. (author)

Bridging Gaps in Common Ground: Speakers Design Their Gestures for Their Listeners

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Hilliard, Caitlin; Cook, Susan Wagner

2016-01-01

Communication is shaped both by what we are trying to say and by whom we are saying it to. We examined whether and how shared information influences the gestures speakers produce along with their speech. Unlike prior work examining effects of common ground on speech and gesture, we examined a situation in which some speakers have the same amount…

Working Together Toward a Common Goal: A Grounded Theory of Nurse-Physician Collaboration.

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Fewster-Thuente, Lori

2015-01-01

Working together toward a common goal is an empirically derived theory that can guide education and practice to improve patient outcomes while saving money and lives. Grounded theory was used to explore nurses' and physicians' experiences with collaboration in order to understand the process intrinsically.

Common ground: An environmental ethic for Los Alamos National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menlove, F.L.

1991-01-01

Three predominant philosophies have characterized American business ethical thinking over the past several decades. The first phase is the ethics of self-interest'' which argues that maximizing self-interest coincidentally maximizes the common good. The second phase is legality ethics.'' Proponents argue that what is important is knowing the rules and following them scrupulously. The third phase might be called stake-holder ethics.'' A central tenant is that everyone affected by a decision has a moral hold on the decision maker. This paper will discuss one recent initiative of the Los Alamos National Laboratory to move beyond rules and regulations toward an environmental ethic that integrates the values of stakeholder ethics'' into the Laboratory's historical culture and value systems. These Common Ground Principles are described. 11 refs.

Common Ground of Two Paradigms: Incorporating Critical Theory into Current Art Therapy Practices

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Nolan, Emily

2013-01-01

Clinical art therapy and studio-based community art therapy represent two major paradigms in art therapy practice. This viewpoint explores how critical theory can be incorporated into both paradigms and result in common ground between them. Critical theory encompasses an understanding of oppression in psychological, social, and cultural contexts…

Bilateral amygdala damage impairs the acquisition and use of common ground in social interaction.

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Gupta, Rupa; Duff, Melissa C; Tranel, Daniel

2011-03-01

The development of "common ground," or mutual knowledge of shared information, is believed to require the ability to update a mental representation of another person's thoughts and knowledge based on verbal information and nonverbal social and emotional signals, to facilitate economical communication. As in other forms of everyday social communication, the development of common ground likely requires the orchestration of multiple cognitive processes supported by various neural systems. Here, we investigate the contribution of the amygdala to these processes. SM, a patient with complete, focal, bilateral amygdala damage, and deficits in social and emotional processing, and five healthy comparison participants, each interacted with a familiar partner. We investigated the participants' ability to develop and use referential labels across 24 dynamic, collaborative interactions. Participants verbally directed their partner how to arrange a set of 12 abstract tangrams while separated by a low barrier, allowing them to see each other but hiding their tangrams. In contrast to comparison participants, SM exhibited an impaired rate of learning across trials and did not show the typical simplification in the labels generated during the interactions. Detailed analyses of SM's interactional discourse and social behavior suggested that she has impaired perspective-taking or what can be interpreted as deficient "theory of mind," manifested in abnormal "language-in-use." These results support the conclusion that the amygdala, a structure critical for social and emotional processing, plays an important role in the acquisition and use of common ground and in social communication more broadly.

Constructing New Theory for Identifying Students with Emotional Disturbance: A Constructivist Approach to Grounded Theory

OpenAIRE

Dori Barnett

2012-01-01

A grounded theory study that examined how practitioners in a county alternative and correctional education setting identify youth with emotional and behavioral difficulties for special education services provides an exemplar for a constructivist approach to grounded theory methodology. Discussion focuses on how a constructivist orientation to grounded theory methodology informed research decisions, shaped the development of the emergent grounded theory, and prompted a way of thinking about da...

On the bodies of women: the common ground between Islam and Christianity in Nigeria.

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Pereira, Charmaine; Ibrahim, Jibrin

2010-01-01

This article explores the common ideological ground between Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, in the ways in which gender and sexuality are configured in relation to women's bodies. The latter constitute key sites for the inscription of social norms and practices inherent in particular interpretations of religion. We proceed by examining the interplay between religion and politics in historical context and in specific concrete instances. While the religious right among Muslims and Christians share the view that women's bodies are sexually corrupting and therefore in need of control, this perspective is also found in secular institutions. At the same time Christians and Muslims are strongly opposed to controls on women's bodies that may lead to either religious group being identified as 'the other'. The linkage made between women's bodies and 'public morality' produces diverse forms of gender inequality. The moralising of political economy that these processes entail complicates the terrain on which challenges to the politicisation of religion and its gender politics need to be sustained.

Constructing New Theory for Identifying Students with Emotional Disturbance: A Constructivist Approach to Grounded Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dori Barnett

2012-06-01

Full Text Available A grounded theory study that examined how practitioners in a county alternative and correctional education setting identify youth with emotional and behavioral difficulties for special education services provides an exemplar for a constructivist approach to grounded theory methodology. Discussion focuses on how a constructivist orientation to grounded theory methodology informed research decisions, shaped the development of the emergent grounded theory, and prompted a way of thinking about data collection and analysis. Implications for future research directions and policy and practice in the field of special and alternative education are discussed.

Hydrology and water law: what is their future common ground?

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Piper, Arthur M.; Thomas, Harold E.

1957-01-01

We live in an age of social and economic evolution--evolution so deep reaching and rapid it constitutes ad revolution in numerous fields of human concern. Long-standing concepts of what is appropriate and orderly face drastic modification if they are to survive. To this situation the principles of applied hydrology and the tenets of water law are no exceptions. Their common ground, incomplete in the past, becomes tenuous when projected into the future. To hydrologists it is common knowledge that the Nation has some trouble spots tin water supply, occasioned by burgeoning population, by standards of living that seem luxurious to other peoples if not to us, and by tremendously dynamic industry whose voracious thirst for water seems insatiable. Seldom is the "trouble" a mere lack of water in a quantity sufficient to serve all real needs; rather, water usually is available only part of the time, at greater-than-customary cost, or under competition among several potential uses. We can expect only that such spots will increase in number and in geographic reach.

Jung's equation of the ground of being with the ground of psyche.

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Dourley, John

2011-09-01

The paper amplifies Jung's psychology of ground associated with the culmination of the alchemical process in the unus mundus. It argues that Jung and Dorn identify the experience of the ground with the experience of divinity as the common originary source of individual and totality. It notes the monistic and pantheistic implications of the experience and goes on to amplify the experience through Eckhart's mediaeval mysticism of ground and Paul Tillich's modern philosophical/theological understanding of ground. It concludes that the Jung/Dorn psychological understanding of ground supersedes monotheistic consciousness. Their vision supports the emergence of a societal myth based on the identification of the ground as the source of all divinities and faith in them. This source currently urges a mythic consciousness that would surpass its past and current concretions and so alleviate the threat that monotheistic consciousness in any domain now poses to human survival. © 2011, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

COMMON GROUNDS BETWEEN PRINTMAKING AND STREET ART

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Burcak Balamber

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Graffiti movement, born as a result of an effort of the youth, who felt themselves socially excluded and alone, to show their existence and identities during the 1960s, expanded its scope owing to street based artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat entering to the galleries, and transformed into an artistic manner of expression having aesthetic concerns by adopting a more inclusive definition ‘street art’. During this transformation of street art,street artists experimented with various methods from many different disciplines and hence created works in a wide range of varieties in terms of plastic and artistic values. Among these disciplines, printmakinghastaken its own place in street artas a discipline thatdeeply influenced street artists.Printmaking has fascinated street artists and become a part of their production process, not only with its philosophy sharing common grounds with street art and advantages in terms of its tecnical practices but also its unique plastic and linear values.Thanks to the opportunities of printmaking, street art has succeeded creating a tremendous impression worldwide, and even positioned itself into today’s greatest museums/gallery halls. This article aims to show how and in what way printmaking has influenced street art being in a transformation since the 1960s, and to put an emphasis on theimportance of printmaking on today’s street art.

The illusion of common ground

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cowley, Stephen; Harvey, Matthew

2016-01-01

When people talk about “common ground”, they invoke shared experiences, convictions, and emotions. In the language sciences, however, ‘common ground’ also has a technical sense. Many taking a representational view of language and cognition seek to explain that everyday feeling in terms of how...... isolated individuals “use” language to communicate. Autonomous cognitive agents are said to use words to communicate inner thoughts and experiences; in such a framework, ‘common ground’ describes a body of information that people allegedly share, hold common, and use to reason about how intentions have......, together with concerted bodily (and vocal) activity, serve to organize, regulate and coordinate both attention and the verbal and non-verbal activity that it gives rise to. Since wordings are normative, they can be used to develop skills for making cultural sense of environments and other peoples’ doings...

A Computer-Based Instrument That Identifies Common Science Misconceptions

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Larrabee, Timothy G.; Stein, Mary; Barman, Charles

2006-01-01

This article describes the rationale for and development of a computer-based instrument that helps identify commonly held science misconceptions. The instrument, known as the Science Beliefs Test, is a 47-item instrument that targets topics in chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, and astronomy. The use of an online data collection system…

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage does not impair the development and use of common ground in social interaction: implications for cognitive theory of mind.

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Gupta, Rupa; Tranel, Daniel; Duff, Melissa C

2012-01-01

During conversation, interactants draw on their shared communicative context and history ("common ground") to help decide what to say next, tailoring utterances based on their knowledge of what the listener knows. The use of common ground draws on an understanding of the thoughts and feelings of others to create and update a model of what is known by the other person, employing cognitive processes such as theory of mind. We tested the hypothesis that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a neural region involved in processing and interpreting social and emotional information, would be critical for the development and use of common ground. We studied seven patients with bilateral vmPFC damage and seven age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy comparison participants, each interacting with a familiar partner. Across 24 trials, participants verbally directed their partners how to arrange a set of 12 abstract tangram cards. Our hypothesis was not supported: the vmPFC and healthy comparison groups showed similar development and use of common ground, evident in reduction in time and words used to describe the cards, similar increases in the use of definite references (e.g., the horse), and comparable use of verbal play (playful language) in their interactions. These results argue against the idea that the vmPFC is critical for the development and use of common ground in social interaction. We propose that a cognitive and neuroanatomical bifurcation in theory of mind processes may explain this outcome. The vmPFC may be important for affective theory of mind (the ability to understand another's feelings); however, the development and use of common ground in social interaction may place higher demands on the ability to understand another's knowledge, or cognitive theory of mind, which may not require the vmPFC. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consistent interactive segmentation of pulmonary ground glass nodules identified in CT studies

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Zhang, Li; Fang, Ming; Naidich, David P.; Novak, Carol L.

2004-05-01

Ground glass nodules (GGNs) have proved especially problematic in lung cancer diagnosis, as despite frequently being malignant they characteristically have extremely slow rates of growth. This problem is further magnified by the small size of many of these lesions now being routinely detected following the introduction of multislice CT scanners capable of acquiring contiguous high resolution 1 to 1.25 mm sections throughout the thorax in a single breathhold period. Although segmentation of solid nodules can be used clinically to determine volume doubling times quantitatively, reliable methods for segmentation of pure ground glass nodules have yet to be introduced. Our purpose is to evaluate a newly developed computer-based segmentation method for rapid and reproducible measurements of pure ground glass nodules. 23 pure or mixed ground glass nodules were identified in a total of 8 patients by a radiologist and subsequently segmented by our computer-based method using Markov random field and shape analysis. The computer-based segmentation was initialized by a click point. Methodological consistency was assessed using the overlap ratio between 3 segmentations initialized by 3 different click points for each nodule. The 95% confidence interval on the mean of the overlap ratios proved to be [0.984, 0.998]. The computer-based method failed on two nodules that were difficult to segment even manually either due to especially low contrast or markedly irregular margins. While achieving consistent manual segmentation of ground glass nodules has proven problematic most often due to indistinct boundaries and interobserver variability, our proposed method introduces a powerful new tool for obtaining reproducible quantitative measurements of these lesions. It is our intention to further document the value of this approach with a still larger set of ground glass nodules.

Identifying natural and anthropogenically-induced geohazards from satellite ground motion and geospatial data: Stoke-on-Trent, UK

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Jordan, Hannah; Cigna, Francesca; Bateson, Luke

2017-12-01

Determining the location and nature of hazardous ground motion resulting from natural and anthropogenic processes such as landslides, tectonic movement and mining is essential for hazard mitigation and sustainable resource use. Ground motion estimates from satellite ERS-1/2 persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) were combined with geospatial data to identify areas of observed geohazards in Stoke-on-Trent, UK. This investigation was performed within the framework of the EC FP7-SPACE PanGeo project which aimed to provide free and open access to geohazard information for 52 urban areas across Europe. Geohazards identified within the city of Stoke-on-Trent and neighbouring rural areas are presented here alongside an examination of the PanGeo methodology. A total of 14 areas experiencing ground instability caused by natural and anthropogenic processes have been defined, covering 122.35 km2. These are attributed to a range of geohazards, including landslides, ground dissolution, made ground and mining activities. The dominant geohazard (by area) is ground movement caused by post-mining groundwater recharge and mining-related subsidence (93.19% of total geohazard area), followed by landsliding (5.81%). Observed ground motions along the satellite line-of-sight reach maxima of +35.23 mm/yr and -22.57 mm/yr. A combination of uplift, subsidence and downslope movement is displayed. 'Construction sites' and 'continuous urban fabric' (European Urban Atlas land use types) form the land uses most affected (by area) by ground motion and 'discontinuous very low density urban fabric' the least. Areas of 'continuous urban fabric' also show the highest average velocity towards the satellite (5.08 mm/yr) and the highest PS densities (1262.92 points/km2) along with one of the lowest standard deviations. Rural land uses tend to result in lower PS densities and higher standard deviations, a consequence of fewer suitable reflectors in these regions. PSI is also limited in its ability to

Reaching common ground: a patient-family-based conceptual framework of quality EOL care.

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Howell, Doris; Brazil, Kevin

2005-01-01

Improvement in the quality of end-of-life (EOL) care is a priority health care issue since serious deficiencies in quality of care have been reported across care settings. Increasing pressure is now focused on Canadian health care organizations to be accountable for the quality of palliative and EOL care delivered. Numerous domains of quality EOL care upon which to create accountability frameworks are now published, with some derived from the patient/family perspective. There is a need to reach common ground on the domains of quality EOL care valued by patients and families in order to develop consistent performance measures and set priorities for health care improvement. This paper describes a meta-synthesis study to develop a common conceptual framework of quality EOL care integrating attributes of quality valued by patients and their families.

Identifying Barriers in Implementing Outcomes-Based Assessment Program Review: A Grounded Theory Analysis

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Bresciani, Marilee J.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to identify the typical barriers encountered by faculty and administrators when implementing outcomes-based assessment program review. An analysis of interviews with faculty and administrators at nine institutions revealed a theory that faculty and administrators' promotion, tenure (if applicable),…

Common Lung Microbiome Identified among Mechanically Ventilated Surgical Patients.

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Ashley D Smith

Full Text Available The examination of the pulmonary microbiome in patients with non-chronic disease states has not been extensively examined. Traditional culture based screening methods are often unable to identify bacteria from bronchoalveolar lavage samples. The advancement of next-generation sequencing technologies allows for a culture-independent molecular based analysis to determine the microbial composition in the lung of this patient population. For this study, the Ion Torrent PGM system was used to assess the microbial complexity of culture negative bronchoalveolar lavage samples. A group of samples were identified that all displayed high diversity and similar relative abundance of bacteria. This group consisted of Hydrogenophaga, unclassified Bacteroidetes, Pedobacter, Thauera, and Acinetobacter. These bacteria may be representative of a common non-pathogenic pulmonary microbiome associated within this population of patients.

Scientists and Faith Communities in Dialogue - Finding Common Ground to Care for our Common Home

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Jablonski, L. M.

2017-12-01

World-wide, faith communities are a key place for education and outreach to the general adult population. The sacred responsibility to care for the earth, living sustainability and concern for the poor are nearly universal priorities across faith communities. Scientists and people of faith share in common experiences of awe and wonder and ethical roles as citizens. The majority of faith communities have statements on climate changes, environmental justice, and stewardship, and respond with education, action plans and advocacy. People of faith are increasingly seeking science expertise to better understand the science and best solutions to implement. Transformation of point of view often requires heart-felt motivation (domain of religion) as well as knowledge (science). Scientists can participate in alleviating environmental justice by providing data and education to communities. Expert testimony is a critical service. Pope Francis' environmental encyclical Laudato si, engaged diverse scientists in its writing and outreach. Francis invites our continued dialogue with people of faith and goodwill of all societal sectors and fields to achieve an integral ecology that integrates science, economics, and impacts on the poor. For scientists to be most effective in sharing expertise, and building understanding and trust in scientific findings, skill- building is needed in: communication, finding common ground, intercultural competency, working with diverse populations and religious literacy. Educational initiatives bridging scientists and faith-communities will be highlighted including within: the Ecological Society of America, American Assn for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, faith-based & Environmental Justice networks, Nature centers, Higher Education (including Seminary) Initiatives and the Hanley Sustainability Institute, and interfaith religious organizations engaged with scientists. Bridge-building and ongoing partnerships of scientists, EJ

Common mutations identified in the MLH1 gene in familial Lynch syndrome

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Jisha Elias

2017-12-01

In this study we identified three families with Lynch syndrome from a rural cancer center in western India (KCHRC, Goraj, Gujarat, where 70-75 CRC patients are seen annually. DNA isolated from the blood of consented family members of all three families (8-10 members/family was subjected to NGS sequencing methods on an Illumina HiSeq 4000 platform. We identified unique mutations in the MLH1 gene in all three HNPCC family members. Two of the three unrelated families shared a common mutation (154delA and 156delA. Total 8 members of a family were identified as carriers for 156delA mutation of which 5 members were unaffected while 3 were affected (age of onset: 1 member <30yrs & 2 were>40yr. The family with 154delA mutation showed 2 affected members (>40yr carrying the mutations.LYS618DEL mutation found in 8 members of the third family showed that both affected and unaffected carried the mutation. Thus the common mutations identified in the MLH1 gene in two unrelated families had a high risk for lynch syndrome especially above the age of 40.

Identifying effective actions to guide volunteer-based and nationwide conservation efforts for a ground-nesting farmland bird

OpenAIRE

Santangeli, Andrea; Arroyo, Beatriz; Millon, Alexandre; Bretagnolle, Vincent

2015-01-01

Modern farming practices threaten wildlife in different ways, and failure to identify the complexity of multiple threats acting in synergy may result in ineffective management. To protect ground-nesting birds in farmland, monitoring and mitigating impacts of mechanical harvesting is crucial. Here, we use 6 years of data from a nationwide volunteer-based monitoring scheme of the Montagu's harrier, a ground-nesting raptor, in French farmlands. We assess the effectiveness of alternative nest pro...

Societal marketing concept and spirituality in the workplace theory: finding the common ground

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Anselmo Ferreira Vasconcelos

Full Text Available This paper suggests that there exist many theoretical linkages between the societal marketing concept (SMC and spirituality in the workplace (SWP theory. Thus, it is reviewed the literature of both SMC and the emerging field of SWP theory in order to find unexplored commonalities between them. As a result, it acknowledges that SMC broached a new perspective in marketing discipline regarding that it added sizeable social and ethical responsibility to the marketer's role. Most importantly, it posits that the common ground between SMC and SWP theory is, in large measure, the moral reasoning. Overall, this study expands McKee's work (2003 on theoretical intersections between marketing and the spirituality philosophy or paradigm. Rather, it proposes that there is a clear evidence of theoretical overlapping in some constructs, namely, employees, work, workplace, quality of life, ethics, corporate citizenship, and social responsibility. In addition, it is also proposed that SMC-driven organizations are poised to embrace an overall spiritual orientation - whether they have not already done it.

Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Common Ground System (CGS) Current Technical Performance Measures

Science.gov (United States)

Cochran, S.; Panas, M.; Jamilkowski, M. L.; Miller, S. W.

2015-12-01

ABSTRACT The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly acquiring the next-generation civilian weather and environmental satellite system: the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). The Joint Polar Satellite System will replace the afternoon orbit component and ground processing system of the current Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) managed by NOAA. The JPSS satellites will carry a suite of sensors designed to collect meteorological, oceanographic, climatological and geophysical observations of the Earth. The ground processing system for JPSS is known as the JPSS Common Ground System (JPSS CGS). Developed and maintained by Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS), the CGS is a multi-mission enterprise system serving NOAA, NASA and their national and international partners. The CGS has demonstrated its scalability and flexibility to incorporate multiple missions efficiently and with minimal cost, schedule and risk, while strengthening global partnerships in weather and environmental monitoring. The CGS architecture is being upgraded to Block 2.0 in 2015 to "operationalize" S-NPP, leverage lessons learned to date in multi-mission support, take advantage of more reliable and efficient technologies, and satisfy new requirements and constraints in the continually evolving budgetary environment. To ensure the CGS meets these needs, we have developed 49 Technical Performance Measures (TPMs) across 10 categories, such as data latency, operational availability and scalability. This paper will provide an overview of the CGS Block 2.0 architecture, with particular focus on the 10 TPM categories listed above. We will provide updates on how we ensure the deployed architecture meets these TPMs to satisfy our multi-mission objectives with the deployment of Block 2.0.

Potential Impact of Rainfall on the Air-Surface Exchange of Total Gaseous Mercury from Two Common Urban Ground Surfaces

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The impact of rainfall on total gaseous mercury (TGM) flux from pavement and street dirt surfaces was investigated in an effort to determine the influence of wet weather events on mercury transport in urban watersheds. Street dirt and pavement are common urban ground surfaces tha...

Relational grounding facilitates development of scientifically useful multiscale models

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Lam Tai

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract We review grounding issues that influence the scientific usefulness of any biomedical multiscale model (MSM. Groundings are the collection of units, dimensions, and/or objects to which a variable or model constituent refers. To date, models that primarily use continuous mathematics rely heavily on absolute grounding, whereas those that primarily use discrete software paradigms (e.g., object-oriented, agent-based, actor typically employ relational grounding. We review grounding issues and identify strategies to address them. We maintain that grounding issues should be addressed at the start of any MSM project and should be reevaluated throughout the model development process. We make the following points. Grounding decisions influence model flexibility, adaptability, and thus reusability. Grounding choices should be influenced by measures, uncertainty, system information, and the nature of available validation data. Absolute grounding complicates the process of combining models to form larger models unless all are grounded absolutely. Relational grounding facilitates referent knowledge embodiment within computational mechanisms but requires separate model-to-referent mappings. Absolute grounding can simplify integration by forcing common units and, hence, a common integration target, but context change may require model reengineering. Relational grounding enables synthesis of large, composite (multi-module models that can be robust to context changes. Because biological components have varying degrees of autonomy, corresponding components in MSMs need to do the same. Relational grounding facilitates achieving such autonomy. Biomimetic analogues designed to facilitate translational research and development must have long lifecycles. Exploring mechanisms of normal-to-disease transition requires model components that are grounded relationally. Multi-paradigm modeling requires both hyperspatial and relational grounding.

A Systems Approach to Developing an Affordable Space Ground Transportation Architecture using a Commonality Approach

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Garcia, Jerry L.; McCleskey, Carey M.; Bollo, Timothy R.; Rhodes, Russel E.; Robinson, John W.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a structured approach for achieving a compatible Ground System (GS) and Flight System (FS) architecture that is affordable, productive and sustainable. This paper is an extension of the paper titled "Approach to an Affordable and Productive Space Transportation System" by McCleskey et al. This paper integrates systems engineering concepts and operationally efficient propulsion system concepts into a structured framework for achieving GS and FS compatibility in the mid-term and long-term time frames. It also presents a functional and quantitative relationship for assessing system compatibility called the Architecture Complexity Index (ACI). This paper: (1) focuses on systems engineering fundamentals as it applies to improving GS and FS compatibility; (2) establishes mid-term and long-term spaceport goals; (3) presents an overview of transitioning a spaceport to an airport model; (4) establishes a framework for defining a ground system architecture; (5) presents the ACI concept; (6) demonstrates the approach by presenting a comparison of different GS architectures; and (7) presents a discussion on the benefits of using this approach with a focus on commonality.

Stochastic correlative firing for figure-ground segregation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Zhe

2005-03-01

Segregation of sensory inputs into separate objects is a central aspect of perception and arises in all sensory modalities. The figure-ground segregation problem requires identifying an object of interest in a complex scene, in many cases given binaural auditory or binocular visual observations. The computations required for visual and auditory figure-ground segregation share many common features and can be cast within a unified framework. Sensory perception can be viewed as a problem of optimizing information transmission. Here we suggest a stochastic correlative firing mechanism and an associative learning rule for figure-ground segregation in several classic sensory perception tasks, including the cocktail party problem in binaural hearing, binocular fusion of stereo images, and Gestalt grouping in motion perception.

Strategies to keep working among workers with common mental disorders - a grounded theory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Danielsson, Louise; Elf, Mikael; Hensing, Gunnel

2017-11-28

Most people with common mental disorders (CMDs) are employed and working, but few studies have looked into how they manage their jobs while ill. This study explores workers' experiences of strategies to keep working while suffering from CMDs. In this grounded theory study, we interviewed 19 women and eight men with depression or anxiety disorders. They were 19-65 years old and had different occupations. Constant comparison method was used in the analysis. We identified a core pattern in the depressed and anxious workers' attempts to sustain their capacities, defined as Managing work space. The core pattern comprised four categories describing different cognitive, behavioral, and social strategies. The categories relate to a process of sustainability. Two categories reflected more reactive and temporary strategies, occurring mainly in the onset phase of illness: Forcing the work role and Warding off work strain. The third category, Recuperating from work, reflected strategies during both onset and recovery phases. The fourth category, Reflexive adaptation, was present mainly in the recovery phase and involved reflective strategies interpreted as more sustainable over time. The results can deepen understanding among rehabilitation professionals about different work-related strategies in depressed and anxious workers. Increased awareness of the meaning and characteristics of strategies can inform a person-oriented approach in rehabilitation. The knowledge can be used in clinical encounters to reflect together with the patient, exploring present options and introducing modifications to their particular work and life context. Implications for rehabilitation Self-managed work functioning in common mental disorders involves diverse strategies. Strategies interpreted as sustainable over time, seem to be reflective in the sense that the worker consciously applies and adapts the strategies. However, at the onset of illness, such reflection is difficult to develop as the

The role of above-ground competition and nitrogen vs. phosphorus enrichment in seedling survival of common European plant species of semi-natural grasslands.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobias Ceulemans

Full Text Available Anthropogenic activities have severely altered fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus in ecosystems worldwide. In grasslands, subsequent negative effects are commonly attributed to competitive exclusion of plant species following increased above-ground biomass production. However, some studies have shown that this does not fully account for nutrient enrichment effects, questioning whether lowering competition by reducing grassland productivity through mowing or herbivory can mitigate the environmental impact of nutrient pollution. Furthermore, few studies so far discriminate between nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. We performed a full factorial experiment in greenhouse mesocosms combining nitrogen and phosphorus addition with two clipping regimes designed to relax above-ground competition. Next, we studied the survival and growth of seedlings of eight common European grassland species and found that five out of eight species showed higher survival under the clipping regime with the lowest above-ground competition. Phosphorus addition negatively affected seven plant species and nitrogen addition negatively affected four plant species. Importantly, the negative effects of nutrient addition and higher above-ground competition were independent of each other for all but one species. Our results suggest that at any given level of soil nutrients, relaxation of above-ground competition allows for higher seedling survival in grasslands. At the same time, even at low levels of above-ground competition, nutrient enrichment negatively affects survival as compared to nutrient-poor conditions. Therefore, although maintaining low above-ground competition appears essential for species' recruitment, for instance through mowing or herbivory, these management efforts are likely to be insufficient and we conclude that environmental policies aimed to reduce both excess nitrogen and particularly phosphorus inputs are also necessary.

Scientific and Cultural Knowledge in Intercultural Science Education: Student Perceptions of Common Ground

Science.gov (United States)

Gondwe, Mzamose; Longnecker, Nancy

2015-02-01

There is no consensus in the science education research community on the meanings and representations of western science and indigenous knowledge or the relationships between them. How students interpret these relationships and their perceptions of any connections has rarely been studied. This study reports student perceptions of the meaning and relationship between scientific and cultural knowledge. Personal meaning maps adapted for small groups were conducted in seven culturally diverse schools, school years 7-9 (with students aged 12-15 years) ( n = 190), with six schools in Western Australia and one school in Malawi, Africa. Of the six Australian school groups, two comprised Australian Aboriginal students in an after-school homework programme and the other four schools had a multicultural mix of students. Students in this study identified connections between scientific and cultural knowledge and constructed connections from particular thematic areas—mainly factual content knowledge as opposed to ideas related to values, attitudes, beliefs and identity. Australian Aboriginal students made fewer connections between the two knowledge domains than Malawian students whose previous science teacher had made explicit connections in her science class. Examples from Aboriginal culture were the most dominant illustrations of cultural knowledge in Australian schools, even in school groups with students from other cultures. In light of our findings, we discuss the construction of common ground between scientific knowledge and cultural knowledge and the role of teachers as cultural brokers and travel agents. We conclude with recommendations on creating learning environments that embrace different cultural knowledges and that promote explicit and enquiring discussions of values, attitudes, beliefs and identity associated with both knowledge domains.

The Role Innovative Housing Models Play in the Struggle against Social Exclusion in Cities: The Brisbane Common Ground Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petra Perolini

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The history of housing in Australia is a textbook example of socio-spatial exclusion as described, defined and analysed by commentators from Mumford to Lefebvre. It has been exacerbated by a culture of home ownership that has led to an affordability crisis. An examination of the history reveals that the problems are structural and must be approached not as a practical solution to the public provision of housing, but as a reshaping of lives, a reconnection to community, and as an ethical and equitable “right to the city”. This “Right to the City” has underpinned the Common Ground approach, emerging in a range of cities and adopted in South Brisbane, Queensland Australia. This paper examines the Common Ground approach and the impacts on its residents and in the community with a view to exploring further developments in this direction. A clear understanding of these lessons underpins, and should inform, a new approach to reconnecting the displaced and to developing solutions that not only enhance their lives but also the community at large.

Plutonium uptake by common soil aerobes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

John, Seth; Rugglero, Christy; Hersman, Larry; Neu, Mary

2000-01-01

Radionuclide contamination in soils and groundwater poses a risk to both human and environmental health. The DOE has identified 12 sites with significant U contamination in the soils and ground water, and 10 sites with Pu contamination.1 It is important to study the interactions of common soil microbes with these radionuclides both to understand the environmental fate of these contaminants and to evaluate the potential of biological techniques to remediate contaminated soils and water

Mapping Common Ground: Ecocriticism, Environmental History, and the Environmental Humanities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bergthaller, Hannes

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The emergence of the environmental humanities presents a unique opportunity for scholarship to tackle the human dimensions of the environmental crisis. It might finally allow such work to attain the critical mass it needs to break out of customary disciplinary confines and reach a wider public, at a time when natural scientists have begun to acknowledge that an understanding of the environmental crisis must include insights from the humanities and social sciences. In order to realize this potential, scholars in the environmental humanities need to map the common ground on which close interdisciplinary cooperation will be possible. This essay takes up this task with regard to two fields that have embraced the environmental humanities with particular fervour, namely ecocriticism and environmental history. After outlining an ideal of slow scholarship which cultivates thinking across different spatiotemporal scales and seeks to sustain meaningful public debate, the essay argues that both ecocriticism and environmental history are concerned with practices of environing: each studies the material and symbolic transformations by which “the environment” is configured as a space for human action. Three areas of research are singled out as offering promising models for cooperation between ecocriticism and environmental history: eco-historicism, environmental justice, and new materialism. Bringing the fruits of such efforts to a wider audience will require environmental humanities scholars to experiment with new ways of organizing and disseminating knowledge.

Novel identification strategy for ground coffee adulteration based on UPLC-HRMS oligosaccharide profiling.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Tie; Ting, Hu; Jin-Lan, Zhang

2016-01-01

Coffee is one of the most common and most valuable beverages. According to International Coffee Organization (ICO) reports, the adulteration of coffee for financial reasons is regarded as the most serious threat to the sustainable development of the coffee market. In this work, a novel strategy for adulteration identification in ground coffee was developed based on UPLC-HRMS oligosaccharide profiling. Along with integrated statistical analysis, 17 oligosaccharide composition were identified as markers for the identification of soybeans and rice in ground coffee. This strategy, validated by manual mixtures, optimized both the reliability and authority of adulteration identification. Rice and soybean adulterants present in ground coffee in amounts as low as 5% were identified and evaluated. Some commercial ground coffees were also successfully tested using this strategy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The use of grounded theory in studies of nurses and midwives' coping processes: a systematic literature search.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheer, Karen; MacLaren, David; Tsey, Komla

2015-01-01

Researchers are increasingly using grounded theory methodologies to study the professional experience of nurses and midwives. To review common grounded theory characteristics and research design quality as described in grounded theory studies of coping strategies used by nurses and midwives. A systematic database search for 2005-2015 identified and assessed grounded theory characteristics from 16 studies. Study quality was assessed using a modified Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. Grounded theory was considered a methodology or a set of methods, able to be used within different nursing and midwifery contexts. Specific research requirements determined the common grounded theory characteristics used in different studies. Most researchers did not clarify their epistemological and theoretical perspectives. To improve research design and trustworthiness of grounded theory studies in nursing and midwifery, researchers need to state their theoretical stance and clearly articulate their use of grounded theory methodology and characteristics in research reporting.

Common Running Overuse Injuries and Prevention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Žiga Kozinc

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Runners are particularly prone to developing overuse injuries. The most common running-related injuries include medial tibial stress syndrome, Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, patellar tendinopathy, iliotibial band syndrome, tibial stress fractures, and patellofemoral pain syndrome. Two of the most significant risk factors appear to be injury history and weekly distance. Several trials have successfully identified biomechanical risk factors for specific injuries, with increased ground reaction forces, excessive foot pronation, hip internal rotation and hip adduction during stance phase being mentioned most often. However, evidence on interventions for lowering injury risk is limited, especially regarding exercise-based interventions. Biofeedback training for lowering ground reaction forces is one of the few methods proven to be effective. It seems that the best way to approach running injury prevention is through individualized treatment. Each athlete should be assessed separately and scanned for risk factors, which should be then addressed with specific exercises. This review provides an overview of most common running-related injuries, with a particular focus on risk factors, and emphasizes the problems encountered in preventing running-related injuries.

Common genetic variants associated with cognitive performance identified using the proxy-phenotype method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.A. Rietveld (Niels); T. Esko (Tõnu); G. Davies (Gail); T.H. Pers (Tune); P. Turley (Patrick); B. Benyamin (Beben); C.F. Chabris (Christopher F.); V. Emilsson (Valur); A.D. Johnson (Andrew); J.J. Lee (James J.); C. de Leeuw (Christiaan); R.E. Marioni (Riccardo); S.E. Medland (Sarah Elizabeth); M. Miller (Mike); O. Rostapshova (Olga); S.J. van der Lee (Sven); A.A.E. Vinkhuyzen (Anna A.); N. Amin (Najaf); D. Conley (Dalton); J. Derringer; C.M. van Duijn (Cornelia); R.S.N. Fehrmann (Rudolf); L. Franke (Lude); E.L. Glaeser (Edward L.); N.K. Hansell (Narelle); C. Hayward (Caroline); W.G. Iacono (William); C.A. Ibrahim-Verbaas (Carla); V.W.V. Jaddoe (Vincent); J. Karjalainen (Juha); D. Laibson (David); P. Lichtenstein (Paul); D.C. Liewald (David C.); P.K. Magnusson (Patrik); N.G. Martin (Nicholas); M. McGue (Matt); G. Mcmahon (George); N.L. Pedersen (Nancy); S. Pinker (Steven); D.J. Porteous (David J.); D. Posthuma (Danielle); F. Rivadeneira Ramirez (Fernando); B.H. Smithk (Blair H.); J.M. Starr (John); H.W. Tiemeier (Henning); N.J. Timpsonm (Nicholas J.); M. Trzaskowskin (Maciej); A.G. Uitterlinden (André); F.C. Verhulst (Frank); M.E. Ward (Mary); M.J. Wright (Margaret); G.D. Smith; I.J. Deary (Ian J.); M. Johannesson (Magnus); R. Plomin (Robert); P.M. Visscher (Peter); D.J. Benjamin (Daniel J.); D. Cesarini (David); Ph.D. Koellinger (Philipp)

2014-01-01

textabstractWe identify common genetic variants associated with cognitive performance using a two-stage approach, which we call the proxyphenotype method. First, we conduct a genome-wide association study of educational attainment in a large sample (n = 106,736), which produces a set of 69

What did we find? Common Ground!

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahnfeldt-Mollerup, Merete

2010-01-01

Within the field of planning, an important task is the creation of a common understanding of the issues at hand. Over the course of 7 years, we have been studying how architectural and anthropological methods can contribute to this. Our studies interchange between experimental practice and theory....

Copper imbalances in ruminants and humans: unexpected common ground.

Science.gov (United States)

Suttle, Neville F

2012-09-01

Ruminants are more vulnerable to copper deficiency than humans because rumen sulfide generation lowers copper availability from forage, increasing the risk of conditions such as swayback in lambs. Molybdenum-rich pastures promote thiomolybdate (TM) synthesis and formation of unabsorbable Cu-TM complexes, turning risk to clinical reality (hypocuprosis). Selection pressures created ruminant species with tolerance of deficiency but vulnerability to copper toxicity in alien environments, such as specific pathogen-free units. By contrast, cases of copper imbalance in humans seemed confined to rare genetic aberrations of copper metabolism. Recent descriptions of human swayback and the exploratory use of TM for the treatment of Wilson's disease, tumor growth, inflammatory diseases, and Alzheimer's disease have created unexpected common ground. The incidence of pre-hemolytic copper poisoning in specific pathogen-free lambs was reduced by an infection with Mycobacterium avium that left them more responsive to treatment with TM but vulnerable to long-term copper depletion. Copper requirements in ruminants and humans may need an extra allowance for the "copper cost" of immunity to infection. Residual cuproenzyme inhibition in TM-treated lambs and anomalies in plasma copper composition that appeared to depend on liver copper status raise this question "can chelating capacity be harnessed without inducing copper-deficiency in ruminants or humans?" A model of equilibria between exogenous (TM) and endogenous chelators (e.g., albumin, metallothionein) is used to predict risk of exposure and hypocuprosis; although risk of natural exposure in humans is remote, vulnerability to TM-induced copper deficiency may be high. Biomarkers of TM impact are needed, and copper chaperones for inhibited cuproenzymes are prime candidates.

Commons problems, common ground: Earth-surface dynamics and the social-physical interdisciplinary frontier

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarus, E.

2015-12-01

In the archetypal "tragedy of the commons" narrative, local farmers pasture their cows on the town common. Soon the common becomes crowded with cows, who graze it bare, and the arrangement of open access to a shared resource ultimately fails. The "tragedy" involves social and physical processes, but the denouement depends on who is telling the story. An economist might argue that the system collapses because each farmer always has a rational incentive to graze one more cow. An ecologist might remark that the rate of grass growth is an inherent control on the common's carrying capacity. And a geomorphologist might point out that processes of soil degradation almost always outstrip processes of soil production. Interdisciplinary research into human-environmental systems still tends to favor disciplinary vantages. In the context of Anthropocene grand challenges - including fundamental insight into dynamics of landscape resilience, and what the dominance of human activities means for processes of change and evolution on the Earth's surface - two disciplines in particular have more to talk about than they might think. Here, I use three examples - (1) beach nourishment, (2) upstream/downstream fluvial asymmetry, and (3) current and historical "land grabbing" - to illustrate a range of interconnections between physical Earth-surface science and common-pool resource economics. In many systems, decision-making and social complexity exert stronger controls on landscape expression than do physical geomorphological processes. Conversely, human-environmental research keeps encountering multi-scale, emergent problems of resource use made 'common-pool' by water, nutrient and sediment transport dynamics. Just as Earth-surface research can benefit from decades of work on common-pool resource systems, quantitative Earth-surface science can make essential contributions to efforts addressing complex problems in environmental sustainability.

Review of commonly used remote sensing and ground-based ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This review provides an overview of the use of remote sensing data, the development of spectral reflectance indices for detecting plant water stress, and the usefulness of field measurements for ground-truthing purposes. Reliable measurements of plant water stress over large areas are often required for management ...

Yet Another Puzzle of Ground

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Korbmacher, J.

2015-01-01

We show that any predicational theory of partial ground that extends a standard theory of syntax and that proves some commonly accepted principles for partial ground is inconsistent. We suggest a way to obtain a consistent predicational theory of ground.

Adding a Mission to the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Common Ground System (CGS)

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, S. W.; Grant, K. D.; Jamilkowski, M. L.

2014-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly acquiring the next-generation civilian weather and environmental satellite system: the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). The Joint Polar Satellite System will replace the afternoon orbit component and ground processing system of the current Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) managed by NOAA. The JPSS satellites will carry a suite of sensors designed to collect meteorological, oceanographic, climatological and geophysical observations of the Earth. The ground processing system for JPSS is known as the JPSS Common Ground System (JPSS CGS). Developed and maintained by Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS), the CGS is a multi-mission enterprise system serving NOAA, NASA and their national and international partners. The CGS provides a wide range of support to a number of missions: 1) Command and control and mission management for the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) mission today, expanding this support to the JPSS-1 satellite and the Polar Free Flyer mission in 2017 2) Data acquisition via a Polar Receptor Network (PRN) for S-NPP, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Global Change Observation Mission - Water (GCOM-W1), POES, and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and Coriolis/WindSat for the Department of Defense (DoD) 3) Data routing over a global fiber Wide Area Network (WAN) for S-NPP, JPSS-1, Polar Free Flyer, GCOM-W1, POES, DMSP, Coriolis/WindSat, the NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN, which includes several Earth Observing System [EOS] missions), MetOp for the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) 4) Environmental data processing and distribution for S-NPP, GCOM-W1 and JPSS-1 With this established infrastructure and existing suite of missions, the CGS

Common Ground with "A Common Faith": Dewey's Idea of the "Religious"

Science.gov (United States)

Baurain, Bradley

2011-01-01

In "A Common Faith", Dewey rejects organized religion and belief in the supernatural, instead arguing for an authentically "religious" attitude which this interpretive essay analyzes in terms of four propositions: (1) Knowledge is unified. (2) Knowledge is democratic. (3) The pursuit of moral ideals requires moral faith. (4) The authority for…

Use of stream water pH and specific conductance measurements to identify ground water discharges of fly ash leachate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, R.M.

1992-01-01

Low pH and high specific conductance are typical chemical characteristics of coal fly ash leachate. Measurements of these parameters in streams adjacent to a fly ash facility were used to identify areas of ground water discharge into the streams. In-situ specific conductance and pH were determined at approximately 50 surface water stations from on-site and off-site streams. The results of the in-situ determinations were used to select twelve surface water stations for more detailed chemical analyses. The chemical character of the stream water affected by ground water discharges was similar to the water quality of sedimentation ponds which received drainage from the fly ash embankment. The results indicated that in-situ measurements of indicator parameters such as pH and specific conductance can be used as a screening method for identifying surface water quality impacts at fly ash facilities

A Proposed Collaboration Against Big Tobacco: Common Ground Between the Vaping and Public Health Community in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagener, Theodore L; Meier, Ellen; Tackett, Alayna P; Matheny, James D; Pechacek, Terry F

2016-05-01

An unfortunate conflict is underway between the public health community and the vaping community over e-cigarettes' harmfulness or lack thereof. This conflict is made worse by an information vacuum that is being filled by vocal members on both sides of the debate; a perceived lack of credibility of public health officials by those in the vaping community; the tobacco industry's recent involvement in e-cigarettes; and the constant evolution of different styles and types of e-cigarettes. This conflict is avoidable; common ground exists. If both groups rally around what is in their own and the public's best interest-the end of combustible tobacco--all will benefit significantly. If not, the result may be missed opportunities, misguided alliances, and--ultimately-poorer public health. This study brings light to the contentious debate between the vaping and public health communities. It addresses how both sides are responsible for bringing misleading information to the public and vocal leaders on both sides are unknowingly intensifying and polarizing the debate-likely at the expense of public health. It also describes how this conflict is avoidable, and provides a starting point for potential positions of common ground against Big Tobacco. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Combining satellite-based fire observations and ground-based lightning detections to identify lightning fires across the conterminous USA

Science.gov (United States)

Bar-Massada, A.; Hawbaker, T.J.; Stewart, S.I.; Radeloff, V.C.

2012-01-01

Lightning fires are a common natural disturbance in North America, and account for the largest proportion of the area burned by wildfires each year. Yet, the spatiotemporal patterns of lightning fires in the conterminous US are not well understood due to limitations of existing fire databases. Our goal here was to develop and test an algorithm that combined MODIS fire detections with lightning detections from the National Lightning Detection Network to identify lightning fires across the conterminous US from 2000 to 2008. The algorithm searches for spatiotemporal conjunctions of MODIS fire clusters and NLDN detected lightning strikes, given a spatiotemporal lag between lightning strike and fire ignition. The algorithm revealed distinctive spatial patterns of lightning fires in the conterminous US While a sensitivity analysis revealed that the algorithm is highly sensitive to the two thresholds that are used to determine conjunction, the density of fires it detected was moderately correlated with ground based fire records. When only fires larger than 0.4 km2 were considered, correlations were higher and the root-mean-square error between datasets was less than five fires per 625 km2 for the entire study period. Our algorithm is thus suitable for detecting broad scale spatial patterns of lightning fire occurrence, and especially lightning fire hotspots, but has limited detection capability of smaller fires because these cannot be consistently detected by MODIS. These results may enhance our understanding of large scale patterns of lightning fire activity, and can be used to identify the broad scale factors controlling fire occurrence.

An Excel Workbook for Identifying Redox Processes in Ground Water

Science.gov (United States)

Jurgens, Bryant C.; McMahon, Peter B.; Chapelle, Francis H.; Eberts, Sandra M.

2009-01-01

The reduction/oxidation (redox) condition of ground water affects the concentration, transport, and fate of many anthropogenic and natural contaminants. The redox state of a ground-water sample is defined by the dominant type of reduction/oxidation reaction, or redox process, occurring in the sample, as inferred from water-quality data. However, because of the difficulty in defining and applying a systematic redox framework to samples from diverse hydrogeologic settings, many regional water-quality investigations do not attempt to determine the predominant redox process in ground water. Recently, McMahon and Chapelle (2008) devised a redox framework that was applied to a large number of samples from 15 principal aquifer systems in the United States to examine the effect of redox processes on water quality. This framework was expanded by Chapelle and others (in press) to use measured sulfide data to differentiate between iron(III)- and sulfate-reducing conditions. These investigations showed that a systematic approach to characterize redox conditions in ground water could be applied to datasets from diverse hydrogeologic settings using water-quality data routinely collected in regional water-quality investigations. This report describes the Microsoft Excel workbook, RedoxAssignment_McMahon&Chapelle.xls, that assigns the predominant redox process to samples using the framework created by McMahon and Chapelle (2008) and expanded by Chapelle and others (in press). Assignment of redox conditions is based on concentrations of dissolved oxygen (O2), nitrate (NO3-), manganese (Mn2+), iron (Fe2+), sulfate (SO42-), and sulfide (sum of dihydrogen sulfide [aqueous H2S], hydrogen sulfide [HS-], and sulfide [S2-]). The logical arguments for assigning the predominant redox process to each sample are performed by a program written in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The program is called from buttons on the main worksheet. The number of samples that can be analyzed

Teaching assistants’ performance at identifying common introductory student difficulties in mechanics revealed by the Force Concept Inventory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandru Maries

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The Force Concept Inventory (FCI has been widely used to assess student understanding of introductory mechanics concepts by a variety of educators and physics education researchers. One reason for this extensive use is that many of the items on the FCI have strong distractor choices which correspond to students’ alternate conceptions in mechanics. Instruction is unlikely to be effective if instructors do not know the common alternate conceptions of introductory physics students and explicitly take into account students’ initial knowledge states in their instructional design. Here, we discuss research involving the FCI to evaluate one aspect of the pedagogical content knowledge of teaching assistants (TAs: knowledge of introductory student alternate conceptions in mechanics as revealed by the FCI. For each item on the FCI, the TAs were asked to identify the most common incorrect answer choice of introductory physics students. This exercise was followed by a class discussion with the TAs related to this task, including the importance of knowing student difficulties in teaching and learning. Then, we used FCI pretest and post-test data from a large population (∼900 of introductory physics students to assess the extent to which TAs were able to identify alternate conceptions of introductory students related to force and motion. In addition, we carried out think-aloud interviews with graduate students who had more than two semesters of teaching experience in recitations to examine how they reason about the task. We find that while the TAs, on average, performed better than random guessing at identifying introductory students’ difficulties with FCI content, they did not identify many common difficulties that introductory physics students have after traditional instruction. We discuss specific alternate conceptions, the extent to which TAs are able to identify them, and results from the think-aloud interviews that provided valuable information

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies NBS-LRR-Encoding Genes Related with Anthracnose and Common Bacterial Blight in the Common Bean.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jing; Zhu, Jifeng; Wang, Lanfen; Wang, Shumin

2017-01-01

Nucleotide-binding site and leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) genes represent the largest and most important disease resistance genes in plants. The genome sequence of the common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) provides valuable data for determining the genomic organization of NBS-LRR genes. However, data on the NBS-LRR genes in the common bean are limited. In total, 178 NBS-LRR-type genes and 145 partial genes (with or without a NBS) located on 11 common bean chromosomes were identified from genome sequences database. Furthermore, 30 NBS-LRR genes were classified into Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR)-NBS-LRR (TNL) types, and 148 NBS-LRR genes were classified into coiled-coil (CC)-NBS-LRR (CNL) types. Moreover, the phylogenetic tree supported the division of these PvNBS genes into two obvious groups, TNL types and CNL types. We also built expression profiles of NBS genes in response to anthracnose and common bacterial blight using qRT-PCR. Finally, we detected nine disease resistance loci for anthracnose (ANT) and seven for common bacterial blight (CBB) using the developed NBS-SSR markers. Among these loci, NSSR24, NSSR73, and NSSR265 may be located at new regions for ANT resistance, while NSSR65 and NSSR260 may be located at new regions for CBB resistance. Furthermore, we validated NSSR24, NSSR65, NSSR73, NSSR260, and NSSR265 using a new natural population. Our results provide useful information regarding the function of the NBS-LRR proteins and will accelerate the functional genomics and evolutionary studies of NBS-LRR genes in food legumes. NBS-SSR markers represent a wide-reaching resource for molecular breeding in the common bean and other food legumes. Collectively, our results should be of broad interest to bean scientists and breeders.

Thermodynamics, ecology and evolutionary biology: A bridge over troubled water or common ground?

Science.gov (United States)

Skene, Keith R.

2017-11-01

This paper addresses a key issue confronting ecological and evolutionary biology, namely the challenge of a cohesive approach to these fields given significant differences in the concepts and foundations of their study. Yet these two areas of scientific research are paramount in terms addressing the spatial and temporal dynamics and distribution of diversity, an understanding of which is needed if we are to resolve the current crisis facing the biosphere. The importance of understanding how nature responds to change is now of essential rather than of metaphysical interest as our planet struggles with increasing anthropogenic damage. Ecology and evolutionary biology can no longer remain disjointed. While some progress has been made in terms of synthetic thinking across these areas, this has often been in terms of bridge building, where thinking in one aspect is extended over to the other side. We review these bridges and the success or otherwise of such efforts. This paper then suggests that in order to move from a descriptive to a mechanistic understanding of the biosphere, we may need to re-evaluate our approach to the studies of ecology and evolutionary biology, finding a common denominator that will enable us to address the critical issues facing us, particularly in terms of understanding what drives change, what determines tempo and how communities function. Common ground, we argue, is essential if we are to comprehend how resilience operates in the natural world and how diversification can counter increasing extinction rates. This paper suggests that thermodynamics may provide a bridge between ecology and evolutionary biology, and that this will enable us to move forward with otherwise intractable problems.

Hybrid Genetic Algorithm - Local Search Method for Ground-Water Management

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Y.; Nishikawa, T.; Martin, P.

2008-12-01

Ground-water management problems commonly are formulated as a mixed-integer, non-linear programming problem (MINLP). Relying only on conventional gradient-search methods to solve the management problem is computationally fast; however, the methods may become trapped in a local optimum. Global-optimization schemes can identify the global optimum, but the convergence is very slow when the optimal solution approaches the global optimum. In this study, we developed a hybrid optimization scheme, which includes a genetic algorithm and a gradient-search method, to solve the MINLP. The genetic algorithm identifies a near- optimal solution, and the gradient search uses the near optimum to identify the global optimum. Our methodology is applied to a conjunctive-use project in the Warren ground-water basin, California. Hi- Desert Water District (HDWD), the primary water-manager in the basin, plans to construct a wastewater treatment plant to reduce future septic-tank effluent from reaching the ground-water system. The treated wastewater instead will recharge the ground-water basin via percolation ponds as part of a larger conjunctive-use strategy, subject to State regulations (e.g. minimum distances and travel times). HDWD wishes to identify the least-cost conjunctive-use strategies that control ground-water levels, meet regulations, and identify new production-well locations. As formulated, the MINLP objective is to minimize water-delivery costs subject to constraints including pump capacities, available recharge water, water-supply demand, water-level constraints, and potential new-well locations. The methodology was demonstrated by an enumerative search of the entire feasible solution and comparing the optimum solution with results from the branch-and-bound algorithm. The results also indicate that the hybrid method identifies the global optimum within an affordable computation time. Sensitivity analyses, which include testing different recharge-rate scenarios, pond

49 CFR 236.2 - Grounds.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... circuit, except circuits which include any track rail and except the common return wires of single-wire, single-break, signal control circuits using a grounded common, and alternating current power distribution...

The common good

OpenAIRE

Argandoña, Antonio

2011-01-01

The concept of the common good occupied a relevant place in classical social, political and economic philosophy. After losing ground in the Modern age, it has recently reappeared, although with different and sometimes confusing meanings. This paper is the draft of a chapter of a Handbook; it explains the meaning of common good in the Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy and in the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church; why the common good is relevant; and how it is different from the other uses...

Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Common Ground System (CGS) Technical Performance Measures of the Block 2 Architecture

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, K. D.; Panas, M.

2016-12-01

NOAA and NASA are jointly acquiring the next-generation civilian weather satellite system: the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). JPSS replaced the afternoon orbit component and ground processing of NOAA's old POES system. JPSS satellites carry sensors that collect meteorological, oceanographic, climatological, and solar-geophysical observations of the earth, atmosphere, and space. The ground processing system for JPSS is known as the JPSS Common Ground System (JPSS CGS). Developed and maintained by Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS), the CGS is a globally distributed, multi-mission system serving NOAA, NASA and their national and international partners. The CGS has demonstrated its scalability and flexibility to incorporate multiple missions efficiently and with minimal cost, schedule and risk, while strengthening global partnerships in weather and environmental monitoring. The CGS architecture has been upgraded to Block 2.0 to satisfy several key objectives, including: "operationalizing" the first satellite, Suomi NPP, which originally was a risk reduction mission; leveraging lessons learned in multi-mission support, taking advantage of newer, more reliable and efficient technologies and satisfying constraints due of the continually evolving budgetary environment. To ensure the CGS meets these needs, we have developed 48 Technical Performance Measures (TPMs) across 9 categories: Data Availability, Data Latency, Operational Availability, Margin, Scalability, Situational Awareness, Transition (between environments and sites), WAN Efficiency, and Data Recovery Processing. This paper will provide an overview of the CGS Block 2.0 architecture, with particular focus on the 9 TPM categories listed above. We will describe how we ensure the deployed architecture meets these TPMs to satisfy our multi-mission objectives with the deployment of Block 2.0.

Hydrogeology, Ground-Water-Age Dating, Water Quality, and Vulnerability of Ground Water to Contamination in a Part of the Whitewater Valley Aquifer System near Richmond, Indiana, 2002-2003

Science.gov (United States)

Buszka, Paul M.; Watson, Lee R.; Greeman, Theodore K.

2007-01-01

Assessments of the vulnerability to contamination of ground-water sources used by public-water systems, as mandated by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1996, commonly have involved qualitative evaluations based on existing information on the geologic and hydrologic setting. The U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program has identified ground-water-age dating; detailed water-quality analyses of nitrate, pesticides, trace elements, and wastewater-related organic compounds; and assessed natural processes that affect those constituents as potential, unique improvements to existing methods of qualitative vulnerability assessment. To evaluate the improvement from use of these methods, in 2002 and 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Richmond, Indiana, compiled and interpreted hydrogeologic data and chemical analyses of water samples from seven wells in a part of the Whitewater Valley aquifer system in a former glacial valley near Richmond. This study investigated the application of ground-water-age dating, dissolved-gas analyses, and detailed water-quality analyses to quantitatively evaluate the vulnerability of ground water to contamination and to identify processes that affect the vulnerability to specific contaminants in an area of post-1972 greenfield development.

Finding common ground in implementation: towards a theory of gradual commonality.

Science.gov (United States)

Ter Haar, Marian; Aarts, Noelle; Verhoeven, Piet

2016-03-01

This article reports on an empirical study that aimed to design a practice-based theory about collaboration on the local implementation of a nationally developed health-promoting intervention. The study's objective is to better understand the dynamic process of complex collaboration. The research is based on a Delphi study among some 100 individuals in local and regional networks, in which various professionals work together to implement the BeweegKuur, which translates as 'course of exercise'. The BeweegKuur is a combined lifestyle intervention aimed at promoting sufficient physical exercise and a healthy diet among people in the Netherlands who are overweight and at risk of diabetes. The Delphi study in three rounds systematically and interactively constructs a common perspective on implementation, reflecting stakeholders' ideas about the collaboration and providing an insight into how these ideas are influenced by the context of the implementation. The statistical and qualitative analyses of the responses to the feedback in the Delphi study form the basis for this practice-based theory on complex collaboration, called the theory of gradual commonality. During interaction, consensus gradually emerges about co-creation as a collaboration strategy. Co-creation leaves room for various ways of achieving the ambitions of the BeweegKuur. This article discusses the importance of this practice-based theory and the value of the Delphi research strategy for promoting health. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Application of classification-tree methods to identify nitrate sources in ground water

Science.gov (United States)

Spruill, T.B.; Showers, W.J.; Howe, S.S.

2002-01-01

A study was conducted to determine if nitrate sources in ground water (fertilizer on crops, fertilizer on golf courses, irrigation spray from hog (Sus scrofa) wastes, and leachate from poultry litter and septic systems) could be classified with 80% or greater success. Two statistical classification-tree models were devised from 48 water samples containing nitrate from five source categories. Model I was constructed by evaluating 32 variables and selecting four primary predictor variables (??15N, nitrate to ammonia ratio, sodium to potassium ratio, and zinc) to identify nitrate sources. A ??15N value of nitrate plus potassium 18.2 indicated inorganic or soil organic N. A nitrate to ammonia ratio 575 indicated nitrate from golf courses. A sodium to potassium ratio 3.2 indicated spray or poultry wastes. A value for zinc 2.8 indicated poultry wastes. Model 2 was devised by using all variables except ??15N. This model also included four variables (sodium plus potassium, nitrate to ammonia ratio, calcium to magnesium ratio, and sodium to potassium ratio) to distinguish categories. Both models were able to distinguish all five source categories with better than 80% overall success and with 71 to 100% success in individual categories using the learning samples. Seventeen water samples that were not used in model development were tested using Model 2 for three categories, and all were correctly classified. Classification-tree models show great potential in identifying sources of contamination and variables important in the source-identification process.

Genetic screens to identify pathogenic gene variants in the common cancer predisposition Lynch syndrome

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Drost, Mark; Lützen, Anne; van Hees, Sandrine

2013-01-01

In many individuals suspected of the common cancer predisposition Lynch syndrome, variants of unclear significance (VUS), rather than an obviously pathogenic mutations, are identified in one of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes. The uncertainty of whether such VUS inactivate MMR, and therefore...... function. When a residue identified as mutated in an individual suspected of Lynch syndrome is listed as critical in such a reverse diagnosis catalog, there is a high probability that the corresponding human VUS is pathogenic. To investigate the applicability of this approach, we have generated....... Nearly half of these critical residues match with VUS previously identified in individuals suspected of Lynch syndrome. This aids in the assignment of pathogenicity to these human VUS and validates the approach described here as a diagnostic tool. In a wider perspective, this work provides a model...

49 CFR 234.213 - Grounds.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Maintenance Standards § 234.213 Grounds. Each circuit that affects the proper functioning of a highway-rail... in the circuit. This requirement does not apply to: circuits that include track rail; alternating current power distribution circuits that are grounded in the interest of safety; and common return wires...

Crowd-sourced Ontology for Photoleukocoria: Identifying Common Internet Search Terms for a Potentially Important Pediatric Ophthalmic Sign.

Science.gov (United States)

Staffieri, Sandra E; Kearns, Lisa S; Sanfilippo, Paul G; Craig, Jamie E; Mackey, David A; Hewitt, Alex W

2018-02-01

Leukocoria is the most common presenting sign for pediatric eye disease including retinoblastoma and cataract, with worse outcomes if diagnosis is delayed. We investigated whether individuals could identify leukocoria in photographs (photoleukocoria) and examined their subsequent Internet search behavior. Using a web-based questionnaire, in this cross-sectional study we invited adults aged over 18 years to view two photographs of a child with photoleukocoria, and then search the Internet to determine a possible diagnosis and action plan. The most commonly used search terms and websites accessed were recorded. The questionnaire was completed by 1639 individuals. Facebook advertisement was the most effective recruitment strategy. The mean age of all respondents was 38.95 ± 14.59 years (range, 18-83), 94% were female, and 59.3% had children. An abnormality in the images presented was identified by 1613 (98.4%) participants. The most commonly used search terms were: "white," "pupil," "photo," and "eye" reaching a variety of appropriate websites or links to print or social media articles. Different words or phrases were used to describe the same observation of photoleukocoria leading to a range of websites. Variations in the description of observed signs and search words influenced the sites reached, information obtained, and subsequent help-seeking intentions. Identifying the most commonly used search terms for photoleukocoria is an important step for search engine optimization. Being directed to the most appropriate websites informing of the significance of photoleukocoria and the appropriate actions to take could improve delays in diagnosis of important pediatric eye disease such as retinoblastoma or cataract.

Molecular forensics in avian conservation: a DNA-based approach for identifying mammalian predators of ground-nesting birds and eggs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hopken, Matthew W; Orning, Elizabeth K; Young, Julie K; Piaggio, Antoinette J

2016-01-07

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a ground-nesting bird from the Northern Rocky Mountains and a species at risk of extinction in in multiple U.S. states and Canada. Herein we report results from a proof of concept that mitochondrial and nuclear DNAs from mammalian predator saliva could be non-invasively collected from depredated greater sage-grouse eggshells and carcasses and used for predator species identification. Molecular forensic approaches have been applied to identify predators from depredated remains as one strategy to better understand predator-prey dynamics and guide management strategies. This can aid conservation efforts by correctly identifying predators most likely to impact threatened and endangered species. DNA isolated from non-invasive samples around nesting sites (e.g. fecal or hair samples) is one method that can increase the success and accuracy of predator species identification when compared to relying on nest remains alone. Predator saliva DNA was collected from depredated eggshells and carcasses using swabs. We sequenced two partial fragments of two mitochondrial genes and obtained microsatellite genotypes using canid specific primers for species and individual identification, respectively. Using this multilocus approach we were able to identify predators, at least down to family, from 11 out of 14 nests (79%) and three out of seven carcasses (47%). Predators detected most frequently were canids (86%), while other taxa included rodents, a striped skunk, and cattle. We attempted to match the genotypes of individual coyotes obtained from eggshells and carcasses with those obtained from fecal samples and coyotes collected in the areas, but no genotype matches were found. Predation is a main cause of nest failure in ground-nesting birds and can impact reproduction and recruitment. To inform predator management for ground-nesting bird conservation, accurate identification of predator species is necessary. Considering

Rigour and grounded theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooney, Adeline

2011-01-01

This paper explores ways to enhance and demonstrate rigour in a grounded theory study. Grounded theory is sometimes criticised for a lack of rigour. Beck (1993) identified credibility, auditability and fittingness as the main standards of rigour for qualitative research methods. These criteria were evaluated for applicability to a Straussian grounded theory study and expanded or refocused where necessary. The author uses a Straussian grounded theory study (Cooney, In press) to examine how the revised criteria can be applied when conducting a grounded theory study. Strauss and Corbin (1998b) criteria for judging the adequacy of a grounded theory were examined in the context of the wider literature examining rigour in qualitative research studies in general and grounded theory studies in particular. A literature search for 'rigour' and 'grounded theory' was carried out to support this analysis. Criteria are suggested for enhancing and demonstrating the rigour of a Straussian grounded theory study. These include: cross-checking emerging concepts against participants' meanings, asking experts if the theory 'fit' their experiences, and recording detailed memos outlining all analytical and sampling decisions. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH PRACTICE: The criteria identified have been expressed as questions to enable novice researchers to audit the extent to which they are demonstrating rigour when writing up their studies. However, it should not be forgotten that rigour is built into the grounded theory method through the inductive-deductive cycle of theory generation. Care in applying the grounded theory methodology correctly is the single most important factor in ensuring rigour.

Body Awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehling, Wolf E; Wrubel, Judith; Daubenmier, Jennifer J; Price, Cynthia J; Kerr, Catherine E; Silow, Theresa; Gopisetty, Viranjini; Stewart, Anita L

2011-04-07

Enhancing body awareness has been described as a key element or a mechanism of action for therapeutic approaches often categorized as mind-body approaches, such as yoga, TaiChi, Body-Oriented Psychotherapy, Body Awareness Therapy, mindfulness based therapies/meditation, Feldenkrais, Alexander Method, Breath Therapy and others with reported benefits for a variety of health conditions. To better understand the conceptualization of body awareness in mind-body therapies, leading practitioners and teaching faculty of these approaches were invited as well as their patients to participate in focus groups. The qualitative analysis of these focus groups with representative practitioners of body awareness practices, and the perspectives of their patients, elucidated the common ground of their understanding of body awareness. For them body awareness is an inseparable aspect of embodied self awareness realized in action and interaction with the environment and world. It is the awareness of embodiment as an innate tendency of our organism for emergent self-organization and wholeness. The process that patients undergo in these therapies was seen as a progression towards greater unity between body and self, very similar to the conceptualization of embodiment as dialectic of body and self described by some philosophers as being experienced in distinct developmental levels.

Body Awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silow Theresa

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Enhancing body awareness has been described as a key element or a mechanism of action for therapeutic approaches often categorized as mind-body approaches, such as yoga, TaiChi, Body-Oriented Psychotherapy, Body Awareness Therapy, mindfulness based therapies/meditation, Feldenkrais, Alexander Method, Breath Therapy and others with reported benefits for a variety of health conditions. To better understand the conceptualization of body awareness in mind-body therapies, leading practitioners and teaching faculty of these approaches were invited as well as their patients to participate in focus groups. The qualitative analysis of these focus groups with representative practitioners of body awareness practices, and the perspectives of their patients, elucidated the common ground of their understanding of body awareness. For them body awareness is an inseparable aspect of embodied self awareness realized in action and interaction with the environment and world. It is the awareness of embodiment as an innate tendency of our organism for emergent self-organization and wholeness. The process that patients undergo in these therapies was seen as a progression towards greater unity between body and self, very similar to the conceptualization of embodiment as dialectic of body and self described by some philosophers as being experienced in distinct developmental levels.

Sequence-Based Introgression Mapping Identifies Candidate White Mold Tolerance Genes in Common Bean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sujan Mamidi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available White mold, caused by the necrotrophic fungus (Lib. de Bary, is a major disease of common bean ( L.. WM7.1 and WM8.3 are two quantitative trait loci (QTL with major effects on tolerance to the pathogen. Advanced backcross populations segregating individually for either of the two QTL, and a recombinant inbred (RI population segregating for both QTL were used to fine map and confirm the genetic location of the QTL. The QTL intervals were physically mapped using the reference common bean genome sequence, and the physical intervals for each QTL were further confirmed by sequence-based introgression mapping. Using whole-genome sequence data from susceptible and tolerant DNA pools, introgressed regions were identified as those with significantly higher numbers of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs relative to the whole genome. By combining the QTL and SNP data, WM7.1 was located to a 660-kb region that contained 41 gene models on the proximal end of chromosome Pv07, while the WM8.3 introgression was narrowed to a 1.36-Mb region containing 70 gene models. The most polymorphic candidate gene in the WM7.1 region encodes a BEACH-domain protein associated with apoptosis. Within the WM8.3 interval, a receptor-like protein with the potential to recognize pathogen effectors was the most polymorphic gene. The use of gene and sequence-based mapping identified two candidate genes whose putative functions are consistent with the current model of pathogenicity.

Regional analysis of ground and above-ground climate

Science.gov (United States)

1981-12-01

The regional suitability of underground construction as a climate control technique is discussed with reference to (1) a bioclimatic analysis of long term weather data for 29 locations in the United States to determine appropriate above ground climate control techniques, (2) a data base of synthesized ground temperatures for the coterminous United States, and (3) monthly dew point ground temperature comparisons for identifying the relative likelihood of condensation from one region to another. It is concluded that the suitability of Earth tempering as a practice and of specific Earth sheltered design stereotypes varies geographically; while the subsurface almost always provides a thermal advantage on its own terms when compared to above ground climatic data, it can, nonetheless, compromise the effectiveness of other, regionally more important climate control techniques. Reviews of above and below ground climate mapping schemes related to human comfort and architectural design, and detailed description of a theoretical model of ground temperature, heat flow, and heat storage in the ground are included. Strategies of passive climate control are presented in a discussion of the building bioclimatic analysis procedure which has been applied in a computer analysis of 30 years of weather data for each of 20 locations in the United States.

Regional analysis of ground and above-ground climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1981-12-01

The regional suitability of underground construction as a climate control technique is discussed with reference to (1) a bioclimatic analysis of long-term weather data for 29 locations in the United States to determine appropriate above ground climate control techniques, (2) a data base of synthesized ground temperatures for the coterminous United States, and (3) monthly dew point ground temperature comparisons for identifying the relative likelihood of condensation from one region to another. It is concluded that the suitability of earth tempering as a practice and of specific earth-sheltered design stereotypes varies geographically; while the subsurface almost always provides a thermal advantage on its own terms when compared to above ground climatic data, it can, nonetheless, compromise the effectiveness of other, regionally more important climate control techniques. Also contained in the report are reviews of above and below ground climate mapping schemes related to human comfort and architectural design, and detailed description of a theoretical model of ground temperature, heat flow, and heat storage in the ground. Strategies of passive climate control are presented in a discussion of the building bioclimatic analysis procedure which has been applied in a computer analysis of 30 years of weather data for each of 29 locations in the United States.

Common Allergens Identified Based on Patch Test Results in Patients with Suspected Contact Dermatitis of the Scalp.

Science.gov (United States)

Aleid, Nouf M; Fertig, Raymond; Maddy, Austin; Tosti, Antonella

2017-03-01

Contact dermatitis of the scalp is common and might be caused by many chemicals including metals, ingredients of shampoos and conditioners, dyes, or other hair treatments. Eliciting a careful history and patch tests are necessary to identify the responsible allergen and prevent relapses. To identify allergens that may cause contact dermatitis of the scalp by reviewing patch test results. We reviewed the records of 1,015 patients referred for patch testing at the Dermatology Department of the University of Miami. A total of 226 patients (205 females and 21 males) with suspected scalp contact dermatitis were identified, and the patch test results and clinical data for those patients were analyzed. Most patients were referred for patch testing from a specialized hair clinic at our institution. The most common allergens in our study population were nickel (23.8%), cobalt (21.0%), balsam of Peru (18.2%), fragrance mix (14.4%), carba mix (11.6%), and propylene glycol (PG) (8.8%). The majority of patients were females aged 40-59 years, and scalp itching or burning were reported as the most common symptom. Frequent sources of allergens for metals include hair clasps, pins, and brushes, while frequent sources of allergens for preservatives, fragrance mix, and balsam of Peru include shampoos, conditioners, and hair gels. Frequent sources of allergens for PG include topical medications.

Common Allergens Identified Based on Patch Test Results in Patients with Suspected Contact Dermatitis of the Scalp

Science.gov (United States)

Aleid, Nouf M.; Fertig, Raymond; Maddy, Austin; Tosti, Antonella

2017-01-01

Background Contact dermatitis of the scalp is common and might be caused by many chemicals including metals, ingredients of shampoos and conditioners, dyes, or other hair treatments. Eliciting a careful history and patch tests are necessary to identify the responsible allergen and prevent relapses. Objectives To identify allergens that may cause contact dermatitis of the scalp by reviewing patch test results. Methods We reviewed the records of 1,015 patients referred for patch testing at the Dermatology Department of the University of Miami. A total of 226 patients (205 females and 21 males) with suspected scalp contact dermatitis were identified, and the patch test results and clinical data for those patients were analyzed. Most patients were referred for patch testing from a specialized hair clinic at our institution. Results The most common allergens in our study population were nickel (23.8%), cobalt (21.0%), balsam of Peru (18.2%), fragrance mix (14.4%), carba mix (11.6%), and propylene glycol (PG) (8.8%). The majority of patients were females aged 40–59 years, and scalp itching or burning were reported as the most common symptom. Conclusion Frequent sources of allergens for metals include hair clasps, pins, and brushes, while frequent sources of allergens for preservatives, fragrance mix, and balsam of Peru include shampoos, conditioners, and hair gels. Frequent sources of allergens for PG include topical medications. PMID:28611994

Fine-Mapping of Common Genetic Variants Associated with Colorectal Tumor Risk Identified Potential Functional Variants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mengmeng Du

Full Text Available Genome-wide association studies (GWAS have identified many common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs associated with colorectal cancer risk. These SNPs may tag correlated variants with biological importance. Fine-mapping around GWAS loci can facilitate detection of functional candidates and additional independent risk variants. We analyzed 11,900 cases and 14,311 controls in the Genetics and Epidemiology of Colorectal Cancer Consortium and the Colon Cancer Family Registry. To fine-map genomic regions containing all known common risk variants, we imputed high-density genetic data from the 1000 Genomes Project. We tested single-variant associations with colorectal tumor risk for all variants spanning genomic regions 250-kb upstream or downstream of 31 GWAS-identified SNPs (index SNPs. We queried the University of California, Santa Cruz Genome Browser to examine evidence for biological function. Index SNPs did not show the strongest association signals with colorectal tumor risk in their respective genomic regions. Bioinformatics analysis of SNPs showing smaller P-values in each region revealed 21 functional candidates in 12 loci (5q31.1, 8q24, 11q13.4, 11q23, 12p13.32, 12q24.21, 14q22.2, 15q13, 18q21, 19q13.1, 20p12.3, and 20q13.33. We did not observe evidence of additional independent association signals in GWAS-identified regions. Our results support the utility of integrating data from comprehensive fine-mapping with expanding publicly available genomic databases to help clarify GWAS associations and identify functional candidates that warrant more onerous laboratory follow-up. Such efforts may aid the eventual discovery of disease-causing variant(s.

Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Common Ground System (CGS) Overview and Architectural Tenets

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, S. W.; Grant, K. D.; Jamilkowski, M. L.

2013-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly acquiring the next-generation civilian weather and environmental satellite system: the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). The Joint Polar Satellite System will replace the afternoon orbit component and ground processing system of the current Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) managed by NOAA. The JPSS satellites will carry a suite of sensors designed to collect meteorological, oceanographic, climatological and geophysical observations of the Earth. The ground processing system for JPSS is known as the JPSS Common Ground System (JPSS CGS). Developed and maintained by Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS), the CGS is a multi-mission enterprise system serving NOAA, NASA and their national and international partners. The CGS provides a wide range of support to a number of missions: 1) Command and control and mission management for the Suomi National Polar Partnership (S-NPP) mission today, expanding this support to the JPSS-1 satellite and the Polar Free Flyer mission in 2017 2) Data acquisition via a Polar Receptor Network (PRN) for S-NPP, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Global Change Observation Mission - Water (GCOM-W1), POES, and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and Coriolis/WindSat for the Department of Defense (DoD) 3) Data routing over a global fiber Wide Area Network (WAN) for S-NPP, JPSS-1, Polar Free Flyer, GCOM-W1, POES, DMSP, Coriolis/WindSat, the NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN, which includes several Earth Observing System [EOS] missions), MetOp for the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) 4) Environmental data processing and distribution for S-NPP, GCOM-W1 and JPSS-1 The CGS architecture will receive a technology refresh in 2015 to satisfy several key

Religion and Environmental Education: Building on Common Ground

Science.gov (United States)

Hitzhusen, Gregory E.

2006-01-01

Environmental educators are beginning to consider how to incorporate religious resources into their curricula. Common concerns about religion pose a challenge for integration, but these concerns are manageable. Reflection on the precursors of environmental citizenship behaviour provides a framework for considering some of the ways that religious…

Ground-water travel time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bentley, H.; Grisak, G.

1985-01-01

The Containment and Isolation Working Group considered issues related to the postclosure behavior of repositories in crystalline rock. This working group was further divided into subgroups to consider the progress since the 1978 GAIN Symposium and identify research needs in the individual areas of regional ground-water flow, ground-water travel time, fractional release, and cumulative release. The analysis and findings of the Ground-Water Travel Time Subgroup are presented

Regional ground-water system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long, J.

1985-01-01

The Containment and Isolation Working Group considered issues related to the postclosure behavior of repositories in crystalline rock. This working group was further divided into subgroups to consider the progress since the 1978 GAIN Symposium and identify research needs in the individual areas of regional ground-water flow, ground-water travel time, fractional release, and cumulative release. The analysis and findings of the Ground-Water Regime Subgroup are presented

Effect of heavy metals on seed germination and seedling growth of common ragweed and roadside ground cover legumes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Jichul; Benoit, Diane L; Watson, Alan K

2016-06-01

In southern Québec, supplement roadside ground covers (i.e. Trifolium spp.) struggle to establish near edges of major roads and thus fail to assist turf recruitment. It creates empty niches vulnerable to weed establishment such as common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia). We hypothesized that heavy metal stresses may drive such species shifts along roadside edges. A growth chamber experiment was conducted to assess effects of metals (Zn, Pb, Ni, Cu, and Cd) on germination and seedling behaviors of roadside weed (A. artemisiifolia) and ground cover legumes (Coronilla varia, Lotus corniculatus, and Trifolium arvense). All metals inhibited T. arvense germination, but the effect was least on A. artemisiifolia. Low levels of Pb and Ni promoted germination initiation of A. artemisiifolia. Germination of L. corniculatus was not affected by Zn, Pb, and Ni, but inhibited by Cu and Cd. Germination of C. varia was decreased by Ni, Cu, and Cd and delayed by Zn and Pb. Metal additions hindered seedling growth of all test species, and the inhibitory effect on the belowground growth was greater than on the aboveground growth. Seedling mortality was lowest in A. artemisiifolia but highest in T. arvense when exposed to the metal treatments. L. corniculatus and C. varia seedlings survived when subjected to high levels of Zn, Pb, and Cd. In conclusion, the successful establishment of A. artemisiifolia along roadside edges can be associated with its greater tolerance of heavy metals. The findings also revealed that L. corniculatus is a potential candidate for supplement ground cover in metal-contaminated roadside edges in southern Québec, especially sites contaminated with Zn and Pb. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamical response of the Galileo Galilei on the ground rotor to test the equivalence principle: Theory, simulation, and experiment. II. The rejection of common mode forces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Comandi, G.L.; Toncelli, R.; Chiofalo, M.L.; Bramanti, D.; Nobili, A.M.

2006-01-01

'Galileo Galilei on the ground' (GGG) is a fast rotating differential accelerometer designed to test the equivalence principle (EP). Its sensitivity to differential effects, such as the effect of an EP violation, depends crucially on the capability of the accelerometer to reject all effects acting in common mode. By applying the theoretical and simulation methods reported in Part I of this work, and tested therein against experimental data, we predict the occurrence of an enhanced common mode rejection of the GGG accelerometer. We demonstrate that the best rejection of common mode disturbances can be tuned in a controlled way by varying the spin frequency of the GGG rotor

Humpback whale song and foraging behavior on an antarctic feeding ground.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alison K Stimpert

Full Text Available Reports of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae song chorusing occurring outside the breeding grounds are becoming more common, but song structure and underwater behavior of individual singers on feeding grounds and migration routes remain unknown. Here, ten humpback whales in the Western Antarctic Peninsula were tagged in May 2010 with non-invasive, suction-cup attached tags to study foraging ecology and acoustic behavior. Background song was identified on all ten records, but additionally, acoustic records of two whales showed intense and continuous singing, with a level of organization and structure approaching that of typical breeding ground song. The songs, produced either by the tagged animals or close associates, shared phrase types and theme structure with one another, and some song bouts lasted close to an hour. Dive behavior of tagged animals during the time of sound production showed song occurring during periods of active diving, sometimes to depths greater than 100 m. One tag record also contained song in the presence of feeding lunges identified from the behavioral sensors, indicating that mating displays occur in areas worthy of foraging. These data show behavioral flexibility as the humpbacks manage competing needs to continue to feed and to prepare for the breeding season during late fall. This may also signify an ability to engage in breeding activities outside of the traditional, warm water breeding ground locations.

Tracking contamination through ground beef production and identifying points of recontamination using a novel green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing, E. coli O103, non-pathogenic surrogate

Science.gov (United States)

Introduction: Commonly, ground beef processors conduct studies to model contaminant flow through their production systems using surrogate organisms. Typical surrogate organisms may not behave as Escherichia coli O157:H7 during grinding and are not easy to detect at very low levels. Purpose: Develop...

What Are They Thinking? The Development and Use of an Instrument that Identifies Common Science Misconceptions

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Mary; Barman, Charles R.; Larrabee, Timothy

2007-01-01

This article describes the rationale for, and development of, an online instrument that helps identify commonly held science misconceptions. Science Beliefs is a 47-item instrument that targets topics in chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, and astronomy. It utilizes a true or false, along with a written-explanation, format. The true or…

A waste of time: the problem of common morality in Principles of Biomedical Ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Karlsen, Jan Reinert; Solbakk, Jan Helge

2011-10-01

From the 5th edition of Beauchamp and Childress' Principles of Biomedical Ethics, the problem of common morality has been given a more prominent role and emphasis. With the publication of the 6th and latest edition, the authors not only attempt to ground their theory in common morality, but there is also an increased tendency to identify the former with the latter. While this stratagem may give the impression of a more robust, and hence stable, foundation for their theoretical construct, we fear that it comes with a cost, namely the need to keep any theory in medical ethics open to, and thereby aware of, the challenges arising from biomedical research and clinical practice, as well as healthcare systems. By too readily identifying the moral life of common morality with rule-following behaviour, Beauchamp and Childress may even be wrong about the nature of common morality as such, thereby founding their, by now, classic theory on quicksand instead of solid rock.

Grounded Theory in Medical Education Research

OpenAIRE

Tavakol, Mohsen; Torabi, Sima; Akbar Zeinaloo, Ali

2009-01-01

The grounded theory method provides a systematic way to generate theoretical constructs or concepts that illuminate psychosocial processes common to individual who have a similar expe­rience of the phenomenon under investigation. There has been an increase in the number of pub­lished research reports that use the grounded theory method. However, there has been less medical education research, which is based on the grounded theory tradition. The purpose of this paper is to introduce basic tena...

Population census of a large common tern colony with a small unmanned aircraft.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominique Chabot

Full Text Available Small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS may be useful for conducting high-precision, low-disturbance waterbird surveys, but limited data exist on their effectiveness. We evaluated the capacity of a small UAS to census a large (>6,000 nests coastal Common tern (Sterna hirundo colony of which ground surveys are particularly disruptive and time-consuming. We compared aerial photographic tern counts to ground nest counts in 45 plots (5-m radius throughout the colony at three intervals over a nine-day period in order to identify sources of variation and establish a coefficient to estimate nest numbers from UAS surveys. We also compared a full colony ground count to full counts from two UAS surveys conducted the following day. Finally, we compared colony disturbance levels over the course of UAS flights to matched control periods. Linear regressions between aerial and ground counts in plots had very strong correlations in all three comparison periods (R2 = 0.972-0.989, P < 0.001 and regression coefficients ranged from 0.928-0.977 terns/nest. Full colony aerial counts were 93.6% and 94.0%, respectively, of the ground count. Varying visibility of terns with ground cover, weather conditions and image quality, and changing nest attendance rates throughout incubation were likely sources of variation in aerial detection rates. Optimally timed UAS surveys of Common tern colonies following our method should yield population estimates in the 93-96% range of ground counts. Although the terns were initially disturbed by the UAS flying overhead, they rapidly habituated to it. Overall, we found no evidence of sustained disturbance to the colony by the UAS. We encourage colonial waterbird researchers and managers to consider taking advantage of this burgeoning technology.

Ground-nesting by the chimpanzees of the Nimba Mountains, Guinea: environmentally or socially determined?

Science.gov (United States)

Koops, Kathelijne; Humle, Tatyana; Sterck, Elisabeth H M; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro

2007-04-01

The chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) of the Nimba Mountains, Guinea, West Africa, commonly make both elaborate ("night") and simple ("day") nests on the ground. In this study we investigated which factors might influence ground-nesting in this population, and tested two ecological hypotheses: 1) climatic conditions, such as high wind speeds at high altitudes, may deter chimpanzees from nesting in trees; and 2) a lack of appropriate arboreal nesting opportunities may drive the chimpanzees to nest on the ground. In addition to testing these two hypotheses, we explored whether ground-nesting is a sex-linked behavior. Data were collected monthly between August 2003 and May 2004 along transects and ad libitum. To identify the sex of ground-nesting individuals, we used DNA extracted from hair samples. The results showed that the occurrence and distribution of ground nests were not affected by climatic conditions or a lack of appropriate nest trees. Support was found for the notion that ground-nesting is a sex-linked behavior, as males were responsible for building all of the elaborate ground nests and most of the simple ground nests sampled. Elaborate ground nests occurred mostly in nest groups associated with tree nests, whereas simple ground nests usually occurred without tree nests in their vicinity. These results suggest that ground-nesting may be socially, rather than ecologically, determined.

Identifying secondary series for stepwise common singular spectrum ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. Common singular spectrum analysis is a technique which can be used to forecast a pri- mary time series by using the information from a secondary series. Not all secondary series, however, provide useful information. A first contribution in this paper is to point out the properties which a secondary series should ...

[Introduction to grounded theory].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shou-Yu; Windsor, Carol; Yates, Patsy

2012-02-01

Grounded theory, first developed by Glaser and Strauss in the 1960s, was introduced into nursing education as a distinct research methodology in the 1970s. The theory is grounded in a critique of the dominant contemporary approach to social inquiry, which imposed "enduring" theoretical propositions onto study data. Rather than starting from a set theoretical framework, grounded theory relies on researchers distinguishing meaningful constructs from generated data and then identifying an appropriate theory. Grounded theory is thus particularly useful in investigating complex issues and behaviours not previously addressed and concepts and relationships in particular populations or places that are still undeveloped or weakly connected. Grounded theory data analysis processes include open, axial and selective coding levels. The purpose of this article was to explore the grounded theory research process and provide an initial understanding of this methodology.

Soil and ground-water remediation techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, P.

1996-01-01

Urban areas typically contain numerous sites underlain by soils or ground waters which are contaminated to levels that exceed clean-up guidelines and are hazardous to public health. Contamination most commonly results from the disposal, careless use and spillage of chemicals, or the historic importation of contaminated fill onto properties undergoing redevelopment. Contaminants of concern in soil and ground water include: inorganic chemicals such as heavy metals; radioactive metals; salt and inorganic pesticides, and a range of organic chemicals included within petroleum fuels, coal tar products, PCB oils, chlorinated solvents, and pesticides. Dealing with contaminated sites is a major problem affecting all urban areas and a wide range of different remedial technologies are available. This chapter reviews the more commonly used methods for ground-water and soil remediation, paying particular regard to efficiency and applicability of specific treatments to different site conditions. (author). 43 refs., 1 tab., 27 figs

Identifying effective actions to guide volunteer-based and nationwide conservation efforts for a ground-nesting farmland bird.

Science.gov (United States)

Santangeli, Andrea; Arroyo, Beatriz; Millon, Alexandre; Bretagnolle, Vincent

2015-08-01

1. Modern farming practices threaten wildlife in different ways, and failure to identify the complexity of multiple threats acting in synergy may result in ineffective management. To protect ground-nesting birds in farmland, monitoring and mitigating impacts of mechanical harvesting is crucial. 2. Here, we use 6 years of data from a nationwide volunteer-based monitoring scheme of the Montagu's harrier, a ground-nesting raptor, in French farmlands. We assess the effectiveness of alternative nest protection measures and map their potential benefit to the species. 3. We show that unprotected nests in cultivated land are strongly negatively affected by harvesting and thus require active management. Further, we show that protection from harvesting alone (e.g. by leaving a small unharvested buffer around the nest) is impaired by post-harvest predation at nests that become highly conspicuous after harvest. Measures that simultaneously protect from harvesting and predation (by adding a fence around the nest) significantly enhance nest productivity. 4. The map of expected gain from nest protection in relation to available volunteers' workforce pinpoints large areas of high expected gain from nest protection that are not matched by equally high workforce availability. This mismatch suggests that the impact of nest protection can be further improved by increasing volunteer efforts in key areas where they are low relative to the expected gain they could have. 5. Synthesis and applications . This study shows that synergistic interplay of multiple factors (e.g. mechanical harvesting and predation) may completely undermine the success of well-intentioned conservation efforts. However, identifying areas where the greatest expected gains can be achieved relative to effort expended can minimize the risk of wasted volunteer actions. Overall, this study underscores the importance of citizen science for collecting large-scale data useful for producing science and ultimately informs

Ground-water sample collection and analysis plan for the ground-water surveillance project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bryce, R.W.; Evans, J.C.; Olsen, K.B.

1991-12-01

The Pacific Northwest Laboratory performs ground-water sampling activities at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Hanford Site in support of DOE's environmental surveillance responsibilities. The purpose of this document is to translate DOE's General Environmental Protection Program (DOE Order 5400.1) into a comprehensive ground-water sample collection and analysis plan for the Hanford Site. This sample collection and analysis plan sets forth the environmental surveillance objectives applicable to ground water, identifies the strategy for selecting sample collection locations, and lists the analyses to be performed to meet those objectives

Identifying Two Common Types of Breast Benign Diseases Based on Multiphoton Microscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Wu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Multiphoton microscopy has attracted increasing attention and investigations in the field of breast cancer, based on two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF and second-harmonic generation (SHG. However, the incidence of breast benign diseases is about 5 to 10 times higher than breast cancer; up to 30% of women suffer from breast benign diseases and require treatment at some time in their lives. Thus, in this study, MPM was applied to image fibroadenoma and fibrocystic lesion, which are two of the most common breast benign diseases. The results show that MPM has the capability to identify the microstructure of lobule and stroma in normal breast tissue, the interaction of compressed ducts with surrounding collagen fiber in fibroadenoma, and the architecture of cysts filled with cystic fluid in fibrocystic disease. These findings indicate that, with integration of MPM into currently accepted clinical imaging system, it has the potential to make a real-time diagnosis of breast benign diseases in vivo, as well as breast cancer.

A Game-Theoretic Model of Grounding for Referential Communication Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, William

2009-01-01

Conversational grounding theory proposes that language use is a form of rational joint action, by which dialog participants systematically and collaboratively add to their common ground of shared knowledge and beliefs. Following recent work applying "game theory" to pragmatics, this thesis develops a game-theoretic model of grounding that…

Grounded Theory in Medical Education Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Tavakol, Mohsen; Torabi, Sima; Akbar Zeinaloo, Ali

2006-12-01

The grounded theory method provides a systematic way to generate theoretical constructs or concepts that illuminate psychosocial processes common to individual who have a similar experience of the phenomenon under investigation. There has been an increase in the number of published research reports that use the grounded theory method. However, there has been less medical education research, which is based on the grounded theory tradition. The purpose of this paper is to introduce basic tenants of qualitative research paradigm with specific reference to ground theory. The paper aims to encourage readers to think how they might possibly use the grounded theory method in medical education research and to apply such a method to their own areas of interest. The important features of a grounded theory as well as its implications for medical education research are explored. Data collection and analysis are also discussed. It seems to be reasonable to incorporate knowledge of this kind in medical education research.

Ground water security and drought in Africa: linking availability, access, and demand.

Science.gov (United States)

Calow, Roger C; Macdonald, Alan M; Nicol, Alan L; Robins, Nick S

2010-01-01

Drought in Africa has been extensively researched, particularly from meteorological, agricultural, and food security perspectives. However, the impact of drought on water security, particularly ground water dependent rural water supplies, has received much less attention. Policy responses have concentrated on food needs, and it has often been difficult to mobilize resources for water interventions, despite evidence that access to safe water is a serious and interrelated concern. Studies carried out in Ghana, Malawi, South Africa, and Ethiopia highlight how rural livelihoods are affected by seasonal stress and longer-term drought. Declining access to food and water is a common and interrelated problem. Although ground water plays a vital role in buffering the effects of rainfall variability, water shortages and difficulties in accessing water that is available can affect domestic and productive water uses, with knock-on effects on food consumption and production. Total depletion of available ground water resources is rarely the main concern. A more common scenario is a spiral of water insecurity as shallow water sources fail, additional demands are put on remaining sources, and mechanical failures increase. These problems can be planned for within normal development programs. Water security mapping can help identify vulnerable areas, and changes to monitoring systems can ensure early detection of problems. Above all, increasing the coverage of ground water-based rural water supplies, and ensuring that the design and siting of water points is informed by an understanding of hydrogeological conditions and user demand, can significantly increase the resilience of rural communities to climate variability.

A Common Ancestral Mutation in CRYBB3 Identified in Multiple Consanguineous Families with Congenital Cataracts.

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Xiaodong Jiao

Full Text Available This study was performed to investigate the genetic determinants of autosomal recessive congenital cataracts in large consanguineous families.Affected individuals underwent a detailed ophthalmological examination and slit-lamp photographs of the cataractous lenses were obtained. An aliquot of blood was collected from all participating family members and genomic DNA was extracted from white blood cells. Initially, a genome-wide scan was performed with genomic DNAs of family PKCC025 followed by exclusion analysis of our familial cohort of congenital cataracts. Protein-coding exons of CRYBB1, CRYBB2, CRYBB3, and CRYBA4 were sequenced bidirectionally. A haplotype was constructed with SNPs flanking the causal mutation for affected individuals in all four families, while the probability that the four familial cases have a common founder was estimated using EM and CHM-based algorithms. The expression of Crybb3 in the developing murine lens was investigated using TaqMan assays.The clinical and ophthalmological examinations suggested that all affected individuals had nuclear cataracts. Genome-wide linkage analysis localized the causal phenotype in family PKCC025 to chromosome 22q with statistically significant two-point logarithm of odds (LOD scores. Subsequently, we localized three additional families, PKCC063, PKCC131, and PKCC168 to chromosome 22q. Bidirectional Sanger sequencing identified a missense variation: c.493G>C (p.Gly165Arg in CRYBB3 that segregated with the disease phenotype in all four familial cases. This variation was not found in ethnically matched control chromosomes, the NHLBI exome variant server, or the 1000 Genomes or dbSNP databases. Interestingly, all four families harbor a unique disease haplotype that strongly suggests a common founder of the causal mutation (p<1.64E-10. We observed expression of Crybb3 in the mouse lens as early as embryonic day 15 (E15, and expression remained relatively steady throughout development.Here, we

Standards for the Mobility Common Operational Picture (M-COP): Elements of Ground Vehicle Maneuver

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Richmond, Paul W; Blais, Curtis L; Nagle, Joyce A; Goerger, Niki C; Gates, Burhman Q; Burk, Robin K; Willis, John; Keeter, Robert

2007-01-01

...-structured information between human forces and robotic systems. Addressing this operational challenge begins with a clear understanding of the information content needed for ground mobility planning...

Common liability to addiction and “gateway hypothesis”: Theoretical, empirical and evolutionary perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Vanyukov, Michael M.; Tarter, Ralph E.; Kirillova, Galina P.; Kirisci, Levent; Reynolds, Maureen D.; Kreek, Mary Jeanne; Conway, Kevin P.; Maher, Brion S.; Iacono, William G.; Bierut, Laura; Neale, Michael C.; Clark, Duncan B.; Ridenour, Ty A.

2013-01-01

Background Two competing concepts address the development of involvement with psychoactive substances: the “gateway hypothesis” (GH) and common liability to addiction (CLA). Method The literature on theoretical foundations and empirical findings related to both concepts is reviewed. Results The data suggest that drug use initiation sequencing, the core GH element, is variable and opportunistic rather than uniform and developmentally deterministic. The association between risks for use of different substances, if any, can be more readily explained by common underpinnings than by specific staging. In contrast, the CLA concept is grounded in genetic theory and supported by data identifying common sources of variation in the risk for specific addictions. This commonality has identifiable neurobiological substrate and plausible evolutionary explanations. Conclusions Whereas the “gateway” hypothesis does not specify mechanistic connections between “stages”, and does not extend to the risks for addictions, the concept of common liability to addictions incorporates sequencing of drug use initiation as well as extends to related addictions and their severity, provides a parsimonious explanation of substance use and addiction co-occurrence, and establishes a theoretical and empirical foundation to research in etiology, quantitative risk and severity measurement, as well as targeted non-drug-specific prevention and early intervention. PMID:22261179

Ground collectors for heat pumps; Grondcollectoren voor warmtepompen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Krevel, A. [Techneco, Leidschendam (Netherlands)

1999-10-01

The dimensioning and cost optimisation of a closed vertical ground collector system has been studied. The so-called Earth Energy Designer (EED) computer software, specially developed for the calculations involved in such systems, proved to be a particularly useful tool. The most significant findings from the first part of the study, 'Heat extraction from the ground', are presented and some common misconceptions about ground collector systems are clarified. 2 refs.

Space station common module network topology and hardware development

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, P.; Braunagel, L.; Chwirka, S.; Fishman, M.; Freeman, K.; Eason, D.; Landis, D.; Lech, L.; Martin, J.; Mccorkle, J.

1990-01-01

Conceptual space station common module power management and distribution (SSM/PMAD) network layouts and detailed network evaluations were developed. Individual pieces of hardware to be developed for the SSM/PMAD test bed were identified. A technology assessment was developed to identify pieces of equipment requiring development effort. Equipment lists were developed from the previously selected network schematics. Additionally, functional requirements for the network equipment as well as other requirements which affected the suitability of specific items for use on the Space Station Program were identified. Assembly requirements were derived based on the SSM/PMAD developed requirements and on the selected SSM/PMAD network concepts. Basic requirements and simplified design block diagrams are included. DC remote power controllers were successfully integrated into the DC Marshall Space Flight Center breadboard. Two DC remote power controller (RPC) boards experienced mechanical failure of UES 706 stud-mounted diodes during mechanical installation of the boards into the system. These broken diodes caused input to output shorting of the RPC's. The UES 706 diodes were replaced on these RPC's which eliminated the problem. The DC RPC's as existing in the present breadboard configuration do not provide ground fault protection because the RPC was designed to only switch the hot side current. If ground fault protection were to be implemented, it would be necessary to design the system so the RPC switched both the hot and the return sides of power.

A Guide for Using the Transient Ground-Water Flow Model of the Death Valley Regional Ground-Water Flow System, Nevada and California

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joan B. Blainey; Claudia C. Faunt, and Mary C. Hill

2006-05-16

This report is a guide for executing numerical simulations with the transient ground-water flow model of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system, Nevada and California using the U.S. Geological Survey modular finite-difference ground-water flow model, MODFLOW-2000. Model inputs, including observations of hydraulic head, discharge, and boundary flows, are summarized. Modification of the DVRFS transient ground-water model is discussed for two common uses of the Death Valley regional ground-water flow system model: predictive pumping scenarios that extend beyond the end of the model simulation period (1998), and model simulations with only steady-state conditions.

Evaluating data worth for ground-water management under uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, B.J.

1999-01-01

A decision framework is presented for assessing the value of ground-water sampling within the context of ground-water management under uncertainty. The framework couples two optimization models-a chance-constrained ground-water management model and an integer-programing sampling network design model-to identify optimal pumping and sampling strategies. The methodology consists of four steps: (1) The optimal ground-water management strategy for the present level of model uncertainty is determined using the chance-constrained management model; (2) for a specified data collection budget, the monitoring network design model identifies, prior to data collection, the sampling strategy that will minimize model uncertainty; (3) the optimal ground-water management strategy is recalculated on the basis of the projected model uncertainty after sampling; and (4) the worth of the monitoring strategy is assessed by comparing the value of the sample information-i.e., the projected reduction in management costs-with the cost of data collection. Steps 2-4 are repeated for a series of data collection budgets, producing a suite of management/monitoring alternatives, from which the best alternative can be selected. A hypothetical example demonstrates the methodology's ability to identify the ground-water sampling strategy with greatest net economic benefit for ground-water management.A decision framework is presented for assessing the value of ground-water sampling within the context of ground-water management under uncertainty. The framework couples two optimization models - a chance-constrained ground-water management model and an integer-programming sampling network design model - to identify optimal pumping and sampling strategies. The methodology consists of four steps: (1) The optimal ground-water management strategy for the present level of model uncertainty is determined using the chance-constrained management model; (2) for a specified data collection budget, the monitoring

Grounded theory in music therapy research.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Callaghan, Clare

2012-01-01

Grounded theory is one of the most common methodologies used in constructivist (qualitative) music therapy research. Researchers use the term "grounded theory" when denoting varying research designs and theoretical outcomes. This may be challenging for novice researchers when considering whether grounded theory is appropriate for their research phenomena. This paper examines grounded theory within music therapy research. Grounded theory is briefly described, including some of its "contested" ideas. A literature search was conducted using the descriptor "music therapy and grounded theory" in Pubmed, CINAHL PsychlNFO, SCOPUS, ERIC (CSA), Web of Science databases, and a music therapy monograph series. A descriptive analysis was performed on the uncovered studies to examine researched phenomena, grounded theory methods used, and how findings were presented, Thirty music therapy research projects were found in refereed journals and monographs from 1993 to "in press." The Strauss and Corbin approach to grounded theory dominates the field. Descriptors to signify grounded theory components in the studies greatly varied. Researchers have used partial or complete grounded theory methods to examine clients', family members', staff, music therapy "overhearers," music therapists', and students' experiences, as well as music therapy creative products and professional views, issues, and literature. Seven grounded theories were offered. It is suggested that grounded theory researchers clarify what and who inspired their design, why partial grounded theory methods were used (when relevant), and their ontology. By elucidating assumptions underpinning the data collection, analysis, and findings' contribution, researchers will continue to improve music therapy research using grounded theory methods.

The San Miguel Artist Project: A Grounded Theory of "The Emergence of Wonder"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gordon Medlock

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This article employs classical grounded theory methodology to explain the creative process of artists. Two integrally connected core variables are identified: emergence and wonder. Wonder represents the experience that motivates and sustains the creation of works of art, and emergence the process by which the sense of wonder is progressively embodied in the content and form of the work. The theory describes a number of distinct phases, including the experience of wonder, immersion in artistic practice, conceiving a specific work or project, composing the work, presenting the work for an actual or potential audience, and finally moving-on. These phases involve a dynamic stream of recursive processes—sketching, refining, connecting, channeling, and assessing—that ultimately facilitate the emergence of wonder in artistic works. The theory of the emergence of wonder also appears to apply to the research processes of both grounded theory methodology and phenomenology, suggesting that these two research methodologies are more similar and have more in common with the artistic creative process than is commonly acknowledged. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs150256

Does contrast between eggshell ground and spot coloration affect egg rejection?

Science.gov (United States)

Dainson, Miri; Hauber, Mark E; López, Analía V; Grim, Tomáš; Hanley, Daniel

2017-08-01

Obligate avian brood parasitic species impose the costs of incubating foreign eggs and raising young upon their unrelated hosts. The most common host defence is the rejection of parasitic eggs from the nest. Both egg colours and spot patterns influence egg rejection decisions in many host species, yet no studies have explicitly examined the role of variation in spot coloration. We studied the American robin Turdus migratorius, a blue-green unspotted egg-laying host of the brown-headed cowbird Molothrus ater, a brood parasite that lays non-mimetic spotted eggs. We examined host responses to model eggs with variable spot coloration against a constant robin-mimetic ground colour to identify patterns of rejection associated with perceived contrast between spot and ground colours. By using avian visual modelling, we found that robins were more likely to reject eggs whose spots had greater chromatic (hue) but not achromatic (brightness) contrast. Therefore, egg rejection decision rules in the American robin may depend on the colour contrast between parasite eggshell spot and host ground coloration. Our study also suggests that egg recognition in relation to spot coloration, like ground colour recognition, is tuned to the natural variation of avian eggshell spot colours but not to unnatural spot colours.

Genome wide association identifies common variants at the SERPINA6/SERPINA1 locus influencing plasma cortisol and corticosteroid binding globulin.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L Bolton

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Variation in plasma levels of cortisol, an essential hormone in the stress response, is associated in population-based studies with cardio-metabolic, inflammatory and neuro-cognitive traits and diseases. Heritability of plasma cortisol is estimated at 30-60% but no common genetic contribution has been identified. The CORtisol NETwork (CORNET consortium undertook genome wide association meta-analysis for plasma cortisol in 12,597 Caucasian participants, replicated in 2,795 participants. The results indicate that <1% of variance in plasma cortisol is accounted for by genetic variation in a single region of chromosome 14. This locus spans SERPINA6, encoding corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG, the major cortisol-binding protein in plasma, and SERPINA1, encoding α1-antitrypsin (which inhibits cleavage of the reactive centre loop that releases cortisol from CBG. Three partially independent signals were identified within the region, represented by common SNPs; detailed biochemical investigation in a nested sub-cohort showed all these SNPs were associated with variation in total cortisol binding activity in plasma, but some variants influenced total CBG concentrations while the top hit (rs12589136 influenced the immunoreactivity of the reactive centre loop of CBG. Exome chip and 1000 Genomes imputation analysis of this locus in the CROATIA-Korcula cohort identified missense mutations in SERPINA6 and SERPINA1 that did not account for the effects of common variants. These findings reveal a novel common genetic source of variation in binding of cortisol by CBG, and reinforce the key role of CBG in determining plasma cortisol levels. In turn this genetic variation may contribute to cortisol-associated degenerative diseases.

Identifying the African Wintering Grounds of Hybrid Flycatchers Using a Multi-Isotope (d

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veen, T.; Hjernquist, M.B.; Van Wilgenburg, S.L.; Hobson, K.A.; Folmer, E.; Font, L.; Klaassen, M.

2014-01-01

Migratory routes and wintering grounds can have important fitness consequences, which can lead to divergent selection on populations or taxa differing in their migratory itinerary. Collared (Ficedula albicollis) and pied (F. hypoleuca) flycatchers breeding in Europe and wintering in different

Making sense of grounded theory in medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Tara J T; Lingard, Lorelei A

2006-02-01

Grounded theory is a research methodology designed to develop, through collection and analysis of data that is primarily (but not exclusively) qualitative, a well-integrated set of concepts that provide a theoretical explanation of a social phenomenon. This paper aims to provide an introduction to key features of grounded theory methodology within the context of medical education research. In this paper we include a discussion of the origins of grounded theory, a description of key methodological processes, a comment on pitfalls encountered commonly in the application of grounded theory research, and a summary of the strengths of grounded theory methodology with illustrations from the medical education domain. The significant strengths of grounded theory that have resulted in its enduring prominence in qualitative research include its clearly articulated analytical process and its emphasis on the generation of pragmatic theory that is grounded in the data of experience. When applied properly and thoughtfully, grounded theory can address research questions of significant relevance to the domain of medical education.

HE 1113-0641: THE SMALLEST-SEPARATION QUADRUPLE LENS IDENTIFIED BY A GROUND-BASED OPTICAL TELESCOPE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blackburne, Jeffrey A.; Schechter, Paul L.; Wisotzki, Lutz

2008-01-01

The Hamburg/ESO quasar HE 1113-0641 is found to be a quadruple gravitational lens, based on observations with the twin 6.5 m Magellan telescopes at the Las Campanas Observatory, and subsequently with the Hubble Space Telescope. The z S = 1.235 quasar appears in a cross configuration, with i' band magnitudes ranging from 18.0 to 18.8. With a maximum image separation of 0''.67, this is the smallest-separation quadruple ever identified using a ground-based optical telescope. Point-spread function (PSF) subtraction reveals a faint lensing galaxy. A simple lens model succeeds in predicting the observed positions of the components, but fails to match their observed flux ratios by up to a magnitude. We estimate the redshift of the lensing galaxy to be z L ∼ 0.7. Time delay estimates are on the order of a day, suggesting that the flux ratio anomalies are not due to variability of the quasar, but may result from substructure or microlensing in the lens galaxy.

47 CFR 22.857 - Channel plan for commercial aviation air-ground systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... board aircraft. Air-ground systems operating in these frequency bands are referred to in this part as... systems. 22.857 Section 22.857 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES PUBLIC MOBILE SERVICES Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service Commercial Aviation Air-Ground...

Pleiotropy among common genetic loci identified for cardiometabolic disorders and C-reactive protein.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Symen Ligthart

Full Text Available Pleiotropic genetic variants have independent effects on different phenotypes. C-reactive protein (CRP is associated with several cardiometabolic phenotypes. Shared genetic backgrounds may partially underlie these associations. We conducted a genome-wide analysis to identify the shared genetic background of inflammation and cardiometabolic phenotypes using published genome-wide association studies (GWAS. We also evaluated whether the pleiotropic effects of such loci were biological or mediated in nature. First, we examined whether 283 common variants identified for 10 cardiometabolic phenotypes in GWAS are associated with CRP level. Second, we tested whether 18 variants identified for serum CRP are associated with 10 cardiometabolic phenotypes. We used a Bonferroni corrected p-value of 1.1×10-04 (0.05/463 as a threshold of significance. We evaluated the independent pleiotropic effect on both phenotypes using individual level data from the Women Genome Health Study. Evaluating the genetic overlap between inflammation and cardiometabolic phenotypes, we found 13 pleiotropic regions. Additional analyses showed that 6 regions (APOC1, HNF1A, IL6R, PPP1R3B, HNF4A and IL1F10 appeared to have a pleiotropic effect on CRP independent of the effects on the cardiometabolic phenotypes. These included loci where individuals carrying the risk allele for CRP encounter higher lipid levels and risk of type 2 diabetes. In addition, 5 regions (GCKR, PABPC4, BCL7B, FTO and TMEM18 had an effect on CRP largely mediated through the cardiometabolic phenotypes. In conclusion, our results show genetic pleiotropy among inflammation and cardiometabolic phenotypes. In addition to reverse causation, our data suggests that pleiotropic genetic variants partially underlie the association between CRP and cardiometabolic phenotypes.

Joint Regulation of Radionuclides at Connecticut Yankee Haddam Neck Plant - Finding Common Ground and Lessons Learned

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peters, J.; Glucksberg, N.; Fogg, A.; Couture, B.

2006-01-01

During the site closure of nuclear facilities where both radionuclides and chemicals are present in environmental media, state and federal regulatory agencies other than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission often have a stake in the regulation of the site closure process. At the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company (CYAPCO) Haddam Neck Plant in Haddam, Connecticut, the site closure process includes both radiological and chemical cleanup which is regulated by two separate divisions within the state and two federal agencies. Each of the regulatory agencies has unique closure criteria which pertain to radionuclides and, consequently, there is overlapping and in some cases disparate regulation of radionuclides. Considerable effort has been expended by CYAPCO to find common ground in meeting the site closure requirements for radionuclides required by each of the agencies. This paper discusses the approaches that have been used by CYAPCO to address radionuclide site closure requirements. Significant lessons learned from these approaches include the demonstration that public health cleanup criteria for most radionuclides of concern at nuclear power generation facilities are protective for chemical toxicity concerns and are protective for ecological receptors and, consequently, performing a baseline ecological risk assessment for radionuclides at power generation facilities is not generally necessary. (authors)

The relative frequencies of causes of widespread ground-glass opacity: A retrospective cohort

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hewitt, Michael G.; Miller, Wallace T.; Reilly, Thomas J.; Simpson, Scott

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The most common cause of widespread ground-glass opacities is hydrostatic pulmonary edema. • Associated findings such as air-trapping and centrilobular nodules are highly specific for hypersensitivity pneumonitis. • The clinical setting (outpatient versus inpatient) will alter the order of the differential diagnosis. - Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of our study was to determine the relative frequencies of causes of widespread ground-glass opacity (GGO) in an unselected, consecutive patient population and to identify any associated imaging findings that can narrow or reorganize the differential. Materials and methods: The study was approved by the center's IRB and is HIPPA compliant. Cases with widespread GGO in the radiology report were identified by searching the Radiology Information System. Medical records and CT scan examinations were reviewed for the causes of widespread GGO. Associations between a less dominant imaging finding and a particular diagnosis were analyzed with the chi square test. Our study group consisted of 234 examinations with 124 women and 110 men and a mean age of 53.7 years. Results: A cause was established in 204 (87.2%) cases. Hydrostatic pulmonary edema was most common with 131 cases (56%). Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) were the next most common, most often hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) (n = 12, 5%) and connective tissue disease related ILD (n = 7, 3%). Infection accounted for 5% (12 cases). A few miscellaneous diseases accounted for 5 cases (2.1%). The combination of septal thickening and pleural effusions had a specificity of 0.91 for hydrostatic pulmonary edema (P < .001) while centrilobular nodules and air trapping had a specificity of 1.0 for HP. In 24 (10.2%) patients, increased opacification from expiration was incorrectly interpreted as representing widespread ground glass opacity. The relative frequency of disease dramatically changed according to the setting. In the inpatient setting, diffuse

The relative frequencies of causes of widespread ground-glass opacity: A retrospective cohort

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hewitt, Michael G., E-mail: Mike_hewitt@me.com; Miller, Wallace T., E-mail: Wallace.miller@uphs.upenn.edu; Reilly, Thomas J., E-mail: thomasjreilly@comcast.net; Simpson, Scott, E-mail: Simpson80@gmail.com

2014-10-15

Highlights: • The most common cause of widespread ground-glass opacities is hydrostatic pulmonary edema. • Associated findings such as air-trapping and centrilobular nodules are highly specific for hypersensitivity pneumonitis. • The clinical setting (outpatient versus inpatient) will alter the order of the differential diagnosis. - Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of our study was to determine the relative frequencies of causes of widespread ground-glass opacity (GGO) in an unselected, consecutive patient population and to identify any associated imaging findings that can narrow or reorganize the differential. Materials and methods: The study was approved by the center's IRB and is HIPPA compliant. Cases with widespread GGO in the radiology report were identified by searching the Radiology Information System. Medical records and CT scan examinations were reviewed for the causes of widespread GGO. Associations between a less dominant imaging finding and a particular diagnosis were analyzed with the chi square test. Our study group consisted of 234 examinations with 124 women and 110 men and a mean age of 53.7 years. Results: A cause was established in 204 (87.2%) cases. Hydrostatic pulmonary edema was most common with 131 cases (56%). Interstitial lung diseases (ILD) were the next most common, most often hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) (n = 12, 5%) and connective tissue disease related ILD (n = 7, 3%). Infection accounted for 5% (12 cases). A few miscellaneous diseases accounted for 5 cases (2.1%). The combination of septal thickening and pleural effusions had a specificity of 0.91 for hydrostatic pulmonary edema (P < .001) while centrilobular nodules and air trapping had a specificity of 1.0 for HP. In 24 (10.2%) patients, increased opacification from expiration was incorrectly interpreted as representing widespread ground glass opacity. The relative frequency of disease dramatically changed according to the setting. In the inpatient setting, diffuse

Adding Theoretical Grounding to Grounded Theory: Toward Multi-Grounded Theory

OpenAIRE

Göran Goldkuhl; Stefan Cronholm

2010-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to challenge some of the cornerstones of the grounded theory approach and propose an extended and alternative approach for data analysis and theory development, which the authors call multi-grounded theory (MGT). A multi-grounded theory is not only empirically grounded; it is also grounded in other ways. Three different grounding processes are acknowledged: theoretical, empirical, and internal grounding. The authors go beyond the pure inductivist approach in GT an...

Ground Motion Prediction Models for Caucasus Region

Science.gov (United States)

Jorjiashvili, Nato; Godoladze, Tea; Tvaradze, Nino; Tumanova, Nino

2016-04-01

Ground motion prediction models (GMPMs) relate ground motion intensity measures to variables describing earthquake source, path, and site effects. Estimation of expected ground motion is a fundamental earthquake hazard assessment. The most commonly used parameter for attenuation relation is peak ground acceleration or spectral acceleration because this parameter gives useful information for Seismic Hazard Assessment. Since 2003 development of Georgian Digital Seismic Network has started. In this study new GMP models are obtained based on new data from Georgian seismic network and also from neighboring countries. Estimation of models is obtained by classical, statistical way, regression analysis. In this study site ground conditions are additionally considered because the same earthquake recorded at the same distance may cause different damage according to ground conditions. Empirical ground-motion prediction models (GMPMs) require adjustment to make them appropriate for site-specific scenarios. However, the process of making such adjustments remains a challenge. This work presents a holistic framework for the development of a peak ground acceleration (PGA) or spectral acceleration (SA) GMPE that is easily adjustable to different seismological conditions and does not suffer from the practical problems associated with adjustments in the response spectral domain.

Grounding Anger Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Odis E. Simmons, PhD

2017-06-01

Full Text Available One of the things that drew me to grounded theory from the beginning was Glaser and Strauss’ assertion in The Discovery of Grounded Theory that it was useful as a “theoretical foothold” for practical applications (p. 268. From this, when I was a Ph.D student studying under Glaser and Strauss in the early 1970s, I devised a GT based approach to action I later came to call “grounded action.” In this short paper I’ll present a very brief sketch of an anger management program I developed in 1992, using grounded action. I began my research by attending a two-day anger management training workshop designed for training professionals in the most commonly used anger management model. Like other intervention programs I had seen, this model took a psychologizing and pathologizing approach to the issue. Following this, I sat through the full course of an anger management program that used this model, observing the reactions of the participants and the approach of the facilitator. Following each session I conducted open-ended interviews with most of the participants, either individually or in groups of two or three. I had also done previous research in counseling and social work contexts that turned out to be very relevant to an anger management program design.

Pooling the ground: Understanding and coordination in collective sense making.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna eRaczaszek-Leonardi

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Common ground is most often understood as the sum of mutually known beliefs, knowledge and suppositions among the participants in a conversation. It explains why participants do not mention things that should be obvious to both. In some accounts of communication, reaching a mutual understanding, i.e., broadening the common ground, is posed as the ultimate goal of linguistic interactions. Yet, congruent with the more pragmatic views of linguistic behavior, in which language is treated as social coordination, understanding each other is not the purpose (or not the sole purpose of linguistic interactions. This purpose is seen as at least twofold (e.g. Fusaroli, Rączaszek-Leonardi & Tylén, 2014: to maintain the systemic character of a conversing dyad and to organize it into a functional synergy in the face of tasks posed for a dyadic system as a whole. It seems that the notion of common ground may not be sufficient to address this dual character of interaction. In situated communication, in which meaning is created in the very process of interaction, both common (sameness and privileged (diversity information must be pooled task-dependently and across participants. In this paper, we analyze the definitions of common and privileged ground and propose extensions that may facilitate a theoretical account of agents that coordinate via linguistic communication. To illustrate the usefulness of this augmented framework, we apply it to one of the recurrent issues in psycholinguistic research, namely the problem of perspective-taking in dialogue, and draw conclusions for the broader problem of audience design.

Spatial-temporal and modal analysis of propeller induced ground vortices by particle image velocimetry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yang, Y.; Sciacchitano, A.; Veldhuis, L.L.M.; Eitelberg, G.

2016-01-01

During the ground operation of aircraft, there is potentially a system of vortices generated from the ground toward the propulsor, commonly denoted as ground vortices. Although extensive research has been conducted on ground vortices induced by turbofans which were simplified by suction tubes, these

Locating chimpanzee nests and identifying fruiting trees with an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Science.gov (United States)

van Andel, Alexander C; Wich, Serge A; Boesch, Christophe; Koh, Lian Pin; Robbins, Martha M; Kelly, Joseph; Kuehl, Hjalmar S

2015-10-01

Monitoring of animal populations is essential for conservation management. Various techniques are available to assess spatiotemporal patterns of species distribution and abundance. Nest surveys are often used for monitoring great apes. Quickly developing technologies, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used to complement these ground-based surveys, especially for covering large areas rapidly. Aerial surveys have been used successfully to detect the nests of orang-utans. It is unknown if such an approach is practical for African apes, which usually build their nests at lower heights, where they might be obscured by forest canopy. In this 2-month study, UAV-derived aerial imagery was used for two distinct purposes: testing the detectability of chimpanzee nests and identifying fruiting trees used by chimpanzees in Loango National Park (Gabon). Chimpanzee nest data were collected through two approaches: we located nests on the ground and then tried to detect them in UAV photos and vice versa. Ground surveys were conducted using line transects, reconnaissance trails, and opportunistic sampling during which we detected 116 individual nests in 28 nest groups. In complementary UAV images we detected 48% of the individual nests (68% of nest groups) in open coastal forests and 8% of individual nests (33% of nest groups) in closed canopy inland forests. The key factor for nest detectability in UAV imagery was canopy openness. Data on fruiting trees were collected from five line transects. In 122 UAV images 14 species of trees (N = 433) were identified, alongside 37 tree species (N = 205) in complementary ground surveys. Relative abundance of common tree species correlated between ground and UAV surveys. We conclude that UAVs have great potential as a rapid assessment tool for detecting chimpanzee presence in forest with open canopy and assessing fruit tree availability. UAVs may have limited applicability for nest detection in closed canopy forest. �

Common ground: an investigation of environmental management alcohol prevention initiatives in a college community.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Mark D; Dejong, William; Fairlie, Anne M; Lawson, Doreen; Lavigne, Andrea M; Cohen, Fran

2009-07-01

This article presents an evaluation of Common Ground, a media campaign-supported prevention program featuring increased enforcement, decreased alcohol access, and other environmental management initiatives targeting college student drinking. Phase 1 of the media campaign addressed student resistance to environmentally focused prevention by reporting majority student support for alcohol policy and enforcement initiatives. Phase 2 informed students about state laws, university policies, and environmental initiatives. We conducted student telephone surveys, with samples stratified by gender and year in school, for 4 consecutive years at the intervention campus and 3 years at a comparison campus. We did a series of one-way between-subjects analyses of variance and analyses of covariance, followed by tests of linear trend and planned comparisons. Targeted outcomes included perceptions of enforcement and alcohol availability, alcohol use, and alcohol-impaired driving. We examined archived police reports for student incidents, primarily those resulting from loud parties. There were increases at the intervention campus in students' awareness of formal alcohol-control efforts and perceptions of the alcohol environment, likelihood of apprehension for underage drinking, consequences for alcohol-impaired driving, and responsible alcohol service practices. There were decreases in the perceived likelihood of other students' negative behavior at off-campus parties. Police-reported incidents decreased over time; however, perceived consequences for off-campus parties decreased. No changes were observed for difficulty finding an off-campus party, self-reported alcohol use, or alcohol-impaired driving. The intervention successfully altered perceptions of alcohol enforcement, alcohol access, and the local alcohol environment. This study provides important preliminary information to researchers and practitioners engaged in collaborative prevention efforts in campus communities.

A Grounded Theory for Identifying Students with Emotional Disturbance: Promising Practices for Assessment, Intervention, and Service Delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, Dori

2012-01-01

A qualitative grounded theory study examined how practicing professionals involved in the ED identification process reconstructed the category of "emotional disturbance" as it applied to students in an alternative educational setting. A grounded theory integrates six emergent themes and essentially reframes the existing ED criteria in contemporary…

Guide to North Dakota's ground-water resources

Science.gov (United States)

Paulson, Q.F.

1983-01-01

Ground water, the water we pump from the Earth through wells or that which flows naturally from springs, is one of North Dakota's most valuable resources. More than 60 percent of the people living in the State use ground water for one purpose of another. It is the only source of water for thousands of farm families and their livestock. Almost all smaller cities and villages depend solely on groudn water as a source of supply. Increasingly, ground water is being used to irrigate crops and grasslands (fig. 1) during protracted dry spells so common in North Dakota. During recent years there has been a rapid development of rural water ditribution systems in which thousands of farms and rurals residences are connected via underground pipeline to a single water source, usually wells pumping ground water.

Morphology of low-frequency waves in the solar wind and their relation to ground pulsations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Odera, T.J.; Stuart, W.F.

1986-01-01

Three classes of low frequency waves (period range 20 to 80 s) were identified using data from the UCLA fluxgate magnetometer experiment on board the ISEE 2 spacecraft. These are continuous pulsations similar in type to Pc 3, band-limited oscillations distinguished by mixed period fluctuations, and relatively isolated wave bundles. The waves were preferentially observed when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) direction was sunward and were most common when the cone angle, i.e. the angle between IMF and the Sun-Earth line (thetasub(xB)) was often between 15 deg and 45 deg. Their frequency is proportional to the IMF magnitude. Comparison between the waves observed on board the ISEE 2 spacecraft and the Pc 3-4 recorded simultaneously at a mid-latitude ground station, Oulu (L = 4.5), showed that similarity of spectra of the waves in the spacecraft and on the ground was very rare and that correspondence between the events in space and on the ground was extremely low. (author)

Common ground in ILC and CLIC detector concepts

CERN Multimedia

Daisy Yuhas

2013-01-01

The Compact Linear Collider and the International Linear Collider will accelerate particles and create collisions in different ways. Nonetheless, the detector concepts under development share many commonalities.   Timepix chips under scrutiny in the DESY test beam with the help of the beam telescope. CERN physicist Dominik Dannheim explains that the CLIC detector plans are adaptations of the ILC detector designs with a few select modifications. “When we started several years ago, we did not want to reinvent the wheel,” says Dannheim. “The approved ILC detector concepts served as an excellent starting point for our designs.” Essential differences Both CLIC and ILC scientists foresee general-purpose detectors that make measurements with exquisite precision. These colliders, however, have very different operating parameters, which will have important consequences for the various detector components. The ILC’s collision energy is set at 500 GeV ...

Creating common ground

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verschuuren, Bas

2017-01-01

In this thesis, I hold a plea for the recognition and integration of Indigenous people’s realities in conservation practice, management and policy related to their sacred natural sites. Sacred natural sites can be mountains, rivers, forests, trees and rocks that have special spiritual

Finding common ground

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Letts, D.D.

1990-01-01

The following paper discusses citizen participation in the siting of public facilities that are perceived as generally beneficial but locally undesirable. More specifically, the paper draws on experiences from eight years in the field of public policy mediation and several recent policy and siting disputes over geothermal development on the Island of Hawaii

Illuminating Common Ground: Script Writing, Fiction and the 7Ws.

Science.gov (United States)

Rike, Elizabeth K.

1996-01-01

Describes the ongoing work of a teacher whose Summer Institute for Drama/Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee provides training for both theater and classroom teachers. Focuses on her teaching method--improvisational drama--which simultaneously addresses elements common to fiction and script writing, and now contained in the language…

Accounting and marketing: searching a common denominator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David S. Murphy

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Accounting and marketing are very different disciplines. The analysis of customer profitability is one concept that can unite accounting and marketing as a common denominator. In this article I search for common ground between accounting and marketing in the analysis of customer profitability to determine if a common denominator really exists between the two. This analysis focuses on accounting profitability, customer lifetime value, and customer equity. The article ends with a summary of what accountants can do to move the analysis of customer value forward, as an analytical tool, within companies.

Sail GTS ground system analysis: Avionics system engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Lawton, R. M.

1977-01-01

A comparison of two different concepts for the guidance, navigation and control test set signal ground system is presented. The first is a concept utilizing a ground plate to which crew station, avionics racks, electrical power distribution system, master electrical common connection assembly and marshall mated elements system grounds are connected by 4/0 welding cable. An alternate approach has an aluminum sheet interconnecting the signal ground reference points between the crew station and avionics racks. The comparison analysis quantifies the differences between the two concepts in terms of dc resistance, ac resistance and inductive reactance. These parameters are figures of merit for ground system conductors in that the system with the lowest impedance is the most effective in minimizing noise voltage. Although the welding cable system is probably adequate, the aluminum sheet system provides a higher probability of a successful system design.

Ground System Survivability Overview

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-27

Avoidance Blast Mitigation Optimization Customer ILIR RDT&E Funding 5.0 % 0.5% GSS has a proven, technically proficient workforce that meets...Evaluation of Defensive-Aid Suites (ARMED) Common Automatic Fire Extinguishing System ( CAFES ) Transparent Armor Development Ground Combat Vehicle...Survey TRADOC (WFO, CNA, etc) Voice of the Customer Sy st em s En gi ne er in g Publish overarching MIL-STD, design guidelines, technical

Navigating the grounded theory terrain. Part 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, Andrew; Murphy, Kathy; Grealish, Annmarie; Casey, Dympna; Keady, John

2011-01-01

The decision to use grounded theory is not an easy one and this article aims to illustrate and explore the methodological complexity and decision-making process. It explores the decision making of one researcher in the first two years of a grounded theory PhD study looking at the psychosocial training needs of nurses and healthcare assistants working with people with dementia in residential care. It aims to map out three different approaches to grounded theory: classic, Straussian and constructivist. In nursing research, grounded theory is often referred to but it is not always well understood. This confusion is due in part to the history of grounded theory methodology, which is one of development and divergent approaches. Common elements across grounded theory approaches are briefly outlined, along with the key differences of the divergent approaches. Methodological literature pertaining to the three chosen grounded theory approaches is considered and presented to illustrate the options and support the choice made. The process of deciding on classical grounded theory as the version best suited to this research is presented. The methodological and personal factors that directed the decision are outlined. The relative strengths of Straussian and constructivist grounded theories are reviewed. All three grounded theory approaches considered offer the researcher a structured, rigorous methodology, but researchers need to understand their choices and make those choices based on a range of methodological and personal factors. In the second article, the final methodological decision will be outlined and its research application described.

Citrus-orchard ground harbours a diverse, well-established and abundant ground-dwelling spider fauna

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monzo, C.; Molla, O.; Vanaclocha, P.; Monton, H.; Melic, A.; Castanera, P.; Urbaneja, A.

2011-07-01

Ground-dwelling spider assemblages comprise one of the most representative predatory groups to be found in many crops. There is some evidence of the role that ground-dwelling spiders play in controlling certain citrus pests; however, there are almost no studies about the abundance and composition of this predatory group in citrus orchards. A three-year survey conducted using pitfall traps in three citrus orchards in Eastern Spain yielded more than five-thousand ground-dwelling spiders belonging to more than 50 species and 20 families. Wandering families such as Lycosidae, Gnaphosidae and Zodariidae were the most numerous in terms of captures. The generalist predator Pardosa cribata Simon (Araneae: Lycosidae) was the most common species, representing a quarter of all captures, followed by Zodarion cesari Pekar. (Araneae: Zodariidae) and Trachyzelotes fuscipes (Koch) (Araneae: Gnaphosidae). Spiders were active throughout the year with a peak population in summer. The species abundance data for the three spider assemblages sampled fitted a log normal statistical model which is consistent with a well-established community. The presence of a cover crop provided higher abundance of alternative prey and consequently higher abundance and diversity of ground-dwelling spiders. This work demonstrates that the citrus-orchard ground harbours a diverse and abundant ground-dwelling spider fauna, which is also active throughout the year. A challenge for future studies will be to establish conservation management strategies for these predators, that will improve biological control of those citrus pests that inhabit or spend part of their life cycle on the orchard floor. (Author) 49 refs.

Ground and Space Radar Volume Matching and Comparison Software

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Kenneth; Schwaller, Mathew

2010-01-01

This software enables easy comparison of ground- and space-based radar observations. The software was initially designed to compare ground radar reflectivity from operational, ground based Sand C-band meteorological radars with comparable measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite s Precipitation Radar (PR) instrument. The software is also applicable to other ground-based and space-based radars. The ground and space radar volume matching and comparison software was developed in response to requirements defined by the Ground Validation System (GVS) of Goddard s Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) project. This software innovation is specifically concerned with simplifying the comparison of ground- and spacebased radar measurements for the purpose of GPM algorithm and data product validation. This software is unique in that it provides an operational environment to routinely create comparison products, and uses a direct geometric approach to derive common volumes of space- and ground-based radar data. In this approach, spatially coincident volumes are defined by the intersection of individual space-based Precipitation Radar rays with the each of the conical elevation sweeps of the ground radar. Thus, the resampled volume elements of the space and ground radar reflectivity can be directly compared to one another.

Grouping puts figure-ground assignment in context by constraining propagation of edge assignment.

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Joseph L; Brook, Joseph L; Driver, Jon

2010-05-01

Figure-ground organization involves the assignment of edges to a figural shape on one or the other side of each dividing edge. Established visual cues for edge assignment primarily concern relatively local rather than contextual factors. In the present article, we show that an assignment for a locally unbiased edge can be affected by an assignment of a remote contextual edge that has its own locally biased assignment. We find that such propagation of edge assignment from the biased remote context occurs only when the biased and unbiased edges are grouped. This new principle, whereby grouping constrains the propagation of figural edge assignment, emerges from both subjective reports and an objective short-term edge-matching task. It generalizes from moving displays involving grouping by common fate and collinearity, to static displays with grouping by similarity of edge-contrast polarity, or apparent occlusion. Our results identify a new contextual influence on edge assignment. They also identify a new mechanistic relation between grouping and figure-ground processes, whereby grouping between remote elements can constrain the propagation of edge assignment between those elements. Supplemental materials for this article may be downloaded from http://app.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.

Interaction and common ground in dementia: Communication across linguistic and cultural diversity in a residential dementia care setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Strandroos, Lisa; Antelius, Eleonor

2017-09-01

Previous research concerning bilingual people with a dementia disease has mainly focused on the importance of sharing a spoken language with caregivers. While acknowledging this, this article addresses the multidimensional character of communication and interaction. As using spoken language is made difficult as a consequence of the dementia disease, this multidimensionality becomes particularly important. The article is based on a qualitative analysis of ethnographic fieldwork at a dementia care facility. It presents ethnographic examples of different communicative forms, with particular focus on bilingual interactions. Interaction is understood as a collective and collaborative activity. The text finds that a shared spoken language is advantageous, but is not the only source of, nor a guarantee for, creating common ground and understanding. Communicative resources other than spoken language are for example body language, embodiment, artefacts and time. Furthermore, forms of communication are not static but develop, change and are created over time. Ability to communicate is thus not something that one has or has not, but is situationally and collaboratively created. To facilitate this, time and familiarity are central resources, and the results indicate the importance of continuity in interpersonal relations.

Simulated earthquake ground motions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanmarcke, E.H.; Gasparini, D.A.

1977-01-01

The paper reviews current methods for generating synthetic earthquake ground motions. Emphasis is on the special requirements demanded of procedures to generate motions for use in nuclear power plant seismic response analysis. Specifically, very close agreement is usually sought between the response spectra of the simulated motions and prescribed, smooth design response spectra. The features and capabilities of the computer program SIMQKE, which has been widely used in power plant seismic work are described. Problems and pitfalls associated with the use of synthetic ground motions in seismic safety assessment are also pointed out. The limitations and paucity of recorded accelerograms together with the widespread use of time-history dynamic analysis for obtaining structural and secondary systems' response have motivated the development of earthquake simulation capabilities. A common model for synthesizing earthquakes is that of superposing sinusoidal components with random phase angles. The input parameters for such a model are, then, the amplitudes and phase angles of the contributing sinusoids as well as the characteristics of the variation of motion intensity with time, especially the duration of the motion. The amplitudes are determined from estimates of the Fourier spectrum or the spectral density function of the ground motion. These amplitudes may be assumed to be varying in time or constant for the duration of the earthquake. In the nuclear industry, the common procedure is to specify a set of smooth response spectra for use in aseismic design. This development and the need for time histories have generated much practical interest in synthesizing earthquakes whose response spectra 'match', or are compatible with a set of specified smooth response spectra

Determining Component Probability using Problem Report Data for Ground Systems used in Manned Space Flight

Science.gov (United States)

Monaghan, Mark W.; Gillespie, Amanda M.

2013-01-01

During the shuttle era NASA utilized a failure reporting system called the Problem Reporting and Corrective Action (PRACA) it purpose was to identify and track system non-conformance. The PRACA system over the years evolved from a relatively nominal way to identify system problems to a very complex tracking and report generating data base. The PRACA system became the primary method to categorize any and all anomalies from corrosion to catastrophic failure. The systems documented in the PRACA system range from flight hardware to ground or facility support equipment. While the PRACA system is complex, it does possess all the failure modes, times of occurrence, length of system delay, parts repaired or replaced, and corrective action performed. The difficulty is mining the data then to utilize that data in order to estimate component, Line Replaceable Unit (LRU), and system reliability analysis metrics. In this paper, we identify a methodology to categorize qualitative data from the ground system PRACA data base for common ground or facility support equipment. Then utilizing a heuristic developed for review of the PRACA data determine what reports identify a credible failure. These data are the used to determine inter-arrival times to perform an estimation of a metric for repairable component-or LRU reliability. This analysis is used to determine failure modes of the equipment, determine the probability of the component failure mode, and support various quantitative differing techniques for performing repairable system analysis. The result is that an effective and concise estimate of components used in manned space flight operations. The advantage is the components or LRU's are evaluated in the same environment and condition that occurs during the launch process.

The diversity and abundance of ground herbs in lowland mixed dipterocarp forest and heath forest in Brunei Darussalam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurul Hazlina Zaini

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Herbaceous plants are important components of total plant species richness in tropical forests. Ground herb diversity and abundance were studied in a lowland Mixed Dipterocarp forest (Andulau and a heath forest (Bukit Sawat in Brunei Darussalam, Borneo. At each site, all ground herbs in twenty randomly selected 10 × 10 m subplots within a one hectare permanent plot were censused and identified. The study recorded a total of 20 families and 32 genera of ground herbs, with the family Zingiberaceae as the most abundant at both sites. Thirteen genera were recorded only at Andulau and 7 genera were exclusive to Bukit Sawat, with twelve genera common to both sites. Ground herb species richness appear higher at Andulau than Bukit Sawat (37 vs. 29, but this difference was not statistically significant at the subplot level. However, ground herb abundance and density were significantly higher at Bukit Sawat than Andulau (n =  846 vs. 385; 4230 vs. 1925 individuals ha-1. The more open canopy at Bukit Sawat may provide higher light availability here than at Andulau, which is characterised by a closed canopy. We suggest that light availability is the most important environmental factor influencing ground herb density and abundance at these sites. 

Human Brucellosis in Khartoum State: A Commonly ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Human Brucellosis in Khartoum State: A Commonly Underdiagnosed Disease. AAA Mustafa, HS Hassan. Abstract. Back ground: Human brucellosis is a major debilitating zoonotic disease. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella Methods: The serum antibody titres to Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus of one ...

Bacteriological investigation of ground water sources in selected ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

cml

2012-06-16

Jun 16, 2012 ... Microbial contamination of ground water sources is a common problem in all the big cities, which endangers ... include leakage of pipes, pollution from sewerage pipes ..... and Quality Control Authority, Karachi, Pakistan.

Unmanned Ground Systems Roadmap

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-01

quality metric tracking history . 1.4.3.4 Technical Management Division The mission of the RS JPO Technical Management (Tech Mgt) Division is to...missions dictate radio capabilities. IP version 4 ( IPv4 ) is the common IP standard used on IP addressable devices of UGVs, however, Unmanned Ground...Systems Roadmap UNCLASSIFIED 26 UNCLASSIFIED July 2011 IPv4 addresses are projected to run out and UGV systems will need to migrate to IP version 6

A multi-sample based method for identifying common CNVs in normal human genomic structure using high-resolution aCGH data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chihyun Park

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: It is difficult to identify copy number variations (CNV in normal human genomic data due to noise and non-linear relationships between different genomic regions and signal intensity. A high-resolution array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH containing 42 million probes, which is very large compared to previous arrays, was recently published. Most existing CNV detection algorithms do not work well because of noise associated with the large amount of input data and because most of the current methods were not designed to analyze normal human samples. Normal human genome analysis often requires a joint approach across multiple samples. However, the majority of existing methods can only identify CNVs from a single sample. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We developed a multi-sample-based genomic variations detector (MGVD that uses segmentation to identify common breakpoints across multiple samples and a k-means-based clustering strategy. Unlike previous methods, MGVD simultaneously considers multiple samples with different genomic intensities and identifies CNVs and CNV zones (CNVZs; CNVZ is a more precise measure of the location of a genomic variant than the CNV region (CNVR. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: We designed a specialized algorithm to detect common CNVs from extremely high-resolution multi-sample aCGH data. MGVD showed high sensitivity and a low false discovery rate for a simulated data set, and outperformed most current methods when real, high-resolution HapMap datasets were analyzed. MGVD also had the fastest runtime compared to the other algorithms evaluated when actual, high-resolution aCGH data were analyzed. The CNVZs identified by MGVD can be used in association studies for revealing relationships between phenotypes and genomic aberrations. Our algorithm was developed with standard C++ and is available in Linux and MS Windows format in the STL library. It is freely available at: http://embio.yonsei.ac.kr/~Park/mgvd.php.

Bipolar cloud-to-ground lightning flash observations

Science.gov (United States)

Saba, Marcelo M. F.; Schumann, Carina; Warner, Tom A.; Helsdon, John H.; Schulz, Wolfgang; Orville, Richard E.

2013-10-01

lightning is usually defined as a lightning flash where the current waveform exhibits a polarity reversal. There are very few reported cases of cloud-to-ground (CG) bipolar flashes using only one channel in the literature. Reports on this type of bipolar flashes are not common due to the fact that in order to confirm that currents of both polarities follow the same channel to the ground, one necessarily needs video records. This study presents five clear observations of single-channel bipolar CG flashes. High-speed video and electric field measurement observations are used and analyzed. Based on the video images obtained and based on previous observations of positive CG flashes with high-speed cameras, we suggest that positive leader branches which do not participate in the initial return stroke of a positive cloud-to-ground flash later generate recoil leaders whose negative ends, upon reaching the branch point, traverse the return stroke channel path to the ground resulting in a subsequent return stroke of opposite polarity.

TFTR grounding scheme and ground-monitor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viola, M.

1983-01-01

The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) grounding system utilizes a single-point ground. It is located directly under the machine, at the basement floor level, and is tied to the building perimeter ground. Wired to this single-point ground, via individual 500 MCM insulated cables, are: the vacuum vessel; four toroidal field coil cases/inner support structure quadrants; umbrella structure halves; the substructure ring girder; radial beams and columns; and the diagnostic systems. Prior to the first machine operation, a ground-loop removal program was initiated. It required insulation of all hangers and supports (within a 35-foot radius of the center of the machine) of the various piping, conduits, cable trays, and ventilation systems. A special ground-monitor system was designed and installed. It actively monitors each of the individual machine grounds to insure that there are no inadvertent ground loops within the machine structure or its ground and that the machine grounds are intact prior to each pulse. The TFTR grounding system has proven to be a very manageable system and one that is easy to maintain

2001 Bhuj, India, earthquake engineering seismoscope recordings and Eastern North America ground-motion attenuation relations

Science.gov (United States)

Cramer, C.H.; Kumar, A.

2003-01-01

Engineering seismoscope data collected at distances less than 300 km for the M 7.7 Bhuj, India, mainshock are compatible with ground-motion attenuation in eastern North America (ENA). The mainshock ground-motion data have been corrected to a common geological site condition using the factors of Joyner and Boore (2000) and a classification scheme of Quaternary or Tertiary sediments or rock. We then compare these data to ENA ground-motion attenuation relations. Despite uncertainties in recording method, geological site corrections, common tectonic setting, and the amount of regional seismic attenuation, the corrected Bhuj dataset agrees with the collective predictions by ENA ground-motion attenuation relations within a factor of 2. This level of agreement is within the dataset uncertainties and the normal variance for recorded earthquake ground motions.

Attenuation characteristics of seismic motion based on earthquake observation records. Identification of damping factor at hard rock sites and its influences on ground stability evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Hiroaki; Kanatani, Mamoru; Ohtori, Yasuki

2005-01-01

In this report, we examined validity of currently available ground stability evaluation method by applying commonly used damping factor which was invariant for frequency. First, we conducted a survey of the actual conditions of damping factors, which were used in ground stability evaluation, on 10 existing nuclear power plants. As a result, we found that damping factor of 0.03(3%) was used in of 80 percent investigated plants. Next, a spectral inversion method using very fast simulated annealing was proposed for identifying damping factor and its lower limit. Here, the lower limit of damping factor means intrinsic damping factor. The developed inversion method was applied to borehole array data recorded at hard rock ground. From the inversion, it was found that intrinsic damping factor of hard rock ground distributed between about 0.03(3%) and 0.06(3%) at a depth of less than 100m, and between about 0.003(0.3%) and 0.01(1%) at a depth of more than 100m. Furthermore, we indicated that scattering damping factor with in a depth of less than 100m was in proportion to the almost -1.0 power of the frequency, and the factor in a depth of more than 100m had a peak in a frequency range from about 1.0 to 5.0 Hz. Therefore, it was recognized that commonly used damping of 0.03(3%) expressed intrinsic damping factor of shallower hard rock ground. Finally, we estimated the influences of damping factor on ground stability evaluation by 2D dynamic FEM analyses of hard rock foundation ground considering 8 slipping lines using 6 combinations of damping factor. It was demonstrated that the variation of damping factor was not so decisive on the results of ground stability evaluation. This suggests present ground stability evaluation method by applying commonly used damping factor is reasonable for hard rock sites. (author)

Space vehicle field unit and ground station system

Science.gov (United States)

Judd, Stephen; Dallmann, Nicholas; Delapp, Jerry; Proicou, Michael; Seitz, Daniel; Michel, John; Enemark, Donald

2017-09-19

A field unit and ground station may use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and share a common architecture, where differences in functionality are governed by software. The field units and ground stations may be easy to deploy, relatively inexpensive, and be relatively easy to operate. A novel file system may be used where datagrams of a file may be stored across multiple drives and/or devices. The datagrams may be received out of order and reassembled at the receiving device.

Calculation of ground vibration spectra from heavy military vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Krylov, V. V.; Pickup, S.; McNuff, J.

2010-07-01

The demand for reliable autonomous systems capable to detect and identify heavy military vehicles becomes an important issue for UN peacekeeping forces in the current delicate political climate. A promising method of detection and identification is the one using the information extracted from ground vibration spectra generated by heavy military vehicles, often termed as their seismic signatures. This paper presents the results of the theoretical investigation of ground vibration spectra generated by heavy military vehicles, such as tanks and armed personnel carriers. A simple quarter car model is considered to identify the resulting dynamic forces applied from a vehicle to the ground. Then the obtained analytical expressions for vehicle dynamic forces are used for calculations of generated ground vibrations, predominantly Rayleigh surface waves, using Green's function method. A comparison of the obtained theoretical results with the published experimental data shows that analytical techniques based on the simplified quarter car vehicle model are capable of producing ground vibration spectra of heavy military vehicles that reproduce basic properties of experimental spectra.

Simulation of ground-water flow and land subsidence in the Antelope Valley ground-water basin, California

Science.gov (United States)

Leighton, David A.; Phillips, Steven P.

2003-01-01

Antelope Valley, California, is a topographically closed basin in the western part of the Mojave Desert, about 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles. The Antelope Valley ground-water basin is about 940 square miles and is separated from the northern part of Antelope Valley by faults and low-lying hills. Prior to 1972, ground water provided more than 90 percent of the total water supply in the valley; since 1972, it has provided between 50 and 90 percent. Most ground-water pumping in the valley occurs in the Antelope Valley ground-water basin, which includes the rapidly growing cities of Lancaster and Palmdale. Ground-water-level declines of more than 200 feet in some parts of the ground-water basin have resulted in an increase in pumping lifts, reduced well efficiency, and land subsidence of more than 6 feet in some areas. Future urban growth and limits on the supply of imported water may continue to increase reliance on ground water. To better understand the ground-water flow system and to develop a tool to aid in effectively managing the water resources, a numerical model of ground-water flow and land subsidence in the Antelope Valley ground-water basin was developed using old and new geohydrologic information. The ground-water flow system consists of three aquifers: the upper, middle, and lower aquifers. The aquifers, which were identified on the basis of the hydrologic properties, age, and depth of the unconsolidated deposits, consist of gravel, sand, silt, and clay alluvial deposits and clay and silty clay lacustrine deposits. Prior to ground-water development in the valley, recharge was primarily the infiltration of runoff from the surrounding mountains. Ground water flowed from the recharge areas to discharge areas around the playas where it discharged either from the aquifer system as evapotranspiration or from springs. Partial barriers to horizontal ground-water flow, such as faults, have been identified in the ground-water basin. Water-level declines owing to

Design and validation of inert homemade explosive simulants for ground penetrating radar

Science.gov (United States)

VanderGaast, Brian W.; McFee, John E.; Russell, Kevin L.; Faust, Anthony A.

2015-05-01

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) identified a requirement for inert simulants to act as improvised, or homemade, explosives (IEs) when training on, or evaluating, ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems commonly used in the detection of buried landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In response, Defence R and D Canada (DRDC) initiated a project to develop IE simulant formulations using commonly available inert materials. These simulants are intended to approximate the expected GPR response of common ammonium nitrate-based IEs, in particular ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO) and ammonium nitrate/aluminum (ANAl). The complex permittivity over the range of electromagnetic frequencies relevant to standard GPR systems was measured for bulk quantities of these three IEs that had been fabricated at DRDC Suffield Research Centre. Following these measurements, published literature was examined to find benign materials with both a similar complex permittivity, as well as other physical properties deemed desirable - such as low-toxicity, thermal stability, and commercial availability - in order to select candidates for subsequent simulant formulation. Suitable simulant formulations were identified for ANFO, with resulting complex permittivities measured to be within acceptable limits of target values. These IE formulations will now undergo end-user trials with CAF operators in order to confirm their utility. Investigations into ANAl simulants continues. This progress report outlines the development program, simulant design, and current validation results.

Ground-Penetrating Radar Investigations along Hajipur Fault: Himalayan Frontal Thrust—Attempt to Identify Near Subsurface Displacement, NW Himalaya, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javed N. Malik

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The study area falls in the mesoseismal zone of 1905 Kangra earthquake (Mw 7.8. To identify appropriate trenching site for paleoseismic investigation and to understand the faulting geometry, ground-penetrating radar (GPR survey was conducted across a Hajipur Fault (HF2 scarp, a branching out fault of Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT in a foot hill zone of NW Himalaya. Several 2D and 3D profiles were collected using 200 MHz antenna with SIR 3000 unit. A 2D GPR profile collected across the HF2 scarp revealed prominent hyperbolas and discontinuous-warped reflections, suggesting a metal pipe and a zone of deformation along a low-angle thrust fault, respectively. The 3D profile revealed remarkable variation in dip of the fault plane and pattern of deformation along the strike of the fault.

Hanford Site ground-water monitoring for 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, J.C.; Bryce, R.W.; Bates, D.J.

1992-06-01

The Pacific Northwest Laboratory monitors ground-water quality across the Hanford Site for the US Department of Energy (DOE) to assess the impact of Site operations on the environment. Monitoring activities were conducted to determine the distribution of mobile radionuclides and identify chemicals present in ground water as a result of Site operations and whenever possible, relate the distribution of these constituents to Site operations. To comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, additional monitoring was conducted at individual waste sites by the Site Operating Contractor, Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC), to assess the impact that specific facilities have had on ground-water quality. Six hundred and twenty-nine wells were sampled during 1990 by all Hanford ground-water monitoring activities

North Village Ground Source Heat Pump Demonstration Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Redderson, Jeff

2015-08-03

This project demonstrated the feasibility of converting from a traditional direct exchange system to a ground source heat pump system on a large scale, multiple building apartment complex on a university campus. A total of ten apartment buildings were converted using vertical well fields and a ground source loop that connected the 24 apartments in each building into a common system. The system has yielded significant operational savings in both energy and maintenance and transformed the living environments of these residential buildings for our students.

GIS Analysis of Available Data to Identify regions in the U.S. Where Shallow Ground Water Supplies are Particularly Vulnerable to Contamination by Releases to Biofuels from Underground Storage Tanks

Science.gov (United States)

GIS analysis of available data to identify regions in the U.S. where shallow ground water supplies are particularly vulnerable to contamination by releases of biofuels from underground storage tanks. In this slide presentation, GIS was used to perform a simple numerical and ...

Component Commonality and Its Cost Implications - Increasing the Commonality of the Right Components

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lyly-Yrjänäinen, Jouni; Suomala, Petri; Israelsen, Poul

Component commonality (Labro 2004, Zhou & Gruppström 2004) can be defined as the use of the same version of a component across multiple products. It is usually seen as a means to manage costs without sacrificing product variety. However, when managing costs with component commonality, the managers...... constructions was identified as the most important bottleneck for the delivery process causing many indirect costs, especially with respect to project-management-related activities. Interestingly, by eliminating the need for mechanical engineering, the context starts to approach assembly-to-order context, also...... should be able to identify rather rapidly which group of components would enable the most significant cost reductions. Unfortunately, the existing literature lacks profound discussion of how to identify the right components for increased component commonality. The objective of the paper is to discuss how...

Habitat preferences of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) species in the northern Black Hills of South Dakota.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergmann, David J; Brandenburg, Dylan; Petit, Samantha; Gabel, Mark

2012-10-01

Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) are a major component of terrestrial invertebrate communities and have been used as bioindicators of habitat change and disturbance. The Black Hills of South Dakota is a small area with a high biodiversity, but the ground beetles of this region are little studied. The habitat preferences of ground beetles in the Black Hills are unknown, and baseline data must be collected if these beetles are to be used in the future as bioindicators. Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were collected from pitfall traps at two sites in each of five kinds of habitats (grassland, bur oak-ironwood forests, ponderosa pine-common juniper forests, aspen-pine forests, and a spruce forest) from which habitat structure characteristics and plant abundance data also were collected. In total, 27 species of ground beetles were identified. Although some species, such as Dicaelus sculptilis Say were found in most habitats, other species showed distinct habitat preferences: Poecilus lucublandus (Say) preferred oak forests, Pasimachus elongatus LeConte preferred grasslands, and Calathus ingratus Dejean preferred high-elevation aspen-pine forests. Pterostichus adstrictus Escholtz was found only in woodlands, and Carabus taedatus Say strictly in higher elevation (over 1,500 m) aspen or coniferous woods, and may represent relict populations of boreal species. Elevation, exposure to sunlight, and cover of woody plants strongly influence the structure of carabid communities in the Black Hills.

Analytic game—theoretic approach to ground-water extraction

Science.gov (United States)

Loáiciga, Hugo A.

2004-09-01

The roles of cooperation and non-cooperation in the sustainable exploitation of a jointly used groundwater resource have been quantified mathematically using an analytical game-theoretic formulation. Cooperative equilibrium arises when ground-water users respect water-level constraints and consider mutual impacts, which allows them to derive economic benefits from ground-water indefinitely, that is, to achieve sustainability. This work shows that cooperative equilibrium can be obtained from the solution of a quadratic programming problem. For cooperative equilibrium to hold, however, enforcement must be effective. Otherwise, according to the commonized costs-privatized profits paradox, there is a natural tendency towards non-cooperation and non-sustainable aquifer mining, of which overdraft is a typical symptom. Non-cooperative behavior arises when at least one ground-water user neglects the externalities of his adopted ground-water pumping strategy. In this instance, water-level constraints may be violated in a relatively short time and the economic benefits from ground-water extraction fall below those obtained with cooperative aquifer use. One example illustrates the game theoretic approach of this work.

Effects of energy development on ground water quality: an overview and preliminary assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parker, W.M. III; Yin, S.C.L.; Davis, M.J.; Kutz, W.J.

1981-07-01

A preliminary national overview of the various effects on ground water quality likely to result from energy development. Based on estimates of present and projected energy-development activities, those regions of the country are identified where ground water quality has the potential for being adversely affected. The general causes of change in ground water quality are reviewed. Specific effects on ground water quality of selected energy technologies are discussed, and some case-history material is provided. A brief overview of pertinent legislation relating to the protection and management of ground water quality is presented. Six methodologies that have some value for assessing the potential effects on ground water quality of energy development activities are reviewed. A method of identifying regions in the 48 contiguous states where there is a potential for ground water quality problems is described and then applied

Online Aerial Terrain Mapping for Ground Robot Navigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Peterson

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This work presents a collaborative unmanned aerial and ground vehicle system which utilizes the aerial vehicle’s overhead view to inform the ground vehicle’s path planning in real time. The aerial vehicle acquires imagery which is assembled into a orthomosaic and then classified. These terrain classes are used to estimate relative navigation costs for the ground vehicle so energy-efficient paths may be generated and then executed. The two vehicles are registered in a common coordinate frame using a real-time kinematic global positioning system (RTK GPS and all image processing is performed onboard the unmanned aerial vehicle, which minimizes the data exchanged between the vehicles. This paper describes the architecture of the system and quantifies the registration errors between the vehicles.

Development of a Ground Water Data Portal for Interoperable Data Exchange within the U.S. National Ground Water Monitoring Network and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Booth, N. L.; Brodaric, B.; Lucido, J. M.; Kuo, I.; Boisvert, E.; Cunningham, W. L.

2011-12-01

using the OGC Sensor Observation Service (SOS) standard. Ground Water Markup Language (GWML) encodes well log, lithology and construction information and is exchanged using the OGC Web Feature Service (WFS) standard. Within the NGWMN Data Portal, data exchange between distributed data provider repositories is achieved through the use of these web services and a central mediation hub, which performs both format (syntactic) and nomenclature (semantic) mediation, conforming heterogeneous inputs into common standards-based outputs. Through these common standards, interoperability between the U.S. NGWMN and Canada's Groundwater Information Network (GIN) is achieved, advancing a ground water virtual observatory across North America.

Incremental Dynamic Analysis of Koyna Dam under Repeated Ground Motions

Science.gov (United States)

Zainab Nik Azizan, Nik; Majid, Taksiah A.; Nazri, Fadzli Mohamed; Maity, Damodar; Abdullah, Junaidah

2018-03-01

This paper discovers the incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) of concrete gravity dam under single and repeated earthquake loadings to identify the limit state of the dam. Seven ground motions with horizontal and vertical direction as seismic input considered in the nonlinear dynamic analysis based on the real repeated earthquake in the worldwide. All the ground motions convert to respond spectrum and scaled according to the developed elastic respond spectrum in order to match the characteristic of the ground motion to the soil type. The scaled was depends on the fundamental period, T1 of the dam. The Koyna dam has been selected as a case study for the purpose of the analysis by assuming that no sliding and rigid foundation, has been estimated. IDA curves for Koyna dam developed for single and repeated ground motions and the performance level of the dam identifies. The IDA curve of repeated ground motion shown stiffer rather than single ground motion. The ultimate state displacement for a single event is 45.59mm and decreased to 39.33mm under repeated events which are decreased about 14%. This showed that the performance level of the dam based on seismic loadings depend on ground motion pattern.

Classroom research in religious education: The potential of grounded theory

OpenAIRE

Rothgangel, Martin; Saup, Judith

2017-01-01

Grounded theory is one of the most common qualitative research strategies in social sciences. Currently, many applications of this theory are being developed for religious education. In the article it is argued that grounded theory deserves special attention for classroom research in religious education. For this reason, the basic features (fundamental openness and concurrence of data collection and analysis; constant comparison and asking analytical questions) as well as the coding strategie...

Solid waste burial grounds interim safety analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, G.H.

1994-01-01

This Interim Safety Analysis document supports the authorization basis for the interim operation and restrictions on interim operations for the near-surface land disposal of solid waste in the Solid Waste Burial Grounds. The Solid Waste Burial Grounds Interim Safety Basis supports the upgrade progress for the safety analysis report and the technical safety requirements for the operations in the Solid Waste Burial Grounds. Accident safety analysis scenarios have been analyzed based on the significant events identified in the preliminary hazards analysis. The interim safety analysis provides an evaluation of the operations in the Solid Waste Burial Grounds to determine if the radiological and hazardous material exposures will be acceptable from an overall health and safety standpoint to the worker, the onsite personnel, the public, and the environment

Solid waste burial grounds interim safety analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saito, G.H.

1994-10-01

This Interim Safety Analysis document supports the authorization basis for the interim operation and restrictions on interim operations for the near-surface land disposal of solid waste in the Solid Waste Burial Grounds. The Solid Waste Burial Grounds Interim Safety Basis supports the upgrade progress for the safety analysis report and the technical safety requirements for the operations in the Solid Waste Burial Grounds. Accident safety analysis scenarios have been analyzed based on the significant events identified in the preliminary hazards analysis. The interim safety analysis provides an evaluation of the operations in the Solid Waste Burial Grounds to determine if the radiological and hazardous material exposures will be acceptable from an overall health and safety standpoint to the worker, the onsite personnel, the public, and the environment.

National water summary 1986; Hydrologic events and ground-water quality

Science.gov (United States)

Moody, David W.; Carr, Jerry E.; Chase, Edith B.; Paulson, Richard W.

1988-01-01

Ground water is one of the most important natural resources of the United States and degradation of its quality could have a major effect on the welfare of the Nation. Currently (1985), ground water is the source of drinking water for 53 percent of the Nation's population and for more than 97 percent of its rural population. It is the source of about 40 percent of the Nation's public water supply, 33 percent of water for irrigation, and 17 percent of freshwater for selfsupplied industries.Ground water also is the source of about 40 percent of the average annual streamflow in the United States, although during long periods of little or no precipitation, ground-water discharges provide nearly all of the base streamflow. This hydraulic connection between aquifers and streams implies that if a persistent pollutant gets into an aquifer, it eventually could discharge into a stream.Information presented in the 1986 National Water Summary clearly shows that the United States has very large amounts of potable ground water available for use. Although naturally occurring constituents, such as nitrate, and human-induced substances, such as synthetic organic chemicals, frequently are detected in ground water, their concentrations usually do not exceed existing Federal or State standards or guidelines for maximum concentrations in drinking water.Troublesome contamination of ground water falls into two basic categories related to the source or sources of the contamination. Locally, high concentrations of a variety of toxic metals, organic chemicals, and petroleum products have been detected in ground water associated with point sources such as wastedisposal sites, storage-tank leaks, and hazardous chemical spills. These types of local problems commonly occur in densely populated urban areas and industrialized areas. Larger, multicounty areas also have been identified where contamination frequently is found in shallow wells. These areas generally are associated with broad

Structural Design and Response in Collision and Grounding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brown, Alan; Tikka, Kirsi; Daidola, John C.

2000-01-01

on Collision and Grounding of Ships, to be held in Copenhagen, July 1-3,2001, will also present and discuss many of the results of this panel and other related research. The paper discusses four primary areas of panel work: collision and grounding models, data, accident scenarios and design applications....... A probabilistic framework for assessing the crashworthiness of ships is presented. Results obtained from various grounding and collision models are compared to validating cases and to each other. Data necessary for proper model validation and probabilistic accident scenario development are identified. Deformable...

LANDSAT-D ground segment operations plan, revision A

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, B.

1982-01-01

The basic concept for the utilization of LANDSAT ground processing resources is described. Only the steady state activities that support normal ground processing are addressed. This ground segment operations plan covers all processing of the multispectral scanner and the processing of thematic mapper through data acquisition and payload correction data generation for the LANDSAT 4 mission. The capabilities embedded in the hardware and software elements are presented from an operations viewpoint. The personnel assignments associated with each functional process and the mechanisms available for controlling the overall data flow are identified.

Commoning in the periphery – The role of the commons for understanding rural continuities and change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emil Sandström

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This paper explores how commons reproduce over time and introduces the concept of commoning to discuss rural continuities and change. The point of departure is that commons are essential for local community development in that they have an important role for mediating social change and for local identity production. Through an ethnographic and historical study of a number of commons systems from the village of Ängersjö in the Midwest of Sweden, the paper argues for a more historically and socially grounded understanding of how commons evolve. The paper examines Ängersjö’s commons within two broad historical time frames – the pre-industrial (4th to 20th century and the post-industrial time periods (20th century to the present – in order to understand commons, not just as arenas for resource extraction and resource struggles, but also as important contexts for identity formation, local mobilisation and for shaping rural change. The paper reveals how the commons have co-evolved with changes in society at large and how the meanings and functions of the commons have changed throughout history – from being important economic resources – to cultural and symbolic resources that have created new avenues for collective action.

Lightning and surge protection of large ground facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Stringfellow, Michael F.

1988-04-01

The vulnerability of large ground facilities to direct lightning strikes and to lightning-induced overvoltages on the power distribution, telephone and data communication lines are discussed. Advanced electrogeometric modeling is used for the calculation of direct strikes to overhead power lines, buildings, vehicles and objects within the facility. Possible modes of damage, injury and loss are discussed. Some appropriate protection methods for overhead power lines, structures, vehicles and aircraft are suggested. Methods to mitigate the effects of transients on overhead and underground power systems as well as within buildings and other structures are recommended. The specification and location of low-voltage surge suppressors for the protection of vulnerable hardware such as computers, telecommunication equipment and radar installations are considered. The advantages and disadvantages of commonly used grounding techniques, such as single point, multiple and isolated grounds are compared. An example is given of the expected distribution of lightning flashes to a large airport, its buildings, structures and facilities, as well as to vehicles on the ground.

Study on parameter identification and control of ground temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kojima, Keiichi; Suzuki, Seiichi; Kawahara, Mutsuto.

1995-01-01

A numerical thermal management system for ground structure is presented. The system consists of two parts, i.e. the identification analysis of the thermal conductivity and the thermal control analysis for the ground. The former is carried out by using the nonlinear least squares method and the latter is based on the optimal control theory. The formulations of these methods are presented and they are applied to an laboratory test. A reasonable thermal conductivity of the ground is identified by parameter estimation method and the ground temperature is actually controled as illustrated by numerical and experimental study. (author)

Uranium isotopes in ground water as a prospecting technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cowart, J.B.; Osmond, J.K.

1980-02-01

The isotopic concentrations of dissolved uranium were determined for 300 ground water samples near eight known uranium accumulations to see if new approaches to prospecting could be developed. It is concluded that a plot of 234 U/ 238 U activity ratio (A.R.) versus uranium concentration (C) can be used to identify redox fronts, to locate uranium accumulations, and to determine whether such accumulations are being augmented or depleted by contemporary aquifer/ground water conditions. In aquifers exhibiting flow-through hydrologic systems, up-dip ground water samples are characterized by high uranium concentration values (> 1 to 4 ppB) and down-dip samples by low uranium concentration values (less than 1 ppB). The boundary between these two regimes can usually be identified as a redox front on the basis of regional water chemistry and known uranium accumulations. Close proximity to uranium accumulations is usually indicated either by very high uranium concentrations in the ground water or by a combination of high concentration and high activity ratio values. Ground waters down-dip from such accumulations often exhibit low uranium concentration values but retain their high A.R. values. This serves as a regional indicator of possible uranium accumulations where conditions favor the continued augmentation of the deposit by precipitation from ground water. Where the accumulation is being dispersed and depleted by the ground water system, low A.R. values are observed. Results from the Gulf Coast District of Texas and the Wyoming districts are presented

Terrestrial nest-building by wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): implications for the tree-to-ground sleep transition in early hominins.

Science.gov (United States)

Koops, Kathelijne; McGrew, William C; Matsuzawa, Tetsuro; Knapp, Leslie A

2012-07-01

Nest-building is a great ape universal and arboreal nesting in chimpanzees and bonobos suggests that the common ancestor of Pan and Homo also nested in trees. It has been proposed that arboreal nest-building remained the prevailing pattern until Homo erectus, a fully terrestrial biped, emerged. We investigated the unusual occurrence of ground-nesting in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), which may inform on factors influencing the tree-to-ground sleep transition in the hominin lineage. We used a novel genetic approach to examine ground-nesting in unhabituated chimpanzees at Seringbara in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea. Previous research showed that ground-nesting at Seringbara was not ecologically determined. Here, we tested a possible mate-guarding function of ground-nesting by analyzing DNA from shed hairs collected from ground nests and tree nests found in close proximity. We examined whether or not ground-nesting was a group-level behavioral pattern and whether or not it occurred in more than one community. We used multiple genetic markers to identify sex and to examine variation in mitochondrial DNA control region (HV1, HV2) sequences. Ground-nesting was a male-biased behavior and males constructed more elaborate ("night") nests than simple ("day") nests on the ground. The mate-guarding hypothesis was not supported, as ground and associated tree nests were built either by maternally-related males or possibly by the same individuals. Ground-nesting was widespread and likely habitual in two communities. We suggest that terrestrial nest-building may have already occurred in arboreally-adapted early hominins before the emergence of H. erectus. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Review and Application of Ship Collision and Grounding Analysis Procedures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Preben Terndrup

2010-01-01

It is the purpose of the paper to present a review of prediction and analysis tools for collision and grounding analyses and to outline a probabilistic procedure for which these tools can be used by the maritime industry to develop performance based rules to reduce the risk associated with human,......, environmental and economic costs of collision and grounding events. The main goal of collision and grounding research should be to identify the most economic risk control options associated with prevention and mitigation of collision and grounding events....

Phenological changes of the most commonly sampled ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) species in the UK environmental change network

Science.gov (United States)

Pozsgai, Gabor; Baird, John; Littlewood, Nick A.; Pakeman, Robin J.; Young, Mark R.

2018-03-01

Despite the important roles ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) play in ecosystems, the highly valued ecosystem services they provide, and ample descriptive documentation of their phenology, the relative impact of various environmental factors on carabid phenology is not well studied. Using the long-term pitfall trap capture data from 12 terrestrial Environmental Change Network (ECN) sites from the UK, we examined how changing climate influenced the phenology of common carabids, and the role particular climate components had on phenological parameters. Of the 28 species included in the analyses, 19 showed earlier start of their activity. This advance was particularly pronounced in the spring, supporting the view that early phenophases have a greater tendency to change and these changes are more directly controlled by temperature than later ones. Autumn activity extended only a few cases, suggesting a photoperiod-driven start of hibernation. No association was found between life-history traits and the ability of species to change their phenology. Air temperatures between April and June were the most important factors determining the start of activity of each species, whilst late season precipitation hastened the cessation of activity. The balance between the advantages and disadvantages of changing phenology on various levels is likely to depend on the species and even on local environmental criteria. The substantially changing phenology of Carabidae may influence their function in ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide.

Earthquake-induced ground failures in Italy from a reviewed database

Science.gov (United States)

Martino, S.; Prestininzi, A.; Romeo, R. W.

2014-04-01

A database (Italian acronym CEDIT) of earthquake-induced ground failures in Italy is presented, and the related content is analysed. The catalogue collects data regarding landslides, liquefaction, ground cracks, surface faulting and ground changes triggered by earthquakes of Mercalli epicentral intensity 8 or greater that occurred in the last millennium in Italy. As of January 2013, the CEDIT database has been available online for public use (http://www.ceri.uniroma1.it/cn/gis.jsp ) and is presently hosted by the website of the Research Centre for Geological Risks (CERI) of the Sapienza University of Rome. Summary statistics of the database content indicate that 14% of the Italian municipalities have experienced at least one earthquake-induced ground failure and that landslides are the most common ground effects (approximately 45%), followed by ground cracks (32%) and liquefaction (18%). The relationships between ground effects and earthquake parameters such as seismic source energy (earthquake magnitude and epicentral intensity), local conditions (site intensity) and source-to-site distances are also analysed. The analysis indicates that liquefaction, surface faulting and ground changes are much more dependent on the earthquake source energy (i.e. magnitude) than landslides and ground cracks. In contrast, the latter effects are triggered at lower site intensities and greater epicentral distances than the other environmental effects.

Impact of ground motion characterization on conservatism and variability in seismic risk estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sewell, R.T.; Toro, G.R.; McGuire, R.K.

1996-07-01

This study evaluates the impact, on estimates of seismic risk and its uncertainty, of alternative methods in treatment and characterization of earthquake ground motions. The objective of this study is to delineate specific procedures and characterizations that may lead to less biased and more precise seismic risk results. This report focuses on sources of conservatism and variability in risk that may be introduced through the analytical processes and ground-motion descriptions which are commonly implemented at the interface of seismic hazard and fragility assessments. In particular, implication of the common practice of using a single, composite spectral shape to characterize motions of different magnitudes is investigated. Also, the impact of parameterization of ground motion on fragility and hazard assessments is shown. Examination of these results demonstrates the following. (1) There exists significant conservatism in the review spectra (usually, spectra characteristic of western U.S. earthquakes) that have been used in conducting past seismic risk assessments and seismic margin assessments for eastern U.S. nuclear power plants. (2) There is a strong dependence of seismic fragility on earthquake magnitude when PGA is used as the ground-motion characterization. When, however, magnitude-dependent spectra are anchored to a common measure of elastic spectral acceleration averaged over the appropriate frequency range, seismic fragility shows no important nor consistent dependence on either magnitude or strong-motion duration. Use of inelastic spectral acceleration (at the proper frequency) as the ground spectrum anchor demonstrates a very similar result. This study concludes that a single, composite-magnitude spectrum can generally be used to characterize ground motion for fragility assessment without introducing significant bias or uncertainty in seismic risk estimates

Impact of ground motion characterization on conservatism and variability in seismic risk estimates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sewell, R.T.; Toro, G.R.; McGuire, R.K.

1996-07-01

This study evaluates the impact, on estimates of seismic risk and its uncertainty, of alternative methods in treatment and characterization of earthquake ground motions. The objective of this study is to delineate specific procedures and characterizations that may lead to less biased and more precise seismic risk results. This report focuses on sources of conservatism and variability in risk that may be introduced through the analytical processes and ground-motion descriptions which are commonly implemented at the interface of seismic hazard and fragility assessments. In particular, implication of the common practice of using a single, composite spectral shape to characterize motions of different magnitudes is investigated. Also, the impact of parameterization of ground motion on fragility and hazard assessments is shown. Examination of these results demonstrates the following. (1) There exists significant conservatism in the review spectra (usually, spectra characteristic of western U.S. earthquakes) that have been used in conducting past seismic risk assessments and seismic margin assessments for eastern U.S. nuclear power plants. (2) There is a strong dependence of seismic fragility on earthquake magnitude when PGA is used as the ground-motion characterization. When, however, magnitude-dependent spectra are anchored to a common measure of elastic spectral acceleration averaged over the appropriate frequency range, seismic fragility shows no important nor consistent dependence on either magnitude or strong-motion duration. Use of inelastic spectral acceleration (at the proper frequency) as the ground spectrum anchor demonstrates a very similar result. This study concludes that a single, composite-magnitude spectrum can generally be used to characterize ground motion for fragility assessment without introducing significant bias or uncertainty in seismic risk estimates.

Assessing the cumulative environmental effects of marine renewable energy developments: Establishing common ground.

Science.gov (United States)

Willsteed, Edward; Gill, Andrew B; Birchenough, Silvana N R; Jude, Simon

2017-01-15

Assessing and managing the cumulative impacts of human activities on the environment remains a major challenge to sustainable development. This challenge is highlighted by the worldwide expansion of marine renewable energy developments (MREDs) in areas already subject to multiple activities and climate change. Cumulative effects assessments in theory provide decision makers with adequate information about how the environment will respond to the incremental effects of licensed activities and are a legal requirement in many nations. In practise, however, such assessments are beset by uncertainties resulting in substantial delays during the licensing process that reduce MRED investor confidence and limit progress towards meeting climate change targets. In light of these targets and ambitions to manage the marine environment sustainably, reducing the uncertainty surrounding MRED effects and cumulative effects assessment are timely and vital. This review investigates the origins and evolution of cumulative effects assessment to identify why the multitude of approaches and pertinent research have emerged, and discusses key considerations and challenges relevant to assessing the cumulative effects of MREDs and other activities on ecosystems. The review recommends a shift away from the current reliance on disparate environmental impact assessments and limited strategic environmental assessments, and a move towards establishing a common system of coordinated data and research relative to ecologically meaningful areas, focussed on the needs of decision makers tasked with protecting and conserving marine ecosystems and services. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

49 CFR 1313.9 - Grounds for complaints and contract review.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... the contracting rail carrier or carriers to meet their common carrier obligations to the complainant... agricultural commodities on the ground that such shipper individually will be harmed because: (i) The rail...

The common iliac artery in the ground squirrel (Citellus citellus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Blagojević M.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The common iliac arteries (a. iliaca communis dextra et a. iliaca communis sinistra are the terminal branches of the abdominal aorta. The paired external iliac artery (a. iliaca externa dextra et a. iliaca externa sinistra is a stronger branch of the paired common iliac artery. Before they leave the abdominal cavity and continue as the femoral arteries (a. femoralis dextra et a. femoralis sinistra each external iliac artery forms the following branches: 1. The internal pudendal artery (a. pudenda interna which, with its branches, supplies the tensor fasciae latae and quadriceps muscles (a. circumflexa femoris lateralis, cranial region of the urinary bladder, cranial end of the uterine horn in females, the deferent duct and tail of the epididymis in males (a. umbilicalis the rectum, the external anal sphincter and perineum (a. rectalis caudalis with blood. 2. The obturator artery (a. obturatoria, which supplies both of the obturator muscles, as well as the proximal end of the adductor muscle. 3. The pudendoepigastric trunk (truncus pudendoepigastricus is a short vessel, which with its branches (a. pudenda externa, a. epigastrica caudalis et a. urethrogenitalis supplies the caudal end of the rectus abdominis muscle, tip of the penis, preputium, superficial inguinal lymph nodes, scrotum in males and inguinal mamma in females, transversus and internus abdominis muscles, neck of the urinary bladder, urethra, vagina and vulva in females and accessory glands in males. 4. Paired internal iliac arteries (a. iliaca interna dextra et a. iliaca interna sinistra are thinner branches than the external iliac arteries. The internal iliac artery with its branches supplies the cranial and caudal parts of the gluteal muscles (a. glutea cranialis et a. glutea caudalis, as well as the muscles of the lateral side of the tail (a. caudalis lateralis. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 143018

Identification of technical guidance related to ground water monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vogelsberger, R.R.; Smith, E.D.; Broz, M.; Wright, J.C. Jr.

1987-05-01

Monitoring of ground water quality is a key element of ground water protection and is mandated by several federal and state laws concerned with water quality or waste management. Numerous regulatory guidance documents and technical reports discuss various aspects of ground water monitoring, but at present there is no single source of guidance on procedures and practices for ground water monitoring. This report is intended to assist US Department of Energy (DOE) officials and facility operating personnel in identifying sources of guidance for developing and implementing ground water monitoring programs that are technically sound and that comply with applicable regulations. Federal statutes and associated regulations were reviewed to identify requirements related to ground water monitoring, and over 160 documents on topics related to ground water monitoring were evaluated for their technical merit, their utility as guidance for regulatory compliance, and their relevance to DOE's needs. For each of 15 technical topics involved in ground water monitoring, the report presents (1) a review of federal regulatory requirements and representative state requirements, (2) brief descriptions of the contents and merits of available guidance documents and technical references, and (3) recommendations of the guidance documents or other technical resources that appear to be most appropriate for use in DOE's monitoring activities. The contents of the report are applicable to monitoring activities involving both radioactive and nonradioactive substances. The main sources of regulatory requirements considered in the report are the Atomic Energy Act (including the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

Identification of technical guidance related to ground water monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vogelsberger, R.R.; Smith, E.D.; Broz, M.; Wright, J.C. Jr.

1987-05-01

Monitoring of ground water quality is a key element of ground water protection and is mandated by several federal and state laws concerned with water quality or waste management. Numerous regulatory guidance documents and technical reports discuss various aspects of ground water monitoring, but at present there is no single source of guidance on procedures and practices for ground water monitoring. This report is intended to assist US Department of Energy (DOE) officials and facility operating personnel in identifying sources of guidance for developing and implementing ground water monitoring programs that are technically sound and that comply with applicable regulations. Federal statutes and associated regulations were reviewed to identify requirements related to ground water monitoring, and over 160 documents on topics related to ground water monitoring were evaluated for their technical merit, their utility as guidance for regulatory compliance, and their relevance to DOE's needs. For each of 15 technical topics involved in ground water monitoring, the report presents (1) a review of federal regulatory requirements and representative state requirements, (2) brief descriptions of the contents and merits of available guidance documents and technical references, and (3) recommendations of the guidance documents or other technical resources that appear to be most appropriate for use in DOE's monitoring activities. The contents of the report are applicable to monitoring activities involving both radioactive and nonradioactive substances. The main sources of regulatory requirements considered in the report are the Atomic Energy Act (including the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and Federal Water Pollution Control Act

Epidemiological study on the penicillin resistance of clinical Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates identified as the common sequence types.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Wei; Shi, Wei; Chen, Chang-hui; Wen, De-nian; Tian, Jin; Yao, Kai-hu

2016-10-20

There were some limitation in the current interpretation about the penicillin resistance mechanism of clinical Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates at the strain level. To explore the possibilities of studying the mechanism based on the sequence types (ST) of this bacteria, 488 isolates collected in Beijing from 1997-2014 and 88 isolates collected in Youyang County, Chongqing and Zhongjiang County, Sichuan in 2015 were analyzed by penicillin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) distribution and annual distribution. The results showed that the penicillin MICs of the all isolates covering by the given ST in Beijing have a defined range, either penicillin MIC penicillin MICs in the first few years after it was identified. The penicillin MIC of isolates identified as common STs and collected in Youyang County, Chongqing and Sichuan Zhongjiang County, including the ST271, ST320 and ST81, was around 0.25~2 mg/L (≥0.25 mg/L). Our study revealed the epidemiological distribution of penicillin MICs of the given STs determined in clinical S. pneumoniae isolates, suggesting that it is reasonable to research the penicillin resistance mechanism based on the STs of this bacteria.

NO2 DOAS measurements from ground and space: comparison of ground based measurements and OMI data in Mexico City

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera, C.; Stremme, W.; Grutter, M.

2012-04-01

The combination of satellite data and ground based measurements can provide valuable information about atmospheric chemistry and air quality. In this work we present a comparison between measured ground based NO2 differential columns at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City, using the Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) technique and NO2 total columns measured by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard the Aura satellite using the same measurement technique. From these data, distribution maps of average NO2 above the Mexico basin were constructed and hot spots inside the city could be identified. In addition, a clear footprint was detected from the Tula industrial area, ~50 km northwest of Mexico City, where a refinery, a power plant and other industries are located. A less defined footprint was identified in the Cuernavaca basin, South of Mexico City, and the nearby cities of Toluca and Puebla do not present strong enhancements in the NO2 total columns. With this study we expect to cross-validate space and ground measurements and provide useful information for future studies.

Ground motion prediction needs for nuclear engineering design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadjian, A.H.

1985-01-01

The basic design philosophy of nuclear power plants stipulates that the risk to the public be as low as reasonably achievable. As a result of this philosophy, the seismic design of nuclear power plants has tended, over time, to diverge from that of other engineered structures. The emphasis at the present time is to specify ground motion at a nuclear facility site as realistically as possible and to design all safety-related structures to respond to the specified ground motion in the elastic range. The characteristics of this realistic design ground motion are discussed and present prediction needs identified

Securing Ground Data System Applications for Space Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Pajevski, Michael J.; Tso, Kam S.; Johnson, Bryan

2014-01-01

The increasing prevalence and sophistication of cyber attacks has prompted the Multimission Ground Systems and Services (MGSS) Program Office at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to initiate the Common Access Manager (CAM) effort to protect software applications used in Ground Data Systems (GDSs) at JPL and other NASA Centers. The CAM software provides centralized services and software components used by GDS subsystems to meet access control requirements and ensure data integrity, confidentiality, and availability. In this paper we describe the CAM software; examples of its integration with spacecraft commanding software applications and an information management service; and measurements of its performance and reliability.

Identification of contaminants of concern in Hanford ground waters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sherwood, D.R.; Evans, J.C.; Bryce, R.W.

1990-01-01

More than 1,500 waste-disposal sites have been identified at the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site. At the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, these sites were aggregated into four administrative areas for listing on the National Priority List. Within the four aggregate areas, 646 inactive sites were selected for further evaluation using the Hazard Ranking System (HRS). Evaluation of inactive waste sites by HRS provided valuable insight to design a focused radiological- and hazardous-substance monitoring network. Hanford Site-wide ground-water monitoring was expanded to address not only radioactive constituents but also hazardous chemicals. The HRS scoring process considers the likelihood of ground-water contamination from past disposal practices at inactive waste sites. The network designed to monitor ground water at those facilities identified 129 I, 99 Tc, 90 Sr, uranium, chromium, carbon tetrachloride, and cyanide

Communication grounding facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Gye Seong

1998-06-01

It is about communication grounding facility, which is made up twelve chapters. It includes general grounding with purpose, materials thermal insulating material, construction of grounding, super strength grounding method, grounding facility with grounding way and building of insulating, switched grounding with No. 1A and LCR, grounding facility of transmission line, wireless facility grounding, grounding facility in wireless base station, grounding of power facility, grounding low-tenton interior power wire, communication facility of railroad, install of arrester in apartment and house, install of arrester on introduction and earth conductivity and measurement with introduction and grounding resistance.

A grounded-theory investigation of patient education in physical therapy practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Rindflesch, Aaron B

2009-04-01

Patient education is a critical component of physical therapy and is used frequently in practice. Research describing the practice of patient education in physical therapy is scarce, however. Qualitative research methods can be used to describe the practice of patient education in physical therapy and to identify supportive theory. This study describes the practice of patient education grounded in data obtained from nine physical therapists in three settings: outpatient, acute care, and inpatient rehabilitation. From the data common themes are reported. From the themes, supportive theory can be identified. Results show four primary themes regarding patient education in physical therapy. First, the physical therapists in this study were not able to easily differentiate patient education from primary interventions. Second, the purpose of patient education was to empower patients toward self-management and prevention. Third, therapists used a patient-centered approach to decide upon content. Finally, each therapist used function or demonstration to assess the outcome of patient education interventions. The results of this study can be used to inform current practitioners, for future research and to identify theoretical underpinnings to support the practice of patient education in physical therapy.

618-10 Burial Ground Trench Remediation and 618-10 and 618-11 Burial Ground Nonintrusive Characterization of Vertical Pipe Units Lessons Learned

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Darby, J. W.

2012-06-28

A “lessons learned” is a noteworthy practice or innovative approach that is captured and shared to promote repeat application, or an adverse work practice/experience that is captured and shared to avoid reoccurrence. This document provides the lessons learned identified by the 618-10 Burial Ground trench remediation and the 618-10 and 618-11 Burial Ground nonintrusive characterization of the vertical pipe units (VPUs).

Ground Pollution Science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Jong Min; Bae, Jae Geun

1997-08-01

This book deals with ground pollution science and soil science, classification of soil and fundamentals, ground pollution and human, ground pollution and organic matter, ground pollution and city environment, environmental problems of the earth and ground pollution, soil pollution and development of geological features of the ground, ground pollution and landfill of waste, case of measurement of ground pollution.

Eliciting Perceptual Ground Truth for Image Segmentation

OpenAIRE

Hodge, Victoria Jane; Eakins, John; Austin, Jim

2006-01-01

In this paper, we investigate human visual perception and establish a body of ground truth data elicited from human visual studies. We aim to build on the formative work of Ren, Eakins and Briggs who produced an initial ground truth database. Human subjects were asked to draw and rank their perceptions of the parts of a series of figurative images. These rankings were then used to score the perceptions, identify the preferred human breakdowns and thus allow us to induce perceptual rules for h...

A common rejection module (CRM) for acute rejection across multiple organs identifies novel therapeutics for organ transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

Khatri, Purvesh; Roedder, Silke; Kimura, Naoyuki; De Vusser, Katrien; Morgan, Alexander A; Gong, Yongquan; Fischbein, Michael P; Robbins, Robert C; Naesens, Maarten; Butte, Atul J; Sarwal, Minnie M

2013-10-21

Using meta-analysis of eight independent transplant datasets (236 graft biopsy samples) from four organs, we identified a common rejection module (CRM) consisting of 11 genes that were significantly overexpressed in acute rejection (AR) across all transplanted organs. The CRM genes could diagnose AR with high specificity and sensitivity in three additional independent cohorts (794 samples). In another two independent cohorts (151 renal transplant biopsies), the CRM genes correlated with the extent of graft injury and predicted future injury to a graft using protocol biopsies. Inferred drug mechanisms from the literature suggested that two FDA-approved drugs (atorvastatin and dasatinib), approved for nontransplant indications, could regulate specific CRM genes and reduce the number of graft-infiltrating cells during AR. We treated mice with HLA-mismatched mouse cardiac transplant with atorvastatin and dasatinib and showed reduction of the CRM genes, significant reduction of graft-infiltrating cells, and extended graft survival. We further validated the beneficial effect of atorvastatin on graft survival by retrospective analysis of electronic medical records of a single-center cohort of 2,515 renal transplant patients followed for up to 22 yr. In conclusion, we identified a CRM in transplantation that provides new opportunities for diagnosis, drug repositioning, and rational drug design.

Long-term sequential monitoring of controlled graves representing common burial scenarios with ground penetrating radar: Years 2 and 3

Science.gov (United States)

Schultz, John J.; Walter, Brittany S.; Healy, Carrie

2016-09-01

Geophysical techniques such as ground-penetrating radar (GPR) have been successfully used for forensic searches to locate clandestine graves and physical evidence. However, additional controlled research is needed to fully understand the applicability of this technology when searching for clandestine graves in various environments, soil types, and for longer periods of time post-burial. The purpose of this study was to determine the applicability of GPR for detecting controlled graves in a Spodosol representing multiple burial scenarios for Years 2 and 3 of a three-year monitoring period. Objectives included determining how different burial scenarios are factors in producing a distinctive anomalous response; determining how different GPR imagery options (2D reflection profiles and horizontal time slices) can provide increased visibility of the burials; and comparing GPR imagery between 500 MHz and 250 MHz dominant frequency antennae. The research site contained a grid with eight graves representing common forensic burial scenarios in a Spodosol, a common soil type of Florida, with six graves containing a pig carcass (Sus scrofa). Burial scenarios with grave items (a deep grave with a layer of rocks over the carcass and a carcass wrapped in a tarpaulin) produced a more distinctive response with clearer target reflections over the duration of the monitoring period compared to naked carcasses. Months with increased precipitation were also found to produce clearer target reflections than drier months, particularly during Year 3 when many grave scenarios that were not previously visible became visible after increased seasonal rainfall. Overall, the 250 MHz dominant frequency antenna imagery was more favorable than the 500 MHz. While detection of a simulated grave may be difficult to detect over time, long term detection of a grave in a Spodosol may be possible if the disturbed spodic horizon is detected. Furthermore, while grave visibility increased with the 2D

Field Guide for Testing Existing Photovoltaic Systems for Ground Faults and Installing Equipment to Mitigate Fire Hazards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brooks, William [Brooks Engineering, Vacaville, CA (United States); Basso, Thomas [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Coddington, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2015-10-01

Ground faults and arc faults are the two most common reasons for fires in photovoltaic (PV) arrays and methods exist that can mitigate the hazards. This report provides field procedures for testing PV arrays for ground faults, and for implementing high resolution ground fault and arc fault detectors in existing and new PV system designs.

Crystalline beam ground state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Jie; Li, Xiao-Ping; Sessler, A.M.

1993-01-01

In order to employ Molecular Dynamics method, commonly used in condensed matter physics, we have derived the equations of motion for a beam of charged particles in the rotating rest frame of the reference particle. We include in the formalism that the particles are confined by the guiding and focusing magnetic fields, and that they are confined in a conducting vacuum pipe while interacting with each other via a Coulomb force. Numerical simulations has been performed to obtain the equilibrium structure. The effects of the shearing force, centrifugal force, and azimuthal variation of the focusing strength are investigated. It is found that a constant gradient storage ring can not give a crystalline beam, but that an alternating-gradient (AG) structure can. In such a machine the ground state is, except for one-dimensional (1-D) crystals, time-dependent. The ground state is a zero entropy state, despite the time-dependent, periodic variation of the focusing force. The nature of the ground state, similar to that found by Rahman and Schiffer, depends upon the density and the relative focusing strengths in the transverse directions. At low density, the crystal is 1-D. As the density increases, it transforms into various kinds of 2-D and 3-D crystals. If the energy of the beam is higher than the transition energy of the machine, the crystalline structure can not be formed for lack of radial focusing

Crystalline beam ground state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, Jie; Li, Xiao-Ping

1993-01-01

In order to employ molecular dynamics (MD) methods, commonly used in condensed matter physics, we have derived the equations of motion for a beam of charged particles in the rotating rest frame of the reference particle. We include in the formalism that the particles are confined by the guiding and focusing magnetic fields, and that they are confined in a conducting vacuum pipe while interacting with each other via a Coulomb force. Numerical simulations using MD methods has been performed to obtain the equilibrium crystalline beam structure. The effect of the shearing force, centrifugal force, and azimuthal variation of the focusing strength are investigated. It is found that a constant gradient storage ring can not give a crystalline beam, but that an alternating-gradient (AG) structure can. In such a machine the ground state is, except for one-dimensional (1-D) crystals, time dependent. The ground state is a zero entropy state, despite the time-dependent, periodic variation of the focusing force. The nature of the ground state, similar to that found by Schiffer et al. depends upon the density and the relative focusing strengths in the transverse directions. At low density, the crystal is 1-D. As the density increases, it transforms into various kinds of 2-D and 3-D crystals. If the energy of the beam is higher than the transition energy of the machine, the crystalline structure can not be formed for lack of radial focusing

Crystalline beam ground state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, J.; Li, X.P.

1993-01-01

In order to employ the Molecular Dynamics method, commonly used in condensed matter physics, the authors have derived the equations of motion for a beam of charged particles in the rotating rest frame of the reference particle. They include in the formalism that the particles are confined by the guiding and focusing magnetic fields, and that they are confined in a conducting vacuum pipe while interacting with each other via a Coulomb force. Numerical simulations has been performed to obtain the equilibrium structure. The effects of the shearing force, centrifugal force, and azimuthal variation of the focusing strength are investigated. It is found that a constant gradient storage ring can not give a crystalline beam, but that an alternating-gradient (AG) structure can. In such a machine the ground state is, except for one-dimensional (1-D) crystals, time-dependent. The ground state is a zero entropy state, despite the time-dependent, periodic variation of the focusing force. The nature of the ground state, similar to that found by Rahman and Schiffer, depends upon the density and the relative focusing strengths in the transverse directions. At low density, the crystal is 1-D. As the density increases, it transforms into various kinds of 2-D and 3-D crystals. If the energy of the beam is higher than the transition energy of the machine, the crystalline structure can not be formed for lack of radial focusing

Geotechnics - the key to ground water protection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baumann, Jens; Foged, Niels; Jørgensen, Peter

2000-01-01

During the past 5 to 10 years research into ground water protection has proved that fractures in clay till may increase the hydraulic conductivity and herby the vulnerability of the ground water considerably. However, research has not identified a non-expensive and efficient method to map...... the fracture conditions of the various clay tills. Tests performed at the Danish Geotechnical Institute with large undisturbed columns of clay till show that there is a relation between the strength of the clay till and the hydraulic conductivity. Geotechnical methods may therefore be the key to determine...

Whole-exome sequencing identifies common and rare variant metabolic QTLs in a Middle Eastern population.

Science.gov (United States)

Yousri, Noha A; Fakhro, Khalid A; Robay, Amal; Rodriguez-Flores, Juan L; Mohney, Robert P; Zeriri, Hassina; Odeh, Tala; Kader, Sara Abdul; Aldous, Eman K; Thareja, Gaurav; Kumar, Manish; Al-Shakaki, Alya; Chidiac, Omar M; Mohamoud, Yasmin A; Mezey, Jason G; Malek, Joel A; Crystal, Ronald G; Suhre, Karsten

2018-01-23

Metabolomics-genome-wide association studies (mGWAS) have uncovered many metabolic quantitative trait loci (mQTLs) influencing human metabolic individuality, though predominantly in European cohorts. By combining whole-exome sequencing with a high-resolution metabolomics profiling for a highly consanguineous Middle Eastern population, we discover 21 common variant and 12 functional rare variant mQTLs, of which 45% are novel altogether. We fine-map 10 common variant mQTLs to new metabolite ratio associations, and 11 common variant mQTLs to putative protein-altering variants. This is the first work to report common and rare variant mQTLs linked to diseases and/or pharmacological targets in a consanguineous Arab cohort, with wide implications for precision medicine in the Middle East.

Challenges in combining different data sets during analysis when using grounded theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Rintala, Tuula-Maria; Paavilainen, Eija; Astedt-Kurki, Päivi

2014-05-01

To describe the challenges in combining two data sets during grounded theory analysis. The use of grounded theory in nursing research is common. It is a suitable method for studying human action and interaction. It is recommended that many alternative sources of data are collected to create as rich a dataset as possible. Data from interviews with people with diabetes (n=19) and their family members (n=19). Combining two data sets. When using grounded theory, there are numerous challenges in collecting and managing data, especially for the novice researcher. One challenge is to combine different data sets during the analysis. There are many methodological textbooks about grounded theory but there is little written in the literature about combining different data sets. Discussion is needed on the management of data and the challenges of grounded theory. This article provides a means for combining different data sets in the grounded theory analysis process.

Emission to air, water and ground: legislation in Norway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, Dag Horsberg

2001-01-01

The article discusses Norwegian legislation on emission to air, water and ground. Pollution in the sense of the law is defined as ''the addition of solid matter, gas or liquid to air, water or ground''. The concept of pollution is, however, more far-reaching as even noise, light and radiation may be regarded as pollution although these are not discussed. Any pollution is prohibited. But there are two exceptions: commonly accepted pollutions such as arising from wood burning and agriculture, and emissions allowed by special permission from the National State Pollution Control Authority. The article also discusses liability issues

Hanford Site ground-water monitoring for 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dresel, P.E.; Thorne, P.D.; Luttrell, S.P.

1995-08-01

This report presents the results of the Ground-Water Surveillance Project monitoring for calendar year 1994 on the Hanford Site, Washington. Hanford Site operations from 1943 onward produced large quantities of radiologic and chemical waste that have impacted ground-water quality on the Site. Monitoring of water levels and ground-water chemistry is performed to track the extent of contamination and trends in contaminant concentrations. The 1994 monitoring was also designed to identify emerging ground-water quality problems. The information obtained is used to verify compliance with applicable environmental regulations and to evaluate remedial actions. Data from other monitoring and characterization programs were incorporated to provide an integrated assessment of Site ground-water quality. Additional characterization of the Site's geologic setting and hydrology was performed to support the interpretation of contaminant distributions. Numerical modeling of sitewide ground-water flow also supported the overall project goals. Water-level monitoring was performed to evaluate ground-water flow directions, to track changes in water levels, and to relate such changes to changes in site disposal practices. Water levels over most of the Hanford Site continued to decline between June 1993 and June 1994. These declines are part of the continued response to the cessation of discharge to U Pond and other disposal facilities. The low permeability in this area which enhanced mounding of waste-water discharge has also slowed the response to the reduction of disposal

Hanford Site ground-water monitoring for 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dresel, P.E.; Thorne, P.D.; Luttrell, S.P. [and others

1995-08-01

This report presents the results of the Ground-Water Surveillance Project monitoring for calendar year 1994 on the Hanford Site, Washington. Hanford Site operations from 1943 onward produced large quantities of radiologic and chemical waste that have impacted ground-water quality on the Site. Monitoring of water levels and ground-water chemistry is performed to track the extent of contamination and trends in contaminant concentrations. The 1994 monitoring was also designed to identify emerging ground-water quality problems. The information obtained is used to verify compliance with applicable environmental regulations and to evaluate remedial actions. Data from other monitoring and characterization programs were incorporated to provide an integrated assessment of Site ground-water quality. Additional characterization of the Site`s geologic setting and hydrology was performed to support the interpretation of contaminant distributions. Numerical modeling of sitewide ground-water flow also supported the overall project goals. Water-level monitoring was performed to evaluate ground-water flow directions, to track changes in water levels, and to relate such changes to changes in site disposal practices. Water levels over most of the Hanford Site continued to decline between June 1993 and June 1994. These declines are part of the continued response to the cessation of discharge to U Pond and other disposal facilities. The low permeability in this area which enhanced mounding of waste-water discharge has also slowed the response to the reduction of disposal.

Characterization of the porosity distribution in the upper part of the karst Biscayne aquifer using common offset ground penetrating radar, Everglades National Park, Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Mount, Gregory J.; Comas, Xavier; Cunningham, Kevin J.

2014-07-01

The karst Biscayne aquifer is characterized by a heterogeneous spatial arrangement of porosity and hydraulic conductivity, making conceptualization difficult. The Biscayne aquifer is the primary source of drinking water for millions of people in south Florida; thus, information concerning the distribution of karst features that concentrate the groundwater flow and affect contaminant transport is critical. The principal purpose of the study was to investigate the ability of two-dimensional ground penetrating radar (GPR) to rapidly characterize porosity variability in the karst Biscayne aquifer in south Florida. An 800-m-long GPR transect of a previously investigated area at the Long Pine Key Nature Trail in Everglades National Park, collected in fast acquisition common offset mode, shows hundreds of diffraction hyperbolae. The distribution of diffraction hyperbolae was used to estimate electromagnetic (EM) wave velocity at each diffraction location and to assess both horizontal and vertical changes in velocity within the transect. A petrophysical model (complex refractive index model or CRIM) was used to estimate total bulk porosity. A set of common midpoint surveys at selected locations distributed along the common-offset transect also were collected for comparison with the common offsets and were used to constrain one-dimensional (1-D) distributions of porosity with depth. Porosity values for the saturated Miami Limestone ranged between 25% and 41% for common offset GPR surveys, and between 23% and 39% for common midpoint GPR surveys. Laboratory measurements of porosity in five whole-core samples from the saturated part of the aquifer in the study area ranged between 7.1% and 41.8%. GPR estimates of porosity were found to be valid only under saturated conditions; other limitations are related to the vertical resolution of the GPR signal and the volume of the material considered by the measurement methodology. Overall, good correspondence between GPR estimates and

Common mode failures in redundancy systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watson, I.A.; Edwards, G.T.

1978-01-01

Difficulties are experienced in assessing the impact of common mode failures on the reliability of safety systems. The paper first covers the investigation, definition and classification of CMF based on an extensive study of the nature of CMF. This is used as a basis for analysing data from nuclear reactor safety systems and aircraft systems. Design and maintenance errors are shown to be the prdominant cause of CMF. The analysis has laid the grounds for work on relating CMF modelling and defences. (author)

The ATLAS SCT grounding and shielding concept and implementation

CERN Document Server

Bates, RL; Bernabeu, J; Bizzell, J; Bohm, J; Brenner, R; Bruckman de Renstrom, P A; Catinaccio, A; Cindro, V; Ciocio, A; Civera, J V; Chouridou, S; Dervan, P; Dick, B; Dolezal, Z; Eklund, L; Feld, L; Ferrere, D; Gadomski, S; Gonzalez, F; Gornicki, E; Greenhall, A; Grillo, A A; Grosse-Knetter, J; Gruwe, M; Haywood, S; Hessey, N P; Ikegami, Y; Jones, T J; Kaplon, J; Kodys, P; Kohriki, T; Kondo, T; Koperny, S; Lacasta, C; Lozano Bahilo, J; Malecki, P; Martinez-McKinney, F; McMahon, S J; McPherson, A; Mikulec, B; Mikus, M; Moorhead, G F; Morrissey, M C; Nagai, K; Nichols, A; O'Shea, V; Pater, J R; Peeters, S J M; Pernegger, H; Perrin, E; Phillips, P W; Pieron, J P; Roe, S; Sanchez, J; Spencer, E; Stastny, J; Tarrant, J; Terada, S; Tyndel, M; Unno, Y; Wallny, R; Weber, M; Weidberg, A R; Wells, P S; Werneke, P; Wilmut, I

2012-01-01

This paper describes the design and implementation of the grounding and shielding system for the ATLAS SemiConductor Tracker (SCT). The mitigation of electromagnetic interference and noise pickup through power lines is the critical design goal as they have the potential to jeopardize the electrical performance. We accomplish this by adhering to the ATLAS grounding rules, by avoiding ground loops and isolating the different subdetectors. Noise sources are identified and design rules to protect the SCT against them are described. A rigorous implementation of the design was crucial to achieve the required performance. This paper highlights the location, connection and assembly of the different components that affect the grounding and shielding system: cables, filters, cooling pipes, shielding enclosure, power supplies and others. Special care is taken with the electrical properties of materials and joints. The monitoring of the grounding system during the installation period is also discussed. Finally, after con...

Genome-wide association study identifies shared risk loci common to two malignancies in golden retrievers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Noriko Tonomura

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Dogs, with their breed-determined limited genetic background, are great models of human disease including cancer. Canine B-cell lymphoma and hemangiosarcoma are both malignancies of the hematologic system that are clinically and histologically similar to human B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and angiosarcoma, respectively. Golden retrievers in the US show significantly elevated lifetime risk for both B-cell lymphoma (6% and hemangiosarcoma (20%. We conducted genome-wide association studies for hemangiosarcoma and B-cell lymphoma, identifying two shared predisposing loci. The two associated loci are located on chromosome 5, and together contribute ~20% of the risk of developing these cancers. Genome-wide p-values for the top SNP of each locus are 4.6×10-7 and 2.7×10-6, respectively. Whole genome resequencing of nine cases and controls followed by genotyping and detailed analysis identified three shared and one B-cell lymphoma specific risk haplotypes within the two loci, but no coding changes were associated with the risk haplotypes. Gene expression analysis of B-cell lymphoma tumors revealed that carrying the risk haplotypes at the first locus is associated with down-regulation of several nearby genes including the proximal gene TRPC6, a transient receptor Ca2+-channel involved in T-cell activation, among other functions. The shared risk haplotype in the second locus overlaps the vesicle transport and release gene STX8. Carrying the shared risk haplotype is associated with gene expression changes of 100 genes enriched for pathways involved in immune cell activation. Thus, the predisposing germ-line mutations in B-cell lymphoma and hemangiosarcoma appear to be regulatory, and affect pathways involved in T-cell mediated immune response in the tumor. This suggests that the interaction between the immune system and malignant cells plays a common role in the tumorigenesis of these relatively different cancers.

Increased central common drive to ankle plantar flexor and dorsiflexor muscles during visually guided gait

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Peter; Jensen, Nicole Jacqueline; Terkildsen, Cecilie Ulbæk

2018-01-01

When we walk in a challenging environment, we use visual information to modify our gait and place our feet carefully on the ground. Here, we explored how central common drive to ankle muscles changes in relation to visually guided foot placement. Sixteen healthy adults aged 23 ± 5 years participa......When we walk in a challenging environment, we use visual information to modify our gait and place our feet carefully on the ground. Here, we explored how central common drive to ankle muscles changes in relation to visually guided foot placement. Sixteen healthy adults aged 23 ± 5 years...

Occurrence of estrogenic activities in second-grade surface water and ground water in the Yangtze River Delta, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi, Wei; Hu, Guanjiu; Chen, Sulan; Wei, Si; Cai, Xi; Chen, Bo; Feng, Jianfang; Hu, Xinxin; Wang, Xinru; Yu, Hongxia

2013-01-01

Second-grade surface water and ground water are considered as the commonly used cleanest water in the Yangtze River Delta, which supplies centralized drinking water and contains rare species. However, some synthetic chemicals with estrogenic disrupting activities are detectable. Estrogenic activities in the second-grade surface water and ground water were surveyed by a green monkey kidney fibroblast (CV-1) cell line based ER reporter gene assay. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were further conducted to identify the responsible compounds. Estrogen receptor (ER) agonist activities were present in 7 out of 16 surface water and all the ground water samples. Huaihe River and Yangtze River posed the highest toxicity potential. The highest equivalent (2.2 ng E 2 /L) is higher than the predicted no-effect-concentration (PNEC). Bisphenol A (BPA) contributes to greater than 50% of the total derived equivalents in surface water, and the risk potential in this region deserves more attention and further research. -- Highlights: •Estrogenic activities were present in second-grade surface water and ground water. •Most of the detected equivalents were higher than the predicted no-effect-concentration of E 2 . •ER-EQ 20–80 ranges showed that samples in Huaihe River and Yangtze River posed the highest toxicity. •Bisphenol A contributes to most of the instrumentally derived equivalents in surface water. -- Estrogenic activities were observed in second-grade surface water and ground water in Yangtze River Delta, and BPA was the responsible contaminant

Ground-water contribution to dose from past Hanford Operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freshley, M.D.; Thorne, P.D.

1992-08-01

The Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction (HEDR) Project is being conducted to estimate radiation doses that populations and individuals could have received from Hanford Site operations from 1944 to the present. Four possible pathways by which radionuclides migrating in ground water on the Hanford Site could have reached the public have been identified: (1) through contaminated ground water migrating to the Columbia River; (2) through wells on or adjacent to the Hanford Site; (3) through wells next to the Columbia River downstream of Hanford that draw some or all of their water from the river (riparian wells); and (4) through atmospheric deposition resulting in contamination of a small watershed that, in turn, results in contamination of a shallow well or spring by transport in the ground water. These four pathways make up the ''ground-water pathway,'' which is the subject of this study. Assessment of the ground-water pathway was performed by (1) reviewing the existing extensive literature on ground water and ground-water monitoring at Hanford and (2) performing calculations to estimate radionuclide concentrations where no monitoring data were collected. Radiation doses that would result from exposure to these radionuclides were calculated

ARMA models for earthquake ground motions. Seismic Safety Margins Research Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, Mark K.; Kwiatkowski, Jan W.; Nau, Robert F.; Oliver, Robert M.; Pister, Karl S.

1981-02-01

This report contains an analysis of four major California earthquake records using a class of discrete linear time-domain processes commonly referred to as ARMA (Autoregressive/Moving-Average) models. It has been possible to analyze these different earthquakes, identify the order of the appropriate ARMA model(s), estimate parameters and test the residuals generated by these models. It has also been possible to show the connections, similarities and differences between the traditional continuous models (with parameter estimates based on spectral analyses) and the discrete models with parameters estimated by various maximum likelihood techniques applied to digitized acceleration data in the time domain. The methodology proposed in this report is suitable for simulating earthquake ground motions in the time domain and appears to be easily adapted to serve as inputs for nonlinear discrete time models of structural motions. (author)

Grounded theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Tina

2015-04-29

Grounded theory is a popular research approach in health care and the social sciences. This article provides a description of grounded theory methodology and its key components, using examples from published studies to demonstrate practical application. It aims to demystify grounded theory for novice nurse researchers, by explaining what it is, when to use it, why they would want to use it and how to use it. It should enable nurse researchers to decide if grounded theory is an appropriate approach for their research, and to determine the quality of any grounded theory research they read.

Ground cross-modal impedance as a tool for analyzing ground/plate interaction and ground wave propagation.

Science.gov (United States)

Grau, L; Laulagnet, B

2015-05-01

An analytical approach is investigated to model ground-plate interaction based on modal decomposition and the two-dimensional Fourier transform. A finite rectangular plate subjected to flexural vibration is coupled with the ground and modeled with the Kirchhoff hypothesis. A Navier equation represents the stratified ground, assumed infinite in the x- and y-directions and free at the top surface. To obtain an analytical solution, modal decomposition is applied to the structure and a Fourier Transform is applied to the ground. The result is a new tool for analyzing ground-plate interaction to resolve this problem: ground cross-modal impedance. It allows quantifying the added-stiffness, added-mass, and added-damping from the ground to the structure. Similarity with the parallel acoustic problem is highlighted. A comparison between the theory and the experiment shows good matching. Finally, specific cases are investigated, notably the influence of layer depth on plate vibration.

Ground-water resources data for Baldwin County, Alabama

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, James L.; Moreland, Richard S.; Clark, Amy E.

1996-01-01

Geologic and hydrologic data for 237 wells were collected, and water-levels in 223 wells in Baldwin and Escambia Counties were measured. Long-term water water-level data, available for many wells, indicate that ground-water levels in most of Baldwin County show no significant trends for the period of record. However, ground-water levels have declined in the general vicinity of Spanish Fort and Daphne, and ground-water levels in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach areas are less than 5 feet above sea level in places. The quality of ground water generally is good, but problems with iron, sulfur, turbidity, and color occur. The water from most private wells in Baldwin County is used without treatment or filtration. Alabama public- health law requires that water from public-supply wells be chlorinated. Beyond that, the most common treatment of ground water by public-water suppliers in Baldwin County consists of pH adjustment, iron removal, and aeration. The transmissivity of the Miocene-Pliocene aquifer was determined at 10 locations in Baldwin County. Estimates of transmissivity ranged from 700 to 5,400 feet squared per day. In general, aquifer transmissivity was greatest in the southeastern part of the county, and least in the western part of the county near Mobile Bay. A storage coefficient of 1.5 x 10-3 was determined for the Miocene-Pliocene aquifer near Loxley.

Competition-strength-dependent ground suppression in figure-ground perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Salvagio, Elizabeth; Cacciamani, Laura; Peterson, Mary A

2012-07-01

Figure-ground segregation is modeled as inhibitory competition between objects that might be perceived on opposite sides of borders. The winner is the figure; the loser is suppressed, and its location is perceived as shapeless ground. Evidence of ground suppression would support inhibitory competition models and would contribute to explaining why grounds are shapeless near borders shared with figures, yet such evidence is scarce. We manipulated whether competition from potential objects on the ground side of figures was high (i.e., portions of familiar objects were potentially present there) or low (novel objects were potentially present). We predicted that greater competition would produce more ground suppression. The results of two experiments in which suppression was assessed via judgments of the orientation of target bars confirmed this prediction; a third experiment showed that ground suppression is short-lived. Our findings support inhibitory competition models of figure assignment, in particular, and models of visual perception entailing feedback, in general.

Identifying resistance gene analogs associated with resistances to different pathogens in common bean.

Science.gov (United States)

López, Camilo E; Acosta, Iván F; Jara, Carlos; Pedraza, Fabio; Gaitán-Solís, Eliana; Gallego, Gerardo; Beebe, Steve; Tohme, Joe

2003-01-01

ABSTRACT A polymerase chain reaction approach using degenerate primers that targeted the conserved domains of cloned plant disease resistance genes (R genes) was used to isolate a set of 15 resistance gene analogs (RGAs) from common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Eight different classes of RGAs were obtained from nucleotide binding site (NBS)-based primers and seven from not previously described Toll/Interleukin-1 receptor-like (TIR)-based primers. Putative amino acid sequences of RGAs were significantly similar to R genes and contained additional conserved motifs. The NBS-type RGAs were classified in two subgroups according to the expected final residue in the kinase-2 motif. Eleven RGAs were mapped at 19 loci on eight linkage groups of the common bean genetic map constructed at Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical. Genetic linkage was shown for eight RGAs with partial resistance to anthracnose, angular leaf spot (ALS) and Bean golden yellow mosaic virus (BGYMV). RGA1 and RGA2 were associated with resistance loci to anthracnose and BGYMV and were part of two clusters of R genes previously described. A new major cluster was detected by RGA7 and explained up to 63.9% of resistance to ALS and has a putative contribution to anthracnose resistance. These results show the usefulness of RGAs as candidate genes to detect and eventually isolate numerous R genes in common bean.

Ground-water protection activities of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-02-01

This report evaluates the internal consistency of NRC's ground-water protection programs. These programs have evolved consistently with growing public concerns about the significance of ground-water contamination and environmental impacts. Early NRC programs provided for protection of the public health and safety by minimizing releases of radionuclides. More recent programs have included provisions for minimizing releases of nonradiological constituents, mitigating environmental impacts, and correcting ground-water contamination. NRC's ground-water protection programs are categorized according to program areas, including nuclear materials and waste management (NMSS), nuclear reactor operation (NRR), confirmatory research and standards development (RES), inspection and enforcement (IE), and agreement state programs (SP). Based on analysis of existing ground-water protection programs within NRC, the interoffice Ground-water Protection Group has identified several inconsistencies between and within program areas. These inconsistencies include: (1) different definitions of the term ''ground-water,'' (2) variable regulation of nonradiological constituents in ground water, (3) different design periods for ground-water protection, and (4) different scopes and rigor of ground-water assessments. The second inconsistency stems from differences in statutory authority granted to the NRC. The third inconsistency is rationalized by recognizing differences in perceived risks associated with nuclear facilities. The Ground-water Protection Group will document its analysis of the remaining inconsistencies and make recommendations to reconcile or eliminate them in a subsequent report

FEBEX bentonite colloid stability in ground water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seher, H.; Schaefer, T.; Geckeis, H. [Inst. fuer Nukleare Entsorgung (INE), Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany)]. e-mail: holger.seher@ine.fzk .de; Fanghaenel, T. [Ruprecht-Karls-Univ. Heidelberg, Physikalisch-Chemisches In st., D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)

2007-06-15

Coagulation experiments are accomplished to identify the geochemical conditions for the stability of Febex bentonite colloids in granite ground water. The experiments are carried out by varying pH, ionic strength and type of electrolyte. The dynamic light scattering technique (photon correlation spectroscopy) is used to measure the size evolution of the colloids with time. Agglomeration rates are higher in MgCl{sub 2} and CaCl{sub 2} than in NaCl solution. Relative agglomeration rates follow approximately the Schulze-Hardy rule. Increasing agglomeration rates at pH>8 are observed in experiments with MgCl{sub 2} and CaCl{sub 2} which are, however, caused by coprecipitation phenomena. Bentonite colloid stability fields derived from the colloid agglomeration experiments predict low colloid stabilization in granite ground water taken from Aespoe, Sweden, and relatively high colloid stability in Grimsel ground water (Switzerland)

Developing a Guideline for Reporting and Evaluating Grounded Theory Research Studies (GUREGT)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berthelsen, Connie Bøttcher; Grimshaw-Aagaard, Søsserr Lone Smilla; Hansen, Carrinna

2018-01-01

theory research studies. The study was conducted in three phases. Phase 1: A structured literature review in PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Libraries, PsycInfo and SCOPUS to identify recommendations for reporting and evaluating grounded theory. Phase 2: A selective review of the methodological grounded theory...

AMS Ground Truth Measurements: Calibration and Test Lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wasiolek, P.

2013-01-01

Airborne gamma spectrometry is one of the primary techniques used to define the extent of ground contamination after a radiological incident. Its usefulness was demonstrated extensively during the response to the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) accident in March-May 2011. To map ground contamination a set of scintillation detectors is mounted on an airborne platform (airplane or helicopter) and flown over contaminated areas. The acquisition system collects spectral information together with the aircraft position and altitude every second. To provide useful information to decision makers, the count rate data expressed in counts per second (cps) needs to be converted to the terrestrial component of the exposure rate 1 m above ground, or surface activity of isotopes of concern. This is done using conversion coefficients derived from calibration flights. During a large scale radiological event, multiple flights may be necessary and may require use of assets from different agencies. However, as the production of a single, consistent map product depicting the ground contamination is the primary goal, it is critical to establish very early into the event a common calibration line. Such a line should be flown periodically in order to normalize data collected from different aerial acquisition systems and potentially flown at different flight altitudes and speeds. In order to verify and validate individual aerial systems, the calibration line needs to be characterized in terms of ground truth measurements. This is especially important if the contamination is due to short-lived radionuclides. The process of establishing such a line, as well as necessary ground truth measurements, is described in this document.

AMS Ground Truth Measurements: Calibrations and Test Lines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wasiolek, Piotr T. [National Security Technologies, LLC

2015-12-01

Airborne gamma spectrometry is one of the primary techniques used to define the extent of ground contamination after a radiological incident. Its usefulness was demonstrated extensively during the response to the Fukushima NPP accident in March-May 2011. To map ground contamination, a set of scintillation detectors is mounted on an airborne platform (airplane or helicopter) and flown over contaminated areas. The acquisition system collects spectral information together with the aircraft position and altitude every second. To provide useful information to decision makers, the count data, expressed in counts per second (cps), need to be converted to a terrestrial component of the exposure rate at 1 meter (m) above ground, or surface activity of the isotopes of concern. This is done using conversion coefficients derived from calibration flights. During a large-scale radiological event, multiple flights may be necessary and may require use of assets from different agencies. However, because production of a single, consistent map product depicting the ground contamination is the primary goal, it is critical to establish a common calibration line very early into the event. Such a line should be flown periodically in order to normalize data collected from different aerial acquisition systems and that are potentially flown at different flight altitudes and speeds. In order to verify and validate individual aerial systems, the calibration line needs to be characterized in terms of ground truth measurements This is especially important if the contamination is due to short-lived radionuclides. The process of establishing such a line, as well as necessary ground truth measurements, is described in this document.

Common Metrics for Human-Robot Interaction

Science.gov (United States)

Steinfeld, Aaron; Lewis, Michael; Fong, Terrence; Scholtz, Jean; Schultz, Alan; Kaber, David; Goodrich, Michael

2006-01-01

This paper describes an effort to identify common metrics for task-oriented human-robot interaction (HRI). We begin by discussing the need for a toolkit of HRI metrics. We then describe the framework of our work and identify important biasing factors that must be taken into consideration. Finally, we present suggested common metrics for standardization and a case study. Preparation of a larger, more detailed toolkit is in progress.

Ground System Extensibility Considerations

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, S. W.; Greene, E.

2017-12-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly acquiring the next-generation civilian weather and environmental satellite system: the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). The Joint Polar Satellite System will replace the afternoon orbit component and ground processing system of the current Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) managed by NOAA. The JPSS satellites will carry a suite of sensors designed to collect meteorological, oceanographic, climatological and geophysical observations of the Earth. The ground processing system for JPSS is known as the JPSS Common Ground System (JPSS CGS). Developed and maintained by Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS), the CGS is a multi-mission enterprise system serving NOAA, NASA and their national and international partners, such as NASA's Earth Observation System (EOS), NOAA's current POES, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Global Change Observation Mission - Water (GCOM-W1), and DoD's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). The CGS provides a wide range of support to a number of national and international missions, including command and control, mission management, data acquisition and routing, and environmental data processing and distribution. The current suite of CGS-supported missions has demonstrated the value of interagency and international partnerships to address global observation needs. With its established infrastructure and existing suite of missions, the CGS is extensible to a wider array of potential new missions. This paper will describe how the inherent scalability and extensibility of the CGS enables the addition of these new missions, with an eye on global enterprise needs in the 2020's and beyond.

Preparing for Mars: The Evolvable Mars Campaign 'Proving Ground' Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Bobskill, Marianne R.; Lupisella, Mark L.; Mueller, Rob P.; Sibille, Laurent; Vangen, Scott; Williams-Byrd, Julie

2015-01-01

As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) prepares to extend human presence beyond Low Earth Orbit, we are in the early stages of planning missions within the framework of an Evolvable Mars Campaign. Initial missions would be conducted in near-Earth cis-lunar space and would eventually culminate in extended duration crewed missions on the surface of Mars. To enable such exploration missions, critical technologies and capabilities must be identified, developed, and tested. NASA has followed a principled approach to identify critical capabilities and a "Proving Ground" approach is emerging to address testing needs. The Proving Ground is a period subsequent to current International Space Station activities wherein exploration-enabling capabilities and technologies are developed and the foundation is laid for sustained human presence in space. The Proving Ground domain essentially includes missions beyond Low Earth Orbit that will provide increasing mission capability while reducing technical risks. Proving Ground missions also provide valuable experience with deep space operations and support the transition from "Earth-dependence" to "Earth-independence" required for sustainable space exploration. A Technology Development Assessment Team identified a suite of critical technologies needed to support the cadence of exploration missions. Discussions among mission planners, vehicle developers, subject-matter-experts, and technologists were used to identify a minimum but sufficient set of required technologies and capabilities. Within System Maturation Teams, known challenges were identified and expressed as specific performance gaps in critical capabilities, which were then refined and activities required to close these critical gaps were identified. Analysis was performed to identify test and demonstration opportunities for critical technical capabilities across the Proving Ground spectrum of missions. This suite of critical capabilities is expected to

The impact of forest structure and spatial scale on the relationship between ground plot above ground biomass and GEDI lidar waveforms

Science.gov (United States)

Armston, J.; Marselis, S.; Hancock, S.; Duncanson, L.; Tang, H.; Kellner, J. R.; Calders, K.; Disney, M.; Dubayah, R.

2017-12-01

The NASA Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) will place a multi-beam waveform lidar instrument on the International Space Station (ISS) to provide measurements of forest vertical structure globally. These measurements of structure will underpin empirical modelling of above ground biomass density (AGBD) at the scale of individual GEDI lidar footprints (25m diameter). The GEDI pre-launch calibration strategy for footprint level models relies on linking AGBD estimates from ground plots with GEDI lidar waveforms simulated from coincident discrete return airborne laser scanning data. Currently available ground plot data have variable and often large uncertainty at the spatial resolution of GEDI footprints due to poor colocation, allometric model error, sample size and plot edge effects. The relative importance of these sources of uncertainty partly depends on the quality of ground measurements and region. It is usually difficult to know the magnitude of these uncertainties a priori so a common approach to mitigate their influence on model training is to aggregate ground plot and waveform lidar data to a coarser spatial scale (0.25-1ha). Here we examine the impacts of these principal sources of uncertainty using a 3D simulation approach. Sets of realistic tree models generated from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data or parametric modelling matched to tree inventory data were assembled from four contrasting forest plots across tropical rainforest, deciduous temperate forest, and sclerophyll eucalypt woodland sites. These tree models were used to simulate geometrically explicit 3D scenes with variable tree density, size class and spatial distribution. GEDI lidar waveforms are simulated over ground plots within these scenes using monte carlo ray tracing, allowing the impact of varying ground plot and waveform colocation error, forest structure and edge effects on the relationship between ground plot AGBD and GEDI lidar waveforms to be directly assessed. We

Aircraft and ground vehicle friction measurements obtained under winter runway conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Yager, Thomas J.

1989-01-01

Tests with specially instrumented NASA B-737 and B-727 aircraft together with several different ground friction measuring devices have been conducted for a variety of runway surface types and wetness conditions. This effort is part of the Joint FAA/NASA Aircraft/Ground Vehicle Runway Friction Program aimed at obtaining a better understanding of aircraft ground handling performance under adverse weather conditions, and defining relationships between aircraft and ground vehicle tire friction measurements. Aircraft braking performance on dry, wet, snow-, and ice-covered runway conditions is discussed together with ground vehicle friction data obtained under similar runway conditions. For the wet, compacted snow- and ice-covered runway conditions, the relationship between ground vehicles and aircraft friction data is identified. The influence of major test parameters on friction measurements such as speed, test tire characteristics, and surface contaminant-type are discussed. The test results indicate that use of properly maintained and calibrated ground vehicles for monitoring runway friction conditions should be encouraged particularly under adverse weather conditions.

Illumination compensation in ground based hyperspectral imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Wendel, Alexander; Underwood, James

2017-07-01

Hyperspectral imaging has emerged as an important tool for analysing vegetation data in agricultural applications. Recently, low altitude and ground based hyperspectral imaging solutions have come to the fore, providing very high resolution data for mapping and studying large areas of crops in detail. However, these platforms introduce a unique set of challenges that need to be overcome to ensure consistent, accurate and timely acquisition of data. One particular problem is dealing with changes in environmental illumination while operating with natural light under cloud cover, which can have considerable effects on spectral shape. In the past this has been commonly achieved by imaging known reference targets at the time of data acquisition, direct measurement of irradiance, or atmospheric modelling. While capturing a reference panel continuously or very frequently allows accurate compensation for illumination changes, this is often not practical with ground based platforms, and impossible in aerial applications. This paper examines the use of an autonomous unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to gather high resolution hyperspectral imaging data of crops under natural illumination. A process of illumination compensation is performed to extract the inherent reflectance properties of the crops, despite variable illumination. This work adapts a previously developed subspace model approach to reflectance and illumination recovery. Though tested on a ground vehicle in this paper, it is applicable to low altitude unmanned aerial hyperspectral imagery also. The method uses occasional observations of reference panel training data from within the same or other datasets, which enables a practical field protocol that minimises in-field manual labour. This paper tests the new approach, comparing it against traditional methods. Several illumination compensation protocols for high volume ground based data collection are presented based on the results. The findings in this paper are

Ground water '89

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

The proceedings of the 5th biennial symposium of the Ground Water Division of the Geological Society of South Africa are presented. The theme of the symposium was ground water and mining. Papers were presented on the following topics: ground water resources; ground water contamination; chemical analyses of ground water and mining and its influece on ground water. Separate abstracts were prepared for 5 of the papers presented. The remaining papers were considered outside the subject scope of INIS

The LOFT Ground Segment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bozzo, E.; Antonelli, A.; Argan, A.

2014-01-01

targets per orbit (~90 minutes), providing roughly ~80 GB of proprietary data per day (the proprietary period will be 12 months). The WFM continuously monitors about 1/3 of the sky at a time and provides data for about ~100 sources a day, resulting in a total of ~20 GB of additional telemetry. The LOFT...... Burst alert System additionally identifies on-board bright impulsive events (e.g., Gamma-ray Bursts, GRBs) and broadcasts the corresponding position and trigger time to the ground using a dedicated system of ~15 VHF receivers. All WFM data are planned to be made public immediately. In this contribution...... we summarize the planned organization of the LOFT ground segment (GS), as established in the mission Yellow Book 1 . We describe the expected GS contributions from ESA and the LOFT consortium. A review is provided of the planned LOFT data products and the details of the data flow, archiving...

Analytical Investigation Of Pigments, Ground Layer And Media Of Cartonnage Fragments From Greek Roman Period

Science.gov (United States)

Afifi, Hala. A. M.

Some cartonnage fragments from Hawara, Fayoum Excavation were examined to identify pigments, media and grounds. It belonged to the Greek-Roman period. They were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive X ray analysis (EDS) equipped with Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). These techniques were used to identify the composition and morphology of grounds, nature of pigments and media used in cartonnage fragments. The coarse ground layer was composed of calcite and traces of quartz. The fine ground layer used under the pigments directly was composed of calcite only. Carbon black was used as black pigment while lead oxide as red pigment, showing the influence of Roman and Greek pigments on Egyptian art in these later periods. Blue colorant was identified as cuprorivaite and yellow pigment was goethite. Animal glue was used in the four pigments as medium colored.

Nitrogen-15 studies on identifying fertilizer excess in environmental systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freyer, H.D.; Aly, A.I.M.

1975-01-01

The feasibility of identifying fertilizer excesses in surface and ground waters on the basis of variations in the isotope ratio of nitrogen has been studied. The isotope ratio of the commonly used ammonium and nitrate fertilizers is similar to that of atmospheric nitrogen. These ratios are shifted when fertilizers are added to the soil. In the soil, fertilizer ammonium is oxidized and the nitrate formed is reduced in the heavy isotope. The fractionation factors are calculated. This artificially added nitrate becomes mixed with natural nitrate which, in general, is enriched in the heavy isotope. Only 50% (or even less) of the nitrate formed may stem from the added fertilizer. The mixing ratios are time-dependent, and different for various types and conditions of soil. In spite of this complexity, information on this isotopic process should be obtainable, if the isotope ratios of artificial and natural nitrate, respectively, are substantially different. Surface waters, in general, show no significant correlation between nitrate content and isotope ratio due to additions of sewage waters. Some data on ground waters from agricultural areas, however, where the nitrate content apparently resulted from fertilizers, gave a negative correlation of lower isotope ratios with higher nitrate contents. An inverse correlation was found in the isotope ratios of nitrate in untouched surface waters, and they even reflect the composition of the total soil nitrogen. (author)

Ensemble of ground subsidence hazard maps using fuzzy logic

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Inhye; Lee, Jiyeong; Saro, Lee

2014-06-01

Hazard maps of ground subsidence around abandoned underground coal mines (AUCMs) in Samcheok, Korea, were constructed using fuzzy ensemble techniques and a geographical information system (GIS). To evaluate the factors related to ground subsidence, a spatial database was constructed from topographic, geologic, mine tunnel, land use, groundwater, and ground subsidence maps. Spatial data, topography, geology, and various ground-engineering data for the subsidence area were collected and compiled in a database for mapping ground-subsidence hazard (GSH). The subsidence area was randomly split 70/30 for training and validation of the models. The relationships between the detected ground-subsidence area and the factors were identified and quantified by frequency ratio (FR), logistic regression (LR) and artificial neural network (ANN) models. The relationships were used as factor ratings in the overlay analysis to create ground-subsidence hazard indexes and maps. The three GSH maps were then used as new input factors and integrated using fuzzy-ensemble methods to make better hazard maps. All of the hazard maps were validated by comparison with known subsidence areas that were not used directly in the analysis. As the result, the ensemble model was found to be more effective in terms of prediction accuracy than the individual model.

The policies and practices of sports governing bodies in relation to assessing the safety of sports grounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Swan, Peter; Otago, Leonie; Finch, Caroline F; Payne, Warren R

2009-01-01

Sport is an important context for physical activity and it is critical that safe environments are provided for such activity. Sports safety is influenced by the presence of sports ground environmental hazards such as ground hardness, poorly maintained playing fields, surface irregularities and the presence of debris/rubbish. To reduce injury risk, sports governing bodies need to ensure regular assessment of grounds safety and the removal of identified hazards. This study describes sports ground safety guidelines and recommendations of a sample of sports governing bodies and provides recommendations for how they could be improved. Semi-structured key informant interviews were conducted with nominees of state governing bodies for Australian football, cricket, soccer and hockey. The use of matchday checklists to identify ground hazards, as mandated by insurance companies was widely promoted across all levels of play. Sports governing bodies had more direct involvement in assessing grounds used for higher level of play, than grounds used for community or junior sport. There was a general presumption that identified hazards on community grounds would be corrected by local councils or clubs before anyone played on them, but this was rarely monitored. Sports governing bodies run the risk of being negligent in their duty of care to sports participants if they do not formally monitor the implementation of their ground safety polices and guidelines. There is also further scope for sports bodies to work closely with insurers to develop ground safety assessment guidelines specific to their sport.

Effects prediction guidelines for structures subjected to ground motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-07-01

Part of the planning for an underground nuclear explosion (UNE) is determining the effects of expected ground motion on exposed structures. Because of the many types of structures and the wide variation in ground motion intensity typically encountered, no single prediction method is both adequate and feasible for a complete evaluation. Furthermore, the nature and variability of ground motion and structure damage prescribe effects predictions that are made probabilistically. Initially, prediction for a UNE involves a preliminary assessment of damage to establish overall project feasibility. Subsequent efforts require more detailed damage evaluations, based on structure inventories and analyses of specific structures, so that safety problems can be identified and safety and remedial measures can be recommended. To cover this broad range of effects prediction needs for a typical UNE project, three distinct but interrelated methods have been developed and are described. First, the fundamental practical and theoretical aspects of predicting the effects of dynamic ground motion on structures are summarized. Next, experimentally derived and theoretically determined observations of the behavior of typical structures subjected to ground motion are presented. Then, based on these fundamental considerations and on the observed behavior of structures, the formulation of the three effects prediction procedures is described, along with guidelines regarding their applicability. Example damage predictions for hypothetical UNEs demonstrate these procedures. To aid in identifying the vibration properties of complex structures, one chapter discusses alternatives in vibration testing, instrumentation, and data analysis. Finally, operational guidelines regarding data acquisition procedures, safety criteria, and remedial measures involved in conducting structure effects evaluations are discussed. (U.S.)

Identifying Farm Pond Habitat Suitability for the Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus: A Conservation-Perspective Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun-Hsien Lai

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to establish a habitat-suitability assessment model for Gallinula chloropus, or the Common Moorhen, to be applied to the selection of the most suitable farm pond for habitat conservation in Chiayi County, Taiwan. First, the fuzzy Delphi method was employed to evaluate habitat selection factors and calculate the weights of these factors. The results showed that the eight crucial factors, by importance, in descending order, were (1 area ratio of farmlands within 200 m of the farm pond; (2 pond area; (3 pond perimeter; (4 aquatic plant coverage of the pond surface; (5 drought period; (6 coverage of high and low shrubs around the pond bank; (7 bank type; and (8 water-surface-to-bank distance. Subsequently, field evaluations of 75 farm ponds in Chiayi County were performed. The results indicated that 15 farm ponds had highly-suitable habitats and were inhabited by unusually high numbers of Common Moorhens; these habitats were most in need of conservation. A total of two farm ponds were found to require habitat-environment improvements, and Common Moorhens with typical reproductive capacity could be appropriately introduced into 22 farm ponds to restore the ecosystem of the species. Additionally, the habitat suitability and number of Common Moorhens in 36 farm ponds were lower than average; these ponds could be used for agricultural irrigation, detention basins, or for recreational use by community residents. Finally, the total habitat suitability scores and occurrence of Common Moorhens in each farm pond were used to verify the accuracy of the habitat-suitability assessment model for the Common Moorhen. The overall accuracy was 0.8, and the Kappa value was 0.60, which indicates that the model established in this study exhibited high credibility. To sum up, this is an applicable framework not only to assess the habitat suitability of farm ponds for Common Moorhens, but also to determine whether a particular location may

Regional analysis of ground and above-ground climate. Part I. Regional suitability of earth-tempering practices: summary and conclusions. Part II. Bioclimatic data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Labs, K.

The regional suitability of underground construction as a climate-control technique is discussed with reference to (1) a bioclimatic analysis of long-term weather data for 29 locations in the United States to determine appropriate above-ground climate-control techniques, (2) a data base of synthesized ground temperatures for the coterminous United States, and (3) monthly dewpoint ground temperature comparisons for identifying the relative likelihood of condensation, from one region to another. It is concluded that the suitability of earth tempering as a practice and of specific earth-sheltered design stereotypes varies geographically. While the subsurface almost always provides a thermal advantage on its own terms when compared to above-ground climatic data, it can, nonetheless, compromise the effectiveness of other, regionally more important climate-control techniques. Also contained in the report are reviews of above- and below-ground climate mapping schemes related to human comfort and architectural design, and a detailed description of a theoretical model of ground temperature, heat flow, and heat storage in the ground. Strategies of passive climate control are presented in a discussion of the building bioclimatic analysis procedure which has been applied in a computer analysis of 30 years of weather data for each of 29 locations in the United States. 3 references, 12 figures, 14 tables.

WE-E-201-01: Use and Abuse of Common Statistics in Radiological Physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Labby, Z. [University of Wisconsin (United States)

2015-06-15

Physicists are often expected to have a solid grounding in experimental design and statistical analysis, sometimes filling in when biostatisticians or other experts are not available for consultation. Unfortunately, graduate education on these topics is seldom emphasized and few opportunities for continuing education exist. Clinical physicists incorporate new technology and methods into their practice based on published literature. A poor understanding of experimental design and analysis could Result in inappropriate use of new techniques. Clinical physicists also improve current practice through quality initiatives that require sound experimental design and analysis. Academic physicists with a poor understanding of design and analysis may produce ambiguous (or misleading) results. This can Result in unnecessary rewrites, publication rejection, and experimental redesign (wasting time, money, and effort). This symposium will provide a practical review of error and uncertainty, common study designs, and statistical tests. Instruction will primarily focus on practical implementation through examples and answer questions such as: where would you typically apply the test/design and where is the test/design typically misapplied (i.e., common pitfalls)? An analysis of error and uncertainty will also be explored using biological studies and associated modeling as a specific use case. Learning Objectives: Understand common experimental testing and clinical trial designs, what questions they can answer, and how to interpret the results Determine where specific statistical tests are appropriate and identify common pitfalls Understand the how uncertainty and error are addressed in biological testing and associated biological modeling.

WE-E-201-01: Use and Abuse of Common Statistics in Radiological Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labby, Z.

2015-01-01

Physicists are often expected to have a solid grounding in experimental design and statistical analysis, sometimes filling in when biostatisticians or other experts are not available for consultation. Unfortunately, graduate education on these topics is seldom emphasized and few opportunities for continuing education exist. Clinical physicists incorporate new technology and methods into their practice based on published literature. A poor understanding of experimental design and analysis could Result in inappropriate use of new techniques. Clinical physicists also improve current practice through quality initiatives that require sound experimental design and analysis. Academic physicists with a poor understanding of design and analysis may produce ambiguous (or misleading) results. This can Result in unnecessary rewrites, publication rejection, and experimental redesign (wasting time, money, and effort). This symposium will provide a practical review of error and uncertainty, common study designs, and statistical tests. Instruction will primarily focus on practical implementation through examples and answer questions such as: where would you typically apply the test/design and where is the test/design typically misapplied (i.e., common pitfalls)? An analysis of error and uncertainty will also be explored using biological studies and associated modeling as a specific use case. Learning Objectives: Understand common experimental testing and clinical trial designs, what questions they can answer, and how to interpret the results Determine where specific statistical tests are appropriate and identify common pitfalls Understand the how uncertainty and error are addressed in biological testing and associated biological modeling

Longevity of Emplacement Drift Ground Support Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, D.

2000-01-01

The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the factors affecting the longevity of emplacement drift ground support materials and to develop a basis for selection of materials for ground support that will function throughout the preclosure period. The Development Plan (DP) for this analysis is given in CRWMS M and O (Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management and Operating Contractor) (1999a). The candidate materials for ground support are steel (carbon steel, ductile cast iron, galvanized steel, and stainless steel, etc.) and cement. Steel will mainly be used for steel sets, lagging, channels, rock bolts, and wire mesh. Cement usage is only considered in the case of grouted rock bolts. The candidate materials for the invert structure are steel and crushed rock ballast. The materials shall be evaluated for the repository emplacement drift environment under a specific thermal loading condition based on the proposed License Application Design Selection (LADS) design. The analysis consists of the following tasks: (1) Identify factors affecting the longevity of ground control materials for use in emplacement drifts. (2) Review existing documents concerning behavior of candidate ground control materials during the preclosure period. The major criteria to be considered for steel are mechanical and thermal properties, and durability, of which corrosion is the most important concern. (3) Evaluate the available results and develop recommendations for material(s) to be used

Common mutations identified in the MLH1 gene in familial Lynch syndrome

OpenAIRE

Jisha Elias; Coral Karunakaran; Snigdha Majumder; Malini Manoharan; Rakshit Shah; Yogesh Mistry; Rajesh Ramanuj; Niraj Bhatt; Arati Khanna- Gupta

2017-01-01

Lynch syndrome (Hereditary Non Polyposis Colorectal Cancer, HNPCC) is one of the most common hereditary familial colorectal cancers (CRC) with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. It accounts for 2-5% of the total CRCs reported worldwide. Although a lower incidence for CRCs have been observed in India, the last decade has shown a remarkable increase of CRC incidences (2-4 %). Features of Lynch syndrome associated colorectal cancer include early age of cancer onset, accelerated car...

Hydro-geochemical and isotopic composition of ground water in Helwan area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W.M. Salem

2015-12-01

The environmental stable isotopes oxygen and hydrogen (18O, and deuterium were studied and used to identify the sources of recharge. The studied ground waters are enriched in D and 18O and the isotopic features suggest that most of the ground water recharged indirectly after evaporation prior to infiltration from irrigation return water as well as the contribution from Nile water.

The Future of the Brigade Combat Team: Air-Ground Integration and the Operating Environment

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-09

coordinate, and control joint and multinational aircraft during CAS situations in combat and training. The current system which the CAS mission falls...current system , experiences from Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq help to identify future challenges to the operating environment ...multinational partners. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Air Ground Integration, Theater Air Ground System , Theater Air Control System , Army Air Ground System , Joint

A method to estimate characteristics of grounding systems considering experimental studies and computational simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Souza, Andre Nunes de; Silva, Ivan Nunes da; Ulson, Jose Alfredo C.; Zago, Maria Goretti [UNESP, Bauru, SP (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Eletrica]. E-mail: andrejau@bauru.unesp.br

2001-07-01

This paper describes a novel approach for mapping characteristics of grounding systems using artificial neural networks. The network acts as identifier of structural features of the grounding processes. So that output parameters can be estimated and generalized from an input parameter set. The results obtained by the network are compared with other approaches also used to model grounding systems concerning lightning. (author)

Spatial correlation of probabilistic earthquake ground motion and loss

Science.gov (United States)

Wesson, R.L.; Perkins, D.M.

2001-01-01

Spatial correlation of annual earthquake ground motions and losses can be used to estimate the variance of annual losses to a portfolio of properties exposed to earthquakes A direct method is described for the calculations of the spatial correlation of earthquake ground motions and losses. Calculations for the direct method can be carried out using either numerical quadrature or a discrete, matrix-based approach. Numerical results for this method are compared with those calculated from a simple Monte Carlo simulation. Spatial correlation of ground motion and loss is induced by the systematic attenuation of ground motion with distance from the source, by common site conditions, and by the finite length of fault ruptures. Spatial correlation is also strongly dependent on the partitioning of the variability, given an event, into interevent and intraevent components. Intraevent variability reduces the spatial correlation of losses. Interevent variability increases spatial correlation of losses. The higher the spatial correlation, the larger the variance in losses to a port-folio, and the more likely extreme values become. This result underscores the importance of accurately determining the relative magnitudes of intraevent and interevent variability in ground-motion studies, because of the strong impact in estimating earthquake losses to a portfolio. The direct method offers an alternative to simulation for calculating the variance of losses to a portfolio, which may reduce the amount of calculation required.

Development of Hybrid Product Breakdown Structure for NASA Ground Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Monaghan, Mark W.; Henry, Robert J.

2013-01-01

The Product Breakdown Structure is traditionally a method of identification of the products of a project in a tree structure. It is a tool used to assess, plan, document, and display the equipment requirements for a project. It is part of a product based planning technique, and attempts to break down all components of a project in as much detail as possible, so that nothing is overlooked. The PBS for ground systems at the Kennedy Space Center is being developed to encompass the traditional requirements including the alignment of facility, systems, and components to the organizational hierarchy. The Ground Operations Product Breakdown Structure is a hybrid in nature in that some aspects of a work breakdown structure will be incorporated and merged with the Architecture Concept of Operations, Master Subsystem List, customer interface, and assigned management responsibility. The Ground Operations Product Breakdown Structure needs to be able to identify the flexibility of support differing customers (internal and external) usage of ground support equipment within the Kennedy Space Center launch and processing complex. The development of the Product Breakdown Structure is an iterative activity Initially documenting the organization hierarchy structure and relationships. The Product Breakdown Structure identifies the linkage between the customer program requirements, allocation of system resources, development of design goals, and identification logistics products. As the Product Breakdown Structure progresses the incorporation of the results of requirement planning for the customer occurs identifying facility needs and systems. The mature Product Breakdown Structure is baselined with a hierarchical drawing, the Product Breakdown Structure database, and an associated document identifying the verification of the data through the life cycle of the program/product line. This paper will document, demonstrate, and identify key aspects of the life cycle of a Hybrid Product

Simulation of the Regional Ground-Water-Flow System and Ground-Water/Surface-Water Interaction in the Rock River Basin, Wisconsin

Science.gov (United States)

Juckem, Paul F.

2009-01-01

, the model routes tributary base flow through the river network to the Rock River. The parameter-estimation code PEST was linked to the GFLOW model to select the combination of parameter values best able to match more than 8,000 water-level measurements and base-flow estimates at 9 streamgages. Results from the calibrated GFLOW model show simulated (1) ground-water-flow directions, (2) ground-water/surface-water interactions, as depicted in a map of gaining and losing river and lake sections, (3) ground-water contributing areas for selected tributary rivers, and (4) areas of relatively local ground water captured by rivers. Ground-water flow patterns are controlled primarily by river geometries, with most river sections gaining water from the ground-water-flow system; losing sections are most common on the downgradient shore of lakes and reservoirs or near major pumping centers. Ground-water contributing areas to tributary rivers generally coincide with surface watersheds; however the locations of ground-water divides are controlled by the water table, whereas surface-water divides are controlled by surface topography. Finally, areas of relatively local ground water captured by rivers generally extend upgradient from rivers but are modified by the regional flow pattern, such that these areas tend to shift toward regional ground-water divides for relatively small rivers. It is important to recognize the limitations of this regional-scale model. Heterogeneities in subsurface properties and in recharge rates are considered only at a very broad scale (miles to tens of miles). No account is taken of vertical variations in properties or pumping rates, and no provision is made to account for stacked ground-water-flow systems that have different flow patterns at different depths. Small-scale flow systems (hundreds to thousands of feet) associated with minor water bodies are not considered; as a result, the model is not currently designed for simulating site-specifi

The most common types of injuries in judo

OpenAIRE

Ječmínek, Jan

2014-01-01

Title: The most common types of injuries in judo Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the most common injuries that occur during training and judo competitions. Identify treatment options, prevention and identify most common causes of injury. Methods: The chosen method was theoretical and empirical, ie collecting data and information from other publications and conduct its own research. Selecting what is relevant for judo injuries and comparsion whith author's experience and res...

Identifying obstacles and ranking common biological control research priorities for Europe to manage most economically important pests in arable, vegetable and perennial crops.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Bischoff-Schaefer, Monika; Bluemel, Sylvia; Dachbrodt-Saaydeh, Silke; Dreux, Laure; Jansen, Jean-Pierre; Kiss, Jozsef; Köhl, Jürgen; Kudsk, Per; Malausa, Thibaut; Messéan, Antoine; Nicot, Philippe C; Ricci, Pierre; Thibierge, Jérôme; Villeneuve, François

2017-01-01

EU agriculture is currently in transition from conventional crop protection to integrated pest management (IPM). Because biocontrol is a key component of IPM, many European countries recently have intensified their national efforts on biocontrol research and innovation (R&I), although such initiatives are often fragmented. The operational outputs of national efforts would benefit from closer collaboration among stakeholders via transnationally coordinated approaches, as most economically important pests are similar across Europe. This paper proposes a common European framework on biocontrol R&I. It identifies generic R&I bottlenecks and needs as well as priorities for three crop types (arable, vegetable and perennial crops). The existing gap between the market offers of biocontrol solutions and the demand of growers, the lengthy and expensive registration process for biocontrol solutions and their varying effectiveness due to variable climatic conditions and site-specific factors across Europe are key obstacles hindering the development and adoption of biocontrol solutions in Europe. Considering arable, vegetable and perennial crops, a dozen common target pests are identified for each type of crop and ranked by order of importance at European level. Such a ranked list indicates numerous topics on which future joint transnational efforts would be justified. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

What's down below? Current and potential future applications of geophysical techniques to identify subsurface permafrost conditions (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, T. A.; Bjella, K.; Campbell, S. W.

2013-12-01

For infrastructure design, operations, and maintenance requirements in the North the ability to accurately and efficiently detect the presence (or absence) of ground ice in permafrost terrains is a serious challenge. Ground ice features including ice wedges, thermokarst cave-ice, and segregation ice are present in a variety of spatial scales and patterns. Currently, most engineering applications use borehole logging and sampling to extrapolate conditions at the point scale. However, there is high risk of over or under estimating the presence of frozen or unfrozen features when relying on borehole information alone. In addition, boreholes are costly, especially for planning linear structures like roads or runways. Predicted climate warming will provide further challenges for infrastructure development and transportation operations where permafrost degradation occurs. Accurately identifying the subsurface character in permafrost terrains will allow engineers and planners to cost effectively create novel infrastructure designs to withstand the changing environment. There is thus a great need for a low cost rapidly deployable, spatially extensive means of 'measuring' subsurface conditions. Geophysical measurements, both terrestrial and airborne, have strong potential to revolutionize our way of mapping subsurface conditions. Many studies in continuous and discontinuous permafrost have used geophysical measurements to identify discrete features and repeatable patterns in the subsurface. The most common measurements include galvanic and capacitive coupled resistivity, ground penetrating radar, and multi frequency electromagnetic induction techniques. Each of these measurements has strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. By combining horizontal geophysical measurements, downhole geophysics, multispectral remote sensing images, LiDAR measurements, and soil and vegetation mapping we can start to assemble a holistic view of how surface conditions and standoff measurements

Are effects of common ragwort in the Ames test caused by pyrrolizidine alkaloids?

Science.gov (United States)

Bovee, Toine F H; Helsdingen, Richard J R; Hoogenboom, Ron L A P; de Nijs, Monique W C M; Liu, Xiaojie; Vrieling, Klaas; Klinkhamer, Peter G L; Peijnenburg, Ad A C M; Mulder, Patrick P J

2015-08-01

It has previously been demonstrated by others that acetone extracts of Senecio jacobaea (syn. Jacobaea vulgaris, common or tansy ragwort) test positive in the Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity test (Ames test). Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are thought to be responsible for these mutagenic effects. However, it was also observed that the major PA present in common ragwort, jacobine, produced a negative response (with and without the addition of rat liver S9) in Salmonella test strains TA98, TA100, TA1535 and TA1537. To investigate which compounds in the plant extracts were responsible for the positive outcome, the present study investigated the contents and mutagenic effects of methanol and acetone extracts prepared from dried ground S. jacobaea and Senecio inaequidens (narrow-leafed ragwort). Subsequently, a fractionation approach was set up in combination with LC-MS/MS analysis of the fractions. It was shown that the positive Ames test outcomes of S. jacobaea extracts are unlikely to be caused by PAs, but rather by the flavonoid quercetin. This study also demonstrates the importance of identifying compounds responsible for positive test results in bioassays. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Current uses of ground penetrating radar in groundwater-dependent ecosystems research.

Science.gov (United States)

Paz, Catarina; Alcalá, Francisco J; Carvalho, Jorge M; Ribeiro, Luís

2017-10-01

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is a high-resolution technique widely used in shallow groundwater prospecting. This makes GPR ideal to characterize the hydrogeological functioning of groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDE). This paper reviews current uses of GPR in GDE research through the construction of a database comprising 91 worldwide GPR case studies selected from the literature and classified according to (1) geological environments favouring GDE; (2) hydrogeological research interests; and (3) field technical and (4) hydrogeological conditions of the survey. The database analysis showed that inland alluvial, colluvial, and glacial formations were the most widely covered geological environments. Water-table depth was the most repeated research interest. By contrast, weathered-marl and crystalline-rock environments as well as the delineation of salinity interfaces in coastal and inland areas were less studied. Despite that shallow groundwater propitiated GDE in almost all the GPR case studies compiled, only one case expressly addressed GDE research. Common ranges of prospecting depth, water-table depth, and volumetric water content deduced by GPR and other techniques were identified. Antenna frequency of 100MHz and the common offset acquisition technique predominated in the database. Most of GPR case studies were in 30-50° N temperate latitudes, mainly in Europe and North America. Eight original radargrams were selected from several GPR profiles performed in 2014 and 2015 to document database classes and identified gaps, as well as to define experimental ranges of operability in GDE environments. The results contribute to the design of proper GPR surveys in GDE research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Performance Based Criteria for Ship Collision and Grounding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Preben Terndrup

2009-01-01

The paper outlines a probabilistic procedure whereby the maritime industry can develop performance based rules to reduce the risk associated with human, environmental and economic costs of collision and grounding events and identify the most economic risk control options associated with prevention...

Computational study of the fibril organization of polyglutamine repeats reveals a common motif identified in beta-helices.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanuy, David; Gunasekaran, Kannan; Lesk, Arthur M; Nussinov, Ruth

2006-04-21

The formation of fibril aggregates by long polyglutamine sequences is assumed to play a major role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington. Here, we model peptides rich in glutamine, through a series of molecular dynamics simulations. Starting from a rigid nanotube-like conformation, we have obtained a new conformational template that shares structural features of a tubular helix and of a beta-helix conformational organization. Our new model can be described as a super-helical arrangement of flat beta-sheet segments linked by planar turns or bends. Interestingly, our comprehensive analysis of the Protein Data Bank reveals that this is a common motif in beta-helices (termed beta-bend), although it has not been identified so far. The motif is based on the alternation of beta-sheet and helical conformation as the protein sequence is followed from the N to the C termini (beta-alpha(R)-beta-polyPro-beta). We further identify this motif in the ssNMR structure of the protofibril of the amyloidogenic peptide Abeta(1-40). The recurrence of the beta-bend suggests a general mode of connecting long parallel beta-sheet segments that would allow the growth of partially ordered fibril structures. The design allows the peptide backbone to change direction with a minimal loss of main chain hydrogen bonds. The identification of a coherent organization beyond that of the beta-sheet segments in different folds rich in parallel beta-sheets suggests a higher degree of ordered structure in protein fibrils, in agreement with their low solubility and dense molecular packing.

Hanford Site ground-water monitoring for 1993

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dresel, P.E.; Luttrell, S.P.; Evans, J.C.

1994-09-01

This report presents the results of the Ground-Water Surveillance Project monitoring for calendar year 1993 on the Hanford Site, Washington. Hanford Site operations from 1943 onward produced large quantities of radiological and chemical waste that have impacted ground-water quality on the Site. Monitoring of water levels and ground-water chemistry is performed to track the extent of contamination and trends in contaminant concentrations. The 1993 monitoring was also designed to identify emerging ground-water quality problems. The information obtained is used to verify compliance with applicable environmental regulations and to evaluate remedial actions. Data from other monitoring and characterization programs were incorporated to provide an integrated assessment of Site ground-water quality. Additional characterization of the Site's geologic setting and hydrology was performed to support the interpretation of contaminant distributions. Numerical modeling of sitewide ground-water flow also supported the overall project goals. Water-level monitoring was performed to evaluate ground-water flow directions, to track changes in water levels, and to relate such changes to changes in site disposal practices. Water levels over most of the Hanford Site continued to decline between June 1992 and June 1993. The greatest declines occurred in the 200-West Area. These declines are part of the continued response to the cessation of discharge to U Pond and other disposal facilities. The low permeability in this area which enhanced mounding of waste-water discharge has also slowed the response to the reduction of disposal. Water levels remained nearly constant in the vicinity of B Pond, as a result of continued disposal to the pond. Water levels measured from wells in the unconfined aquifer north and east of the Columbia River indicate that the primary source of recharge is irrigation practices

Hanford Site ground-water monitoring for 1993

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dresel, P.E.; Luttrell, S.P.; Evans, J.C. [and others

1994-09-01

This report presents the results of the Ground-Water Surveillance Project monitoring for calendar year 1993 on the Hanford Site, Washington. Hanford Site operations from 1943 onward produced large quantities of radiological and chemical waste that have impacted ground-water quality on the Site. Monitoring of water levels and ground-water chemistry is performed to track the extent of contamination and trends in contaminant concentrations. The 1993 monitoring was also designed to identify emerging ground-water quality problems. The information obtained is used to verify compliance with applicable environmental regulations and to evaluate remedial actions. Data from other monitoring and characterization programs were incorporated to provide an integrated assessment of Site ground-water quality. Additional characterization of the Site`s geologic setting and hydrology was performed to support the interpretation of contaminant distributions. Numerical modeling of sitewide ground-water flow also supported the overall project goals. Water-level monitoring was performed to evaluate ground-water flow directions, to track changes in water levels, and to relate such changes to changes in site disposal practices. Water levels over most of the Hanford Site continued to decline between June 1992 and June 1993. The greatest declines occurred in the 200-West Area. These declines are part of the continued response to the cessation of discharge to U Pond and other disposal facilities. The low permeability in this area which enhanced mounding of waste-water discharge has also slowed the response to the reduction of disposal. Water levels remained nearly constant in the vicinity of B Pond, as a result of continued disposal to the pond. Water levels measured from wells in the unconfined aquifer north and east of the Columbia River indicate that the primary source of recharge is irrigation practices.

Temporal dynamics of figure-ground segregation in human vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Neri, Peter; Levi, Dennis M

2007-01-01

The segregation of figure from ground is arguably one of the most fundamental operations in human vision. Neural signals reflecting this operation appear in cortex as early as 50 ms and as late as 300 ms after presentation of a visual stimulus, but it is not known when these signals are used by the brain to construct the percepts of figure and ground. We used psychophysical reverse correlation to identify the temporal window for figure-ground signals in human perception and found it to lie within the range of 100-160 ms. Figure enhancement within this narrow temporal window was transient rather than sustained as may be expected from measurements in single neurons. These psychophysical results prompt and guide further electrophysiological studies.

Remote sensing evidence of lava-ground ice interactions associated with the Lost Jim Lava Flow, Seward Peninsula, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Marcucci, Emma C.; Hamilton, Christopher W.; Herrick, Robert R.

2017-12-01

Thermokarst terrains develop when ice-bearing permafrost melts and causes the overlying surface to subside or collapse. This process occurs widely throughout Arctic regions due to environmental and climatological factors, but can also be induced by localized melting of ground ice by active lava flows. The Lost Jim Lava Flow (LJLF) on the Seward Peninsula of Alaska provides evidence of former lava-ground ice interactions. Associated geomorphic features, on the scale of meters to tens of meters, were identified using satellite orthoimages and stereo-derived digital terrain models. The flow exhibits positive- and mixed-relief features, including tumuli ( N = 26) and shatter rings ( N = 4), as well as negative-relief features, such as lava tube skylights ( N = 100) and irregularly shaped topographic depressions ( N = 1188) that are interpreted to include lava-rise pits and lava-induced thermokarst terrain. Along the margins of the flow, there are also clusters of small peripheral pits that may be the products of meltwater or steam escape. On Mars, we observed morphologically similar pits near lava flow margins in northeastern Elysium Planitia, which suggests a common formation mechanism. Investigating the LJLF may therefore help to elucidate processes of lava-ground ice interaction on both Earth and Mars.

TARDEC Ground Vehicle Robotics: Vehicle Dynamic Characterization and Research

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-01

subassemblies that would be common on ground vehicles. Powertrain Systems: Gas Powered, Diesel , Turbo Diesel , Gas Turbine, Hybrid: Gas- Electric...PROPULSE (Hybrid Diesel - Electric System with Export Power), Command Zone (integrated vehicle control and diagnostic system), and TerraMax (Unmanned... Diesel -Electric, Series, Parallel. Power Distribution: RWD, FWD, AWD, open diff, LSD, Torsen diff, differential braking (traction control), drive by

Traditional behaviour and fidelity to caribou calving grounds by barren-ground caribou

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Gunn

1986-06-01

Full Text Available Evidence for the fidelity of female barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus spp. of each herd to specific calving grounds is convincing. Involvement of learned behaviour in the annual return of those cows to the same calving grounds implies such actions are a form of «traditional» behaviour. Even wide variations in population size have not yet knowingly led to marked changes in size or location of calving grounds or prolonged abandonment of established ones. Rarely is the adoption of new calving grounds reported and emigration to another herd's calving ground or interchange between calving grounds has not yet been unequivocally documented. The calving experience of individual caribou and environmental pressures may modify the cow's use patterns of her calving grounds. The current definition of herds based on traditional calving grounds may require modification, if increasing caribou numbers result in changes in traditions. However, current data do not contradict either the fidelity to traditional calving grounds or the concept of herd identity based on that fidelity.

Diseases of Ornamental and Shade Trees, Shrubs, Vines, and Ground Covers.

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, Lester P.

This agriculture extension service publication from Pennsylvania State University covers the identification and control of common ornamental trees, shrubs, and ground cover diseases. The publication is divided into sections. The first section discusses the diseases of ornamental and shade trees, including general diseases and diseases of specific…

Status of advanced ground-based laser interferometers for gravitational-wave detection

Science.gov (United States)

Dooley, K. L.; Akutsu, T.; Dwyer, S.; Puppo, P.

2015-05-01

Ground-based laser interferometers for gravitational-wave (GW) detection were first constructed starting 20 years ago and as of 2010 collection of several years’ worth of science data at initial design sensitivities was completed. Upgrades to the initial detectors together with construction of brand new detectors are ongoing and feature advanced technologies to improve the sensitivity to GWs. This conference proceeding provides an overview of the common design features of ground-based laser interferometric GW detectors and establishes the context for the status updates of each of the four gravitational-wave detectors around the world: Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, GEO 600 and KAGRA.

Ground-penetrating radar study of the Rahivere peat bog, eastern Estonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jüri Plado

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The current case study presents results of the ground-penetrating radar (GPR profiling at one of the Saadjärve drumlin field interstitial troughs, the Rahivere bog, eastern Estonia. The study was conducted in order to identify the bog morphology, and the thickness and geometry of the peat body. The method was also used to describe the applicability of GPR in the evaluation of the peat deposit reserve as the Rahivere bog belongs among the officially registered peat reserves. Fourteen GPR profiles, ~ 100 m apart and oriented perpendicular to the long axis of the depression, covering the bog and its surrounding areas, were acquired. In order to verify the radar image interpretation as well as to evaluate the velocity of electromagnetic waves in peat, a common source configuration was utilized and thirteen boreholes were drilled on the GPR profiles. A mean value of 0.036 m ns–1 corresponding to relative dielectric permittivity of 69.7 was used for the time–depth conversion. Radar images reveal major reflection from the peat–soil interface up to a depth of about 4 m, whereas drillings showed a maximum thickness of 4.5 m of peat. Minor reflections appear from the upper peat and mineral soil. According to the borehole data, undecomposed peat is underlain by decomposed one, but identifying them by GPR is complicated. Mineral soil consists of glaciolimnic silty sand in the peripheral areas of the trough, overlain by limnic clay in the central part. The calculated peat volumes (1 200 000 m3 were found to exceed the earlier estimation (979 000 m3 that was based solely on drilling data. Ground-penetrating radar, as a method that allows mapping horizontal continuity of the sub-peat interface in a non-destructive way, was found to provide detailed information for evaluating peat depth and extent.

A DNA methylation microarray-based study identifies ERG as a gene commonly methylated in prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartzman, Jacob; Mongoue-Tchokote, Solange; Gibbs, Angela; Gao, Lina; Corless, Christopher L; Jin, Jennifer; Zarour, Luai; Higano, Celestia; True, Lawrence D; Vessella, Robert L; Wilmot, Beth; Bottomly, Daniel; McWeeney, Shannon K; Bova, G Steven; Partin, Alan W; Mori, Motomi; Alumkal, Joshi

2011-10-01

DNA methylation of promoter regions is a common event in prostate cancer, one of the most common cancers in men worldwide. Because prior reports demonstrating that DNA methylation is important in prostate cancer studied a limited number of genes, we systematically quantified the DNA methylation status of 1505 CpG dinucleotides for 807 genes in 78 paraffin-embedded prostate cancer samples and three normal prostate samples. The ERG gene, commonly repressed in prostate cells in the absence of an oncogenic fusion to the TMPRSS2 gene, was one of the most commonly methylated genes, occurring in 74% of prostate cancer specimens. In an independent group of patient samples, we confirmed that ERG DNA methylation was common, occurring in 57% of specimens, and cancer-specific. The ERG promoter is marked by repressive chromatin marks mediated by polycomb proteins in both normal prostate cells and prostate cancer cells, which may explain ERG's predisposition to DNA methylation and the fact that tumors with ERG DNA methylation were more methylated, in general. These results demonstrate that bead arrays offer a high-throughput method to discover novel genes with promoter DNA methylation such as ERG, whose measurement may improve our ability to more accurately detect prostate cancer.

An assessment of testing requirement impacts on nuclear thermal propulsion ground test facility design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shipers, L.R.; Ottinger, C.A.; Sanchez, L.C.

1993-01-01

Programs to develop solid core nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) systems have been under way at the Department of Defense (DoD), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Department of Energy (DOE). These programs have recognized the need for a new ground test facility to support development of NTP systems. However, the different military and civilian applications have led to different ground test facility requirements. The Department of Energy (DOE) in its role as landlord and operator of the proposed research reactor test facilities has initiated an effort to explore opportunities for a common ground test facility to meet both DoD and NASA needs. The baseline design and operating limits of the proposed DoD NTP ground test facility are described. The NASA ground test facility requirements are reviewed and their potential impact on the DoD facility baseline is discussed

Evaluation of the recorded ground motions for the unusual earthquake of 13 August 2006 ( M w 5.3) in Michoacán México

Science.gov (United States)

Ramírez-Gaytán, Alejandro; Jaimes, Miguel A.; Bandy, William L.; Huerfano, Victor M.; Salido-Ruiz, Ricardo A.

2015-10-01

The focal mechanism of the moderate earthquake of 13 August 2006 M w = 5.3, which occurred in the border coastal area between Michoacán and Colima, México, is unusual. As shown by the Global Centroid Moment Tensor (CMT) project and the Servicio Sismológico Nacional de Mexico (SSN), the thrust mechanism is striking almost perpendicularly to the majority of earthquakes occurring along the subduction zone of the Mexican Pacific continental margin which commonly strike nearly parallel to the trench. The purpose of this study is to analyze the observed ground motions of this particular event relative to those of the common events. First, we apply the H/V technique to verify that the stations involved in this study are nearly free of site effects. Then, we compare the observed ground motions with (i) three empirical ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) appropriate for the region, (ii) ground motions of four real earthquakes with the common mechanism, and (iii) the Fourier spectrum of a selected common event.

FACEBOOK for CoP of Researchers: Identifying the Needs and Evaluating the Compatibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sami Miniaoui

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Communities of practice (CoPs are increasingly capturing the interest of many fields such as business companies, education and organizations. Many CoPs were developed for people who have common interest in healthcare, agriculture and environment, and teaching. However, there is lack of COPs dedicated for researchers. This research aims to explore the appropriateness of Facebook (FB as a platform for serving a CoP of researchers. To achieve this goal, first we identify the needs of CoPs for researchers within UAE context. Consequently, we adopted qualitative research approach to elicit the needs. We applied the grounded theory method to analyze the data. The results of the analysis showed seven main needs: collaboration, debating, awareness/ notification, reference management, cross search, customization, tracking, and user orientation. Secondly, we evaluated the compatibility of FB features to the identified needs. Although we found that FB covers most of CoPs needs, there are few needs which are not met successfully so this raised some technical and practical issues, which have been highlighted in the paper.

Treatment of sugar beet extraction juice stillage by natural coagulants extracted from common bean

OpenAIRE

Prodanović Jelena M.; Šćiban Marina B.; Antov Mirjana G.; Kukić Dragana V.; Vasić Vesna M.

2015-01-01

Distillery wastewaters have a great pollution potential, and pollution caused by them is one of the most critical environmental issues. This study is concerned with the coagulation efficiency of a new, environmental friendly, natural coagulant extracted from common bean seeds in the primary treatment of distillery wastewater in the bioethanol production from sugar beet juice. Active coagulation components were extracted from ground seeds of common bean with...

Achieving Lights-Out Operation of SMAP Using Ground Data System Automation

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Antonio

2013-01-01

The approach used in the SMAP ground data system to provide reliable, automated capabilities to conduct unattended operations has been presented. The impacts of automation on the ground data system architecture were discussed, including the three major automation patterns identified for SMAP and how these patterns address the operations use cases. The architecture and approaches used by SMAP will set the baseline for future JPL Earth Science missions.

Common Group Problems: A Field Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinberg, Sanford B.; And Others

1981-01-01

A field study of a naturally functioning group (N=125) was conducted to identify common group problems. Trained observers attended group meetings and described the problems encountered. Difficulties of cohesion, leadership, sub-group formation, and personality conflict were identified. (RC)

Molecular and Conventional Analysis of Acute Diarrheal Isolates Identifies Epidemiological Trends, Antibiotic Resistance and Virulence Profiles of Common Enteropathogens in Shanghai

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feng Yang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate prevalence of acute diarrhea in Shanghai and analyze virulence associated-genes and antibiotic resistance of major enteropathogens using combination of conventional and molecular epidemiology methods.Method: The 412 stool specimens were obtained by systematic sampling from diarrhea patients throughout entire year 2016. Bacterial and viral pathogens were identified and bacterial isolates were cultured and screened for antibiotic resistance profiles. Two most prevalent bacteria, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Salmonella were further typed by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST and analyzed for presence of virulence-associated genes. The association between virulence genes, resistance phenotypes and genetic diversities was analyzed.Results: Among stool specimens testing positive for pathogens (23.1%, 59 bacterial and 36 viral pathogens were identified. V. parahaemolyticus (27/412, 6.6%, Salmonella (23/412, 5.6% and norovirus GII (21/412, 5.1% were three most-commonly found. Most bacterial isolates exhibited high levels of antibiotic resistance with high percentage of MDR. The drug resistance rates of V. parahaemolyticus and Salmonella isolates to cephalosporins were high, such as 100.0 and 34.8% to CFX, 55.6 and 43.4% to CTX, 92.6 and 95.7% to CXM, respectively. The most common resistance combination of V. parahaemolyticus and Salmonella was cephalosporins and quinolone. The dominant sequence types (STs of V. parahaemolyticus and Salmonella were ST3 (70.4% and ST11 (43.5%, respectively. The detection rates of virulence genes in V. parahaemolyticus were tlh (100% and tdh (92.6%, without trh and ureR. Most of the Salmonella isolates were positive for the Salmonella pathogenicity islands (SPIs genes (87–100%, and some for Salmonella plasmid virulence (SPV genes (34.8% for spvA and spvB, 43.5% for spvC. In addition, just like the drug resistance, virulence genes exhibited wide-spread distribution among the different STs albeit

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): FMEA/CIL instructions and ground rules

Science.gov (United States)

Traves, S. T.

1986-01-01

The McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company was selected to conduct an independent assessment of the Orbiter Failure Mode and Effects Analysis/Critical Items List (FMEA/CIL). Part of this effort involved an examination of the FMEA/CIL preparation instructions and ground rules. Assessment objectives were to identify omissions and ambiguities in the ground rules that may impede the identification of shuttle orbiter safety and mission critical items, and to ensure that ground rules allow these items to receive proper management visibility for risk assessment. Assessment objectives were followed during the performance of the assessment without being influenced by external considerations such as effects on budget, schedule, and documentation growth. Assessment personnel were employed who had a strong reliability background but no previous space shuttle FMEA/CIL experience to ensure an independent assessment would be achieved. The following observations were made: (1) not all essential items are in the CIL for management visibility; (2) ground rules omit FMEA/CIL coverage of items that perform critical functions; (3) essential items excluded from the CIL do not receive design justification; and (4) FMEAs/CILs are not updated in a timely manner. In addition to the above issues, a number of other issues were identified that correct FMEA/CIL preparation instruction omissions and clarify ambiguities. The assessment was successful in that many of the issues have significant safety implications.

The Figure/Ground Relationship in Organisations, Common Ground Publishing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grymer Bargeman, Marianne; Papsø Weber, Christina

Christina Papsø Weber and Marianne Grymer Bargeman analyse and contextualise visible changes within the two institutions that can be attributed to their work with the Citizenship Project......Christina Papsø Weber and Marianne Grymer Bargeman analyse and contextualise visible changes within the two institutions that can be attributed to their work with the Citizenship Project...

Characteristics of cholinoreceptors on identified TAN neurons of the ground snail Achatina fulica.

Science.gov (United States)

Stepanov, I I; Losev, N A

2000-01-01

The characteristics of cholinoreceptors located on neurons TAN1, TAN2, and TAN3 of the ground snail Achatina fulica were studied by incubation of the central ganglia in a bath with cholinotropic preparations during intracellular recording of background neuron spike activity. Acetylcholine, nicotine, the selective n-cholinoreceptor agonist suberyldicholine, and the selective n-cholinoreceptor agonist 5-methylfurmethide concentration-dependently inhibited background spike activity to the level of complete blockade at concentrations of 500 microM. The m-cholinoblocker metamizil (500 microM) completely prevented the inhibitory activity of concentrations of 5-methylfurmethide of up to 500 microM. The central n-cholinoblocker etherophen (500 microM) completely blocked the inhibitory activity of 500 microM suberyldicholine. However, metamizil and etherophen added separately only partially decreased the inhibitory effects of acetylcholine but could not completely block the effect of acetylcholine. At the same time, mixtures of metamizil and etherophen (500 microM each) completely blocked the inhibition of background spike activity induced by acetylcholine. These results show that both classes of cholinoreceptors act on TAN neurons in the same direction.

Justifying group-specific common morality.

Science.gov (United States)

Strong, Carson

2008-01-01

Some defenders of the view that there is a common morality have conceived such morality as being universal, in the sense of extending across all cultures and times. Those who deny the existence of such a common morality often argue that the universality claim is implausible. Defense of common morality must take account of the distinction between descriptive and normative claims that there is a common morality. This essay considers these claims separately and identifies the nature of the arguments for each claim. It argues that the claim that there is a universal common morality in the descriptive sense has not been successfully defended to date. It maintains that the claim that there is a common morality in the normative sense need not be understood as universalist. This paper advocates the concept of group specific common morality, including country-specific versions. It suggests that both the descriptive and the normative claims that there are country-specific common moralities are plausible, and that a country-specific normative common morality could provide the basis for a country's bioethics.

On development and improvement of evaluation techniques for strong ground motion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-08-15

Issues regarding evaluation of active fault and ground motion for formulation of design basis ground motion (Ss) were identified during NISA and NSC seismic safety reviewing activities, which have been conducted in the light of the revision of the relevant seismic regulatory guide in 2006 and the experiences of the Niigataken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007 and the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake. In this theme following four subjects were investigated to resolve the important problems for ground motion evaluation, (1) advanced evaluation of ground motion using fault model and uncertainty; (2) improving evaluation of ground motion using attenuation relation of response spectrum; (3) development of advanced technique for ground motion observation and observation tool in deep borehole; (4) improving the evaluation of site effect and seismic wave propagation characteristics. Obtained results will be incorporated into the national safety review and also in the safety standard guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) using its Extra-Budgetary Program (IAEA EBP), thereby contributing to technical cooperation in global nuclear seismic safety. (author)

Common cause failure analysis methodology for complex systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, D.P.; Cate, C.L.; Fussell, J.B.

1977-01-01

Common cause failure analysis, also called common mode failure analysis, is an integral part of a complex system reliability analysis. This paper extends existing methods of computer aided common cause failure analysis by allowing analysis of the complex systems often encountered in practice. The methods presented here aid in identifying potential common cause failures and also address quantitative common cause failure analysis

[Ground-clearing fires in the amazon and respiratory disease].

Science.gov (United States)

Gonçalves, Karen dos Santos; de Castro, Hermano Albuquerque; Hacon, Sandra de Souza

2012-06-01

The intentional burning of forest biomass commonly known as "ground-clearing fires" is an age-old and widespread practice in the country and is seen as a major contributor to global emissions of greenhouse gases. However, global awareness of their potential impact is relatively recent. The occurrence of large ground-clearing fires in the Brazilian and international scenarios drew attention to the problem, but the measures taken to prevent and/or control the fires are still insufficient. In the Amazon region, with distinct geographical and environmental features from the rest of the country, with its historic process of land occupation, every year the ground-clearing fires expose larger portions of the population making them vulnerable to its effects. In this context, this non-systematic review presents the papers written over the past five years about the fires in the Brazilian Amazon and respiratory illness. The main objective is to provide information for managers and leaders on environmental issues about the problems related to biomass burning in the Amazon region.

GROUNDED THEORY METHODOLOGY and GROUNDED THEORY RESEARCH in TURKEY

OpenAIRE

ARIK, Ferhat; ARIK, Işıl Avşar

2016-01-01

This research discusses the historical development of the Grounded Theory Methodology, which is one of the qualitative research method, its transformation over time and how it is used as a methodology in Turkey. The Grounded Theory which was founded by Strauss and Glaser, is a qualitative methodology based on inductive logic to discover theories in contrast with the deductive understanding which is based on testing an existing theory in sociology. It is possible to examine the Grounded Theory...

Implications of ground water chemistry and flow patterns for earthquake studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Guangcai, Wang; Zuochen, Zhang; Min, Wang; Cravotta, Charles A; Chenglong, Liu

2005-01-01

Ground water can facilitate earthquake development and respond physically and chemically to tectonism. Thus, an understanding of ground water circulation in seismically active regions is important for earthquake prediction. To investigate the roles of ground water in the development and prediction of earthquakes, geological and hydrogeological monitoring was conducted in a seismogenic area in the Yanhuai Basin, China. This study used isotopic and hydrogeochemical methods to characterize ground water samples from six hot springs and two cold springs. The hydrochemical data and associated geological and geophysical data were used to identify possible relations between ground water circulation and seismically active structural features. The data for delta18O, deltaD, tritium, and 14C indicate ground water from hot springs is of meteoric origin with subsurface residence times of 50 to 30,320 years. The reservoir temperature and circulation depths of the hot ground water are 57 degrees C to 160 degrees C and 1600 to 5000 m, respectively, as estimated by quartz and chalcedony geothermometers and the geothermal gradient. Various possible origins of noble gases dissolved in the ground water also were evaluated, indicating mantle and deep crust sources consistent with tectonically active segments. A hard intercalated stratum, where small to moderate earthquakes frequently originate, is present between a deep (10 to 20 km), high-electrical conductivity layer and the zone of active ground water circulation. The ground water anomalies are closely related to the structural peculiarity of each monitoring point. These results could have implications for ground water and seismic studies in other seismogenic areas.

Using grounded theory to create a substantive theory of promoting schoolchildren's mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Puolakka, Kristiina; Haapasalo-Pesu, Kirsi-Maria; Kiikkala, Irma; Astedt-Kurki, Päivi; Paavilainen, Eija

2013-01-01

To discuss the creation of a substantive theory using grounded theory. This article provides an example of generating theory from a study of mental health promotion at a high school in Finland. Grounded theory is a method for creating explanatory theory. It is a valuable tool for health professionals when studying phenomena that affect patients' health, offering a deeper understanding of nursing methods and knowledge. Interviews with school employees, students and parents, and verbal responses to the 'school wellbeing profile survey', as well as working group memos related to the development activities. Participating children were aged between 12 and 15. The analysis was conducted by applying the grounded theory method and involved open coding of the material, constant comparison, axial coding and selective coding after identifying the core category. The analysis produced concepts about mental health promotion in school and assumptions about relationships. Grounded theory proved to be an effective means of eliciting people's viewpoints on mental health promotion. The personal views of different parties make it easier to identify an action applicable to practice.

Status of advanced ground-based laser interferometers for gravitational-wave detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dooley, K L; Akutsu, T; Dwyer, S; Puppo, P

2015-01-01

Ground-based laser interferometers for gravitational-wave (GW) detection were first constructed starting 20 years ago and as of 2010 collection of several years’ worth of science data at initial design sensitivities was completed. Upgrades to the initial detectors together with construction of brand new detectors are ongoing and feature advanced technologies to improve the sensitivity to GWs. This conference proceeding provides an overview of the common design features of ground-based laser interferometric GW detectors and establishes the context for the status updates of each of the four gravitational-wave detectors around the world: Advanced LIGO, Advanced Virgo, GEO 600 and KAGRA. (paper)

Earthquake ground-motion in presence of source and medium heterogeneities

KAUST Repository

Vyas, Jagdish Chandra

2017-01-01

medium heterogeneities on the supershear ruptures produce peak ground accelerations consistent with the estimates from empirical ground motion prediction equations. Therefore, we suggest that supershear ruptures may be more common in nature than detected.

ERC hazard classification matrices for above ground structures and groundwater and soil remediation activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curry, L.R.

1997-01-01

This document provides the status of the preliminary hazard classification (PHC) process for the Environmental Restoration Contractor (ERC) above ground structures and groundwater and soil remediation activities currently underway for planned for fiscal year (FY) 1997. This classification process is based on current US Department of Energy (DOE), Richland Operations Office (RL) guidance for the classification of facilities and activities containing radionuclide and nonradiological hazardous material inventories. The above ground structures presented in the matrices were drawn from the Bechtel Hanford, Inc. (BHI) Decontamination and Decommissioning (D and D) Project Facility List (DOE 1996), which identifies the facilities in the RL-Environmental Restoration baseline contract in 1997. This document contains the following two appendices: (1) Appendix A, which consists of a matrix identifying PHC documents that have been issued for BHI's above ground structures and groundwater and soil remediation activities underway or planned for FY 1997, and (2) Appendix B, which consists of a matrix showing anticipated PHCs for above ground structures, and groundwater and soil remediation activities underway or planned for FY 1997. Appendix B also shows the schedule for finalization of PHCs for above ground structures with an anticipated classification of Nuclear

Optimal ground motion intensity measure for long-period structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan, Minsheng; Du, Hongbiao; Zeng, Qingli; Cui, Jie; Jiang, Haibo

2015-01-01

This paper aims to select the most appropriate ground motion intensity measure (IM) that is used in selecting earthquake records for the dynamic time history analysis of long-period structures. For this purpose, six reinforced concrete frame-core wall structures, designed according to modern seismic codes, are studied through dynamic time history analyses with a set of twelve selected earthquake records. Twelve IMs and two types of seismic damage indices, namely, the maximum seismic response-based and energy-based parameters, are chosen as the examined indices. Selection criteria such as correlation, efficiency, and proficiency are considered in the selection process. The optimal IM is identified by means of a comprehensive evaluation using a large number of data of correlation, efficiency, and proficiency coefficients. Numerical results illustrate that peak ground velocity is the optimal one for long-period structures and peak ground displacement is also a close contender. As compared to previous reports, the spectral-correlated parameters can only be taken as moderate IMs. Moreover, the widely used peak ground acceleration in the current seismic codes is considered inappropriate for long-period structures. (paper)

A study of common-mode failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edwards, G.T.; Watson, I.A.

1979-07-01

The purpose of the report is to investigate problems of the identification of the common failure mode (CFM) the reliability models used and the data required for their solution, particularly with regard to automatic protection systems for nuclear reactors. The available literature which was surveyed during the study is quoted and used as a basis for the main work of the study. The type of redundancy system under consideration is initially described and the types of CFM to which these systems are prone are identified before a general definition of the term 'common mode failure' is proposed. The definition and proposed classification system for CMF are based on the common cause of failure, so identifying the primary events. Defences against CFM are included and proposals for an overall strategy and detailed recommendations for design and operation are made. Common mode failures in US nuclear reactor systems, aircraft systems, and other sources including chemical plant systems are surveyed. The data indicates the importance of the human error problem in the causes of CMF in design, maintenance and operation. From a study of the collected data a redundancy sub-system model for CMF is developed which identifies three main categories of failure, non-recurrent engineering design errors, maintenance and test errors, and random interest events. The model proposed allows for the improvement in sub-system reliability where appropriate defences are applied. (author)

Applying high-resolution melting (HRM) technology to identify five commonly used Artemisia species.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Ming; Li, Jingjian; Xiong, Chao; Liu, Hexia; Liang, Junsong

2016-10-04

Many members of the genus Artemisia are important for medicinal purposes with multiple pharmacological properties. Often, these herbal plants sold on the markets are in processed forms so it is difficult to authenticate. Routine testing and identification of these herbal materials should be performed to ensure that the raw materials used in pharmaceutical products are suitable for their intended use. In this study, five commonly used Artemisia species included Artemisia argyi, Artemisia annua, Artemisia lavandulaefolia, Artemisia indica, and Artemisia atrovirens were analyzed using high resolution melting (HRM) analysis based on the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) sequences. The melting profiles of the ITS2 amplicons of the five closely related herbal species are clearly separated so that they can be differentiated by HRM method. The method was further applied to authenticate commercial products in powdered. HRM curves of all the commercial samples tested are similar to the botanical species as labeled. These congeneric medicinal products were also clearly separated using the neighbor-joining (NJ) tree. Therefore, HRM method could provide an efficient and reliable authentication system to distinguish these commonly used Artemisia herbal products on the markets and offer a technical reference for medicines quality control in the drug supply chain.

Preliminary hydrogeologic assessment of a ground-water contamination area in Wolcott, Connecticut

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, J.R.; Casey, G.D.; Mondazzi, R.A.; Frick, T.W.

1997-01-01

Contamination of ground water by volatile organic compounds and inorganic constituents has been identified at a number of industrial sites in the Town of Wolcott, Connecticut. Contamination is also present at a municipal landfill in the City of Waterbury that is upgradient from the industrial sites in the local ground-water-flow system. The study area, which lies in the Western Highlands of Connecticut, is in the Mad River Valley, a tributary to the Naugatuck River. Geohydrologic units (aquifer materials) include unconsolidated glacial sediments (surficial materials) and fractured crystalline (metamorphic) bedrock. Surficial materials include glacial till, coarse-grained andfine-grained glacial stratified deposits, and postglacial floodplain alluvium and swamp deposits. The ground-water-flow system in the surficial aquifer is complex because the hydraulic properties of the surficial materials are highly variable. In the bedrock aquifer, ground water moves exclusively through fractures. Hydrologic characteristics of the crystalline bedrock-degree of confinement, hydraulic conductivity, storativity, and porosity-are poorly defined in the study area. Further study is needed to adequately assess ground-water flow and contaminant migration under current or past hydrologic conditions. All known water-supply wells in the study area obtain water from the bedrock aquifer. Twenty households in a hillside residential area on Tosun Road currently obtain drinking water from private wells tapping the bedrock aquifer. The extent of contamination in the bedrock aquifer and the potential for future contamination from known sources of contamination in the surficial aquifer is of concern to regulatory agencies. Previous investigations have identified ground-water contamination by volatile organic compounds at the Nutmeg Valley Road site area. Contamination has been associated with on-site disposal of heavy metals, chlorinated and non-chlorinated volatile organic compounds, and

Perspectives on the Aetiology of ODD and CD: A Grounded Theory Approach

Science.gov (United States)

McFarland, Patrick; Sanders, James; Hagen, Bradley

2016-01-01

Antisocial disorders, such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD), are common reasons for youth to be seen for clinical intervention. The intent of this constructivist grounded theory study was to evaluate clinicians' perspectives on the aetiology of antisocial disorders. Six professionals from various professional…

Common Observations for Near-Source Ground Motions and Seismo-Traveling Ionosphere Disturbances Following the 2011 off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku Earthquake, Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bor-Shouh Huang

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The time history and spatial dependence of seismic-wave propagation on the ground surface and through the ionosphere following the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake were reconstructed from dense seismic networks and from Global Positioning System (GPS array observations, respectively. Using total electron content (TEC data recorded by a dense GPS receiver network, the near-source ionosphere perturbations induced by this giant earthquake were analyzed and high-resolution images of seismic-wave propagation in the ionosphere are presented. Similar spatial images of ground motions were reconstructed from observations by a dense seismic array. Observations of this event provide, for the first time, the opportunity to compare near-source ground motions with the near-field seismo-traveling ionosphere disturbance (STID excited by the ground motions. Based on the results, the nature of the source rupture and seismic-wave propagation are discussed. Both seismic and ionosphere observations indicate that seismic energy propagated radially outward initially from the hypocenter, but that the circular shape of the propagation front became gradually distorted as the source rupture became extended. Coherent wavefronts from the two analyses show contrasting patterns during the later stage of propagation, possibly due to different patterns of spatial variations in the physical properties of the solid earth and of the ionosphere.

Combined analyses of 20 common obesity susceptibility variants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandholt, Camilla Helene; Sparsø, Thomas; Grarup, Niels

2010-01-01

Genome-wide association studies and linkage studies have identified 20 validated genetic variants associated with obesity and/or related phenotypes. The variants are common, and they individually exhibit small-to-modest effect sizes.......Genome-wide association studies and linkage studies have identified 20 validated genetic variants associated with obesity and/or related phenotypes. The variants are common, and they individually exhibit small-to-modest effect sizes....

Use of ground-penetrating radar techniques in archaeological investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Doolittle, James A.; Miller, W. Frank

1991-01-01

Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) techniques are increasingly being used to aid reconnaissance and pre-excavation surveys at many archaeological sites. As a 'remote sensing' tool, GPR provides a high resolution graphic profile of the subsurface. Radar profiles are used to detect, identify, and locate buried artifacts. Ground-penetrating radar provides a rapid, cost effective, and nondestructive method for identification and location analyses. The GPR can be used to facilitate excavation strategies, provide greater areal coverage per unit time and cost, minimize the number of unsuccessful exploratory excavations, and reduce unnecessary or unproductive expenditures of time and effort.

Speciation and transport of radionuclides in ground water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robertson, D.E.; Toste, A.P.; Abel, K.H.; Cowan, C.E.; Jenne, E.A.; Thomas, C.W.

1984-01-01

Studies of the chemical speciation of a number of radionuclides migrating in a slightly contaminated ground water plume are identifying the most mobile species and providing an opportunity to test and/or validate geochemical models of radionuclide transport in ground waters. Results to date have shown that most of the migrating radionuclides are present in anionic or nonionic forms. These include anionic forms of 55 Fe, 60 Co, /sup 99m/Tc, 106 Ru, 131 I, and nonionic forms of 63 Ni and 125 Sb. Strontium-70 and a small fraction of the mobile 60 Co are the only cationic radionuclides which have been detected moving in the ground water plume beyond 30 meters from the source. A comparison of the observed chemical forms with the predicted species calculated from modeling thermodynamic data and ground water chemical parameters has indicated a good agreement for most of the radioelements in the system, including Tc, Np, Cs, Sr, Ce, Ru, Sb, Zn, and Mn. The discrepancies between observed and calculated solutions species were noted for Fe, Co, Ni and I. Traces of Fe, Co, and Ni were observed to migrate in anionic or nonionic forms which the calculations failed to predict. These anionic/nonionic species may be organic complexes having enhanced mobility in ground waters. The radioiodine, for example, was shown to behave totally as an anion but further investigation revealed that 49-57% of this anionic iodine was organically bound. The ground water and aqueous extracts of trench sediments contain a wide variety of organic compounds, some of which could serve as complexing agents for the radionuclides. These results indicate the need for further research at a variety of field sites in defining precisely the chemical forms of the mobile radionuclide species, and in better understanding the role of dissolved organic materials in ground water transport of radionuclides

Common-cause analysis using sets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worrell, R.B.; Stack, D.W.

1977-12-01

Common-cause analysis was developed at the Aerojet Nuclear Company for studying the behavior of a system that is affected by special conditions and secondary causes. Common-cause analysis is related to fault tree analysis. Common-cause candidates are minimal cut sets whose primary events are closely linked by a special condition or are susceptible to the same secondary cause. It is shown that common-cause candidates can be identified using the Set Equation Transformation System (SETS). A Boolean equation is used to establish the special conditions and secondary cause susceptibilities for each primary event in the fault tree. A transformation of variables (substituting equals for equals), executed on a minimal cut set equation, results in replacing each primary event by the right side of its special condition/secondary cause equation and leads to the identification of the common-cause candidates

Characterization of the Hanford 300 area burial grounds. Decontamination and decommissioning regulatory issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, F.A.; Smith, R.F.; Phillips, S.J.

1979-03-01

The Hanford 300 Area Burial Grounds characterization project has identified four management alternatives for disposition of the burial grounds. These alternatives are: (1) abandonment, (2) entombment, (3) perpetual care, and (4) exhumation and translocation. Major Federal statutes and regulations that could apply to management alternatives are identified along with the constraints that applicable laws could impose. This analysis includes explicit attention to the uncertainty surrounding various legal constraints. Also specified are legislative developments as well as trends in other agencies and the courts, obtained by review of legislative proceedings, statutes and regulations, that could result in legislation or policies posing additional constraints

Examination of earthquake Ground Motion in the deep underground environment of Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goto, J.; Tsuchi, H.; Mashimo, M.

2009-01-01

Among the possible impacts of earthquakes on the geological disposal system, ground motion is not included in the criteria for selecting a candidate repository site because, in general, ground motion deep underground is considered to be smaller than at the surface. Also, after backfilling/closure, the repository moves together with the surrounding rock. We have carried out a detailed examination of earthquake ground motion deep underground using extensive data from recent observation networks to support the above assumption. As a result, it has been reconfirmed that earthquake ground motion deep underground is relatively smaller than at the surface. Through detailed analysis of data, we have identified the following important parameters for evaluating earthquake ground motion deep underground: depth and velocity distribution of the rock formations of interest, the intensity of the short period component of earthquakes and incident angle of seismic waves to the rock formations. (authors)

Development of mine explosion ground truth smart sensors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, Steven R. [Rocky Mountain Geophysics, Inc., Los Alamos, NM (United States); Harben, Phillip E. [Rocky Mountain Geophysics, Inc., Los Alamos, NM (United States); Jarpe, Steve [Jarpe Data Solutions, Prescott, AZ (United States); Harris, David B. [Deschutes Signal Processing, Maupin, OR (United States)

2015-09-14

plan). Key parameters to be automatically determined are event origin time (within 0.1 sec), location (within 1 km) and size (within 0.3 magnitude units) without any human intervention. The key parameter ground truth information from explosions greater than magnitude 2.5 will be transmitted to a recording and transmitting site. Because we have identified a limited bandwidth, inexpensive two-way satellite communication (ORBCOMM), we have devised the concept of an accompanying Ground-Truth Processing Center that would enable calibration and ground-truth accuracy to improve over the duration of a deployment.

Prediction of new ground-state crystal structure of T a2O5

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yong; Kawazoe, Yoshiyuki

2018-03-01

Tantalum pentoxide (T a2O5 ) is a wide-gap semiconductor which has important technological applications. Despite the enormous efforts from both experimental and theoretical studies, the ground-state crystal structure of T a2O5 is not yet uniquely determined. Based on first-principles calculations in combination with evolutionary algorithm, we identify a triclinic phase of T a2O5 , which is energetically much more stable than any phases or structural models reported previously. Characterization of the static and dynamical properties of the phase reveals the common features shared with previous metastable phases of T a2O5 . In particular, we show that the d spacing of ˜3.8 Å found in the x-ray diffraction patterns of many previous experimental works is actually the radius of the second Ta-Ta coordination shell as defined by radial distribution functions.

Nutrient Enrichment in Estuaries from Discharge of Shallow Ground Water, Mt. Desert Island, Maine

Science.gov (United States)

Culbertson, Charles W.; Huntington, Thomas G.; Caldwell, James M.

2007-01-01

Nutrient enrichment from atmospheric deposition, agricultural activities, wildlife, and domestic sources is a concern at Acadia National Park because of the potential problem of water-quality degradation and eutrophication in its estuaries. Water-quality degradation has been observed at the Park?s Bass Harbor Marsh estuary but not in Northeast Creek estuary. Previous studies at Acadia National Park have estimated nutrient inputs to estuaries from atmospheric deposition and surface-water runoff, but the importance of shallow ground water that may contain nutrients derived from domestic or other sources is unknown. Northeast Creek and Bass Harbor Marsh estuaries were studied to (1) identify shallow ground-water seeps, (2) assess the chemistry of the water discharged from selected seeps, and (3) assess the chemistry of ground water in shallow ground-water hyporheic zones. The hyporheic zone is defined here as the region beneath and lateral to a stream bed, where there is mixing of shallow ground water and surface water. This study also provides baseline chemical data for ground water in selected bedrock monitoring wells and domestic wells on Mt. Desert Island. Water samples were analyzed for concentrations of nutrients, wastewater compounds, dissolved organic carbon, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature and specific conductance. Samples from bedrock monitoring wells also were analyzed for alkalinity, major cations and anions, and trace metals. Shallow ground-water seeps to Northeast Creek and Bass Harbor Marsh estuaries at Acadia National Park were identified and georeferenced using aerial infrared digital imagery. Monitoring included the deployment of continuously recording temperature and specific conductance sensors in the seep discharge zone to access marine or freshwater signatures related to tidal flooding, gradient-driven shallow ground-water flow, or shallow subsurface flow related to precipitation events. Many potential shallow ground-water discharge zones were

Assessment of potential strong ground motions in the city of Rome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Malagnini

1994-06-01

Full Text Available A methodology is used which combines stochastic generation of random series with a finite-difference technique to estimate the expected horizontal ground motion for the city of Rome as induced by a large earthquake in the Central Apennines. In this approach, source properties and long-path propagation are modelled through observed spectra of ground motion in the region, while the effects of the near-surface geology in the city are simulated by means of a finite-difference technique applied to 2-D models including elastic and anelastic properties of geologic materials and topographic variations. The parameters commonly used for earthquake engineering purposes are estimated from the simulated time histories of horizontal ground motion. We focus our attention on peak ground acceleration and velocity, and on the integral of the squared acceleration and velocity (that are proportional to the Arias intensity and seismic energy flux, respectively. Response spectra are analyzed as well. Parameter variations along 2-D profiles visualize the effects of the small-scale geological heterogeneities and topography irregularities on ground motion in the case of a strong earthquake. Interestingly, the largest amplification of peak ground acceleration and Arias intensity does not necessarily occur at the same sites where peak ground velocity and flux of seismic energy reach their highest values, depending on the frequency band of amplification. A magnitude 7 earthquake at a distance of 100 km results in peak ground accelerations ranging from 30 to 70 gals while peak ground velocities are estimated to vary from 5 to 7 cm/s; moreover, simulated time histories of horizontal ground motion yield amplitudes of 5% damped pseudovelocity response spectra as large as 15-20 cm/s for frequencies from 1to 3 Hz. In this frequency band, the mean value is 7 cm/s for firm sites and ranges from 10 to 13 cm/s for soil sites. All these results are in good agreement with predictions

An analysis of solar assisted ground source heat pumps in cold climates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emmi, Giuseppe; Zarrella, Angelo; De Carli, Michele; Galgaro, Antonio

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The work focuses on solar assisted ground source heat pump in cold climates. • Multi-year simulations of SAGSHP, are carried out in six cold locations. • GSHP and SAGSHP are compared. • The effect of total borehole length on the heat pump energy efficiency is studied. • A dedicated control strategy is used to manage both solar and ground loops. - Abstract: Exploiting renewable energy sources for air-conditioning has been extensively investigated over recent years, and many countries have been working to promote the use of renewable energy to decrease energy consumption and CO_2 emissions. Electrical heat pumps currently represent the most promising technology to reduce fossil fuel usage. While ground source heat pumps, which use free heat sources, have been taking significant steps forward and despite the fact that their energy performance is better than that of air source heat pumps, their development has been limited by their high initial investment cost. An alternative solution is one that uses solar thermal collectors coupled with a ground source heat pump in a so-called solar assisted ground source heat pump. A ground source heat pump system, used to heat environments located in a cold climate, was investigated in this study. The solar assisted ground source heat pump extracted heat from the ground by means of borehole heat exchangers and it injected excess solar thermal energy into the ground. Building load profiles are usually heating dominated in cold climates, but when common ground source heat pump systems are used only for heating, their performance decreases due to an unbalanced ground load. Solar thermal collectors can help to ensure that systems installed in cold zones perform more efficiently. Computer simulations using a Transient System Simulation (TRNSYS) tool were carried out in six cold locations in order to investigate solar assisted ground source heat pumps. The effect of the borehole length on the energy efficiency of

Grounding-Induced Sectional Forces and Residual Strength of Grounded Ship Hulls

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paik, Jeom Kee; Pedersen, Preben Terndrup

1996-01-01

The aim of the present study is to determine the sectional forces induced by ship grounding and also to assess the residual strength of groundedship hulls. An analytical approach is used to estimate the grounding-induced sectional forces of ships. The extent and location of structural damage due...... to grounding is defined based on the ABS Safe Hull guide. The residual strength of damaged hulls is calculated by using a simple analytical formula. The method is applied to residual strength assessment of a damaged double hull tanker of 38,400 dwt due to grounding....

Constructivist Grounded Theory?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barney G. Glaser, PhD, Hon. PhD

2012-06-01

Full Text Available AbstractI refer to and use as scholarly inspiration Charmaz’s excellent article on constructivist grounded theory as a tool of getting to the fundamental issues on why grounded theory is not constructivist. I show that constructivist data, if it exists at all, is a very, very small part of the data that grounded theory uses.

Comparison and assessment of aerial and ground estimates of waterbird colonies

Science.gov (United States)

Green, M.C.; Luent, M.C.; Michot, T.C.; Jeske, C.W.; Leberg, P.L.

2008-01-01

Aerial surveys are often used to quantify sizes of waterbird colonies; however, these surveys would benefit from a better understanding of associated biases. We compared estimates of breeding pairs of waterbirds, in colonies across southern Louisiana, USA, made from the ground, fixed-wing aircraft, and a helicopter. We used a marked-subsample method for ground-counting colonies to obtain estimates of error and visibility bias. We made comparisons over 2 sampling periods: 1) surveys conducted on the same colonies using all 3 methods during 3-11 May 2005 and 2) an expanded fixed-wing and ground-survey comparison conducted over 4 periods (May and Jun, 2004-2005). Estimates from fixed-wing aircraft were approximately 65% higher than those from ground counts for overall estimated number of breeding pairs and for both dark and white-plumaged species. The coefficient of determination between estimates based on ground and fixed-wing aircraft was ???0.40 for most species, and based on the assumption that estimates from the ground were closer to the true count, fixed-wing aerial surveys appeared to overestimate numbers of nesting birds of some species; this bias often increased with the size of the colony. Unlike estimates from fixed-wing aircraft, numbers of nesting pairs made from ground and helicopter surveys were very similar for all species we observed. Ground counts by one observer resulted in underestimated number of breeding pairs by 20% on average. The marked-subsample method provided an estimate of the number of missed nests as well as an estimate of precision. These estimates represent a major advantage of marked-subsample ground counts over aerial methods; however, ground counts are difficult in large or remote colonies. Helicopter surveys and ground counts provide less biased, more precise estimates of breeding pairs than do surveys made from fixed-wing aircraft. We recommend managers employ ground counts using double observers for surveying waterbird colonies

Longevity of Emplacement Drift Ground Support Materials, Rev. 01

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David H. Tang

2000-01-01

The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the factors affecting the longevity of emplacement drift ground support materials and to develop a basis for the selection of materials for ground support that will function throughout the preclosure period of a potential repository at Yucca Mountain. The Development Plan (DP) for this analysis is given in Longevity of Emplacement Drift Ground Support Materials (CRWMS M and O 1999a). The objective of this analysis is to update the previous analysis (CRWMS M and O 2000a) to account for related changes in the Ground Control System Description Document (CRWMS M and O 2000b), the Monitored Geologic Repository Project Description Document (CRWMS M and O 1999b), and in environmental conditions, and to provide updated information on candidate ground support materials. Candidate materials for ground support are carbon steel and cement grout. Steel is mainly used for steel sets, lagging, channel, rock bolts, and wire mesh. Cement grout is only considered in the case of grouted rock bolts. Candidate materials for the emplacement drift invert are carbon steel and crushed rock ballast. Materials are evaluated for the repository emplacement drift environment based on the updated thermal loading condition and waste package design. The analysis consists of the following tasks: (1) Identify factors affecting the longevity of ground support materials for use in emplacement drifts; (2) Review existing documents concerning the behavior of candidate ground support materials during the preclosure period; (3) Evaluate impacts of temperature and radiation effects on mechanical and thermal properties of steel. Assess corrosion potential of steel at emplacement drift environment; (4) Evaluate factors affecting longevity of cement grouts for fully grouted rock bolt system. Provide updated information on cement grout mix design for fully grouted rock bolt system; and (5) Evaluate longevity of materials for the emplacement drift invert

Initial site characterization and evaluation of radionuclide contaminated soil waste burial grounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, S.J.; Reisenauer, A.E.; Rickard, W.H.; Sandness, G.A.

1977-02-01

A survey of historical records and literature containing information on the contents of 300 Area and North Burial Grounds was completed. Existing records of radioactive waste location, type, and quantity within each burial ground facility were obtained and distributed to cooperating investigators. A study was then initiated to evaluate geophysical exploration techniques for mapping buried waste materials, waste containers, and trench boundaries. Results indicate that a combination of ground penetrating radar, magnetometer, metal detector, and acoustic measurements will be effective but will require further study, hardware development, and field testing. Drilling techniques for recovering radionuclide-contaminated materials and sediment cores were developed and tested. Laboratory sediment characterization and fluid transport and monitoring analyses were begun by installation of in situ transducers at the 300 North Burial Ground site. Biological transport mechanisms that control radionuclide movement at contaminated sites were also studied. Flora and fauna presently inhabiting specific burial ground areas were identified and analyzed. Future monitoring of specific mammal populations will permit determination of dose rate and pathways of contaminated materials contained in and adjacent to burial ground sites

Ground water and energy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-11-01

This national workshop on ground water and energy was conceived by the US Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Assessments. Generally, OEA needed to know what data are available on ground water, what information is still needed, and how DOE can best utilize what has already been learned. The workshop focussed on three areas: (1) ground water supply; (2) conflicts and barriers to ground water use; and (3) alternatives or solutions to the various issues relating to ground water. (ACR)

Effects of insecticides intended for Ceutorhynchus napi Gyll. control in oilseed rape on ground beetles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sivčev Lazar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The effects of insecticides that are commonly used for conventional and integrated oilseed rape (OSR management on ground beetles were studied. Monitoring of harmful species showed that only insecticides intended against Ceutorhynchus napi should be applied. There were no differences in beetle numbers and phenology of settling of C. napi in the OSR fields that received different management practices. The type of OSR management has a primary and significant impact on ground beetles abundance. Early in the spring, ground beetles settled more massively on the non-tilled OSR field with abundant weed cover and mulch on soil surface. However, there were no significant differences in species richness between the OSR fields managed differently. A total of 22 species were recorded. Early in the spring, the granivorous ground beetles Amara aenea (47.3% and Harpalus distinguendus (32.5% were dominant. When insecticides were applied, immigration of ground beetles began, so that their adverse effect was minimal. In both management systems the number of ground beetles and their diversity increased after spraying. In conclusion, no significant harmful effects of the insecticides on ground beetles were detected in OSR fields managed in two different ways.

A Ground Systems Template for Remote Sensing Systems

Science.gov (United States)

McClanahan, Timothy P.; Trombka, Jacob I.; Floyd, Samuel R.; Truskowski, Walter; Starr, Richard D.; Clark, Pamela E.; Evans, Larry G.

2002-10-01

Spaceborne remote sensing using gamma and X-ray spectrometers requires particular attention to the design and development of reliable systems. These systems must ensure the scientific requirements of the mission within the challenging technical constraints of operating instrumentation in space. The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft included X-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers (XGRS), whose mission was to map the elemental chemistry of the 433 Eros asteroid. A remote sensing system template, similar to a blackboard systems approach used in artificial intelligence, was identified in which the spacecraft, instrument, and ground system was designed and developed to monitor and adapt to evolving mission requirements in a complicated operational setting. Systems were developed for ground tracking of instrument calibration, instrument health, data quality, orbital geometry, solar flux as well as models of the asteroid's surface characteristics, requiring an intensive human effort. In the future, missions such as the Autonomous Nano-Technology Swarm (ANTS) program will have to rely heavily on automation to collectively encounter and sample asteroids in the outer asteroid belt. Using similar instrumentation, ANTS will require information similar to data collected by the NEAR X-ray/Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (XGRS) ground system for science and operations management. The NEAR XGRS systems will be studied to identify the equivalent subsystems that may be automated for ANTS. The effort will also investigate the possibility of applying blackboard style approaches to automated decision making required for ANTS.

A ground systems template for remote sensing systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McClanahan, Timothy P.; Trombka, Jacob I.; Floyd, Samuel R.; Truskowski, Walter; Starr, Richard D.; Clark, Pamela E.; Evans, Larry G.

2002-01-01

Spaceborne remote sensing using gamma and X-ray spectrometers requires particular attention to the design and development of reliable systems. These systems must ensure the scientific requirements of the mission within the challenging technical constraints of operating instrumentation in space. The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft included X-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers (XGRS), whose mission was to map the elemental chemistry of the 433 Eros asteroid. A remote sensing system template, similar to a blackboard systems approach used in artificial intelligence, was identified in which the spacecraft, instrument, and ground system was designed and developed to monitor and adapt to evolving mission requirements in a complicated operational setting. Systems were developed for ground tracking of instrument calibration, instrument health, data quality, orbital geometry, solar flux as well as models of the asteroid's surface characteristics, requiring an intensive human effort. In the future, missions such as the Autonomous Nano-Technology Swarm (ANTS) program will have to rely heavily on automation to collectively encounter and sample asteroids in the outer asteroid belt. Using similar instrumentation, ANTS will require information similar to data collected by the NEAR X-ray/Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (XGRS) ground system for science and operations management. The NEAR XGRS systems will be studied to identify the equivalent subsystems that may be automated for ANTS. The effort will also investigate the possibility of applying blackboard style approaches to automated decision making required for ANTS

Vaccination learning experiences of nursing students: a grounded theory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ildarabadi, Eshagh; Karimi Moonaghi, Hossein; Heydari, Abbas; Taghipour, Ali; Abdollahimohammad, Abdolghani

2015-01-01

This study aimed to explore the experiences of nursing students being trained to perform vaccinations. The grounded theory method was applied to gather information through semi-structured interviews. The participants included 14 undergraduate nursing students in their fifth and eighth semesters of study in a nursing school in Iran. The information was analyzed according to Strauss and Corbin's method of grounded theory. A core category of experiential learning was identified, and the following eight subcategories were extracted: students' enthusiasm, vaccination sensitivity, stress, proper educational environment, absence of prerequisites, students' responsibility for learning, providing services, and learning outcomes. The vaccination training of nursing students was found to be in an acceptable state. However, some barriers to effective learning were identified. As such, the results of this study may provide empirical support for attempts to reform vaccination education by removing these barriers.

New Ground Motion Prediction Models for Caucasus Region

Science.gov (United States)

Jorjiashvili, N.

2012-12-01

The Caucasus is a region of numerous natural hazards and ensuing disasters. Analysis of the losses due to past disasters indicates the those most catastrophic in the region have historically been due to strong earthquakes. Estimation of expected ground motion is a fundamental earthquake hazard assessment. The most commonly used parameter for attenuation relation is peak ground acceleration because this parameter gives useful information for Seismic Hazard Assessment. Because of this, many peak ground acceleration attenuation relations have been developed by different authors. Besides, a few attenuation relations were developed for Caucasus region: Ambraseys et al. (1996,2005) which were based on entire European region and they were not focused locally on Caucasus Region; Smit et.al. (2000) that was based on a small amount of acceleration data that really is not enough. Since 2003 construction of Georgian Digital Seismic Network has started with the help of number of International organizations, Projects and Private companies. The works conducted involved scientific as well as organizational activities: Resolving technical problems concerning communication and data transmission. Thus, today we have a possibility to get real time data and make scientific research based on digital seismic data. Generally, ground motion and damage are influenced by the magnitude of the earthquake, the distance from the seismic source to site, the local ground conditions and the characteristics of buildings. Estimation of expected ground motion is a fundamental earthquake hazard assessment. This is the reason why this topic is emphasized in this study. In this study new GMP models are obtained based on new data from Georgian seismic network and also from neighboring countries. Estimation of models are obtained by classical, statistical way, regression analysis. Also site ground conditions are considered because the same earthquake recorded at the same distance may cause different damage

Evaluation of design feature No.20 -- Ground support options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan, F.

2000-01-01

Ground support options are primarily evaluated for emplacement drifts while ground support systems for non-emplacement openings such as access mains and ventilation drifts are not evaluated against LADS evaluation criteria in this report. Considerations include functional requirements for ground support, the use of a steel-lined system, and the feasibility of using an unlined ground support system principally with grouted rock bolts for permanent ground support. The feature evaluation also emphasizes the postclosure effects of ground support materials on waste isolation and the preclosure aspects such as durability, maintainability, constructibility, safety, engineering acceptability, and cost. This evaluation is to: (A) Review the existing analyses, reports, and studies regarding this design feature, and compile relevant information on performance characteristics. (B) Develop an appropriate evaluation approach for evaluating ground support options against evaluation criteria provided by the LADS team. (C) Evaluate ground support options not only for their preclosure performance in terms of drift stability, material durability, maintenance, constructibility, and cost, but also for their postclosure performance in terms of chemical effects of ground support materials (i.e., concrete, steel) on waste isolation and radionuclide transport. Specifically, the scope for ground support options evaluation include: (1) all steel-lined drifts (no cementitious materials), (2) unlined drifts with minimum cementitious materials (e.g., grout for rockbolts), and (3) concrete-lined drifts, with the focus on the postclosure acceptability evaluation. In addition, unlined drifts with zero cementitious materials (e.g., use of frictional bolts such as split sets, Swellex bolts) are briefly discussed. (D) Identify candidate ground support systems that have the potential to enhance the repository performance based on the feature evaluation. and (E) Provide conclusions and recommendations

Effect of site conditions on ground motion and damage

Science.gov (United States)

Borcherdt, R.; Glassmoyer, G.; Andrews, M.; Cranswick, E.

1989-01-01

Results of seismologic studies conducted by the U.S. reconnaissance team in conjunction with Soviet colleagues following the tragic earthquakes of December 7, 1988, suggest that site conditions may have been a major factor in contributing to increased damage levels in Leninakan. As the potential severity of these effects in Leninakan had not been previously identified, this chapter presents results intended to provide a preliminary quantification of these effects on both damage and levels of ground motion observed in Leninakan. The article describes the damage distribution geologic setting, ground motion amplification in Leninakan, including analog amplifications and spectral amplifications. Preliminary model estimates for site response are presented. It is concluded that ground motion amplification in the 0.5-2.5-second period range was a major contributing factor to increased damage in Leninakan as compared with Kirovakan. Leninakan is located on thick water saturated alluvial deposits.

Synthetic strong ground motions for engineering design utilizing empirical Green`s functions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hutchings, L.J.; Jarpe, S.P.; Kasameyer, P.W.; Foxall, W.

1996-04-11

We present a methodology for developing realistic synthetic strong ground motions for specific sites from specific earthquakes. We analyzed the possible ground motion resulting from a M = 7.25 earthquake that ruptures 82 km of the Hayward fault for a site 1.4 km from the fault in the eastern San Francisco Bay area. We developed a suite of 100 rupture scenarios for the Hayward fault earthquake and computed the corresponding strong ground motion time histories. We synthesized strong ground motion with physics-based solutions of earthquake rupture and applied physical bounds on rupture parameters. By having a suite of rupture scenarios of hazardous earthquakes for a fixed magnitude and identifying the hazard to the site from the statistical distribution of engineering parameters, we introduce a probabilistic component into the deterministic hazard calculation. Engineering parameters of synthesized ground motions agree with those recorded from the 1995 Kobe, Japan and the 1992 Landers, California earthquakes at similar distances and site geologies.

Unambiguous assignment of the ground state of a nearly degenerate cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gutsev, G. L.; Khanna, S. N.; Jena, P.

2000-01-01

A synergistic approach that combines first-principles theory and electron photodetachment experiment is shown to be able to uniquely identify the ground state of a nearly degenerate cluster in the gas phase. Additionally, this approach can complement the Stern-Gerlach technique in determining the magnetic moment of small clusters unambiguously. The method, applied to a Fe 3 cluster, reveals its ground state to have a magnetic moment of 10μ B --in contrast with earlier predictions. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

Grounding of SNS Accelerator Structure

CERN Document Server

Holik, Paul S

2005-01-01

Description of site general grounding network. RF grounding network enhancement underneath the klystron gallery building. Grounding network of the Ring Systems with ground breaks in the Ring Tunnel. Grounding and Bonding of R&D accelerator equipment. SNS Building lightning protection.

Efficacy of the core DNA barcodes in identifying processed and poorly conserved plant materials commonly used in South African traditional medicine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ledile Mankga

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Medicinal plants cover a broad range of taxa, which may be phylogenetically less related but morphologically very similar. Such morphological similarity between species may lead to misidentification and inappropriate use. Also the substitution of a medicinal plant by a cheaper alternative (e.g. other non-medicinal plant species, either due to misidentification, or deliberately to cheat consumers, is an issue of growing concern. In this study, we used DNA barcoding to identify commonly used medicinal plants in South Africa. Using the core plant barcodes, matK and rbcLa, obtained from processed and poorly conserved materials sold at the muthi traditional medicine market, we tested efficacy of the barcodes in species discrimination. Based on genetic divergence, PCR amplification efficiency and BLAST algorithm, we revealed varied discriminatory potentials for the DNA barcodes. In general, the barcodes exhibited high discriminatory power, indicating their effectiveness in verifying the identity of the most common plant species traded in South African medicinal markets. BLAST algorithm successfully matched 61% of the queries against a reference database, suggesting that most of the information supplied by sellers at traditional medicinal markets in South Africa is correct. Our findings reinforce the utility of DNA barcoding technique in limiting false identification that can harm public health.

Empirical recurrence rates for ground motion signals on planetary surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenz, Ralph D.; Panning, Mark

2018-03-01

We determine the recurrence rates of ground motion events as a function of sensed velocity amplitude at several terrestrial locations, and make a first interplanetary comparison with measurements on the Moon, Mars, Venus and Titan. This empirical approach gives an intuitive order-of-magnitude guide to the observed ground motion (including both tectonic and ocean- and atmosphere-forced signals) of these locations as a guide to instrument expectations on future missions, without invoking interior models and specific sources: for example a Venera-14 observation of possible ground motion indicates a microseismic environment mid-way between noisy and quiet terrestrial locations. Quiet terrestrial regions see a peak velocity amplitude in mm/s roughly equal to 0.3*N(-0.7), where N is the number of "events" (half-hour intervals in which a given peak ground motion is exceeded) observed per year. The Apollo data show endogenous seismic signals for a given recurrence rate that are typically about 10,000 times smaller in amplitude than a quiet site on Earth, although local thermally-induced moonquakes are much more common. Viking data masked for low-wind periods appear comparable with a quiet terrestrial site, whereas a Venera observation of microseisms suggests ground motion more similar to a more active terrestrial location. Recurrence rate plots from in-situ measurements provide a context for seismic instrumentation on future planetary missions, e.g. to guide formulation of data compression schemes. While even small geophones can discriminate terrestrial activity rates, observations with guidance accelerometers are typically too insensitive to provide meaningful constraints (i.e. a non-zero number of "events") on actual ground motion observations unless operated for very long periods.

Ground control station software design for micro aerial vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Walendziuk, Wojciech; Oldziej, Daniel; Binczyk, Dawid Przemyslaw; Slowik, Maciej

2017-08-01

This article describes the process of designing the equipment part and the software of a ground control station used for configuring and operating micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). All the works were conducted on a quadrocopter model being a commonly accessible commercial construction. This article contains a characteristics of the research object, the basics of operating the micro aerial vehicles (MAV) and presents components of the ground control station model. It also describes the communication standards for the purpose of building a model of the station. Further part of the work concerns the software of the product - the GIMSO application (Generally Interactive Station for Mobile Objects), which enables the user to manage the actions and communication and control processes from the UAV. The process of creating the software and the field tests of a station model are also presented in the article.

Work plan for ground water elevation data recorder/monitor well installation at Gunnison, Colorado

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The purpose of this document is to describe the work that will be performed and the procedures that will be followed during installation of ground water monitor wells and ground water elevation data recorders (data loggers) at the Gunnison, Colorado, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project site. The monitor wells and data loggers will be used to gather required time-dependent data to investigate the interaction between ground water and surface water in the area. Data collection objectives (DCO) identify reasons for collecting data. The following are DCOs for the Gunnison ground water elevation data recorder/monitor well installation project: long-term continuous ground water level data and periodic ground water samples will be collected to better understand the relationship between surface and ground water at the site; water level and water quality data will eventually be used in future ground water modeling to more firmly establish boundary conditions in the vicinity of the Gunnison processing site; and modeling results will be used to demonstrate and document the potential remedial alternative of natural flushing

Magnetostriction-driven ground-state stabilization in 2H perovskites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Porter, D. G.; Senn, M. S.; University of Oxford; Khalyavin, D. D.; Cortese, A.

2016-01-01

In this paper, the magnetic ground state of Sr_3ARuO_6, with A =(Li,Na), is studied using neutron diffraction, resonant x-ray scattering, and laboratory characterization measurements of high-quality crystals. Combining these results allows us to observe the onset of long-range magnetic order and distinguish the symmetrically allowed magnetic models, identifying in-plane antiferromagnetic moments and a small ferromagnetic component along the c axis. While the existence of magnetic domains masks the particular in-plane direction of the moments, it has been possible to elucidate the ground state using symmetry considerations. We find that due to the lack of local anisotropy, antisymmetric exchange interactions control the magnetic order, first through structural distortions that couple to in-plane antiferromagnetic moments and second through a high-order magnetoelastic coupling that lifts the degeneracy of the in-plane moments. Finally, the symmetry considerations used to rationalize the magnetic ground state are very general and will apply to many systems in this family, such as Ca_3ARuO_6, with A = (Li,Na), and Ca_3LiOsO_6 whose magnetic ground states are still not completely understood.

Advanced Ground Systems Maintenance Physics Models For Diagnostics Project

Science.gov (United States)

Perotti, Jose M.

2015-01-01

The project will use high-fidelity physics models and simulations to simulate real-time operations of cryogenic and systems and calculate the status/health of the systems. The project enables the delivery of system health advisories to ground system operators. The capability will also be used to conduct planning and analysis of cryogenic system operations. This project will develop and implement high-fidelity physics-based modeling techniques tosimulate the real-time operation of cryogenics and other fluids systems and, when compared to thereal-time operation of the actual systems, provide assessment of their state. Physics-modelcalculated measurements (called “pseudo-sensors”) will be compared to the system real-timedata. Comparison results will be utilized to provide systems operators with enhanced monitoring ofsystems' health and status, identify off-nominal trends and diagnose system/component failures.This capability can also be used to conduct planning and analysis of cryogenics and other fluidsystems designs. This capability will be interfaced with the ground operations command andcontrol system as a part of the Advanced Ground Systems Maintenance (AGSM) project to helpassure system availability and mission success. The initial capability will be developed for theLiquid Oxygen (LO2) ground loading systems.

Longevity of Emplacement Drift Ground Support Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D.H.Tang

2001-01-01

The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the factors affecting the longevity of emplacement drift ground support materials and to develop a basis for the selection of materials for ground support that will function throughout the preclosure period of a potential repository at Yucca Mountain. REV 01 ICN 01 of this analysis is developed in accordance with AP-3.10Q, Analyses and Models, Revision 2, ICN 4, and prepared in accordance with the Technical Work Plan for Subsurface Design Section FY 01 Work Activities (CRWMS M and O 2001a). The objective of this analysis is to update the previous analysis (CRWMS M and O 2000a) to account for related changes in the Ground Control System Description Document (CRWMS M and O 2000b), the Monitored Geologic Repository Project Description Document, which is included in the Requirements and Criteria for Implementing a Repository Design that can be Operated Over a Range of Thermal Modes (BSC 2001), input information, and in environmental conditions, and to provide updated information on candidate ground support materials. Candidate materials for ground support are carbon steel and cement grout. Steel is mainly used for steel sets, lagging, channel, rock bolts, and wire mesh. Cement grout is only considered in the case of grouted rock bolts. Candidate materials for the emplacement drift invert are carbon steel and granular natural material. Materials are evaluated for the repository emplacement drift environment based on the updated thermal loading condition and waste package design. The analysis consists of the following tasks: (1) Identify factors affecting the longevity of ground support materials for use in emplacement drifts. (2) Review existing documents concerning the behavior of candidate ground support materials during the preclosure period. (3) Evaluate impacts of temperature and radiation effects on mechanical and thermal properties of steel. Assess corrosion potential of steel at emplacement drift environment. (4

Ground-water quality and geochemistry, Carson Desert, western Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Lico, Michael S.; Seiler, R.L.

1994-01-01

Aquifers in the Carson Desert are the primary source of drinking water, which is highly variable in chemical composition. In the shallow basin-fill aquifers, water chemistyr varies from a dilute calcium bicarbonate-dominated water beneath the irrigated areas to a saline sodium chloride- dominated water beneath unirrigated areas. Water samples from the shallow aquifers commonly have dissolved solids, chloride, magnesium, sulfate, arsenic, and manganese concentrations that exceed State of Nevada drinking-water standards. Water in the intermediante basin-fill aquifers is a dilute sodium bicarbonate type in the Fallon area and a distinctly more saline sodium chloride type in the Soda Lake-Upsal Hogback area. Dissolved solids, chloride, arsenic, fluoride, and manganese concen- trations commonly exceed drinking-water standards. The basalt aquifer contains a dilute sodium bicarbonate chloride water. Arsenic concentrations exceed standards in all sampled wells. The concen- trations of major constituents in ground water beneath the southern Carson Desert are the result of evapotranspiration and natural geochemical reactions with minerals derived mostly from igneous rocks. Water with higher concentrations of iron and manganese is near thermodynamic equilibrium with siderite and rhodochrosite and indicates that these elements may be limited by the solubility of their respective carbonate minerals. Naturally occurring radionuclides (uranium and radon-222) are present in ground water from the Carson Desert in concen- tratons higher than proposed drinking-water standards. High uranium concentrations in the shallow aquifers may be caused by evaporative concentration and the release of uranium during dissolution of iron and manganese oxides or the oxidation of sedimentary organic matter that typically has elevated uranium concentrations. Ground water in the Carson Desert does not appear to have be contaminated by synthetic organic chemicals.

MDEP Common Position CP-DICWG-13. Common position on spurious actuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

Spurious actuations produced by Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems are a safety concern if such actuations could challenge plant safety. Spurious actuations can lead to unnecessary challenges to safety equipment, challenge the ability of safety systems to provide their intended functions, or place the plant in an un-analysed state. Spurious actuation of plant equipment can be caused by factors including, but not limited to, single failures, common cause failures, human (e.g. operator) action, maintenance errors, design errors, or missing requirements. Modern I and C systems can have inter-connectivities, dependencies and commonalities that can, if the overall I and C architecture and the individual I and C systems are not adequately developed and operated, facilitate fault propagation, leading to potential spurious actuation of one or more trains of plant equipment. Sources and contributors of spurious actuations of multiple trains of plant equipment may include inadequate independence among redundant portions of I and C systems, inappropriate allocation of I and C functions, inadequate qualification or design of supporting systems (e.g. heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system), or non-classified systems that could have been erroneously classified. Spurious actuations are a type of hazard. Generic Common Position (GCP) DICWG-10 'Common Position on Hazard Identification and Controls for Digital Instrumentation and Control Systems' provides a set of common positions pertaining to identifying and controlling hazards in an I and C system. This common position was developed to add special considerations when identifying and controlling hazards that include spurious actuations. It is expected that GCP DICWG-10 and the common positions in this document be used together for a complete analysis of hazards and their controls (e.g. prevention of spurious actuations in the design of the system/component). Spurious actuations of concern

On the application of frequency selective common mode feedback for multifrequency EIT.

Science.gov (United States)

Langlois, Peter J; Wu, Yu; Bayford, Richard H; Demosthenous, Andreas

2015-06-01

Common mode voltages are frequently a problem in electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and other bioimpedance applications. To reduce their amplitude common mode feedback is employed. Formalised analyses of both current and voltage feedback is presented in this paper for current drives. Common mode effects due to imbalances caused by the current drives, the electrode connections to the body load and the introduction of the body impedance to ground are considered. Frequency selective narrowband common mode feedback previously proposed to provide feedback stability is examined. As a step towards multifrequency applications the use of narrowband feedback is experimentally demonstrated for two simultaneous current drives. Measured results using standard available components show a reduction of 62 dB for current feedback and 31 dB for voltage feedback. Frequencies ranged from 50 kHz to 1 MHz.

Ground Water in the Anchorage Area, Alaska--Meeting the Challenges of Ground-Water Sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Edward H.; Galloway, Devin L.

2006-01-01

Ground water is an important component of Anchorage's water supply. During the 1970s and early 80s when ground water extracted from aquifers near Ship Creek was the principal source of supply, area-wide declines in ground-water levels resulted in near record low streamflows in Ship Creek. Since the importation of Eklutna Lake water in the late 1980s, ground-water use has been reduced and ground water has contributed 14-30 percent of the annual supply. As Anchorage grows, given the current constraints on the Eklutna Lake water availability, the increasing demand for water could place an increasing reliance on local ground-water resources. The sustainability of Anchorage's ground-water resources challenges stakeholders to develop a comprehensive water-resources management strategy.

Ground operations and logistics in the context of the International Asteroid Mission

Science.gov (United States)

The role of Ground Operations and Logistics, in the context of the International Asteroid Mission (IAM), is to define the mission of Ground Operations; to identify the components of a manned space infrastructure; to discuss the functions and responsibilities of these components; to provide cost estimates for delivery of the spacecraft to LEO from Earth; to identify significant ground operations and logistics issues. The purpose of this dissertation is to bring a degree of reality to the project. 'One cannot dissociate development and set up of a manned infrastructure from its operational phase since it is this last one which is the most costly due to transportation costs which plague space station use' (Eymar, 1990). While this reference is to space stations, the construction and assembly of the proposed crew vehicle and cargo vehicles will face similar cost difficulties, and logistics complexities. The uniqueness of long duration space flight is complicated further by the lack of experience with human habitated, and non-refurbishable life support systems. These problems are addressed.

PROBABILISTIC SEISMIC ASSESSMENT OF BASE-ISOLATED NPPS SUBJECTED TO STRONG GROUND MOTIONS OF TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AHMER ALI

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The probabilistic seismic performance of a standard Korean nuclear power plant (NPP with an idealized isolation is investigated in the present work. A probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA of the Wolsong site on the Korean peninsula is performed by considering peak ground acceleration (PGA as an earthquake intensity measure. A procedure is reported on the categorization and selection of two sets of ground motions of the Tohoku earthquake, i.e. long-period and common as Set A and Set B respectively, for the nonlinear time history response analysis of the base-isolated NPP. Limit state values as multiples of the displacement responses of the NPP base isolation are considered for the fragility estimation. The seismic risk of the NPP is further assessed by incorporation of the rate of frequency exceedance and conditional failure probability curves. Furthermore, this framework attempts to show the unacceptable performance of the isolated NPP in terms of the probabilistic distribution and annual probability of limit states. The comparative results for long and common ground motions are discussed to contribute to the future safety of nuclear facilities against drastic events like Tohoku.

Probabilistic seismic assessment of base-isolated NPPs subjected to strong ground motions of Tohoku earthquake

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ali, Ahmer; Hayah, Nadin Abu; Kim, Doo Kie [Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Kunsan National University, Kunsan (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Sung Gook [R and D Center, JACE KOREA Company, Gyeonggido (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

The probabilistic seismic performance of a standard Korean nuclear power plant (NPP) with an idealized isolation is investigated in the present work. A probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) of the Wolsong site on the Korean peninsula is performed by considering peak ground acceleration (PGA) as an earthquake intensity measure. A procedure is reported on the categorization and selection of two sets of ground motions of the Tohoku earthquake, i.e. long-period and common as Set A and Set B respectively, for the nonlinear time history response analysis of the base-isolated NPP. Limit state values as multiples of the displacement responses of the NPP base isolation are considered for the fragility estimation. The seismic risk of the NPP is further assessed by incorporation of the rate of frequency exceedance and conditional failure probability curves. Furthermore, this framework attempts to show the unacceptable performance of the isolated NPP in terms of the probabilistic distribution and annual probability of limit states. The comparative results for long and common ground motions are discussed to contribute to the future safety of nuclear facilities against drastic events like Tohoku.

Common Errors in Ecological Data Sharing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert B. Cook

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Objectives: (1 to identify common errors in data organization and metadata completeness that would preclude a “reader” from being able to interpret and re-use the data for a new purpose; and (2 to develop a set of best practices derived from these common errors that would guide researchers in creating more usable data products that could be readily shared, interpreted, and used.Methods: We used directed qualitative content analysis to assess and categorize data and metadata errors identified by peer reviewers of data papers published in the Ecological Society of America’s (ESA Ecological Archives. Descriptive statistics provided the relative frequency of the errors identified during the peer review process.Results: There were seven overarching error categories: Collection & Organization, Assure, Description, Preserve, Discover, Integrate, and Analyze/Visualize. These categories represent errors researchers regularly make at each stage of the Data Life Cycle. Collection & Organization and Description errors were some of the most common errors, both of which occurred in over 90% of the papers.Conclusions: Publishing data for sharing and reuse is error prone, and each stage of the Data Life Cycle presents opportunities for mistakes. The most common errors occurred when the researcher did not provide adequate metadata to enable others to interpret and potentially re-use the data. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize these mistakes through carefully recording all details about study context, data collection, QA/ QC, and analytical procedures from the beginning of a research project and then including this descriptive information in the metadata.

Identification of the different magnetic field contributions during a geomagnetic storm in magnetospheric and ground observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Alberti

2016-11-01

Full Text Available We used the empirical mode decomposition (EMD to investigate the time variation of the magnetospheric and ground-based observations of the Earth's magnetic field during both quiet and disturbed periods. We found two timescale variations in magnetospheric data which are associated with different magnetospheric current systems and the characteristic diurnal orbital variation, respectively. On the ground we identified three timescale variations related to the solar-wind–magnetosphere high-frequency interactions, the ionospheric processes, and the internal dynamics of the magnetosphere. This approach is able to identify the different physical processes involved in solar-wind–magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling. In addition, the large-timescale contribution can be used as a local index for the identification of the intensity of a geomagnetic storm on the ground.

Common mode voltage in case of transformerless PV inverters connected to the grid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kerekes, Tamas; Teodorescu, Remus; Liserre, Marco

2008-01-01

For safety reasons grid connected PV systems include galvanic isolation. In case of transformerless inverters, the leakage ground current through the parasitic capacitance of the PV panels, can reach very high values. A common-mode model based on analytical approach is introduced, used to predict...... the common-mode behavior, at frequencies lower than 50kHz, of the selected topologies and to explain the influence of system imbalance on the leakage current. It will be demonstrated that the neutral inductance has a crucial influence on the leakage current. Finally experimental results will be shown...

An analysis model of the secondary tunnel lining considering ground-primary support-secondary lining interaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seo, Seong-Ho; Chang, Seok-Bue [Yooshin Engineering Corporation, Seoul(Korea); Lee, Sang-Duk [Ajou University, Suwon(Korea)

2002-06-30

It is the common practice to over design the reinforcement for the secondary tunnel lining due to the lack of rational insight into the ground loosening loads, and due to the conservative application of the empirical design methods. The main loads of the secondary lining are the ground loosening loads and the ground water pressure, and the ground load is critical in the reinforcement design of the secondary lining in the case of drained tunnel. If the external load is absent around a tunnel. the reasons of the load for secondary tunnel lining are the deterioration of the primary supports such as shotcrete, steel rib, and rock bolts. Accordingly, the analysis method considering the ground-primary supports-secondary lining interaction should be required for the rational design of the secondary tunnel lining. In this paper, the interaction was conceptually described by the simple mass-spring model and the load transfer from the ground and primary supports to the secondary lining is showed by the ground-primary supports-secondary lining reaction curves for the theoretical solution of a circular tunnel, And also, the application of this proposed model to numerical analysis is verified in order to check the potential for the tunnel with the complex analysis conditions. (author). 8 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs.

Model-Based Knowing: How Do Students Ground Their Understanding About Climate Systems in Agent-Based Computer Models?

Science.gov (United States)

Markauskaite, Lina; Kelly, Nick; Jacobson, Michael J.

2017-12-01

This paper gives a grounded cognition account of model-based learning of complex scientific knowledge related to socio-scientific issues, such as climate change. It draws on the results from a study of high school students learning about the carbon cycle through computational agent-based models and investigates two questions: First, how do students ground their understanding about the phenomenon when they learn and solve problems with computer models? Second, what are common sources of mistakes in students' reasoning with computer models? Results show that students ground their understanding in computer models in five ways: direct observation, straight abstraction, generalisation, conceptualisation, and extension. Students also incorporate into their reasoning their knowledge and experiences that extend beyond phenomena represented in the models, such as attitudes about unsustainable carbon emission rates, human agency, external events, and the nature of computational models. The most common difficulties of the students relate to seeing the modelled scientific phenomenon and connecting results from the observations with other experiences and understandings about the phenomenon in the outside world. An important contribution of this study is the constructed coding scheme for establishing different ways of grounding, which helps to understand some challenges that students encounter when they learn about complex phenomena with agent-based computer models.

Development of a Subject-Specific Foot-Ground Contact Model for Walking.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Jennifer N; Hass, Chris J; Fregly, Benjamin J

2016-09-01

Computational walking simulations could facilitate the development of improved treatments for clinical conditions affecting walking ability. Since an effective treatment is likely to change a patient's foot-ground contact pattern and timing, such simulations should ideally utilize deformable foot-ground contact models tailored to the patient's foot anatomy and footwear. However, no study has reported a deformable modeling approach that can reproduce all six ground reaction quantities (expressed as three reaction force components, two center of pressure (CoP) coordinates, and a free reaction moment) for an individual subject during walking. This study proposes such an approach for use in predictive optimizations of walking. To minimize complexity, we modeled each foot as two rigid segments-a hindfoot (HF) segment and a forefoot (FF) segment-connected by a pin joint representing the toes flexion-extension axis. Ground reaction forces (GRFs) and moments acting on each segment were generated by a grid of linear springs with nonlinear damping and Coulomb friction spread across the bottom of each segment. The stiffness and damping of each spring and common friction parameter values for all springs were calibrated for both feet simultaneously via a novel three-stage optimization process that used motion capture and ground reaction data collected from a single walking trial. The sequential three-stage process involved matching (1) the vertical force component, (2) all three force components, and finally (3) all six ground reaction quantities. The calibrated model was tested using four additional walking trials excluded from calibration. With only small changes in input kinematics, the calibrated model reproduced all six ground reaction quantities closely (root mean square (RMS) errors less than 13 N for all three forces, 25 mm for anterior-posterior (AP) CoP, 8 mm for medial-lateral (ML) CoP, and 2 N·m for the free moment) for both feet in all walking trials. The

Common sense in moral philosophy of the age of Enlightenment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. V. Sokurenko

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The Age of Enlightenment had a special meaning for the history of moral philosophy, because in this period the morality becomes a special subject of philosophic interest, philosophic concept of morality is formed. The problem of rational grounding of morality becomes a central one. The important role in this problem solving was the idea of common sense – one of the fundamental ideas of Scottish and French Enlightenment. In the Scottish philosophy concept of «common sense» was developed by representatives of ethical sentimentalism (A. Shaftesbury, F. Hutcheson and by the founder of the rationalist understanding of morality Th. Reid. In France, the idea of common sense was widely developed in the works of Enlightenment philosophers. Scottish enlighteners understood common sense as a kind of inherent, intuitive principle, put by God into human being. This paper analyzes the significance of the concept «common sense» and its features of interpretations by Scottish philosophers. The quintessence of philosophy of the Age of Enlightenment was practical philosophy of I. Kant, in formation of which the idea of common sense played the key role. German classic clearly defined field of application of common sense. He considered an appeal to common sense in matters of science and philosophy unacceptable, but claimed that it was common sense people must rely in everyday practice. Such an understanding of this idea has allowed Kant to justify main concept of his moral philosophy ­ concept of the autonomous subject.

The Grounded Theory Bookshelf

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr. Alvita Nathaniel, DSN, APRN, BC

2005-06-01

Full Text Available The Grounded Theory Perspective III: Theoretical Coding, Barney G. Glaser (Sociology Press, 2005. Not intended for a beginner, this book further defi nes, describes, and explicates the classic grounded theory (GT method. Perspective III lays out various facets of theoretical coding as Glaser meticulously distinguishes classic GT from other subsequent methods. Developed many years after Glaser’s classic GT, these methods, particularly as described by Strauss and Corbin, adopt the grounded theory name and engender ongoing confusion about the very premises of grounded theory. Glaser distinguishes between classic GT and the adscititious methods in his writings, referring to remodeled grounded theory and its offshoots as Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA models.

Stochastic ground motion simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Rezaeian, Sanaz; Xiaodan, Sun; Beer, Michael; Kougioumtzoglou, Ioannis A.; Patelli, Edoardo; Siu-Kui Au, Ivan

2014-01-01

Strong earthquake ground motion records are fundamental in engineering applications. Ground motion time series are used in response-history dynamic analysis of structural or geotechnical systems. In such analysis, the validity of predicted responses depends on the validity of the input excitations. Ground motion records are also used to develop ground motion prediction equations(GMPEs) for intensity measures such as spectral accelerations that are used in response-spectrum dynamic analysis. Despite the thousands of available strong ground motion records, there remains a shortage of records for large-magnitude earthquakes at short distances or in specific regions, as well as records that sample specific combinations of source, path, and site characteristics.

Communication, concepts and grounding

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Velde, Frank; van der Velde, F.

2015-01-01

This article discusses the relation between communication and conceptual grounding. In the brain, neurons, circuits and brain areas are involved in the representation of a concept, grounding it in perception and action. In terms of grounding we can distinguish between communication within the brain

The ground based plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-01-01

The paper presents a report of ''The Ground Based Plan'' of the United Kingdom Science and Engineering Research Council. The ground based plan is a plan for research in astronomy and planetary science by ground based techniques. The contents of the report contains a description of:- the scientific objectives and technical requirements (the basis for the Plan), the present organisation and funding for the ground based programme, the Plan, the main scientific features and the further objectives of the Plan. (U.K.)

Estimating Natural Recharge in a Desert Environment Facing Increasing Ground-Water Demands

Science.gov (United States)

Nishikawa, T.; Izbicki, J. A.; Hevesi, J. A.; Martin, P.

2004-12-01

Ground water historically has been the sole source of water supply for the community of Joshua Tree in the Joshua Tree ground-water subbasin of the Morongo ground-water basin in the southern Mojave Desert. Joshua Basin Water District (JBWD) supplies water to the community from the underlying Joshua Tree ground-water subbasin, and ground-water withdrawals averaging about 960 acre-ft/yr have resulted in as much as 35 ft of drawdown. As growth continues in the desert, ground-water resources may need to be supplemented using imported water. To help meet future demands, JBWD plans to construct production wells in the adjacent Copper Mountain ground-water subbasin. To manage the ground-water resources and to identify future mitigating measures, a thorough understanding of the ground-water system is needed. To this end, field and numerical techniques were applied to determine the distribution and quantity of natural recharge. Field techniques included the installation of instrumented boreholes in selected washes and at a nearby control site. Numerical techniques included the use of a distributed-parameter watershed model and a ground-water flow model. The results from the field techniques indicated that as much as 70 acre-ft/yr of water infiltrated downward through the two principal washes during the study period (2001-3). The results from the watershed model indicated that the average annual recharge in the ground-water subbasins is about 160 acre-ft/yr. The results from the calibrated ground-water flow model indicated that the average annual recharge for the same area is about 125 acre-ft/yr. Although the field and numerical techniques were applied to different scales (local vs. large), all indicate that natural recharge in the Joshua Tree area is very limited; therefore, careful management of the limited ground-water resources is needed. Moreover, the calibrated model can now be used to estimate the effects of different water-management strategies on the ground

The Common Core's Promises and Pitfalls from the Perspectives of Policy Entrepreneurs and Ground-Level Actors

Science.gov (United States)

Kornhaber, Mindy L.; Barkauskas, Nikolaus J.; Griffith, Kelly M.; Sausner, Erica; Mahfouz, Julia

2017-01-01

The Common Core State Standards Initiative (Common Core) was spearheaded by policy entrepreneurs, unveiled nationally in 2010, and initially received strong support from leaders in state and federal government, philanthropic foundations, the business sector, and teacher unions. However, the reform came into the crosshairs of an ideologically wide…

Trans-ancestry meta-analyses identify rare and common variants associated with blood pressure and hypertension

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Surendran, P. (Praveen); F. Drenos (Fotios); R. Young (Robin); H. Warren (Helen); Cook, J.P. (James P.); A.K. Manning (Alisa); N. Grarup (Niels); X. Sim (Xueling); D. Barnes (Daniel); H.E. Witkowska (Ewa); J.R. Staley (James R.); V. Tragante (Vinicius); T. Tukiainen (Taru); H. Yaghootkar (Hanieh); Masca, N. (Nicholas); C.M. Freitag (Christine); T. Ferreira (Teresa); O. Giannakopoulou (Olga); Tinker, A. (Andrew); M. Harakalova (Magdalena); E. Mihailov (Evelin); Liu, C. (Chunyu); A. Kraja (Aldi); S.F. Nielsen (Sune); A. Rasheed (Asif); M. Samuel (Maria); W. Zhao (Wei); L.L. Bonnycastle (Lori); A.U. Jackson (Anne); N. Narisu (Narisu); A.J. Swift (Amy); L. Southam (Lorraine); J. Marten (Jonathan); J.R. Huyghe (Jeroen R.); A. Stancáková (Alena); C. Fava (Cristiano); Ohlsson, T. (Therese); A. Matchan (Angela); K. Stirrups (Kathy); J. Bork-Jensen (Jette); A.P. Gjesing (Anette); Kontto, J. (Jukka); M. Perola (Markus); S. Shaw-Hawkins (Sue); A.S. Havulinna (Aki); Zhang, H. (He); L.A. Donnelly (Louise); C.J. Groves (Christopher); N.W. Rayner (Nigel William); M.J. Neville (Matthew); N.R. Robertson (Neil); Yiorkas, A.M. (Andrianos M.); K.H. Herzig; E. Kajantie (Eero); W. Zhang (Weihua); S.M. Willems (Sara); L. Lannfelt (Lars); G. Malerba (Giovanni); N. Soranzo (Nicole); E. Trabetti (Elisabetta); N. Verweij (Niek); E. Evangelou (Evangelos); A. Moayyeri (Alireza); Vergnaud, A.-C. (Anne-Claire); C.P. Nelson (Christopher P.); Poveda, A. (Alaitz); T.V. Varga (Tibor V.); M. Caslake (Muriel); A.J.M. De Craen (Anton J. M.); S. Trompet (Stella); J. Luan (Jian'An); R.A. Scott (Robert); S.E. Harris (Sarah); D.C. Liewald (David C.); R.E. Marioni (Riccardo); C. Menni (Cristina); A.-E. Farmaki (Aliki-Eleni); G. Hallmans (Göran); F. Renström (Frida); J.E. Huffman (Jennifer); Hassinen, M. (Maija); S. Burgess (Stephen); Vasan, R.S. (Ramachandran S.); J.F. Felix (Janine); Uria-Nickelsen, M. (Maria); A. Mälarstig (Anders); Reilly, D.F. (Dermot F.); Hoek, M. (Maarten); Vogt, T.F. (Thomas F.); H. Lin (Honghuang); W. Lieb (Wolfgang); M. Traylor (Matthew); H.S. Markus (Hugh); H. Highland (Heather); A.E. Justice (Anne); E. Marouli (Eirini); J. Lindström (Jaana); M. Uusitupa (Matti); P. Komulainen (Pirjo); T.A. Lakka (Timo); R. Rauramaa (Rainer); O. Polasek (Ozren); I. Rudan (Igor); Rolandsson, O. (Olov); P.W. Franks (Paul); G.V. Dedoussis (George); T.D. Spector (Timothy); P. Jousilahti (Pekka); S. Männistö (Satu); I.J. Deary (Ian J.); J.M. Starr (John); C. Langenberg (Claudia); N.J. Wareham (Nick); M.J. Brown (Morris); A. Dominiczak (Anna); Connell, J.M. (John M.); J.W. Jukema (Jan Wouter); N. Sattar (Naveed); I. Ford (Ian); Packard, C.J. (Chris J.); T. Esko (Tõnu); R. Mägi (Reedik); A. Metspalu (Andres); R.A. de Boer (Rudolf); Van Der Meer, P. (Peter); P. van der Harst (Pim); G. Gambaro (Giovanni); Ingelsson, E. (Erik); W.H.L. Kao (Wen); P.I.W. de Bakker (Paul); M.E. Numans (Mattijs); I. Brandslund (Ivan); Christensen, C. (Cramer); Petersen, E.R.B. (Eva R. B.); E. Korpi-Hyövälti (Eeva); H. Oksa (Heikki); J.C. Chambers (John); J.S. Kooner (Jaspal S.); A.I.F. Blakemore (Alexandra); S. Franks (Steve); M.-R. Jarvelin (Marjo-Riitta); L.L.N. Husemoen (Lise Lotte); Linneberg, A. (Allan); T. Skaaby (Tea); Thuesen, B. (Betina); F. Karpe (Fredrik); J. Tuomilehto (Jaakko); A.S.F. Doney (Alex); A.D. Morris (Andrew); C.N.A. Palmer (Colin); O.L. Holmen (Oddgeir); K. Hveem (Kristian); C.J. Willer (Cristen); T. Tuomi (Tiinamaija); L. Groop (Leif); Käräjämäki, A. (Annemari); A. Palotie (Aarno); S. Ripatti (Samuli); V. Salomaa (Veikko); D.S. Alam (Dewan S.); Majumder, A.A.S. (Abdulla Al Shafi); E. di Angelantonio (Emanuele); R. Chowdhury (Rajiv); M.I. McCarthy (Mark); N.R. Poulter (Neil); A. Stanton (Alice); P. Sever (Peter); P. Amouyel (Philippe); D. Arveiler (Dominique); Blankenberg, S. (Stefan); J. Ferrieres (Jean); F. Kee (Frank); K. Kuulasmaa (Kari); M. Müller-Nurasyid (Martina); G. Veronesi (Giovanni); J. Virtamo (Jarmo); P. Deloukas (Panagiotis); P. Elliott (Paul); E. Zeggini (Eleftheria); S. Kathiresan (Sekar); O. Melander (Olle); J. Kuusisto (Johanna); M. Laakso (Markku); S. Padmanabhan (Sandosh); D. Porteous (David); C. Hayward (Caroline); G. Scotland (Generation); F.S. Collins (Francis); K.L. Mohlke (Karen); T. Hansen (T.); O. Pedersen (Oluf); M. Boehnke (Michael); H.M. Stringham (Heather); R. Frossard; C. Newton-Cheh (Christopher); M.D. Tobin (Martin); B.G. Nordestgaard (Børge); M. Caulfield (Mark); A. Mahajan (Anubha); A.P. Morris (Andrew); Tomaszewski, M. (Maciej); N.J. Samani (Nilesh); Saleheen, D. (Danish); F.W. Asselbergs (Folkert); C.M. Lindgren (Cecilia M.); J. Danesh (John); Wain, L.V. (Louise V.); A.S. Butterworth (Adam); Howson, J.M.M. (Joanna M. M.); P. Munroe (Patricia)

2016-01-01

textabstractHigh blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death. However, there is limited knowledge on specific causal genes and pathways. To better understand the genetics of blood pressure, we genotyped 242,296 rare, low-frequency and common genetic variants

Detection of Leaks in Water Mains Using Ground Penetrating Radar

OpenAIRE

Alaa Al Hawari; Mohammad Khader; Tarek Zayed; Osama Moselhi

2016-01-01

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is one of the most effective electromagnetic techniques for non-destructive non-invasive subsurface features investigation. Water leak from pipelines is the most common undesirable reason of potable water losses. Rapid detection of such losses is going to enhance the use of the Water Distribution Networks (WDN) and decrease threatens associated with water mains leaks. In this study, GPR approach was developed to detect leaks by implementing an appropriate imagin...

Ground-water availability from surficial aquifers in the Red River of the North Basin, Minnesota

Science.gov (United States)

Reppe, Thomas H.C.

2005-01-01

Population growth and commercial and industrial development in the Red River of the North Basin in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota have prompted the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of the Interior, to evaluate sources of water to sustain this growth. Nine surficial-glacial (surficial) aquifers (Buffalo, Middle River, Two Rivers, Beach Ridges, Pelican River, Otter Tail, Wadena, Pineland Sands, and Bemidji-Bagley) within the Minnesota part of the basin were identified and evaluated for their ground-water resources. Information was compiled and summarized from published studies to evaluate the availability of ground water. Published information reviewed for each of the aquifers included location and extent, physical characteristics, hydraulic properties, ground-water and surface-water interactions, estimates of water budgets (sources of recharge and discharge) and aquifer storage, theoretical well yields and actual ground-water pumping data, recent (2003) ground-water use data, and baseline ground-water-quality data.

Migratory patterns and population structure among breeding and wintering red-breasted mergansers (Mergus serrator) and common mergansers (M. merganser)

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, J.M.; McCracken, K.G.; Christensen, Thomas K.; Zhuravlev, Y.N.

2009-01-01

Philopatry has long been assumed to structure populations of waterfowl and other species of birds genetically, especially via maternally transmitted mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), yet other migratory behaviors and nesting ecology (use of ground vs. cavity sites) may also contribute to population genetic structure. We investigated the effects of migration and nesting ecology on the population genetic structure of two Holarctic waterfowl, the Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) and Common Merganser (M. merganser), using mtDNA control-region sequence data. Red-breasted Mergansers (a ground-nesting species) exhibited lower levels of population differentiation across their North American range, possibly as a result of post-Pleistocene range expansion and population growth. By contrast, Common Mergansers (a cavity-nesting species) breeding in western and eastern North America were strongly differentiated, as were continental groups in North America and Europe. Our hypothesis that population differentiation of breeding female Common Mergansers results from limited migration during non-breeding periods was not supported, in that equally heterogeneous mtDNA lineages were observed in males and females on several wintering areas. The interspecific differences in mtDNA patterns for these two closely related species may have resulted from factors related to nesting ecology (ground vs. cavity nesting) and responses to historical climate change.

Worldviews: The Spatial Ground of Political Reasoning in Dutch Election Manifestos

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaal, A.R.

2012-01-01

A discourse approach was developed to identify explicit perspectivisation afforded by conceptual and narrative structures in political texts. The hypothesis is that the ground perspective of political rationale is packaged in ‘worldviews’ that guide ideologically motivated attitudes. This pilot

Ground state properties of new element Z=113 and its alpha decay chain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tai Fei; Chen Dinghan; Xu Chang; Ren Zhongzhou

2005-01-01

The authors investigate the ground state properties of the new element 278 113 and of the α-decay chain with different models, where the new element Z=113 has been produced at RIKEN in Japan by cold-fusion reaction. The experimental decay energies are reproduced by the deformed relativistic mean-field model, by the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock (SHF) model, and by the macroscopic-microscopic model. Theoretical half-lives also reasonably agree with the data. Calculations further show that prolate deformation is important for the ground states of the nuclei in the α-decay chain of 278 113. The common points and differences among different models are compared and discussed. (author)

MDEP Design-Specific Common Position CP-APR1400WG-01. Common position addressing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-05-01

The MDEP APR1400 Working Group (APR1400WG) members consist of members from Republic of Korea, United Arab Emirates, and the United States. A main objectives of MDEP is to encourage convergence of code, standard and safety goals with exploring the opportunities for harmonization of regulatory practice and cooperation on safety review of APR-1400 specific designs. This common position addressing is aimed at sharing knowledge, information and experience on safety improvement related to lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident or Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident-related issues amongst APR-1400 WG member states to achieve the MEDP goal. Because not all of these Regulators have completed the regulatory review of their APR1400 applications yet, this paper identifies common preliminary approaches to address potential safety improvements for APR1400 plants, as well as common general expectations for new nuclear power plants, as related to lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident or Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident-related issues. While some asymmetry exists among those of three Regulators in terms of design, regulatory practice and licensing milestone sharing information and common understanding on post-Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident enhancement would be promote resilient design for countering beyond design extreme external event like Fukushima Daiichi NPP nuclear disaster. This common position paper aims at identifying characteristics of post-Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident enhancements putting in place by each country and setting common position to achieve balanced and harmonized APR-1400 design. After the safety reviews of the APR1400 design applications that are currently in review are completed, the regulators will update this paper to reflect their safety conclusions regarding the APR1400 design and how the design could be enhanced to address Fukushima Daiichi NPP Accident-related issues. The common preliminary approaches are organised into

Electrochemical stabilization of clayey ground

Science.gov (United States)

Rzhanitzin, B.A.; Sokoloff, V.P.

1947-01-01

Recently developed new methods of stabilization of weak grounds (e.g. the silicate treatment) are based on injection of chemical solutions into the ground. Such methods are applicable accordingly only to the kinds of ground that have the coefficient of filtration higher than 2 meters per 24 hours and permit penetration of the chemical solutions under pressure. This limit, however, as it is shown by our experience in construction, excludes a numerous and an important class of grounds, stabilization of which is indispensable in many instances. For example, digging of trenches and pits in clayey, silty, or sandy ground shows that all these types act like typical "floaters" (sluds? -S) in the presence of the ground water pressure. There were several instances in the canalization of the city of Moskow where the laying of trenches below the ground water level has led to extreme difficulties with clayey and silty ground. Similar examples could be cited in mining, engineering hydrology, and railroad construction. For these reasons, the development of methods of stabilizing such difficult types of ground has become an urgent problem of our day. In 1936, the author began his investigations, at the ground Stabilization Laboratory of VODGEO Institute, with direct electrical current as the means of stabilization of grounds. Experiments had shown that a large number of clayey types, following passage of direct electrical current, undergoes a transformation of its physico-chemical properties. It was established that the (apparent -S) density of the ground is substantially increased in consequence of the application of direct electrical current. The ground loses also its capacity to swell and to soften in water. Later, after a more detailed study of the physico-chemical mechanism of the electrical stabilization, it became possible to develop the method so as to make it applicable to sandy and silty as well as to clayey ground. By this time (1941, S.), the method has already been

Trans-ancestry meta-analyses identify rare and common variants associated with blood pressure and hypertension

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Surendran, Praveen; Drenos, Fotios; Young, Robin; Warren, Helen; Cook, James P; Manning, Alisa K; Grarup, Niels; Sim, Xueling; Barnes, Daniel R; Witkowska, Kate; Staley, James R; Tragante, Vinicius; Tukiainen, Taru; Yaghootkar, Hanieh; Masca, Nicholas; Freitag, Daniel F; Ferreira, Teresa; Giannakopoulou, Olga; Tinker, Andrew; Harakalova, Magdalena; Mihailov, Evelin; Liu, Chunyu; Kraja, Aldi T; Nielsen, Sune Fallgaard; Rasheed, Asif; Samuel, Maria; Zhao, Wei; Bonnycastle, Lori L; Jackson, Anne U; Narisu, Narisu; Swift, Amy J; Southam, Lorraine; Marten, Jonathan; Huyghe, Jeroen R; Stančáková, Alena; Fava, Cristiano; Ohlsson, Therese; Matchan, Angela; Stirrups, Kathleen E; Bork-Jensen, Jette; Gjesing, Anette P; Kontto, Jukka; Perola, Markus; Shaw-Hawkins, Susan; Havulinna, Aki S; Zhang, He; Donnelly, Louise A; Groves, Christopher J; Rayner, N William; Neville, Matt J; Robertson, Neil R; Yiorkas, Andrianos M; Herzig, Karl-Heinz; Kajantie, Eero; Zhang, Weihua; Willems, Sara M; Lannfelt, Lars; Malerba, Giovanni; Soranzo, Nicole; Trabetti, Elisabetta; Verweij, Niek; Evangelou, Evangelos; Moayyeri, Alireza; Vergnaud, Anne-Claire; Nelson, Christopher P; Poveda, Alaitz; Varga, Tibor V; Caslake, Muriel; de Craen, Anton J M; Trompet, Stella; Luan, Jian'an; Scott, Robert A; Harris, Sarah E; Liewald, David C M; Marioni, Riccardo; Menni, Cristina; Farmaki, Aliki-Eleni; Hallmans, Göran; Renström, Frida; Huffman, Jennifer E; Hassinen, Maija; Burgess, Stephen; Vasan, Ramachandran S; Felix, Janine F; Uria-Nickelsen, Maria; Malarstig, Anders; Reilly, Dermot F; Hoek, Maarten; Vogt, Thomas F; Lin, Honghuang; Lieb, Wolfgang; Traylor, Matthew; Markus, Hugh S; Highland, Heather M; Justice, Anne E; Marouli, Eirini; Lindström, Jaana; Uusitupa, Matti; Komulainen, Pirjo; Lakka, Timo A; Rauramaa, Rainer; Polasek, Ozren; Rudan, Igor; Rolandsson, Olov; Franks, Paul W; Dedoussis, George; Spector, Timothy D; Jousilahti, Pekka; Männistö, Satu; Deary, Ian J; Starr, John M; Langenberg, Claudia; Wareham, Nick J; Brown, Morris J; Dominiczak, Anna F; Connell, John M; Jukema, J Wouter; Sattar, Naveed; Ford, Ian; Packard, Chris J; Esko, Tõnu; Mägi, Reedik; Metspalu, Andres; de Boer, Rudolf A; van der Meer, Peter; van der Harst, Pim; Gambaro, Giovanni; Ingelsson, Erik; Lind, Lars; de Bakker, Paul I W; Numans, Mattijs E; Brandslund, Ivan; Christensen, Cramer; Petersen, Eva R B; Korpi-Hyövälti, Eeva; Oksa, Heikki; Chambers, John C; Kooner, Jaspal S; Blakemore, Alexandra I F; Franks, Steve; Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Husemoen, Lise L; Linneberg, Allan; Skaaby, Tea; Thuesen, Betina; Karpe, Fredrik; Tuomilehto, Jaakko; Doney, Alex S F; Morris, Andrew D; Palmer, Colin N A; Holmen, Oddgeir Lingaas; Hveem, Kristian; Willer, Cristen J; Tuomi, Tiinamaija; Groop, Leif; Käräjämäki, AnneMari; Palotie, Aarno; Ripatti, Samuli; Salomaa, Veikko; Alam, Dewan S; Majumder, Abdulla Al Shafi; Di Angelantonio, Emanuele; Chowdhury, Rajiv; McCarthy, Mark I; Poulter, Neil; Stanton, Alice V; Sever, Peter; Amouyel, Philippe; Arveiler, Dominique; Blankenberg, Stefan; Ferrières, Jean; Kee, Frank; Kuulasmaa, Kari; Müller-Nurasyid, Martina; Veronesi, Giovanni; Virtamo, Jarmo; Deloukas, Panos; Elliott, Paul; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Kathiresan, Sekar; Melander, Olle; Kuusisto, Johanna; Laakso, Markku; Padmanabhan, Sandosh; Porteous, David J; Hayward, Caroline; Scotland, Generation; Collins, Francis S; Mohlke, Karen L; Hansen, Torben; Pedersen, Oluf; Boehnke, Michael; Stringham, Heather M; Frossard, Philippe; Newton-Cheh, Christopher; Tobin, Martin D; Nordestgaard, Børge Grønne; Caulfield, Mark J; Mahajan, Anubha; Morris, Andrew P; Tomaszewski, Maciej; Samani, Nilesh J; Saleheen, Danish; Asselbergs, Folkert W; Lindgren, Cecilia M; Danesh, John; Wain, Louise V; Butterworth, Adam S; Howson, Joanna M M; Munroe, Patricia B

2016-01-01

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death. However, there is limited knowledge on specific causal genes and pathways. To better understand the genetics of blood pressure, we genotyped 242,296 rare, low-frequency and common genetic variants in up to

Trans-ancestry meta-analyses identify rare and common variants associated with blood pressure and hypertension

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Surendran, Praveen; Drenos, Fotios; Young, Robin

2016-01-01

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death. However, there is limited knowledge on specific causal genes and pathways. To better understand the genetics of blood pressure, we genotyped 242,296 rare, low-frequency and common genetic variants in up to ...

Trans-ancestry meta-analyses identify rare and common variants associated with blood pressure and hypertension

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Surendran, Praveen; Drenos, Fotios; Young, Robin; Warren, Helen; Cook, James P.; Manning, Alisa K.; Grarup, Niels; Sim, Xueling; Barnes, Daniel R.; Witkowska, Kate; Staley, James R.; Tragante, Vinicius; Tukiainen, Taru; Yaghootkar, Hanieh; Masca, Nicholas; Freitag, Daniel F.; Ferreira, Teresa; Giannakopoulou, Olga; Tinker, Andrew; Harakalova, Magdalena; Mihailov, Evelin; Liu, Chunyu; Kraja, Aldi T.; Nielsen, Sune Fallgaard; Rasheed, Asif; Samue, Maria; Zhao, Wei; Bonnycastle, Lori L.; Jackson, Anne U.; Narisu, Narisu; Swift, Amy J.; Southam, Lorraine; Marten, Jonathan; Huyghe, Jeroen R.; Stancakova, Alena; Fava, Cristiano; Ohlsson, Therese; Matchan, Angela; Stirrups, Kathleen E.; Bork-Jensen, Jette; Gjesing, Anette P.; Kontto, Jukka; Perola, Markus; Shaw-Hawkins, Susan; Havulinna, Aki S.; Verweij, Niek; de Boer, Rudolf A.; van der Meer, Peter; van der Harst, Pim; Asselbergs, Folkert W.

2016-01-01

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death. However, there is limited knowledge on specific causal genes and pathways. To better understand the genetics of blood pressure, we genotyped 242,296 rare, low frequency and common genetic variants in up to

Ground Robotic Hand Applications for the Space Program study (GRASP)

Science.gov (United States)

Grissom, William A.; Rafla, Nader I. (Editor)

1992-01-01

This document reports on a NASA-STDP effort to address research interests of the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) through a study entitled, Ground Robotic-Hand Applications for the Space Program (GRASP). The primary objective of the GRASP study was to identify beneficial applications of specialized end-effectors and robotic hand devices for automating any ground operations which are performed at the Kennedy Space Center. Thus, operations for expendable vehicles, the Space Shuttle and its components, and all payloads were included in the study. Typical benefits of automating operations, or augmenting human operators performing physical tasks, include: reduced costs; enhanced safety and reliability; and reduced processing turnaround time.

'Bounce' and Shergotty Share Common Ground

Science.gov (United States)

2004-01-01

This illustration compares the spectrum of 'Bounce,' a rock at Meridiani Planum, to that of a martian meteorite found on Earth called Shergotty. Bounce's spectrum, and thus mineral composition, is unique to the rocks studied so far at Merdiani Planum and Gusev Crater, the landings sites of the Mars Exploration Rovers Opportunity and Spirit. However, the results here indicate that Bounce is not a one-of-a-kind rock, but shares origins with Shergotty. Shergotty landed in India in 1865. Bounce's spectra were taken on sol 67 by Opportunity's Moessbauer spectrometer.

Towards a common framework of grounded action cognition: Relating motor control, perception and cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Gentsch, Antje; Weber, Arne; Synofzik, Matthis; Vosgerau, Gottfried; Schütz-Bosbach, Simone

2016-01-01

The relation between motor control and action cognition - including action-related thoughts and action-related perception - has been subject to controversial discussions in the last three decades. During these decades, cognitive neuroscience has been increasingly confronted with a huge variety of different accounts trying to understand and explain the relation between these systems, their interdependencies and the mediating mechanisms by establishing notions such as "internal models", "simulation" or "shared representation". These accounts, however, include a large array of partly overlapping, partly contradictory theories using similar terms for different mechanisms and different terms for similar mechanisms. In the absence of a systematic work-up and comparison, this array of accounts and theories leads to confusion in the field, duplication of experimental work, and unconnected parallelism of theory formation within and between different disciplines. Here we provide a systematic comparison of current models and prospective theories that deal with the relation between cognition, perception and motor control mechanisms. In a second step, we propose "grounded action cognition" as a comprehensive metatheoretical framework which defines different hypothetical possibilities of the relations between these domains, offers systematic insights into current models and theories and last but not least may help to increase comparability of empirical research in the domain of action and action cognition. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Innovative RDWT: a new DWT-based method with applications for seismic ground roll attenuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irani Mehr, Mohammad; Riahi, Mohammad Ali; Goudarzi, Alireza

2013-01-01

The presence of noise in seismic data is inevitable. In land seismic data acquisition, ground roll noise masks reflection events so that observation of reflection events is not usually easy to interpret. It is the exploration seismologist's task to attenuate ground roll to improve the data quality and to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio. Investigations have suggested that the wavelet transform is an efficient tool for such a purpose. In this study, a new type of discrete wavelet transform, known as the rational-dilation wavelet transform (RDWT), is used to attenuate ground roll. Compared with the common DWTs, the RDWT offers a wide range of redundancies and Q-factors (wavelet centre frequency/bandwidth), to help the user choose an appropriate Q-factor, and hence provides more satisfactory results in ground roll attenuation while better preserving the signal. In this transform, the Q-factor is determined by selecting a number of parameters. True parameter selection results in better performance of ground roll attenuation. Depending on the nature of the ground roll, the parameters may vary in each shot-gather. Due to the over-completeness of the transformation, aliasing is less problematic compared to other DWTs. This paper discusses and indicates the advantages and capability of RDWT, by applying it to synthetic and real shot-gathered data with the purpose of ground roll attenuation, and compares the results with the application of f–k and band-pass filters. (paper)

Data needs for common cause failure analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parry, G.W.; Paula, H.M.; Rasmuson, D.; Whitehead, D.

1990-01-01

The procedures guide for common cause failure analysis published jointly by USNRC and EPRI requires a detailed historical event analysis. Recent work on the further development of the cause-defense picture of common cause failures introduced in that guide identified the information that is necessary to perform the detailed analysis in an objective manner. This paper summarizes these information needs

Space weather effects on ground based technology

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, T.

Space weather can affect a variety of forms of ground-based technology, usually as a result of either the direct effects of the varying geomagnetic field, or as a result of the induced electric field that accompanies such variations. Technologies affected directly by geomagnetic variations include magnetic measurements made d ringu geophysical surveys, and navigation relying on the geomagnetic field as a direction reference, a method that is particularly common in the surveying of well-bores in the oil industry. The most obvious technology affected by induced electric fields during magnetic storms is electric power transmission, where the example of the blackout in Quebec during the March 1989 magnetic storm is widely known. Additionally, space weather effects must be taken into account in the design of active cathodic protection systems on pipelines to protect them against corrosion. Long-distance telecommunication cables may also have to be designed to cope with space weather related effects. This paper reviews the effects of space weather in these different areas of ground-based technology, and provides examples of how mitigation against hazards may be achieved. (The paper does not include the effects of space weather on radio communication or satellite navigation systems).

30 CFR 75.803 - Fail safe ground check circuits on high-voltage resistance grounded systems.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... High-Voltage Distribution § 75.803 Fail safe ground check circuits on high-voltage resistance grounded systems. [Statutory Provisions] On and after September 30, 1970, high-voltage, resistance grounded systems... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Fail safe ground check circuits on high-voltage...

QTL and candidate genes associated with common bacterial blight resistance in the common bean cultivar Longyundou 5 from China

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jifeng Zhu; Jing Wu; Lanfen Wang; Matthew W. Blair; Zhendong Zhu; Shumin Wang

2016-01-01

Common bacterial blight (CBB), caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli and Xanthomonas fuscans subsp. fuscans (Xff), is a worldwide disease of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Longyundou 5, a Chinese cultivar in the Mesoamerican gene pool of common bean, displays resistance to the Xff strain XSC3-1. To identify the genetic mechanisms behind this resistance, we crossed Long 5 with a susceptible genotype to develop a mapping population of F2 plants. Plant resistance to CBB was identified at 14 and 21 days after inoculation with Xff strain XSC3-1. A major QTL at 14 and 21 days after inoculation was mapped on chromosome Pv10 with LOD scores of 6.41 and 5.35, respectively. This locus was associated with SAP6, a previously-identified and much-used dominant marker, but in a 4.2 cM interval between new codominant markers BMp10s174 and BMp10s244. Ten candidate genes were found between markers BMp10s174 and BMp10s244 on chromosome Pv10 and could encode defense response proteins responding to CBB pathogens. Four pairs each of epistatic QTL for CBB resistance were detected at 14 and 21 days after inoculation. Phenotypic variation explained by the epistatic QTL ranged from 7.19%to 12.15%and 7.72%to 8.80%at 14 and 21 days after inoculation, respectively. These results confirmed the importance of epistasis in CBB resistance in common bean. The adjacent markers found may be more efficient for marker assisted selection in common bean breeding for CBB resistance owing to their closer linkage to the target QTL.

Cleareye In-Ground and In-Concrete DIV Inspections: FY11 Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Braatz, Brett G.; Tedeschi, Jonathan R.; Denslow, Kayte M.; Morra, Marino; Knopik, Clint D.; Severtsen, Ronald H.; Jones, Anthony M.; Lechelt, Wayne M.; McMakin, Douglas L.; Good, Morris S.; Sorensen, Jerry B.; Hall, Thomas E.

2012-01-23

This report summarizes the results of a series of feasibility testing studies for in-ground and in-concrete imaging/detection technologies including radar imaging and acoustic time-of flight method. The objectives of this project are: (1) Design Information Verification (DIV) Tools for In-Concrete Inspections - To determine the feasibility of using holographic radar imaging (HRI), radar imaging, and acoustic time-of-flight (TOF) non-destructive evaluation technologies to detect, locate and identify pipes and voids embedded in standard-density and high-density concrete walls that typify those the IAEA will need to verify during field inspections; (2) DIV Tools for In-Ground Inspections - To determine the feasibility of using HRI and radar imaging non-destructive evaluation technologies to detect, locate, and identify objects buried at various depths made of various materials (metal, plastic, wood, and concrete) and representing geometries that typify those the IAEA will need to verify during field inspections; and (3) Based on the results of the studies, recommend the next steps needed to realize fieldable tools for in-concrete and in-ground inspections (including detection of deeply buried polyvinyl chloride [PVC] pipes) that employ the technologies shown to be feasible.

POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR UTILIZATION AND CONSERVATION OF BELOW-GROUND BIODIVERSITY IN KENYA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Celline Achieng

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The reasons for the lack of inclusion of below-ground biodiversity in the Kenyan policy and legal framework were sought. Gaps were identified in the relevant sectoral policies and laws in regard to the domestication of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD. Below -ground biodiversity had no specific schedule in any of the sectoral laws. Most sectoral laws were particular about the larger biodiversity and soils but had no mention of below-ground biodiversity. Material Transfer Agreements and Material Acquisition Agreements that are regarded as tools of domestication of the CBD to guide transfers, exchanges and acquisition of soil organisms lacked a regulating policy. The lack of regulating policy could be attributed to the delay in approval of draft regulations by the Ministry of Environment while the lack of inclusion of below-ground biodiversity in Kenya’s legal and policy framework could be as a result of lack of awareness and appreciation among stakeholders.

Ability of Slovakian Pupils to Identify Birds

Science.gov (United States)

Prokop, Pavol; Rodak, Rastislav

2009-01-01

A pupil's ability to identify common organisms is necessary for acquiring further knowledge of biology. We investigated how pupils were able to identify 25 bird species following their song, growth habits, or both features presented simultaneously. Just about 19% of birds were successfully identified by song, about 39% by growth habit, and 45% of…

Ground rubber: Sorption media for ground water containing benzene and O-xylene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kershaw, D.S.; Pamukcu, S.

1997-01-01

The purpose of the current study is to examine the ability of ground rubber to sorb benzene and O-xylene from water contained with aromatic hydrocarbons. The study consisted of running both batch and packed bed column tests to determine the sorption capacity, the required sorption equilibration time, and the flow through utilization efficiency of ground rubber under various contact times when exposed to water contaminated with various amounts of benzene or O-xylene. Initial batch test results indicate that ground rubber can attain equilibrium sorption capacities up to 1.3 or 8.2 mg of benzene or O-xylene, respectively, per gram of tire rubber at solution equilibrium concentrations of 10 mg/L. Packed bed column tests indicate that ground tire rubber has on the average a 40% utilization rate when a hydraulic residence time of 15 min is used. Possible future uses of round rubber as a sorption media could include, but are not limited to, the use of ground rubber as an aggregate in slurry cutoff walls that are in contact with petroleum products. Ground rubber could also be used as a sorption media in pump-and-treat methodologies or as a sorption media in in-situ reactive permeable barriers

Common cause analysis of the TREAT upgrade reactor protection system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Page, R.J.; Kamis, G.J.; Marbach, R.A.; Mueller, C.J.

1984-09-01

A triply redundant reactor scram system (RSS) has been designed for the upgraded TREAT facility. The independent failures reliability goal for the RSS is <10/sup -9/ failures per demand. An independent failures analysis indicated that this goal would be met. In addition, however, recognizing that in heavily redundant systems common-cause failures dominate, a common cause analysis of the TREAT upgrade RSS was done. The objective was to identify those common-cause initiators which could affect the functioning of the RSS, and to subsequently modify the design of the RSS so that the effect was minimized. A number of common-cause initiators were identified which were capable of defeating the triple redundancy feature of the reactor scram system. By means of a systematic analysis of the effect these initiators could have on the system, it was possible to identify seven necessary design and procedural modifications that would greatly reduce the probability of the reactor being run while the RSS was in a faulted condition.

Common Influence Join

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yiu, Man Lung; Mamoulis, Nikos; Karras, Panagiotis

2008-01-01

We identify and formalize a novel join operator for two spatial pointsets P and Q. The common influence join (CIJ) returns the pairs of points (p,q),p isin P,q isin Q, such that there exists a location in space, being closer to p than to any other point in P and at the same time closer to q than ......-demand, is very efficient in practice, incurring only slightly higher I/O cost than the theoretical lower bound cost for the problem....

Patients Commonly Believe Their Heart Failure Hospitalizations Are Preventable and Identify Worsening Heart Failure, Nonadherence, and a Knowledge Gap as Reasons for Admission.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilotra, Nisha A; Shpigel, Adam; Okwuosa, Ike S; Tamrat, Ruth; Flowers, Deirdre; Russell, Stuart D

2017-03-01

There are few data describing patient-identified precipitants of heart failure (HF) hospitalization. We hypothesized a patient's perception of reason for or preventability of an admission may be related to 30-day readmission rates. Ninety-four patients admitted with decompensated HF from July 2014 to March 2015 completed a brief questionnaire regarding circumstances leading to admission. Thirty-day outcomes were assessed via telephone call and chart review. Mean age was 58 ± 14 years, with 60% blacks (n = 56) and 41% females (n = 39). Median left ventricular ejection fraction was 30%; 27 had preserved ejection fraction. Seventy-two patients identified their hospitalization to be due to HF (± another condition). Most common patient-identified precipitants of admission were worsening HF (n = 37) and dietary nonadherence (n = 11). Readmitted patients tended to have longer time until first follow-up appointment (21 vs 8 days). Seven of the 42 patients who identified their hospitalization as preventable were readmitted compared with 21/49 who believed their hospitalization was unpreventable (P = .012). On multivariate regression analysis, patients who thought their hospitalization was preventable were less likely to be readmitted (odds ratio 0.31; 95% confidence interval 0.10-0.91; P = .04). Almost 50% of patients believe their HF hospitalization is preventable, and these patients appear to be less likely to be readmitted within 30 days. Notably, patients cite nonadherence and lack of knowledge as reasons hospitalizations are preventable. These results lend insight into possible interventions to reduce HF readmissions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Organic contamination of ground water at Gas Works Park, Seattle, Washington

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turney, G.L.; Goerlitz, D.F.

1990-01-01

Gas Works Park, in Seattle, Washington, is located on the site of a coal and oil gasification plant that ceased operation in 1956. During operation, many types of wastes, including coal, tar, and oil, accumulated on-site. The park soil is currently (1986) contaminated with compounds such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, trace metals, and cyanide. Analyses of water samples from a network of observation wells in the park indicate that these compounds are also present in the ground water. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds were identified in ground water samples in concentrations as large as 200 mg/L. Concentrations of organic compounds were largest where ground water was in contact with a non-aqueous phase liquid in the soil. Where no non-aqueous phase liquid was present, concentrations were much smaller, even if the ground water was in contact with contaminated soils. This condition is attributed to weathering processes in which soluble, low-molecular-weight organic compounds are preferentially dissolved from the non-aqueous phase liquid into the ground water. Where no non-aqueous phase liquid is present, only stained soils containing relatively insoluble, high-molecular-weight compounds remain. Concentrations of organic contaminants in the soils may still remain large

Organic contamination of ground water at Gas Works Park, Seattle, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Turney, G.L.; Goerlitz, D.F.

1990-01-01

Gas Works Park, in Seattle, Washington, is located on the site of a coal and oil gasification plant that ceased operation in 1956. During operation, many types of wastes, including coal, tar, and oil, accumulated on-site. The park soil is currently (1986) contaminated with compounds such as polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, trace metals, and cyanide. Analyses of water samples from a network of observation wells in the park indicate that these compounds are also present in the ground water. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds were identified in ground water samples in concentrations as large as 200 mg/L. Concentrations of organic compounds were largest where ground water was in contact with a non-aqueous phase liquid in the soil. Where no non-aqueous phase liquid was present, concentrations were much smaller, even if the ground water was in contact with contaminated soils. This condition is attributed to weathering processes in which soluble, low-molecular-weight organic compounds are preferentially dissolved from the non-aqueous phase liquid into the ground water. Where no non-aqueous phase liquid is present, only stained soils containing relatively insoluble, high-molecular-weight compounds remain. Concentrations of organic contaminants in the soils may still remain large.

Classic Grounded Theory to Analyse Secondary Data: Reality and Reflections

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorraine Andrews

2012-06-01

Full Text Available This paper draws on the experiences of two researchers and discusses how they conducted a secondary data analysis using classic grounded theory. The aim of the primary study was to explore first-time parents’ postnatal educational needs. A subset of the data from the primary study (eight transcripts from interviews with fathers was used for the secondary data analysis. The objectives of the secondary data analysis were to identify the challenges of using classic grounded theory with secondary data and to explore whether the re-analysis of primary data using a different methodology would yield a different outcome. Through the process of re-analysis a tentative theory emerged on ‘developing competency as a father’. Challenges encountered during this re-analysis included the small dataset, the pre-framed data, and limited ability for theoretical sampling. This re-analysis proved to be a very useful learning tool for author 1(LA, who was a novice with classic grounded theory.

Transitions in midwestern ground water law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowman, J.A.; Clark, G.R.

1989-01-01

The evolution of ground-water law in eight states in the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin) is examined, and a review of transitions in ground-water doctrines is presented. Two underlying themes in changing ground-water management are communicated. First, ground-water law is evolving from private property rules of capture based on the absolute ownership doctrines to rules requiring conservation and sharing of ground water as a public resource. Second, in both courts and state legislatures, a proactive role of ground-water management is emerging, again, with an emphasis on sharing. Both of these trends are apparent in the Midwest. In the last decade midwestern states have (1) seen significant shifts in court decisions on ground-water use with greater recognition of the reciprocal or mutually dependent nature of ground-water rights, and (2) seen increased legislative development of comprehensive ground-water management statutes that emphasize the reciprocal liabilities of ground-water use. These trends are examined and ground-water management programs discussed for eight states in the Midwest

Work plan for ground water elevation data recorder/monitor well installation at Gunnison, Colorado. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-08-01

The purpose of this document is to describe the work that will be performed and the procedures that will be followed during installation of ground water monitor wells and ground water elevation data recorders (data loggers) at the Gunnison, Colorado, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project site. The monitor wells and data loggers will be used to gather required time-dependent data to investigate the interaction between ground water and surface water in the area. Data collection objectives (DCO) identify reasons for collecting data. The following are DCOs for the Gunnison ground water elevation data recorder/monitor well installation project: long-term continuous ground water level data and periodic ground water samples will be collected to better understand the relationship between surface and ground water at the site; water level and water quality data will eventually be used in future ground water modeling to more firmly establish numerical model boundary conditions in the vicinity of the Gunnison processing site; and modeling results will be used to demonstrate and document the potential remedial alternative of natural flushing

Elicitive Conflict Transformation and New Media: In Search for a Common Ground

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wolfgang Suetzl

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Advocates of elicitive conflict transformation (ECT maintain that the parties to a conflict are the most important resource in efforts to render that conflict less violent. According to them, the transformation of the conflict is immanent to the conflict itself. The claim of ECT theorists is that classical conflict resolution has mostly aimed at overcoming a conflict by means of neutral mediation, while conflict transformation is not primarily concerned with terminating a conflict and considers the conflict worker as part of the conflict system. Although ECT is a communication-based model of conflict management and relies on human media, its media-theoretical aspects are not made explicit, raising the question of what role technological media play in the communicative processes that make up ECT techniques. Through an examination of the claimed differences between conflict resolution and conflict transformation, and focusing on the common roots of new media and the elicitive model in systems and cybernetic theory, this paper asks whether any peacebuilding potential of new media could be found in a specific anti-propagandistic quality of distributed technological media. It concludes by looking at any such potential in social media.

On the relation of earthquake stress drop and ground motion variability

Science.gov (United States)

Oth, Adrien; Miyake, Hiroe; Bindi, Dino

2017-07-01

One of the key parameters for earthquake source physics is stress drop since it can be directly linked to the spectral level of ground motion. Stress drop estimates from moment corner frequency analysis have been shown to be extremely variable, and this to a much larger degree than expected from the between-event ground motion variability. This discrepancy raises the question whether classically determined stress drop variability is too large, which would have significant consequences for seismic hazard analysis. We use a large high-quality data set from Japan with well-studied stress drop data to address this issue. Nonparametric and parametric reference ground motion models are derived, and the relation of between-event residuals for Japan Meteorological Agency equivalent seismic intensity and peak ground acceleration with stress drop is analyzed for crustal earthquakes. We find a clear correlation of the between-event residuals with stress drops estimates; however, while the island of Kyushu is characterized by substantially larger stress drops than Honshu, the between-event residuals do not reflect this observation, leading to the appearance of two event families with different stress drop levels yet similar range of between-event residuals. Both the within-family and between-family stress drop variations are larger than expected from the ground motion between-event variability. A systematic common analysis of these parameters holds the potential to provide important constraints on the relative robustness of different groups of data in the different parameter spaces and to improve our understanding on how much of the observed source parameter variability is likely to be true source physics variability.

Ground-based Nuclear Detonation Detection (GNDD) Technology Roadmap

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casey, Leslie A.

2014-01-01

This GNDD Technology Roadmap is intended to provide guidance to potential researchers and help management define research priorities to achieve technology advancements for ground-based nuclear explosion monitoring science being pursued by the Ground-based Nuclear Detonation Detection (GNDD) Team within the Office of Nuclear Detonation Detection in the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Four science-based elements were selected to encompass the entire scope of nuclear monitoring research and development (R&D) necessary to facilitate breakthrough scientific results, as well as deliver impactful products. Promising future R&D is delineated including dual use associated with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Important research themes as well as associated metrics are identified along with a progression of accomplishments, represented by a selected bibliography, that are precursors to major improvements to nuclear explosion monitoring.

Ground-based Nuclear Detonation Detection (GNDD) Technology Roadmap

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casey, Leslie A.

2014-01-13

This GNDD Technology Roadmap is intended to provide guidance to potential researchers and help management define research priorities to achieve technology advancements for ground-based nuclear explosion monitoring science being pursued by the Ground-based Nuclear Detonation Detection (GNDD) Team within the Office of Nuclear Detonation Detection in the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Four science-based elements were selected to encompass the entire scope of nuclear monitoring research and development (R&D) necessary to facilitate breakthrough scientific results, as well as deliver impactful products. Promising future R&D is delineated including dual use associated with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Important research themes as well as associated metrics are identified along with a progression of accomplishments, represented by a selected bibliography, that are precursors to major improvements to nuclear explosion monitoring.

Exponentially Biased Ground-State Sampling of Quantum Annealing Machines with Transverse-Field Driving Hamiltonians.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandrà, Salvatore; Zhu, Zheng; Katzgraber, Helmut G

2017-02-17

We study the performance of the D-Wave 2X quantum annealing machine on systems with well-controlled ground-state degeneracy. While obtaining the ground state of a spin-glass benchmark instance represents a difficult task, the gold standard for any optimization algorithm or machine is to sample all solutions that minimize the Hamiltonian with more or less equal probability. Our results show that while naive transverse-field quantum annealing on the D-Wave 2X device can find the ground-state energy of the problems, it is not well suited in identifying all degenerate ground-state configurations associated with a particular instance. Even worse, some states are exponentially suppressed, in agreement with previous studies on toy model problems [New J. Phys. 11, 073021 (2009)NJOPFM1367-263010.1088/1367-2630/11/7/073021]. These results suggest that more complex driving Hamiltonians are needed in future quantum annealing machines to ensure a fair sampling of the ground-state manifold.

Genes and (Common) Pathways Underlying Drug Addiction

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chuan-Yun; Mao, Xizeng; Wei, Liping

2008-01-01

Drug addiction is a serious worldwide problem with strong genetic and environmental influences. Different technologies have revealed a variety of genes and pathways underlying addiction; however, each individual technology can be biased and incomplete. We integrated 2,343 items of evidence from peer-reviewed publications between 1976 and 2006 linking genes and chromosome regions to addiction by single-gene strategies, microrray, proteomics, or genetic studies. We identified 1,500 human addiction-related genes and developed KARG (http://karg.cbi.pku.edu.cn), the first molecular database for addiction-related genes with extensive annotations and a friendly Web interface. We then performed a meta-analysis of 396 genes that were supported by two or more independent items of evidence to identify 18 molecular pathways that were statistically significantly enriched, covering both upstream signaling events and downstream effects. Five molecular pathways significantly enriched for all four different types of addictive drugs were identified as common pathways which may underlie shared rewarding and addictive actions, including two new ones, GnRH signaling pathway and gap junction. We connected the common pathways into a hypothetical common molecular network for addiction. We observed that fast and slow positive feedback loops were interlinked through CAMKII, which may provide clues to explain some of the irreversible features of addiction. PMID:18179280

Genes and (common pathways underlying drug addiction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuan-Yun Li

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Drug addiction is a serious worldwide problem with strong genetic and environmental influences. Different technologies have revealed a variety of genes and pathways underlying addiction; however, each individual technology can be biased and incomplete. We integrated 2,343 items of evidence from peer-reviewed publications between 1976 and 2006 linking genes and chromosome regions to addiction by single-gene strategies, microrray, proteomics, or genetic studies. We identified 1,500 human addiction-related genes and developed KARG (http://karg.cbi.pku.edu.cn, the first molecular database for addiction-related genes with extensive annotations and a friendly Web interface. We then performed a meta-analysis of 396 genes that were supported by two or more independent items of evidence to identify 18 molecular pathways that were statistically significantly enriched, covering both upstream signaling events and downstream effects. Five molecular pathways significantly enriched for all four different types of addictive drugs were identified as common pathways which may underlie shared rewarding and addictive actions, including two new ones, GnRH signaling pathway and gap junction. We connected the common pathways into a hypothetical common molecular network for addiction. We observed that fast and slow positive feedback loops were interlinked through CAMKII, which may provide clues to explain some of the irreversible features of addiction.

Antibody screening identifies 78 putative host proteins involved in Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 infection or propagation in common carp, Cyprinus carpio L.

Science.gov (United States)

Gotesman, M; Soliman, H; El-Matbouli, M

2014-01-01

Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) is the aetiological agent of a serious and notifiable disease afflicting common and koi carp, Cyprinus carpio L., termed koi herpesvirus disease (KHVD). Significant progress has been achieved in the last 15 years, since the initial reports surfaced from Germany, USA and Israel of the CyHV-3 virus, in terms of pathology and detection. However, relatively few studies have been carried out in understanding viral replication and propagation. Antibody-based affinity has been used for detection of CyHV-3 in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and PCR-based techniques, and immunohistological assays have been used to describe a CyHV-3 membrane protein, termed ORF81. In this study, monoclonal antibodies linked to N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS)-activated spin columns were used to purify CyHV-3 and host proteins from tissue samples originating in either CyHV-3 symptomatic or asymptomatic fish. The samples were next analysed either by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and subsequently by electrospray ionization coupled to mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) or by ESI-MS analysis directly after purification. A total of 78 host proteins and five CyHV-3 proteins were identified in the two analyses. These data can be used to develop novel control methods for CyHV-3, based on pathways or proteins identified in this study. PMID:23347276

The Grounded Theory Bookshelf

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vivian B. Martin, Ph.D.

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Bookshelf will provide critical reviews and perspectives on books on theory and methodology of interest to grounded theory. This issue includes a review of Heaton’s Reworking Qualitative Data, of special interest for some of its references to grounded theory as a secondary analysis tool; and Goulding’s Grounded Theory: A practical guide for management, business, and market researchers, a book that attempts to explicate the method and presents a grounded theory study that falls a little short of the mark of a fully elaborated theory.Reworking Qualitative Data, Janet Heaton (Sage, 2004. Paperback, 176 pages, $29.95. Hardcover also available.

Shasta ground sloth ( Nothrotheriops shastense hoffstetter) at Shelter Cave, New Mexico: Environment, diet, and extinction

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Robert S.; Van Devender, Thomas R.; Martin, Paul S.; Foppe, Theresa; Long, Austin

1980-11-01

Seven coprolites of the extinct Shasta ground sloth ( Nothrotheriops shastense) were recently discovered in the Los Angeles County Museum collection from Shelter Cave, New Mexico. Three dung balls provided radiocarbon ages of 11,330, 12,330 and 12,430 yr B.P. Packrat ( Neotoma) middens disclose a xeric juniper woodland at Shelter Cave during the sloth's occupation. Plant cuticles from the dung indicate that the ground sloth had a diet dominated by mormon tea ( Ephedra) and other xerophytic shrubs. Pollen spectra from the coprolites have high representations of anemophilous plants and low representations of the dietary items shown in the cuticle analysis. Fifteen radiocarbon dates of sloth dung obtained since 1974 strengthen the hypothesis that sloth extinction occurred about 11,000 yr B.P. Paleoenvironmental studies indicate that ground sloths lived in juniper woodlands and montane conifer communities. Nothrotheriops commonly dined on shrubs that are still present in these habitats. It is difficult to explain the demise of the Shasta ground sloth by climatic change or dietary stress. Human predation remains as a possible explanation; ground sloth extinction appears to coincide with the time of Clovis mammoth hunters.

Used motor oil as a source of MTBE, TAME, and BTEX to ground water

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, R.J.; Best, E.W.; Baehr, A.L.

2002-01-01

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), the widely used gasoline oxygenate, has been identified as a common ground water contaminant, and BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) have long been associated with gasoline spills. Because not all instances of ground water contamination by MTBE and BTEX can be attributed to spills or leaking storage tanks, other potential sources need to be considered. In this study, used motor oil was investigated as a potential source of these contaminants. MTBE in oil was measured directly by methanol extraction and gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector (GC/FID). Water was equilibrated with oil samples and analyzed for MTBE, BTEX, and the oxygenate tert-amyl methyl ether (TAME) by purge-and-trap concentration followed by GC/FID analysis. Raoult's law was used to calculate oil-phase concentrations of MTBE, BTEX, and TAME from aqueous-phase concentrations. MTBE, TAME, and BTEX were not detected in any of five new motor oil samples, whereas these compounds were found at significant concentrations in all six samples of the used motor oil tested for MTBE and all four samples tested for TAME and BTEX. MTBE concentrations in used motor oil were on the order of 100 mg/L. TAME concentrations ranged from 2.2 to 87 mg/L. Concentrations of benzene were 29 to 66 mg/L, but those of other BTEX compounds were higher, typically 500 to 2000 mg/L.

Mapping the Antarctic grounding line with CryoSat-2 radar altimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Bamber, J. L.; Dawson, G. J.

2017-12-01

The grounding line, where grounded ice begins to float, is the boundary at which the ocean has the greatest influence on the ice-sheet. Its position and dynamics are critical in assessing the stability of the ice-sheet, for mass budget calculations and as an input into numerical models. The most reliable approaches to map the grounding line remotely are to measure the limit of tidal flexure of the ice shelf using differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) or ICESat repeat-track measurements. However, these methods are yet to provide satisfactory spatial and temporal coverage of the whole of the Antarctic grounding zone. It has not been possible to use conventional radar altimetry to map the limit of tidal flexure of the ice shelf because it performs poorly near breaks in slope, commonly associated with the grounding zone. The synthetic aperture radar interferometric (SARin) mode of CryoSat-2, performs better over steeper margins of the ice sheet and allows us to achieve this. The SARin mode combines "delay Doppler" processing with a cross-track interferometer, and enables us to use elevations based on the first return (point of closest approach or POCA) and "swath processed" elevations derived from the time-delayed waveform beyond the first return, to significantly improve coverage. Here, we present a new method to map the limit of tidal motion from a combination of POCA and swath data. We test this new method on the Siple Coast region of the Ross Ice Shelf, and the mapped grounding line is in good agreement with previous observations from DinSAR and ICESat measurements. There is, however, an approximately constant seaward offset between these methods and ours, which we believe is due to the poorer precision of CryoSat-2. This new method has improved the coverage of the grounding zone across the Siple Coast, and can be applied to the rest of Antarctica.

Mother knows best: occurrence and associations of resighted humpback whales suggest maternally derived fidelity to a Southern Hemisphere coastal feeding ground.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaco Barendse

Full Text Available Site fidelity is common among migratory cetaceans, including humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae. In the Northern Hemisphere it has been found that fidelity to humpback whale feeding grounds is transferred maternally but this has never been shown for the species in the Southern Hemisphere. We examined this in a unique feeding area off west South Africa using resighting data of 68 individually identified humpback whales by means of photographic (tail flukes and dorsal fins and/or molecular methods (microsatellite genotyping over an 18 year span. We found short-term association patterns and recurrent visits typical of other feeding grounds. Males and females had different seasonality of attendance. Significant female-dominated presence corresponded to timing of an expected influx of females on their southward migration from the breeding ground: firstly non-nursing (possibly pregnant females in mid-spring, and mothers and calves in mid-to late summer. The potential benefit of this mid-latitude feeding area for females is illustrated by a record of a cow with known age of at least 23 years that produced calves in three consecutive years, each of which survived to at least six months of age: the first record of successful post-partum ovulation for this species in the Southern Hemisphere. We recorded association of a weaned calf with its mother, and a recurring association between a non-lactating female and male over more than two years. Moreover, three animals first identified as calves returned to the same area in subsequent years, sometimes on the same day as their mothers. This, together with numerous Parent-Offspring relations detected genetically among and between resighted and non-resighted whales is strongly suggestive of maternally derived site fidelity at a small spatial scale by a small sub-population of humpback whales.

Fast and Accurate Ground Truth Generation for Skew-Tolerance Evaluation of Page Segmentation Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Okun Oleg

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Many image segmentation algorithms are known, but often there is an inherent obstacle in the unbiased evaluation of segmentation quality: the absence or lack of a common objective representation for segmentation results. Such a representation, known as the ground truth, is a description of what one should obtain as the result of ideal segmentation, independently of the segmentation algorithm used. The creation of ground truth is a laborious process and therefore any degree of automation is always welcome. Document image analysis is one of the areas where ground truths are employed. In this paper, we describe an automated tool called GROTTO intended to generate ground truths for skewed document images, which can be used for the performance evaluation of page segmentation algorithms. Some of these algorithms are claimed to be insensitive to skew (tilt of text lines. However, this fact is usually supported only by a visual comparison of what one obtains and what one should obtain since ground truths are mostly available for upright images, that is, those without skew. As a result, the evaluation is both subjective; that is, prone to errors, and tedious. Our tool allows users to quickly and easily produce many sufficiently accurate ground truths that can be employed in practice and therefore it facilitates automatic performance evaluation. The main idea is to utilize the ground truths available for upright images and the concept of the representative square [9] in order to produce the ground truths for skewed images. The usefulness of our tool is demonstrated through a number of experiments with real-document images of complex layout.

Communication, concepts and grounding.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Velde, Frank

2015-02-01

This article discusses the relation between communication and conceptual grounding. In the brain, neurons, circuits and brain areas are involved in the representation of a concept, grounding it in perception and action. In terms of grounding we can distinguish between communication within the brain and communication between humans or between humans and machines. In the first form of communication, a concept is activated by sensory input. Due to grounding, the information provided by this communication is not just determined by the sensory input but also by the outgoing connection structure of the conceptual representation, which is based on previous experiences and actions. The second form of communication, that between humans or between humans and machines, is influenced by the first form. In particular, a more successful interpersonal communication might require forms of situated cognition and interaction in which the entire representations of grounded concepts are involved. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Finding Common Ground: A Critical Review of Land Use and Resource Management Policies in Ontario, Canada and their Intersection with First Nations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fraser McLeod

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article provides an in-depth analysis of selective land use and resource management policies in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It examines their relative capacity to recognize the rights of First Nations and Aboriginal peoples and their treaty rights, as well as their embodiment of past Crown–First Nations relationships. An analytical framework was developed to evaluate the manifest and latent content of 337 provincial texts, including 32 provincial acts, 269 regulatory documents, 16 policy statements, and 5 provincial plans. This comprehensive document analysis classified and assessed how current provincial policies address First Nation issues and identified common trends and areas of improvement. The authors conclude that there is an immediate need for guidance on how provincial authorities can improve policy to make relationship-building a priority to enhance and sustain relationships between First Nations and other jurisdictions.

Designed microtremor array based actual measurement and analysis of strong ground motion at Palu city, Indonesia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thein, Pyi Soe, E-mail: pyisoethein@yahoo.com [Geology Department, Yangon University (Myanmar); Pramumijoyo, Subagyo; Wilopo, Wahyu; Setianto, Agung [Geological Engineering Department, Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia); Brotopuspito, Kirbani Sri [Physics Department, Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia); Kiyono, Junji; Putra, Rusnardi Rahmat [Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University (Japan)

2015-04-24

In this study, we investigated the strong ground motion characteristics under Palu City, Indonesia. The shear wave velocity structures evaluated by eight microtremors measurement are the most applicable to determine the thickness of sediments and average shear wave velocity with Vs ≤ 300 m/s. Based on subsurface underground structure models identified, earthquake ground motion was estimated in the future Palu-Koro earthquake by using statistical green’s function method. The seismic microzonation parameters were carried out by considering several significant controlling factors on ground response at January 23, 2005 earthquake.

Integration of a satellite ground support system based on analysis of the satellite ground support domain

Science.gov (United States)

Pendley, R. D.; Scheidker, E. J.; Levitt, D. S.; Myers, C. R.; Werking, R. D.

1994-11-01

This analysis defines a complete set of ground support functions based on those practiced in real space flight operations during the on-orbit phase of a mission. These functions are mapped against ground support functions currently in use by NASA and DOD. Software components to provide these functions can be hosted on RISC-based work stations and integrated to provide a modular, integrated ground support system. Such modular systems can be configured to provide as much ground support functionality as desired. This approach to ground systems has been widely proposed and prototyped both by government institutions and commercial vendors. The combined set of ground support functions we describe can be used as a standard to evaluate candidate ground systems. This approach has also been used to develop a prototype of a modular, loosely-integrated ground support system, which is discussed briefly. A crucial benefit to a potential user is that all the components are flight-qualified, thus giving high confidence in their accuracy and reliability.

Common paths to ASD severity and PTSD severity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Maj; Armour, Cherie; Wittmann, Lutz

Numerous studies have identified risk factors for acute and long term posttraumatic symptoms following traumatic exposure. However, little is known about possible common pathways to the development of acute stress disorder (ASD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research suggests that a c......Numerous studies have identified risk factors for acute and long term posttraumatic symptoms following traumatic exposure. However, little is known about possible common pathways to the development of acute stress disorder (ASD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research suggests...... that a common pathway to ASD and PTSD may lie in peritraumatic responses and cognitions. Using structural equation modeling we examined the role of three peritraumatic factors (tonic immobility, panic and dissociation) and three cognitive factors (anxiety sensitivity, negative cognitions about the world......, and negative cognitions about self ) on the development of ASD and PTSD severity in a national study of Danish bank robbery victims (N = 450). Peritraumatic panic, anxiety sensitivity, and negative cognitions about self were found to be significant common risk factors, whereas peritraumatic dissociation...

Multilateral Research Opportunities in Ground Analogs

Science.gov (United States)

Corbin, Barbara J.

2015-01-01

The global economy forces many nations to consider their national investments and make difficult decisions regarding their investment in future exploration. International collaboration provides an opportunity to leverage other nations' investments to meet common goals. The Humans In Space Community shares a common goal to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration within and beyond Low Earth Orbit. Meeting this goal requires efficient use of limited resources and International capabilities. The International Space Station (ISS) is our primary platform to conduct microgravity research targeted at reducing human health and performance risks for exploration missions. Access to ISS resources, however, is becoming more and more constrained and will only be available through 2020 or 2024. NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) is actively pursuing methods to effectively utilize the ISS and appropriate ground analogs to understand and mitigate human health and performance risks prior to embarking on human exploration of deep space destinations. HRP developed a plan to use ground analogs of increasing fidelity to address questions related to exploration missions and is inviting International participation in these planned campaigns. Using established working groups and multilateral panels, the HRP is working with multiple Space Agencies to invite International participation in a series of 30- day missions that HRP will conduct in the US owned and operated Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA) during 2016. In addition, the HRP is negotiating access to Antarctic stations (both US and non-US), the German :envihab and Russian NEK facilities. These facilities provide unique capabilities to address critical research questions requiring longer duration simulation or isolation. We are negotiating release of international research opportunities to ensure a multilateral approach to future analog research campaigns, hoping to begin multilateral campaigns in the

Using extant literature in a grounded theory study: a personal account.

Science.gov (United States)

Yarwood-Ross, Lee; Jack, Kirsten

2015-03-01

To provide a personal account of the factors in a doctoral study that led to the adoption of classic grounded theory principles relating to the use of literature. Novice researchers considering grounded theory methodology will become aware of the contentious issue of how and when extant literature should be incorporated into a study. The three main grounded theory approaches are classic, Straussian and constructivist, and the seminal texts provide conflicting beliefs surrounding the use of literature. A classic approach avoids a pre-study literature review to minimise preconceptions and emphasises the constant comparison method, while the Straussian and constructivist approaches focus more on the beneficial aspects of an initial literature review and researcher reflexivity. The debate also extends into the wider academic community, where no consensus exists. This is a methodological paper detailing the authors' engagement in the debate surrounding the role of the literature in a grounded theory study. In the authors' experience, researchers can best understand the use of literature in grounded theory through immersion in the seminal texts, engaging with wider academic literature, and examining their preconceptions of the substantive area. The authors concluded that classic grounded theory principles were appropriate in the context of their doctoral study. Novice researchers will have their own sets of circumstances when preparing their studies and should become aware of the different perspectives to make decisions that they can ultimately justify. This paper can be used by other novice researchers as an example of the decision-making process that led to delaying a pre-study literature review and identifies the resources used to write a research proposal when using a classic grounded theory approach.

Joint Kinetics and Kinematics During Common Lower Limb Rehabilitation Exercises.

Science.gov (United States)

Comfort, Paul; Jones, Paul Anthony; Smith, Laura Constance; Herrington, Lee

2015-10-01

Unilateral body-weight exercises are commonly used to strengthen the lower limbs during rehabilitation after injury, but data comparing the loading of the limbs during these tasks are limited. To compare joint kinetics and kinematics during 3 commonly used rehabilitation exercises. Descriptive laboratory study. Laboratory. A total of 9 men (age = 22.1 ± 1.3 years, height = 1.76 ± 0.08 m, mass = 80.1 ± 12.2 kg) participated. Participants performed the single-legged squat, forward lunge, and reverse lunge with kinetic data captured via 2 force plates and 3-dimensional kinematic data collected using a motion-capture system. Peak ground reaction forces, maximum joint angles, and peak sagittal-joint moments. We observed greater eccentric and concentric peak vertical ground reaction forces during the single-legged squat than during both lunge variations (P ≤ .001). Both lunge variations demonstrated greater knee and hip angles than did the single-legged squat (P .05). Greater dorsiflexion occurred during the single-legged squat than during both lunge variations (P reverse lunge (P = .003) and the single-legged squat (P = .011). Knee-joint moments were greater in the single-legged squat than in the reverse lunge (P reverse lunge (P reverse lunge and then the forward lunge. In contrast, loading progressions for the knee and ankle should begin with the reverse lunge and progress to the forward lunge and then the single-legged squat.

SLG(Single-Line-to-Ground Fault Location in NUGS(Neutral Un-effectively Grounded System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Wenhai

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the SLG(Single-Line-to-Ground fault location methods in NUGS(Neutral Un-effectively Grounded System, including ungrounded system, resonant grounded system and high-resistance grounded system which are widely used in Northern Europe and China. This type of fault is hard to detect and location because fault current is the sum of capacitance current of the system which is always small(about tens of amperes. The characteristics of SLG fault in NUGS and the fault location methods are introduced in the paper.

A Mixed Prediction Model of Ground Subsidence for Civil Infrastructures on Soft Ground

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiyoshi Kobayashi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The estimation of ground subsidence processes is an important subject for the asset management of civil infrastructures on soft ground, such as airport facilities. In the planning and design stage, there exist many uncertainties in geotechnical conditions, and it is impossible to estimate the ground subsidence process by deterministic methods. In this paper, the sets of sample paths designating ground subsidence processes are generated by use of a one-dimensional consolidation model incorporating inhomogeneous ground subsidence. Given the sample paths, the mixed subsidence model is presented to describe the probabilistic structure behind the sample paths. The mixed model can be updated by the Bayesian methods based upon the newly obtained monitoring data. Concretely speaking, in order to estimate the updating models, Markov Chain Monte Calro method, which is the frontier technique in Bayesian statistics, is applied. Through a case study, this paper discussed the applicability of the proposed method and illustrated its possible application and future works.

Exact ground-state correlation functions of an atomic-molecular Bose–Einstein condensate model

Science.gov (United States)

Links, Jon; Shen, Yibing

2018-05-01

We study the ground-state properties of an atomic-molecular Bose–Einstein condensate model through an exact Bethe Ansatz solution. For a certain range of parameter choices, we prove that the ground-state Bethe roots lie on the positive real-axis. We then use a continuum limit approach to obtain a singular integral equation characterising the distribution of these Bethe roots. Solving this equation leads to an analytic expression for the ground-state energy. The form of the expression is consistent with the existence of a line of quantum phase transitions, which has been identified in earlier studies. This line demarcates a molecular phase from a mixed phase. Certain correlation functions, which characterise these phases, are then obtained through the Hellmann–Feynman theorem.

Ground penetrating radar system and method for detecting an object on or below a ground surface

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Jongth, R.; Yarovoy, A.; Schukin, A.

2001-01-01

Ground penetrating radar system for detecting objects (17) on or below a ground surface (18), comprising at least one transmit antenna (13) having a first foot print (14) at the ground surface, at least one receive antenna (15) having a second foot print (16) at the ground surface, and processing

Appropriate Arrangement of Nori Aquafarming Grounds in the Ariake Sea on the Basis of Convective Dispersion Simulation Model

Science.gov (United States)

Tabata, Toshinori; Hiramatsu, Kazuaki; Harada, Masayoshi; Shiraishi, Hideto; Shuto, Toshio

This study investigated appropriate arrangement of nori aquafarming grounds from the view point of nori growth in the Ariake Sea coastal waters. Databases of the sea-bed topography and nori aquafarming grounds were constructed using GIS. Then the tidal currents and salinity in the Ariake Sea were simulated using a two-dimensional depth-integrated model, which was developed by integrating the three-dimensional continuity, momentum, and diffusion equations. The wetting and drying scheme was also introduced to account for the appearance and disappearance of tidal flats. The velocities and directions of the simulated tidal currents, salinity, and tidal land appearance were in good agreement with observed data. Five scenarios considered by the Fukuoka Prefectural Government were introduced in the simulation model to identify the most appropriate arrangement. An experimental formula for nitrogen assimilation kinetics in the nori body was introduced to evaluate the simulation results for the five scenarios. The scenarios with a reduced density of aquafarming grounds had increased nori growth, suggesting that the arrangement of the aquafarming grounds affected the nori growth. The simulation results were used to identify the most appropriate arrangement of aquafarming grounds.

Barriers to installing innovative energy systems in existing housing stock identified

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoppe, Thomas

2013-01-01

Several barriers to upgrading existing social housing with innovative energy systems (IES) have been identified by a study of eight large-scale renovation projects in the Netherlands. These include a lack of trust between stakeholders, opposition from tenants on grounds of increased costs or delays,

Electrical Ground System Design of PEFP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mun, Kyeong Jun; Jeon, Gye Po; Park, Sung Sik; Min, Yi Sub; Nam, Jung Min; Cho, Jang Hyung; Kim, Jun Yeon

2010-01-01

Since host site host site was selected Gyeong-ju city in January, 2006. we need design revision of Proton Accelerator research center to reflect on host site characteristics and several conditions. In this paper, electrical grounding and lightning protection design scheme is introduced. In electrical grounding system design of PEFP, we classified electrical facilities into 4 groups; equipment grounding (type A), instrument grounding (Type A), high frequency instrument grounding (Type C) and lightning arrestor grounding (Type D). Lightning protection system is designed in all buildings of proton accelerator research center of PEFP, including switchyard

Electrical Ground System Design of PEFP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mun, Kyeong Jun; Jeon, Gye Po; Park, Sung Sik; Min, Yi Sub; Nam, Jung Min; Cho, Jang Hyung; Kim, Jun Yeon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2010-10-15

Since host site host site was selected Gyeong-ju city in January, 2006. we need design revision of Proton Accelerator research center to reflect on host site characteristics and several conditions. In this paper, electrical grounding and lightning protection design scheme is introduced. In electrical grounding system design of PEFP, we classified electrical facilities into 4 groups; equipment grounding (type A), instrument grounding (Type A), high frequency instrument grounding (Type C) and lightning arrestor grounding (Type D). Lightning protection system is designed in all buildings of proton accelerator research center of PEFP, including switchyard

UMTRA Ground Water Project management action process document

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-03-01

A critical U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) mission is to plan, implement, and complete DOE Environmental Restoration (ER) programs at facilities that were operated by or in support of the former Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). These facilities include the 24 inactive processing sites the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) (42 USC Section 7901 et seq.) identified as Title I sites, which had operated from the late 1940s through the 1970s. In UMTRCA, Congress acknowledged the potentially harmful health effects associated with uranium mill tailings and directed the DOE to stabilize, dispose of, and control the tailings in a safe and environmentally sound manner. The UMTRA Surface Project deals with buildings, tailings, and contaminated soils at the processing sites and any associated vicinity properties (VP). Surface remediation at the processing sites will be completed in 1997 when the Naturita, Colorado, site is scheduled to be finished. The UMTRA Ground Water Project was authorized in an amendment to the UMTRCA (42 USC Section 7922(a)), when Congress directed DOE to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ground water standards. The UMTRA Ground Water Project addresses any contamination derived from the milling operation that is determined to be present at levels above the EPA standards

Laser communication experiments between Sota and Meo optical ground station

Science.gov (United States)

Artaud, G.,; Issler, J.-L.; Védrenne, N.; Robert, C.; Petit, C.; Samain, E.; Phung, D.-H.; Maurice, N.; Toyoshima, M.; Kolev, D.

2017-09-01

Optical transmissions between earth and space have been identified as key technologies for future high data rate transmissions between satellites and ground. CNES is investigating the use of optics both for High data rate direct to Earth transfer from observation satellites in LEO, and for future telecommunications applications using optics for the high capacity Gateway link.

How can we conceptualize behavioural addiction without pathologizing common behaviours?

Science.gov (United States)

Kardefelt-Winther, Daniel; Heeren, Alexandre; Schimmenti, Adriano; van Rooij, Antonius; Maurage, Pierre; Carras, Michelle; Edman, Johan; Blaszczynski, Alexander; Khazaal, Yasser; Billieux, Joël

2017-10-01

Following the recent changes to the diagnostic category for addictive disorders in DSM-5, it is urgent to clarify what constitutes behavioural addiction to have a clear direction for future research and classification. However, in the years following the release of DSM-5, an expanding body of research has increasingly classified engagement in a wide range of common behaviours and leisure activities as possible behavioural addiction. If this expansion does not end, both the relevance and the credibility of the field of addictive disorders might be questioned, which may prompt a dismissive appraisal of the new DSM-5 subcategory for behavioural addiction. We propose an operational definition of behavioural addiction together with a number of exclusion criteria, to avoid pathologizing common behaviours and provide a common ground for further research. The definition and its exclusion criteria are clarified and justified by illustrating how these address a number of theoretical and methodological shortcomings that result from existing conceptualizations. We invite other researchers to extend our definition under an Open Science Foundation framework. © 2017 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Ground water and earthquakes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ts' ai, T H

1977-11-01

Chinese folk wisdom has long seen a relationship between ground water and earthquakes. Before an earthquake there is often an unusual change in the ground water level and volume of flow. Changes in the amount of particulate matter in ground water as well as changes in color, bubbling, gas emission, and noises and geysers are also often observed before earthquakes. Analysis of these features can help predict earthquakes. Other factors unrelated to earthquakes can cause some of these changes, too. As a first step it is necessary to find sites which are sensitive to changes in ground stress to be used as sensor points for predicting earthquakes. The necessary features are described. Recording of seismic waves of earthquake aftershocks is also an important part of earthquake predictions.

Nonlinear seismic behavior of a CANDU containment building subjected to near-field ground motions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, In Kil; Ahn, Seong Moon; Choun, Young Sun; Seo, Jeong Moon

2004-01-01

The standard response spectrum proposed by US NRC has been used as a design earthquake for the design of Korean nuclear power plant structures. A survey on some of the Quaternary fault segments near Korean nuclear power plants is ongoing. It is likely that these faults will be identified as active ones. If the faults are confirmed as active ones, it will be necessary to reevaluate the seismic safety of the nuclear power plants located near the fault. Near-fault ground motions are the ground motions that occur near an earthquake fault. In general, the near-fault ground motion records exhibit a distinctive long period pulse like time history with very high peak velocities. These features are induced by the slip of the earthquake fault. Near-fault ground motions, which have caused much of the damage in recent major earthquakes, can be characterized by a pulse-like motion that exposes the structure to a high input energy at the beginning of the motion. In this study, nonlinear dynamic time-history analyses were performed to investigate the seismic behavior of a CANDU containment structure subjected to various earthquake ground motions including the near-field ground motions

Identifying Opportunities for Vertical Integration of Biochemistry and Clinical Medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Wendelberger, Karen J.; Burke, Rebecca; Haas, Arthur L.; Harenwattananon, Marisa; Simpson, Deborah

1998-01-01

Objectives: Retention of basic science knowledge, as judged by National Board of Medical Examiners' (NBME) data, suffers due to lack of apparent relevance and isolation of instruction from clinical application, especially in biochemistry. However, the literature reveals no systematic process for identifying key biochemical concepts and associated clinical conditions. This study systematically identified difficult biochemical concepts and their common clinical conditions as a critical step towards enhancing relevance and retention of biochemistry.Methods: A multi-step/ multiple stakeholder process was used to: (1) identify important biochemistry concepts; (2) determine students' perceptions of concept difficulty; (3) assess biochemistry faculty, student, and clinical teaching scholars' perceived relevance of identified concepts; and (4) identify associated common clinical conditions for relevant and difficult concepts. Surveys and a modified Delphi process were used to gather data, subsequently analyzed using SPSS for Windows.Results: Sixteen key biochemical concepts were identified. Second year medical students rated 14/16 concepts as extremely difficult while fourth year students rated nine concepts as moderately to extremely difficult. On average, each teaching scholar generated common clinical conditions for 6.2 of the 16 concepts, yielding a set of seven critical concepts and associated clinical conditions.Conclusions: Key stakeholders in the instructional process struggle to identify biochemistry concepts that are critical, difficult to learn and associated with common clinical conditions. However, through a systematic process beginning with identification of concepts and associated clinical conditions, relevance of basic science instruction can be enhanced.

On LHCb muon MWPC grounding

CERN Document Server

Kashchuk, A

2006-01-01

My goal is to study how a big MWPC system, in particular the LHCb muon system, can be protected against unstable operation and multiple spurious hits, produced by incorrect or imperfect grounding in the severe EM environment of the LHCb experiment. A mechanism of penetration of parasitic current from the ground loop to the input of the front-end amplifier is discussed. A new model of the detector cell as the electrical bridge is considered. As shown, unbalance of the bridge makes detector to be sensitive to the noise in ground loop. Resonances in ground loop are specified. Tests of multiple-point and single-point grounding conceptions made on mock-up are presented.

Exogenous spatial attention influences figure-ground assignment.

Science.gov (United States)

Vecera, Shaun P; Flevaris, Anastasia V; Filapek, Joseph C

2004-01-01

In a hierarchical stage account of vision, figure-ground assignment is thought to be completed before the operation of focal spatial attention. Results of previous studies have supported this account by showing that unpredictive, exogenous spatial precues do not influence figure-ground assignment, although voluntary attention can influence figure-ground assignment. However, in these studies, attention was not summoned directly to a region in a figure-ground display. In three experiments, we addressed the relationship between figure-ground assignment and visuospatial attention. In Experiment 1, we replicated the finding that exogenous precues do not influence figure-ground assignment when they direct attention outside of a figure-ground stimulus. In Experiment 2, we demonstrated that exogenous attention can influence figure-ground assignment if it is directed to one of the regions in a figure-ground stimulus. In Experiment 3, we demonstrated that exogenous attention can influence figure-ground assignment in displays that contain a Gestalt figure-ground cue; this result suggests that figure-ground processes are not entirely completed prior to the operation of focal spatial attention. Exogenous spatial attention acts as a cue for figure-ground assignment and can affect the outcome of figure-ground processes.

Blind to morphology: Genetics identifies several widespread ecologically common species and few endemics among Indo-Pacific cauliflower corals (Pocillopora, Scleractinia)

KAUST Repository

Pinzón, Jorge H C

2013-04-05

Aim: Using high-resolution genetic markers on samples gathered from across their wide distributional range, we endeavoured to delimit species diversity in reef-building Pocillopora corals. They are common, ecologically important, and widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific, but their phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental conditions and their nearly featureless microskeletal structures confound taxonomic assignments and limit an understanding of their ecology and evolution. Location: Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, Arabian/Persian Gulf. Methods: Sequence analysis of nuclear ribosomal (internal transcribed spacer 2, ITS2) and mitochondrial (open reading frame) loci were combined with population genetic data (seven microsatellite loci) for Pocillopora samples collected throughout the Indo-Pacific, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, in order to assess the evolutionary divergence, reproductive isolation, frequency of hybridization and geographical distributions of the genus. Results: Between five and eight genetically distinct lineages comparable to species were identified with minimal or no hybridization between them. Colony morphology was generally incongruent with genetics across the full range of sampling, and the total number of species is apparently consistent with lower estimates from competing morphologically based hypotheses (about seven or eight taxa). The most commonly occurring genetic lineages were widely distributed and exhibited high dispersal and gene flow, factors that have probably minimized allopatric speciation. Uniquely among scleractinian genera, this genus contains a monophyletic group of broadcast spawners that evolved recently from an ancestral brooder. Main conclusions: The delineation of species diversity guided by genetics fundamentally advances our understanding of Pocillopora geographical distributions, ecology and evolution. Because traditional diagnostic features of colony and branch morphology are proving to be of limited utility, the

Blind to morphology: Genetics identifies several widespread ecologically common species and few endemics among Indo-Pacific cauliflower corals (Pocillopora, Scleractinia)

KAUST Repository

Pinzó n, Jorge H C; Sampayo, Eugenia M.; Cox, Evelyn F.; Chauka, Leonard J.; Chen, Chaolun Allen; Voolstra, Christian R.; LaJeunesse, Todd C.

2013-01-01

Aim: Using high-resolution genetic markers on samples gathered from across their wide distributional range, we endeavoured to delimit species diversity in reef-building Pocillopora corals. They are common, ecologically important, and widespread throughout the Indo-Pacific, but their phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental conditions and their nearly featureless microskeletal structures confound taxonomic assignments and limit an understanding of their ecology and evolution. Location: Indo-Pacific, Red Sea, Arabian/Persian Gulf. Methods: Sequence analysis of nuclear ribosomal (internal transcribed spacer 2, ITS2) and mitochondrial (open reading frame) loci were combined with population genetic data (seven microsatellite loci) for Pocillopora samples collected throughout the Indo-Pacific, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, in order to assess the evolutionary divergence, reproductive isolation, frequency of hybridization and geographical distributions of the genus. Results: Between five and eight genetically distinct lineages comparable to species were identified with minimal or no hybridization between them. Colony morphology was generally incongruent with genetics across the full range of sampling, and the total number of species is apparently consistent with lower estimates from competing morphologically based hypotheses (about seven or eight taxa). The most commonly occurring genetic lineages were widely distributed and exhibited high dispersal and gene flow, factors that have probably minimized allopatric speciation. Uniquely among scleractinian genera, this genus contains a monophyletic group of broadcast spawners that evolved recently from an ancestral brooder. Main conclusions: The delineation of species diversity guided by genetics fundamentally advances our understanding of Pocillopora geographical distributions, ecology and evolution. Because traditional diagnostic features of colony and branch morphology are proving to be of limited utility, the

Organising pneumonia in common variable immunodeficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Boujaoude, Ziad; Arya, Rohan; Rafferty, William; Dammert, Pedro

2013-06-07

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most common of the primary immunodeficiency disorders. Pulmonary manifestations are characterised by recurrent rhinosinusitis, respiratory tract infections and bronchiectasis. Less commonly the lung may be affected by lymphoid disorders and sarcoid-like granulomas. Organising pneumonia (OP) is a rare pulmonary manifestation. We report the case of a 32-year-old woman with CVID who presented with fever, dyspnoea and persistent lung infiltrates despite antibiotic therapy. CT of the chest showed bilateral patchy alveolar infiltrates. Pulmonary function tests revealed moderate restriction and reduction in diffusion capacity. Initial bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsies did not yield a diagnosis but surgical lung biopsies identified OP. Significant clinical, radiographic and physiological improvement was achieved after institution of corticosteroid therapy.

No increase in fluctuating asymmetry in ground beetles (Carabidae) as urbanisation progresses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elek, Zoltán; Lövei, Gabor L; Batki, Marton

2014-01-01

fluctuating asymmetry in three common predatory ground beetles, Carabus nemoralis, Nebria brevicollis and Pterostichus melanarius. Eight metrical (length of the second and third antennal segments, elytral length, length of the first tarsus segment, length of the first and second tibiae, length of the proximal......Environmental stress can lead to a reduction in developmental homeostasis, which could be reflected in increased variability of morphological traits. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is one possible manifestation of such a stress, and is often taken as a proxy for individual fitness. To test...... the usefulness of FA in morphological traits as an indicator of environmental quality, we studied the effect of urbanisation on FA in ground beetles (Carabidae) near a Danish city. First, we performed a critical examina- tion whether morphological character traits suggested in the literature displayed true...

Mitigation of ground motion effects in linear accelerators via feed-forward control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Pfingstner

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Ground motion is a severe problem for many particle accelerators, since it excites beam oscillations, which decrease the beam quality and create beam-beam offset (at colliders. Orbit feedback systems can only compensate ground motion effects at frequencies significantly smaller than the beam repetition rate. In linear colliders, where the repetition rate is low, additional counter measures have to be put in place. For this reason, a ground motion mitigation method based on feed-forward control is presented in this paper. It has several advantages compared to other techniques (stabilization systems and intratrain feedback systems such as cost reduction and potential performance improvement. An analytical model is presented that allows the derivation of hardware specification and performance estimates for a specific accelerator and ground motion model. At the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF2, ground motion sensors have been installed to verify the feasibility of important parts of the mitigation strategy. In experimental studies, it has been shown that beam excitations due to ground motion can be predicted from ground motion measurements on a pulse-to-pulse basis. Correlations of up to 80% between the estimated and measured orbit jitter have been observed. Additionally, an orbit jitter source was identified and has been removed, which halved the orbit jitter power at ATF2 and shows that the feed-forward scheme is also very useful for the detection of installation issues. We believe that the presented mitigation method has the potential to reduce costs and improve the performance of linear colliders and potentially other linear accelerators.

Common Agency and Computational Complexity : Theory and Experimental Evidence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kirchsteiger, G.; Prat, A.

1999-01-01

In a common agency game, several principals try to influence the behavior of an agent. Common agency games typically have multiple equilibria. One class of equilibria, called truthful, has been identified by Bernheim and Whinston and has found widespread use in the political economy literature. In

Simultaneous measurements of particle number size distributions at ground level and 260 m on a meteorological tower in urban Beijing, China

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Wei; Zhao, Jian; Wang, Yuying; Zhang, Yingjie; Wang, Qingqing; Xu, Weiqi; Chen, Chen; Han, Tingting; Zhang, Fang; Li, Zhanqing; Fu, Pingqing; Li, Jie; Wang, Zifa; Sun, Yele

2017-06-01

Despite extensive studies into the characterization of particle number size distributions at ground level, real-time measurements above the urban canopy in the megacity of Beijing have never been performed to date. Here we conducted the first simultaneous measurements of size-resolved particle number concentrations at ground level and 260 m in urban Beijing from 22 August to 30 September. Our results showed overall similar temporal variations in number size distributions between ground level and 260 m, yet periods with significant differences were also observed. Particularly, accumulation-mode particles were highly correlated (r2 = 0. 85) at the two heights, while Aitken-mode particles presented more differences. Detailed analysis suggests that the vertical differences in number concentrations strongly depended on particle size, and particles with a mobility diameter between 100 and 200 nm generally showed higher concentrations at higher altitudes. Particle growth rates and condensation sinks were also calculated, which were 3.2 and 3.6 nm h-1, and 2.8 × 10-2 and 2.9 × 10-2 s-1, at ground level and 260 m, respectively. By linking particle growth with aerosol composition, we found that organics appeared to play an important role in the early stage of the growth (09:00-12:00 LT) while sulfate was also important during the later period. Positive matrix factorization of size-resolved number concentrations identified three common sources at ground level and 260 m, including a factor associated with new particle formation and growth events (NPEs), and two secondary factors that represent photochemical processing and regional transport. Cooking emission was found to have a large contribution to small particles and showed much higher concentration at ground level than 260 m in the evening. These results imply that investigation of NPEs at ground level in megacities needs to consider the influences of local cooking emissions. The impacts of regional emission controls on

Ground-motion prediction from tremor

Science.gov (United States)

Baltay, Annemarie S.; Beroza, Gregory C.

2013-01-01

The widespread occurrence of tremor, coupled with its frequency content and location, provides an exceptional opportunity to test and improve strong ground-motion attenuation relations for subduction zones. We characterize the amplitude of thousands of individual 5 min tremor events in Cascadia during three episodic tremor and slip events to constrain the distance decay of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV). We determine the anelastic attenuation parameter for ground-motion prediction equations (GMPEs) to a distance of 150 km, which is sufficient to place important constraints on ground-motion decay. Tremor PGA and PGV show a distance decay that is similar to subduction-zone-specific GMPEs developed from both data and simulations; however, the massive amount of data present in the tremor observations should allow us to refine distance-amplitude attenuation relationships for use in hazard maps, and to search for regional variations and intrasubduction zone differences in ground-motion attenuation.

A systematic review of grounded theory studies in physiotherapy.

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Ali, Nancy; May, Stephen; Grafton, Kate

2018-05-23

This systematic review aimed at appraising the methodological rigor of grounded theory research published in the field of physiotherapy to assess how the methodology is understood and applied. A secondary aim was to provide research implications drawn from the findings to guide future grounded theory methodology (GTM) research. A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, CINHAL, SPORT Discus, Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science to identify studies in the field of physiotherapy that reported using GTM and/or methods in the study title and/or abstract. The descriptive characteristics and methodological quality of eligible studies were examined using grounded theory methodology assessment guidelines. The review included 68 studies conducted between 1998 and 2017. The findings showed that GTM is becoming increasingly used by physiotherapy researchers. Thirty-six studies (53%) demonstrated a good understanding and appropriate application of GTM. Thirty-two studies (47%) presented descriptive findings and were considered to be of poor methodological quality. There are several key tenets of GTM that are integral to the iterative process of qualitative theorizing and need to be applied throughout all research practices including sampling, data collection, and analysis.

Synthesis of Common Arabic Handwritings to Aid Optical Character Recognition Research

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Laslo Dinges

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Document analysis tasks such as pattern recognition, word spotting or segmentation, require comprehensive databases for training and validation. Not only variations in writing style but also the used list of words is of importance in the case that training samples should reflect the input of a specific area of application. However, generation of training samples is expensive in the sense of manpower and time, particularly if complete text pages including complex ground truth are required. This is why there is a lack of such databases, especially for Arabic, the second most popular language. However, Arabic handwriting recognition involves different preprocessing, segmentation and recognition methods. Each requires particular ground truth or samples to enable optimal training and validation, which are often not covered by the currently available databases. To overcome this issue, we propose a system that synthesizes Arabic handwritten words and text pages and generates corresponding detailed ground truth. We use these syntheses to validate a new, segmentation based system that recognizes handwritten Arabic words. We found that a modification of an Active Shape Model based character classifiers—that we proposed earlier—improves the word recognition accuracy. Further improvements are achieved, by using a vocabulary of the 50,000 most common Arabic words for error correction.

Synthesis of Common Arabic Handwritings to Aid Optical Character Recognition Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Dinges, Laslo; Al-Hamadi, Ayoub; Elzobi, Moftah; El-Etriby, Sherif

2016-03-11

Document analysis tasks such as pattern recognition, word spotting or segmentation, require comprehensive databases for training and validation. Not only variations in writing style but also the used list of words is of importance in the case that training samples should reflect the input of a specific area of application. However, generation of training samples is expensive in the sense of manpower and time, particularly if complete text pages including complex ground truth are required. This is why there is a lack of such databases, especially for Arabic, the second most popular language. However, Arabic handwriting recognition involves different preprocessing, segmentation and recognition methods. Each requires particular ground truth or samples to enable optimal training and validation, which are often not covered by the currently available databases. To overcome this issue, we propose a system that synthesizes Arabic handwritten words and text pages and generates corresponding detailed ground truth. We use these syntheses to validate a new, segmentation based system that recognizes handwritten Arabic words. We found that a modification of an Active Shape Model based character classifiers-that we proposed earlier-improves the word recognition accuracy. Further improvements are achieved, by using a vocabulary of the 50,000 most common Arabic words for error correction.

Habitat disturbance and hydrological parameters determine the body size and reproductive strategy of alluvial ground beetles.

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Gerisch, Michael

2011-01-01

Environmental variability is the main driver for the variation of biological characteristics (life-history traits) of species. Therefore, life-history traits are particularly suited to identify mechanistic linkages between environmental variability and species occurrence and can help in explaining ecological patterns. For ground beetles, few studies directly related species traits to environmental variables. This study aims to analyse how life-history traits of alluvial ground beetles are controlled by environmental factors. I expected that the occurrence of species and the occurrence of specific traits are closely related to hydrological and disturbance parameters. Furthermore I expected most of the trait-variation to be explained by a combination of environmental variables, rather than by their isolated effects. Ground beetles were sampled in the year 2005 in floodplain grassland along the Elbe River in Germany. I used redundancy analysis to quantify the effects of hydrological, sediment, and disturbance related parameters on both species occurrence and species traits. I applied variation partitioning to analyse which environmental compartments explain most of the trait variation. Species occurrence and trait variation were both mainly controlled by hydrological and flood disturbance parameters. I could clearly identify reproductive traits and body size as key traits for floodplain ground beetles to cope with the environmental variability. Furthermore, combinations of hydrological, habitat disturbance, habitat type, and species diversity parameters, rather than their isolated effects, explained large parts of ground beetle trait variation. Thus, a main conclusion of this study is that ground beetle occurrence is mainly determined by complex, multi-scale interactions between environmental variability and their life-history traits.

Monitoring recharge in areas of seasonally frozen ground in the Columbia Plateau and Snake River Plain, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Mastin, Mark; Josberger, Edward

2014-01-01

Seasonally frozen ground occurs over approximately one‑third of the contiguous United States, causing increased winter runoff. Frozen ground generally rejects potential groundwater recharge. Nearly all recharge from precipitation in semi-arid regions such as the Columbia Plateau and the Snake River Plain in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, occurs between October and March, when precipitation is most abundant and seasonally frozen ground is commonplace. The temporal and spatial distribution of frozen ground is expected to change as the climate warms. It is difficult to predict the distribution of frozen ground, however, because of the complex ways ground freezes and the way that snow cover thermally insulates soil, by keeping it frozen longer than it would be if it was not snow covered or, more commonly, keeping the soil thawed during freezing weather. A combination of satellite remote sensing and ground truth measurements was used with some success to investigate seasonally frozen ground at local to regional scales. The frozen-ground/snow-cover algorithm from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, combined with the 21-year record of passive microwave observations from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager onboard a Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellite, provided a unique time series of frozen ground. Periodically repeating this methodology and analyzing for trends can be a means to monitor possible regional changes to frozen ground that could occur with a warming climate. The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System watershed model constructed for the upper Crab Creek Basin in the Columbia Plateau and Reynolds Creek basin on the eastern side of the Snake River Plain simulated recharge and frozen ground for several future climate scenarios. Frozen ground was simulated with the Continuous Frozen Ground Index, which is influenced by air temperature and snow cover. Model simulation results showed a decreased occurrence of frozen ground that coincided with

ForestCrowns: a software tool for analyzing ground-based digital photographs of forest canopies

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Matthew F. Winn; Sang-Mook Lee; Phillip A. Araman

2013-01-01

Canopy coverage is a key variable used to characterize forest structure. In addition, the light transmitted through the canopy is an important ecological indicator of plant and animal habitat and understory climate conditions. A common ground-based method used to document canopy coverage is to take digital photographs from below the canopy. To assist with analyzing...

Gypsum ground: a new occurrence of gypsum sediment in playas of central Australia

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Xiang Yang Chen; Bowler, James M.; Magee, John W.

1991-06-01

There are many playas (dry salt lakes) in arid central Australia (regional rainfall about 250 mm/y and pan evaporation around 3000 mm/y). Highly soluble salts, such as halite, only appear as a thin (several centimetres thick), white, ephemeral efflorescent crust on the dry surface. Gypsum is the major evaporite precipitating both at present and preserved in sediment sequences. One type of gypsum deposit forms a distinctive surface feature, which is here termed "gypsum ground". It consists of a thick (up to 80 cm) gypsum zone which rises from the surrounding smooth white playa surface and is overlain by a heaved brown crust. The gypsum zone, with an average gypsum content above 60%, consists of pure gypsum sublayers and interlayered clastic bands of sandy clay. The gypsum crystals are highly corroded, especially in the direction parallel to the c-axis and on the upper sides where illuviated clay has accumulated in corrosion hollows. Overgrowth parallel to the a- and b-axes is very common, forming highly discoidal habits. These secondary changes (corrosion and overgrowth) are well-developed in the vadose zone and absent from crystals below the long-term watertable (depth around 40 cm). These crystal characteristics indicate a rainwater leaching process. At Lake Amadeus, one of the largest playas (800 km 2) of central Australia, such gypsum ground occupies 16% of the total area. The gypsum ground is interpreted as an alteration of a pre-existing gypsum deposit which probably extended across the whole playa before breaking down, leaving a playa marginal terrace and several terrace islands within the gypsum ground. This pre-existing gypsum deposit, preserved in the residual islands, consists of pure, pale, sand-sized lenticular crystals. It is believed to have been deposited during an episode of high regional watertable, causing active groundwater seepage and more frequent surface brine in the playa. A later fall in watertable, probably resulting from climatic change