Cover and liner system designs for mixed-waste disposal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacGregor, A.

1994-01-01

Land disposal of mixed waste is subject to a variety of regulations and requirements. Landfills will continue to be a part of waste management plans at virtually all facilities. New landfills are planned to serve the ongoing needs of the national laboratories and US Department of Energy (DOE) facilities, and environmental restoration wastes will ultimately need to be disposed in these landfills. This paper reviews the basic objectives of mixed-waste disposal and summarizes key constraints facing planners and designers of these facilities. Possible objectives of cover systems include infiltration reduction; maximization of evapotranspiration; use of capillary barriers or low-permeability layers (or combinations of all these); lateral drainage transmission; plant, animal, and/or human intrusion control; vapor/gas control; and wind and water erosion control. Liner system objectives will be presented, and will be compared to the US Environmental Protection Agency-US Nuclear Regulatory Commission guidance for mixed-waste landfills. The measures to accomplish each objective will be reviewed. Then, the design of several existing or planned mixed-waste facilities (DOE and commercial) will be reviewed to illustrate the application of the various functional objectives. Key issues will include design life and performance period as compared/contrasted to postclosure care periods, the use (or avoidance) of geosynthetics or clays, intermediate or interim cover systems, and soil erosion protection in contrast to vegetative enhancement. Possible monitoring approaches to cover systems and landfill installations will be summarized as well

Subject categories and scope descriptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

This document is one in a series of publications known as the ETDE/INIS Joint Reference Series. It defines the subject categories and provides the scope descriptions to be used for categorization of the nuclear literature for the preparation of INIS and ETDE input by national and regional centres. Together with the other volumes of the INIS Reference Series it defines the rules, standards and practices and provides the authorities to be used in the International Nuclear Information System and ETDE. A complete list of the volumes published in the INIS Reference Series may be found on the inside front cover of this publication. This INIS/ETDE Reference Series document is intended to serve two purposes: to define the subject scope of the International Nuclear Information System (INIS) and the Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE) and to define the subject classification scheme of INIS and ETDE. It is thus the guide to the inputting centres in determining which items of literature should be reported, and in determining where the full bibliographic entry and abstract of each item should be included in INIS or ETDE database. Each category is identified by a category code consisting of three alphanumeric characters. A scope description is given for each subject category. The scope of INIS is the sum of the scopes of all the categories. With most categories cross references are provided to other categories where appropriate. Cross references should be of assistance in finding the appropriate category; in fact, by indicating topics that are excluded from the category in question, the cross references help to clarify and define the scope of the category to which they are appended. A Subject Index is included as an aid to subject classifiers, but it is only an aid and not a means for subject classification. It facilitates the use of this document, but is no substitute for the description of the scope of the subject categories

Clouds cover variability in São Paulo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciana Machado de Moura

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Clouds cover observations are performed by visual inspection which determines the fraction of the sky that is overcast. However, visual observation of clouds cover is a very subjective method, and can vary significantly among observers. This study examined the variability in clouds cover over the city of São Paulo between 1961 and 2013, using clouds cover fraction data observed at the weather station operated by IAG / USP. The study also used two techniques based on visible radiance data observed by the GOES-10 satellite in order to indirectly estimate clouds cover. In order to ensure consistency, the estimated and observed cloudiness was compared with the clearness index, which is the ratio between the total solar radiation observed at the weather station and the incoming solar irradiation at the top of atmosphere. The study found consistency between the various databases that showed similar behavior in all of the seasons of the year. The largest cloudiness values occurred in the summer and lowest in the winter.

Preheating Water In The Covers Of Solar Water Heaters

Science.gov (United States)

Bhandari, Pradeep

1995-01-01

Solar water heaters that include glass covers over absorber plates redesigned to increase efficiencies according to proposal. Redesign includes modification of single-layer glass cover into double-layer glass cover and addition of plumbing so cool water to be heated made to flow between layers of cover before entering absorber plate.

Babes and boobs? analysis of JAMA cover art.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, J P

To determine the representation of the sexes in JAMA cover art. Review of 50 consecutive issues. JAMA, March 1997-March 1998. Numbers and nature of covers portraying men and women. Of the 50 covers, 34 depicted humans. 15 depicted women, 13 men, and 6 were of mixed or indeterminate sex. 11 pictures of women included a child and five included nudity. One cover showed a man with a child (not as a father) and none depicted nudity. Men were depicted exclusively in authoritative roles. Much of the cover art gives strong messages about sexual stereotypes that are inappropriate in modern society. JAMA should consider reviewing its policy for choosing cover art.

Introductory Programming Subject in European Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Aleksic, Veljko; Ivanovic, Mirjana

2016-01-01

Programming is one of the basic subjects in most informatics, computer science mathematics and technical faculties' curricula. Integrated overview of the models for teaching programming, problems in teaching and suggested solutions were presented in this paper. Research covered current state of 1019 programming subjects in 715 study programmes at…

The Regional Land Cover Monitoring System: Building regional capacity through innovative land cover mapping approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Saah, D.; Tenneson, K.; Hanh, Q. N.; Aekakkararungroj, A.; Aung, K. S.; Goldstein, J.; Cutter, P. G.; Maus, P.; Markert, K. N.; Anderson, E.; Ellenburg, W. L.; Ate, P.; Flores Cordova, A. I.; Vadrevu, K.; Potapov, P.; Phongsapan, K.; Chishtie, F.; Clinton, N.; Ganz, D.

2017-12-01

Earth observation and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, products, and services are vital to support the environmental decision making by governmental institutions, non-governmental agencies, and the general public. At the heart of environmental decision making is the monitoring land cover and land use change (LCLUC) for land resource planning and for ecosystem services, including biodiversity conservation and resilience to climate change. A major challenge for monitoring LCLUC in developing regions, such as Southeast Asia, is inconsistent data products at inconsistent intervals that have different typologies across the region and are typically made in without stakeholder engagement or input. Here we present the Regional Land Cover Monitoring System (RLCMS), a novel land cover mapping effort for Southeast Asia, implemented by SERVIR-Mekong, a joint NASA-USAID initiative that brings Earth observations to improve environmental decision making in developing countries. The RLCMS focuses on mapping biophysical variables (e.g. canopy cover, tree height, or percent surface water) at an annual interval and in turn using those biophysical variables to develop land cover maps based on stakeholder definitions of land cover classes. This allows for flexible and consistent land cover classifications that can meet the needs of different institutions across the region. Another component of the RLCMS production is the stake-holder engagement through co-development. Institutions that directly benefit from this system have helped drive the development for regional needs leading to services for their specific uses. Examples of services for regional stakeholders include using the RLCMS to develop maps using the IPCC classification scheme for GHG emission reporting and developing custom annual maps as an input to hydrologic modeling/flood forecasting systems. In addition to the implementation of this system and the service stemming from the RLCMS in Southeast Asia, it is

[Design of standard voice sample text for subjective auditory perceptual evaluation of voice disorders].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jin-rang; Sun, Yan-yan; Xu, Wen

2010-09-01

To design a speech voice sample text with all phonemes in Mandarin for subjective auditory perceptual evaluation of voice disorders. The principles for design of a speech voice sample text are: The short text should include the 21 initials and 39 finals, this may cover all the phonemes in Mandarin. Also, the short text should have some meanings. A short text was made out. It had 155 Chinese words, and included 21 initials and 38 finals (the final, ê, was not included because it was rarely used in Mandarin). Also, the text covered 17 light tones and one "Erhua". The constituent ratios of the initials and finals presented in this short text were statistically similar as those in Mandarin according to the method of similarity of the sample and population (r = 0.742, P text were statistically not similar as those in Mandarin (r = 0.731, P > 0.05). A speech voice sample text with all phonemes in Mandarin was made out. The constituent ratios of the initials and finals presented in this short text are similar as those in Mandarin. Its value for subjective auditory perceptual evaluation of voice disorders need further study.

Car Covers | Outdoor Covers Canada

OpenAIRE

Covers, Outdoor

2018-01-01

Protect your car from the elements with Ultimate Touch Car Cover. The multi-layer non-woven fabric is soft on the finish and offers 4 seasons all weather protection.https://outdoorcovers.ca/car-covers/

Land cover and water yield: inference problems when comparing catchments with mixed land cover

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. I. J. M. van Dijk

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Controlled experiments provide strong evidence that changing land cover (e.g. deforestation or afforestation can affect mean catchment streamflow (Q. By contrast, a similarly strong influence has not been found in studies that interpret Q from multiple catchments with mixed land cover. One possible reason is that there are methodological issues with the way in which the Budyko framework was used in the latter type studies. We examined this using Q data observed in 278 Australian catchments and by making inferences from synthetic Q data simulated by a hydrological process model (the Australian Water Resources Assessment system Landscape model. The previous contrasting findings could be reproduced. In the synthetic experiment, the land cover influence was still present but not accurately detected with the Budyko- framework. Likely sources of interpretation bias demonstrated include: (i noise in land cover, precipitation and Q data; (ii additional catchment climate characteristics more important than land cover; and (iii covariance between Q and catchment attributes. These methodological issues caution against the use of a Budyko framework to quantify a land cover influence in Q data from mixed land-cover catchments. Importantly, however, our findings do not rule out that there may also be physical processes that modify the influence of land cover in mixed land-cover catchments. Process model simulations suggested that lateral water redistribution between vegetation types and recirculation of intercepted rainfall may be important.

Classical mechanics including an introduction to the theory of elasticity

CERN Document Server

Hentschke, Reinhard

2017-01-01

This textbook teaches classical mechanics as one of the foundations of physics. It describes the mechanical stability and motion in physical systems ranging from the molecular to the galactic scale. Aside from the standard topics of mechanics in the physics curriculum, this book includes an introduction to the theory of elasticity and its use in selected modern engineering applications, e.g. dynamic mechanical analysis of viscoelastic materials. The text also covers many aspects of numerical mechanics, ranging from the solution of ordinary differential equations, including molecular dynamics simulation of many particle systems, to the finite element method. Attendant Mathematica programs or parts thereof are provided in conjunction with selected examples. Numerous links allow the reader to connect to related subjects and research topics. Among others this includes statistical mechanics (separate chapter), quantum mechanics, space flight, galactic dynamics, friction, and vibration spectroscopy. An introductory...

Climate under cover

CERN Document Server

Takakura, Tadashi

2002-01-01

1.1. INTRODUCTION Plastic covering, either framed or floating, is now used worldwide to protect crops from unfavorable growing conditions, such as severe weather and insects and birds. Protected cultivation in the broad sense, including mulching, has been widely spread by the innovation of plastic films. Paper, straw, and glass were the main materials used before the era of plastics. Utilization of plastics in agriculture started in the developed countries and is now spreading to the developing countries. Early utilization of plastic was in cold regions, and plastic was mainly used for protection from the cold. Now plastic is used also for protection from wind, insects and diseases. The use of covering techniques started with a simple system such as mulching, then row covers and small tunnels were developed, and finally plastic houses. Floating mulch was an exception to this sequence: it was introduced rather recently, although it is a simple structure. New development of functional and inexpensive films trig...

Self-stimulating rats combine subjective reward magnitude and subjective reward rate multiplicatively.

Science.gov (United States)

Leon, M I; Gallistel, C R

1998-07-01

For rats that bar pressed for intracranial electrical stimulation in a 2-lever matching paradigm with concurrent variable interval schedules of reward, the authors found that the time allocation ratio is based on a multiplicative combination of the ratio of subjective reward magnitudes and the ratio of the rates of reward. Multiplicative combining was observed in a range covering approximately 2 orders of magnitude in the ratio of the rates of reward from about 1:10 to 10:1) and an order of magnitude change in the size of rewards. After determining the relation between the pulse frequency of stimulation and subjective reward magnitude, the authors were able to predict from knowledge of the subjective magnitudes of the rewards and the obtained relative rates of reward the subject's time allocation ratio over a range in which it varied by more than 3 orders of magnitude.

17 CFR 31.8 - Cover of leverage contracts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... receipt for two business days: Provided, however, That the amount of physical commodities subject to such... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cover of leverage contracts. 31.8 Section 31.8 Commodity and Securities Exchanges COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION LEVERAGE...

Mapping land cover through time with the Rapid Land Cover Mapper—Documentation and user manual

Science.gov (United States)

Cotillon, Suzanne E.; Mathis, Melissa L.

2017-02-15

The Rapid Land Cover Mapper is an Esri ArcGIS® Desktop add-in, which was created as an alternative to automated or semiautomated mapping methods. Based on a manual photo interpretation technique, the tool facilitates mapping over large areas and through time, and produces time-series raster maps and associated statistics that characterize the changing landscapes. The Rapid Land Cover Mapper add-in can be used with any imagery source to map various themes (for instance, land cover, soils, or forest) at any chosen mapping resolution. The user manual contains all essential information for the user to make full use of the Rapid Land Cover Mapper add-in. This manual includes a description of the add-in functions and capabilities, and step-by-step procedures for using the add-in. The Rapid Land Cover Mapper add-in was successfully used by the U.S. Geological Survey West Africa Land Use Dynamics team to accurately map land use and land cover in 17 West African countries through time (1975, 2000, and 2013).

Climate Impacts of Cover Crops

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardozzi, D.; Wieder, W. R.; Bonan, G. B.; Morris, C. K.; Grandy, S.

2016-12-01

Cover crops are planted in agricultural rotation with the intention of protecting soil rather than harvest. Cover crops have numerous environmental benefits that include preventing soil erosion, increasing soil fertility, and providing weed and pest control- among others. In addition to localized environmental benefits, cover crops can have important regional or global biogeochemical impacts by increasing soil organic carbon, changing emissions of greenhouse trace gases like nitrous oxide and methane, and reducing hydrologic nitrogen losses. Cover crops may additionally affect climate by changing biogeophysical processes, like albedo and latent heat flux, though these potential changes have not yet been evaluated. Here we use the coupled Community Atmosphere Model (CAM5) - Community Land Model (CLM4.5) to test how planting cover crops in the United States may change biogeophysical fluxes and climate. We present seasonal changes in albedo, heat fluxes, evaporative partitioning, radiation, and the resulting changes in temperature. Preliminary analyses show that during seasons when cover crops are planted, latent heat flux increases and albedo decreases, changing the evaporative fraction and surface temperatures. Understanding both the biogeophysical changes caused by planting cover crops in this study and the biogeochemical changes found in other studies will give a clearer picture of the overall impacts of cover crops on climate and atmospheric chemistry, informing how this land use strategy will impact climate in the future.

Weed Control with Cover Crops in Irrigated Potatoes

OpenAIRE

G.H. Mehring; J.E. Stenger; H.M. Hatterman-Valenti

2016-01-01

Field experiments at Oakes, ND, USA in 2010 and Carrington, ND, USA in 2011 were conducted to evaluate the potential for cover crops grown in the Northern Great Plains, USA in order to reduce weed emergence and density in irrigated potatoes. Treatments included five cover crop treatments and three cover crop termination treatments. Termination of cover crops was done with glyphosate, disk-till, and roto-till. Cover crop biomass accumulation was greatest for rye/canola and triticale at Oakes, ...

Object and subject of evasion of taxes and other compulsory payments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koval L.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The paper is devoted to such topical issue of Criminal Law as Object and Subject of Evasion of Taxes and Other Compulsory Payments. There are analyzed researched crime determination problems, which are connected with subject and object of tax and other compulsory payments evasion. In the course of the research, the author has made the conclusions that the object of the evasion of taxes and other compulsory payments group is the national economic interests. The direct object is the national economic interests in the sphere of state revenues or the national fiscal interests. While analyzing the law and regulations it is concluded that the subject of the evasion of taxes and other compulsory payments is the tax base (income, property, expenses and consumption, taxes, state and local government fees, as well as other payments determined by the State. The author has also concluded that the subject of the evasion of taxes and other compulsory payments does not include increase in the tax principal debt, fine and late charge, which are covered by the financial responsibility. The subject of the evasion of taxes and other compulsory payments may not include also income from illegal activity or proceeds resulting from criminal offences.

Geometric covers, graph orientations, counter games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berglin, Edvin

-directed graph is dynamic (can be altered by some outside actor), some orientations may need to be reversed in order to maintain the low out-degree. We present a new algorithm that is simpler than earlier work, yet matches or outperforms the efficiency of these results with very few exceptions. Counter games...... example is Line Cover, also known as Point-Line Cover, where a set of points in a geometric space are to be covered by placing a restricted number of lines. We present new FPT algorithms for the sub-family Curve Cover (which includes Line Cover), as well as for Hyperplane Cover restricted to R 3 (i...... are a type of abstract game played over a set of counters holding values, and these values may be moved between counters according to some set of rules. Typically they are played between two players: the adversary who tries to concentrate the greatest value possible in a single counter, and the benevolent...

Risk of Being Subjected to Crime, Including Violent Crime, After Onset of Mental Illness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dean, Kimberlie; Laursen, Thomas M; Pedersen, Carsten B

2018-01-01

Importance: People with mental illness are more likely to have contact with the criminal justice system, but research to date has focused on risk of offense perpetration, while less is known about risk of being subjected to crime and violence. Objectives: To establish the incidence of being...... subjected to all types of criminal offenses, and by violent crimes separately, after onset of mental illness across the full diagnostic spectrum compared with those in the population without mental illness. Design, Setting, and Participants: This investigation was a longitudinal national cohort study using...... of mental illness, recorded as first contact with outpatient or inpatient mental health services. Diagnoses across the full spectrum of psychiatric diagnoses were considered separately for men and women. Main Outcomes and Measures: Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were estimated for first subjection to crime...

Temporal Land Cover Analysis for Net Ecosystem Improvement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ke, Yinghai; Coleman, Andre M.; Diefenderfer, Heida L.

2013-04-09

We delineated 8 watersheds contributing to previously defined river reaches within the 1,468-km2 historical floodplain of the tidally influenced lower Columbia River and estuary. We assessed land-cover change at the watershed, reach, and restoration site scales by reclassifying remote-sensing data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Change Analysis Program’s land cover/land change product into forest, wetland, and urban categories. The analysis showed a 198.3 km2 loss of forest cover during the first 6 years of the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program, 2001–2006. Total measured urbanization in the contributing watersheds of the estuary during the full 1996-2006 change analysis period was 48.4 km2. Trends in forest gain/loss and urbanization differed between watersheds. Wetland gains and losses were within the margin of error of the satellite imagery analysis. No significant land cover change was measured at restoration sites, although it was visible in aerial imagery, therefore, the 30-m land-cover product may not be appropriate for assessment of early-stage wetland restoration. These findings suggest that floodplain restoration sites in reaches downstream of watersheds with decreasing forest cover will be subject to increased sediment loads, and those downstream of urbanization will experience effects of increased impervious surfaces on hydrologic processes.

Monitoring Areal Snow Cover Using NASA Satellite Imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Harshburger, Brian J.; Blandford, Troy; Moore, Brandon

2011-01-01

The objective of this project is to develop products and tools to assist in the hydrologic modeling process, including tools to help prepare inputs for hydrologic models and improved methods for the visualization of streamflow forecasts. In addition, this project will facilitate the use of NASA satellite imagery (primarily snow cover imagery) by other federal and state agencies with operational streamflow forecasting responsibilities. A GIS software toolkit for monitoring areal snow cover extent and producing streamflow forecasts is being developed. This toolkit will be packaged as multiple extensions for ArcGIS 9.x and an opensource GIS software package. The toolkit will provide users with a means for ingesting NASA EOS satellite imagery (snow cover analysis), preparing hydrologic model inputs, and visualizing streamflow forecasts. Primary products include a software tool for predicting the presence of snow under clouds in satellite images; a software tool for producing gridded temperature and precipitation forecasts; and a suite of tools for visualizing hydrologic model forecasting results. The toolkit will be an expert system designed for operational users that need to generate accurate streamflow forecasts in a timely manner. The Remote Sensing of Snow Cover Toolbar will ingest snow cover imagery from multiple sources, including the MODIS Operational Snowcover Data and convert them to gridded datasets that can be readily used. Statistical techniques will then be applied to the gridded snow cover data to predict the presence of snow under cloud cover. The toolbar has the ability to ingest both binary and fractional snow cover data. Binary mapping techniques use a set of thresholds to determine whether a pixel contains snow or no snow. Fractional mapping techniques provide information regarding the percentage of each pixel that is covered with snow. After the imagery has been ingested, physiographic data is attached to each cell in the snow cover image. This data

Coupled Environmental Processes in the Mojave Desert and Implications for ET Covers as Stable Landforms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shafer, D.; Young, M.; Zitzer, S.; McDonald, E.; Caldwell, T.

2006-01-01

Monolayer evapotranspiration (ET) covers are the baseline method for closure of disposal sites for low-level radioactive waste (LLW), mixed LLW, and transuranic (TRU) waste at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The regulatory timeline is typically 1,000 years for LLW and 10,000 years for TRU waste. Covers for such waste have different technical considerations than those with shorter timelines because they are subject to environmental change for longer periods of time, and because the environmental processes are often coupled. To evaluate these changes, four analog sites (approximately 30, 1,000 to 2,000, 7,000 to 12,500, and 125,000 years in age) on the NTS were analyzed to address the early post-institutional control period (the youngest site), the 1,000-year compliance period for disposal of LLW, and the 10,000-year period for TRU waste. Tests included soil texture, structure, and morphology; surface soil infiltration and hydraulic conductivity; vegetation and faunal surveys; and literature reviews. Separate measurements were made in plant undercanopy and intercanopy areas. The results showed a progressive increase in silt and clay content of surface soils with age. Changes in soil texture and structure led to a fivefold decline in saturated hydraulic conductivity in intercanopy areas, but no change in undercanopies, which were subject to bioturbation. These changes may have been responsible for the reduction in total plant cover, most dramatically in intercanopy areas, primarily because more precipitation either runs off the site or is held nearer to the surface where plant roots are less common. The results suggest that covers may evolve over longer timeframes to stable landforms that minimize the need for active maintenance

Vegetation Cover Changes in Selected Pastoral Villages in Mkata ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Arid and semi-arid savannah ecosystems of Tanzania are subjected to increasing pressure from pastoral land-use systems. A spatial temporal study involving analysis of satellite imageries and range surveys was carried out to determine the effects of high stocking levels on savannah vegetation cover types in Mkata plains.

Do cover crop mixtures have the same ability to suppress weeds as competitive monoculture cover crops?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brust, Jochen

2014-02-01

Full Text Available An increasing number of farmers use cover crop mixtures instead of monoculture cover crops to improve soil and crop quality. However, only little information is available about the weed suppression ability of cover crop mixtures. Therefore, two field experiments were conducted in Baden-Württemberg between 2010 and 2012, to compare growth and weed suppression of monoculture cover crops and cover crop mixtures. In the first experiment, heterogeneous results between yellow mustard and the cover crop mixture occurred. For further research, a field experiment was conducted in 2012 to compare monocultures of yellow mustard and hemp with three cover crop mixtures. The evaluated mixtures were: “MELO”: for soil melioration; “BETA”: includes only plant species with no close relation to main cash crops in Central Europe and “GPS”: for usage as energy substrate in spring. Yellow mustard, MELO, BETA and GPS covered 90% of the soil in less than 42 days and were able to reduce photosynthetically active radiation (PAR on soil surface by more than 96% after 52 days. Hemp covered 90% of the soil after 47 days and reduced PAR by 91% after 52 days. Eight weeks after planting, only BETA showed similar growth to yellow mustard which produced the highest dry matter. The GPS mixture had comparatively poor growth, while MELO produced similar dry matter to hemp. Yellow mustard, MELO and BETA reduced weed growth by 96% compared with a no cover crop control, while hemp and GPS reduced weeds by 85% and 79%. In spring, weed dry matter was reduced by more than 94% in plots with yellow mustard and all mixtures, while in hemp plots weeds were only reduced by 71%. The results suggest that the tested cover crop mixtures offer similar weed suppression ability until spring as the monoculture of the competitive yellow mustard.

Land Cover - Minnesota Land Cover Classification System

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — Land cover data set based on the Minnesota Land Cover Classification System (MLCCS) coding scheme. This data was produced using a combination of aerial photograph...

The Association Between Urban Tree Cover and Gun Assault: A Case-Control and Case-Crossover Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kondo, Michelle C; South, Eugenia C; Branas, Charles C; Richmond, Therese S; Wiebe, Douglas J

2017-08-01

Green space and vegetation may play a protective role against urban violence. We investigated whether being near urban tree cover during outdoor activities was related to being assaulted with a gun. We conducted geographic information systems-assisted interviews with boys and men aged 10-24 years in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including 135 patients who had been shot with a firearm and 274 community controls, during 2008-2011. Each subject reported a step-by-step mapped account of where and with whom they traveled over a full day from waking until being assaulted or going to bed. Geocoded path points were overlaid on mapped layers representing tree locations and place-specific characteristics. Conditional logistic regressions were used to compare case subjects versus controls (case-control) and case subjects at the time of injury versus times earlier that day (case-crossover). When comparing cases at the time of assault to controls matched at the same time of day, being under tree cover was inversely associated with gunshot assault (odds ratio (OR) = 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.55, 0.88), especially in low-income areas (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.54, 0.87). Case-crossover models confirmed this inverse association overall (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.34, 0.89) and in low-income areas (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.33, 0.88). Urban greening and tree cover may hold promise as proactive strategies to decrease urban violence. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 2017. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Evolution of the soil cover of soccer fields

Science.gov (United States)

Belobrov, V. P.; Zamotaev, I. V.

2014-04-01

A soccer field can be considered a soil-like technogenic formation (STF). According to the theory of soil cover patterns, the artificially constructed (anthropogenic) soil cover of a soccer field is an analogue of a relatively homogeneous elementary soil area. However, the spatial homogeneity of the upper part (50-80 cm) of the STF of soccer fields is unstable and is subjected to gradual transformation under the impact of pedogenetic processes, agrotechnical loads, and mechanical loads during the games. This transformation is favored by the initial heterogeneity of the deep (buried) parts of the STF profile. The technogenic factors and elementary pedogenetic processes specify the dynamic functioning regime of the STF. In 50-75 years, the upper part of the STF is transformed into soil-like bodies with properties close to those in zonal soils. Certain micro- and nanopatterns of the soil cover are developed within the field creating its spatial heterogeneity.

Winter rye cover crop effect on corn seedling pathogens

Science.gov (United States)

Cover crops have been grown successfully in Iowa, but sometimes a cereal rye cover crop preceding corn can reduce corn yields. Our research examines the effect of a rye cover crop on infections of the succeeding corn crop by soil fungal pathogens. Plant measurements included: growth stage, height, r...

USING PERFLUOROCARBON TRACERS FOR VERIFICATION OF CAP AND COVER SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HEISER, J.; SULLIVAN, T.

2001-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) office has committed itself to an accelerated cleanup of its national facilities. The goal is to have much of the DOE legacy waste sites remediated by 2006. This includes closure of several sites (e.g., Rocky Flats and Fernald). With the increased focus on accelerated cleanup, there has been considerable concern about long-term stewardship issues in general, and verification and long-term monitoring (LTM) of caps and covers, in particular. Cap and cover systems (covers) are vital remedial options that will be extensively used in meeting these 2006 cleanup goals. Every buried waste site within the DOE complex will require some form of cover system. These covers are expected to last from 100 to 1000 years or more. The stakeholders can be expected to focus on system durability and sustained performance. DOE EM has set up a national committee of experts to develop a long-term capping (LTC) guidance document. Covers are subject to subsidence, erosion, desiccation, animal intrusion, plant root infiltration, etc., all of which will affect the overall performance of the cover. Very little is available in terms of long-term monitoring other than downstream groundwater or surface water monitoring. By its very nature, this can only indicate that failure of the cover system has already occurred and contaminants have been transported away from the site. This is unacceptable. Methods that indicate early cover failure (prior to contaminant release) or predict approaching cover failure are needed. The LTC committee has identified predictive monitoring technologies as a high priority need for DOE, both for new covers as well as existing covers. The same committee identified a Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) technology as one approach that may be capable of meeting the requirements for LTM. The Environmental Research and Technology Division (ERTD) at BNL developed a novel methodology for verifying and monitoring

Effect of two polyethylene covers in prevention of hypothermia among premature neonates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sedigheh Talakoub

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: After the umbilical cord is cut, premature neonates face numerous problems including hypothermia. With regard to serious complications of hypothermia and incapability of conventional methods in preservation of neonates′ temperature after admission, the researcher decided to conduct a study on the effects of two polyethylene covers in prevention of hypothermia among premature neonates. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial was conducted on 96 neonates aged 28-32 weeks that randomly allocated, by drawing of lots, to three 32-subject groups as follows: Intervention group 1 (a plastic bag cover and a cotton hat, intervention group 2 (a plastic bag cover and a plastic hat, and a control group receiving routine care. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics through SPSS V.14. Results: Mean axillary temperatures in intervention groups 1 and 2 were different after admission and 1 and 2 h later, but this difference was not significant and the mean axillary temperature increased with time. Mean axillary temperature in the control group showed no significant difference at these time points and it did not increase with time. The mean temperatures in preterm infants were significantly higher in the intervention groups after admission and 1 and 2 h after birth, compared to the control group. Mean axillary temperature in intervention group 2 was significantly higher than in intervention group 1. Conclusions: Usage of a plastic bag cover and a plastic hat (with no risk of hyperthermia is more effective in preventing hypothermia among neonates aged 28-32 weeks, compared to usage of a plastic bag cover and a cotton hat.

Cover times of random searches

Science.gov (United States)

Chupeau, Marie; Bénichou, Olivier; Voituriez, Raphaël

2015-10-01

How long must one undertake a random search to visit all sites of a given domain? This time, known as the cover time, is a key observable to quantify the efficiency of exhaustive searches, which require a complete exploration of an area and not only the discovery of a single target. Examples range from immune-system cells chasing pathogens to animals harvesting resources, from robotic exploration for cleaning or demining to the task of improving search algorithms. Despite its broad relevance, the cover time has remained elusive and so far explicit results have been scarce and mostly limited to regular random walks. Here we determine the full distribution of the cover time for a broad range of random search processes, including Lévy strategies, intermittent strategies, persistent random walks and random walks on complex networks, and reveal its universal features. We show that for all these examples the mean cover time can be minimized, and that the corresponding optimal strategies also minimize the mean search time for a single target, unambiguously pointing towards their robustness.

Summary of decontamination cover manufacturing experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ulrich, G.B.; Berry, H.W.

1995-02-01

Decontamination cover forming cracks and vent cup assembly leaks through the decontamination covers were early manufacturing problems. The decontamination cover total manufacturing process yield was as low as 55%. Applicable tooling and procedures were examined. All manufacturing steps from foil fabrication to final assembly leak testing were considered as possible causes or contributing factors to these problems. The following principal changes were made to correct these problems: (1) the foil annealing temperature was reduced from 1375 degrees to 1250 degrees C, (2) the decontamination cover fabrication procedure (including visual inspection for surface imperfections and elimination of superfluous operations) was improved, (3) the postforming dye penetrant inspection procedure was revised for increased sensitivity, (4) a postforming (prewelding) 1250 degrees C/1 h vacuum stress-relief operation was added, (5) a poststress relief (prewelding) decontamination cover piece-part leak test was implemented, (6) the hold-down fixture used during the decontamination cover-to-cup weld was modified, and concomitantly, and (7) the foil fabrication process was changed from the extruding and rolling of 63-mm-diam vacuum arc-remelted ingots (extrusion process) to the rolling of 19-mm-square arc-melted drop castings (drop cast process). Since these changes were incorporated, the decontamination cover total manufacturing process yield has been 91 %. Most importantly, more than 99% of the decontamination covers welded onto vent cup assemblies were acceptable. The drastic yield improvement is attributed primarily to the change in the foil annealing temperature from 1375 degrees to 1250 degrees C and secondarily to the improvements in the decontamination cover fabrication procedure

PAPER ON MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES, INCLUDING WORKPLACE PRIVACY

OpenAIRE

Richards, G. W.

2014-01-01

EU directives give member states a certain period – say 2 or 3 years – to implement rules at national level. In fact the DPA 1998 replaces earlier UK legislation, the Data Protection Act 1984, so it does more than simply reproduce the directive. Other examples of subjects covered by directives are redundancy information/ consultation, equal treatment, insolvency protection, pregnancy protection, European and domestic works councils and agency work

Liquidity in Government versus Covered Bond Markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dick-Nielsen, Jens; Gyntelberg, Jacob; Sangill, Thomas

We present findings on the secondary market liquidity of government and covered bonds in Denmark before, during and after the 2008 financial crisis. The analysis focuses on wholesale trading in the two markets and is based on a complete transaction level dataset covering November 2007 until end...... 2011. Overall, our findings suggest that Danish benchmark covered bonds by and large are as liquid as Danish government bonds - including in periods of market stress. Before the financial crisis of 2008, government bonds were slightly more liquid than covered bonds. During the crisis, trading continued...... in both markets but the government bond market experienced a brief but pronounced decline in market liquidity while liquidity in the covered bond market was more robust - partly reflective of a number of events as well as policy measures introduced in the autumn of 2008. After the crisis, liquidity...

2000 survey of window manufacturers on the subject of switchable glass

Science.gov (United States)

LaPointe, Michael R.; Sottile, Gregory M.

2001-11-01

The results of a 2000 survey of United States window manufacturers on the subject of switchable glass are discussed. The areas covered in this paper include awareness of the overall product category of switchable glass and various types of switchable glass, attitudes toward specific features of switchable glass, expectations for manufacturer production of such products, expectations for market penetration rates among end-product consumers, levels of price sensitivity among window manufacturers regarding switchable glass, and expectations for the pace of new product development within the window industry over the next five years.

42 CFR 410.100 - Included services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... service; however, maintenance therapy itself is not covered as part of these services. (c) Occupational... increase respiratory function, such as graded activity services; these services include physiologic... rehabilitation plan of treatment, including physical therapy services, occupational therapy services, speech...

Covering sources of toxic vapors with foam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aue, W. P.; Guidetti, F.

2009-01-01

In a case of chemical terrorism, first responders might well be confronted with a liquid source of toxic vapor which keeps spreading out its hazardous contents. With foam as an efficient and simple means, such a source could be covered up in seconds and the spread of vapors mitigated drastically. Once covered, the source could then wait for a longer time to be removed carefully and professionally by a decontamination team. In order to find foams useful for covering up toxic vapor sources, a large set of measurements has been performed in order to answer the following questions: - Which foams could be used for this purpose? - How thick should the foam cover be? - For how long would such a foam cover be effective? - Could the practical application of foam cause a spread of the toxic chemical? The toxic vapors sources included GB, GD and HD. Among the foams were 10 fire fighter foams (e.g. AFFF, protein) and the aqueous decontamination foam CASCAD. Small scale experiments showed that CASCAD is best suited for covering a toxic source; a 10 cm layer of it covers and decontaminates GB. The large scale experiments confirmed that any fire fighter foam is a suitable cover for a longer or shorter period.(author)

A globally complete map of supraglacial debris cover and a new toolkit for debris cover research

Science.gov (United States)

Herreid, Sam; Pellicciotti, Francesca

2017-04-01

A growing canon of literature is focused on resolving the processes and implications of debris cover on glaciers. However, this work is often confined to a handful of glaciers that were likely selected based on criteria optimizing their suitability to test a specific hypothesis or logistical ease. The role of debris cover in a glacier system is likely to not go overlooked in forthcoming research, yet the magnitude of this role at a global scale has not yet been fully described. Here, we present a map of debris cover for all glacierized regions on Earth including the Greenland Ice Sheet using 30 m Landsat data. This dataset will begin to open a wider context to the high quality, localized findings from the debris-covered glacier research community and help inform large-scale modeling efforts. A global map of debris cover also facilitates analysis attempting to isolate first order geomorphological and climate controls of supraglacial debris production. Furthering the objective of expanding the inclusion of debris cover in forthcoming research, we also present an under development suite of open-source, Python based tools. Requiring minimal and often freely available input data, we have automated the mapping of: i) debris cover, ii) ice cliffs, iii) debris cover evolution over the Landsat era and iv) glacier flow instabilities from altered debris structures. At the present time, debris extent is the only globally complete quantity but with the expanding repository of high quality global datasets and further tool development minimizing manual tasks and computational cost, we foresee all of these tools being applied globally in the near future.

Weed Control with Cover Crops in Irrigated Potatoes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.H. Mehring

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Field experiments at Oakes, ND, USA in 2010 and Carrington, ND, USA in 2011 were conducted to evaluate the potential for cover crops grown in the Northern Great Plains, USA in order to reduce weed emergence and density in irrigated potatoes. Treatments included five cover crop treatments and three cover crop termination treatments. Termination of cover crops was done with glyphosate, disk-till, and roto-till. Cover crop biomass accumulation was greatest for rye/canola and triticale at Oakes, and hairy vetch and hairy vetch/rye at Carrington. Cover crop and termination affected weed control 14, 29, and 51 days after planting (DAP at Oakes. Weed control at Carrington was at least 90% for all cover crop and termination treatments at all three evaluation timings. Marketable yield at Oakes was greater when roto-till was used to terminate the cover crops compared with disk-till or herbicide, which is beneficial for organic systems where herbicides are not used. Marketable yield at Carrington was not affected by cover crop or termination treatments. Results suggest that cover crops can successfully be integrated into irrigated potato production for weed control with yields equal to no cover crop, and with attention to potential mechanical difficulties.

One Health in food safety and security education: Subject matter outline for a curricular framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Angelos, John A; Arens, Amanda L; Johnson, Heather A; Cadriel, Jessica L; Osburn, Bennie I

2017-06-01

Educating students in the range of subjects encompassing food safety and security as approached from a One Health perspective requires consideration of a variety of different disciplines and the interrelationships among disciplines. The Western Institute for Food Safety and Security developed a subject matter outline to accompany a previously published One Health in food safety and security curricular framework. The subject matter covered in this outline encompasses a variety of topics and disciplines related to food safety and security including effects of food production on the environment. This subject matter outline should help guide curriculum development and education in One Health in food safety and security and provides useful information for educators, researchers, students, and public policy-makers facing the inherent challenges of maintaining and/or developing safe and secure food supplies without destroying Earth's natural resources.

One Health in food safety and security education: Subject matter outline for a curricular framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John A. Angelos

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Educating students in the range of subjects encompassing food safety and security as approached from a One Health perspective requires consideration of a variety of different disciplines and the interrelationships among disciplines. The Western Institute for Food Safety and Security developed a subject matter outline to accompany a previously published One Health in food safety and security curricular framework. The subject matter covered in this outline encompasses a variety of topics and disciplines related to food safety and security including effects of food production on the environment. This subject matter outline should help guide curriculum development and education in One Health in food safety and security and provides useful information for educators, researchers, students, and public policy-makers facing the inherent challenges of maintaining and/or developing safe and secure food supplies without destroying Earth's natural resources.

National Land Cover Database (NLCD) Land Cover Collection

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior — The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) Land Cover Collection is produced through a cooperative project conducted by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC)...

圖書館事業與交流／Subject Guide 2.0: A Dream or Reality?／Sharon Q. Yang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharon Q. Yang Sharon Q. Yang

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Subject guide 2.0 is defined as those created by Web 2.0 technologies. Some of its features include multimedia, multi-formats, collaboration, ease of use, global change, search box, browsing, link checking, integration with social bookmarking sites, RSS feed, tagging, interactivity, user input, blog or wiki, and statistics reporting. This paper discusses each feature in great detail. To help librarians who plan to create subject guides 2.0, an overview of the tools is provided, covering LibGuides, open source software, blogs, wikis, and course management systems. The discussion includes pros and cons of each tool and how much subject guide 2.0 features each tool can provide. By reading this paper, audience will know what subject guide 2.0 is and the choices they have.頁次：90-98

Self-stabilizing Synchronization in Mobile Sensor Networks with Covering

Science.gov (United States)

Beauquier, Joffroy; Burman, Janna

Synchronization is widely considered as an important service in distributed systems which may simplify protocol design. Phase clock is a general synchronization tool that provides a form of a logical time. This paper presents a self-stabilizing (a tolerating state-corrupting transient faults) phase clock algorithm suited to the model of population protocols with covering. This model has been proposed recently for sensor networks with a very large, possibly unknown number of anonymous mobile agents having small memory. Agents interact in pairs in an asynchronous way subject to the constraints expressed in terms of the cover times of agents. The cover time expresses the "frequency" of an agent to communicate with all the others and abstracts agent's communication characteristics (e.g. moving speed/patterns, transmitting/receiving capabilities). We show that a phase clock is impossible in the model with only constant-state agents. Hence, we assume an existence of resource-unlimited agent - the base station.

Landfill Top Covers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheutz, Charlotte; Kjeldsen, Peter

2011-01-01

The purpose of the final cover of a landfill is to contain the waste and to provide for a physical separation between the waste and the environment for protection of public health. Most landfill covers are designed with the primary goal to reduce or prevent infiltration of precipitation...... into the landfill in order to minimize leachate generation. In addition the cover also has to control the release of gases produced in the landfill so the gas can be ventilated, collected and utilized, or oxidized in situ. The landfill cover should also minimize erosion and support vegetation. Finally the cover...... is landscaped in order to fit into the surrounding area/environment or meet specific plans for the final use of the landfill. To fulfill the above listed requirements landfill covers are often multicomponent systems which are placed directly on top of the waste. The top cover may be placed immediately after...

Soundscape and the Adaptation of Soundscape to Covered Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aslı ÖZÇEVİK

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Soundscape, as urban noise is termed, is essentially a qualitative approach which aims to discover ways to improve the “sonic environment”. A possible analogy can be assumed for the acoustic quality of some types of covered spaces which have a function similar to urban spaces. Furthermore, it can be proposed that such covered spaces may have a specific, distinct and recognizable sound environment - hence, a “soundscape” occurs which is created both by the architecture and the sound sources. This study takes a further step in suggesting that the acoustic comfort or sound quality of these spaces cannot be sufficiently dealt with via noise parameters. This paper aims to show the possibility of evaluating the acoustical quality of covered spaces, such as shopping centers, through soundscape studies. The formation of streets is the basic spatial design concept that connects open and closed shopping areas. For this reason the researchers chose to study a modern and an historical shopping center and a modern and a traditional street, both of which have shopping as a basic function, The soundscapes of these open and closed shopping areas were determined by soundwalks and listening tests. The objective and subjective findings of this study showed that covered shopping areas have a specific soundscape that can be evaluated by the soundwalk method regardless of whether the environment is open or covered.

Land Use and Land Cover Change Analysis along the Coastal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Agribotix GCS 077

are carried out on the land usually effect changes in its cover. ... The FAO document on land cover classification systems, (2000) partly answers this ... over the surface land, including water, vegetation, bare soils and or artificial structures. ... diseases may occur more readily in areas exposed by Land Use and Land Cover ...

Covering TV Violence Issues in Print and Electronic Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ANCA VELICU

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Starting from the observation that TV violence is a reality in current Romanian society, taken up as such by the legislators, the academic environment and the civil society, we want to see to what extent this issue is covered in the print and electronic media and how does such coverage is carried out. Therefore, we tried to look at the development of this subject in the online written media, by elaborating on several questions: is the subject „media violence" present in the Romanian media? If so, to what extent is this subject presented as a public issue (Cefai, 1996, in a contextual manner (by analyzing the causes, consequences, the different means of tackling the possible negative consequences, the impact levels, etc., or, on the contrary, is it made into a show, being only „news of the day" triggered by a trivial event and treated as such? Who are the social actors (the „voices" invoked in the coverage of this subject?

Land Cover

Data.gov (United States)

Kansas Data Access and Support Center — The Land Cover database depicts 10 general land cover classes for the State of Kansas. The database was compiled from a digital classification of Landsat Thematic...

LMFBR technology. FFTF cover-gas leakage calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deboi, H.

1974-01-01

The FFTF LMFBR is intended to have a near zero release of radioactive gases during normal reactor operation with 1% failed fuel. This report presents calculations which provide an approximation of these cover gas leakages. Data from ongoing static and dynamic seal leak tests at AI are utilized. Leakage through both elastomeric and metallic seals in all sub-assemblies and penetrations comprising the reactor cover gas containment during reactor operation system are included

Modeled impact of anthropogenic land cover change on climate

Science.gov (United States)

Findell, K.L.; Shevliakova, E.; Milly, P.C.D.; Stouffer, R.J.

2007-01-01

Equilibrium experiments with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's climate model are used to investigate the impact of anthropogenic land cover change on climate. Regions of altered land cover include large portions of Europe, India, eastern China, and the eastern United States. Smaller areas of change are present in various tropical regions. This study focuses on the impacts of biophysical changes associated with the land cover change (albedo, root and stomatal properties, roughness length), which is almost exclusively a conversion from forest to grassland in the model; the effects of irrigation or other water management practices and the effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide changes associated with land cover conversion are not included in these experiments. The model suggests that observed land cover changes have little or no impact on globally averaged climatic variables (e.g., 2-m air temperature is 0.008 K warmer in a simulation with 1990 land cover compared to a simulation with potential natural vegetation cover). Differences in the annual mean climatic fields analyzed did not exhibit global field significance. Within some of the regions of land cover change, however, there are relatively large changes of many surface climatic variables. These changes are highly significant locally in the annual mean and in most months of the year in eastern Europe and northern India. They can be explained mainly as direct and indirect consequences of model-prescribed increases in surface albedo, decreases in rooting depth, and changes of stomatal control that accompany deforestation. ?? 2007 American Meteorological Society.

Nuclear reactor coolant and cover gas system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, J.A.; Redding, A.H.; Tower, S.N.

1976-01-01

A core cooling system is disclosed for a nuclear reactor of the type utilizing a liquid coolant with a cover gas above free surfaces of the coolant. The disclosed system provides for a large inventory of reactor coolant and a balanced low pressure cover gas arrangement. A flow restricting device disposed within a reactor vessel achieves a pressure of the cover gas in the reactor vessel lower than the pressure of the reactor coolant in the vessel. The low gas pressure is maintained over all free surfaces of the coolant in the cooling system including a coolant reservoir tank. Reactor coolant stored in the reservoir tank allows for the large reactor coolant inventory provided by the invention

Subjective and objective measurement of the intelligibility of synthesized speech impaired by the very low bit rate STANAG 4591 codec including packet loss

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Počta, P.; Beerends, J.G.

2017-01-01

This paper deals with the intelligibility of speech coded by the STANAG 4591 standard codec, including packet loss, using synthesized speech input. Both subjective and objective assessments are used. It is shown that this codec significantly degrades intelligibility when compared to a standard

Ecology of Land Cover Change in Glaciated Tropical Mountains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenneth R. Young

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Tropical mountains contain unique biological diversity, and are subject to many consequences of global climate change, exasperated by concurrent socioeconomic shifts. Glaciers are in a negative mass balance, exposing substrates to primary succession and altering downslope wetlands and streams. A review of recent trends and future predictions suggests a likely reduction in areas of open habitat for species of high mountains due to greater woody plant cover, accompanied by land use shifts by farmers and pastoralists along the environmental gradients of tropical mountains. Research is needed on the biodiversity and ecosystem consequences of successional change, including the direct effects of retreating glaciers and the indirect consequences of combined social and ecological drivers in lower elevations. Areas in the high mountains that are protected for nature conservation or managed collectively by local communities represent opportunities for integrated research and development approaches that may provide ecological spaces for future species range shifts.

Interrelationships between soil cover and plant cover depending on land use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiina Köster

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Interrelationships between soil cover and plant cover of normally developed (or postlithogenic mineral soils are analysed on the basis of four sampling soil groups. The four-link pedo-ecological sequence of analysed soils, rendzinas → brown soils → pseudopodzolic soils → gley-podzols, forms a representative cross section in relation to the normal mineral soils of Estonia. All groups differ substantially from each other in terms of soil properties (calcareousness, acidity, nutrition conditions, profile fabric and humus cover. The primary tasks of the research were (1 to elucidate the main pedo-ecological characteristics of the four soil groups and their suitability for plant cover, (2 to evaluate comparatively soils in terms of productivity, sustainability, biodiversity and environmental protection ability and (3 to analyse possibilities for ecologically sound matching of soil cover with suitable plant cover. On the basis of the same material, the influence of land-use change on humus cover (epipedon fabric, properties of the entire soil cover and soil–plant interrelationship were also analysed. An ecosystem approach enables us to observe particularities caused by specific properties of a soil type (species, variety in biological turnover and in the formation of biodiversity.

Hydrological impacts of global land cover change and human water use

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. H. C. Bosmans

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Human impacts on global terrestrial hydrology have been accelerating during the 20th century. These human impacts include the effects of reservoir building and human water use, as well as land cover change. To date, many global studies have focussed on human water use, but only a few focus on or include the impact of land cover change. Here we use PCR-GLOBWB, a combined global hydrological and water resources model, to assess the impacts of land cover change as well as human water use globally in different climatic zones. Our results show that land cover change has a strong effect on the global hydrological cycle, on the same order of magnitude as the effect of human water use (applying irrigation, abstracting water, for industrial use for example, including reservoirs, etc.. When globally averaged, changing the land cover from that of 1850 to that of 2000 increases discharge through reduced evapotranspiration. The effect of land cover change shows large spatial variability in magnitude and sign of change depending on, for example, the specific land cover change and climate zone. Overall, land cover effects on evapotranspiration are largest for the transition of tall natural vegetation to crops in energy-limited equatorial and warm temperate regions. In contrast, the inclusion of irrigation, water abstraction and reservoirs reduces global discharge through enhanced evaporation over irrigated areas and reservoirs as well as through water consumption. Hence, in some areas land cover change and water distribution both reduce discharge, while in other areas the effects may partly cancel out. The relative importance of both types of impacts varies spatially across climatic zones. From this study we conclude that land cover change needs to be considered when studying anthropogenic impacts on water resources.

Biocompatibility of a new device of self-expandable covered and non-covered tracheal stent: comparative study in rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olavo Ribeiro Rodrigues

2013-01-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: To investigate the compatibility of a new model of self-expandable tracheal stent in rats. METHODS: A new device of polyurethane covered and non - covered stent was placed in the trachea of Wistar rats. Animals were distributed in two groups: the polyurethane covered and non-covered group. Macroscopic parameters included position within the tracheal lumen, adherence to the mucosa, degree of dilatation, permeability and internal diameter. Microscopic findings evaluated were: incorporation, inflammatory activity, granulation tissue and epithelial revetment injuries. The observation follow-up was six weeks. All parameters were quantified based on determined score values. Incorporation of the stents was evaluated based on the observation if the stent was fixed into the trachea or if it could be removed. Degree of dilatation was performed by external diameter measurements. Granulation tissue was evaluated by measurements of height of the tissue growing into the tracheal lumen. RESULTS: 100% of non-covered stents had total attachment to mucosa and 100% of polyurethane covered type had adherence only. Regarding dilatation, granulation tissue, inflammatory activity and internal diameter measurements, there were no significant differences between the groups. Pathological tracheal wall injuries were present in both groups. CONCLUSION: Both models of stent demonstrated biocompatibility with the trachea. Rats are suitable for an experimental model of tracheal stent study.

Updating the 2001 National Land Cover Database land cover classification to 2006 by using Landsat imagery change detection methods

Science.gov (United States)

Xian, George; Homer, Collin G.; Fry, Joyce

2009-01-01

The recent release of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001, which represents the nation's land cover status based on a nominal date of 2001, is widely used as a baseline for national land cover conditions. To enable the updating of this land cover information in a consistent and continuous manner, a prototype method was developed to update land cover by an individual Landsat path and row. This method updates NLCD 2001 to a nominal date of 2006 by using both Landsat imagery and data from NLCD 2001 as the baseline. Pairs of Landsat scenes in the same season in 2001 and 2006 were acquired according to satellite paths and rows and normalized to allow calculation of change vectors between the two dates. Conservative thresholds based on Anderson Level I land cover classes were used to segregate the change vectors and determine areas of change and no-change. Once change areas had been identified, land cover classifications at the full NLCD resolution for 2006 areas of change were completed by sampling from NLCD 2001 in unchanged areas. Methods were developed and tested across five Landsat path/row study sites that contain several metropolitan areas including Seattle, Washington; San Diego, California; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Jackson, Mississippi; and Manchester, New Hampshire. Results from the five study areas show that the vast majority of land cover change was captured and updated with overall land cover classification accuracies of 78.32%, 87.5%, 88.57%, 78.36%, and 83.33% for these areas. The method optimizes mapping efficiency and has the potential to provide users a flexible method to generate updated land cover at national and regional scales by using NLCD 2001 as the baseline.

Covering an uncountable square by countable many continuous functions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kubiś, Wieslaw; Vejnar, B.

2012-01-01

Roč. 140, č. 12 (2012), s. 4359-4368 ISSN 0002-9939 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA100190901 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10190503 Keywords : uncountable square * covering by continuous functions * set of cardinality N-1 Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.609, year: 2012 http://www.ams.org/journals/proc/2012-140-12/S0002-9939-2012-11292-4/home.html

[Cover motifs of the Tidsskrift. A 14-year cavalcade].

Science.gov (United States)

Nylenna, M

1998-12-10

In 1985 the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association changed its cover policy, moving the table of contents inside the Journal and introducing cover illustrations. This article provides an analysis of all cover illustrations published over this 14-year period, 420 covers in all. There is a great variation in cover motifs and designs and a development towards more general motifs. The initial emphasis on historical and medical aspects is now less pronounced, while the use of works of art and nature motifs has increased, and the cover now more often has a direct bearing on the specific contents of the issue. Professor of medical history Oivind Larsen has photographed two thirds of the covers and contributed 95% of the inside essay-style reflections on the cover motif. Over the years, he has expanded the role of the historian of medicine disseminating knowledge to include that of the raconteur with a personal tone of voice. The Journal's covers are now one of its most characteristic features, emblematic of the Journal's ambition of standing for quality and timelessness vis-à-vis the news media, and of its aim of bridging the gap between medicine and the humanities.

Silicone covered vs. Non- covered endotracheal self expandable metallic stent: An experimental study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Do, Young Soo; Lee, Byung Hee; Kim, Soo Ah; Kim, Kie Hwan; Chin, Soo Yil; Cho, Kyung Ja; Cho, Dae Soon [Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1994-10-15

To evaluate pathologic changes of the trachea and the lung after insertion of silicone covered and non covered Gianturco stent in the trachea of dog. Silicone covered(covered) and non covered(bare) Gianturco stent, six in each, were inserted into the tracheal lumen of six consecutive dogs. After 1-10 weeks observation, the dogs were sacrificed and their tracheas and lungs were examined grossly and histopathologically. Serial chest radiographs were performed to evaluate pneumonia and stent migration every 3-5 days. Pneumonia was observed in one of bare stent group and five of covered stent group. Stent migration was noted in three of covered stent group. In bare stent group, the epithelium of the trachea was markedly thickened by hyperplasia and stent was covered by granulation tissue from 6 weeks after stent insertion. Inflammation was focal at contact site between the stent and the trachea. In covered stent group, the epithelium was denuded at multiple areas and there were multifocal squamous metaplasia of the mucosa. Inflammatory reaction of the trachea was diffuse. Inflammatory reaction was more severe and stent migration was more frequent in covered stent group. The use of covered stent in the trachea should be studied further.

Sky cover from MFRSR observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Kassianov

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The diffuse all-sky surface irradiances measured at two nearby wavelengths in the visible spectral range and their modeled clear-sky counterparts are the main components of a new method for estimating the fractional sky cover of different cloud types, including cumuli. The performance of this method is illustrated using 1-min resolution data from a ground-based Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR. The MFRSR data are collected at the US Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF Southern Great Plains (SGP site during the summer of 2007 and represent 13 days with cumuli. Good agreement is obtained between estimated values of the fractional sky cover and those provided by a well-established independent method based on broadband observations.

45 CFR 310.0 - What does this part cover?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... COMPUTERIZED TRIBAL IV-D SYSTEMS AND OFFICE AUTOMATION General Provisions § 310.0 What does this part cover... 45 Public Welfare 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What does this part cover? 310.0 Section 310.0... and Office Automation including: (a) The automated systems options for comprehensive Tribal IV-D...

Branched polynomial covering maps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Vagn Lundsgaard

2002-01-01

A Weierstrass polynomial with multiple roots in certain points leads to a branched covering map. With this as the guiding example, we formally define and study the notion of a branched polynomial covering map. We shall prove that many finite covering maps are polynomial outside a discrete branch ...... set. Particular studies are made of branched polynomial covering maps arising from Riemann surfaces and from knots in the 3-sphere. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.......A Weierstrass polynomial with multiple roots in certain points leads to a branched covering map. With this as the guiding example, we formally define and study the notion of a branched polynomial covering map. We shall prove that many finite covering maps are polynomial outside a discrete branch...

Specialists' meeting on fast reactor cover gas purification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

The tentative agenda was adopted by the participants without comment and was followed throughout the meeting. The following topics were discussed at the subsequent sessions of the meeting on 'Fast Reactor Cover Gas Purification': National Position Papers; Impurities: Sources and Measurement; Cover Gas Purification Techniques; Sodium Aerosol Trapping; Radiological Considerations. Based on the papers presented and the discussions following, session summaries and conclusions were prepared and are included in this report

Specialists' meeting on fast reactor cover gas purification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1987-07-01

The tentative agenda was adopted by the participants without comment and was followed throughout the meeting. The following topics were discussed at the subsequent sessions of the meeting on 'Fast Reactor Cover Gas Purification': National Position Papers; Impurities: Sources and Measurement; Cover Gas Purification Techniques; Sodium Aerosol Trapping; Radiological Considerations. Based on the papers presented and the discussions following, session summaries and conclusions were prepared and are included in this report.

Validation of Land Cover Products Using Reliability Evaluation Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenzhong Shi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Validation of land cover products is a fundamental task prior to data applications. Current validation schemes and methods are, however, suited only for assessing classification accuracy and disregard the reliability of land cover products. The reliability evaluation of land cover products should be undertaken to provide reliable land cover information. In addition, the lack of high-quality reference data often constrains validation and affects the reliability results of land cover products. This study proposes a validation schema to evaluate the reliability of land cover products, including two methods, namely, result reliability evaluation and process reliability evaluation. Result reliability evaluation computes the reliability of land cover products using seven reliability indicators. Process reliability evaluation analyzes the reliability propagation in the data production process to obtain the reliability of land cover products. Fuzzy fault tree analysis is introduced and improved in the reliability analysis of a data production process. Research results show that the proposed reliability evaluation scheme is reasonable and can be applied to validate land cover products. Through the analysis of the seven indicators of result reliability evaluation, more information on land cover can be obtained for strategic decision-making and planning, compared with traditional accuracy assessment methods. Process reliability evaluation without the need for reference data can facilitate the validation and reflect the change trends of reliabilities to some extent.

Prevalence and sequence variations of the genes encoding the five antigens included in the novel 5CVMB vaccine covering group B meningococcal disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobsson, Susanne; Hedberg, Sara Thulin; Mölling, Paula; Unemo, Magnus; Comanducci, Maurizio; Rappuoli, Rino; Olcén, Per

2009-03-04

During the recent years, projects are in progress for designing broad-range non-capsular-based meningococcal vaccines, covering also serogroup B isolates. We have examined three genes encoding antigens (NadA, GNA1030 and GNA2091) included in a novel vaccine, i.e. the 5 Component Vaccine against Meningococcus B (5CVMB), in terms of gene prevalence and sequence variations. These data were combined with the results from a similar study, examining the two additional antigens included in the 5CVMB (fHbp and GNA2132). nadA and fHbp v. 1 were present in 38% (n=36), respectively 71% (n=67) of the isolates, whereas gna2132, gna1030 and gna2091 were present in all the Neisseria meningitidis isolates tested (n=95). The level of amino acid conservation was relatively high in GNA1030 (93%), GNA2091 (92%), and within the main variants of NadA and fHbp. GNA2132 (54% of the amino acids conserved) appeared to be the most diversified antigen. Consequently, the theoretical coverage of the 5CVMB antigens and the feasibility to use these in a broad-range meningococcal vaccine is appealing.

Global visibility for global health: Is it time for a new descriptor in Medical Subject Heading (MeSH of MEDLINE/PubMed?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Marušic´

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Despite a large body of research in global health (almost 9000 articles published in PubMed until 2012, the term “global health” is not included in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH of the NLM – its controlled vocabulary thesaurus which NLM uses to index articles in MEDL INE. There are only 6 journals currently covered by PubMed which specialize in global health, including Journal of Global Health.

The changing role of the subject specialist

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Cotta-Schønberg

2007-11-01

Full Text Available As we all know, libraries are these years rapidly undergoing change on unparalleled scale. Evidently, this applies to librarians, too, and not the least to that important category of library staff, the subject specialist. As recruiting and education of library workers differ from country to country it is difficult to give a detailed, generally valid description of the subject librarian in libraries, but I believe that you can describe an ideal model of subject librarianship as follows: Within each of the major subject disciplines covered by the library, the library should have a subject specialist preferably with a master degree or at least a bachelor degree in the particular subject discipline. The role of the subject specialist is to perform four basic functions where extensive subject knowledge is considered to be necessary: selecting and classifying books, assisting users with advanced subject inquiries, giving subject-specific courses in information retrieval, and maintaining liaison with relevant academic departments and centres. Personally, I know this system very well since I got employment in the Royal Library in Copenhagen as a subject specialist in psychology in the very month I finished my degree in psychology from the University of Copenhagen, back in 1973. The subject librarian system at the Royal Library in Copenhagen was patterned on the ideal model, as I just described it, and it was closely paralleled in the other academic libraries in Denmark, also the new university libraries which were founded in the seventies.

Alternate cover materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-09-01

As an effort to enhance compliance with the proposed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) groundwater standards, several special studies are being performed by the Technical Assistance Contractor (TAC) to identify and evaluate various design features that may reduce groundwater-related releases from tailings piles. The objective of this special study is to assess the suitability of using alternate cover materials (other than geomembranes) as infiltration barriers in Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project piles to minimize leachate generation. The materials evaluated in this study include various types of asphalts, concretes, and a sodium bentonite clay/polypropylene liner system

Research on clay covering experiment in a abandoned uranium mining area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xueli; Xu Lechang; Zhang Wei

2014-01-01

The clay covering experiment was designed in a abandoned uranium mining area, including experiment principle, determining size of experimental site, experiment method, choosing cover materials and determining cover thickness. According to the experiment results, the relationship between the radon exhalation rate and cover thickness, the diffusion coefficient of radon in clay were fully discussed. Also, the corresponding function expressions were established. The linear correlation coefficient test results showed that the relationship between the radon exhalation rate and cover thickness was significantly correlated. According to the correlation function expression between the radon exhalation rate and the cover thickness, the cover thickness of the decommissioning sites can be determined, in order to provide a scientific basis for the design and environmental impact assessment on decommissioning disposal project of a uranium mine. (authors)

Towards Seamless Validation of Land Cover Data

Science.gov (United States)

Chuprikova, Ekaterina; Liebel, Lukas; Meng, Liqiu

2018-05-01

This article demonstrates the ability of the Bayesian Network analysis for the recognition of uncertainty patterns associated with the fusion of various land cover data sets including GlobeLand30, CORINE (CLC2006, Germany) and land cover data derived from Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) such as Open Street Map (OSM). The results of recognition are expressed as probability and uncertainty maps which can be regarded as a by-product of the GlobeLand30 data. The uncertainty information may guide the quality improvement of GlobeLand30 by involving the ground truth data, information with superior quality, the know-how of experts and the crowd intelligence. Such an endeavor aims to pave a way towards a seamless validation of global land cover data on the one hand and a targeted knowledge discovery in areas with higher uncertainty values on the other hand.

Managing nuclear knowledge: IAEA activities and international coordination. Including resource material full text CD-ROM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-06-01

The present CD-ROM summarizes some activities carried out by the Departments of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Safety and Security in the area of nuclear knowledge management in the period 2003-2005. It comprises, as open resource, most of the relevant documents in full text, including policy level documents, reports, presentation material by Member States and meeting summaries. The collection starts with a reprint of the report to the IAEA General Conference 2004 on Nuclear Knowledge [GOV/2004/56-GC(48)/12] summarizing the developments in nuclear knowledge management since the 47th session of the General Conference in 2003 and covers Managing Nuclear Knowledge including safety issues and Information and Strengthening Education and Training for Capacity Building. It contains an excerpt on Nuclear Knowledge from the General Conference Resolution [GC(48)/RES/13] on Strengthening the Agency's Activities Related to Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications. On the CD-ROM itself, all documents can easily be accessed by clicking on their titles on the subject pages (also printed at the end of this Working Material). Part 1 of the CD-ROM covers the activities in the period 2003-2005 and part 2 presents a resource material full text CD-ROM on Managing Nuclear Knowledge issued in October 2003

Engineered soil covers for management of salt impacted sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sweeney, D.A.; Tratch, D.J.

2005-01-01

The use of engineered soil cover systems to mitigate environmental impacts from tailings and waste rock piles is becoming an accepted practice. This paper presented design concepts for soil covers related to reclamation practices in the mining industry as an effective risk management practice at salt impacted sites. Research and field programs have demonstrated that a layered engineered soil cover can reduce or eliminate infiltration. Key components of the system included re-establishing surface vegetation to balance precipitation fluxes with evapotranspiration potential, and design of a capillary break below the rooting zone to minimize deeper seated infiltration. It was anticipated that the incorporation of a vegetation cover and a capillary break would minimize infiltration into the waste rock or tailing pile and reduce the generation of acid rock drainage (ARD). Design of a layered soil cover requires the incorporation of meteorological data, moisture retention characteristics of the impacted soils, and proposed engineered cover materials. Performance of the soil cover was predicted using a finite element model combined with meteorological data from the site area, unsaturated soil properties of the parent sub-surface soils and potential covered materials. The soil cover design consisted of re-vegetation and a loose clay cover overlying a compacted till layer. The design was conducted for an off site release of salt impacted pasture land adjacent to a former highway maintenance yard. The model predicted minimal infiltration during high precipitation events and no infiltration during low precipitation events. Results indicated that the proposed soil cover would enable re-establishment of a productive agricultural ground cover, as well as minimizing the potential for additional salt migration. It was concluded that further research and development is needed to ensure that the cover system is an acceptable method for long-term risk management. 17 refs., 5 figs

Branched polynomial covering maps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Vagn Lundsgaard

1999-01-01

A Weierstrass polynomial with multiple roots in certain points leads to a branched covering map. With this as the guiding example, we formally define and study the notion of a branched polynomial covering map. We shall prove that many finite covering maps are polynomial outside a discrete branch...... set. Particular studies are made of branched polynomial covering maps arising from Riemann surfaces and from knots in the 3-sphere....

Guide for In-Place Treatment of Covered and Timber Bridges

Science.gov (United States)

Stan Lebow; Grant Kirker; Robert White; Terry Amburgey; H. Michael Barnes; Michael Sanders; Jeff Morrell

2012-01-01

Historic covered bridges and current timber bridges can be vulnerable to damage from biodeterioration or fire. This guide describes procedures for selecting and applying in-place treatments to prevent or arrest these forms of degradation. Vulnerable areas for biodeterioration in covered bridges include members contacting abutments, members near the ends of bridges...

Mean species cover: a harmonized indicator of shrub cover for forest inventories

Science.gov (United States)

Iciar Alberdi; Sonia Condés; Ronald E. Mcroberts; Susanne Winter

2018-01-01

Because shrub cover is related to many forest ecosystem functions, it is one of the most relevant variables for describing these communities. Nevertheless, a harmonized indicator of shrub cover for large-scale reporting is lacking. The aims of the study were threefold: to define a shrub indicator that can be used by European countries for harmonized shrub cover...

Tillage System and Cover Crop Effects on Soil Quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abdollahi, Lotfollah; Munkholm, Lars Juhl

2014-01-01

), and moldboard plowing (MP) with and without a cover crop were evaluated in a long-term experiment on a sandy loam soil in Denmark. Chemical, physical, and biological soil properties were measured in the spring of 2012. The field measurements included mean weight diameter (MWD) after the drop-shatter test......, penetration resistance, and visual evaluation of soil structure (VESS). In the laboratory, aggregate strength, water-stable aggregates (WSA), and clay dispersibility were measured. The analyzed chemical and biological properties included soil organic C (SOC), total N, microbial biomass C, labile P and K......Optimal use of management systems including tillage and winter cover crops is recommended to improve soil quality and sustain agricultural production. The effects on soil properties of three tillage systems (as main plot) including direct drilling (D), harrowing to a depth of 8 to 10 cm (H...

Tree cover in Central Africa: determinants and sensitivity under contrasted scenarios of global change.

Science.gov (United States)

Aleman, Julie C; Blarquez, Olivier; Gourlet-Fleury, Sylvie; Bremond, Laurent; Favier, Charly

2017-01-30

Tree cover is a key variable for ecosystem functioning, and is widely used to study tropical ecosystems. But its determinants and their relative importance are still a matter of debate, especially because most regional and global analyses have not considered the influence of agricultural practices. More information is urgently needed regarding how human practices influence vegetation structure. Here we focused in Central Africa, a region still subjected to traditional agricultural practices with a clear vegetation gradient. Using remote sensing data and global databases, we calibrated a Random Forest model to correlatively link tree cover with climatic, edaphic, fire and agricultural practices data. We showed that annual rainfall and accumulated water deficit were the main drivers of the distribution of tree cover and vegetation classes (defined by the modes of tree cover density), but agricultural practices, especially pastoralism, were also important in determining tree cover. We simulated future tree cover with our model using different scenarios of climate and land-use (agriculture and population) changes. Our simulations suggest that tree cover may respond differently regarding the type of scenarios, but land-use change was an important driver of vegetation change even able to counterbalance the effect of climate change in Central Africa.

Nilai Eksklusivitas Dalam Karya Foto Cover Majalah Tempo Edisi 4351 Tentang Kasus Bom Sarinah 2016

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yohanes Christiansen Tanjung

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Visualization towards a news which is not limited on animation or photographic works in electronic media, online, and printed media has purposively been as additional information and becomes a complement of news. Particularly in spot news of the photojournalism works, every occurrence happens quite quickly. Due to photography, every moment can be recorded and well documented, as well as providing answers to what is actually happening on a rapid occurrence. One example is the use of photographs on a printed media, namely Tempo. This Research aims to observe hidden meaning in the works of photojournalism on the cover of Tempo magazine 4351 edition wether it is objective or subjective meaning that be received by the public after seeing the photo on the cover. The method used is descriptive qualitative method by conducting analysis of Peirce semiotics on the cover photo of Tempo magazine issue of 4351. Based on the research which has been done, it can be concluded that the application of visualization conducted by Tempo referred to the works of photojournalism in the cover of Tempo magazine issue of 4351 created exclusivity both in objective and subjective meaning Visualisasi pada suatu pemberitaan baik itu animasi maupun karya foto dalam media elektronik, online, dan pastinya media cetak, mempunyai tujuan sebagai informasi tambahan serta pemanis suatu berita. Khususnya pada karya foto jurnalistik spot news, setiap peristiwa yang terjadi dengan sangat cepat. Oleh karena fotografi, setiap kejadian dapat direkam dan didokumentasikan dengan baik, serta memberikan jawaban atas apa yang sebenarnya terjadi pada suatu peristiwa yang berlangsung dengan cepat. Salah satu contohnya adalah pemakaian karya foto pada sebuah cover media cetak, yaitu Tempo. Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui makna yang tersembunyi dalam karya foto jurnalistik pada cover majalah Tempo edisi 4351 baik berupa makna obyektif maupun subyektif yang diterima publik setelah melihat

Separation and extension of cover inequalities for second-order conic knapsack constraints with GUBs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Atamtürk, Alper; Muller, Laurent Flindt; Pisinger, David

We consider the second-order conic equivalent of the classic knapsack polytope where the variables are subject to generalized upper bound constraints. We describe and compare a number of separation and extension algorithms which make use of the extra structure implied by the generalized upper bound...... constraints in order to strengthen the second-order conic equivalent of the classic cover cuts. We show that determining whether a cover can be extended with a variable is NP-hard. Computational experiments are performed comparing the proposed separation and extension algorithms. These experiments show...

Relation lifting, with an application to the many-valued cover modality

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bílková, Marta; Kurz, A.; Petrisan, D.; Velebil, J.

2013-01-01

Roč. 9, č. 4 (2013), 8_1-8_48 ISSN 1860-5974 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP202/11/1632 Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : relation lifting * module * exact square * enriched categories * commutative quantale * coalgebra * modal logic * cover modality Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics Impact factor: 0.443, year: 2013 http://www.lmcs-online.org/ojs/viewarticle.php?id=1154&layout=abstract

How natural and cultural aspects influence land cover structure in the Czech Republic?

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Boucníková, Eva; Kučera, Tomáš

Sup.1/2005, č. 24 (2005), s. 69-82 ISSN 1335-342X R&D Projects: GA MŽP(CZ) SM/630/2/03 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60870520 Keywords : CORINE land cover * land use change Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 0.085, year: 2005

The distribution of selected CORINE land cover classes in different natural landscapes in Slovakia: Methodological framework and applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pazúr Róbert

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The distribution of selected CORINE land cover classes in different physical conditions was subject to modelling, analysis and evaluation in this article. In three regions with different geo-relief, the occurrence of land cover classes was analysed by using determinants commonly used in land-use models. Using three different modelling frameworks, the importance of methodological design in land-cover modelling was demonstrated. High levels of explanatory power for the factors defined here were found in landscapes of high heterogeneity. Findings derived from the statistical models highlight the importance of landscape disaggregation by natural conditions in complex land-cover or land-use models.

40 CFR 63.1561 - Am I subject to this subpart?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Petroleum Refineries: Catalytic Cracking Units, Catalytic Reforming Units, and Sulfur Recovery Units What This Subpart Covers § 63.1561 Am I subject to this subpart... reforming an intermediate petroleum stream, or recovering a by-product(s) from the intermediate petroleum...

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…

77 FR 48733 - Transitional Program for Covered Business Method Patents-Definitions of Covered Business Method...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-14

... Office 37 CFR Part 42 Transitional Program for Covered Business Method Patents--Definitions of Covered... Business Method Patents-- Definitions of Covered Business Method Patent and Technological Invention AGENCY... forth in detail the definitions of the terms ``covered business method patent'' and ``technological...

Land cover in single-family housing areas and how it correlates with urban form

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Mette Boye; Jensen, Marina Bergen

2015-01-01

Land cover composition is a valuable indicator of the ecological performance of a city. Single-family housing areas constitute a substantial part of most cities and may as such play an important role for sustainable urban development. From aerial photos we performed detailed GIS-based mapping...... of land cover in three detached single-family housing areas in Denmark of different urban form but comparable housing densities (ranging from 10.0 to 11.3 houses per hectare). The findings were subjected to statistical analysis and landscape metrics. Land cover varied with urban form: A traditional...... spatial configuration with rectangular parcels contained significantly more vegetation and less impervious surfaces per parcel than newer Radburn-inspired configurations with more quadratic parcels. Correlation analysis showed size of paved access ways to be positively correlated with distance from road...

Enhanced Cover Assessment Project:Soil Manipulation and Revegetation Tests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waugh, W. Joseph [Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc.; Albright, Dr. Bill [Desert Research Inst. (DRI), Reno, NV (United States); Benson, Dr. Craig [University of Wisconsin-Madison

2014-02-01

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management is evaluating methods to enhance natural changes that are essentially converting conventional disposal cell covers for uranium mill tailings into water balance covers. Conventional covers rely on a layer of compacted clayey soil to limit exhalation of radon gas and percolation of rainwater. Water balance covers rely on a less compacted soil “sponge” to store rainwater, and on soil evaporation and plant transpiration (evapotranspiration) to remove stored water and thereby limit percolation. Over time, natural soil-forming and ecological processes are changing conventional covers by increasing hydraulic conductivity, loosening compaction, and increasing evapotranspiration. The rock armor on conventional covers creates a favorable habitat for vegetation by slowing soil evaporation, increasing soil water storage, and trapping dust and organic matter, thereby providing the water and nutrients needed for plant germination, survival, and sustainable transpiration. Goals and Objectives Our overall goal is to determine if allowing or enhancing these natural changes could improve cover performance and reduce maintenance costs over the long term. This test pad study focuses on cover soil hydrology and ecology. Companion studies are evaluating effects of natural and enhanced changes in covers on radon attenuation, erosion, and biointrusion. We constructed a test cover at the Grand Junction disposal site to evaluate soil manipulation and revegetation methods. The engineering design, construction, and properties of the test cover match the upper three layers of the nearby disposal cell cover: a 1-foot armoring of rock riprap, a 6-inch bedding layer of coarse sand and gravel, and a 2-foot protection layer of compacted fine soil. The test cover does not have a radon barrier—cover enhancement tests leave the radon barrier intact. We tested furrowing and ripping as means for creating depressions parallel to the slope

Covering folded shapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oswin Aichholzer

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Can folding a piece of paper flat make it larger? We explore whether a shape S must be scaled to cover a flat-folded copy of itself. We consider both single folds and arbitrary folds (continuous piecewise isometries \\(S\\to\\mathbb{R}^2\\. The underlying problem is motivated by computational origami, and is related to other covering and fixturing problems, such as Lebesgue's universal cover problem and force closure grasps. In addition to considering special shapes (squares, equilateral triangles, polygons and disks, we give upper and lower bounds on scale factors for single folds of convex objects and arbitrary folds of simply connected objects.

Effects of Floor Covering Resistance of a Radiant Floor on System Energy and Exergy Performances

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kazanci, Ongun Berk; Shukuya, Masanori; Olesen, Bjarne W.

2016-01-01

Floor covering resistance (material and thickness) can be influenced by subjective choices (architectural design, interior design, texture, etc.) with significant effects on the performance of a radiant heating and cooling system. To study the effects of floor covering resistance on system...... performance, a water-based radiant floor heating and cooling system (dry, wooden construction) was considered to be coupled to an air-to-water heat pump, and the effects of varying floor covering resistances (0.05 m2K/W, 0.09 m2K/W and 0.15 m2K/W) on system performance were analyzed in terms of energy...... and exergy. In order to achieve the same heating and cooling outputs, higher average water temperatures are required in the heating mode (and lower temperatures in the cooling mode) with increasing floor covering resistance. These temperature requirements decrease the heat pump’s performance (lower...

Coupled Environmental Processes and Long-term Performance of Landfill Covers in the northern Mojave Desert

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David Shafer; Michael Young; Stephen Zitzer; Eric McDonald; Todd Caldwell

2004-05-12

Evapotransiration (ET) covers have gained widespread acceptance as a closure feature for waste disposal sites, particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern U.S. But as landforms, ET covers are subject to change over time because of processes such as pedogenesis, hydrologic processes, vegetation establishment and change, and biological processes. To better understand the effects of coupled process changes to ET covers, a series of four primary analog sites in Yucca Flat on the Nevada Test Site, along with measurements and observations from other locations in the Mojave Desert, were selected to evaluate changes in ET covers over time. The analog sites, of varying ages, were selected to address changes in the early post-institutional control period, the 1,000-year compliance period for disposal of low-level and mixed low-level waste, and the 10,000-year compliance period for transuranic waste sites.

Coupled Environmental Processes and Long-term Performance of Landfill Covers in the northern Mojave Desert

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David Shafer; Michael Young; Stephen Zitzer; Eric McDonald; Todd Caldwell

2004-01-01

Evapotransiration (ET) covers have gained widespread acceptance as a closure feature for waste disposal sites, particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern U.S. But as landforms, ET covers are subject to change over time because of processes such as pedogenesis, hydrologic processes, vegetation establishment and change, and biological processes. To better understand the effects of coupled process changes to ET covers, a series of four primary analog sites in Yucca Flat on the Nevada Test Site, along with measurements and observations from other locations in the Mojave Desert, were selected to evaluate changes in ET covers over time. The analog sites, of varying ages, were selected to address changes in the early post-institutional control period, the 1,000-year compliance period for disposal of low-level and mixed low-level waste, and the 10,000-year compliance period for transuranic waste sites

Snow cover and snowfall impact corticosterone and immunoglobulin a levels in a threatened steppe bird.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Gang; Hu, Xiaolong; Kessler, Aimee Elizabeth; Gong, Minghao; Wang, Yihua; Li, Huixin; Dong, Yuqiu; Yang, Yuhui; Li, Linhai

2018-05-15

Birds use both the corticosterone stress response and immune system to meet physiological challenges during exposure to adverse climatic conditions. To assess the stress level and immune response of the Asian Great Bustard during conditions of severe winter weather, we measured fecal corticosterone (CORT) and Immunoglobulin A (IgA) before and after snowfall in a low snow cover year (2014) and a high snow cover year (2015). A total of 239 fecal samples were gathered from individuals in Tumuji Nature Reserve, located in eastern Inner Mongolia, China. We observed high CORT levels that rose further after snowfall both in high and low snow cover years. IgA levels increased significantly after snowfall in the low snow cover year, but decreased after snowfall in the high snow cover year. These results suggest that overwintering Asian Great Bustards are subjected to climatic stress during severe winter weather, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and immune system react to this challenge. Extreme levels of stress, such as snowfall in already prolonged and high snow cover conditions may decrease immune function. Supplemental feeding should be considered under severe winter weather conditions for this endangered subspecies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rye cover crop effects on soil properties in no-till corn silage/soybean agroecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Farmers in the U.S. Corn Belt are showing increasing interest in winter cover crops. Known benefits of winter cover crops include reductions in nutrient leaching, erosion mitigation, and weed suppression, however little research has investigated the effects of winter cover crops on soil properties. ...

Discovering subjectivity: A subjective world of meanings in the stories of the twilight of life

OpenAIRE

Zagórska Wanda

2017-01-01

Pointing to the subjective nature of human life, theorists argue that only in a dialogue with another person does the human disclose meanings important to him or her. The interpretation and analysis of stories with regard to the included subjective meanings included in them as manifestations of human subjectivity seem to be the most effective when undertaken in the hermeneutic approach where psychology and philosophy meet. In the paper advantages of a self-narrative method based on the princi...

Armored Geomembrane Cover Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin Foye

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Geomembranes are an important component of modern engineered barriers to prevent the infiltration of stormwater and runoff into contaminated soil and rock as well as waste containment facilities—a function generally described as a geomembrane cover. This paper presents a case history involving a novel implementation of a geomembrane cover system. Due to this novelty, the design engineers needed to assemble from disparate sources the design criteria for the engineering of the cover. This paper discusses the design methodologies assembled by the engineering team. This information will aid engineers designing similar cover systems as well as environmental and public health professionals selecting site improvements that involve infiltration barriers.

Design and Installation of a Disposal Cell Cover Field Test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benson, C.H. [University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin; Waugh, W.J. [S.M. Stoller Corporation, Grand Junction, Colorado; Albright, W.H. [Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada; Smith, G.M. [Geo-Smith Engineering, Grand Junction, Colorado; Bush, R.P. [U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction, Colorado

2011-02-27

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management (LM) initiated a cover assessment project in September 2007 to evaluate an inexpensive approach to enhancing the hydrological performance of final covers for disposal cells. The objective is to accelerate and enhance natural processes that are transforming existing conventional covers, which rely on low-conductivity earthen barriers, into water balance covers, that store water in soil and release it as soil evaporation and plant transpiration. A low conductivity cover could be modified by deliberately blending the upper layers of the cover profile and planting native shrubs. A test facility was constructed at the Grand Junction, Colorado, Disposal Site to evaluate the proposed methodology. The test cover was constructed in two identical sections, each including a large drainage lysimeter. The test cover was constructed with the same design and using the same materials as the existing disposal cell in order to allow for a direct comparison of performance. One test section will be renovated using the proposed method; the other is a control. LM is using the lysimeters to evaluate the effectiveness of the renovation treatment by monitoring hydrologic conditions within the cover profile as well as all water entering and leaving the system. This paper describes the historical experience of final covers employing earthen barrier layers, the design and operation of the lysimeter test facility, testing conducted to characterize the as-built engineering and edaphic properties of the lysimeter soils, the calibration of instruments installed at the test facility, and monitoring data collected since the lysimeters were constructed.

Land Cover Classification from Multispectral Data Using Computational Intelligence Tools: A Comparative Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Mora

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This article discusses how computational intelligence techniques are applied to fuse spectral images into a higher level image of land cover distribution for remote sensing, specifically for satellite image classification. We compare a fuzzy-inference method with two other computational intelligence methods, decision trees and neural networks, using a case study of land cover classification from satellite images. Further, an unsupervised approach based on k-means clustering has been also taken into consideration for comparison. The fuzzy-inference method includes training the classifier with a fuzzy-fusion technique and then performing land cover classification using reinforcement aggregation operators. To assess the robustness of the four methods, a comparative study including three years of land cover maps for the district of Mandimba, Niassa province, Mozambique, was undertaken. Our results show that the fuzzy-fusion method performs similarly to decision trees, achieving reliable classifications; neural networks suffer from overfitting; while k-means clustering constitutes a promising technique to identify land cover types from unknown areas.

MANAGEMENT EFFECTS ON GROUND COVER CLUMPINESS: SCALING FROM FIELD TO SENTINEL-2 COVER ESTIMATES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Scarth

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Significant progress has been made in the development of cover data and derived products based on remotely sensed fractional cover information and field data across Australia, and these cover data sets are now used for quantifying and monitoring grazing land condition. The availability of a dense time-series of nearly 30 years of cover data to describe the spatial and temporal patterns in landscape changes over time can help with monitoring the effectiveness of grazing land management practice change. With the advent of higher spatial resolution data, such as that provided by the Copernicus Sentinel 2 series of satellites, we can look beyond reporting purely on cover amount and more closely at the operational monitoring and reporting on spatial arrangement of cover and its links with land condition. We collected high spatial resolution cover transects at 20 cm intervals over the Wambiana grazing trials in the Burdekin catchment in Queensland, Australia. Spatial variance analysis was used to determine the cover autocorrelation at various support intervals. Coincident Sentinel-2 imagery was collected and processed over all the sites providing imagery to link with the field data. We show that the spatial arrangement and temporal dynamics of cover are important indicators of grazing land condition for both productivity and water quality outcomes. The metrics and products derived from this research will assist land managers to prioritize investment and practice change strategies for long term sustainability and improved water quality, particularly in the Great Barrier Reef catchments.

Effect of rock fragment embedding on the aeolian deposition of dust on stone-covered surfaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goossens, D.

2005-01-01

Many stone-covered surfaces on Earth are subject to aeolian deposition of atmospheric dust. This study investigates how the deposition of dust is affected when rock fragments become gradually more embedded in the ground or, inversely, become more concentrated on the surface. Experiments were

Tillage System and Cover Crop Effects on Soil Quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abdollahi, Lotfollah; Munkholm, Lars Juhl

2014-01-01

Information about the quantitative effect of conservation tillage combined with a cover crop on soil structure is still limited. This study examined the effect of these management practices on soil pore characteristics of a sandy loam soil in a long-term field trial. The tillage treatments (main...... plots) included direct drilling (D), harrowing to a depth of 8 to 10 cm (H), and moldboard plowing (MP). The cover crop treatments were subplot with cover crop (+CC) and without cover crop (−CC). Minimally disturbed soil cores were taken from the 4- to 8-, 12- to 16-, and 18- to 27-cm depth intervals...... in the spring of 2012 before cultivation. Soil water retention and air permeability were measured for matric potentials ranging from −1 to −30 kPa. Gas diffusivity was measured at −10 kPa. Computed tomography (CT) scanning was also used to characterize soil pore characteristics. At the 4- to 8- and 18- to 27-cm...

Eleven years of ground–air temperature tracking over different land cover types

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Čermák, Vladimír; Bodri, L.; Krešl, Milan; Dědeček, Petr; Šafanda, Jan

2017-01-01

Roč. 37, č. 2 (2017), s. 1084-1099 ISSN 0899-8418 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GAP210/11/0183; GA MŠk(CZ) LG13040 Institutional support: RVO:67985530 Keywords : long-term temperature monitoring * land-cover materials * underground climate signal * borehole climatology * climate change Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology OBOR OECD: Meteorology and atmospheric sciences Impact factor: 3.760, year: 2016

Landfill covers for dry environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dwyer, S.F.

1996-01-01

A large-scale landfill cover field test is currently underway at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is intended to compare and document the performance of alternative landfill cover technologies of various costs and complexities for interim stabilization and/or final closure of landfills in arid and semi-arid environments. Test plots of traditional designs recommended by the US Environmental Protection Agency for both RCRA Subtitle open-quote C close-quote and open-quote D close-quote regulated facilities have been constructed side-by-side with the alternative covers and will serve as baselines for comparison to these alternative covers. The alternative covers were designed specifically for dry environments. The covers will be tested under both ambient and stressed conditions. All covers have been instrumented to measure water balance variables and soil temperature. An on-site weather station records all pertinent climatological data. A key to acceptance of an alternative environmental technology is seeking regulatory acceptance and eventual permitting. The lack of acceptance by regulatory agencies is a significant barrier to development and implementation of innovative cover technologies. Much of the effort on this demonstration has been toward gaining regulatory and public acceptance

On approximating restricted cycle covers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Manthey, Bodo

2008-01-01

A cycle cover of a graph is a set of cycles such that every vertex is part of exactly one cycle. An $L$-cycle cover is a cycle cover in which the length of every cycle is in the set $L$. The weight of a cycle cover of an edge-weighted graph is the sum of the weights of its edges. We come close to

Visual perception of spatial subjects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osterloh, K.R.S.; Ewert, U.

2007-01-01

Principally, any imaging technology consists of two consecutive, though strictly separated processes: data acquisition and subsequent processing to generate an image that can be looked at, either on a monitor screen or printed on paper. Likewise, the physiological process of viewing can be separated into vision and perception, though these processes are much more overlapping. Understanding the appearance of a subject requires the entire sequence from receiving the information carried e.g. by photons up to an appropriate processing leading to the perception of the subject shown. As a consequence, the imagination of a subject is a result of both, technological and physiological processes. Whenever an evaluation of an image is critical, also the physiological part of the processing should be considered. However, an image has two dimensions in the first place and reality is spatial, it has three dimensions. This problem has been tackled on a philosophical level at least since Platon's famous discussion on the shadow image in a dark cave. The mere practical point is which structural details can be perceived and what may remain undetected depending on the mode of presentation. This problem cannot be resolved without considering each single step of visual perception. Physiologically, there are three 'tools' available to understanding the spatial structure of a subject: binocular viewing, following the course of perspective projection and motion to collect multiple aspects. Artificially, an object may be cut in various ways to display the interior or covering parts could be made transparent within a model. Samples will be shown how certain details of a subject can be emphasised or hidden depending on the way of presentation. It needs to be discussed what might help to perceive the true spatial structure of a subject with all relevant details and what could be misleading. (authors)

Visual perception of spatial subjects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Osterloh, K.R.S.; Ewert, U. [Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Berlin (Germany)

2007-07-01

Principally, any imaging technology consists of two consecutive, though strictly separated processes: data acquisition and subsequent processing to generate an image that can be looked at, either on a monitor screen or printed on paper. Likewise, the physiological process of viewing can be separated into vision and perception, though these processes are much more overlapping. Understanding the appearance of a subject requires the entire sequence from receiving the information carried e.g. by photons up to an appropriate processing leading to the perception of the subject shown. As a consequence, the imagination of a subject is a result of both, technological and physiological processes. Whenever an evaluation of an image is critical, also the physiological part of the processing should be considered. However, an image has two dimensions in the first place and reality is spatial, it has three dimensions. This problem has been tackled on a philosophical level at least since Platon's famous discussion on the shadow image in a dark cave. The mere practical point is which structural details can be perceived and what may remain undetected depending on the mode of presentation. This problem cannot be resolved without considering each single step of visual perception. Physiologically, there are three 'tools' available to understanding the spatial structure of a subject: binocular viewing, following the course of perspective projection and motion to collect multiple aspects. Artificially, an object may be cut in various ways to display the interior or covering parts could be made transparent within a model. Samples will be shown how certain details of a subject can be emphasised or hidden depending on the way of presentation. It needs to be discussed what might help to perceive the true spatial structure of a subject with all relevant details and what could be misleading. (authors)

An investigation into workability of the cover layer materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ninomiya, Koji; Yoshizawa, Hideaki; Sato, Yasushi; Onishi, Toshimitsu

2004-02-01

It was the main object of this research to gather basic data on the quality of the constructive performance of a cover layer material as the Radon Barrier Layer through the 'An Investigation into Workability of the Cover Layer Materials' to be applied for the capping of uranium mill tailings and waste rock yard at Ningyo-toge Environmental Engineering Center. In consideration of the business scale, operation efficiency and cost performance, etc, we selected the decomposed granite as a base soil, bentonite as an additive, and a Twister(rotary type comprehensive unit for grinding and mixing) as a mixer for this research. Based on those materials and a mixer, we actually made the cover layer (radon barrier) and measured the permeability, N 2 ventilation, strength of the layer, using as a parameter different types of bentonite and different bentonite/sand mixture rations. According to the permeability test results, permeability coefficient proved to be stand at below 1x10 -9 m/s, regardless of any combination of bentonite/sand mixture ratios made with the twister. Through a series of laboratory tests, taking into consideration such variation factors as quality variation of the cover layer, base soil and additive, we found out the optimum phase of combination, which are the 7wt% bentonite/sand mixture in case of Volclay; and 16wt% in case Redhill. N 2 ventilation tests were also carried out, using as a parameter the degree of moisture saturation of cover layer material. Test results showed that the gas ventilation is sensitive to changes of the degree of the saturation, and that under the conditions of moisture saturation of over 90%, the coefficient of N 2 ventilation stands at below 1x10 -10 m/s, under which conditions the radon barrier will work out in an efficient way. Lastly, in order to secure the long-term safety of the radon barrier, we described the directions of future investigations and studies, including the necessity of gathering technical data on the

Subjective Vitality as Mediator and Moderator of the Relationship between Life Satisfaction and Subjective Happiness

Science.gov (United States)

Uysal, Recep; Satici, Seydi Ahmet; Satici, Begüm; Akin, Ahmet

2014-01-01

In this study, the mediator and moderator effects of subjective vitality on the relationship between life satisfaction and subjective happiness were investigated. The participants were 378 university students who completed a questionnaire package that included the Subjective Vitality Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Subjective…

Optimization of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site Closure Cover

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shott, Greg; Yucel, Vefa

2009-04-01

The U.S. Department of Energy Manual DOE M 435.1-1, “Radioactive Waste Management Manual,” requires that performance assessments demonstrate that releases of radionuclides to the environment are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Quantitative cost benefit analysis of radiation protection options is one component of the ALARA process. This report summarizes a quantitative cost benefit analysis of closure cover thickness for the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) on the Nevada Test Site. The optimum cover thickness that maintains doses ALARA is shown to be the thickness with the minimum total closure cost. Total closure cost is the sum of cover construction cost and the health detriment cost. Cover construction cost is estimated based on detailed cost estimates for closure of the 92-acre Low-Level Waste Management Unit (LLWMU). The health detriment cost is calculated as the product of collective dose and a constant monetary value of health detriment in units of dollars per unit collective dose. Collective dose is the sum of all individual doses in an exposed population and has units of person-sievert (Sv). Five discrete cover thickness options ranging from 2.5 to 4.5 meters (m) (8.2 to 15 feet [ft]) are evaluated. The optimization was subject to the constraints that (1) options must meet all applicable regulatory requirements and that (2) individual doses be a small fraction of background radiation dose. Total closure cost is found to be a monotonically increasing function of cover thickness for the 92-ac LLWMU, the Northern Expansion Area, and the entire Area 5 RWMS. The cover construction cost is orders of magnitude greater than the health detriment cost. Two-thousand Latin hypercube sampling realizations of the relationship between total closure cost and cover thickness are generated. In every realization, the optimum cover thickness is 2.5 m (8.2 ft) for the 92-ac Low-Level Waste Management Unit, the Northern Expansion Area, and the entire

Optimization of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site Closure Cover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shott, Greg; Yucel, Vefa

2009-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy Manual DOE M 435.1-1, 'Radioactive Waste Management Manual,' requires that performance assessments demonstrate that releases of radionuclides to the environment are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). Quantitative cost benefit analysis of radiation protection options is one component of the ALARA process. This report summarizes a quantitative cost benefit analysis of closure cover thickness for the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site (RWMS) on the Nevada Test Site. The optimum cover thickness that maintains doses ALARA is shown to be the thickness with the minimum total closure cost. Total closure cost is the sum of cover construction cost and the health detriment cost. Cover construction cost is estimated based on detailed cost estimates for closure of the 92-acre Low-Level Waste Management Unit (LLWMU). The health detriment cost is calculated as the product of collective dose and a constant monetary value of health detriment in units of dollars per unit collective dose. Collective dose is the sum of all individual doses in an exposed population and has units of person-sievert (Sv). Five discrete cover thickness options ranging from 2.5 to 4.5 meters (m) (8.2 to 15 feet (ft)) are evaluated. The optimization was subject to the constraints that (1) options must meet all applicable regulatory requirements and that (2) individual doses be a small fraction of background radiation dose. Total closure cost is found to be a monotonically increasing function of cover thickness for the 92-ac LLWMU, the Northern Expansion Area, and the entire Area 5 RWMS. The cover construction cost is orders of magnitude greater than the health detriment cost. Two-thousand Latin hypercube sampling realizations of the relationship between total closure cost and cover thickness are generated. In every realization, the optimum cover thickness is 2.5 m (8.2 ft) for the 92-ac Low-Level Waste Management Unit, the Northern Expansion Area, and the entire Area

Development of canopy cover and woody vegetation biomass on reclaimed and unreclaimed post-mining sites

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Frouz, Jan; Dvorščík, P.; Vávrová, A.; Doušová, O.; Kadochová, Štěpánka; Matějíček, L.

2015-01-01

Roč. 84, November (2015), s. 233-239 ISSN 0925-8574 Grant - others:GA ČR(CZ) GAP504/12/1288 Program:GA Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : aerial photographs * reclaimed sites * succession * tree biomass * woody vegetation cover Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 2.740, year: 2015

Impacts of land use/cover classification accuracy on regional climate simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Jianjun; Qi, Jiaguo; Lofgren, Brent M.; Moore, Nathan; Torbick, Nathan; Olson, Jennifer M.

2007-03-01

Land use/cover change has been recognized as a key component in global change. Various land cover data sets, including historically reconstructed, recently observed, and future projected, have been used in numerous climate modeling studies at regional to global scales. However, little attention has been paid to the effect of land cover classification accuracy on climate simulations, though accuracy assessment has become a routine procedure in land cover production community. In this study, we analyzed the behavior of simulated precipitation in the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) over a range of simulated classification accuracies over a 3 month period. This study found that land cover accuracy under 80% had a strong effect on precipitation especially when the land surface had a greater control of the atmosphere. This effect became stronger as the accuracy decreased. As shown in three follow-on experiments, the effect was further influenced by model parameterizations such as convection schemes and interior nudging, which can mitigate the strength of surface boundary forcings. In reality, land cover accuracy rarely obtains the commonly recommended 85% target. Its effect on climate simulations should therefore be considered, especially when historically reconstructed and future projected land covers are employed.

Completion of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 1992-2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit Product

Science.gov (United States)

The Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium has supported the development of two national digital land cover products: the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) 1992 and National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001. Substantial differences in imagery, legends, and methods betwe...

Cover stones on liquefiable soil bed under waves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sumer, B. Mutlu; Hatipoglu, Figen; Fredsøe, Jørgen

2010-01-01

The paper describes the results of an experimental study on the behavior of cover stones on a liquefiable soil bed exposed to a progressive wave. The soil was silt with d50=0.098mm. Stones, the size of 4cm, were used as cover material. The effect of packing density of stones, and that of number...... of stone layers (including the effect of an intermediate filter layer) were investigated. Pore pressure was measured across the soil depth. The experiments show that the soil liquefaction depended mainly on two parameters: the packing density of stones, and the number of stone layers. When the liquefaction...

Is cost-covering remuneration fully booked? - Teething problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niederhaeusern, A.

2009-01-01

In this interview with Michael Kaufmann, director of the SwissEnergy programme, possible strategies for the correct pricing of electricity and measures for the correction of the dissatisfactory situation now prevailing concerning the cost-covering remuneration of power from renewable sources are discussed. The pricing of electricity from various sources and the indirect costs that are at present not met by non-renewable resources are commented on. Further topics covered include suggestions for strategies for relieving the presently blocked financial promotion of renewables, the goals set for the role to be played by renewable energy in Swiss electricity production in 2030 and suggestions for future political action

Spatiotemporal Change Detection in Forest Cover Dynamics Along Landslide Susceptible Region of Karakoram Highway, Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Rashid, Barira; Iqbal, Javed

2018-04-01

Forest Cover dynamics and its understanding is essential for a country's social, environmental, and political engagements. This research provides a methodical approach for the assessment of forest cover along Karakoram Highway. It has great ecological and economic significance because it's a part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Landsat 4, 5 TM, Landsat 7 ETM and Landsat 8 OLI imagery for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2016 respectively were subjected to supervised classification in ArcMap 10.5 to identify forest change. The study area was categorized into five major land use land cover classes i.e., Forest, vegetation, urban, open land and snow cover. Results from post classification forest cover change maps illustrated notable decrease of almost 26 % forest cover over the time period of 26 years. The accuracy assessment revealed the kappa coefficients 083, 0.78, 0.77 and 0.85, respectively. Major reason for this change is an observed replacement of native forest cover with urban areas (12.5 %) and vegetation (18.6 %) However, there is no significant change in the reserved forests along the study area that contributes only 2.97 % of the total forest cover. The extensive forest degradation and risk prone topography of the region has increased the environmental risk of landslides. Hence, effective policies and forest management is needed to protect not only the environmental and aesthetic benefits of the forest cover but also to manage the disaster risks. Apart from the forest assessment, this research gives an insight of land cover dynamics, along with causes and consequences, thereby showing the forest degradation hotspots.

Regional Quantitative Cover Mapping of Tundra Plant Functional Types in Arctic Alaska

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew J. Macander

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Ecosystem maps are foundational tools that support multi-disciplinary study design and applications including wildlife habitat assessment, monitoring and Earth-system modeling. Here, we present continuous-field cover maps for tundra plant functional types (PFTs across ~125,000 km2 of Alaska’s North Slope at 30-m resolution. To develop maps, we collected a field-based training dataset using a point-intercept sampling method at 225 plots spanning bioclimatic and geomorphic gradients. We stratified vegetation by nine PFTs (e.g., low deciduous shrub, dwarf evergreen shrub, sedge, lichen and summarized measurements of the PFTs, open water, bare ground and litter using the cover metrics total cover (areal cover including the understory and top cover (uppermost canopy or ground cover. We then developed 73 spectral predictors derived from Landsat satellite observations (surface reflectance composites for ~15-day periods from May–August and five gridded environmental predictors (e.g., summer temperature, climatological snow-free date to model cover of PFTs using the random forest data-mining algorithm. Model performance tended to be best for canopy-forming PFTs, particularly deciduous shrubs. Our assessment of predictor importance indicated that models for low-statured PFTs were improved through the use of seasonal composites from early and late in the growing season, particularly when similar PFTs were aggregated together (e.g., total deciduous shrub, herbaceous. Continuous-field maps have many advantages over traditional thematic maps, and the methods described here are well-suited to support periodic map updates in tandem with future field and Landsat observations.

Completion of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 1992–2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product

Science.gov (United States)

Fry, J.A.; Coan, Michael; Homer, Collin G.; Meyer, Debra K.; Wickham, J.D.

2009-01-01

The Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium has supported the development of two national digital land cover products: the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) 1992 and National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001. Substantial differences in imagery, legends, and methods between these two land cover products must be overcome in order to support direct comparison. The NLCD 1992-2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product was developed to provide more accurate and useful land cover change data than would be possible by direct comparison of NLCD 1992 and NLCD 2001. For the change analysis method to be both national in scale and timely, implementation required production across many Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) path/rows simultaneously. To meet these requirements, a hybrid change analysis process was developed to incorporate both post-classification comparison and specialized ratio differencing change analysis techniques. At a resolution of 30 meters, the completed NLCD 1992-2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product contains unchanged pixels from the NLCD 2001 land cover dataset that have been cross-walked to a modified Anderson Level I class code, and changed pixels labeled with a 'from-to' class code. Analysis of the results for the conterminous United States indicated that about 3 percent of the land cover dataset changed between 1992 and 2001.

20 CFR 404.1013 - Included-excluded rule.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... least one-half of your time in the pay period is in covered work. If you spend most of your time in a... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Included-excluded rule. 404.1013 Section 404.1013 Employees' Benefits SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION FEDERAL OLD-AGE, SURVIVORS AND DISABILITY...

28 CFR 55.10 - Types of elections covered.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... of election, whether it is a primary, general or special election. Section 14(c)(1). This includes... and referendums. Federal, State and local elections are covered as are elections of special districts, such as school districts and water districts. (b) Elections for statewide office. If an election...

[Covering stoma in anterior rectum resection with TME for rectal cancer in elderly patients].

Science.gov (United States)

Cirocchi, Roberto; Grassi, Veronica; Barillaro, Ivan; Cacurri, Alban; Koltraka, Bledar; Coccette, Marco; Sciannameo, Francesco

2010-01-01

The aim of our study is to evaluate the advisability of covering stoma in Anterior Rectum Resection with TME in elderly patients. A research of both the Ministry of Health and Terni Hospital databases has been conducted so as to collect information about patients with rectal tumor. Such research allowed to identify the amount of patients diagnosed with rectal cancer, the type of intervention, and the average hospitalization time. Between January 1997 and June 2008, 209 patients have undergone chirurgical surgery at Terni hospital's General and Emergency Surgical Clinic. An Anterior Rectum Resection with TME has been performed in 135 patients out of the sample (64.59%). The average hospitalization time of geriatric patients does not show significant differences compared to that of younger patients. An age-cohort analysis has been performed among patients who have been subject to stomia and those who have not. The former have been further split up between those who underwent ileostomy and those subject to colostomy. While ileostomy patients face a similar hospitalization time across all age cohorts, geriatric colostomy patients face longer hospitalizations than younger patients. Patients subject to Anterior Rectum Resection show no meaningful differences, in terms of hospitalization time, across all age cohorts. In geriatric patients the construction of covering stoma has resulted in longer hospitalizations only when a loop colostomy was executed, as opposed to loop ileostomy.

Fire response of composite columns subject to sway

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Virdi, Kuldeep

Composite columns, using profiled steel sections encased in concrete or steel tubes filled with concrete, are increasingly used in practice taking advantage of speed of erection as well as offering cost-effective solutions. While the design of braced and unbraced composite columns under ambient...... conditions is adequately covered in the relevant standard, Eurocode 4, simplified design of unbraced composite columns for the fire limit state has not been included. Recognising this, a collaborative research project was undertaken with funding from the Research Fund for Coal and Steel. The paper describes...... the scope of the project which covered control tests under ambient conditions, carried out by the author while at City University London. Other aspects covered in the project included fire tests carried out by CTICM in France, on isolated columns and on two frames designed by Leibniz Universität Hannover...

Manual for subject analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

This document is one in a series of publications known as the ETDE/INIS Joint Reference Series and also constitutes a part of the ETDE Procedures Manual. It presents the rules, guidelines and procedures to be adopted by centers submitting input to the International Nuclear Information System (INIS) or the Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDE). It is a manual for the subject analysis part of input preparation, meaning the selection, subject classification, abstracting and subject indexing of relevant publications, and is to be used in conjunction with the Thesauruses, Subject Categories documents and the documents providing guidelines for the preparation of abstracts. The concept and structure of the new manual are intended to describe in a logical and efficient sequence all the steps comprising the subject analysis of documents to be reported to INIS or ETDE. The manual includes new chapters on preparatory analysis, subject classification, abstracting and subject indexing, as well as rules, guidelines, procedures, examples and a special chapter on guidelines and examples for subject analysis in particular subject fields. (g.t.; a.n.)

Serum ferritin in normal subjects and assessment of iron status during pregnancy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eltayeb, Ahmed Eltayeb

1997-12-01

This study was conducted with two main objectives;the estimation of serum ferritin level in normal subjects in khartoum area and the assessment of iron status during pregnancy at second and third trimesters. To fulfill the first objective,two hundred and sixty symptoms-free subjects were included in the study,103 males with ages ranging from 15 to 36 years and 157 females with ages ranging from 15 to 45 years.Serum ferritin was determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). It was found that the mean concentration of male serum ferritin was much higher than that of the females. For the assessment of iron status during pregnancy,eighty five normal pregnant women were included in the study at the start of the second trimester.Two blood samples were taken during the second trimester and two blood samples during the third trimester. The height of all subjects was measured.The weights of the subjects were measured with each sample. All subjects were under iron-supplementations throughout the gestation period.Sixty four normal non pregnant women were included in the study to serve as controls. No significant difference was observed in the mean haemoglobin concentrations but the PCV of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women at different stages of gestation. MCV, MCH and MCHC values of the non-pregnant women were lower than those of the pregnant women at different stages of gestation. Serum iron and transferrin saturation of the non-pregnant women were higher than those of the pregnant women,this difference was statistically significant at weeks (16 -18) and weeks (22-24). Serum ferritin of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women and decreased continously during the prgnancy, but this decrease was not statistically significant. Iron deficiency anaemia was observed in both pregnant and non-pregnant women. The best parameter which could be used as a marker for iron deficiency is serum ferritin. Iron supplementations corrected for

Serum ferritin in normal subjects and assessment of iron status during pregnancy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eltayeb, Ahmed Eltayeb [Sudan Atomic Energy Commission, Khartoum (Sudan)

1997-12-01

This study was conducted with two main objectives;the estimation of serum ferritin level in normal subjects in khartoum area and the assessment of iron status during pregnancy at second and third trimesters. To fulfill the first objective,two hundred and sixty symptoms-free subjects were included in the study,103 males with ages ranging from 15 to 36 years and 157 females with ages ranging from 15 to 45 years.Serum ferritin was determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). It was found that the mean concentration of male serum ferritin was much higher than that of the females. For the assessment of iron status during pregnancy,eighty five normal pregnant women were included in the study at the start of the second trimester.Two blood samples were taken during the second trimester and two blood samples during the third trimester. The height of all subjects was measured.The weights of the subjects were measured with each sample. All subjects were under iron-supplementations throughout the gestation period.Sixty four normal non pregnant women were included in the study to serve as controls. No significant difference was observed in the mean haemoglobin concentrations but the PCV of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women at different stages of gestation. MCV, MCH and MCHC values of the non-pregnant women were lower than those of the pregnant women at different stages of gestation. Serum iron and transferrin saturation of the non-pregnant women were higher than those of the pregnant women,this difference was statistically significant at weeks (16 -18) and weeks (22-24). Serum ferritin of the non-pregnant women was higher than that of the pregnant women and decreased continously during the prgnancy, but this decrease was not statistically significant. Iron deficiency anaemia was observed in both pregnant and non-pregnant women. The best parameter which could be used as a marker for iron deficiency is serum ferritin. Iron supplementations corrected for

Fully covered stents versus partially covered stents for palliative treatment of esophageal cancer: Is there a difference?

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso Lárraga, J O; Flores Carmona, D Y; Hernández Guerrero, A; Ramírez Solís, M E; de la Mora Levy, J G; Sánchez Del Monte, J C

2018-02-26

Malignant dysphagia is difficulty swallowing resulting from esophageal obstruction due to cancer. The goal of palliative treatment is to reduce the dysphagia and improve oral dietary intake. Self-expandable metallic stents are the current treatment of choice, given that they enable the immediate restoration of oral intake. The aim of the present study was to describe the results of using totally covered and partially covered esophageal stents for palliating esophageal cancer. A retrospective study was conducted on patients with inoperable esophageal cancer treated with self-expandable metallic stents. The 2 groups formed were: group A, which consisted of patients with a fully covered self-expandable stent (SX-ELLA ® ), and group B, which was made up of patients with a partially covered self-expandable stent (Ultraflex ® ). Of the 69-patient total, 50 were included in the study. Group A had 19 men and 2 women and their mean age was 63.6 years (range 41-84). Technical success was achieved in 100% (n=21) of the cases and clinical success in 90.4% (n=19). Group B had 24 men and 5 women and their mean age was 67.5 years (range 43-92). Technical success was achieved in 100% (n=29) of the cases and clinical success in 89.6% (n=26). Complications were similar in both groups (33.3 vs. 51.7%). There was no difference between the 2 types of stent for the palliative treatment of esophageal cancer with respect to technical success, clinical success, or complications. Copyright © 2018 Asociación Mexicana de Gastroenterología. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

Improving snow cover mapping in forests through the use of a canopy reflectance model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klein, A.G.; Hall, D.K.; Riggs, G.A.

1998-01-01

MODIS, the moderate resolution imaging spectro radiometer, will be launched in 1998 as part of the first earth observing system (EOS) platform. Global maps of land surface properties, including snow cover, will be created from MODIS imagery. The MODIS snow-cover mapping algorithm that will be used to produce daily maps of global snow cover extent at 500 m resolution is currently under development. With the exception of cloud cover, the largest limitation to producing a global daily snow cover product using MODIS is the presence of a forest canopy. A Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) time-series of the southern Boreal Ecosystem–Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) study area in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan, was used to evaluate the performance of the current MODIS snow-cover mapping algorithm in varying forest types. A snow reflectance model was used in conjunction with a canopy reflectance model (GeoSAIL) to model the reflectance of a snow-covered forest stand. Using these coupled models, the effects of varying forest type, canopy density, snow grain size and solar illumination geometry on the performance of the MODIS snow-cover mapping algorithm were investigated. Using both the TM images and the reflectance models, two changes to the current MODIS snow-cover mapping algorithm are proposed that will improve the algorithm's classification accuracy in forested areas. The improvements include using the normalized difference snow index and normalized difference vegetation index in combination to discriminate better between snow-covered and snow-free forests. A minimum albedo threshold of 10% in the visible wavelengths is also proposed. This will prevent dense forests with very low visible albedos from being classified incorrectly as snow. These two changes increase the amount of snow mapped in forests on snow-covered TM scenes, and decrease the area incorrectly identified as snow on non-snow-covered TM scenes. (author)

Next generation of global land cover characterization, mapping, and monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Giri, Chandra; Pengra, Bruce; Long, J.; Loveland, Thomas R.

2013-01-01

Land cover change is increasingly affecting the biophysics, biogeochemistry, and biogeography of the Earth's surface and the atmosphere, with far-reaching consequences to human well-being. However, our scientific understanding of the distribution and dynamics of land cover and land cover change (LCLCC) is limited. Previous global land cover assessments performed using coarse spatial resolution (300 m–1 km) satellite data did not provide enough thematic detail or change information for global change studies and for resource management. High resolution (∼30 m) land cover characterization and monitoring is needed that permits detection of land change at the scale of most human activity and offers the increased flexibility of environmental model parameterization needed for global change studies. However, there are a number of challenges to overcome before producing such data sets including unavailability of consistent global coverage of satellite data, sheer volume of data, unavailability of timely and accurate training and validation data, difficulties in preparing image mosaics, and high performance computing requirements. Integration of remote sensing and information technology is needed for process automation and high-performance computing needs. Recent developments in these areas have created an opportunity for operational high resolution land cover mapping, and monitoring of the world. Here, we report and discuss these advancements and opportunities in producing the next generations of global land cover characterization, mapping, and monitoring at 30-m spatial resolution primarily in the context of United States, Group on Earth Observations Global 30 m land cover initiative (UGLC).

Case study of a full-scale evapotranspiration cover

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, Patrick E.; Andraski, Brian J.; Archibald, Ryan E.

2009-01-01

The design, construction, and performance analyses of a 6.1ha evapotranspiration (ET) landfill cover at the semiarid U.S. Army Fort Carson site, near Colorado Springs, Colo. are presented. Initial water-balance model simulations, using literature reported soil hydraulic data, aided selection of borrow-source soil type(s) that resulted in predictions of negligible annual drainage (⩽1mm∕year). Final construction design was based on refined water-balance simulations using laboratory determined soil hydraulic values from borrow area natural soil horizons that were described with USDA soil classification methods. Cover design components included a 122cmthick clay loam (USDA), compaction ⩽80% of the standard Proctor maximum dry density (dry bulk density ∼1.3Mg∕m3), erosion control measures, top soil amended with biosolids, and seeding with native grasses. Favorable hydrologic performance for a 5year period was documented by lysimeter-measured and Richards’-based calculations of annual drainage that were all <0.4mm∕year. Water potential data suggest that ET removed water that infiltrated the cover and contributed to a persistent driving force for upward flow and removal of water from below the base of the cover.

The Entropy of Co-Compact Open Covers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven Bourquin

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Co-compact entropy is introduced as an invariant of topological conjugation for perfect mappings defined on any Hausdorff space (compactness and metrizability are not necessarily required. This is achieved through the consideration of co-compact covers of the space. The advantages of co-compact entropy include: (1 it does not require the space to be compact and, thus, generalizes Adler, Konheim and McAndrew’s topological entropy of continuous mappings on compact dynamical systems; and (2 it is an invariant of topological conjugation, compared to Bowen’s entropy, which is metric-dependent. Other properties of co-compact entropy are investigated, e.g., the co-compact entropy of a subsystem does not exceed that of the whole system. For the linear system, (R; f, defined by f(x = 2x, the co-compact entropy is zero, while Bowen’s entropy for this system is at least log 2. More generally, it is found that co-compact entropy is a lower bound of Bowen’s entropies, and the proof of this result also generates the Lebesgue Covering Theorem to co-compact open covers of non-compact metric spaces.

Automatic design of magazine covers

Science.gov (United States)

Jahanian, Ali; Liu, Jerry; Tretter, Daniel R.; Lin, Qian; Damera-Venkata, Niranjan; O'Brien-Strain, Eamonn; Lee, Seungyon; Fan, Jian; Allebach, Jan P.

2012-03-01

In this paper, we propose a system for automatic design of magazine covers that quantifies a number of concepts from art and aesthetics. Our solution to automatic design of this type of media has been shaped by input from professional designers, magazine art directors and editorial boards, and journalists. Consequently, a number of principles in design and rules in designing magazine covers are delineated. Several techniques are derived and employed in order to quantify and implement these principles and rules in the format of a software framework. At this stage, our framework divides the task of design into three main modules: layout of magazine cover elements, choice of color for masthead and cover lines, and typography of cover lines. Feedback from professional designers on our designs suggests that our results are congruent with their intuition.

Predicting long-term moisture contents of earthen covers at uranium mill tailings sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gee, G.W.; Nielson, K.K.; Rogers, V.C.

1984-09-01

The three methods for long-term moisture prediction covered in this report are: estimates from water retention (permanent wilting point) data, correlation with climate and soil type, and detailed model simulation. The test results have shown: soils vary greatly in residual moisture. Expected long-term moisture saturation ratios (based on generalized soil characteristics) range from 0.2 to 0.8 for soils ranging in texture from sand to clay, respectively. These values hold for noncompacted field soils. Measured radon diffusion coefficients for soils at 15-bar water contents ranged from 5.0E-2 cm 2 /s to 5.0E-3 cm 2 /s for sands and clays, respectively, at typical field densities. In contrast, fine-textured pit-run earthen materials, subjected to optimum compaction (>85% Proctor density) and dried to the 15-bar water content, ranged from 0.7 to 0.9 moisture saturation. Compacted pit-run soils at these moisture contents exhibited radon diffusion coefficients as low as 3.0E-4 cm 2 /s. The residual moisture saturation for cover soils is not known since no engineered barrier has been in place for more than a few years. A comparison of methods for predicting moisture saturation indicates that model simulations are useful for predicting effects of climatic changes on residual soil moisture, but that long-term moisture also can be predicted with some degree of confidence using generalized soil properties or empirical correlations based both on soils and climatic information. The optimal soil cover design will likely include more than one layer of soil. A two-layer system using a thick (1-m minimum) plant root zone of uncompacted soil placed over a moistened, tightly compacted fine-textured soil is recommended. This design concept has been tested successfully at the Grand Junction, Colorado, tailings piles

Coastal regime shifts: rapid responses of coastal wetlands to changes in mangrove cover.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Hongyu; Weaver, Carolyn; Charles, Sean P; Whitt, Ashley; Dastidar, Sayantani; D'Odorico, Paolo; Fuentes, Jose D; Kominoski, John S; Armitage, Anna R; Pennings, Steven C

2017-03-01

Global changes are causing broad-scale shifts in vegetation communities worldwide, including coastal habitats where the borders between mangroves and salt marsh are in flux. Coastal habitats provide numerous ecosystem services of high economic value, but the consequences of variation in mangrove cover are poorly known. We experimentally manipulated mangrove cover in large plots to test a set of linked hypotheses regarding the effects of changes in mangrove cover. We found that changes in mangrove cover had strong effects on microclimate, plant community, sediment accretion, soil organic content, and bird abundance within 2 yr. At higher mangrove cover, wind speed declined and light interception by vegetation increased. Air and soil temperatures had hump-shaped relationships with mangrove cover. The cover of salt marsh plants decreased at higher mangrove cover. Wrack cover, the distance that wrack was distributed from the water's edge, and sediment accretion decreased at higher mangrove cover. Soil organic content increased with mangrove cover. Wading bird abundance decreased at higher mangrove cover. Many of these relationships were non-linear, with the greatest effects when mangrove cover varied from zero to intermediate values, and lesser effects when mangrove cover varied from intermediate to high values. Temporal and spatial variation in measured variables often peaked at intermediate mangrove cover, with ecological consequences that are largely unexplored. Because different processes varied in different ways with mangrove cover, the "optimum" cover of mangroves from a societal point of view will depend on which ecosystem services are most desired. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Gainesville's urban forest canopy cover

Science.gov (United States)

Francisco Escobedo; Jennifer A. Seitz; Wayne Zipperer

2009-01-01

Ecosystem benefits from trees are linked directly to the amount of healthy urban forest canopy cover. Urban forest cover is dynamic and changes over time due to factors such as urban development, windstorms, tree removals, and growth. The amount of a city's canopy cover depends on its land use, climate, and people's preferences. This fact sheet examines how...

Design review report for ecn 638521 (241-SX-106 cover plate installation)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MCVEY, C.B.

1998-10-01

The design for the cover plates on 241-SX-106 was reviewed on 9/10/98. All comments were resolved to the satisfaction of the reviewers. A design calculation for seismic movement was performed and resulted the a design addition to prevent cover block movement. Also calculations were performed for radiological design and are included. The formal design review has no outstanding action items remaining and supports the use of 2 inch steel cover plates to provide personnel shielding and spray knock down protection (as required by the BIO).

ASSESSMENT OF VEGETATION COVER ON SODA WASTE DISPOSAL SITE AT JANIKOWO, FOLLOWING 13-YEAR-LONG RECLAMATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazimierz Henryk Dyguś

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The results are presented of vegetation survey on the alkaline and saline soda waste disposal site at Janikowo Soda Plant near Toruń (central Poland. The site was subject to reclamation using diverse techniques including sewage sludge and ash, starting from the year 2000 onwards. The survey was made to evaluate the status of plant succession as well as stability and diversity of vegetation cover. The vegetation was inventoried using the cover-frequency method, on a 10 x 10 m quadrat samples randomly distributed over the reclaimed area. Communities were classified using the Central-European approach by Braun-Blanquet (1964. In 2013, the vegetation was well established and provided a dense cover of the substrate. 108 plant species were found compared to some 5–8 plants which arrived spontaneously until the year 2000. Species richness increased 15 fold since the year when reclamation started. Species of graminoid and Asteraceae families prevailed in most patches of local vegetation. The vegetation cover on sites treated with a mixt of power plant ash and sewage sludge was less stable and less diverse than that on sites where sewage sludge only was applied. Annuals and biennials dominated in the vegetation on ash grounds while more competitive perennials prevailed on sewage sludge substrates. On the latter substrates there develop plant communities classified as an association of smooth meadow grass and common yarrow Poa pratensis-Achillea millefolium, whose species combination closely resembles that of seminatural fresh meadows. On the ash grounds, a variety of associations of ruderal plants were found with dominating Loesel mustard and common mugwort Sisymbrium loeselii-Artemisia vulgaris. Phytoindicatory methods using Ellenberg values have shown that waste substrates contained increased salt concentrations, however, there was no indication of increased heavy metal contents, as no plants tolerating excessive amounts of heavy metals were

Feasibility Study of Land Cover Classification Based on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index for Landslide Risk Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thilanki Dahigamuwa

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Unfavorable land cover leads to excessive damage from landslides and other natural hazards, whereas the presence of vegetation is expected to mitigate rainfall-induced landslide potential. Hence, unexpected and rapid changes in land cover due to deforestation would be detrimental in landslide-prone areas. Also, vegetation cover is subject to phenological variations and therefore, timely classification of land cover is an essential step in effective evaluation of landslide hazard potential. The work presented here investigates methods that can be used for land cover classification based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI, derived from up-to-date satellite images, and the feasibility of application in landslide risk prediction. A major benefit of this method would be the eventual ability to employ NDVI as a stand-alone parameter for accurate assessment of the impact of land cover in landslide hazard evaluation. An added benefit would be the timely detection of undesirable practices such as deforestation using satellite imagery. A landslide-prone region in Oregon, USA is used as a model for the application of the classification method. Five selected classification techniques—k-nearest neighbor, Gaussian support vector machine (GSVM, artificial neural network, decision tree and quadratic discriminant analysis support the viability of the NDVI-based land cover classification. Finally, its application in landslide risk evaluation is demonstrated.

The seasonal cycle of snow cover, sea ice and surface albedo

Science.gov (United States)

Robock, A.

1980-01-01

The paper examines satellite data used to construct mean snow cover caps for the Northern Hemisphere. The zonally averaged snow cover from these maps is used to calculate the seasonal cycle of zonally averaged surface albedo. The effects of meltwater on the surface, solar zenith angle, and cloudiness are parameterized and included in the calculations of snow and ice albedo. The data allows a calculation of surface albedo for any land or ocean 10 deg latitude band as a function of surface temperature ice and snow cover; the correct determination of the ice boundary is more important than the snow boundary for accurately simulating the ice and snow albedo feedback.

Soil Water Improvements with the Long Term Use of a Winter Rye Cover Crop

Science.gov (United States)

Basche, A.; Kaspar, T.; Archontoulis, S.; Jaynes, D. B.; Sauer, T. J.; Parkin, T.; Miguez, F.

2015-12-01

The Midwestern United States, a region that produces one-third of maize and one-quarter of soybeans globally, is projected to experience increasing rainfall variability with future climate change. One approach to mitigate climate impacts is to utilize crop and soil management practices that enhance soil water storage, reducing the risks of flooding and runoff as well as drought-induced crop water stress. While some research indicates that a winter cover crop in a maize-soybean rotation increases soil water, producers continue to be concerned that water use by cover crops will reduce water for a following cash crop. We analyzed continuous in-field soil moisture measurements over from 2008-2014 at a Central Iowa research site that has included a winter rye cover crop in a maize-soybean rotation for thirteen years. This period of study included years in the top third of wettest years on record (2008, 2010, 2014) as well as years in the bottom third of driest years (2012, 2013). We found the cover crop treatment to have significantly higher soil water storage from 2012-2014 when compared to the no cover crop treatment and in most years greater soil water content later in the growing season when a cover crop was present. We further found that the winter rye cover crop significantly increased the field capacity water content and plant available water compared to the no cover crop treatment. Finally, in 2012 and 2013, we measured maize and soybean biomass every 2-3 weeks and did not see treatment differences in crop growth, leaf area or nitrogen uptake. Final crop yields were not statistically different between the cover and no cover crop treatment in any of the years of this analysis. This research indicates that the long-term use of a winter rye cover crop can improve soil water dynamics without sacrificing cash crop growth.

Extraction of land cover change information from ENVISAT-ASAR data in Chengdu Plain

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Wenbo; Fan, Jinlong; Huang, Jianxi; Tian, Yichen; Zhang, Yong

2006-10-01

Land cover data are essential to most global change research objectives, including the assessment of current environmental conditions and the simulation of future environmental scenarios that ultimately lead to public policy development. Chinese Academy of Sciences generated a nationwide land cover database in order to carry out the quantification and spatial characterization of land use/cover changes (LUCC) in 1990s. In order to improve the reliability of the database, we will update the database anytime. But it is difficult to obtain remote sensing data to extract land cover change information in large-scale. It is hard to acquire optical remote sensing data in Chengdu plain, so the objective of this research was to evaluate multitemporal ENVISAT advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) data for extracting land cover change information. Based on the fieldwork and the nationwide 1:100000 land cover database, the paper assesses several land cover changes in Chengdu plain, for example: crop to buildings, forest to buildings, and forest to bare land. The results show that ENVISAT ASAR data have great potential for the applications of extracting land cover change information.

Alternative cover design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-11-01

The special study on Alternative Cover Designs is one of several studies initiated by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in response to the proposed US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) groundwater standards. The objective of this study is to investigate the possibility of minimizing the infiltration of precipitation through stabilized tailings piles by altering the standard design of covers currently used on the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. Prior. to the issuance of the proposed standards, UMTRA Project piles had common design elements to meet the required criteria, the most important of which were for radon diffusion, long-term stability, erosion protection, and groundwater protection. The standard pile covers consisted of three distinct layers. From top to bottom they were: rock for erosion protection; a sand bedding layer; and the radon barrier, usually consisting of a clayey sand material, which also functioned to limit infiltration into the tailings. The piles generally had topslopes from 2 to 4 percent and sideslopes of 20 percent

Benthic Cover

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Benthic cover (habitat) maps are derived from aerial imagery, underwater photos, acoustic surveys, and data gathered from sediment samples. Shallow to moderate-depth...

Numerical modelling of methane oxidation efficiency and coupled water-gas-heat reactive transfer in a sloping landfill cover.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, S; Ng, C W W; Leung, A K; Liu, H W

2017-10-01

Microbial aerobic methane oxidation in unsaturated landfill cover involves coupled water, gas and heat reactive transfer. The coupled process is complex and its influence on methane oxidation efficiency is not clear, especially in steep covers where spatial variations of water, gas and heat are significant. In this study, two-dimensional finite element numerical simulations were carried out to evaluate the performance of unsaturated sloping cover. The numerical model was calibrated using a set of flume model test data, and was then subsequently used for parametric study. A new method that considers transient changes of methane concentration during the estimation of the methane oxidation efficiency was proposed and compared against existing methods. It was found that a steeper cover had a lower oxidation efficiency due to enhanced downslope water flow, during which desaturation of soil promoted gas transport and hence landfill gas emission. This effect was magnified as the cover angle and landfill gas generation rate at the bottom of the cover increased. Assuming the steady-state methane concentration in a cover would result in a non-conservative overestimation of oxidation efficiency, especially when a steep cover was subjected to rainfall infiltration. By considering the transient methane concentration, the newly-modified method can give a more accurate oxidation efficiency. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Special study on vegetative covers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-11-01

This report describes the findings of a special study on the use of vegetative covers to stabilize tailings piles for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. The principal rationale for using plants would be to establish a dynamic system for controlling water balance. Specifically, vegetation would be used to intercept and transpire precipitation to the atmosphere, rather than allowing water to drain into the tailings and mobilize contaminants. This would facilitate compliance with groundwater standards proposed for the UMTRA Project by the Environmental Protection Agency. The goals of the study were to evaluate the feasibility of using vegetative covers on UMTRA Project piles, define the advantages and disadvantages of vegetative covers, and develop general guidelines for their use when such use seems reasonable. The principal method for the study was to analyze and apply to the UMTRA Project the results of research programs on vegetative covers at other US Department of Energy (DOE) waste management facilities. The study also relied upon observations made of existing stabilized piles at UMTRA Project sites where natural vegetation is growing on the rock-covered surfaces. Water balance and erosion models were also used to quantify the long-term performance of vegetative covers planned for the topslopes of stabilized piles at Grand Junction and Durango, Colorado, two UMTRA Project sites where the decision was made during the course of this special study to use vegetative covers. Elements in the design and construction of the vegetative covers at these two sites are discussed in the report, with explanations of the differing features that reflect differing environmental conditions. 28 refs., 18 figs., 9 tabs

Evaluation of burial ground soil covers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fenimore, J.W.

1976-11-01

Solid radioactive waste burial at the Savannah River Plant between 1955 and 1972 filled a 76-acre site. Burial operations then were shifted to an adjacent site, and a program was begun to develop a land cover that would: (1) minimize soil erosion; and (2) protect the buried waste from deep-rooted plants, since radionuclides can be recycled by uptake through root systems. In anticipation of the need for a suitable soil cover, five grass species were planted on 20 plots (4 plots of each species) at the burial ground (Facility 643-G) in 1969. The grass plots were planted for evaluation of viability, root depth, and erosion protection existing under conditions of low fertility and minimum care. In addition, 16 different artificial soil covers were installed on 32 plots (each cover on two plots) to evaluate: (1) resistance of cover to deterioration from weathering; (2) resistance of cover to encroachment by deep-rooted plants; and (3) soil erosion protection provided by the cover. All test plots were observed and photographed in 1970 and in 1974. After both grass and artificial soil covers were tested five years, the following results were observed: Pensacola Bahia grass was the best of the five cover grasses tested; and fifteen of the sixteen artificial covers that were tested controlled vegetation growth and soil erosion. Photographs of the test plots will be retaken at five-year intervals for future documentation

Subject/Author Index 1968-1992.

Science.gov (United States)

Kupidura, Eva, Ed.; Kupidura, Peter, Ed.

1993-01-01

This 25-year index contains annotations of feature articles by subject and by author. Representative subjects include basic education, development education, empowerment, human rights, lifelong education, peace education, popular education, rural development, social/political action, technological advancement, and transformative research. Articles…

Experimental study including subjective evaluations of mixing and displacement ventilation combined with radiant floor heating/cooling system

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krajcik, Michal; Tomasi, Roberta; Simone, Angela

2013-01-01

Sixteen subjects evaluated the indoor environment in four experiments with different combinations of ventilation systems and radiant heating/cooling systems. In the first two tests, the simulated residential room was equipped either by a mixing ventilation system supplying warm air for space heat...

Optimal shortening of uniform covering arrays.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose Torres-Jimenez

Full Text Available Software test suites based on the concept of interaction testing are very useful for testing software components in an economical way. Test suites of this kind may be created using mathematical objects called covering arrays. A covering array, denoted by CA(N; t, k, v, is an N × k array over [Formula: see text] with the property that every N × t sub-array covers all t-tuples of [Formula: see text] at least once. Covering arrays can be used to test systems in which failures occur as a result of interactions among components or subsystems. They are often used in areas such as hardware Trojan detection, software testing, and network design. Because system testing is expensive, it is critical to reduce the amount of testing required. This paper addresses the Optimal Shortening of Covering ARrays (OSCAR problem, an optimization problem whose objective is to construct, from an existing covering array matrix of uniform level, an array with dimensions of (N - δ × (k - Δ such that the number of missing t-tuples is minimized. Two applications of the OSCAR problem are (a to produce smaller covering arrays from larger ones and (b to obtain quasi-covering arrays (covering arrays in which the number of missing t-tuples is small to be used as input to a meta-heuristic algorithm that produces covering arrays. In addition, it is proven that the OSCAR problem is NP-complete, and twelve different algorithms are proposed to solve it. An experiment was performed on 62 problem instances, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of solving the OSCAR problem to facilitate the construction of new covering arrays.

Analysis of effects of manhole covers on motorcycle driver maneuvers: a nonparametric classification tree approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Li-Yen

2014-01-01

A manhole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole to allow traffic to pass over the manhole and to prevent people from falling in. Because most manhole covers are placed in roadway traffic lanes, if these manhole covers are not appropriately installed or maintained, they can represent unexpected hazards on the road, especially for motorcycle drivers. The objective of this study is to identify the effects of manhole cover characteristics as well as driver factors and traffic and roadway conditions on motorcycle driver maneuvers. A video camera was used to record motorcycle drivers' maneuvers when they encountered an inappropriately installed or maintained manhole cover. Information on 3059 drivers' maneuver decisions was recorded. Classification and regression tree (CART) models were applied to explore factors that can significantly affect motorcycle driver maneuvers when passing a manhole cover. Nearly 50 percent of the motorcycle drivers decelerated or changed their driving path to reduce the effects of the manhole cover. The manhole cover characteristics including the level difference between manhole cover and pavement, the pavement condition over the manhole cover, and the size of the manhole cover can significantly affect motorcycle driver maneuvers. Other factors, including traffic conditions, lane width, motorcycle speed, and loading conditions, also have significant effects on motorcycle driver maneuvers. To reduce the effects and potential risks from the manhole covers, highway authorities not only need to make sure that any newly installed manhole covers are as level as possible but also need to regularly maintain all the manhole covers to ensure that they are in good condition. In the long run, the size of manhole covers should be kept as small as possible so that the impact of manhole covers on motorcycle drivers can be effectively reduced. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher

Suicidal ideation and attempted suicide in elderly people - subjective experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutierrez, Denise Machado Duran; Sousa, Amandia Braga Lima; Grubits, Sonia

2015-06-01

We discuss the subjective experiences of elderly people who show suicidal ideation and/or attempts at suicide, based on their own reports. We understand the concept of 'subjective' as referring to intra-psychic experience resulting from social, economic, relationship or biographical conditions. Although the subject is sparsely covered in the literature, it is important, because it is in the field of subjectivity that ideations of, and attempts at, suicide develop and occur until they become a concrete act. Empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews focusing on: social characterization, portrayal and mode of life, previous mental state, atmosphere of the attempt, effects on the health of the elderly person and family. Based on the analysis of the meanings that emerge, five empirical categories were generated: (1) subject's feeling of being in a non-place; (2) absence of acceptance of losses; (3) suffering due to ingratitude of family members; (4) feeling of uselessness of, and in, life; (5) re-signification of the situations that generate suicide-related conduct. The results point to a fundamental need to incorporate knowledge about the subjective processes into programs for prevention of suicide among the elderly who have ideation of, or attempts at, suicide.

Coverings and the fundamental group for partial differential equations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Igonin, S.

2003-01-01

Following I. S. Krasilshchik and A. M. Vinogradov, we regard systems of PDEs as manifolds with involutive distributions and consider their special morphisms called differential coverings, which include constructions like Lax pairs and B\\"acklund transformations in soliton theory. We show that,

[Snow cover pollution monitoring in Ufa].

Science.gov (United States)

Daukaev, R A; Suleĭmanov, R A

2008-01-01

The paper presents the results of examining the snow cover polluted with heavy metals in the large industrial town of Ufa. The level of man-caused burden on the snow cover of the conventional parts of the town was estimated and compared upon exposure to a wide range of snow cover pollutants. The priority snow cover pollutants were identified among the test heavy metals.

Modifying the Sleep Treatment Education Program for Students to include technology use (STEPS-TECH): Intervention effects on objective and subjective sleep outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Larissa K; Cucalon, Maria S

2017-12-01

University students often have sleep issues that arise from poor sleep hygiene practices and technology use patterns. Yet, technology-related behaviors are often neglected in sleep hygiene education. This study examined whether the Sleep Treatment Education Program for Students-modified to include information regarding managing technology use (STEPS-TECH)-helps improve both subjective and objective sleep outcomes among university students. Results of an experimental study among 78 university students showed improvements in objective indicators of sleep quantity (total sleep time) and sleep quality (less awakenings) during the subsequent week for students in the STEPS-TECH intervention group compared to a control group. Exploratory analyses indicated that effects were driven by improvements in weekend days immediately following the intervention. There were also no intervention effects on subjective sleep quality or quantity outcomes. In terms of self-reported behavioral responses to educational content in the intervention, there were no group differences in sleep hygiene practices or technology use before bedtime. However, the intervention group reported less technology use during sleep periods than the control group. These preliminary findings suggest that STEPS-TECH may be a useful educational tool to help improve objective sleep and reduce technology use during sleep periods among university students. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Porada

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Bryophyte and lichen cover on the forest floor at high latitudes exerts an insulating effect on the ground. In this way, the cover decreases mean annual soil temperature and can protect permafrost soil. Climate change, however, may change bryophyte and lichen cover, with effects on the permafrost state and related carbon balance. It is, therefore, crucial to predict how the bryophyte and lichen cover will react to environmental change at the global scale. To date, current global land surface models contain only empirical representations of the bryophyte and lichen cover, which makes it impractical to predict the future state and function of bryophytes and lichens. For this reason, we integrate a process-based model of bryophyte and lichen growth into the global land surface model JSBACH (Jena Scheme for Biosphere–Atmosphere Coupling in Hamburg. The model simulates bryophyte and lichen cover on upland sites. Wetlands are not included. We take into account the dynamic nature of the thermal properties of the bryophyte and lichen cover and their relation to environmental factors. Subsequently, we compare simulations with and without bryophyte and lichen cover to quantify the insulating effect of the organisms on the soil. We find an average cooling effect of the bryophyte and lichen cover of 2.7 K on temperature in the topsoil for the region north of 50° N under the current climate. Locally, a cooling of up to 5.7 K may be reached. Moreover, we show that using a simple, empirical representation of the bryophyte and lichen cover without dynamic properties only results in an average cooling of around 0.5 K. This suggests that (a bryophytes and lichens have a significant impact on soil temperature in high-latitude ecosystems and (b a process-based description of their thermal properties is necessary for a realistic representation of the cooling effect. The advanced land surface scheme, including a dynamic bryophyte and lichen model, will

Increased Risk of Insect Injury to Corn Following Rye Cover Crop.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, Mike W; O'Neal, Matthew E; Gassmann, Aaron J

2016-08-01

Decreased pest pressure is sometimes associated with more diverse agroecosystems, including the addition of a rye cover crop (Secale cereale L.). However, not all pests respond similarly to greater vegetational diversity. Polyphagous pests, such as true armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta Haworth), black cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon Hufnagel), and common stalk borer (Papaipema nebris Guenee), whose host range includes rye have the potential to cause injury to crops following a rye cover crop. The objectives of this study were to compare the abundance of early-season insect pests and injury to corn (Zea mays L.) from fields with and without a rye cover crop on commercial farms. Fields were sampled weekly to quantify adult and larval pests and feeding injury to corn plants from mid-April until corn reached V8 stage, during 2014 and 2015. Measurements within fields were collected along transects that extended perpendicularly from field edges into the interior of cornfields. Adult true armyworm and adult black cutworm were captured around all cornfields, but most lepidopteran larvae captured within cornfields were true armyworm and common stalk borer. Cornfields with a rye cover crop had significantly greater abundance of true armyworm and greater proportion of injured corn. Both true armyworm abundance and feeding injury were significantly greater in the interior of cornfields with rye. Common stalk borer abundance did not differ between cornfields with or without rye cover. Farmers planting corn following a rye cover crop should be aware of the potential for increased presence of true armyworm and for greater injury to corn. © The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Characteristics of snow cover duration across the northeast United States of America

Science.gov (United States)

Leathers, Daniel J.; Luff, Barbara L.

1997-11-01

The presence or absence of a snow cover affects a myriad of environmental and societal systems through its modification of the surface radiation balance and its ultimate impact on near-surface air temperatures. Daily snow cover data were collected for a network of 91 stations covering the northeast USA from Maine, south through to West Virginia. The snow cover data along with ancillary temperature, snowfall and precipitation data were used to investigate the characteristics of snow cover duration in this region and the effects of the snow cover on boundary layer climate variables for the snow cover seasons 1948-1949 through to 1987-1988.Results indicate that snow cover duration is variable in both space and time. The duration of a snow cover of 2.5 cm or greater varies from greater than 100 days in northern New England to less than 20 days across areas of Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia. Temporally, snow cover duration for the region as a whole was very short from the late 1940s through to the mid-1950s. From the late 1950s to the end of the period snow cover duration has varied around a consistent mean value. No long-term trends in snow cover duration are apparent in the record for the northeast USA.Principal components analysis and clustering techniques were utilized to isolate spatially coherent regions in which snow cover duration has varied similarly over the period of record. This analysis resulted in the identification of four snow-cover-duration regions across the northeast USA: including (i) the West Virginia area, (ii) the mid-Atlantic from southern New England through to western Pennsylvania, (iii) western and central New York and (iv) northern New England. Snow cover duration is shown to be highly associated with snowfall and temperature but not strongly related to total liquid precipitation. The intra-annual variability of snow cover duration is also investigated for each region.

Black carbon semi-direct effects on cloud cover: review and synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Koch

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Absorbing aerosols (AAs such as black carbon (BC or dust absorb incoming solar radiation, perturb the temperature structure of the atmosphere, and influence cloud cover. Previous studies have described conditions under which AAs either increase or decrease cloud cover. The effect depends on several factors, including the altitude of the AA relative to the cloud and the cloud type. We attempt to categorize the effects into several likely regimes. Cloud cover is decreased if the AAs are embedded in the cloud layer. AAs below cloud may enhance convection and cloud cover. AAs above cloud top stabilize the underlying layer and tend to enhance stratocumulus clouds but may reduce cumulus clouds. AAs can also promote cloud cover in convergent regions as they enhance deep convection and low level convergence as it draws in moisture from ocean to land regions. Most global model studies indicate a regional variation in the cloud response but generally increased cloud cover over oceans and some land regions, with net increased low-level and/or reduced upper level cloud cover. The result is a net negative semi-direct effect feedback from the cloud response to AAs. In some of these climate model studies, the cooling effect of BC due to cloud changes is strong enough to essentially cancel the warming direct effects.

Counterproliferation, Border Security and Counterterrorism Subject-Related Laws and Regulations, Including Export Control Regimes in South-Eastern European Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bokan, S.

2007-01-01

gaps exist, much less fill them. All this suggests that, to fulfil obligations under UNSC Resolutions 1540 and 1373, States must enact harmonized criminal prohibitions and authorization for law enforcement cooperation in order to establish a seamless web of security among all nations. Failure to do so implicitly poses a threat to international peace and security. One of the main issues which deserve to be further addressed and which prompts the continuation of the Southeast Europe Counterproliferation, Borger Security and Counterterrorism (CBSC) Working Group is to harmonize national laws and regulations that deal with deterring, detecting and interdicting WMD. Inventory of relevant CBSC subject-related laws of the Southeast Europe countries, including Export Control Laws was created and prepared for further consideration and harmonization by judiciary experts, with the aim to develop m odel laws . Let me very briefly present you the main features of the SEDM CBSC subject-related laws and regulations. This paper will present that inventory which includes the membership in the international Conventions, Treaties and Arrangements and also the membership in Multilateral Export Control Regimes of Southeast Europe countries. Also, it will be presented the membership in the international legal instruments that play an integral part in the global fight against terrorism. (author)

Data mining algorithms for land cover change detection: a review

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Sangram Panigrahi

2017-11-24

Nov 24, 2017 ... values, poor quality measurement, high resolution and high dimensional data. The land cover .... These data sets also include quality assurance information, ...... 2012 A new data mining framework for forest fire mapping.

Limited Impact of a Fall-Seeded, Spring-Terminated Rye Cover Crop on Beneficial Arthropods.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunbar, Mike W; Gassmann, Aaron J; O'Neal, Matthew E

2017-04-01

Cover crops are beneficial to agroecosystems because they decrease soil erosion and nutrient loss while increasing within-field plant diversity. Greater plant diversity within cropping systems can positively affect beneficial arthropod communities. We hypothesized that increasing plant diversity within annually rotated corn and soybean with the addition of a rye cover crop would positively affect the beneficial ground and canopy-dwelling communities compared with rotated corn and soybean grown without a cover crop. From 2011 through 2013, arthropod communities were measured at two locations in Iowa four times throughout each growing season. Pitfall traps were used to sample ground-dwelling arthropods within the corn and soybean plots and sweep nets were used to measure the beneficial arthropods in soybean canopies. Beneficial arthropods captured were identified to either class, order, or family. In both corn and soybean, community composition and total community activity density and abundance did not differ between plots that included the rye cover crop and plots without the rye cover crop. Most taxa did not significantly respond to the presence of the rye cover crop when analyzed individually, with the exceptions of Carabidae and Gryllidae sampled from soybean pitfall traps. Activity density of Carabidae was significantly greater in soybean plots that included a rye cover crop, while activity density of Gryllidae was significantly reduced in plots with the rye cover crop. Although a rye cover crop may be agronomically beneficial, there may be only limited effects on beneficial arthropods when added within an annual rotation of corn and soybean. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Structural analysis of TFTR vacuum vessel bellows and bellows cover sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Driesen, G.

1975-10-01

A structural evaluation of the bellows and bellows cover sections was undertaken in order to confirm the structural integrity of these TFTR vacuum vessel components in the prescribed operating environment. The evaluations investigate component stability, stress, and deflection behavior. The products of this investigation appearing in this report include; (1) Structural verification of the vacuum bellows as currently defined in an operating environment of one atmosphere external pressure and 93 0 C (200 0 F) uniform temperature. (2) The establishment of a structurally adequate design configuration for the bellows cover section. (3) The presentation of a parametric study which indicates the effects of varying some bellows cover section parameters in order to obtain acceptable variations of this design configuration. (4) A verification of bellows and bellows cover section integrity to preclude a fatigue type failure for reactor startup and shutdown cyclic life in the design environment

Combinatorial aspects of covering arrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles J. Colbourn

2004-11-01

Full Text Available Covering arrays generalize orthogonal arrays by requiring that t -tuples be covered, but not requiring that the appearance of t -tuples be balanced.Their uses in screening experiments has found application in software testing, hardware testing, and a variety of fields in which interactions among factors are to be identified. Here a combinatorial view of covering arrays is adopted, encompassing basic bounds, direct constructions, recursive constructions, algorithmic methods, and applications.

Forest Cover Estimation in Ireland Using Radar Remote Sensing: A Comparative Analysis of Forest Cover Assessment Methodologies

Science.gov (United States)

Devaney, John; Barrett, Brian; Barrett, Frank; Redmond, John; O`Halloran, John

2015-01-01

Quantification of spatial and temporal changes in forest cover is an essential component of forest monitoring programs. Due to its cloud free capability, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an ideal source of information on forest dynamics in countries with near-constant cloud-cover. However, few studies have investigated the use of SAR for forest cover estimation in landscapes with highly sparse and fragmented forest cover. In this study, the potential use of L-band SAR for forest cover estimation in two regions (Longford and Sligo) in Ireland is investigated and compared to forest cover estimates derived from three national (Forestry2010, Prime2, National Forest Inventory), one pan-European (Forest Map 2006) and one global forest cover (Global Forest Change) product. Two machine-learning approaches (Random Forests and Extremely Randomised Trees) are evaluated. Both Random Forests and Extremely Randomised Trees classification accuracies were high (98.1–98.5%), with differences between the two classifiers being minimal (forest area and an increase in overall accuracy of SAR-derived forest cover maps. All forest cover products were evaluated using an independent validation dataset. For the Longford region, the highest overall accuracy was recorded with the Forestry2010 dataset (97.42%) whereas in Sligo, highest overall accuracy was obtained for the Prime2 dataset (97.43%), although accuracies of SAR-derived forest maps were comparable. Our findings indicate that spaceborne radar could aid inventories in regions with low levels of forest cover in fragmented landscapes. The reduced accuracies observed for the global and pan-continental forest cover maps in comparison to national and SAR-derived forest maps indicate that caution should be exercised when applying these datasets for national reporting. PMID:26262681

Crisis in Cataloging Revisited: The Year's Work in Subject Analysis, 1990.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, James Bradford

1991-01-01

Reviews the 1990 literature that concerns subject analysis. Issues addressed include subject cataloging, including Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH); classification, including Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), Library of Congress Classification, and classification in online systems; subject access, including the online use of…

Economic Development and Forest Cover: Evidence from Satellite Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Crespo Cuaresma, Jesús; Danylo, Olha; Fritz, Steffen; McCallum, Ian; Obersteiner, Michael; See, Linda; Walsh, Brian

2017-01-16

Ongoing deforestation is a pressing, global environmental issue with direct impacts on climate change, carbon emissions, and biodiversity. There is an intuitive link between economic development and overexploitation of natural resources including forests, but this relationship has proven difficult to establish empirically due to both inadequate data and convoluting geo-climactic factors. In this analysis, we use satellite data on forest cover along national borders in order to study the determinants of deforestation differences across countries. Controlling for trans-border geo-climactic differences, we find that income per capita is the most robust determinant of differences in cross-border forest cover. We show that the marginal effect of per capita income growth on forest cover is strongest at the earliest stages of economic development, and weakens in more advanced economies, presenting some of the strongest evidence to date for the existence of at least half of an environmental Kuznets curve for deforestation.

Economic Development and Forest Cover: Evidence from Satellite Data

Science.gov (United States)

Crespo Cuaresma, Jesús; Danylo, Olha; Fritz, Steffen; McCallum, Ian; Obersteiner, Michael; See, Linda; Walsh, Brian

2017-01-01

Ongoing deforestation is a pressing, global environmental issue with direct impacts on climate change, carbon emissions, and biodiversity. There is an intuitive link between economic development and overexploitation of natural resources including forests, but this relationship has proven difficult to establish empirically due to both inadequate data and convoluting geo-climactic factors. In this analysis, we use satellite data on forest cover along national borders in order to study the determinants of deforestation differences across countries. Controlling for trans-border geo-climactic differences, we find that income per capita is the most robust determinant of differences in cross-border forest cover. We show that the marginal effect of per capita income growth on forest cover is strongest at the earliest stages of economic development, and weakens in more advanced economies, presenting some of the strongest evidence to date for the existence of at least half of an environmental Kuznets curve for deforestation.

DESIGN, PERFORMANCE, AND SUSTAINABILITY OF ENGINEERED COVERS FOR URANIUM MILL TAILINGS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waugh, W. Jody

2004-04-21

Final remedies at most uranium mill tailings sites include engineered covers designed to contain metals and radionuclides in the subsurface for hundreds of years. Early cover designs rely on compacted soil layers to limit water infiltration and release of radon, but some of these covers inadvertently created habitats for deep-rooted plants. Root intrusion and soil development increased the saturated hydraulic conductivity several orders of magnitude above design targets. These covers may require high levels of maintenance to sustain long-term performance. Relatively low precipitation, high potential evapotranspiration, and thick unsaturated soils favor long-term hydrologic isolation of buried waste at arid and semiarid sites. Later covers were designed to mimic this natural soil-water balance with the goal of sustaining performance with little or no maintenance. For example, the cover for the Monticello, Utah, Superfund site relies on a thick soil-sponge layer overlying a sand-and-gravel capillary barrier to store precipitation while plants are dormant and on native vegetation to dry the soil sponge during the growing season. Measurements of both off-site caisson lysimeters and a large 3-ha lysimeter built into the final cover show that drainage has been well below a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency target of less than 3.0 mm/yr. Our stewardship strategy combines monitoring precursors to failure, probabilistic riskbased modeling, and characterization of natural analogs to project performance of covers for a range of possible future environmental scenarios. Natural analogs are needed to understand how ecological processes will influence cover performance, processes that cannot be predicted with short-term monitoring and existing numerical models.

Evaluating fire-damaged components of historic covered bridges

Science.gov (United States)

Brian Kukay; Charles Todd; Tyler Jahn; Jenson Sannon; Logan Dunlap; Robert White; Mark Dietenberger

2016-01-01

Arson continues to claim many historic covered bridges. Site-specific, post-fire evaluations of the structural integrity of a bridge are often necessary in a fire’s aftermath. Decisions on whether individual wood components can be rehabilitated, reconstructed, or replaced must be made. This report includes coverage of existing approaches and exploratory approaches that...

Covered Bridge Security Manual

Science.gov (United States)

Brett Phares; Terry Wipf; Ryan Sievers; Travis Hosteng

2013-01-01

The design, construction, and use of covered timber bridges is all but a lost art in these days of pre-stressed concrete, high-performance steel, and the significant growth both in the volume and size of vehicles. Furthermore, many of the existing covered timber bridges are preserved only because of their status on the National Registry of Historic Places or the...

Multitemporal Snow Cover Mapping in Mountainous Terrain for Landsat Climate Data Record Development

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Christopher J.; Manson, Steven M.; Bauer, Marvin E.; Hall, Dorothy K.

2013-01-01

A multitemporal method to map snow cover in mountainous terrain is proposed to guide Landsat climate data record (CDR) development. The Landsat image archive including MSS, TM, and ETM+ imagery was used to construct a prototype Landsat snow cover CDR for the interior northwestern United States. Landsat snow cover CDRs are designed to capture snow-covered area (SCA) variability at discrete bi-monthly intervals that correspond to ground-based snow telemetry (SNOTEL) snow-water-equivalent (SWE) measurements. The June 1 bi-monthly interval was selected for initial CDR development, and was based on peak snowmelt timing for this mountainous region. Fifty-four Landsat images from 1975 to 2011 were preprocessed that included image registration, top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance conversion, cloud and shadow masking, and topographic normalization. Snow covered pixels were retrieved using the normalized difference snow index (NDSI) and unsupervised classification, and pixels having greater (less) than 50% snow cover were classified presence (absence). A normalized SCA equation was derived to independently estimate SCA given missing image coverage and cloud-shadow contamination. Relative frequency maps of missing pixels were assembled to assess whether systematic biases were embedded within this Landsat CDR. Our results suggest that it is possible to confidently estimate historical bi-monthly SCA from partially cloudy Landsat images. This multitemporal method is intended to guide Landsat CDR development for freshwaterscarce regions of the western US to monitor climate-driven changes in mountain snowpack extent.

Sensitivity of selected landscape pattern metrics to land-cover misclassification and differences in land-cover composition

Science.gov (United States)

James D. Wickham; Robert V. O' Neill; Kurt H. Riitters; Timothy G. Wade; K. Bruce Jones

1997-01-01

Calculation of landscape metrics from land-cover data is becoming increasingly common. Some studies have shown that these measurements are sensitive to differences in land-cover composition, but none are known to have tested also their a sensitivity to land-cover misclassification. An error simulation model was written to test the sensitivity of selected land-scape...

Comprehensive monitoring of Bangladesh tree cover inside and outside of forests, 2000-2014

Science.gov (United States)

Potapov, P.; Siddiqui, B. N.; Iqbal, Z.; Aziz, T.; Zzaman, B.; Islam, A.; Pickens, A.; Talero, Y.; Tyukavina, A.; Turubanova, S.; Hansen, M. C.

2017-10-01

A novel approach for satellite-based comprehensive national tree cover change assessment was developed and applied in Bangladesh, a country where trees outside of forests play an important role in the national economy and carbon sequestration. Tree cover change area was quantified using the integration of wall-to-wall Landsat-based mapping with a higher spatial resolution sample-based assessment. The total national tree canopy cover area was estimated as 3165 500 ± 186 600 ha in the year 2000, with trees outside forests making up 54% of total canopy cover. Total tree canopy cover increased by 135 700 (± 116 600) ha (4.3%) during the 2000-2014 time interval. Bangladesh exhibits a national tree cover dynamic where net change is rather small, but gross dynamics significant and variable by forest type. Despite the overall gain in tree cover, results revealed the ongoing clearing of natural forests, especially within the Chittagong hill tracts. While forests decreased their tree cover area by 83 600 ha, the trees outside forests (including tree plantations, village woodlots, and agroforestry) increased their canopy area by 219 300 ha. Our results demonstrated method capability to quantify tree canopy cover dynamics within a fine-scale agricultural landscape. Our approach for comprehensive monitoring of tree canopy cover may be recommended for operational implementation in Bangladesh and other countries with significant tree cover outside of forests.

Feeling sad makes us feel older: Effects of a sad-mood induction on subjective age.

Science.gov (United States)

Dutt, Anne J; Wahl, Hans-Werner

2017-08-01

A mood-induction paradigm was implemented in a sample of 144 adults covering midlife and old age (40-80 years) to investigate associations between mood and subjective age. Sad or neutral mood was induced by texts and music pieces. Subjective age was operationalized as felt age relative to chronological age. Participants receiving the sad-mood induction reported changes toward older felt ages from pre- to postinduction. Participants receiving the neutral-mood induction reported comparable levels of subjective age at pre- and postinduction. Effects were comparable across middle- and older aged participants. Results suggest that sad affective states might dampen subjective age. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Allegheny County Land Cover Areas

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — The Land Cover dataset demarcates 14 land cover types by area; such as Residential, Commercial, Industrial, Forest, Agriculture, etc. If viewing this description on...

Water Quality Impacts of Cover Crop/Manure Management Systems

OpenAIRE

Kern, James Donald

1997-01-01

Crop production, soil system, water quality, and economic impacts of four corn silage production systems were compared through a field study including 16 plots (4 replications of each treatment). Systems included a rye cover crop and application of liquid dairy manure in the spring and fall. The four management systems were: 1) traditional, 2) double- crop, 3) roll-down, and 4) undercut. In the fourth system, manure was applied below the soil surface during the ...

Interactive Design and Visualization of Branched Covering Spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Lawrence; Kumar, Prashant; Golbabaei, Sanaz; Zhang, Yue; Zhang, Eugene

2018-01-01

Branched covering spaces are a mathematical concept which originates from complex analysis and topology and has applications in tensor field topology and geometry remeshing. Given a manifold surface and an -way rotational symmetry field, a branched covering space is a manifold surface that has an -to-1 map to the original surface except at the ramification points, which correspond to the singularities in the rotational symmetry field. Understanding the notion and mathematical properties of branched covering spaces is important to researchers in tensor field visualization and geometry processing, and their application areas. In this paper, we provide a framework to interactively design and visualize the branched covering space (BCS) of an input mesh surface and a rotational symmetry field defined on it. In our framework, the user can visualize not only the BCSs but also their construction process. In addition, our system allows the user to design the geometric realization of the BCS using mesh deformation techniques as well as connecting tubes. This enables the user to verify important facts about BCSs such as that they are manifold surfaces around singularities, as well as the Riemann-Hurwitz formula which relates the Euler characteristic of the BCS to that of the original mesh. Our system is evaluated by student researchers in scientific visualization and geometry processing as well as faculty members in mathematics at our university who teach topology. We include their evaluations and feedback in the paper.

25 CFR 900.110 - What does this subpart cover?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... management, and the actual construction of the building or facility in accordance with the construction... construction management services as defined in § 900.113 may be included in a construction contract under this... Construction § 900.110 What does this subpart cover? (a) This subpart establishes requirements for issuing...

Investigating a solar influence on cloud cover using the North American Regional Reanalysis data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krahenbuhl Daniel Scott

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The controversial connection between cosmic rays, solar activity, and cloud cover is investigated using a climatological reconstructed reanalysis product: the North American Regional Reanalysis which provides high-resolution, low, mid-level, high, and total cloud cover data over a Lambert conformal conic projection permitting land/ocean discrimination. Pearson’s product-moment regional correlations were obtained between monthly cloud cover data and solar variability indicators, cosmic ray neutron monitors, several climatological indices, including the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO, and between cloud layers. Regions of the mid-latitude oceans exhibited a positive correlation with cosmic ray flux. Additionally, this maritime low cloud cover exhibits the only failed correlation significance with other altitudes. The cross correlation reveals that cloud cover is positively correlated everywhere but for ocean low cloud cover, supporting the unique response of the marine layer. The results of this investigation suggest that with the assumption that solar forcing does impact cloud cover, measurements of solar activity exhibits a slightly higher correlation than GCRs. The only instance where GCRs exhibit a positive regional correlation with cloud cover is for maritime low clouds. The AMO exerts the greatest control of cloud cover in the NARR domain.

Incorporating Canopy Cover for Airborne-Derived Assessments of Forest Biomass in the Tropical Forests of Cambodia.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Minerva; Evans, Damian; Coomes, David A; Friess, Daniel A; Suy Tan, Boun; Samean Nin, Chan

2016-01-01

This research examines the role of canopy cover in influencing above ground biomass (AGB) dynamics of an open canopied forest and evaluates the efficacy of individual-based and plot-scale height metrics in predicting AGB variation in the tropical forests of Angkor Thom, Cambodia. The AGB was modeled by including canopy cover from aerial imagery alongside with the two different canopy vertical height metrics derived from LiDAR; the plot average of maximum tree height (Max_CH) of individual trees, and the top of the canopy height (TCH). Two different statistical approaches, log-log ordinary least squares (OLS) and support vector regression (SVR), were used to model AGB variation in the study area. Ten different AGB models were developed using different combinations of airborne predictor variables. It was discovered that the inclusion of canopy cover estimates considerably improved the performance of AGB models for our study area. The most robust model was log-log OLS model comprising of canopy cover only (r = 0.87; RMSE = 42.8 Mg/ha). Other models that approximated field AGB closely included both Max_CH and canopy cover (r = 0.86, RMSE = 44.2 Mg/ha for SVR; and, r = 0.84, RMSE = 47.7 Mg/ha for log-log OLS). Hence, canopy cover should be included when modeling the AGB of open-canopied tropical forests.

The importance of parameterization when simulating the hydrologic response of vegetative land-cover change

Science.gov (United States)

White, Jeremy; Stengel, Victoria; Rendon, Samuel; Banta, John

2017-08-01

Computer models of hydrologic systems are frequently used to investigate the hydrologic response of land-cover change. If the modeling results are used to inform resource-management decisions, then providing robust estimates of uncertainty in the simulated response is an important consideration. Here we examine the importance of parameterization, a necessarily subjective process, on uncertainty estimates of the simulated hydrologic response of land-cover change. Specifically, we applied the soil water assessment tool (SWAT) model to a 1.4 km2 watershed in southern Texas to investigate the simulated hydrologic response of brush management (the mechanical removal of woody plants), a discrete land-cover change. The watershed was instrumented before and after brush-management activities were undertaken, and estimates of precipitation, streamflow, and evapotranspiration (ET) are available; these data were used to condition and verify the model. The role of parameterization in brush-management simulation was evaluated by constructing two models, one with 12 adjustable parameters (reduced parameterization) and one with 1305 adjustable parameters (full parameterization). Both models were subjected to global sensitivity analysis as well as Monte Carlo and generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) conditioning to identify important model inputs and to estimate uncertainty in several quantities of interest related to brush management. Many realizations from both parameterizations were identified as behavioral in that they reproduce daily mean streamflow acceptably well according to Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient, percent bias, and coefficient of determination. However, the total volumetric ET difference resulting from simulated brush management remains highly uncertain after conditioning to daily mean streamflow, indicating that streamflow data alone are not sufficient to inform the model inputs that influence the simulated outcomes of brush management

Geochemistry of snow cover in taiga and alpine permafrost landscapes in Yakutia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. N. Makarov

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The work is devoted to results of study the chemical composition of snow in mountain taiga and permafrost landscapes of Yakutia. We studied snow cover in different mountain-belt types of landscapes. The composition and calculated volumes of chemical elements and compounds are studied in snow. The chemical composition of snow in mountain taiga and permafrost landscape has remained relatively constant (hydrocarbonate chloride-bicarbonate or sodium-calcium, low sulfate content. The dominant influence on the chemical composition of snow at plains and mountain permafrost landscapes has a continental origin, mainly carbon compounds. In mountain desert, where there is predominantly regional transfer, along with the carbon significant role in atmospheric precipitation in cold season belongs to the nitrogen compounds, mainly ammonium. The total density of the entry of soluble and insoluble components in the form of snow decreases regularly with change of altitude. The distribution of trace elements in the snow cover is not a subject to altitudinal zonation. The maximum content of heavy metals (Mn, Cu, Pb, Cd, F, and Sr in the snow cover is observed in the landscapes of mountain woodlands and mountain tundra, where the route crossed research Sette-Daban metallogenic zone of stratiform Cu and Pb-Zn mineralization.

The Use of Cover Crops as Climate-Smart Management in Midwest Cropping Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Basche, A.; Miguez, F.; Archontoulis, S.; Kaspar, T.

2014-12-01

The observed trends in the Midwestern United States of increasing rainfall variability will likely continue into the future. Events such as individual days of heavy rain as well as seasons of floods and droughts have large impacts on agricultural productivity and the natural resource base that underpins it. Such events lead to increased soil erosion, decreased water quality and reduced corn and soybean yields. Winter cover crops offer the potential to buffer many of these impacts because they essentially double the time for a living plant to protect and improve the soil. However, at present, cover crops are infrequently utilized in the Midwest (representing 1-2% of row cropped land cover) in particular due to producer concerns over higher costs and management, limited time and winter growing conditions as well as the potential harm to corn yields. In order to expand their use, there is a need to quantify how cover crops impact Midwest cropping systems in the long term and namely to understand how to optimize the benefits of cover crops while minimizing their impacts on cash crops. We are working with APSIM, a cropping systems platform, to specifically quantify the long term future impacts of cover crop incorporation in corn-based cropping systems. In general, our regional analysis showed only minor changes to corn and soybean yields (<1% differences) when a cover crop was or was not included in the simulation. Further, a "bad spring" scenario (where every third year had an abnormally wet/cold spring and cover crop termination and planting cash crop were within one day) did not result in any major changes to cash crop yields. Through simulations we estimate an average increase of 4-9% organic matter improvement in the topsoil and an average decrease in soil erosion of 14-32% depending on cover crop planting date and growth. Our work is part of the Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems Coordinated Agriculture Project (CSCAP), a collaboration of eleven Midwestern

On numerically pluricanonical cyclic coverings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kulikov, V S; Kharlamov, V M

2014-01-01

We investigate some properties of cyclic coverings f:Y→X (where X is a complex surface of general type) branched along smooth curves B⊂X that are numerically equivalent to a multiple of the canonical class of X. Our main results concern coverings of surfaces of general type with p g =0 and Miyaoka-Yau surfaces. In particular, such coverings provide new examples of multi-component moduli spaces of surfaces with given Chern numbers and new examples of surfaces that are not deformation equivalent to their complex conjugates

Nitrate Leaching From Grain Maize After Different Tillage Methods and Long/Short Term Cover Cropping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Elly Møller

trial initiated in 1968 on a coarse sandy soil. The previous trial included spring sown crops undersown (with or without) perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) as cover crop, two N-rates (90 and 120 kg N ha-1) and different tillage methods (shallow tillage and ploughing autumn or spring). With maize......) previous history of long-term cover cropping, ii) soil tillage methods, iii) N rates and iv) present short-term use of cover cropping in maize. Preliminary results from 2009 – 2011 suggest that leaching after a history of cover cropping tended to be higher than after no history of cover cropping......, but the effect was insignificant. The effect of tillage and previous N rates were also insignificant but the present use of cover crops had a small but significant decreasing effect on leaching compared to no cover cropping. The cover crop was well established in both years but grew less vigorously during autumn...

1 Integrating land cover and terrain characteristics to explain plague ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

influence of land cover and terrain factors on the abundance and spatial distribution ... factors operating at diverse scales, including climate (Debien et al., 2009; Ben Ari .... A cloud free three-band SPOT 5 image captured on 27 February 2007, ...

Decree of 16 February 1982 to amend the Ministerial Decree of 27 September 1965 determining activities subject to fire prevention inspections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

This Decree, issued by the Ministers of the Interior and of Industry, Commerce and Crafts, amends a Decree of 27th September 1965 listing the facilities and activities, also in the nuclear reactor, subject to fire prevention controls. The new Decree expands the list to include facilities for the storage of nuclear substances, radioactive products or waste, and facilities where nuclear fuels are held. In addition, facilities for the production, preparation and treatment of nuclear substances as well as for the separation of isotopes are now covered by the 1982 Decree. (NEA) [fr

Mapping land cover in urban residential landscapes using fine resolution imagery and object-oriented classification

Science.gov (United States)

A knowledge of different types of land cover in urban residential landscapes is important for building social and economic city-wide policies including landscape ordinances and water conservation programs. Urban landscapes are typically heterogeneous, so classification of land cover in these areas ...

Covering soils and vegetations during decommissioning disposal of a uranium mine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Weihua

2010-01-01

The disposals of waste ore dumps and tailings are an important part in the decommissioning disposal of uranium mines. Important indexes of the disposal include stabilization, harmlessness, rehabilitation and improvement of the ecological environment. These are closely related with vegetations. Taking example of decommissioning disposal of a uranium mine in Guizhou province, the selection of grasses and effects after covering soils and planting grasses are introduced. It is pointed out that covering soils and vegetations play an important role in decommissioning disposal of uranium mines. (authors)

Emergency and elective implantation of covered stent systems in iatrogenic arterial injuries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goltz, J.P.; Kickuth, R.; Bastuerk, P.; Hoppe, H.; Triller, J.

2011-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of covered stents for the management of iatrogenic arterial injury. Materials and Methods: Between 03/1998 and 12/2009, 31 patients underwent selective covered stent implantation after iatrogenic arterial injury. 12/31 of these patients (38.7 %) were hemodynamically unstable. Six different endovascular covered stent types were utilized. The primary endpoints of this study were technical and clinical success and rates of minor and major complications. Results: Initial angiograms demonstrated active extravasation in 19 (61.3 %) patients and pseudoaneurysms in 12 (38.7 %) patients. The following sites of bleeding origin were detected: axillary artery, subclavian artery, common iliac artery, external iliac artery, internal iliac artery, common femoral artery, superficial femoral artery, popliteal and fibular artery, femoro-popliteal and popliteo-crural bypasses, common hepatic artery, aberrant hepatic artery, cystic and gastroduodenal artery. In all patients bleeding was effectively controlled by covered stent implantation resulting in an immediate technical success of 100 %. Clinical success attributed to covered stent implantation was documented in 30 of the 31 patients (96.8 %). Major complications included death in four patients (11.1 %), acute thrombosis with arm ischemia in one patient (2.8 %) and stent fracture with associated pseudoaneurysm in another patient (2.8 %). In 2/31 patients (6.5 %) covered stent failure was detected and successfully treated by implantation of a second covered stent. Conclusion: Emergency and elective implantation of covered stents may be used for minimally invasive and effective management of iatrogenic arterial injury. (orig.)

ANALYSIS OF CAMOUFLAGE COVER SPECTRAL CHARACTERISTICS BY IMAGING SPECTROMETER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Y. Kouznetsov

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Subject of Research.The paper deals with the problems of detection and identification of objects in hyperspectral imagery. The possibility of object type determination by statistical methods is demonstrated. The possibility of spectral image application for its data type identification is considered. Method. Researching was done by means of videospectral equipment for objects detection at "Fregat" substrate. The postprocessing of hyperspectral information was done with the use of math model of pattern recognition system. The vegetation indexes TCHVI (Three-Channel Vegetation Index and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index were applied for quality control of object recognition. Neumann-Pearson criterion was offered as a tool for determination of objects differences. Main Results. We have carried out analysis of the spectral characteristics of summer-typecamouflage cover (Germany. We have calculated the density distribution of vegetation indexes. We have obtained statistical characteristics needed for creation of mathematical model for pattern recognition system. We have shown the applicability of vegetation indices for detection of summer camouflage cover on averdure background. We have presented mathematical model of object recognition based on Neumann-Pearson criterion. Practical Relevance. The results may be useful for specialists in the field of hyperspectral data processing for surface state monitoring.

"Land-Cover Conversion in Amazonia, The Role of ENV" Ironment and Substrate composition in Modifying SOI

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Dar A.; Chadwick, Oliver A.; Batista, Getulio T.

2003-01-01

LBA research from the first phase of LBA focused on three broad categories: 1) mapping land cover and quantifying rates of change, persistence of pasture, and area of recovering forest; 2) evaluating the role of environmental factors and land-use history on soil biogeochemistry; and 3) quantifying the natural and human controls on stream nutrient concentrations. The focus of the research was regional, concentrating primarily in the state of RondBnia, but also included land-cover mapping in the vicinity of Maraba, Para, and Manaus, Amazonas. Remote sensing analysis utilized Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Multispectral Scanner (MS S) data to map historical patterns of land-cover change. Specific questions addressed by the remote sensing component of the research included: 1) what is the areal extent of dominant land-cover classes? 2) what are the rates of change of dominant land cover through processes of deforestation, disturbance and regeneration? and 3) what are the dynamic properties of each class that characterize temporal variability, duration, and frequency of repeat disturbance? Biogeochemical analysis focused on natural variability and impacts of land-use/land-cover changes on soil and stream biogeochemical properties at the regional scale. An emphasis was given to specific soil properties considered to be primary limiting factors regionally, including phosphorus, nitrogen, base cations and cation-exchange properties. Stream sampling emphasized the relative effects of the rates and timing of land-cover change on stream nutrients, demonstrating that vegetation conversion alone does not impact nutrients as much as subsequent land use and urbanization.

Polyester non-woven fabric finger cover as a TRUCT Braille reading assistance tool for Braille learners.

Science.gov (United States)

Doi, Kouki; Fujimoto, Hiroshi

2007-11-01

Transparent resinous ultraviolet-curing type (TRUCT) Braille signs are becoming more and more popular in Japan, especially when they are printed together with visual characters. These signs are made by screen printing, a technique that can be applied to various base materials, such as paper, metal, and plastic. TRUCT Braille signs have begun to be used in public facilities, such as on tactile maps and on handrails. Naturally, it is expected that Braille beginners will utilize these signs. However, it has been pointed out that the friction between the forefinger and the base material may affect reading accuracy and speed. In this study, we developed a finger cover made of soft, thin polyester non-woven fabric to reduce friction during Braille reading. We also carried out a study to investigate the effect of its use. The subjects were 12 Braille learners with acquired visual impairment, who were asked to read randomly selected characters with and without the finger cover. The results showed that most participants could read TRUCT Braille significantly faster and more accurately with a finger cover than without it, regardless of the base material and dot height. This result suggests that wearing the finger cover enables Braille learners to read TRUCT Braille more efficiently. The finger cover can be used as a Braille reading assistance tool for Braille learners. An additional, health-related advantage of the finger cover is that the forefinger remains clean. We expect that the finger cover will be in practical use in Japan within 1 or 2 years.

Ethical and social implications of microdosing clinical trial (3). Radiological protection of human subjects in research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurihara, Chieko

2008-01-01

Internal irradiation of human subjects in research is discussed. Radiological protection of human subjects in medical research in a framework of radiation protection is surveyed from a viewpoint of general life-ethics and research-ethics. A workshop 'On the internal irradiation of human subjects' to summarize special and systematic knowledge was organized by Research Center for Radiation Protection, National Institute of Radiological Sciences in the beginning of 2008. Activities of this workshop are introduced. Discussion covers also (1) Research ethics and radiation protection, (2) Fundamentals and applications of risk-benefit assessment, (3) Human subjects risk assessment in ICRP recommendation, (4) Mechanism of human subjects internal irradiation assessment, and (5) Present status and future prospects in Japan. (K.Y.)

Underestimated Benefits from Periphery: Internal Migration and Subjective Well-being

OpenAIRE

Kopmann, Angela; Rehdanz, Katrin

2014-01-01

This paper is among the first to link internal migration and subjective well-being in developed countries. Economic theory predicts that individuals migrate towards urban agglomerations, if the potential gain in income is sufficient to cover costs. However, this narrow view cannot explain why migration exists also to the rural periphery. In our analysis, we investigate non-monetary benefits beyond economics from internal migration. Using highly disaggregated spatial information on people s mi...

Assessing, understanding, and conveying the state of the Arctic sea ice cover

Science.gov (United States)

Perovich, D. K.; Richter-Menge, J. A.; Rigor, I.; Parkinson, C. L.; Weatherly, J. W.; Nghiem, S. V.; Proshutinsky, A.; Overland, J. E.

2003-12-01

Recent studies indicate that the Arctic sea ice cover is undergoing significant climate-induced changes, affecting both its extent and thickness. Satellite-derived estimates of Arctic sea ice extent suggest a reduction of about 3% per decade since 1978. Ice thickness data from submarines suggest a net thinning of the sea ice cover since 1958. Changes (including oscillatory changes) in atmospheric circulation and the thermohaline properties of the upper ocean have also been observed. These changes impact not only the Arctic, but the global climate system and are likely accelerated by such processes as the ice-albedo feedback. It is important to continue and expand long-term observations of these changes to (a) improve the fundamental understanding of the role of the sea ice cover in the global climate system and (b) use the changes in the sea ice cover as an early indicator of climate change. This is a formidable task that spans a range of temporal and spatial scales. Fortunately, there are numerous tools that can be brought to bear on this task, including satellite remote sensing, autonomous buoys, ocean moorings, field campaigns and numerical models. We suggest the integrated and coordinated use of these tools during the International Polar Year to monitor the state of the Arctic sea ice cover and investigate its governing processes. For example, satellite remote sensing provides the large-scale snapshots of such basic parameters as ice distribution, melt zone, and cloud fraction at intervals of half a day to a week. Buoys and moorings can contribute high temporal resolution and can measure parameters currently unavailable from space including ice thickness, internal ice temperature, and ocean temperature and salinity. Field campaigns can be used to explore, in detail, the processes that govern the ice cover. Numerical models can be used to assess the character of the changes in the ice cover and predict their impacts on the rest of the climate system. This work

Landfill cover performance monitoring using time domain reflectometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neher, E.R.; Cotten, G.B.; McElroy, D.

1998-01-01

Time domain reflectometry (TDR) systems were installed to monitor soil moisture in two newly constructed landfill covers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Each TDR system includes four vertical arrays with each array consisting of four TDR probes located at depths of 15, 30, 45, and 60 cm. The deepest probes at 60 cm were installed beneath a compacted soil layer to analyze infiltration through the compacted layer. Based on the TDR data, infiltration through the two covers between March and October, 1997 ranged from less than measurable to 1.5 cm. However, due to a prohibition on penetrating the buried waste and resulting limits on probe placement depths, deeper percolation was not evaluated. Some of the advantages found in the application of TDR for infiltration monitoring at this site are the relative low cost and rugged nature of the equipment. Also, of particular importance, the ability to collect frequent moisture measurements allows the capture and evaluation of soil moisture changes resulting from episodic precipitation events. Disadvantages include the inability to install the probes into the waste, difficulties in interpretation of infiltration during freeze/thaw periods, and some excessive noise in the data

Alternative method to validate the seasonal land cover regions of the conterminous United States

Science.gov (United States)

Zhiliang Zhu; Donald O. Ohlen; Raymond L. Czaplewski; Robert E. Burgan

1996-01-01

An accuracy assessment method involving double sampling and the multivariate composite estimator has been used to validate the prototype seasonal land cover characteristics database of the conterminous United States. The database consists of 159 land cover classes, classified using time series of 1990 1-km satellite data and augmented with ancillary data including...

Measuring and analyzing urban tree cover

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Nowak; Rowan A. Rowntree; E. Gregory McPherson; Susan M. Sisinni; Esther R. Kirkmann; Jack C. Stevens

1996-01-01

Measurement of city tree cover can aid in urban vegetation planning, management, and research by revealing characteristics of vegetation across a city. Urban tree cover in the United States ranges from 0.4% in Lancaster, California, to 55% in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Two important factors that affect the amount of urban tree cover are the natural environment and land...

Quantization of noncompact coverings and its physical applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ivankov, Petr

2018-02-01

A rigorous algebraic definition of noncommutative coverings is developed. In the case of commutative algebras this definition is equivalent to the classical definition of topological coverings of locally compact spaces. The theory has following nontrivial applications: • Coverings of continuous trace algebras, • Coverings of noncommutative tori, • Coverings of the quantum SU(2) group, • Coverings of foliations, • Coverings of isospectral deformations of Spin - manifolds. The theory supplies the rigorous definition of noncommutative Wilson lines.

Effect of plant cover on presence of Black Francolin (Francolinus ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2010-06-21

Jun 21, 2010 ... factors threatening the populations of these birds in Khouzestan Province, southwestern Iran. Using plot sampling, this study aims to investigate different vegetative factors including plant species, percentage of species presence and dominant plant cover height on francolin presence. Sampling was.

Cover layer technology and a new hard coat for cartridge-free Blu-ray disc

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Tae-Sik; Han, Mi Young; Lee, Seong-Keun; Jang, Sung Hoon; Hong, Young Jun; Seo, Hun; Lee, Chang-Ho

2004-09-01

Spin coating method for cover layer of Blu-ray Disc (BD) has been studied and a new hard coat resin including antifouling property has been developed. A vacuum chuck was newly designed to minimize the ski-jump effect. 3 mm hard coat layer was stacked onto the 97 mm cover layer by spin coating method.

Dimensional comparability of psychosocial working conditions as covered in European monitoring questionnaires.

Science.gov (United States)

Formazin, Maren; Burr, Hermann; Aagestad, Cecilie; Tynes, Tore; Thorsen, Sannie Vester; Perkio-Makela, Merja; Díaz Aramburu, Clara Isabel; Pinilla García, Francisco Javier; Galiana Blanco, Luz; Vermeylen, Greet; Parent-Thirion, Agnes; Hooftman, Wendela; Houtman, Irene

2014-12-09

In most countries in the EU, national surveys are used to monitor working conditions and health. Since the development processes behind the various surveys are not necessarily theoretical, but certainly practical and political, the extent of similarity among the dimensions covered in these surveys has been unclear. Another interesting question is whether prominent models from scientific research on work and health are present in the surveys--bearing in mind that the primary focus of these surveys is on monitoring status and trends, not on mapping scientific models. Moreover, it is relevant to know which other scales and concepts not stemming from these models have been included in the surveys. The purpose of this paper is to determine (1) the similarity of dimensions covered in the surveys included and (2) the congruence of dimensions of scientific research and of dimensions present in the monitoring systems. Items from surveys representing six European countries and one European wide survey were classified into the dimensions they cover, using a taxonomy agreed upon among all involved partners from the six countries. The classification reveals that there is a large overlap of dimensions, albeit not in the formulation of items, covered in the seven surveys. Among the available items, the two prominent work-stress-models--job-demand-control-support-model (DCS) and effort-reward-imbalance-model (ERI)--are covered in most surveys even though this has not been the primary aim in the compilation of these surveys. In addition, a large variety of items included in the surveillance systems are not part of these models and are--at least partly--used in nearly all surveys. These additional items reflect concepts such as "restructuring", "meaning of work", "emotional demands" and "offensive behaviour/violence & harassment". The overlap of the dimensions being covered in the various questionnaires indicates that the interests of the parties deciding on the questionnaires in

Percent Forest Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Forests provide economic and ecological value. High percentages of forest cover (FORPCT) generally indicate healthier ecosystems and cleaner surface water. More...

Negotiating constructions of success and failure: women in mid-life and formations of subject, subjectivity and identity

OpenAIRE

McAvoy, Jean

2009-01-01

This thesis explores constructions of success and failure for women in mid-life in Britain in the early 21st century. It takes a discursive approach to social psychology, understanding language as social action constituting subjects and subjectivity. Data from 20 interviews, including 4 conducted with women in pairs, supported by loosely structured questionnaires and a collection of photographs of women including celebrities and unknown women, were used to generate talk of selves and others. ...

The cover letter should include the corresponding author's full ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

uaf

2Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan. 3Department of ... countries. In Chile, from 1995 to 1997, it was seen as a ... Thus, owing to the lack of information on this side, the ..... (In English; summary in Spanish). Bol. del ...

Land cover fire proneness in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Gonzalez Pereira

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Aim of study: This study aims to identify and characterize the spatial and temporal evolution of the types of vegetation that are most affected by forest fires in Europe. The characterization of the fuels is an important issue of the fire regime in each specific ecosystem while, on the other hand, fire is an important disturbance for global vegetation dynamics.Area of study: Southern European countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece.Material and Methods: Corine Land Cover maps for 2000 and 2006 (CLC2000, CLC2006 and burned area (BA perimeters, from 2000 to 2013 in Europe are combined to access the spatial and temporal evolution of the types of vegetation that are most affected by wild fires using descriptive statistics and Geographical Information System (GIS techniques.Main results: The spatial and temporal distribution of BA perimeters, vegetation and burnt vegetation by wild fires was performed and different statistics were obtained for Mediterranean and entire Europe, confirming the usefulness of the proposed land cover system. A fire proneness index is proposed to assess the fire selectivity of land cover classes. The index allowed to quantify and to compare the propensity of vegetation classes and countries to fire.Research highlights: The usefulness and efficiency of the land cover classification scheme and fire proneness index. The differences between northern Europe and southern Europe and among the Mediterranean region in what concerns to vegetation cover, fire incidence, area burnt in land cover classes and fire proneness between classes for the different countries.Keywords: Fire proneness; Mixed forests; Land cover/land use; Fire regime; Europe; GIS; Corine land cover. 

Scenarios of land cover in China

Science.gov (United States)

Yue, Tian Xiang; Fan, Ze Meng; Liu, Ji Yuan

2007-02-01

A method for surface modeling of land cover change (SMLC) is developed on the basis of establishing transition probability matrixes between land cover types and HLZ types. SMLC is used to simulate land cover scenarios of China for the years 2039, 2069 and 2099, for which HLZ scenarios are first simulated in terms of HadCM3 climatic scenarios that are downscaled in zonal model of spatial climate change in China. This paper also analyzes spatial distribution of land cover types, area change and mean center shift of each land cover type, ecotope diversity, and patch connectivity under the land cover scenarios. The results show that cultivated land would decrease and woodland would expand greatly with climatic change, which coincides with consequences expected by implementation of Grain-for-Green policy. Nival area would shrink, and desertification area would expand at a comparatively slow rate in future 100 years. Climate change would generally cause less ecotope diversity and more patch connectivity. Ecosystems in China would have a pattern of beneficial cycle after efficient ecological conservation and restoration. However, if human activities would exceed regulation capacity of ecosystems themselves, the ecosystems in China might deteriorate more seriously.

Measuring subjective resilience despite adversity due to family, peers and teachers.

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso-Tapia, Jesús; Nieto, Carmen; Ruíz, Miguel A

2013-01-01

The objective of this study is to develop and validate a scale of subjective resilience for students 12-17 years old. Items covered adverse situations due to parents', peers' and teachers' actions. The validation process included the analysis on the generalizability of the factor structure and of relationships of resilience scores with different kinds of protective and vulnerability factors -goal orientations and learning-oriented classroom motivational climate (CMC)-. A total of 471 students answered four questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analyses, reliability analysis and correlation and regression analyses were carried out. Results showed: (a) that factor structure was well defined; (b) that resilience scale had good reliability; (c) that scores correlated as expected with protective-vulnerability factors such as goal orientations and CMC defined by teachers' teaching-patterns, and (d) that students' attribution of perceived change in resilience to teachers' work depended on the degree in which CMC was learning oriented. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

CLC2000 land cover database of the Netherlands; monitoring land cover changes between 1986 and 2000

OpenAIRE

Hazeu, G.W.

2003-01-01

The 1986 CORINE land cover database of the Netherlands was revised and updated on basis of Landsat satellite images and ancillary data. Interpretation of satellite images from 1986 and 2000 resulted in the CLC2000, CLC1986rev and CLCchange databases. A standard European legend and production methodology was applied. Thirty land cover classes were discerned. Most extended land cover types were pastures (231), arable land (211) and complex cultivation patterns (242). Between 1986 and 2000 aroun...

Carbon Assessment of Hawaii Land Cover Map (CAH_LandCover)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of the Interior — While there have been many maps produced that depict vegetation for the state of Hawai‘i only a few of these display land cover for all of the main Hawaiian Islands,...

A Comparison of Advanced Regression Algorithms for Quantifying Urban Land Cover

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akpona Okujeni

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Quantitative methods for mapping sub-pixel land cover fractions are gaining increasing attention, particularly with regard to upcoming hyperspectral satellite missions. We evaluated five advanced regression algorithms combined with synthetically mixed training data for quantifying urban land cover from HyMap data at 3.6 and 9 m spatial resolution. Methods included support vector regression (SVR, kernel ridge regression (KRR, artificial neural networks (NN, random forest regression (RFR and partial least squares regression (PLSR. Our experiments demonstrate that both kernel methods SVR and KRR yield high accuracies for mapping complex urban surface types, i.e., rooftops, pavements, grass- and tree-covered areas. SVR and KRR models proved to be stable with regard to the spatial and spectral differences between both images and effectively utilized the higher complexity of the synthetic training mixtures for improving estimates for coarser resolution data. Observed deficiencies mainly relate to known problems arising from spectral similarities or shadowing. The remaining regressors either revealed erratic (NN or limited (RFR and PLSR performances when comprehensively mapping urban land cover. Our findings suggest that the combination of kernel-based regression methods, such as SVR and KRR, with synthetically mixed training data is well suited for quantifying urban land cover from imaging spectrometer data at multiple scales.

Covering materials used in protected agriculture; Nogyoyo hifuku shizai

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naito, Y.

1998-03-01

Forty and a few years have passed away since the start of facilities agriculture using plastic covering materials. The facilities have been divided into heavily equipped type and simplified type. The former includes heating, ventilation, irrigation water, and nutritious solution culture facilities. The latter includes pipe house, tunnel, and rain shelter facilities. For the heavily equipped type, all season, long life-time and large-scale facilities have been diffused. Hard plates and hard films with durability equivalent to glass are used. Especially, utilization of hard films has been increased, recently. Soft films are also widely used for heavily equipped type facilities in spite of their disadvantage of taking large labor for renewal. However, enhancement of durability is also required for the soft films. Their life-time has become five years from the former one or two years. The significant problem of covering materials is the treatment of used plastics. Measures for enhancing the reproduction have been promoted. Furthermore, the development of naturally decomposed materials with biological and optical degradation properties has been also promoted. 11 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.

Police Stations, City of Wichita Police Department substation locations. Cover is derived from Emergency Facilities (scEfac) cover. Used for Public Safety map rolls. Primary attributes include station number, address, mailing city, type, and name., Published in 2008, 1:1200 (1in=100ft) scale, Sedgwick County Government.

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — Police Stations dataset current as of 2008. City of Wichita Police Department substation locations. Cover is derived from Emergency Facilities (scEfac) cover. Used...

Nitrate-nitrogen losses through subsurface drainage under various agricultural land covers.

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Zhiming; Helmers, Matthew J; Christianson, Reid D; Pederson, Carl H

2011-01-01

Nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N) loading to surface water bodies from subsurface drainage is an environmental concern in the midwestern United States. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of various land covers on NO₃-N loss through subsurface drainage. Land-cover treatments included (i) conventional corn ( L.) (C) and soybean [ (L.) Merr.] (S); (ii) winter rye ( L.) cover crop before corn (rC) and before soybean (rS); (iii) kura clover ( M. Bieb.) as a living mulch for corn (kC); and (iv) perennial forage of orchardgrass ( L.) mixed with clovers (PF). In spring, total N uptake by aboveground biomass of rye in rC, rye in rS, kura clover in kC, and grasses in PF were 14.2, 31.8, 87.0, and 46.3 kg N ha, respectively. Effect of land covers on subsurface drainage was not significant. The NO₃-N loss was significantly lower for kC and PF than C and S treatments (p rye cover crop did not reduce NO₃-N loss, but NO₃-N concentration was significantly reduced in rC during March to June and in rS during July to November (p rye cover crop on NO-N loss reduction needs further investigation under conditions of different N rates, wider weather patterns, and fall tillage. by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

The application of remote sensing technique to metallogenetic prognosis in the covered area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Xianfang; Tian Hua; Luo Fusheng; Feng Jie; Huang Shutao; Guo Hongyan; Zhang Shuiming

1994-08-01

The idea, method and procedure of remote sensing research in the covered area are discussed. Using satellite image processing method (including faint information processing) in combination with multiple information comprehensive interpretation to decipher information of geological bodies covered with unconsolidated overburden and to predict favourable districts is also introduced. Taking the Yili basin for example, how to interpret ore-controlling factors is described. The concealed productive uranium formations which dominate uranium distribution have been delineated. The uplift and subsidence which are related to sedimentary environment and mineralization concentration have been discriminated. The faults (including the buried faults) which control the formation and development of the basin have been discerned. The stable and active areas, which are connected with uranium concentration, and preservation, and regional discharge zone have been interpreted. The result shows the feasibility of using remote sensing technique to predict the mineralization in the covered area, and six target areas have been optimized for further uranium reconnaissance and exploration in the study area

Using ASTER Imagery in Land Use/cover Classification of Eastern Mediterranean Landscapes According to CORINE Land Cover Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Recep Gundogan

2008-02-01

Full Text Available The satellite imagery has been effectively utilized for classifying land covertypes and detecting land cover conditions. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emissionand Reflection Radiometer (ASTER sensor imagery has been widely used in classificationprocess of land cover. However, atmospheric corrections have to be made by preprocessingsatellite sensor imagery since the electromagnetic radiation signals received by the satellitesensors can be scattered and absorbed by the atmospheric gases and aerosols. In this study,an ASTER sensor imagery, which was converted into top-of-atmosphere reflectance(TOA, was used to classify the land use/cover types, according to COoRdination ofINformation on the Environment (CORINE land cover nomenclature, for an arearepresenting the heterogonous characteristics of eastern Mediterranean regions inKahramanmaras, Turkey. The results indicated that using the surface reflectance data ofASTER sensor imagery can provide accurate (i.e. overall accuracy and kappa values of83.2% and 0.79, respectively and low-cost cover mapping as a part of inventory forCORINE Land Cover Project.

Is Subjective Status Influenced by Psychosocial Factors?

OpenAIRE

Lundberg, Johanna; Kristenson, Margareta

2008-01-01

Objective Associations between subjective status and health are still relatively unexplored. This study aimed at testing whether subjective status is uniquely confounded by psychosocial factors compared to objective status, and what factors that may predict subjective status. Design A cross-sectional analysis of a population-based, random sample of 795 middle-aged men and women from the southeast of Sweden. Questionnaires included subjective status, objective measures of socioeconomic status,...

An Automated Algorithm for Producing Land Cover Information from Landsat Surface Reflectance Data Acquired Between 1984 and Present

Science.gov (United States)

Rover, J.; Goldhaber, M. B.; Holen, C.; Dittmeier, R.; Wika, S.; Steinwand, D.; Dahal, D.; Tolk, B.; Quenzer, R.; Nelson, K.; Wylie, B. K.; Coan, M.

2015-12-01

Multi-year land cover mapping from remotely sensed data poses challenges. Producing land cover products at spatial and temporal scales required for assessing longer-term trends in land cover change are typically a resource-limited process. A recently developed approach utilizes open source software libraries to automatically generate datasets, decision tree classifications, and data products while requiring minimal user interaction. Users are only required to supply coordinates for an area of interest, land cover from an existing source such as National Land Cover Database and percent slope from a digital terrain model for the same area of interest, two target acquisition year-day windows, and the years of interest between 1984 and present. The algorithm queries the Landsat archive for Landsat data intersecting the area and dates of interest. Cloud-free pixels meeting the user's criteria are mosaicked to create composite images for training the classifiers and applying the classifiers. Stratification of training data is determined by the user and redefined during an iterative process of reviewing classifiers and resulting predictions. The algorithm outputs include yearly land cover raster format data, graphics, and supporting databases for further analysis. Additional analytical tools are also incorporated into the automated land cover system and enable statistical analysis after data are generated. Applications tested include the impact of land cover change and water permanence. For example, land cover conversions in areas where shrubland and grassland were replaced by shale oil pads during hydrofracking of the Bakken Formation were quantified. Analytical analysis of spatial and temporal changes in surface water included identifying wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota with potential connectivity to ground water, indicating subsurface permeability and geochemistry.

Well-covered graphs and factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Randerath, Bert; Vestergaard, Preben D.

2006-01-01

A maximum independent set of vertices in a graph is a set of pairwise nonadjacent vertices of largest cardinality α. Plummer defined a graph to be well-covered, if every independent set is contained in a maximum independent set of G. Every well-covered graph G without isolated vertices has a perf...

Percent Wetland Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Wetlands act as filters, removing or diminishing the amount of pollutants that enter surface water. Higher values for percent of wetland cover (WETLNDSPCT) may be...

Linking snake habitat use to nest predation risk in grassland birds: the dangers of shrub cover.

Science.gov (United States)

Klug, Page E; Jackrel, Sara L; With, Kimberly A

2010-03-01

Extremes in rangeland management, varying from too-frequent fire and intensive grazing to the suppression of both, threaten rangeland ecosystems worldwide. Intensive fire and grazing denude and homogenize vegetation whereas their suppression increases woody cover. Although habitat loss is implicated in grassland bird declines, degradation through intensive management or neglect also decreases breeding habitat and may reduce nesting success through increased rates of nest predation. Snakes are important nest predators, but little is known about how habitat use in snakes relates to predation risk for grassland birds nesting within tallgrass prairie subjected to different grazing and fire frequencies. We evaluated nest survival in the context of habitat used by nesting songbirds and two bird-eating snakes, the eastern yellowbelly racer Coluber constrictor flaviventris and Great Plains ratsnake Pantherophis emoryi. Daily nest survival rates decreased with increasing shrub cover and decreasing vegetation height, which characterize grasslands that have been neglected or intensively managed, respectively. Discriminant function analysis revealed that snake habitats were characterized by higher shrub cover, whereas successful nests were more likely to occur in areas with tall grass and forbs but reduced shrub cover. Because snakes often use shrub habitat, birds nesting in areas with increased shrub cover may be at higher risk of nest predation by snakes in addition to other predators known to use shrub habitat (e.g., mid-sized carnivores and avian predators). Depredated nests also occurred outside the discriminant space of the snakes, indicating that other predators (e.g., ground squirrels Spermophilus spp. and bullsnakes Pituophis catenifer) may be important in areas with denuded cover. Targeted removal of shrubs may increase nest success by minimizing the activity of nest predators attracted to shrub cover.

FFTF fuel failure detection and characterization by cover gas monitoring. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, W.C.; Holt, F.E.

1977-01-01

The Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) will include a Fuel Failure Monitoring (FFM) System designed to detect, characterize, and locate fuel and absorber pin failures (i.e., cladding breaches) using a combination of delayed neutron detection, cover gas radioisotope monitoring, and gas tagging. During the past several years the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory has been involved in the development, design, procurement, and installation of this integrated system. The paper describes one portion of the FFM System, the Cover Gas Monitoring System (CGMS), which has the primary function of fuel failure detection and characterization in the FFTF. By monitoring the various radioisotopes in the cover gas, the CGMS will both detect fuel and absorber pin failures and characterize those failures as to magnitude and severity

Soils, County-wide soils cover - an aggregation of section-wide soil coverages with additional attributes. Primary attributes include mu symbol and ID, state symbol, name, category, percolation rate and passing percentage., Published in 2008, 1:1200 (1in=100ft) scale, Sedgwick County Government.

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — Soils dataset current as of 2008. County-wide soils cover - an aggregation of section-wide soil coverages with additional attributes. Primary attributes include mu...

Providing Diurnal Sky Cover Data at ARM Sites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klebe, Dimitri I. [Solmirus Corporation, Colorado Springs, CO (United States)

2015-03-06

The Solmirus Corporation was awarded two-year funding to perform a comprehensive data analysis of observations made during Solmirus’ 2009 field campaign (conducted from May 21 to July 27, 2009 at the ARM SGP site) using their All Sky Infrared Visible Analyzer (ASIVA) instrument. The objective was to develop a suite of cloud property data products for the ASIVA instrument that could be implemented in real time and tailored for cloud modelers. This final report describes Solmirus’ research and findings enabled by this grant. The primary objective of this award was to develop a diurnal sky cover (SC) data product utilizing the ASIVA’s infrared (IR) radiometrically-calibrated data and is described in detail. Other data products discussed in this report include the sky cover derived from ASIVA’s visible channel and precipitable water vapor, cloud temperature (both brightness and color), and cloud height inferred from ASIVA’s IR channels.

Climatological determinants of woody cover in Africa

OpenAIRE

Good, Stephen P.; Caylor, Kelly K.

2011-01-01

Determining the factors that influence the distribution of woody vegetation cover and resolving the sensitivity of woody vegetation cover to shifts in environmental forcing are critical steps necessary to predict continental-scale responses of dryland ecosystems to climate change. We use a 6-year satellite data record of fractional woody vegetation cover and an 11-year daily precipitation record to investigate the climatological controls on woody vegetation cover across the African continent....

Subject Orientation of Teaching and Academic Subjects in the Context of Different Didactic Approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. M. Osmolovskaya

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper is devoted to the research findings concerning the didactic characteristics and means of subject-oriented teaching. The research question includes the content of the general secondary education regarded as the design object. The process of selecting and structuring materials is reviewed from the theoretical standpoint, and the attempt is made to identify the ways of selecting materials for students’ learning from the social experience reflected in culture. The author introduces the concept of subject-orientation as a tool providing pedagogic adaptation of social experience in the process of teaching content development. Subject-oriented teaching is defined in the context of traditional knowledge, as well as the competence and student-oriented didac- tic approaches; the forms and means of its realization being indicated providing the new ways for introducing and understanding the educational subject. The research results can be used by the specialists in didactic, curricula developers, authors of textbooks in various subjects. 

Border Lakes land-cover classification

Science.gov (United States)

Marvin Bauer; Brian Loeffelholz; Doug. Shinneman

2009-01-01

This document contains metadata and description of land-cover classification of approximately 5.1 million acres of land bordering Minnesota, U.S.A. and Ontario, Canada. The classification focused on the separation and identification of specific forest-cover types. Some separation of the nonforest classes also was performed. The classification was derived from multi-...

Humic substances and its distribution in coffee crop under cover crops and weed control methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Henrique Martins

2016-08-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Humic substances (HS comprise the passive element in soil organic matter (SOM, and represent one of the soil carbon pools which may be altered by different cover crops and weed control methods. This study aimed to assess HS distribution and characteristics in an experimental coffee crop area subjected to cover crops and cultural, mechanical, and chemical weed control. The study was carried out at Londrina, in the state of Paraná, southern Brazil (23°21’30” S; 51°10’17” W. In 2008, seven weed control/cover crops were established in a randomized block design between two coffee rows as the main-plot factor per plot and soil sampling depths (0-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-30 cm and 30-40 cm as a split-plot. HS were extracted through alkaline and acid solutions and analyzed by chromic acid wet oxidation and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Chemical attributes presented variations in the topsoil between the field conditions analyzed. Cover crop cutting and coffee tree pruning residues left on the soil surface may have interfered in nutrient cycling and the humification process. Data showed that humic substances comprised about 50 % of SOM. Although different cover crops and weed control methods did not alter humic and fulvic acid carbon content, a possible incidence of condensed aromatic structures at depth increments in fulvic acids was observed, leading to an average decrease of 53 % in the E4/E6 ratio. Humin carbon content increased 25 % in the topsoil, particularly under crop weed-control methods, probably due to high incorporation of recalcitrant structures from coffee tree pruning residues and cover crops.

A Comparative Study of Land Cover Classification by Using Multispectral and Texture Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salman Qadri

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this study is to find out the importance of machine vision approach for the classification of five types of land cover data such as bare land, desert rangeland, green pasture, fertile cultivated land, and Sutlej river land. A novel spectra-statistical framework is designed to classify the subjective land cover data types accurately. Multispectral data of these land covers were acquired by using a handheld device named multispectral radiometer in the form of five spectral bands (blue, green, red, near infrared, and shortwave infrared while texture data were acquired with a digital camera by the transformation of acquired images into 229 texture features for each image. The most discriminant 30 features of each image were obtained by integrating the three statistical features selection techniques such as Fisher, Probability of Error plus Average Correlation, and Mutual Information (F + PA + MI. Selected texture data clustering was verified by nonlinear discriminant analysis while linear discriminant analysis approach was applied for multispectral data. For classification, the texture and multispectral data were deployed to artificial neural network (ANN: n-class. By implementing a cross validation method (80-20, we received an accuracy of 91.332% for texture data and 96.40% for multispectral data, respectively.

Responses of Two Litter-Based Invertebrate Communities to Changes in Canopy Cover in a Forest Subject to Hurricanes

Science.gov (United States)

Barbara Richardson; Michael Richardson; Grizelle González

2018-01-01

Tropical forests are subject to seasonal hurricanes resulting in cycles of canopy opening and deposition of litter, followed by periods of recovery and canopy closure. Herein, we review two studies of litter-based communities in Puerto Rico; (i) a survey of bromeliad invertebrates in three montane forest types along an elevational gradient in 1993–1997, during a period...

Subclinical Disease Burden as Assessed by Whole-Body MRI in Subjects With Prediabetes, Subjects With Diabetes, and Normal Control Subjects From the General Population: The KORA-MRI Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bamberg, Fabian; Hetterich, Holger; Rospleszcz, Susanne; Lorbeer, Roberto; Auweter, Sigrid D; Schlett, Christopher L; Schafnitzel, Anina; Bayerl, Christian; Schindler, Andreas; Saam, Tobias; Müller-Peltzer, Katharina; Sommer, Wieland; Zitzelsberger, Tanja; Machann, Jürgen; Ingrisch, Michael; Selder, Sonja; Rathmann, Wolfgang; Heier, Margit; Linkohr, Birgit; Meisinger, Christa; Weber, Christian; Ertl-Wagner, Birgit; Massberg, Steffen; Reiser, Maximilian F; Peters, Annette

2017-01-01

Detailed pathophysiological manifestations of early disease in the context of prediabetes are poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of early signs of metabolic and cardio-cerebrovascular complications affecting multiple organs in individuals with prediabetes. Subjects without a history of stroke, coronary artery disease, or peripheral artery disease were enrolled in a case-control study nested within the Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg (KORA) FF4 cohort and underwent comprehensive MRI assessment to characterize cerebral parameters (white matter lesions, microbleeds), cardiovascular parameters (carotid plaque, left ventricular function, and myocardial late gadolinium enhancement [LGE]), and metabolic parameters (hepatic proton-density fat fraction [PDFF] and subcutaneous and visceral abdominal fat). Among 400 subjects who underwent MRI, 103 subjects had prediabetes and 54 had established diabetes. Subjects with prediabetes had an increased risk for carotid plaque and adverse functional cardiac parameters, including reduced early diastolic filling rates as well as a higher prevalence of LGE compared with healthy control subjects. In addition, people with prediabetes had significantly elevated levels of PDFF and total and visceral fat. Thus, subjects with prediabetes show early signs of subclinical disease that include vascular, cardiac, and metabolic changes, as measured by whole-body MRI after adjusting for cardiometabolic risk factors. © 2017 by the American Diabetes Association.

Factors influencing radon attenuation by tailing covers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silker, W.B.; Rogers, V.C.

1981-07-01

The US NRC, in its Generic Environmental Impact Statement on uranium milling has specified that the radon flux escaping a uranium mill tailings pile will be reduced to pCi/m 2 s by application of covering layers of soils and clays. These covers present a radon diffusion barrier, which sufficiently increases the time required for radon passage from the tailings to the atmosphere to allow for decay of 222 Rn within the cover. The depth of cover necessary to reduce the escaping radon flux to the prescribed level is to be determined by calculation, and requires precise knowledge of the radon diffusion coefficient in the covering media. A Radon Attenuation Test Facility was developed to determine rates of radon diffusion through candidate cover materials. This paper describes this facility and its application for determining the influence of physical properties of the soil column on the radon diffusion coefficient

Structural integrity assessment of HANARO pool cover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryu, Jeong Soo

2001-11-01

This report is for the seismic analysis and the structural integrity evaluation of HANARO Pool Cover in accordances with the requirement of the Technical Specification for Seismic Analysis of HANARO Pool Cover. For performing the seismic analysis and evaluating the structural integrity for HANARO Pool Cover, the finite element analysis model using ANSYS 5.7 was developed and the dynamic characteristics were analyzed. The seismic response spectrum analyses of HANARO Pool Cover under the design floor response spectrum loads of OBE and SSE were performed. The analysis results show that the stress values in HANARO Pool Cover for the seismic loads are within the ASME Code limits. It is also confirmed that the fatigue usage factor is less than 1.0. Therefore any damage on structural integrity is not expected when an HANARO Pool Cover is installed in the upper part of the reactor pool

On Covering Approximation Subspaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xun Ge

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Let (U';C' be a subspace of a covering approximation space (U;C and X⊂U'. In this paper, we show that and B'(X⊂B(X∩U'. Also, iff (U;C has Property Multiplication. Furthermore, some connections between outer (resp. inner definable subsets in (U;C and outer (resp. inner definable subsets in (U';C' are established. These results answer a question on covering approximation subspace posed by J. Li, and are helpful to obtain further applications of Pawlak rough set theory in pattern recognition and artificial intelligence.

Assessing winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency using a water quality simulation model

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, In-Young; Lee, Sangchui; Sadeghi, Ali M.; Beeson, Peter C.; Hively, W. Dean; McCarty, Greg W.; Lang, Megan W.

2013-01-01

Winter cover crops are an effective conservation management practice with potential to improve water quality. Throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (CBW), which is located in the Mid-Atlantic US, winter cover crop use has been emphasized and federal and state cost-share programs are available to farmers to subsidize the cost of winter cover crop establishment. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effect of planting winter cover crops at the watershed scale and to identify critical source areas of high nitrate export. A physically-based watershed simulation model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was calibrated and validated using water quality monitoring data and satellite-based estimates of winter cover crop species performance to simulate hydrological processes and nutrient cycling over the period of 1991–2000. Multiple scenarios were developed to obtain baseline information on nitrate loading without winter cover crops planted and to investigate how nitrate loading could change with different winter cover crop planting scenarios, including different species, planting times, and implementation areas. The results indicate that winter cover crops had a negligible impact on water budget, but significantly reduced nitrate leaching to groundwater and delivery to the waterways. Without winter cover crops, annual nitrate loading was approximately 14 kg ha−1, but it decreased to 4.6–10.1 kg ha−1 with winter cover crops resulting in a reduction rate of 27–67% at the watershed scale. Rye was most effective, with a potential to reduce nitrate leaching by up to 93% with early planting at the field scale. Early planting of winter cover crops (~30 days of additional growing days) was crucial, as it lowered nitrate export by an additional ~2 kg ha−1 when compared to late planting scenarios. The effectiveness of cover cropping increased with increasing extent of winter cover crop implementation. Agricultural fields with well-drained soils

Mapping Forest Cover and Forest Cover Change with Airborne S-Band Radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramesh K. Ningthoujam

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Assessments of forest cover, forest carbon stocks and carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation are increasingly important components of sustainable resource management, for combating biodiversity loss and in climate mitigation policies. Satellite remote sensing provides the only means for mapping global forest cover regularly. However, forest classification with optical data is limited by its insensitivity to three-dimensional canopy structure and cloud cover obscuring many forest regions. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR sensors are increasingly being used to mitigate these problems, mainly in the L-, C- and X-band domains of the electromagnetic spectrum. S-band has not been systematically studied for this purpose. In anticipation of the British built NovaSAR-S satellite mission, this study evaluates the benefits of polarimetric S-band SAR for forest characterisation. The Michigan Microwave Canopy Scattering (MIMICS-I radiative transfer model is utilised to understand the scattering mechanisms in forest canopies at S-band. The MIMICS-I model reveals strong S-band backscatter sensitivity to the forest canopy in comparison to soil characteristics across all polarisations and incidence angles. Airborne S-band SAR imagery over the temperate mixed forest of Savernake Forest in southern England is analysed for its information content. Based on the modelling results, S-band HH- and VV-polarisation radar backscatter and the Radar Forest Degradation Index (RFDI are used in a forest/non-forest Maximum Likelihood classification at a spatial resolution of 6 m (70% overall accuracy, κ = 0.41 and 20 m (63% overall accuracy, κ = 0.27. The conclusion is that S-band SAR such as from NovaSAR-S is likely to be suitable for monitoring forest cover and its changes.

Assessing the impact of climate variability on catchment water balance and vegetation cover

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

X. Xu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Understanding the interactions among climate, vegetation cover and the water cycle lies at the heart of the study of watershed ecohydrology. Recently, considerable attention is being paid to the effect of climate variability on catchment water balance and also associated vegetation cover. In this paper, we investigate the general pattern of long-term water balance and vegetation cover (as reflected by fPAR among 193 study catchments in Australia through statistical analysis. We then employ the elasticity analysis approach for quantifying the effects of climate variability on hydrologic partitioning (including total, surface and subsurface runoff and on vegetation cover (including total, woody and non-woody vegetation cover. Based on the results of statistical analysis, we conclude that annual runoff (R, evapotranspiration (E and runoff coefficient (R/P increase with vegetation cover for catchments in which woody vegetation is dominant and annual precipitation is relatively high. Control of water available on annual evapotranspiration in non-woody dominated catchments is relatively stronger compared to woody dominated ones. The ratio of subsurface runoff to total runoff (R_g/R also increases with woody vegetation cover. Through the elasticity analysis of catchment runoff, it is shown that precipitation (P in current year is the most important factor affecting the change in annual total runoff (R, surface runoff (R_s and subsurface runoff (R_g. The significance of other controlling factors is in the order of annual precipitation in previous years (P₋₁ and P₋₂, which represents the net effect of soil moisture and annual mean temperature (T in current year. Change of P by +1% causes a +3.35% change of R, a +3.47% change of R_s and a +2.89% change of

Artificial Systems and Models for Risk Covering Operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurenţiu Mihai Treapăt

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Mainly, this paper focuses on the roles of artificial intelligence based systems and especially on risk-covering operations. In this context, the paper comes with theoretical explanations on real-life based examples and applications. From a general perspective, the paper enriches its value with a wide discussion on the related subject. The paper aims to revise the volatilities’ estimation models and the correlations between the various time series and also by presenting the Risk Metrics methodology, as explained is a case study. The advantages that the VaR estimation offers, consist of its ability to quantitatively and numerically express the risk level of a portfolio, at a certain moment in time and also the risk of on open position (in titles, in FX, commodities or granted loans, belonging to an economic agent or even individual; hence, its role in a more efficient capital allocation, in the assumed risk delimitation, and also as a performance measurement instrument. In this paper and the study case that completes our work, we aim to prove how we can prevent considerable losses and even bankruptcies if VaR is known and applied accordingly. For this reason, the universities inRomaniashould include or increase their curricula with the study of the VaR model as an artificial intelligence tool. The simplicity of the presented case study, most probably, is the strongest argument of the current work because it can be understood also by the readers that are not necessarily very experienced in the risk management field.

Urban Land Cover Mapping Accuracy Assessment - A Cost-benefit Analysis Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, T.

2012-12-01

One of the most important components in urban land cover mapping is mapping accuracy assessment. Many statistical models have been developed to help design simple schemes based on both accuracy and confidence levels. It is intuitive that an increased number of samples increases the accuracy as well as the cost of an assessment. Understanding cost and sampling size is crucial in implementing efficient and effective of field data collection. Few studies have included a cost calculation component as part of the assessment. In this study, a cost-benefit sampling analysis model was created by combining sample size design and sampling cost calculation. The sampling cost included transportation cost, field data collection cost, and laboratory data analysis cost. Simple Random Sampling (SRS) and Modified Systematic Sampling (MSS) methods were used to design sample locations and to extract land cover data in ArcGIS. High resolution land cover data layers of Denver, CO and Sacramento, CA, street networks, and parcel GIS data layers were used in this study to test and verify the model. The relationship between the cost and accuracy was used to determine the effectiveness of each sample method. The results of this study can be applied to other environmental studies that require spatial sampling.

Land Use and Land Cover - MO 2015 Silver Land Cover (GDB)

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC State | GIS Inventory — MoRAP produced and integrated data to map land cover and wetlands for the Upper Silver Creek Watershed in Illinois. LiDAR elevation and vegetation height information...

Land Use and Land Cover - MO 2015 Meramec Land Cover (GDB)

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC State | GIS Inventory — MoRAP produced and integrated data to map land cover and wetlands for the Meramec River bottomland in Missouri. LiDAR elevation and vegetation height information and...

Snow cover distribution over elevation zones in a mountainous catchment

Science.gov (United States)

Panagoulia, D.; Panagopoulos, Y.

2009-04-01

A good understanding of the elevetional distribution of snow cover is necessary to predict the timing and volume of runoff. In a complex mountainous terrain the snow cover distribution within a watershed is highly variable in time and space and is dependent on elevation, slope, aspect, vegetation type, surface roughness, radiation load, and energy exchange at the snow-air interface. Decreases in snowpack due to climate change could disrupt the downstream urban and agricultural water supplies, while increases could lead to seasonal flooding. Solar and longwave radiation are dominant energy inputs driving the ablation process. Turbulent energy exchange at the snow cover surface is important during the snow season. The evaporation of blowing and drifting snow is strongly dependent upon wind speed. Much of the spatial heterogeneity of snow cover is the result of snow redistribution by wind. Elevation is important in determining temperature and precipitation gradients along hillslopes, while the temperature gradients determine where precipitation falls as rain and snow and contribute to variable melt rates within the hillslope. Under these premises, the snow accumulation and ablation (SAA) model of the US National Weather Service (US NWS) was applied to implement the snow cover extent over elevation zones of a mountainous catchment (the Mesochora catchment in Western-Central Greece), taking also into account the indirectly included processes of sublimation, interception, and snow redistribution. The catchment hydrology is controlled by snowfall and snowmelt and the simulated discharge was computed from the soil moisture accounting (SMA) model of the US NWS and compared to the measured discharge. The elevationally distributed snow cover extent presented different patterns with different time of maximization, extinction and return during the year, producing different timing of discharge that is a crucial factor for the control and management of water resources systems.

EnviroAtlas - Portland, OR - Meter-Scale Urban Land Cover (MULC) Data (2012)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The EnviroAtlas Portland, OR Meter-Scale Urban Land Cover (MULC) dataset includes data for the Portland metropolitan area plus the city of Vancouver, Washington and...

Primary manway shielding and exhaust covers for a steam generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallace, W.R.; Immel, A.K.; Boro, I.; Lester, W.E. II.

1990-01-01

This paper discusses a radiation emission shielding cover in combination with a steam generator of a nuclear reactor for covering at least a portion of a manway of the steam generator for protecting an operator from radiation emission. It comprises a plate; a mounting assembly including a mounting flange for securing the mounting assembly adjacent the manway of the steam generator and a mounting bracket; a slide means mounted on the mounting bracket adjacent the manway; and guide means mounted on the plate for receiving the slide means such that the plate can be moved from an open position adjacent the manway to a closed position over at least a portion of the manway

Cover-gas seals: 11-LMFBR seal-test program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steele, O.P. III; Horton, P.H.

1977-01-01

The objective of the Cover Gas Seal Material Development Program is to perform the engineering development required to provide reliable seals for LMFBR application. Specific objectives are to verify the performance of commercial solid cross-section and inflatable seals under reactor environments including radiation, to develop advanced materials and configurations capable of achieving significant improvement in radioactive gas containment and seal temperature capabilities, and to optimize seal geometry for maximum reliability and minimal gas permeation

Land-Cover Change in the East Central Texas Plains, 1973-2000

Science.gov (United States)

Karstensen, Krista A.

2009-01-01

ancillary data such as census statistics and published literature are used. The sample block data are then incorporated into statistical analyses to generate an overall change matrix for the ecoregion. For example, the scalar statistics can show the spatial extent of change per cover type with time, as well as the land-cover transformations from one land-cover type to another type occurring with time. Field data of the sample blocks include direct measurements of land cover, particularly ground-survey data collected for training and validation of image classifications (Loveland and others, 2002). The field experience allows for additional observations of the character and condition of the landscape, assistance in sample block interpretation, ground truthing of Landsat imagery, and helps determine the driving forces of change identified in an ecoregion. Management and maintenance of field data, beyond initial use for training and validation of image classifications, is important as improved methods for image classification are developed, and as present-day data become part of the historical legacy for which studies of land-cover change in the future will depend (Loveland and others, 2002). The results illustrate that there is no single profile of land-cover change; instead, there is significant geographic variability that results from land uses within ecoregions continuously adapting to the resource potential created by various environmental, technological, and socioeconomic factors.

Covering bariatric surgery has minimal effect on insurance premium costs within the Affordable Care Act.

Science.gov (United States)

English, Wayne; Williams, Brandon; Scott, John; Morton, John

2016-06-01

Currently, of the 51 state health exchanges operating under the Affordable Care Act, only 23 include benchmark plans that cover bariatric surgery coverage. Bariatric surgery coverage is not considered an essential health benefit in 28 state exchanges, and this lack of coverage has a discriminatory and detrimental impact on millions of Americans participating in state exchanges that do not provide bariatric surgery coverage. We examined 3 state exchanges in which a portion of their plans provided coverage for bariatric surgery to determine if bariatric surgery coverage is correlated with premium costs. State health exchanges; United States. Data from the 2015 state exchange plans were analyzed using information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Individual Market Landscape file and Benefits and Cost Sharing public use files. Only 3 states (Oklahoma, Oregon, and Virginia) in the analysis have 1 or more rating regions in which a portion of the plans cover bariatric surgery. In Oklahoma and Oregon, the average monthly premiums for all bronze, silver, and gold coverage levels are higher for plans covering bariatric surgery. Only 1 of these states included platinum plans that cover bariatric surgery. The average difference in premiums was between $1 to $45 higher in Oklahoma, and $18 to $32 higher in Oregon. Conversely, in Virginia, the average monthly premiums are between $2 and $21 lower for each level for plans covering bariatric surgery. Monthly premiums for plans covering versus not covering bariatric surgery ranged from 6% lower to 15% higher in the same geographic rating region. Across all 3 states in the sample, the average monthly premiums do not differ consistently on the basis of whether the state exchange plans cover bariatric surgery. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-01-01

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

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-12-01

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

Influence of cover crops on insect pests and predators in conservation tillage cotton.

Science.gov (United States)

Tillman, Glynn; Schomberg, Harry; Phatak, Sharad; Mullinix, Benjamin; Lachnicht, Sharon; Timper, Patricia; Olson, Dawn

2004-08-01

In fall 2000, an on-farm sustainable agricultural research project was established for cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in Tift County, Georgia. The objective of our 2-yr research project was to determine the impact of several cover crops on pest and predator insects in cotton. The five cover crop treatments included 1) cereal rye, Secale cereale L., a standard grass cover crop; 2) crimson clover, Trifolium incarnatum L., a standard legume cover crop; 3) a legume mixture of balansa clover, Trifolium michelianum Savi; crimson clover; and hairy vetch, Vicia villosa Roth; 4) a legume mixture + rye combination; and 5) no cover crop in conventionally tilled fields. Three main groups or species of pests were collected in cover crops and cotton: 1) the heliothines Heliothis virescens (F.) and Helicoverpa zea (Boddie); 2) the tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois); and 3) stink bugs. The main stink bugs collected were the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.); the brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say); and the green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare (Say). Cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover, were collected only on cotton. For both years of the study, the heliothines were the only pests that exceeded their economic threshold in cotton, and the number of times this threshold was exceeded in cotton was higher in control cotton than in crimson clover and rye cotton. Heliothine predators and aphidophagous lady beetles occurred in cover crops and cotton during both years of the experiment. Geocoris punctipes (Say), Orius insidiosus (Say), and red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren were relatively the most abundant heliothine predators observed. Lady beetles included the convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville; the sevenspotted lady beetle, Coccinella septempunctata L.; spotted lady beetle, Coleomegilla maculata (DeGeer); and the multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas). Density of G. punctipes was

Inventory and change detection of urban land cover in Illinois using Landsat Thematic Mapper data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cook, E.A.; Iverson, L.R.

1991-01-01

In order to provide information about urban forests and other vegetative land cover in Illinois cities, Landsat TM data from June 17, 1988, were classified for the Chicago metropolitan region and five urban areas of central Illinois. Ten land cover classes were identified, including three types of forestland, cropland, two grassland categories, two urban classes, water, and miscellaneous vegetation. The cities inventoried have a significantly higher proportion of forests and forested residential areas than the surrounding rural areas because of preservation measures and accruement of tree cover from landscaping. Short-term change in land cover for the Chicago region was also assessed by postclassification comparison of the 1988 data with similarly derived data from a June 3, 1985, TM scene. The largest single category of change in the six-county area was cropland to urban land use. A majority of cover loss was conversion of forested tracts to residential areas, and forest cover increase was negligible. 16 refs

Consideration of liners and covers in performance assessments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phifer, Mark A. [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States); Seitz, Robert R. [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC (United States); Suttora, Linda C. [USDOE Enviromental Management, Washington, DC (United States)

2014-09-18

On-site disposal cells are in use and being considered at several United States Department of Energy (USDOE) sites as the final disposition for large amounts of waste associated with cleanup of contaminated areas and facilities. These disposal cells are typically regulated by States and/or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in addition to having to comply with requirements in DOE Order 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management due to the radioactive waste. The USDOE-Environmental Management Office of Site Restoration formed a working group to foster improved communication and sharing of information for personnel associated with these CERCLA disposal cells and work towards more consistent assumptions, as appropriate, for technical and policy considerations related to CERCLA risk assessments and DOE Order 435.1 performance assessments in support of a Record of Decision and Disposal Authorization Statement, respectively. One of the issues considered by the working group, which is addressed in this report, was how to appropriately consider the performance of covers and liners/leachate collections systems in the context of a DOE Order 435.1 performance assessment (PA). This same information may be appropriate for consideration within CERCLA risk assessments for these facilities. These OSDCs are generally developed to meet hazardous waste (HW) disposal design standards under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) as well as the DOE Order 435.1 performance based standards for disposal of radioactive waste. To meet the standards for HW, the facilities typically include engineered covers and liner/leachate collection systems. Thus, when considering such facilities in the context of a DOE Order 435.1 PA, there is a need to address the evolution of performance of covers and liner/leachate collection systems in the context of meeting a performance standard considering time

Some interactive factors affecting trench-cover integrity on low-level waste sites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hakonson, T.E.; Lane, L.J.; Steger, J.G.; DePoorter, G.L.

1982-01-01

This paper describes important mechanisms by which radionuclide can be transported from low-level waste disposal sites into biological pathways, discuss interactions of abiotic and biotic processes, and recommends environmental characteristics that should be measured to design sites that minimize this transport. Past experience at shallow land burial sites for low-level radioactive wastes suggest that occurrences of waste exposure and radionuclide transport are often related to inadequate trench cover designs. Meeting performance standards at low-level waste sites can only be achieved by recognizing that physical, chemical, and biological processes operating on and in a trench cover profile are highly interactive. Failure to do so can lead to improper design criteria and subsequent remedial action procedures that can adversely affect site stability. Based upon field experiments and computer modeling, recommendations are made on site characteristics that require measurement in order to design systems that reduce surface runoff and erosion, manage soil moisture and biota in the cover profile to maximize evapotranspiration and minimize percolation, and place bounds on the intrusion potential of plants and animals into the waste material. Major unresolved problems include developing probabilistic approaches that include climatic variability, improved knowledge of soil-water-plant-erosion relationships, development of practical vegetation establishment and maintenance procedures, prediction and quantification of site potential and plant succession, and understanding the interaction of processes occurring on and in the cover profile with deeper subsurface processes

1990 Kansas Land Cover Patterns Update

Data.gov (United States)

Kansas Data Access and Support Center — In 2008, an update of the 1990 Kansas Land Cover Patterns (KLCP) database was undertaken. The 1990 KLCP database depicts 10 general land cover classes for the State...

Sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, in the Netherlands in 2006

NARCIS (Netherlands)

MG van Veen; FDH Koedijk; IVF van der Broek; ELM Op de Coul; IM de Boer; AI van Sighem; MAB van der Sande; soa-centra; Stichting HIV Monitoring; EPI/Cib

2007-01-01

The nationally covered low threshold STI centres offering STI care targeted at high risk groups, provide surveillance data to monitor national trends in STI, including HIV. In 2006, chlamydia remained the most commonly diagnosed bacterial STI in the Netherlands in the STI centres, in spite of

Progress report for 1983/84 from the Waste Treatment and Disposal Working Party covering joint BNFL/DOE funded work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higson, S.G.

1984-01-01

The subject is covered in paragraphs: introduction (arisings of intermediate-level radioactive waste); organisation and role of the Waste Treatment and Disposal Working Party; main objectives (to provide data on intermediate-level waste treatment systems and allow assessment of alternative processes); ILW process and flowsheeting studies; ILW product evaluation. (U.K.)

CASA Forest Cover Change Data Sets

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, Christopher S.

2012-01-01

Deforestation and forest fires are global land cover changes that can be caused by both natural and human factors. Although monitoring forest fires in near-real time is critical for operational wildfire management, mapping historical wildfires in a spatially explicit fashion is also important for a number of reasons, including climate change studies (e.g., examining the relationship between rising temperatures and frequency of fires), fuel load management (e.g., deciding when and where to conduct controlled burns), and carbon cycle studies (e.g., quantifying how much CO2 is emitted by fires and for emissions reduction efforts under the United Nations programs for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation -- REDD).

Segmentation schema for enhancing land cover identification: A case study using Sentinel 2 data

Science.gov (United States)

Mongus, Domen; Žalik, Borut

2018-04-01

Land monitoring is performed increasingly using high and medium resolution optical satellites, such as the Sentinel-2. However, optical data is inevitably subjected to the variable operational conditions under which it was acquired. Overlapping of features caused by shadows, soft transitions between shadowed and non-shadowed regions, and temporal variability of the observed land-cover types require radiometric corrections. This study examines a new approach to enhancing the accuracy of land cover identification that resolves this problem. The proposed method constructs an ensemble-type classification model with weak classifiers tuned to the particular operational conditions under which the data was acquired. Iterative segmentation over the learning set is applied for this purpose, where feature space is partitioned according to the likelihood of misclassifications introduced by the classification model. As these are a consequence of overlapping features, such partitioning avoids the need for radiometric corrections of the data, and divides land cover types implicitly into subclasses. As a result, improved performance of all tested classification approaches were measured during the validation that was conducted on Sentinel-2 data. The highest accuracies in terms of F1-scores were achieved using the Naive Bayes Classifier as the weak classifier, while supplementing original spectral signatures with normalised difference vegetation index and texture analysis features, namely, average intensity, contrast, homogeneity, and dissimilarity. In total, an F1-score of nearly 95% was achieved in this way, with F1-scores of each particular land cover type reaching above 90%.

Theory of linear physical systems theory of physical systems from the viewpoint of classical dynamics, including Fourier methods

CERN Document Server

Guillemin, Ernst A

2013-01-01

An eminent electrical engineer and authority on linear system theory presents this advanced treatise, which approaches the subject from the viewpoint of classical dynamics and covers Fourier methods. This volume will assist upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in moving from introductory courses toward an understanding of advanced network synthesis. 1963 edition.

VT National Land Cover Dataset - 2001

Data.gov (United States)

Vermont Center for Geographic Information — (Link to Metadata) The NLCD2001 layer available from VCGI is a subset of the the National Land Cover Database 2001 land cover layer for mapping zone 65 was produced...

Assessing winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency using a water quality simulation model

Science.gov (United States)

Yeo, I.-Y.; Lee, S.; Sadeghi, A. M.; Beeson, P. C.; Hively, W. D.; McCarty, G. W.; Lang, M. W.

2014-12-01

Winter cover crops are an effective conservation management practice with potential to improve water quality. Throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW), which is located in the mid-Atlantic US, winter cover crop use has been emphasized, and federal and state cost-share programs are available to farmers to subsidize the cost of cover crop establishment. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effect of planting winter cover crops to improve water quality at the watershed scale (~ 50 km2) and to identify critical source areas of high nitrate export. A physically based watershed simulation model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), was calibrated and validated using water quality monitoring data to simulate hydrological processes and agricultural nutrient cycling over the period of 1990-2000. To accurately simulate winter cover crop biomass in relation to growing conditions, a new approach was developed to further calibrate plant growth parameters that control the leaf area development curve using multitemporal satellite-based measurements of species-specific winter cover crop performance. Multiple SWAT scenarios were developed to obtain baseline information on nitrate loading without winter cover crops and to investigate how nitrate loading could change under different winter cover crop planting scenarios, including different species, planting dates, and implementation areas. The simulation results indicate that winter cover crops have a negligible impact on the water budget but significantly reduce nitrate leaching to groundwater and delivery to the waterways. Without winter cover crops, annual nitrate loading from agricultural lands was approximately 14 kg ha-1, but decreased to 4.6-10.1 kg ha-1 with cover crops resulting in a reduction rate of 27-67% at the watershed scale. Rye was the most effective species, with a potential to reduce nitrate leaching by up to 93% with early planting at the field scale. Early planting of cover crops (~ 30

Spatio-temporal change in forest cover and carbon storage considering actual and potential forest cover in South Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Nam, Kijun; Lee, Woo-Kyun; Kim, Moonil; Kwak, Doo-Ahn; Byun, Woo-Hyuk; Yu, Hangnan; Kwak, Hanbin; Kwon, Taesung; Sung, Joohan; Chung, Dong-Jun; Lee, Seung-Ho

2015-07-01

This study analyzes change in carbon storage by applying forest growth models and final cutting age to actual and potential forest cover for six major tree species in South Korea. Using National Forest Inventory data, the growth models were developed to estimate mean diameter at breast height, tree height, and number of trees for Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, Pinus rigida, Larix kaempferi, Castanea crenata and Quercus spp. stands. We assumed that actual forest cover in a forest type map will change into potential forest covers according to the Hydrological and Thermal Analogy Groups model. When actual forest cover reaches the final cutting age, forest volume and carbon storage are estimated by changed forest cover and its growth model. Forest volume between 2010 and 2110 would increase from 126.73 to 157.33 m(3) hm(-2). Our results also show that forest cover, volume, and carbon storage could abruptly change by 2060. This is attributed to the fact that most forests are presumed to reach final cutting age. To avoid such dramatic change, a regeneration and yield control scheme should be prepared and implemented in a way that ensures balance in forest practice and yield.

Spectral response data for development of cool coloured tile coverings

Science.gov (United States)

Libbra, Antonio; Tarozzi, Luca; Muscio, Alberto; Corticelli, Mauro A.

2011-03-01

Most ancient or traditional buildings in Italy show steep-slope roofs covered by red clay tiles. As the rooms immediately below the roof are often inhabited in historical or densely urbanized centres, the combination of low solar reflectance of tile coverings and low thermal inertia of either wooden roof structures or sub-tile insulation panels makes summer overheating a major problem. The problem can be mitigated by using tiles coated with cool colours, that is colours with the same spectral response of clay tiles in the visible, but highly reflecting in the near infrared range, which includes more than half of solar radiation. Cool colours can yield the same visible aspect of common building surfaces, but higher solar reflectance. Studies aimed at developing cool colour tile coverings for traditional Italian buildings have been started. A few coating solutions with the typical red terracotta colour have been produced and tested in the laboratory, using easily available materials. The spectral response and the solar reflectance have been measured and compared with that of standard tiles.

Comparison between uncovered and covered self-expandable metal stent placement in malignant duodenal obstruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ji Won; Jeong, Ji Bong; Lee, Kook Lae; Kim, Byeong Gwan; Ahn, Dong Won; Lee, Jae Kyung; Kim, Su Hwan

2015-02-07

To compare the clinical outcomes of uncovered and covered self-expandable metal stent placements in patients with malignant duodenal obstruction. A total of 67 patients were retrospectively enrolled from January 2003 to June 2013. All patients had symptomatic obstruction characterized by nausea, vomiting, reduced oral intake, and weight loss. The exclusion criteria included asymptomatic duodenal obstruction, perforation or peritonitis, concomitant small bowel obstruction, or duodenal obstruction caused by benign strictures. The technical and clinical success rate, complication rate, and stent patency were compared according to the placement of uncovered (n = 38) or covered (n = 29) stents. The technical and clinical success rates did not differ between the uncovered and covered stent groups (100% vs 96.6% and 89.5% vs 82.8%). There were no differences in the overall complication rates between the uncovered and covered stent groups (31.6% vs 41.4%). However, stent migration occurred more frequently with covered than uncovered stents [20.7% (6/29) vs 0% (0/38), P stent patency was longer in uncovered than in covered stents [251 d (95%CI: 149.8 d-352.2 d) vs 139 d (95%CI: 45.5 d-232.5 d), P stent (70 d) and covered stent groups (60 d). Uncovered stents may be preferable in malignant duodenal obstruction because of their greater resistance to stent migration and longer stent patency than covered stents.

Comorbid subjective health complaints in patients with sciatica: a prospective study including comparison with the general population.

Science.gov (United States)

Grøvle, Lars; Haugen, Anne J; Ihlebaek, Camilla M; Keller, Anne; Natvig, Bård; Brox, Jens I; Grotle, Margreth

2011-06-01

Chronic nonspecific low back pain is accompanied by high rates of comorbid mental and physical conditions. The aims of this study were to investigate if patients with specific back pain, that is, sciatica caused by lumbar herniation, report higher rates of subjective health complaints (SHCs) than the general population and if there is an association between change in sciatica symptoms and change in SHCs over a 12-month period. A multicenter cohort study of 466 sciatica patients was conducted with follow-up at 3 months and 1 year. Comorbid SHCs were measured by 27 items of the SHC inventory. Odds ratios (ORs) for each SHC were calculated with comparison to a general population sample (n=928) by logistic regression. The SHC number was calculated by summing all complaints present. At baseline, the ORs for reporting SHCs for the sciatica patients were significantly elevated in 15 of the 27 items with a mean (S.D.) SHC number of 7.5 (4.4), compared to 5.2 (4.4) in the general population (Psciatica, the SHC number was reduced to normal levels. Among those with persisting or worsening sciatica, the number increased to a level almost double that of the general population. Compared to the general population, the prevalence of subjective health complaints in sciatica is increased. During follow-up, the number of health complaints increased in patients with persisting or worsening sciatica. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Covering of the electric power service

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unidad de Planeacion Minero Energetica, UPME

2000-01-01

In this article it is sought to deepen more in the topic of the covering of the electric power service, especially in the related with the mechanisms that could facilitate their amplification. In the new market outline, in the one that the participation of the agents is encouraged in all the activities of the chain of services in which the state is not direct lender of the same one, it is confused the form like a covering will be achieved that is of agreement with the goals that intend in the national plan of development and in the sub sectorial plans. Although the rules of the market one comes consolidating, the process of linking of the private capital, especially in the distribution activity, it evidences the importance of to settle down and to define responsibilities and explicit mechanisms in the topic of expansion of the covering. A first interpretation of the ruled indicates the obligation of the state of extending the covering to 100% and of assuming the projects that don't undertake the matters. This would be the reading from the traditional mentality. However, the regulation of you public services of electricity don't demand a total covering, but rather it covers to the users that have the capacity to assume, with their own resources, the efficient costs of benefit. The service will also be lent to residential users that don't have payment capacity, when there are contribution resources or fiscal resources for subsidiary

Towards realistic Holocene land cover scenarios: integration of archaeological, palynological and geomorphological records and comparison to global land cover scenarios.

Science.gov (United States)

De Brue, Hanne; Verstraeten, Gert; Broothaerts, Nils; Notebaert, Bastiaan

2016-04-01

Accurate and spatially explicit landscape reconstructions for distinct time periods in human history are essential for the quantification of the effect of anthropogenic land cover changes on, e.g., global biogeochemical cycles, ecology, and geomorphic processes, and to improve our understanding of interaction between humans and the environment in general. A long-term perspective covering Mid and Late Holocene land use changes is recommended in this context, as it provides a baseline to evaluate human impact in more recent periods. Previous efforts to assess the evolution and intensity of agricultural land cover in past centuries or millennia have predominantly focused on palynological records. An increasing number of quantitative techniques has been developed during the last two decades to transfer palynological data to land cover estimates. However, these techniques have to deal with equifinality issues and, furthermore, do not sufficiently allow to reconstruct spatial patterns of past land cover. On the other hand, several continental and global databases of historical anthropogenic land cover changes based on estimates of global population and the required agricultural land per capita have been developed in the past decennium. However, at such long temporal and spatial scales, reconstruction of past anthropogenic land cover intensities and spatial patterns necessarily involves many uncertainties and assumptions as well. Here, we present a novel approach that combines archaeological, palynological and geomorphological data for the Dijle catchment in the central Belgium Loess Belt in order to arrive at more realistic Holocene land cover histories. Multiple land cover scenarios (> 60.000) are constructed using probabilistic rules and used as input into a sediment delivery model (WaTEM/SEDEM). Model outcomes are confronted with a detailed geomorphic dataset on Holocene sediment fluxes and with REVEALS based estimates of vegetation cover using palynological data from

Results from a full scale application of ashes and other residuals in the final cover construction of the Tveta landfill; Utvaerdering av fullskaleanvaendning av askor och andra restprodukter vid sluttaeckning av Tveta Aatervinningsanlaeggning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tham, Gustav (Telge AB, Soedertaelje (Sweden)); Andreas, Lale (Luleaa Univ. of Technology, Luleaa (Sweden))

2008-06-15

In 2000 Telge Aatervinning - a waste management and recycling company - started investigating ashes from incineration of industrial and biowaste waste. The company was given a permit from the Swedish Environmental Court to cover four hectares of the house hold waste landfill area. In 2006 the company received an unlimited permit to cover the remaining part of the landfill when the works end some thirty years later. Ashes were used the first time in 1966 for testing. Literature studies indicated the ashes can have a low hydraulic conductivity under certain conditions. In 1999 collaboration started with the Division of Waste Science and Technology at Luleaa University of Technology. Residuals from household and industrial waste were subject to investigation. Initially, biowaste incineration products were subject to testing and were later extended to other waste products, e.g. sludge, contaminated soils, foundry, and compost material. Several different sub-fractions of ashes were included in the investigation e.g. bottom and fly ash, various slag products after up-grading including dewatering, separation and sifting. Subsequently, a complete covering system of a landfill consists of residuals. Six test areas were outlined in order to give a good representation for cover construction in flat and steep areas with different compositions of liner material. The results show that in all areas the hydraulic conductivity construction yields less then 50 liters per square meters and years and can be less the than 5 liters in a repository for hazardous waste if required. In accordance with literature data the field observations show the liner material constructed only by ash material under certain conditions can form a monolithic structure due to very slow processes thus indicating small pore volumes that unable water air to interact with other media. The concept of using ash can be related to natural analogues of volcanic ashes and has been used in old defence walls and other

Electrode assemblies, plasma apparatuses and systems including electrode assemblies, and methods for generating plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Peter C; Grandy, Jon D; Detering, Brent A; Zuck, Larry D

2013-09-17

Electrode assemblies for plasma reactors include a structure or device for constraining an arc endpoint to a selected area or region on an electrode. In some embodiments, the structure or device may comprise one or more insulating members covering a portion of an electrode. In additional embodiments, the structure or device may provide a magnetic field configured to control a location of an arc endpoint on the electrode. Plasma generating modules, apparatus, and systems include such electrode assemblies. Methods for generating a plasma include covering at least a portion of a surface of an electrode with an electrically insulating member to constrain a location of an arc endpoint on the electrode. Additional methods for generating a plasma include generating a magnetic field to constrain a location of an arc endpoint on an electrode.

Restraint effect of water infiltration by soil cover types of LLW disposal facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, S. M.; Lee, E. Y.; Lee, C. K.; Kim, C. L.

2002-01-01

Since soil cover for LLW disposal vault shows quite different restraint effect of water infiltration depending on its type, four different types of soil cover were studied and simulated using HELP code. Simulation result showed that Profile B1 is the most effective type in restraint of water infiltration to the disposal vault. Profile B1 is totally 6m thick and composed of silt, gravelly sand, pea gravel, sand and clayey soil mixed with bentonite 20%. Profile B1 also includes artificial layers, such as asphalt and geomembrane layers. This profile is designed conceptually by NETEC for the soil cover of the near surface disposal facility of the low-level radioactive waste. For comparison, 3 types of different profile were tested. One profile includes bentonite mixed layer only as water barrier layer, or one as same as profile B1 but without geomembrane layer or one without asphalt layer respectively. The simulation using HELP code showed that the water balance in profile B1 was effectively controlled

Annual global tree cover estimated by fusing optical and SAR satellite observations

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, M.; Sexton, J. O.; Channan, S.; Townshend, J. R.

2017-12-01

Tree cover defined structurally as the proportional, vertically projected area of vegetation (including leaves, stems, branches, etc.) of woody plants above a given height affects terrestrial energy and water exchanges, photosynthesis and transpiration, net primary production, and carbon and nutrient fluxes. Tree cover provides a measurable attribute upon which forest cover may be defined. Changes in tree cover over time can be used to monitor and retrieve site-specific histories of forest disturbance, succession, and degradation. Measurements of Earth's tree cover have been produced at regional, national, and global extents. However, most representations are static, and those for which multiple time periods have been produced are neither intended nor adequate for consistent, long-term monitoring. Moreover, although a substantial proportion of change has been shown to occur at resolutions below 250 m, existing long-term, Landsat-resolution datasets are either produced as static layers or with annual, five- or ten-year temporal resolution. We have developed an algorithms to retrieve seamless and consistent, sub-hectare resolution estimates of tree-canopy from optical and radar satellite data sources (e.g., Landsat, Sentinel-2, and ALOS-PALSAR). Our approach to estimation enables assimilation of multiple data sources and produces estimates of both cover and its uncertainty at the scale of pixels. It has generated the world's first Landsat-based percent tree cover dataset in 2013. Our previous algorithms are being adapted to produce prototype percent-tree and water-cover layers globally in 2000, 2005, and 2010—as well as annually over North and South America from 2010 to 2015—from passive-optical (Landsat and Sentinel-2) and SAR measurements. Generating a global, annual dataset is beyond the scope of this support; however, North and South America represent all of the world's major biomes and so offer the complete global range of environmental sources of error and

The National Land Cover Database

Science.gov (United States)

Homer, Collin G.; Fry, Joyce A.; Barnes, Christopher A.

2012-01-01

The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) serves as the definitive Landsat-based, 30-meter resolution, land cover database for the Nation. NLCD provides spatial reference and descriptive data for characteristics of the land surface such as thematic class (for example, urban, agriculture, and forest), percent impervious surface, and percent tree canopy cover. NLCD supports a wide variety of Federal, State, local, and nongovernmental applications that seek to assess ecosystem status and health, understand the spatial patterns of biodiversity, predict effects of climate change, and develop land management policy. NLCD products are created by the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics (MRLC) Consortium, a partnership of Federal agencies led by the U.S. Geological Survey. All NLCD data products are available for download at no charge to the public from the MRLC Web site: http://www.mrlc.gov.

Land cover changes in central Sonora Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Diego Valdez-Zamudio; Alejandro Castellanos-Villegas; Stuart Marsh

2000-01-01

Remote sensing techniques have been demonstrated to be very effective tools to help detect, analyze, and evaluate land cover changes in natural areas of the world. Changes in land cover can generally be attributed to either natural or anthropogenic forces. Multitemporal satellite imagery and airborne videography were used to detect, analyze, and evaluate land cover...

Multimodal imaging of ocular surface of dry eye subjects

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Aizhong; Salahura, Gheorghe; Kottaiyan, Ranjini; Yoon, Geunyoung; Aquavella, James V.; Zavislan, James M.

2016-03-01

To study the relationship between the corneal lipid layer and the ocular surface temperature (OST), we conducted a clinical trial for 20 subjects. Subjects were clinically screened prior to the trial. Of the 20 subjects, 15 have Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), and 5 have aqueous-deficient dry eye (ADDE). A custom, circularly polarized illumination video tearscope measured the lipid layer thickness of the ocular tear film. A long-wave infrared video camera recorded the dynamic thermal properties of the ocular team film. The results of these two methods were analyzed and compared. Using principal component analysis (PCA) of the lipid layer distribution, we find that the 20 subjects could be categorized into five statistically significant groups, independent of their original clinical classification: thin (6 subjects), medium (5 subjects), medium and homogenous (3 subjects), thick (4 subjects), and very thick (2 subjects) lipids, respectively. We also conducted PCA of the OST data, and recategorized the subjects into two thermal groups by k-means clustering: one includes all ADDE subjects and some MGD subjects; the other includes the remaining MGD subjects. By comparing these two methods, we find that dry eye subjects with thin ( 40 nm), there is no strong correlation between the lipid layer thickness and heterogeneity and the OST patterns.

On the Structure of Covers of Sofic Shifts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Rune

2011-01-01

A canonical cover generalizing the left Fischer cover to arbitrary sofic shifts is introduced and used to prove that the left Krieger cover and the past set cover of a sofic shift can be divided into natural layers. These results are used to find the range of a flow-invariant and to investigate t...

An Interactive Real-time Decision Support System for Leachate Irrigation on Evapotranspiration Landfill Covers

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Y.

2015-12-01

Landfill disposal is still the most common and economical practice for municipal solid waste in most countries. However, heavily polluted leachate generated by excess rainwater percolating through the landfill waste is the major drawback of this practice. Evapotranspiration (ET) cover systems are increasingly being used as alternative cover systems to minimize percolation by evapotranspiration. Leachate recirculation is one of the least expensive options for leachate treatment. The combination of ET cover systems and leachate recirculation can be an economical and environment-friendly practice for landfill leachate management. An interactive real-time decision support system is being developed to better manage leachate irrigation using historical and forecasting weather data, and real time soil moisture data. The main frame of this system includes soil water modules, and plant-soil modules. An inverse simulation module is also included to calibrate certain parameters based on observed data when necessary. It would be an objectives-oriented irrigation management tool to minimize landfill operation costs and negative environmental impacts.

Summer Thermal Performance of Ventilated Roofs with Tiled Coverings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bortoloni, M; Bottarelli, M; Piva, S

2017-01-01

The thermal performance of a ventilated pitched roof with tiled coverings is analysed and compared with unventilated roofs. The analysis is carried out by means of a finite element numerical code, by solving both the fluid and thermal problems in steady-state. A whole one-floor building with a pitched roof is schematized as a 2D computational domain including the air-permeability of tiled covering. Realistic data sets for wind, temperature and solar radiation are used to simulate summer conditions at different times of the day. The results demonstrate that the batten space in pitched roofs is an effective solution for reducing the solar heat gain in summer and thus for achieving better indoor comfort conditions. The efficiency of the ventilation is strictly linked to the external wind conditions and to buoyancy forces occurring due to the heating of the tiles. (paper)

Summer Thermal Performance of Ventilated Roofs with Tiled Coverings

Science.gov (United States)

Bortoloni, M.; Bottarelli, M.; Piva, S.

2017-01-01

The thermal performance of a ventilated pitched roof with tiled coverings is analysed and compared with unventilated roofs. The analysis is carried out by means of a finite element numerical code, by solving both the fluid and thermal problems in steady-state. A whole one-floor building with a pitched roof is schematized as a 2D computational domain including the air-permeability of tiled covering. Realistic data sets for wind, temperature and solar radiation are used to simulate summer conditions at different times of the day. The results demonstrate that the batten space in pitched roofs is an effective solution for reducing the solar heat gain in summer and thus for achieving better indoor comfort conditions. The efficiency of the ventilation is strictly linked to the external wind conditions and to buoyancy forces occurring due to the heating of the tiles.

Barron's SAT subject test

CERN Document Server

Jansen, MA, Robert

2016-01-01

Includes one diagnostic test and three complete tests, all questions answered and explained, self-assessment guides, and subject reviews. Also features test strategies, QR codes to short instructional videos, and a detailed appendix with equations, physical constants, and a basic math review.

AsMA journal covers, a history.

Science.gov (United States)

Day, Pamela C

2014-01-01

The cover of our journal has changed quite often over the years. As we look forward to changing the name and design of the journal, it seems appropriate to reflect on the previous journal titles and covers. A brief history follows.

Microvascular retinopathy in subjects without diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munch, Inger Christine; Kessel, Line; Borch-Johnsen, Knut

2012-01-01

Purpose:  Retinal vascular lesions such as microaneurysms and haemorrhages, while typical of diabetic retinopathy, are also seen in subjects without diabetes where they are associated with elevated cardiovascular mortality. In theory, these lesions could be a consequence of past hyperglycaemia. We...... examined the prevalence and risk factors for retinopathy, including lens fluorescence, a biomarker of cumulative life-time glycaemia in adults without diabetes. Methods:  Cross-sectional population-based study of 711 subjects without diabetes (WHO 1999 criteria) aged 30-60 years, including oral glucose...... tolerance testing, clinical and laboratory examinations, non-invasive ocular lens fluorometry and seven-field fundus photography. Results:  Retinopathy was present in 8.3% (CI(95) 6.3-10.3%) of subjects. Higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p = 0.032), increasing body mass index (BMI) (p = 0.014) and wider...

Modeling percent tree canopy cover: a pilot study

Science.gov (United States)

John W. Coulston; Gretchen G. Moisen; Barry T. Wilson; Mark V. Finco; Warren B. Cohen; C. Kenneth Brewer

2012-01-01

Tree canopy cover is a fundamental component of the landscape, and the amount of cover influences fire behavior, air pollution mitigation, and carbon storage. As such, efforts to empirically model percent tree canopy cover across the United States are a critical area of research. The 2001 national-scale canopy cover modeling and mapping effort was completed in 2006,...

Infinity-Norm Permutation Covering Codes from Cyclic Groups

OpenAIRE

Karni, Ronen; Schwartz, Moshe

2017-01-01

We study covering codes of permutations with the $\\ell_\\infty$-metric. We provide a general code construction, which uses smaller building-block codes. We study cyclic transitive groups as building blocks, determining their exact covering radius, and showing linear-time algorithms for finding a covering codeword. We also bound the covering radius of relabeled cyclic transitive groups under conjugation.

Characterization of the disposition of fostamatinib in Japanese subjects including pharmacokinetic assessment in dry blood spots: results from two phase I clinical studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Paul; Cheung, S Y Amy; Yen, Mark; Han, David; Gillen, Michael

2016-01-01

The aims of the present study were to characterize the pharmacokinetics of fostamatinib in two phase I studies in healthy Japanese subjects after single- and multiple-dose administration, and to evaluate the utility of dried blood spot (DBS) sampling. In study A, 40 Japanese and 16 white subjects were randomized in a double-blind parallel group study consisting of seven cohorts, which received either placebo or a fostamatinib dose between 50 and 200 mg after single and multiple dosing. Pharmacokinetics of R406 (active metabolite of fostamatinib) in plasma and urine was assessed, and safety was intensively monitored. Study B was an open-label study that assessed fostamatinib 100 and 200 mg in 24 Japanese subjects. In addition to plasma and urine sampling (as for study A), pharmacokinetics was also assessed in blood. Mean maximum plasma concentration (C max) and area under total plasma concentration–time curve (AUC) increased with increasing dose in Japanese subjects. Steady state was achieved in 5–7 days for all doses. C max and AUC were both higher in Japanese subjects administered a 150-mg single dose than in white subjects. This difference was maintained for steady state exposure by day 10. Overall, R406 blood concentrations were consistent and ∼2.5-fold higher than in plasma. Minimal (blood cells, and DBS sampling was a useful method for assessing R406 pharmacokinetics.

Influence of ice and snow covers on the UV exposure of terrestrial microbial communities: dosimetric studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Cockell, Charles S; Rettberg, Petra; Horneck, Gerda; Wynn-Williams, David D; Scherer, Kerstin; Gugg-Helminger, Anton

2002-08-01

Bacillus subtilis spore biological dosimeters and electronic dosimeters were used to investigate the exposure of terrestrial microbial communities in micro-habitats covered by snow and ice in Antarctica. The melting of snow covers of between 5- and 15-cm thickness, depending on age and heterogeneity, could increase B. subtilis spore inactivation by up to an order of magnitude, a relative increase twice that caused by a 50% ozone depletion. Within the snow-pack at depths of less than approximately 3 cm snow algae could receive two to three times the DNA-weighted irradiance they would receive on bare ground. At the edge of the snow-pack, warming of low albedo soils resulted in the formation of overhangs that provided transient UV protection to thawed and growing microbial communities on the soils underneath. In shallow aquatic habitats, thin layers of heterogeneous ice of a few millimetres thickness were found to reduce DNA-weighted irradiances by up to 55% compared to full-sky values with equivalent DNA-weighted diffuse attenuation coefficients (K(DNA)) of >200 m(-1). A 2-mm snow-encrusted ice cover on a pond was equivalent to 10 cm of ice on a perennially ice covered lake. Ice covers also had the effect of stabilizing the UV exposure, which was often subject to rapid variations of up to 33% of the mean value caused by wind-rippling of the water surface. These data show that changing ice and snow covers cause relative changes in microbial UV exposure at least as great as those caused by changing ozone column abundance. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

Recovery of coral cover in records spanning 44 yr for reefs in Kāne`ohe Bay, Oa`hu, Hawai`i

Science.gov (United States)

Stimson, John

2018-03-01

Published and unpublished long-term studies are assembled to examine trends in coral cover and the dependence of change in coral cover on the initial coral cover in Kāne`ohe Bay over the last 44 yr. Each study showed there had been periods of increase in coral cover in the bay and showed that the rate of change in cover has been inversely dependent on the initial cover at a site. When coral cover is high on upper reef slopes, the fragile structure of reefs in this sheltered bay often collapses, resulting in a decrease in coral cover. The rate of change in coral cover was also inversely dependent on cover in one of the two studies that included analysis of reef-flat corals; the cause of decrease in cover in this habitat is thought to be attributable to particularly low sea levels in Hawai`i in the late 1990s and 2009-2010. The inverse relationship between initial coral cover and change in cover, and the intersections of the regression lines of these variables with the x-axis at intermediate values of coral cover, is indicative of resilience in this ecosystem over the last 44 yr. In the 1970s, the invasive macroscopic green alga Dictyosphaeria cavernosa covered a high percentage of coral habitat and commonly displaced corals from the reef slope and outer reef flats; the change was cited as an example of a phase shift on a reef. This alga has virtually disappeared from the bay, thus increasing the space available to corals; its disappearance is coincident with the increase in coral cover. Other species of macroalgae, including alien species, have not replaced D. cavernosa as major space competitors. The increase in coral cover and virtual disappearance of D. cavernosa constitute an example of a phase-shift reversal.

49 CFR 633.11 - Covered projects.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Covered projects. 633.11 Section 633.11..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PROJECT MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT Project Management Oversight Services § 633.11 Covered projects. The Administrator may contract for project management oversight services when the...

Cover integrity in shallow land burial of low-level wastes: hydrology and erosion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lane, L.J.; Nyhan, J.W.

1981-01-01

Applications of a state-of-the-art technology for simulating hydrologic processes and erosion affecting cover integrity at shallow land waste burial sites are described. A nonpoint source pollution model developed for agricultural systems has been adapted for application to waste burial sites in semiarid and arid regions. Applications include designs for field experiments, evaluation of slope length and steepness, evaluation of various soil types, and evaluation of vegetative cover influencing erosion rates and the water balance within the soil profile

Risk of Being Subjected to Crime, Including Violent Crime, After Onset of Mental Illness: A Danish National Registry Study Using Police Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Kimberlie; Laursen, Thomas M; Pedersen, Carsten B; Webb, Roger T; Mortensen, Preben B; Agerbo, Esben

2018-05-23

People with mental illness are more likely to have contact with the criminal justice system, but research to date has focused on risk of offense perpetration, while less is known about risk of being subjected to crime and violence. To establish the incidence of being subjected to all types of criminal offenses, and by violent crimes separately, after onset of mental illness across the full diagnostic spectrum compared with those in the population without mental illness. This investigation was a longitudinal national cohort study using register data in Denmark. Participants were a cohort of more than 2 million persons born between 1965 and 1998 and followed up from 2001 or from their 15th birthday until December 31, 2013. Analysis was undertaken from November 2016 until February 2018. Cohort members were followed up for onset of mental illness, recorded as first contact with outpatient or inpatient mental health services. Diagnoses across the full spectrum of psychiatric diagnoses were considered separately for men and women. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were estimated for first subjection to crime event (any crime and violent crime) reported to police after onset of mental illness. The IRRs were adjusted for cohort member's own criminal offending, in addition to several sociodemographic factors. In a total cohort of 2 058 063 (48.7% male; 51.3% female), the adjusted IRRs for being subjected to crime associated with any mental disorder were 1.49 (95% CI, 1.46-1.51) for men and 1.64 (95% CI, 1.61-1.66) for women. The IRRs were higher for being subjected to violent crime at 1.76 (95% CI, 1.72-1.80) for men and 2.72 (95% CI, 2.65-2.79) for women. The strongest associations were for persons diagnosed as having substance use disorders and personality disorders, but significant risk elevations were found across almost all diagnostic groups examined. Onset of mental illness is associated with increased risk of exposure to crime, and violent crime in particular

Sensibility and Subjectivity: Levinas’ Traumatic Subject

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rashmika Pandya

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The importance of Levinas’ notions of sensibility and subjectivity are evident in the revision of phenomenological method by current phenomenologists such as Jean-Luc Marion and Michel Henry. The criticisms of key tenants of classical phenomenology, intentionality and reduction, are of a particular note. However, there are problems with Levinas’ characterization of subjectivity as essentially sensible. In “Totality and Infinity” and “Otherwise than Being”, Levinas criticizes and recasts a traditional notion of subjectivity, particularly the notion of the subject as the first and foremost rational subject. The subject in Levinas’ works is characterized more by its sensibility and affectedness than by its capacity to reason or affect its world. Levinas ties rationality to economy and suggests an alternative notion of reason that leads to his analysis of the ethical relation as the face-to-face encounter. The ‘origin’ of the social relation is located not in our capacity to know but rather in a sensibility that is diametrically opposed to the reason understood as economy. I argue that the opposition in Levinas’ thought between reason and sensibility is problematic and essentially leads to a self-conflicted subject. In fact, it would seem that violence characterizes the subject’s self-relation and, thus, is also inscribed at the base of the social relation. Rather than overcoming a problematic tendency to dualistic thought in philosophy Levinas merely reverses traditional hierarchies of reason/emotion, subject/object and self/other. 

Fuel element transport container with a removable cover

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dannehl, G.; Fink, W.; Haenle, G.

1980-01-01

The cover of the fuel element transport container is removably fixed with screws on a flange as mechanical loads have to be expected during the transfer to the disposal plant. A ring-shaped or star-shaped clamping device grips over the cover. It has a clamp claw to lock the cover and permits unscrewing without unlocking the cover. (DG) [de

Comparison of methods used to estimate coral cover in the Hawaiian Islands

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul L. Jokiel

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Nine coral survey methods were compared at ten sites in various reef habitats with different levels of coral cover in Kāne‘ohe Bay, O’ahu, Hawaiʻi. Mean estimated coverage at the different sites ranged from less than 10% cover to greater than 90% cover. The methods evaluated include line transects, various visual and photographic belt transects, video transects and visual estimates. At each site 25 m transect lines were laid out and secured. Observers skilled in each method measured coral cover at each site. The time required to run each transect, time required to process data and time to record the results were documented. Cost of hardware and software for each method was also tabulated. Results of this investigation indicate that all of the methods used provide a good first estimate of coral cover on a reef. However, there were differences between the methods in detecting the number of coral species. For example, the classic “quadrat” method allows close examination of small and cryptic coral species that are not detected by other methods such as the “towboard” surveys. The time, effort and cost involved with each method varied widely, and the suitability of each method for answering particular research questions in various environments was evaluated. Results of this study support the finding of three other comparison method studies conducted at various geographic locations throughout the world. Thus, coral cover measured by different methods can be legitimately combined or compared in many situations. The success of a recent modeling effort based on coral cover data consisting of observations taken in Hawai‘i using the different methods supports this conclusion.

Comparison of methods used to estimate coral cover in the Hawaiian Islands.

Science.gov (United States)

Jokiel, Paul L; Rodgers, Kuʻulei S; Brown, Eric K; Kenyon, Jean C; Aeby, Greta; Smith, William R; Farrell, Fred

2015-01-01

Nine coral survey methods were compared at ten sites in various reef habitats with different levels of coral cover in Kāne'ohe Bay, O'ahu, Hawai'i. Mean estimated coverage at the different sites ranged from less than 10% cover to greater than 90% cover. The methods evaluated include line transects, various visual and photographic belt transects, video transects and visual estimates. At each site 25 m transect lines were laid out and secured. Observers skilled in each method measured coral cover at each site. The time required to run each transect, time required to process data and time to record the results were documented. Cost of hardware and software for each method was also tabulated. Results of this investigation indicate that all of the methods used provide a good first estimate of coral cover on a reef. However, there were differences between the methods in detecting the number of coral species. For example, the classic "quadrat" method allows close examination of small and cryptic coral species that are not detected by other methods such as the "towboard" surveys. The time, effort and cost involved with each method varied widely, and the suitability of each method for answering particular research questions in various environments was evaluated. Results of this study support the finding of three other comparison method studies conducted at various geographic locations throughout the world. Thus, coral cover measured by different methods can be legitimately combined or compared in many situations. The success of a recent modeling effort based on coral cover data consisting of observations taken in Hawai'i using the different methods supports this conclusion.

Investigating the Feasibility of Geo-Tagged Photographs as Sources of Land Cover Input Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vyron Antoniou

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Geo-tagged photographs are used increasingly as a source of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI, which could potentially be used for land use and land cover applications. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the feasibility of using this source of spatial information for three use cases related to land cover: Calibration, validation and verification. We first provide an inventory of the metadata that are collected with geo-tagged photographs and then consider what elements would be essential, desirable, or unnecessary for the aforementioned use cases. Geo-tagged photographs were then extracted from Flickr, Panoramio and Geograph for an area of London, UK, and classified based on their usefulness for land cover mapping including an analysis of the accompanying metadata. Finally, we discuss protocols for geo-tagged photographs for use of VGI in relation to land cover applications.

40 CFR 63.7491 - Are any boilers or process heaters not subject to this subpart?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 13 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Are any boilers or process heaters not..., and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters What This Subpart Covers § 63.7491 Are any boilers or process heaters not subject to this subpart? The types of boilers and process heaters listed in paragraphs...

Moisture content analysis of covered uranium mill tailings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayer, D.W.; Beedlow, P.A.; Cadwell, L.L.

1981-12-01

The use of vegetation and rock covers to stabilize uranium mill tailings cover systems is being investigated by Pacific Northwest Laboratory. A modeling study of moisture movement through the tailings and cover layers was initiated to determine the effect of the stabilizing techniques. The cover system was simulated under climatic conditions occurring at Grand Junction, Colorado. The cover consisted of a layer of wet clay/gravel mix followed by a capillary barrier of washed rock and a surface layer of fill soil. Vegetation and rock were used to stabilize the surface layer. The simulation yielded moisture content and moisture storage values for the tailings and cover system along with information about moisture losses due to evaporation, transpiration, and drainage. The study demonstrates that different surface stabilization treatments lead to different degrees of moisture retention in the covered tailings pile. The evapotranspiration from vegetation can result in a relatively stable moisture content. Rock covers, however, may cause drainage to occur because they reduce evaporation and lead to a subsequent increase in moisture content. It is important to consider these effects when designing a surface stabilization treatment. Drainage may contribute to a groundwater pollution problem. A surface treatment that allows the cover system to dry out can increase the risk of atmospheric contamination through elevated radon emission rates

Winter cover crops on processing tomato yield, quality, pest pressure, nitrogen availability, and profit margins.

Science.gov (United States)

Belfry, Kimberly D; Trueman, Cheryl; Vyn, Richard J; Loewen, Steven A; Van Eerd, Laura L

2017-01-01

Much of cover crop research to date focuses on key indicators of impact without considering the implications over multiple years, in the absence of a systems-based approach. To evaluate the effect of three years of autumn cover crops on subsequent processing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production in 2010 and 2011, a field split-split-plot factorial design trial with effects of cover crop type, urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer rate (0 or 140 kg N ha-1 preplant broadcast incorporated) and tomato cultivar (early vs. late) was conducted. The main plot factor, cover crop, included a no cover crop control, oat (Avena sativa L.), winter cereal rye (hereafter referred to as rye) (Secale cereale L.), oilseed radish (OSR) (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus Metzg Stokes), and mix of OSR and rye (OSR + rye) treatments. Cover crop biomass of 0.5 to 2.8 and 1.7 to 3.1 Mg ha-1 was attained in early Oct. and the following early May, respectively. In general, OSR increased soil mineral N during cover crop growth and into the succeeding summer tomato growing season, while the remaining cover crops did not differ from the no cover crop control. The lack of a cover crop by N rate interaction in soil and plant N analyses at harvest suggests that growers may not need to modify N fertilizer rates to tomatoes based on cover crop type. Processing tomato fruit quality at harvest (rots, insect or disease damage, Agtron colour, pH, or natural tomato soluble solids (NTSS)) was not affected by cover crop type. In both years, marketable yield in the no cover crop treatment was lower or not statistically different than all planted cover crops. Partial profit margins over both years were 1320 $ ha-1 higher with OSR and $960 higher with oat compared to the no cover crop control. Thus, results from a systems-based approach suggest that the cover crops tested had no observed negative impact on processing tomato production and have the potential to increase marketable yield and profit margins.

Winter cover crops on processing tomato yield, quality, pest pressure, nitrogen availability, and profit margins.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kimberly D Belfry

Full Text Available Much of cover crop research to date focuses on key indicators of impact without considering the implications over multiple years, in the absence of a systems-based approach. To evaluate the effect of three years of autumn cover crops on subsequent processing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. production in 2010 and 2011, a field split-split-plot factorial design trial with effects of cover crop type, urea ammonium nitrate fertilizer rate (0 or 140 kg N ha-1 preplant broadcast incorporated and tomato cultivar (early vs. late was conducted. The main plot factor, cover crop, included a no cover crop control, oat (Avena sativa L., winter cereal rye (hereafter referred to as rye (Secale cereale L., oilseed radish (OSR (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus Metzg Stokes, and mix of OSR and rye (OSR + rye treatments. Cover crop biomass of 0.5 to 2.8 and 1.7 to 3.1 Mg ha-1 was attained in early Oct. and the following early May, respectively. In general, OSR increased soil mineral N during cover crop growth and into the succeeding summer tomato growing season, while the remaining cover crops did not differ from the no cover crop control. The lack of a cover crop by N rate interaction in soil and plant N analyses at harvest suggests that growers may not need to modify N fertilizer rates to tomatoes based on cover crop type. Processing tomato fruit quality at harvest (rots, insect or disease damage, Agtron colour, pH, or natural tomato soluble solids (NTSS was not affected by cover crop type. In both years, marketable yield in the no cover crop treatment was lower or not statistically different than all planted cover crops. Partial profit margins over both years were 1320 $ ha-1 higher with OSR and $960 higher with oat compared to the no cover crop control. Thus, results from a systems-based approach suggest that the cover crops tested had no observed negative impact on processing tomato production and have the potential to increase marketable yield and profit

Estimation of runoff mitigation by morphologically different cover crop root systems

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yang; Loiskandl, Willibald; Kaul, Hans-Peter; Himmelbauer, Margarita; Wei, Wei; Chen, Liding; Bodner, Gernot

2016-07-01

Hydrology is a major driver of biogeochemical processes underlying the distinct productivity of different biomes, including agricultural plantations. Understanding factors governing water fluxes in soil is therefore a key target for hydrological management. Our aim was to investigate changes in soil hydraulic conductivity driven by morphologically different root systems of cover crops and their impact on surface runoff. Root systems of twelve cover crop species were characterized and the corresponding hydraulic conductivity was measured by tension infiltrometry. Relations of root traits to Gardner's hydraulic conductivity function were determined and the impact on surface runoff was estimated using HYDRUS 2D. The species differed in both rooting density and root axes thickness, with legumes distinguished by coarser axes. Soil hydraulic conductivity was changed particularly in the plant row where roots are concentrated. Specific root length and median root radius were the best predictors for hydraulic conductivity changes. For an intensive rainfall simulation scenario up to 17% less rainfall was lost by surface runoff in case of the coarsely rooted legumes Melilotus officinalis and Lathyrus sativus, and the densely rooted Linum usitatissimum. Cover crops with coarse root axes and high rooting density enhance soil hydraulic conductivity and effectively reduce surface runoff. An appropriate functional root description can contribute to targeted cover crop selection for efficient runoff mitigation.

48 CFR 536.213-371 - Bids that include options.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Bids that include options... Contracting for Construction 536.213-371 Bids that include options. (a) Subject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this section, you may include options in contracts if it is in the Government's interest...

Assessing the ability of MODIS EVI to estimate terrestrial ecosystem gross primary production of multiple land cover types

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Shi, H.; Li, L.; Eamus, D.; Huete, A.; Cleverly, J.; Tian, X.; Yu, Q.; Wang, S.; Montagnani, L.; Magliulo, V.; Rotenberg, E.; Pavelka, Marian; Carrara, A.

2017-01-01

Roč. 72, Jan (2017), s. 153-164 ISSN 1470-160X R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LM2015061 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : Enhanced vegetation index * Gross primary production * Land cover types * Leaf area index * MODIS * Remote sensing Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7) Impact factor: 3.898, year: 2016

Influence diagram in evaluating the subjective judgment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Y.

1997-01-01

The author developed the idea of the subjective influence diagrams to evaluate subjective judgment. The subjective judgment of a stake holder is a primary decision making proposition. It involves a basic decision process an the individual attitude of the stake holder for his decision purpose. The subjective judgment dominates the some final decisions. A complex decision process may include the subjective judgment. An influence diagram framework is a simplest tool for analyzing subjective judgment process. In the framework, the characters of influence diagrams generate the describing the analyzing, and the evaluating of the subjective judgment. The relationship between the information and the decision, such as independent character between them, is the main issue. Then utility function is the calculating tool to evaluation, the stake holder can make optimal decision. Through the analysis about the decision process and relationship, the building process of the influence diagram identically describes the subjective judgment. Some examples are given to explain the property of subjective judgment and the analysis process

Distinguishing medication-free subjects with unipolar disorder from subjects with bipolar disorder: state matters.

Science.gov (United States)

Rive, Maria M; Redlich, Ronny; Schmaal, Lianne; Marquand, André F; Dannlowski, Udo; Grotegerd, Dominik; Veltman, Dick J; Schene, Aart H; Ruhé, Henricus G

2016-11-01

Recent studies have indicated that pattern recognition techniques of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data for individual classification may be valuable for distinguishing between major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD). Importantly, medication may have affected previous classification results as subjects with MDD and BD use different classes of medication. Furthermore, almost all studies have investigated only depressed subjects. Therefore, we focused on medication-free subjects. We additionally investigated whether classification would be mood state independent by including depressed and remitted subjects alike. We applied Gaussian process classifiers to investigate the discriminatory power of structural MRI (gray matter volumes of emotion regulation areas) and resting-state fMRI (resting-state networks implicated in mood disorders: default mode network [DMN], salience network [SN], and lateralized frontoparietal networks [FPNs]) in depressed (n=42) and remitted (n=49) medication-free subjects with MDD and BD. Depressed subjects with MDD and BD could be classified based on the gray matter volumes of emotion regulation areas as well as DMN functional connectivity with 69.1% prediction accuracy. Prediction accuracy using the FPNs and SN did not exceed chance level. It was not possible to discriminate between remitted subjects with MDD and BD. For the first time, we showed that medication-free subjects with MDD and BD can be differentiated based on structural MRI as well as resting-state functional connectivity. Importantly, the results indicated that research concerning diagnostic neuroimaging tools distinguishing between MDD and BD should consider mood state as only depressed subjects with MDD and BD could be correctly classified. Future studies, in larger samples are needed to investigate whether the results can be generalized to medication-naïve or first-episode subjects. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley

Climatological determinants of woody cover in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Good, Stephen P; Caylor, Kelly K

2011-03-22

Determining the factors that influence the distribution of woody vegetation cover and resolving the sensitivity of woody vegetation cover to shifts in environmental forcing are critical steps necessary to predict continental-scale responses of dryland ecosystems to climate change. We use a 6-year satellite data record of fractional woody vegetation cover and an 11-year daily precipitation record to investigate the climatological controls on woody vegetation cover across the African continent. We find that-as opposed to a relationship with only mean annual rainfall-the upper limit of fractional woody vegetation cover is strongly influenced by both the quantity and intensity of rainfall events. Using a set of statistics derived from the seasonal distribution of rainfall, we show that areas with similar seasonal rainfall totals have higher fractional woody cover if the local rainfall climatology consists of frequent, less intense precipitation events. Based on these observations, we develop a generalized response surface between rainfall climatology and maximum woody vegetation cover across the African continent. The normalized local gradient of this response surface is used as an estimator of ecosystem vegetation sensitivity to climatological variation. A comparison between predicted climate sensitivity patterns and observed shifts in both rainfall and vegetation during 2009 reveals both the importance of rainfall climatology in governing how ecosystems respond to interannual fluctuations in climate and the utility of our framework as a means to forecast continental-scale patterns of vegetation shifts in response to future climate change.

Replacing fallow by cover crops: economic sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Gabriel, José Luis; Garrido, Alberto; Quemada, Miguel

2013-04-01

Replacing fallow by cover crops in intensive fertilized systems has been demonstrated as an efficient tool for reducing nitrate leaching. However, despite the evident environmental services provided and the range of agronomic benefits documented in the literature, farmers' adoption of this new technology is still limited because they are either unwilling or unable, although adoption reluctance is frequently rooted in low economic profitability, low water se efficiency or poor knowledge. Economic analyses permit a comparison between the profit that farmers obtain from agricultural products and the cost of adopting specific agricultural techniques. The goal of this study was to evaluate the economic impact of replacing the usual winter fallow with cover crops (barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Vanessa), vetch (Vicia villosa L., cv. Vereda) and rapeseed (Brassica napus L., cv. Licapo)) in irrigated maize systems and variable Mediterranean weather conditions using stochastic Monte-Carlo simulations of key farms' financial performance indicators. The three scenarios studied for each cover crop were: i) just leaving the cover crop residue in the ground, ii) leaving the cover crop residue but reduce following maize fertilization according to the N available from the previous cover crop and iii) selling the cover crop residue for animal feeding. All the scenarios were compared with respect to a typical maize-fallow rotation. With observed data from six different years and in various field trials, looking for different weather conditions, probability distribution functions of maize yield, cover crop biomass production and N fertilizer saving was fitted. Based in statistical sources maize grain price, different forage prices and the cost of fertilizer were fitted to probability distribution functions too. As result, introducing a cover crop involved extra costs with respect to fallow as the initial investment, because new seed, herbicide or extra field operations. Additional

"Lolita": Genealogy of a Cover Girl

Science.gov (United States)

Savage, Shari L.

2015-01-01

At the publication of Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel "Lolita" (1958), the author insisted that a girl never appear on the cover. This discourse analysis of 185 "Lolita" book covers, most of which feature a girl, considers the genealogy of "Lolita" in relation to representation, myth, and tacit knowledge…

Percent Forest Cover (Future)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Forests provide economic and ecological value. High percentages of forest cover (FORPCTFuture) generally indicate healthier ecosystems and cleaner surface water....

A comprehensive change detection method for updating the National Land Cover Database to circa 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Suming; Yang, Limin; Danielson, Patrick; Homer, Collin G.; Fry, Joyce; Xian, George

2013-01-01

The importance of characterizing, quantifying, and monitoring land cover, land use, and their changes has been widely recognized by global and environmental change studies. Since the early 1990s, three U.S. National Land Cover Database (NLCD) products (circa 1992, 2001, and 2006) have been released as free downloads for users. The NLCD 2006 also provides land cover change products between 2001 and 2006. To continue providing updated national land cover and change datasets, a new initiative in developing NLCD 2011 is currently underway. We present a new Comprehensive Change Detection Method (CCDM) designed as a key component for the development of NLCD 2011 and the research results from two exemplar studies. The CCDM integrates spectral-based change detection algorithms including a Multi-Index Integrated Change Analysis (MIICA) model and a novel change model called Zone, which extracts change information from two Landsat image pairs. The MIICA model is the core module of the change detection strategy and uses four spectral indices (CV, RCVMAX, dNBR, and dNDVI) to obtain the changes that occurred between two image dates. The CCDM also includes a knowledge-based system, which uses critical information on historical and current land cover conditions and trends and the likelihood of land cover change, to combine the changes from MIICA and Zone. For NLCD 2011, the improved and enhanced change products obtained from the CCDM provide critical information on location, magnitude, and direction of potential change areas and serve as a basis for further characterizing land cover changes for the nation. An accuracy assessment from the two study areas show 100% agreement between CCDM mapped no-change class with reference dataset, and 18% and 82% disagreement for the change class for WRS path/row p22r39 and p33r33, respectively. The strength of the CCDM is that the method is simple, easy to operate, widely applicable, and capable of capturing a variety of natural and

Subjectivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús Vega Encabo

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, I claim that subjectivity is a way of being that is constituted through a set of practices in which the self is subject to the dangers of fictionalizing and plotting her life and self-image. I examine some ways of becoming subject through narratives and through theatrical performance before others. Through these practices, a real and active subjectivity is revealed, capable of self-knowledge and self-transformation. 

Covering Materials for Anaerobic Digesters Producing Biogas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itodo, I. N.; Philips, T. K.

2002-01-01

The suitability of foam, concrete and clay soil as covering material on anaerobic digesters producing biogas was investigated using four batch-type digesters of 20 litres volume. The methane yield from the digesters was of the order: foam >control> concrete > clay soil. The digester covered with foam had the highest methane yield, best temperature control and most favourable pH conditions. It is most suitable as cover material on anaerobic digesters

Controls on sediment cover in bedrock-alluvial channels of the Henry Mountains, Utah

Science.gov (United States)

Hodge, R. A.; Yager, E.; Johnson, J. P.; Tranmer, A.

2017-12-01

The location and extent of sediment cover in bedrock-alluvial channels influences sediment transport rates, channel incision and instream ecology. However, factors affecting sediment cover and how it responds to changes in relative sediment supply have rarely been quantitatively evaluated in field settings. Using field surveys and SFM analysis of channel reach topography, we quantified sediment cover and channel properties including slope, width, grain size distributions, and bedrock and alluvial roughness in North Wash and Chelada Creek in the Henry Mountains, Utah. Along reaches where upstream sediment supply does not appear to be restricted, we find that the fraction of local bedrock exposure increases as a function of local relative transport capacity . In a downstream section of Chelada Creek, decadal-scale sediment supply has been restricted by an upstream culvert that has caused a backwater effect and corresponding upstream deposition. In this section, alluvial cover is uncorrelated with local stream power. To test the impact of relative sediment supply on sediment cover, a 1D sediment transport model was used to predict the equilibrium sediment cover in Chelada Creek under varying flow and sediment supply conditions. Sediment transport in each model section was predicted using the partial cover model of Johnson (2015), which accounts for differences in bedrock and alluvial roughness on critical shear stress and flow resistance. Model runs in which sediment supply was approximately equal to mean transport capacity produced a pattern of sediment cover which best matched the field observations upstream of the culvert. However, runs where sediment supply was under-capacity produced the pattern most similar to field observations downstream of the culvert, consistent with our field-based interpretations. Model results were insensitive to initial sediment cover, and equilibrium was relatively quickly reached, suggesting that the channel is responsive to changes in

Persistence of long term isokinetic strength deficits in subjects with lateral ankle sprain as measured with a protocol including maximal preloading.

Science.gov (United States)

Perron, Marc; Moffet, Hélène; Nadeau, Sylvie; Hébert, Luc J; Belzile, Sylvain

2014-12-01

The assessment of muscle function is a cornerstone in the management of subjects who have sustained a lateral ankle sprain. The ankle range of motion being relatively small, the use of preloading allows to measure maximal strength throughout the whole amplitude and therefore to better characterize ankle muscles weaknesses. This study aimed to assess muscle strength of the injured and uninjured ankles in subjects with a lateral ankle sprain, to document the timeline of strength recovery, and to determine the influence of sprain grade on strength loss. Maximal torque of the periarticular muscles of the ankle in a concentric mode using a protocol with maximal preloading was tested in 32 male soldiers at 8 weeks and 6 months post-injury. The evertor muscles of the injured ankles were weaker than the uninjured ones at 8 weeks and 6 months post-injury (Pankles at 8 weeks (P=0.0014, effect size=0.52-0.58) while at 6 months, only the subjects with a grade II sprain displayed such weaknesses (Pankle sprain in very active individuals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THz TDS of substance covered by disordered structure

Science.gov (United States)

Trofimov, V. A.; Zagursky, D. Y.; Zakharova, I. G.

2016-04-01

Computer simulation of a few-cycle pulse interaction with a substance covered by disordered structure is performed in order to study the effects imposed on spectra of transmitted and reflected pulses by presence of the cover. The substance is described by semi-classic approach and the cover is described by classic electrodynamics equations for linear isotropic medium. The cover consists of a number of layers with different properties which is considered to be the cause of the distortions. The influence of relation between pulse wavelength and cover layer thickness is illustrated. Computer simulation results are compared with those of physical experiments conducted for paper and other common materials.

19 CFR 212.03 - Proceedings covered.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Proceedings covered. 212.03 Section 212.03 Customs Duties UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION INVESTIGATIONS OF UNFAIR PRACTICES IN IMPORT TRADE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT General Provisions § 212.03 Proceedings covered. (a) The Act...

Development of multi-year land cover data to assess wildfire impacts to coastal watersheds and the nearshore environment

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Katherine D.

In the Mediterranean ecosystems of coastal California, wildfire is a common disturbance that can significantly alter vegetation in watersheds that transport sediment and nutrients to the adjacent nearshore oceanic environment. We assess the impact of two wildfires that burned in 2008 on land cover and to the nearshore environment along the Big Sur coast in central California. We created a multi-year land cover dataset to assess changes to coastal watersheds as a result of fire. This land cover dataset was then used to model changes in nonpoint source pollutants transported to the nearshore environment. Results indicate post-fire increases in percent export compared to pre-fire years and also link wildfire severity to the specific land cover changes that subsequently increase exports of pollutants and sediment to the nearshore environment. This approach is a replicable across watersheds and also provides a framework for including the nearshore environment as a value at risk terrestrial land management revolving around wildfire, including suppression, thinning, and other activities that change land cover at a landscape scale.

Fully covered self-expandable metal stents (SEMS), partially covered SEMS and self-expandable plastic stents for the treatment of benign esophageal ruptures and anastomotic leaks.

Science.gov (United States)

van Boeckel, Petra G A; Dua, Kulwinder S; Weusten, Bas L A M; Schmits, Ruben J H; Surapaneni, Naveen; Timmer, Robin; Vleggaar, Frank P; Siersema, Peter D

2012-02-29

Benign esophageal ruptures and anastomotic leaks are life-threatening conditions that are often treated surgically. Recently, placement of partially and fully covered metal or plastic stents has emerged as a minimally invasive treatment option. We aimed to determine the clinical effectiveness of covered stent placement for the treatment of esophageal ruptures and anastomotic leaks with special emphasis on different stent designs. Consecutive patients who underwent placement of a fully covered self-expandable metal stent (FSEMS), a partially covered SEMS (PSEMS) or a self-expanding plastic stent (SEPS) for a benign esophageal rupture or anastomotic leak after upper gastrointestinal surgery in the period 2007-2010 were included. Data on patient demographics, type of lesion, stent placement and removal, clinical success and complications were collected A total of 52 patients received 83 esophageal stents (61 PSEMS, 15 FSEMS, 7 SEPS) for an anastomotic leak (n=32), iatrogenic rupture (n=13), Boerhaave's syndrome (n=4) or other cause (n=3). Endoscopic stent removal was successful in all but eight patients treated with a PSEMS due to tissue ingrowth. Clinical success was achieved in 34 (76%, intention-to-treat: 65%) patients (PSEMS: 73%, FSEMS: 83%, SEPS: 83%) after a median of 1 (range 1-5) stent and a median stenting time of 39 (range 7-120) days. In total, 33 complications in 24 (46%) patients occurred (tissue in- or overgrowth (n=8), stent migration (n=10), ruptured stent cover (all Ultraflex; n=6), food obstruction (n=3), severe pain (n=2), esophageal rupture (n=2), hemorrhage (n=2)). One (2%) patient died of a stent-related cause. Covered stents placed for a period of 5-6 weeks may well be an alternative to surgery for treating benign esophageal ruptures or anastomotic leaks. As efficacy between PSEMS, FSEMS and SEPS is not different, stent choice should depend on expected risks of stent migration (SEPS and FSEMS) and tissue in- or overgrowth (PSEMS).

Influence of Seeding Ratio, Planting Date, and Termination Date on Rye-Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Mixture Performance under Organic Management

OpenAIRE

Lawson, Andrew; Cogger, Craig; Bary, Andy; Fortuna, Ann-Marie

2015-01-01

Cover crop benefits include nitrogen accumulation and retention, weed suppression, organic matter maintenance, and reduced erosion. Organic farmers need region-specific information on winter cover crop performance to effectively integrate cover crops into their crop rotations. Our research objective was to compare cover crop seeding mixtures, planting dates, and termination dates on performance of rye (Secale cereale L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) monocultures and mixtures in the ma...

Evaluation of native bees as pollinators of cucurbit crops under floating row covers.

Science.gov (United States)

Minter, Logan M; Bessin, Ricardo T

2014-10-01

Production of cucurbit crops presents growers with numerous challenges. Several severe pests and diseases can be managed through the use of rotation, trap cropping, mechanical barriers, such as row covers, and chemical applications. However, considerations must also be made for pollinating insects, as adequate pollination affects the quantity and quality of fruit. Insecticides may negatively affect pollinators; a concern enhanced in recent years due to losses in managed Apis melifera L. colonies. Row covers can be used in place of chemical control before pollination, but when removed, pests have access to fields along with the pollinators. If pollination services of native bees could be harnessed for use under continuous row covers, both concerns could be balanced for growers. The potential of two bee species which specialize on cucurbit flowers, Peponapis pruinosa Say and Xenoglossa strenua Cresson, were assessed under continuous row covers, employed over acorn squash. Experimental treatments included plots with either naturally or artificially introduced bees under row covers and control plots with row covers either permanently removed at crop flowering, or employed continuously with no added pollinating insects. Pests in plots with permanently removed row covers were managed using standard practices used in certified organic production. Marketable yields from plots inoculated with bees were indistinguishable from those produced under standard practices, indicating this system would provide adequate yields to growers without time and monetary inputs of insecticide applications. Additionally, application of this technique was investigated for muskmelon production and discussed along with considerations for farm management.

Migration barrier covers for radioactive and mixed waste landfills

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hakonson, T.E.; Manies, K.L.; Warren, R.W.; Bostick, K.V.; Trujillo, G.; Kent, J.S.

1993-01-01

Migration barrier cover technology will likely serve as the remediation alternative of choice for most of DOE's radioactive and mixed waste landfills simply because human and ecological risks can be effectively managed without the use of more expensive alternatives. However, very little testing and evaluation has been done, either before or after installation, to monitor how effective they are in isolating waste or to develop data that can be used to evaluate model predictions of long term performance. Los Alamos National Laboratory has investigated the performance of a variety of landfill capping alternatives since 1981 using large field lysimeters to monitor the fate of precipitation falling on the cap surface. The objective of these studies is to provide the risk manager with a variety of field tested capping designs, of various complexities and costs, so that design alternatives can be matched to the need for hydrologic control at the site. Four different landfill cap designs, representing different complexities and costs, were constructed at Hill Air Force Base (AFB) in October and November, 1989. The designs were constructed in large lysimeters and instrumented to provide estimates of all components of water balance including precipitation, runoff (and soil erosion), infiltration, leachate production, evapotranspiration, and capillary/hydraulic barrier flow. The designs consisted of a typical soil cover to serve as a baseline, a modified EPA RCRA cover, and two versions of a Los Alamos design that contained erosion control measures, an improved vegetation cover to enhance evapotranspiration, and a capillary barrier to divert downward flow of soil water. A comprehensive summary of the Hill AFB demonstration will be available in October 1993, when the project is scheduled to terminate

Data Mining Relationships Among Urban Socioeconomic, Land Cover, and Remotely Sensed Ecological Data

Science.gov (United States)

Mennis, J.; Wessman, C.; Golubiewski, N.

2003-12-01

This research investigates the relationships among socioeconomic character, land cover, and ecological function in a rapidly urbanizing region, the Front Range of Colorado. We use novel spatial geographic information systems- (GIS-) based data integration and data mining techniques to integrate and analyze diverse spatial data sets. These data include elevation data, transportation data, land cover data derived from aerial photography, block group-level U.S. Census data, and vegetation greenness (NDVI) data derived from Landsat imagery. These data are used to derive a variety of U.S. block group-level variables indicating demographic, geographic, ecological, and land cover characteristics. We employ spatial association rule mining, decision tree induction, and spatial on-line analytical processing (OLAP), in addition to more conventional multivariate statistical techniques, to investigate relationships among these variables.

Ductile–brittle behavior at blunted cavities in 3D iron crystals uncovered and covered by copper atoms

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pelikán, Vladimír; Hora, Petr; Červená, Olga; Spielmannová, Alena; Machová, Anna

2010-01-01

Roč. 4, č. 2 (2010), s. 191-200 ISSN 1802-680X R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA101/07/0789; GA AV ČR KJB200760802 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20760514 Keywords : molecular dynamics * bcc iron crystal * blunted cavity * copper cover * ductile –brittle behavior Subject RIV: JG - Metallurgy http://www.kme.zcu.cz/acm/index.php/acm/article/view/48

Developing a New North American Land Cover Product at 30m Resolution: Methods, Results and Future Plans

Science.gov (United States)

Homer, C.; Colditz, R. R.; Latifovic, R.; Llamas, R. M.; Pouliot, D.; Danielson, P.; Meneses, C.; Victoria, A.; Ressl, R.; Richardson, K.; Vulpescu, M.

2017-12-01

Land cover and land cover change information at regional and continental scales has become fundamental for studying and understanding the terrestrial environment. With recent advances in computer science and freely available image archives, continental land cover mapping has been advancing to higher spatial resolution products. The North American Land Change Monitoring System (NALCMS) remains the principal provider of seamless land cover maps of North America. Founded in 2006, this collaboration among the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States has released two previous products based on 250m MODIS images, including a 2005 land cover and a 2005-2010 land cover change product. NALCMS has recently completed the next generation North America land cover product, based upon 30m Landsat images. This product now provides the first ever 30m land cover produced for the North American continent, providing 19 classes of seamless land cover. This presentation provides an overview of country-specific image classification processes, describes the continental map production process, provides results for the North American continent and discusses future plans. NALCMS is coordinated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and all products can be obtained at their website - www.cec.org.

Hydrological impacts of global land cover change and human water use

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosmans, J.H.C.; van Beek, L.P.H.; Sutanudjaja, E.H.; Bierkens, M.F.P.

2017-01-01

Human impacts on global terrestrial hydrology have been accelerating during the 20th century. These human impacts include the effects of reservoir building and human water use, as well as land cover change. To date, many global studies have focussed on human water use, but only a few focus on or

GLCF: Landsat GeoCover

Science.gov (United States)

satellite imagery provided in a standardized, orthorectified format, covering the entire land surface of the * Orthorectification * Distribution Status * Hard Media Orders * Letters Delivered Quick Links * Create True Color

Monitoring cover crops using radar remote sensing in southern Ontario, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, J.; Huang, X.; Liu, J.; Wang, J.

2016-12-01

Information on agricultural land surface conditions is important for developing best land management practices to maintain the overall health of the fields. The climate condition supports one harvest per year for the majority of the field crops in Canada, with a relative short growing season between May and September. During the non-growing-season months (October to the following April), many fields are traditionally left bare. In more recent year, there has been an increased interest in planting cover crops. Benefits of cover crops include boosting soil organic matters, preventing soil from erosion, retaining soil moisture, and reducing surface runoff hence protecting water quality. Optical remote sensing technology has been exploited for monitoring cover crops. However limitations inherent to optical sensors such as cloud interference and signal saturation (when leaf area index is above 2.5) impeded its operational application. Radar remote sensing on the other hand is not hindered by unfavorable weather conditions, and the signal continues to be sensitive to crop growth beyond the saturation point of optical sensors. It offers a viable means for capturing timely information on field surface conditions (with or without crop cover) or crop development status. This research investigated the potential of using multi-temporal RADARSAT-2 C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data collected in 2015 over multiple fields of winter wheat, corn and soybean crops in southern Ontario, Canada, to retrieve information on the presence of cover crops and their growth status. Encouraging results have been obtained. This presentation will report the methodology developed and the results obtained.

Cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with psoriasis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Peter; Thyssen, Jacob P; Zachariae, Claus

2013-01-01

Background Epidemiological data have established an association between cardiovascular disease and psoriasis. Only one general population study has so far compared prevalences of cardiovascular risk factors among subjects with psoriasis and control subjects. We aimed to determine the prevalence...... of cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with and without psoriasis in the general population. Methods During 2006-2008, a cross-sectional study was performed in the general population in Copenhagen, Denmark. A total of 3471 subjects participated in a general health examination that included assessment of current...... between subjects with and without psoriasis with regard to traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusions Our results contrast with the hitherto-reported increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome in subjects with psoriasis in the general US population. However, our results agree with those of other...

Multidimensional simulation of radon diffusion through earthen covers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayer, D.W.; Gee, G.W.

1983-01-01

The purpose of this report is to document applications of the RADMD model used at PNL to perform analyses of radon diffusion through uranium mill tailings cover systems. The accuracy of the numerical formulation of the RADMD model was demonstrated through a comparison with a two-dimensional analytic solution to the radon diffusion equation. Excellent agreement was obtained between two-dimensional radon concentration profiles predicted by RADMD and those obtained with the analytic solution. A simulation was made of radon diffusion into a test canister using the two dimensional capabilities of RADMD. The radon flux profile was computed and illustrates the effects of the canister on the surface radon flux. The influence of the canister on the radon flux was shown to be significant under certain circumstances. Defects in earthen cover systems were evaluated using the three dimensional capabilities of RADMD. The results support the expectation that defective covers can increase the surface flux from a covered talings pile. Compared to a cover with no defects, radon flux could be elevated by as much as a factor of three when 20% of the radon control layer area contained pockets of reduced moisture. The effects of temporal and spatial variations in moisture content have been modeled by coupling RADMD with a variable saturated flow model. Two dimensional simulations were made of the time dependence of radon flux from a tailings site before and after cover placement. The results demonstrated the expected flux reduction produced by a thick earthen cover. Time dependence of the radon flux after cover placement was attributed to slight changes in moisture content of the cover material with time. The particular cover studied had a compacted clay layer that effectively attenuated the radon

Student perceptions and learning outcomes of blended learning in a massive first-year core physiology for allied health subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Page, Janelle; Meehan-Andrews, Terri; Weerakkody, Nivan; Hughes, Diane L; Rathner, Joseph A

2017-03-01

Evidence shows that factors contributing to success in physiology education for allied health students at universities include not only their high school achievement and background but also factors such as confidence with their teachers and quality of their learning experience, justifying intensive and continued survey of students' perceptions of their learning experience. Here we report data covering a 3-yr period in a physiology subject that has been redesigned for blended and online presentation. Consistent with previous reports, we show that when we undertook a blended mode of delivery, students demonstrated better grades than traditional modes of teaching; however the absence of didactic teaching in this subject resulted in lower grades overall. Students have very strong positive attitudes to weekly quizzes (80% positive approval) but report ambivalent attitudes to online self-directed learning (61% negative perception), even though they had 2-h weekly facilitated workshops. Overwhelmingly, students who undertook the subject in a self-directed online learning mode requested more face-to-face-teaching (70% of comments). From these data, we suggest that there is a quantifiable benefit to didactic teaching in the blended teaching mode that is not reproduced in online self-directed learning, even when face-to-face guided inquiry-based learning is embedded in the subject. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

77 FR 5317 - Medicaid Program; Covered Outpatient Drugs

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-02

... for Medicare & Medicaid Services 42 CFR Part 447 Medicaid Program; Covered Outpatient Drugs; Proposed... Part 447 [CMS-2345-P] RIN 0938-AQ41 Medicaid Program; Covered Outpatient Drugs AGENCY: Centers for... requirements pertaining to Medicaid reimbursement for covered outpatient drugs to implement provisions of the...

Winter cover crop effect on corn seedling pathogens

Science.gov (United States)

Cover crops are an excellent management tool to improve the sustainability of agriculture. Winter rye cover crops have been used successfully in Iowa corn-soybean rotations. Unfortunately, winter rye cover crops occasionally reduce yields of the following corn crop. We hypothesize that one potential...

IRSeL-An approach to enhance continuity and accuracy of remotely sensed land cover data

Science.gov (United States)

Rathjens, H.; Dörnhöfer, K.; Oppelt, N.

2014-09-01

Land cover data gives the opportunity to study interactions between land cover status and environmental issues such as hydrologic processes, soil properties, or biodiversity. Land cover data often are based on classification of remote sensing data that seldom provides the requisite accuracy, spatial availability and temporal observational frequency for environmental studies. Thus, there is a high demand for accurate and spatio-temporal complete time series of land cover. In the past considerable research was undertaken to increase land cover classification accuracy, while less effort was spent on interpolation techniques. The purpose of this article is to present a space-time interpolation and revision approach for remotely sensed land cover data. The approach leverages special properties known for agricultural areas such as crop rotations or temporally static land cover classes. The newly developed IRSeL-tool (Interpolation and improvement of Remotely Sensed Land cover) corrects classification errors and interpolates missing land cover pixels. The easy-to-use tool solely requires an initial land cover data set. The IRSeL specific interpolation and revision technique, the data input requirements and data output structure are described in detail. A case study in an area around the city of Neumünster in Northern Germany from 2006 to 2012 was performed for IRSeL validation with initial land cover data sets (Landsat TM image classifications) for the years 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The results of the case study showed that IRSeL performs well; including years with no classification data overall accuracy values for IRSeL interpolated pixels range from 0.63 to 0.81. IRSeL application significantly increases the accuracy of the land cover data; overall accuracy values rise 0.08 in average resulting in overall accuracy values of at least 0.86. Considering estimated reliabilities, the IRSeL tool provides a temporally and spatially completed and revised land cover

Effect of channelling on water balance, oxygen diffusion and oxidation rate in mine waste rock with an inclined multilayer soil cover

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Qing; Yanful, Ernest K.

2010-05-01

Engineered soil covers provide an option to mitigate acid rock drainage through reduced water flow and gaseous oxygen influx to underlying mine waste. Channels such as fissures, cracks or fractures developed in the barrier may influence the long-term performance of the soil cover. However, limited published information is available on the extent to which soil cover performance is impacted by these fissures and cracks. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of channelling in a barrier layer on water flow and oxygen transport in a soil cover. Two inclined (a slope of 20%) multilayer soil covers were examined under laboratory conditions. One cover had a 10-cm wide sand-filled channel in a compacted barrier layer (silty clay) at the upslope section, while the other cover was a normal one without the channel pathway. The soil covers were installed in plastic boxes measuring 120 cm × 120 cm × 25 cm (width × height × thickness). The sand-filled channel was designed to represent the aggregate of fissures and cracks that may be present in the compacted barrier. The soil covers were subjected to controlled drying and wetting periods selected to simulate field situation at the Whistle mine site near Capreol, Ontario, Canada. The measured results indicated that interflow decreased from 72.8% of the total precipitation in the soil cover without channel flow to 35.3% in the cover with channel flow, and percolation increased from zero in the normal soil cover to 43.0% of the total precipitation in the cover with channel flow. Gaseous oxygen transfer into the waste rock below the cover soils was 1091 times greater in the cover with channel than in the soil cover without channel. The channel pathway present in the barrier layer acted as a major passage for water movement and gaseous oxygen diffusion into the waste rock layer, thus decreasing the performance of the soil cover. The spacing of the channel with respect to the length of the test box is similar to those

Smart cover glass for automotive applications

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Sang Kug

2017-11-01

This paper presents a smart cover glass based on electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) actuation for automotive applications. It can remove water droplets in a wide range of sizes to allow the camera's lens to get clean at any time. The proposed cover glass offers a simple design structure to be easily installed on any device but provides a fast and energy efficient droplet cleaning operation. As proof of concept, a real imaging test is carried out using a mobile smartphone camera and landscape photography. When water droplets with different volumes are on the camera cover glass, the image of landscape photography is distorted with blurred spots. However, the distorted image is restored by removing the droplets through EWOD actuation.

ISLSCP II Historical Croplands Cover, 1700-1992

Data.gov (United States)

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

Watershed impervious cover relative to stream location

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Estimates of watershed (12-digit huc) impervious cover and impervious cover near streams and water body shorelines for three dates (2001, 2006, 2011) using NLCD...

ISLSCP II Historical Croplands Cover, 1700-1992

Data.gov (United States)

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

GAP Land Cover - Image

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This raster dataset is a simple image of the original detailed (1-acre minimum), hierarchically organized vegetation cover map produced by computer classification of...

GAP Land Cover - Vector

Data.gov (United States)

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — This vector dataset is a detailed (1-acre minimum), hierarchically organized vegetation cover map produced by computer classification of combined two-season pairs of...

Percent of Impervious Cover

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — High amounts of impervious cover (parking lots, rooftops, roads, etc.) can increase water runoff, which may directly enter surface water. Runoff from roads often...

Study on mechanics of driving drum with superelastic convexity surface covering-layer structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, L.J.; Sui, X.H.; Miao, D.J. [Shandong University of Science & Technology, Qingdao (China)

2008-09-15

Belt conveyor is one of the main transport equipment in coal mine and the driving drum is its key part. With the method of bionic design, the mushroom morphological structure is applied to the design of covering-layer structure of driving drum surface of belt conveyor. Superelastic rubber with large deformation is adopted as the covering-layer material. Nonlinear constitutive model of rubber, which is of superelasticity and large deformation, is established. The stress states and deformation principles of driving drums including both bionic covering-layer and common covering-layer are obtained by static intensity analysis with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software ANSYS. The values of the stress and strain on the driving drum surface are gotten and the dangerous area is determined. FEA results show that the superelastic convexity surface structure can enlarge the contact area between the driving drum and viscoelastic belt. The results also show that in comparison with common driving drum, the bionic surface driving drum can not only increase the friction coefficient between drum and belt but also prolong its service life.

Including land cover change in analysis of greenness trends using all available Landsat 5, 7, and 8 images: A case study from Guangzhou, China (2000–2014)

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Zhe; Fu, Yingchun; Woodcock, Curtis; Olofsson, Pontus; Vogelmann, James; Holden, Christopher; Wang, Min; Dai, Shu; Yu, Yang

2016-01-01

Remote sensing has proven a useful way of evaluating long-term trends in vegetation “greenness” through the use of vegetation indices like Normalized Differences Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI). In particular, analyses of greenness trends have been performed for large areas (continents, for example) in an attempt to understand vegetation response to climate. These studies have been most often used coarse resolution sensors like Moderate Resolution Image Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). However, trends in greenness are also important at more local scales, particularly in and around cities as vegetation offers a variety of valuable ecosystem services ranging from minimizing air pollution to mitigating urban heat island effects. To explore the ability to monitor greenness trends in and around cities, this paper presents a new way for analyzing greenness trends based on all available Landsat 5, 7, and 8 images and applies it to Guangzhou, China. This method is capable of including the effects of land cover change in the evaluation of greenness trends by separating the effects of abrupt and gradual changes, and providing information on the timing of greenness trends.

Influence of Seeding Ratio, Planting Date, and Termination Date on Rye-Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Mixture Performance under Organic Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Andrew; Cogger, Craig; Bary, Andy; Fortuna, Ann-Marie

2015-01-01

Cover crop benefits include nitrogen accumulation and retention, weed suppression, organic matter maintenance, and reduced erosion. Organic farmers need region-specific information on winter cover crop performance to effectively integrate cover crops into their crop rotations. Our research objective was to compare cover crop seeding mixtures, planting dates, and termination dates on performance of rye (Secale cereale L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) monocultures and mixtures in the maritime Pacific Northwest USA. The study included four seed mixtures (100% hairy vetch, 25% rye-75% hairy vetch, 50% rye-50% hairy vetch, and 100% rye by seed weight), two planting dates, and two termination dates, using a split-split plot design with four replications over six years. Measurements included winter ground cover; stand composition; cover crop biomass, N concentration, and N uptake; and June soil NO3(-)-N. Rye planted in mid-September and terminated in late April averaged 5.1 Mg ha(-1) biomass, whereas mixtures averaged 4.1 Mg ha(-1) and hairy vetch 2.3 Mg ha(-1). Delaying planting by 2.5 weeks reduced average winter ground cover by 65%, biomass by 50%, and cover crop N accumulation by 40%. Similar reductions in biomass and N accumulation occurred for late March termination, compared with late April termination. Mixtures had less annual biomass variability than rye. Mixtures accumulated 103 kg ha(-1) N and had mean C:N ratio rye, 97 kg ha(-1) for the mixtures, and 119 kg ha(-1) for hairy vetch. Weeds comprised less of the mixtures biomass (20% weeds by weight at termination) compared with the monocultures (29%). Cover crop mixtures provided a balance between biomass accumulation and N concentration, more consistent biomass over the six-year study, and were more effective at reducing winter weeds compared with monocultures.

39 CFR 233.3 - Mail covers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

.... For purpose of these regulations, the following terms are hereby defined. (1) Mail cover is the... criminal law. (3) When time is of the essence, the Chief Postal Inspector, or designee, may act upon an... furnish information as defined in § 233.3(c)(1) to any person, except as authorized by a mail cover order...

Percent Wetland Cover (Future)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Wetlands act as filters, removing or diminishing the amount of pollutants that enter surface water. Higher values for percent of wetland cover (WETLNDSPCT) may be...

Making Safe Surgery Affordable: Design of a Surgical Drill Cover System for Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Buchan, Lawrence L; Black, Marianne S; Cancilla, Michael A; Huisman, Elise S; Kooyman, Jeremy J R; Nelson, Scott C; OʼHara, Nathan N; OʼBrien, Peter J; Blachut, Piotr A

2015-10-01

Many surgeons in low-resource settings do not have access to safe, affordable, or reliable surgical drilling tools. Surgeons often resort to nonsterile hardware drills because they are affordable, robust, and efficient, but they are impossible to sterilize using steam. A promising alternative is to use a Drill Cover system (a sterilizable fabric bag plus surgical chuck adapter) so that a nonsterile hardware drill can be used safely for surgical bone drilling. Our objective was to design a safe, effective, affordable Drill Cover system for scale in low-resource settings. We designed our device based on feedback from users at Mulago Hospital (Kampala, Uganda) and focused on 3 main aspects. First, the design included a sealed barrier between the surgical field and hardware drill that withstands pressurized fluid. Second, the selected hardware drill had a maximum speed of 1050 rpm to match common surgical drills and reduce risk of necrosis. Third, the fabric cover was optimized for ease of assembly while maintaining a sterile technique. Furthermore, with the Drill Cover approach, multiple Drill Covers can be provided with a single battery-powered drill in a "kit," so that the drill can be used in back-to-back surgeries without requiring immediate sterilization. The Drill Cover design presented here provides a proof-of-concept for a product that can be commercialized, produced at scale, and used in low-resource settings globally to improve access to safe surgery.

Forest cover of North America in the 1970s mapped using Landsat MSS data

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, M.; Sexton, J. O.; Channan, S.; Townshend, J. R.

2015-12-01

The distribution and changes in Earth's forests impact hydrological, biogeochemical, and energy fluxes, as well as ecosystems' capacity to support biodiversity and human economies. Long-term records of forest cover are needed across a broad range of investigation, including climate and carbon-cycle modeling, hydrological studies, habitat analyzes, biological conservation, and land-use planning. Satellite-based observations enable mapping and monitoring of forests at ecologically and economically relevant resolutions and continental or even global extents. Following early forest-mapping efforts using coarser resolution remote sensing data such as the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), forests have been mapped regionally at developed by the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF) as reference, we developed an automated approach to detect forests using MSS data by leveraging the multispectral and phenological characteristics of forests observed in MSS time-series. The forest-cover map is produced with layers representing the year of observation, detection of forest-cover change relative to 1990, and the uncertainty of forest-cover and -change layers. The approach has been implemented with open-source libraries to facilitate processing large volumes of Landsat MSS images on high-performance computing machines. As the first result of our global mapping effort, we present the forest cover for North America. More than 25,000 Landsat MSS scenes were processed to provide a 120-meter resolution forest cover for North America, which will be made publicly available on the GLCF website (http://www.landcover.org).

Cover crops knowledge and implementation willingness by producers of several crops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robin Gómez Gómez

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge on cover crops and native vegetation mulches and the willingness to implement them by papaya, oil palm, and banana producers in Costa Rica. An evaluation instrument with twenty eight questions to be answered as true or false was developed, and it was used to yield a knowledge indicator. Seven additional questions with responses on a scale from 0 to 5 were included to explore producers’ willingness to implement cover crops or native vegetation mulches on their farms. The evaluation was completed in 2014, and was filled out by 36 papaya producers, 30 oil palm producers, and 57 banana producers. Item analyses to determine reliability produced Cronbach’s alpha values above 90%. For this study a factors analysis was performed in order to determine the measurement of one single variable, knowledge on cover crops and native vegetation mulches. Global knowledge scores varied signi cantly between producer groups. Banana producers assessments yielded the highest mean with the lowest variability, whereas papaya producers had the lower mean and the highest variability. Likewise, answers to each of the questions differed importantly between producer groups. It was also determined that producers of these crops are willing to implement and get training on cover crops and native vegetation mulches.

Calibration and Validation of Tundra Plant Functional Type Fractional Cover Mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Macander, M. J.; Nelson, P.; Frost, G. V., Jr.

2017-12-01

Fractional cover maps are being developed for selected tundra plant functional types (PFTs) across >500,000 sq. km of arctic Alaska and adjacent Canada at 30 m resolution. Training and validation data include a field-based training dataset based on point-intercept sampling method at hundreds of plots spanning bioclimatic and geomorphic gradients. We also compiled 50 blocks of 1-5 cm resolution RGB image mosaics in Alaska (White Mountains, North Slope, and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta) and the Yukon Territory. The mosaics and associated surface and canopy height models were developed using a consumer drone and structure from motion processing. We summarized both the in situ measurements and drone imagery to determine cover of two PFTs: Low and Tall Deciduous Shrub, and Light Fruticose/Foliose Lichen. We applied these data to train 2 m (limited extent) and 30 m (wall to wall) maps of PFT fractional cover for shrubs and lichen. Predictors for 2 m models were commercial satellite imagery such as WorldView-2 and Worldview-3, analyzed on the ABoVE Science Cloud. Predictors for 30 m models were primarily reflectance composites and spectral metrics developed from Landsat imagery, using Google Earth Engine. We compared the performance of models developed from the in situ and drone-derived training data and identify best practices to improve the performance and efficiency of arctic PFT fractional cover mapping.

Effect of litter, leaf cover and cover of basal internodes of the dominant species Molinia caerulea on seedling recruitment and established vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Janeček, Štěpán; Lepš, Jan

2005-09-01

The effects of litter removal, leaf cover of established plants and cover of basal internodes of a dominant species Molinia caerulea on seedling germination and the dynamics of established plants were studied in a field experiment in an oligotrophic wet meadow. Although the negative influence of litter on total seedling number and seedling species composition was non-significant, litter significantly affected the dynamics of the established vegetation and caused inhibition of total leaf cover development. The effects of total leaf cover of established plants on seedling establishment changed during the vegetation season. Whereas the effect of total leaf cover was positive at the start and in the middle of the vegetation season, at the end the total leaf cover negatively affected seedling establishment. Both total leaf cover and cover of basal internodes affected seedling composition. Effects of these two variables were statistically separable suggesting that they are based on different mechanisms. The response of seedling establishment to these factors was species specific and, consequently, our data support the hypothesis that that biotically generated spatial heterogeneity can promote species co-existence through the differentiation of species regeneration niches.

Objective and subjective sleep quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baandrup, Lone; Glenthøj, Birte Yding; Jennum, Poul Jørgen

2016-01-01

and subjective sleep quality during benzodiazepine discontinuation and whether sleep variables were associated with benzodiazepine withdrawal. Eligible patients included adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or bipolar disorder and long-term use of benzodiazepines in combination...

21 CFR 1404.200 - What is a covered transaction?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What is a covered transaction? 1404.200 Section 1404.200 Food and Drugs OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Covered Transactions § 1404.200 What is a covered transaction? A covered transaction is a...

Evaluation of the leakage behavior of inflatable seals subject to severe accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, M.B.

1989-11-01

Sandia National Laboratories, under the sponsorship of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is currently developing test validated methods to predict the pressure capacity of light water reactor containment buildings when subjected to postulated severe accident conditions. These conditions are well beyond the design basis. Scale model tests of steel and reinforced concrete containments have been conducted as well as tests of typical containment penetrations. As a part of this effort, a series of tests was recently conducted to determine the leakage behavior of inflatable seals. These seals are used to prevent leakage around personnel and escape lock doors of some containments. The results of the inflatable seals tests are the subject of this report. Inflatable seals were tested at both room temperature and at elevated temperatures representative of postulated severe accident conditions. Both aged (radiation and thermal) and unaged seals were included in the test program. The internal seal pressure at the beginning of each test was varied to cover the range of seal pressures actually used in containments. For each seal pressure level, the external (containment) pressure was increased until significant leakage past the seals was observed. Parameters that were monitored and recorded during the tests were the internal seal pressure, chamber pressure, leakage past the seals, and temperature of the test chamber and fixture to which the seals were attached. 8 refs., 34 figs., 7 tabs

Developing Methods for Fraction Cover Estimation Toward Global Mapping of Ecosystem Composition

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, D. A.; Thompson, D. R.; Dennison, P. E.; Green, R. O.; Kokaly, R. F.; Pavlick, R.; Schimel, D.; Stavros, E. N.

2016-12-01

Terrestrial vegetation seldom covers an entire pixel due to spatial mixing at many scales. Estimating the fractional contributions of photosynthetic green vegetation (GV), non-photosynthetic vegetation (NPV), and substrate (soil, rock, etc.) to mixed spectra can significantly improve quantitative remote measurement of terrestrial ecosystems. Traditional methods for estimating fractional vegetation cover rely on vegetation indices that are sensitive to variable substrate brightness, NPV and sun-sensor geometry. Spectral mixture analysis (SMA) is an alternate framework that provides estimates of fractional cover. However, simple SMA, in which the same set of endmembers is used for an entire image, fails to account for natural spectral variability within a cover class. Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (MESMA) is a variant of SMA that allows the number and types of pure spectra to vary on a per-pixel basis, thereby accounting for endmember variability and generating more accurate cover estimates, but at a higher computational cost. Routine generation and delivery of GV, NPV, and substrate (S) fractions using MESMA is currently in development for large, diverse datasets acquired by the Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS). We present initial results, including our methodology for ensuring consistency and generalizability of fractional cover estimates across a wide range of regions, seasons, and biomes. We also assess uncertainty and provide a strategy for validation. GV, NPV, and S fractions are an important precursor for deriving consistent measurements of ecosystem parameters such as plant stress and mortality, functional trait assessment, disturbance susceptibility and recovery, and biomass and carbon stock assessment. Copyright 2016 California Institute of Technology. All Rights Reserved. We acknowledge support of the US Government, NASA, the Earth Science Division and Terrestrial Ecology program.

Differences in breeding bird assemblages related to reed canary grass cover cover and forest structure on the Upper Mississippi River

Science.gov (United States)

Kirsch, Eileen M.; Gray, Brian R.

2017-01-01

Floodplain forest of the Upper Mississippi River provides habitat for an abundant and diverse breeding bird community. However, reed canary grass Phalaris arundinacea invasion is a serious threat to the future condition of this forest. Reed canary grass is a well-known aggressive invader of wetland systems in the northern tier states of the conterminous United States. Aided by altered flow regimes and nutrient inputs from agriculture, reed canary grass has formed dense stands in canopy gaps and forest edges, retarding tree regeneration. We sampled vegetation and breeding birds in Upper Mississippi River floodplain forest edge and interior areas to 1) measure reed canary grass cover and 2) evaluate whether the breeding bird assemblage responded to differences in reed canary grass cover. Reed canary grass was found far into forest interiors, and its cover was similar between interior and edge sites. Bird assemblages differed between areas with more or less reed canary grass cover (.53% cover breakpoint). Common yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas, black-capped chickadee Parus atricapillus, and rose-breasted grosbeak Pheucticus ludovicianus were more common and American redstart Setophaga ruticilla, great crested flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus, and Baltimore oriole Icterus galbula were less common in sites with more reed canary grass cover. Bird diversity and abundance were similar between sites with different reed canary grass cover. A stronger divergence in bird assemblages was associated with ground cover ,15%, resulting from prolonged spring flooding. These sites hosted more prothonotary warbler Protonotaria citrea, but they had reduced bird abundance and diversity compared to other sites. Our results indicate that frequently flooded sites may be important for prothonotary warblers and that bird assemblages shift in response to reed canary grass invasion.

Analysis of radon protection cover on uranium tailings pile

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhe

1993-01-01

The average radon emanation rate of the whole surface over one year was used for evaluating the radon release of uranium tailings pile. The effective of radon protection cover depends on the shape and property of the tailings pile, the properties of covering and the control of air vadose in the pile. It was indicated that the covering with low diffusion coefficient, small porosity and bad permeability was suitable to cover the pile. The analytical formula of the covering layer thickness was given

Development of a 30 m Spatial Resolution Land Cover of Canada: Contribution to the Harmonized North America Land Cover Dataset

Science.gov (United States)

Pouliot, D.; Latifovic, R.; Olthof, I.

2017-12-01

Land cover is needed for a large range of environmental applications regarding climate impacts and adaption, emergency response, wildlife habitat, air quality, water yield, etc. In Canada a 2008 user survey revealed that the most practical scale for provision of land cover data is 30 m, nationwide, with an update frequency of five years (Ball, 2008). In response to this need the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing has generated a 30 m land cover of Canada for the base year 2010 as part of a planned series of maps at the recommended five year update frequency. This land cover is the Canadian contribution to the North American Land Change Monitoring System initiative, which seeks to provide harmonized land cover across Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The methodology developed in this research utilized a combination of unsupervised and machine learning techniques to map land cover, blend results between mapping units, locally optimize results, and process some thematic attributes with specific features sets. Accuracy assessment with available field data shows it was on average 75% for the five study areas assessed. In this presentation an overview of the unique processing aspects, example results, and initial accuracy assessment will be discussed.

MULCHES AND OTHER COVER MATERIALS TO REDUCE WEED GROWTH IN CONTAINER-GROWN NURSERY STOCK.

Science.gov (United States)

Rys, F; Van Wesemael, D; Van Haecke, D; Mechant, E; Gobin, B

2014-01-01

Due to the recent EU-wide implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), alternative methods to reduce weed growth in container-grown nursery stock are needed to cut back the use of herbicides. Covering the upper layer of the substrate is known as a potential method to prevent or reduce weed growth in plant containers. As a high variety of mulches and other cover materials are on the market, however, it is no longer clear for growers which cover material is most efficient for use in containers. Therefore, we examined the effect on weed growth of different mulches and other cover materials, including Pinus maritima, P. sylvestris, Bio-Top Basic, Bio-Top Excellent, coco chips fine, hemp fibres, straw pellets, coco disk 180LD and jute disk. Cover materials were applied immediately after repotting of Ligustrum ovalifolium or planting of Fagus sylvatica. At regular times, both weed growth and side effects (e.g., plant growth, water status of the substrate, occurrence of mushrooms, foraging of birds, complete cover of the substrate and fixation) were assessed. All examined mulches or other cover materials were able to reduce weed growth on the containers during the whole growing season. Weed suppression was even better than that of a chemical treated control. Although all materials showed some side effects, the impact on plant growth is most important to the grower and depends not only on material characteristics (e.g., biodegradation, nutrient leaching and N-immobilisation) but also on container size and climatic conditions. In conclusion, mulches and other cover materials can be a valuable tool within IPM to lower herbicide use. To enable a deliberate choice of which cover material is best used in a specific situation more research is needed on lifespan and stability as well as on economic characteristics of the materials.

Variation of crack intensity factor in three compacted clay liners exposed to annual cycle of atmospheric conditions with and without geotextile cover.

Science.gov (United States)

Safari, E; Jalili Ghazizade, M; Abduli, M A; Gatmiri, B

2014-08-01

Performance of compacted clay liners commonly used as landfill barrier systems can be subject to decline in terms of hydraulic conductivity if left exposed to atmospheric conditions for an extended period of time prior to placement of overlaying layers. The resulting desiccation cracking can lead to increased hydraulic conductivity. Desiccation crack intensity was studied for three clayey soils commonly used for construction of landfill barrier system in a relatively large scale test setup exposed to real time atmospheric conditions over a complete annual cycle. A white separator geotextile cover was presumed to be capable of reducing the intensity of desiccation cracking through absorbing and maintaining higher amounts of moisture and reducing the temperature of the soil surface in comparison to a directly exposed soil surface. Desiccation cracking was monitored using a digital imaging technique for three compacted clay liners in two sets, one open to air and the second covered with the white geotextile. Crack intensity factor approached a relatively stable phase after certain cycles corresponding to atmospheric dry wet cycles. The results indicated that the white separator geotextile was capable of reducing the crack intensity factor by 37.4-45.9% throughout the experiment including the cyclic phase of desiccation cracking. During the stable phase, the maximum reduction in crack intensity factor of 90.4% as a result of applying geotextile cover was observed for the soil with the lowest plastic index and clay content and therefore the lowest magnitude of crack intensity factor. The other two soils with similar clay content but different plastic index showed 23.6% and 52.2% reductions in crack intensity factor after cyclic phase when covered with geotextile. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Land cover and topography affect the land transformation caused by wind facilities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jay E Diffendorfer

Full Text Available Land transformation (ha of surface disturbance/MW associated with wind facilities shows wide variation in its reported values. In addition, no studies have attempted to explain the variation across facilities. We digitized land transformation at 39 wind facilities using high resolution aerial imagery. We then modeled the effects of turbine size, configuration, land cover, and topography on the levels of land transformation at three spatial scales. The scales included strings (turbines with intervening roads only, sites (strings with roads connecting them, buried cables and other infrastructure, and entire facilities (sites and the roads or transmission lines connecting them to existing infrastructure. An information theoretic modeling approach indicated land cover and topography were well-supported variables affecting land transformation, but not turbine size or configuration. Tilled landscapes, despite larger distances between turbines, had lower average land transformation, while facilities in forested landscapes generally had the highest land transformation. At site and string scales, flat topographies had the lowest land transformation, while facilities on mesas had the largest. The results indicate the landscape in which the facilities are placed affects the levels of land transformation associated with wind energy. This creates opportunities for optimizing wind energy production while minimizing land cover change. In addition, the results indicate forecasting the impacts of wind energy on land transformation should include the geographic variables affecting land transformation reported here.

Comparison of two Classification methods (MLC and SVM) to extract land use and land cover in Johor Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Rokni Deilmai, B.; Ahmad, B. Bin; Zabihi, H.

2014-06-01

Mapping is essential for the analysis of the land use and land cover, which influence many environmental processes and properties. For the purpose of the creation of land cover maps, it is important to minimize error. These errors will propagate into later analyses based on these land cover maps. The reliability of land cover maps derived from remotely sensed data depends on an accurate classification. In this study, we have analyzed multispectral data using two different classifiers including Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). To pursue this aim, Landsat Thematic Mapper data and identical field-based training sample datasets in Johor Malaysia used for each classification method, which results indicate in five land cover classes forest, oil palm, urban area, water, rubber. Classification results indicate that SVM was more accurate than MLC. With demonstrated capability to produce reliable cover results, the SVM methods should be especially useful for land cover classification.

Comparison of two Classification methods (MLC and SVM) to extract land use and land cover in Johor Malaysia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deilmai, B Rokni; Ahmad, B Bin; Zabihi, H

2014-01-01

Mapping is essential for the analysis of the land use and land cover, which influence many environmental processes and properties. For the purpose of the creation of land cover maps, it is important to minimize error. These errors will propagate into later analyses based on these land cover maps. The reliability of land cover maps derived from remotely sensed data depends on an accurate classification. In this study, we have analyzed multispectral data using two different classifiers including Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). To pursue this aim, Landsat Thematic Mapper data and identical field-based training sample datasets in Johor Malaysia used for each classification method, which results indicate in five land cover classes forest, oil palm, urban area, water, rubber. Classification results indicate that SVM was more accurate than MLC. With demonstrated capability to produce reliable cover results, the SVM methods should be especially useful for land cover classification

Hydrogen embrittlement of metals. A bibliography with abstracts. Search period covered: 1964--August 1975

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, M.F.

1975-10-01

The research covers the hydrogen embrittlement of both ferrous and nonferrous metals and alloys and includes nuclear technology, aircraft metallurgy, mechanical properties, testing, electroplating, fatigue, corrosion and fracture. Contains 230 abstracts

South African National Land-Cover Change Map

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Fritz Schoeman

monitoring land-cover change at a national scale over time using EO data. 2. .... assist with final results reporting and analysis on a sub-national level. ..... South African Land-Cover Characteristics Database: A synopsis of the landscape.

National Level Assessment of Mangrove Forest Cover in Pakistan

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, S.; Qamer, F. M.; Hussain, N.; Saleem, R.; Nitin, K. T.

2011-09-01

Mangroves ecosystems consist of inter tidal flora and fauna found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Mangroves forest is a collection of halophytic trees, shrubs, and other plants receiving inputs from regular tidal flushing and from freshwater streams and rivers. A global reduction of 25 % mangroves' area has been observed since 1980 and it is categorized as one of to the most threatened and vulnerable ecosystems of the world. Forest resources in Pakistan are being deteriorating both quantitatively and qualitatively due to anthropogenic activities, climatic v and loose institutional management. According to the FAO (2007), extent of forest cover of Pakistan in 2005 is 1,902,000 ha, which is 2.5% of its total land area. Annual change rate during 2000-2005 was -2.1% which is highest among all the countries in Asia. The Indus delta region contains the world's fifth-largest mangrove forest which provides a range of important ecosystem services, including coastal stabilisation, primary production and provision of nursery habitat for marine fish. Given their ecological importance in coastal settings, mangroves receive special attention in the assessment of conservation efforts and sustainable coastal developments. Coastline of Pakistan is 1050km long shared by the provinces, Sind (350km) and Baluchistan (700 km). The coastline, with typical arid subtropical climate, possesses five significant sites that are blessed with mangroves. In the Sindh province, mangroves are found in the Indus Delta and Sandspit. The Indus Delta is host to the most extensive mangroves areas and extends from Korangi Creek in the West to Sir Creek in the East, whereas Sandspit is a small locality in the West of Karachi city. In the Balochistan province, mangroves are located at three sites, Miani Hor, Kalmat Khor and Jiwani. Contemporary methods of Earth observation sciences are being incorporated as an integral part of environmental assessment related studies in coastal areas

Deriving Snow Cover Metrics for Alaska from MODIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuck Lindsay

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS daily snow cover products provide an opportunity for determining snow onset and melt dates across broad geographic regions; however, cloud cover and polar darkness are limiting factors at higher latitudes. This study presents snow onset and melt dates for Alaska, portions of western Canada and the Russian Far East derived from Terra MODIS snow cover daily 500 m grid data (MOD10A1 and evaluates our method for filling data gaps caused by clouds or polar darkness. Pixels classified as cloud or no data were reclassified by: spatial filtering using neighboring pixel values; temporal filtering using pixel values for days before/after cloud cover; and snow-cycle filtering based on a time series assessment of a pixel’s position within snow accumulation, cover or melt periods. During the 2012 snow year, these gap-filling methods reduced cloud pixels from 27.7% to 3.1%. A total of 12 metrics (e.g., date of first and last snow, date of persistent snow cover and periods of intermittence for each pixel were calculated by snow year. A comparison of MODIS-derived snow onset and melt dates with in situ observations from 244 weather stations generally showed an early bias in MODIS-derived dates and an effect of increasing cloudiness exacerbating bias. Our results show that mean regional duration of seasonal snow cover is 179–311 days/year and that snow cover is often intermittent, with 41% of the area experiencing ≥2 snow-covered periods during a snow season. Other regional-scale patterns in the timing of snow onset and melt are evident in the yearly 500 m gridded products publically available at http://static.gina.alaska.edu/NPS_products/MODIS_snow/.

Tree Cover Mapping Tool—Documentation and user manual

Science.gov (United States)

Cotillon, Suzanne E.; Mathis, Melissa L.

2016-06-02

The Tree Cover Mapping (TCM) tool was developed by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Center to allow a user to quickly map tree cover density over large areas using visual interpretation of high resolution imagery within a geographic information system interface. The TCM tool uses a systematic sample grid to produce maps of tree cover. The TCM tool allows the user to define sampling parameters to estimate tree cover within each sample unit. This mapping method generated the first on-farm tree cover maps of vast regions of Niger and Burkina Faso. The approach contributes to implementing integrated landscape management to scale up re-greening and restore degraded land in the drylands of Africa. The TCM tool is easy to operate, practical, and can be adapted to many other applications such as crop mapping, settlements mapping, or other features. This user manual provides step-by-step instructions for installing and using the tool, and creating tree cover maps. Familiarity with ArcMap tools and concepts is helpful for using the tool.

A stochastic Forest Fire Model for future land cover scenarios assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. D'Andrea

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Land cover is affected by many factors including economic development, climate and natural disturbances such as wildfires. The ability to evaluate how fire regimes may alter future vegetation, and how future vegetation may alter fire regimes, would assist forest managers in planning management actions to be carried out in the face of anticipated socio-economic and climatic change. In this paper, we present a method for calibrating a cellular automata wildfire regime simulation model with actual data on land cover and wildfire size-frequency. The method is based on the observation that many forest fire regimes, in different forest types and regions, exhibit power law frequency-area distributions. The standard Drossel-Schwabl cellular automata Forest Fire Model (DS-FFM produces simulations which reproduce this observed pattern. However, the standard model is simplistic in that it considers land cover to be binary – each cell either contains a tree or it is empty – and the model overestimates the frequency of large fires relative to actual landscapes. Our new model, the Modified Forest Fire Model (MFFM, addresses this limitation by incorporating information on actual land use and differentiating among various types of flammable vegetation. The MFFM simulation model was tested on forest types with Mediterranean and sub-tropical fire regimes. The results showed that the MFFM was able to reproduce structural fire regime parameters for these two regions. Further, the model was used to forecast future land cover. Future research will extend this model to refine the forecasts of future land cover and fire regime scenarios under climate, land use and socio-economic change.

Effect of including whole linseed and vitamin E in the diet of young bulls slaughtered at two fat covers on the sensory quality of beef packaged in two different packaging systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Albertí, Pere; Campo, María M; Beriain, María J; Ripoll, Guillermo; Sañudo, Carlos

2017-02-01

Forty-six Pirenaica young bulls, slaughtered at two levels of fatness (3 and 4 mm), were used to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of 50 g kg -1 linseed alone or with 200 IU vitamin E kg -1 in the concentrate and of the meat packaging system (vacuum or modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)) on the beef sensory quality. The inclusion of linseed or supplementation with vitamin E in the concentrate induced no significant differences in the main meat sensory scores and overall appraisal except under MAP, where small differences due to concentrate ingredients were found in juiciness and metallic flavor intensity. Extending the display time up to 4 or 8 days in high-oxygen MAP had detrimental effects on sensory attributes. Meat from animals with 4 mm fat cover depth were rated more tender and juicy, less fibrous and with a higher intensity of beef flavor and rancid odor than meat from 3 mm fat cover bulls when both samples were vacuum packaged. The inclusion of 50 g kg -1 linseed in the concentrate fed to bulls had no detrimental effect on the beef sensory quality. The vacuum-packaged meat of bulls slaughtered at 4 mm fat cover was rated higher on sensory analysis than that at 3 mm fat cover. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparison of Data Fusion Methods Using Crowdsourced Data in Creating a Hybrid Forest Cover Map

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Myroslava Lesiv

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Data fusion represents a powerful way of integrating individual sources of information to produce a better output than could be achieved by any of the individual sources on their own. This paper focuses on the data fusion of different land cover products derived from remote sensing. In the past, many different methods have been applied, without regard to their relative merit. In this study, we compared some of the most commonly-used methods to develop a hybrid forest cover map by combining available land cover/forest products and crowdsourced data on forest cover obtained through the Geo-Wiki project. The methods include: nearest neighbour, naive Bayes, logistic regression and geographically-weighted logistic regression (GWR, as well as classification and regression trees (CART. We ran the comparison experiments using two data types: presence/absence of forest in a grid cell; percentage of forest cover in a grid cell. In general, there was little difference between the methods. However, GWR was found to perform better than the other tested methods in areas with high disagreement between the inputs.

Simulation of regional temperature change effect of land cover change in agroforestry ecotone of Nenjiang River Basin in China

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Tingxiang; Zhang, Shuwen; Yu, Lingxue; Bu, Kun; Yang, Jiuchun; Chang, Liping

2017-05-01

The Northeast China is one of typical regions experiencing intensive human activities within short time worldwide. Particularly, as the significant changes of agriculture land and forest, typical characteristics of pattern and process of agroforestry ecotone change formed in recent decades. The intensive land use change of agroforestry ecotone has made significant change for regional land cover, which had significant impact on the regional climate system elements and the interactions among them. This paper took agroforestry ecotone of Nenjiang River Basin in China as study region and simulated temperature change based on land cover change from 1950s to 1978 and from 1978 to 2010. The analysis of temperature difference sensitivity to land cover change based on Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model showed that the land cover change from 1950s to 1978 induced warming effect over all the study area, including the change of grassland to agriculture land, grassland to deciduous broad-leaved forest, and deciduous broad-leaved forest to shrub land. The land cover change from 1978 to 2010 induced cooling effect over all the study area, including the change of deciduous broad-leaved forest to agriculture land, grassland to agriculture land, shrub land to agriculture land, and deciduous broad-leaved forest to grassland. In addition, the warming and cooling effect of land cover change was more significant in the region scale than specific land cover change area.

LACO-Wiki: A land cover validation tool and a new, innovative teaching resource for remote sensing and the geosciences

Science.gov (United States)

See, Linda; Perger, Christoph; Dresel, Christopher; Hofer, Martin; Weichselbaum, Juergen; Mondel, Thomas; Steffen, Fritz

2016-04-01

The validation of land cover products is an important step in the workflow of generating a land cover map from remotely-sensed imagery. Many students of remote sensing will be given exercises on classifying a land cover map followed by the validation process. Many algorithms exist for classification, embedded within proprietary image processing software or increasingly as open source tools. However, there is little standardization for land cover validation, nor a set of open tools available for implementing this process. The LACO-Wiki tool was developed as a way of filling this gap, bringing together standardized land cover validation methods and workflows into a single portal. This includes the storage and management of land cover maps and validation data; step-by-step instructions to guide users through the validation process; sound sampling designs; an easy-to-use environment for validation sample interpretation; and the generation of accuracy reports based on the validation process. The tool was developed for a range of users including producers of land cover maps, researchers, teachers and students. The use of such a tool could be embedded within the curriculum of remote sensing courses at a university level but is simple enough for use by students aged 13-18. A beta version of the tool is available for testing at: http://www.laco-wiki.net.

Statistical Monitoring of Changes to Land Cover

KAUST Repository

Zerrouki, Nabil; Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying

2018-01-01

Accurate detection of changes in land cover leads to better understanding of the dynamics of landscapes. This letter reports the development of a reliable approach to detecting changes in land cover based on remote sensing and radiometric data

Mathematical Foundation for Plane Covering Using Hexagons

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Gordon G.

1999-01-01

This work is to indicate the development and mathematical underpinnings of the algorithms previously developed for covering the plane and the addressing of the elements of the covering. The algorithms are of interest in that they provides a simple systematic way of increasing or decreasing resolution, in the sense that if we have the covering in place and there is an image superimposed upon the covering, then we may view the image in a rough form or in a very detailed form with minimal effort. Such ability allows for quick searches of crude forms to determine a class in which to make a detailed search. In addition, the addressing algorithms provide an efficient way to process large data sets that have related subsets. The algorithms produced were based in part upon the work of D. Lucas "A Multiplication in N Space" which suggested a set of three vectors, any two of which would serve as a bases for the plane and also that the hexagon is the natural geometric object to be used in a covering with a suggested bases. The second portion is a refinement of the eyeball vision system, the globular viewer.

National forest cover monitoring in mainland South and Southeast Asia: method development and capacity building

Science.gov (United States)

Tyukavina, A.; Potapov, P.; Hansen, M.; Talero, Y.; Turubanova, S.; Pickering, J.; Pickens, A. H.; Quyen, N. H.; Spirovska Kono, M.

2017-12-01

Timely forest monitoring data produced following good practice guidance are required for national reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, national forest resource assessments, and monitoring for REDD+ projects. Remote sensing provides a cost-efficient supplement to national forest inventories, and is often the single viable source of data on forest extent for countries still in the process of establishing field-based inventories. Operational forest monitoring using remotely sensed data requires technical capacity to store, process, and analyze high volumes of satellite imagery. The University of Maryland Global Land Analysis and Discovery (UMD GLAD) lab possesses such technical capacity and is seeking to transfer it to national agencies responsible for forest reporting, national academic institutions, and NGOs. Our projects in South and Southeast Asia include regional forest monitoring in the lower Mekong region in support of the Regional Land Cover Monitoring System (funded by the NASA SERVIR program) and building capacity for forest monitoring in Nepal, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand (funded by the SilvaCarbon program). Our forest monitoring approach is a regional scale adaptation of methods developed for the global analysis (Hansen et al. 2013). The methodology to track large-scale clearing of natural forests (e.g. in Brazil and Indonesia) is well established; however, the methods for small-scale disturbance mapping and tree cover rotation assessment are still in development. In Bangladesh our mapping of tree cover change between 2000-2014 revealed that 54% of the tree canopy cover was outside forests, and the majority of canopy changes were smaller than 0.1 ha. Landsat's 30-m resolution was therefore insufficient to monitor changes in tree cover. By using a probability sample of high resolution (circa 1 m) imagery we were able to quantify change in tree canopy cover outside forests (including village woodlots, tree plantations and agroforestry

Hydrograph sensitivity to estimates of map impervious cover: a WinHSPF BASINS case study

Science.gov (United States)

Endreny, Theodore A.; Somerlot, Christopher; Hassett, James M.

2003-04-01

The BASINS geographic information system hydrologic toolkit was designed to compute total maximum daily loads, which are often derived by combining water quantity estimates with pollutant concentration estimates. In this paper the BASINS toolkit PLOAD and WinHSPF sub-models are briefly described, and then a 0·45 km2 headwater watershed in the New York Croton River area is used for a case study illustrating a full WinHSPF implementation. The goal of the Croton study was to determine the sensitivity of WinHSPF hydrographs to changes in land cover map inputs. This scenario occurs when scaling the WinHSPF model from the smaller 0·45 km2 watershed to the larger 1000 km2 management basin of the entire Croton area. Methods used to test model sensitivity include first calibrating the WinHSPF hydrograph using research-monitored precipitation and discharge data together with high spatial resolution and accuracy land cover data of impervious and pervious areas, and then swapping three separate land cover files, known as GIRAS, MRLC, and DOQQ data, into the calibrated model. Research results indicated that the WinHSPF land cover swapping had peak flow sensitivity in December 2001 hydrographs between 35% underestimation and 20% overestimation, and that errors in land-cover-derived runoff ratios for storm totals and peak flows tracked with the land cover data estimates of impervious area.

The Thermal Collector With Varied Glass Covers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luminosu, I.; Pop, N.

2010-01-01

The thermal collector with varied glass covers represents an innovation realized in order to build a collector able to reach the desired temperature by collecting the solar radiation from the smallest surface, with the highest efficiency. In the case of the thermal collector with variable cover glasses, the number of the glass plates covering the absorber increases together with the length of the circulation pipe for the working fluid. The thermal collector with varied glass covers compared to the conventional collector better meet user requirements because: for the same temperature increase, has the collecting area smaller; for the same collection area, realizes the highest temperature increase and has the highest efficiency. This works is addressed to researchers in the solar energy and to engineers responsible with air-conditioning systems design or industrial and agricultural products drying.

Snow cover as a source of technogenic pollution of surface water during the snow melting period

OpenAIRE

Labuzova Olga; Noskova Tatyana; Lysenko Maria; Ovcharenko Elena; Papina Tatyana

2016-01-01

The study of pollutants in melt water of snow cover and snow disposal sites in the city of Barnaul showed that during the snow melting period the surface water is not subjected to significant technogenic impact according to a number of studied indices. The oils content is an exception: it can exceed MAC more than 20 times in river- water due to the melting of city disposal sites. Environmental damage due to an oils input into water resources during the snow melting period...

Vacuum-plasma coverings on the aircraft

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shvetsov, V.D.; Teksin, Eh.K.; Lysyak, A.A.

1998-01-01

In the article are considered the perspectives of vacuum-plasma coverings using for engine components protection. The influence of operating factors on the durability of components which has the vacuum-plasma coverings is show.Leads in using the concept of informational parameter of quality.The recommendation about organization of engine with abolished components maintenance by methods of flyable conditions or reliability level are given

Analysis of BY-106 pump pit cover plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coverdell, B.L.

1994-01-01

A new cover for the pump pit of Tank 241-BY-106 has been designed to allow the rotary core exhauster to be hooked up without requiring pit entry, riser modification, or equipment removal. The new pit cover is necessary to allow installation of two risers for reducing exposure, contamination, and waste. Computer analysis indicates that the safety margin of the pit cover plate with two risers is adequate. The computer stress model and input files are attached. The pit cover plate is a replacement for an existing plate; therefore seismic and wind loads were considered for the plate only

What is new about covered interest parity condition in the European Union? Evidence from fractal cross-correlation regressions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krištoufek, Ladislav; Ferreira, P.

2017-01-01

Roč. 486, č. 1 (2017), s. 554-566 ISSN 0378-4371 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA17-12408S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : covered interest parity * detrended cross-correlation analysis * detrending moving cross-corrrelation analysis * financial integration Subject RIV: AH - Economics OBOR OECD: Applied Economics, Econometrics Impact factor: 2.243, year: 2016 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2017/E/kristoufek-0478811.pdf

EnviroAtlas - Land Cover for the Conterminous United States

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This dataset represents the percentage of land area that is classified as forest land cover, modified forest land cover, and natural land cover using the 2006...

Fuchs-Kliewer phonons of H-covered and clean GaN(1 1 bar 00)

Science.gov (United States)

Rink, M.; Himmerlich, M.; Krischok, S.; Kröger, J.

2018-01-01

Inelastic electron scattering is used to study surface phonon polaritons on H-covered and clean GaN(1 1 bar 00) surfaces. The Fuchs-Kliewer phonon of GaN(1 1 bar 00) -H gives rise to characteristic signatures of its single and multiple excitation in specular electron energy loss spectra. The loss intensities for multi-phonon scattering processes decrease according to a Poisson distribution. Vibrational spectra of this surface are invariant on the time scale of days reflecting its chemical passivation by the H layer. In contrast, vibrational spectra of pristine GaN(1 1 bar 00) are subject to a pronounced temporal evolution where spectroscopic weight is gradually shifted towards the multiple excitation of the Fuchs-Kliewer phonon. As a consequence, the monotonous decrease of the cross section for multiple quantum excitation as observed for the H-covered surface is not applicable. This remarkable effect is particularly strong in spectra acquired at low primary energies of incident electrons, which hints at processes occurring in the very surface region. Scenarios that may contribute to these observations are discussed.

Swine manure injection with low-disturbance applicator and cover crops reduce phosphorus losses.

Science.gov (United States)

Kovar, J L; Moorman, T B; Singer, J W; Cambardella, C A; Tomer, M D

2011-01-01

Injection of liquid swine manure disturbs surface soil so that runoff from treated lands can transport sediment and nutrients to surface waters. We determined the effect of two manure application methods on P fate in a corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] production system, with and without a winter rye (Secale cereale L.)-oat (Avena sativa L.) cover crop. Treatments included: (i) no manure; (ii) knife injection; and (iii) low-disturbance injection, each with and without the cover crop. Simulated rainfall runoff was analyzed for dissolved reactive P (DRP) and total P (TP). Rainfall was applied 8 d after manure application (early November) and again in May after emergence of the corn crop. Manure application increased soil bioavailable P in the 20- to 30-cm layer following knife injection and in the 5- to 20-cm layer following low-disturbance injection. The low-disturbance system caused less damage to the cover crop, so that P uptake was more than threefold greater. Losses of DRP were greater in both fall and spring following low-disturbance injection; however, application method had no effect on TP loads in runoff in either season. The cover crop reduced fall TP losses from plots with manure applied by either method. In spring, DRP losses were significantly higher from plots with the recently killed cover crop, but TP losses were not affected. Low-disturbance injection of swine manure into a standing cover crop can minimize plant damage and P losses in surface runoff while providing optimum P availability to a subsequent agronomic crop.

Covered stent placement for the treatment of malignant superior vena cava syndrome: Is unilateral covered stenting and effective?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Young Hoon; Gwon, Dong Il; Ko, Gi Young; Ko, Heung Kyu; Kim, Jin Hyoung; Shin, Ji Hoon; Yoon, Hyun Ki; Sung, Kyu Bo

2014-01-01

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of unilateral covered stent placement in patients with malignant superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome. Between October 2008 and November 2012, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stent placement for malignant SVC syndrome was performed in 40 consecutive patients (35 men and five women; mean age, 61.4 years; range, 35-81 years). All covered stents were unilaterally placed within the SVC or across the venous confluence when needed to relieve venous obstruction and prevent tumor overgrowth, regardless of patency of contralateral brachiocephalic veins. Stent placement was technically successful in all patients. There were no major complications. Of the 37 patients symptomatic prior to stent placement, 34 (92%) experienced complete symptomatic relief 1-8 days after stent placement. Of the 29 patients who underwent covered stent placement across the venous confluence, nine patients had patent contralateral brachiocephalic veins prior to stent placement. However, no sign of SVC obstruction or contralateral upper extremity venous thrombosis was observed during the follow-up period. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed median patient survival of 163 days. Stent occlusion occurred in four (10%) of 40 patents. Cumulative stent patency rates at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months were 95%, 92%, 86%, and 86%, respectively. Unilateral covered stent placement appears to be a safe and effective method for treating malignant SVC syndrome, despite the location of SVC occlusion.

Covered stent placement for the treatment of malignant superior vena cava syndrome: Is unilateral covered stenting and effective?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Young Hoon; Gwon, Dong Il; Ko, Gi Young; Ko, Heung Kyu; Kim, Jin Hyoung; Shin, Ji Hoon; Yoon, Hyun Ki; Sung, Kyu Bo [Dept. of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-02-15

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of unilateral covered stent placement in patients with malignant superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome. Between October 2008 and November 2012, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene-covered stent placement for malignant SVC syndrome was performed in 40 consecutive patients (35 men and five women; mean age, 61.4 years; range, 35-81 years). All covered stents were unilaterally placed within the SVC or across the venous confluence when needed to relieve venous obstruction and prevent tumor overgrowth, regardless of patency of contralateral brachiocephalic veins. Stent placement was technically successful in all patients. There were no major complications. Of the 37 patients symptomatic prior to stent placement, 34 (92%) experienced complete symptomatic relief 1-8 days after stent placement. Of the 29 patients who underwent covered stent placement across the venous confluence, nine patients had patent contralateral brachiocephalic veins prior to stent placement. However, no sign of SVC obstruction or contralateral upper extremity venous thrombosis was observed during the follow-up period. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed median patient survival of 163 days. Stent occlusion occurred in four (10%) of 40 patents. Cumulative stent patency rates at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months were 95%, 92%, 86%, and 86%, respectively. Unilateral covered stent placement appears to be a safe and effective method for treating malignant SVC syndrome, despite the location of SVC occlusion.

Documentation of literature on the subject of forest decline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reuther, M.; Kirchner, M.; Lang, B.

1991-01-01

The Bavarian project group for research into the effect of environmental pollutants (PBWU) coordinates environmental research in Bavaria and, in the framework of this task, collects and documents literature on the complex of subjects forest decline (GSF report 37/86; first updating GSF report 5/88). Said literature is accessible at PBWU online via the literature administration system Lars and can be researched there in database mode. The second updating of the literature documentation now printed (GSF report 4/91, as at October 1990) comprises some 1600 quotations (corresponding to a total of about 4500 documents recorded); this literature can be consulted in the archieves of PBWU or borrowed. The documentation covers work on all aspects of the subject forest decline but makes no claim to completeness; this being literature that came to the knowledge of PBWU within the framework of its coordination task and, as a rule, without systematically searching, and which is processed bibliographically. The documentation is arranged in alphabetic order by author names; the annex contains a catch word register. (VHE) [de

Energy data base: subject thesaurus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redford, J.S.

1981-10-01

The technical staff of the DOE Technical Information Center, during its subject indexing activities, develops and structures a vocabulary that allows consistent machine storage and retrieval of information necessary to the accomplishment of the DOE mission. This thesaurus incorporates that structured vocabulary. The terminology of this thesaurus is used for the subject control of information announced in DOE Energy Research Abstracts, Energy Abstracts for Policy Analysis, and various update journals and bulletins in specialized areas. This terminology also facilitates subject searching of the DOE Energy Data Base on the DOE/RECON on-line retrieval system and on other commercial retrieval systems. The rapid expansion of the DOE's activities will result in a commitant thesaurus expansion as information relating to new activities is indexed. Only the terms used in the indexing of documents at the Technical Information Center to date are included

Variability in snow cover phenology in China from 1952 to 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Ke, Chang-Qing; Li, Xiu-Cang; Xie, Hongjie; Ma, Dong-Hui; Liu, Xun; Kou, Cheng

2016-02-01

Daily snow observation data from 672 stations in China, particularly the 296 stations with over 10 mean snow cover days (SCDs) in a year during the period of 1952-2010, are used in this study. We first examine spatiotemporal variations and trends of SCDs, snow cover onset date (SCOD), and snow cover end date (SCED). We then investigate the relationships of SCDs with number of days with temperature below 0 °C (TBZD), mean air temperature (MAT), and Arctic Oscillation (AO) index. The results indicate that years with a positive anomaly of SCDs for the entire country include 1955, 1957, 1964, and 2010, and years with a negative anomaly of SCDs include 1953, 1965, 1999, 2002, and 2009. The reduced TBZD and increased MAT are the main reasons for the overall late SCOD and early SCED since 1952. This explains why only 12 % of the stations show significant shortening of SCDs, while 75 % of the stations show no significant change in the SCDs trends. Our analyses indicate that the distribution pattern and trends of SCDs in China are very complex and are not controlled by any single climate variable examined (i.e. TBZD, MAT, or AO), but a combination of multiple variables. It is found that the AO has the maximum impact on the shortening trends of SCDs in the Shandong peninsula, Changbai Mountains, Xiaoxingganling, and north Xinjiang, while the combined TBZD and MAT have the maximum impact on the shortening trends of SCDs in the Loess Plateau, Tibetan Plateau, and Northeast Plain.

Effect of channelling on water balance, oxygen diffusion and oxidation rate in mine waste rock with an inclined multilayer soil cover.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Qing; Yanful, Ernest K

2010-05-20

Engineered soil covers provide an option to mitigate acid rock drainage through reduced water flow and gaseous oxygen influx to underlying mine waste. Channels such as fissures, cracks or fractures developed in the barrier may influence the long-term performance of the soil cover. However, limited published information is available on the extent to which soil cover performance is impacted by these fissures and cracks. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of channelling in a barrier layer on water flow and oxygen transport in a soil cover. Two inclined (a slope of 20%) multilayer soil covers were examined under laboratory conditions. One cover had a 10-cm wide sand-filled channel in a compacted barrier layer (silty clay) at the upslope section, while the other cover was a normal one without the channel pathway. The soil covers were installed in plastic boxes measuring 120 cm x 120 cm x 25 cm (width x height x thickness). The sand-filled channel was designed to represent the aggregate of fissures and cracks that may be present in the compacted barrier. The soil covers were subjected to controlled drying and wetting periods selected to simulate field situation at the Whistle mine site near Capreol, Ontario, Canada. The measured results indicated that interflow decreased from 72.8% of the total precipitation in the soil cover without channel flow to 35.3% in the cover with channel flow, and percolation increased from zero in the normal soil cover to 43.0% of the total precipitation in the cover with channel flow. Gaseous oxygen transfer into the waste rock below the cover soils was 1091 times greater in the cover with channel than in the soil cover without channel. The channel pathway present in the barrier layer acted as a major passage for water movement and gaseous oxygen diffusion into the waste rock layer, thus decreasing the performance of the soil cover. The spacing of the channel with respect to the length of the test box is similar to those found

Final covering of the Ronneburg uranium mining site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoepfner, Uwe

2007-01-01

The rehabilitation of WISMUT's former Ronneburg uranium mining site involves backfilling of waste rock to the Lichtenberg open pit. The relocation project comprises about 110 million m 3 of sulphide-bearing and AMD-generating waste rock which makes it the most important and most cost-intensive single surface restoration project conducted by WISMUT at the Ronneburg site. The backfilled waste rock has to be covered on an area of about 220 ha to control water infiltration and gas diffusion. Design planning for the final cover placement which began in 2004 had to be based on a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis as well on field tests of alternative cover options which are in compliance with legal requirements. An intensive testing program concerning the vadose zone of soil covers has therefore been started in 2000. The paper presents an overview of the monitoring program and the results of the vadose zone measurements. The water of soil covers have to be predicted for extended evaluation periods. Therefore water balance simulations of single layer covers (storage and evaporation concept) taking current and future soil and climate conditions into account are performed with the HYDRUS 2D code. (author)

Surrounding land cover types as predictors of palustrine wetland vegetation quality in conterminous USA

Science.gov (United States)

Stapanian, Martin A.; Gara, Brian; Schumacher, William

2018-01-01

The loss of wetland habitats and their often-unique biological communities is a major environmental concern. We examined vegetation data obtained from 380 wetlands sampled in a statistical survey of wetlands in the USA. Our goal was to identify which surrounding land cover types best predict two indices of vegetation quality in wetlands at the regional scale. We considered palustrine wetlands in four regions (Coastal Plains, North Central East, Interior Plains, and West) in which the dominant vegetation was emergent, forested, or scrub-shrub. For each wetland, we calculated weighted proportions of eight land cover types surrounding the area in which vegetation was assessed, in four zones radiating from the edge of the assessment area to 2 km. Using Akaike's Information Criterion, we determined the best 1-, 2- and 3-predictor models of the two indices, using the weighted proportions of the land cover types as potential predictors. Mean values of the two indices were generally higher in the North Central East and Coastal Plains than the other regions for forested and emergent wetlands. In nearly all cases, the best predictors of the indices were not the dominant surrounding land cover types. Overall, proportions of forest (positive effect) and agriculture (negative effect) surrounding the assessment area were the best predictors of the two indices. One or both of these variables were included as predictors in 65 of the 72 models supported by the data. Wetlands surrounding the assessment area had a positive effect on the indices, and ranked third (33%) among the predictors included in supported models. Development had a negative effect on the indices and was included in only 28% of supported models. These results can be used to develop regional management plans for wetlands, such as creating forest buffers around wetlands, or to conserve zones between wetlands to increase habitat connectivity.

Experimental study and simulations of infiltration in evapotranspiration landfill covers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-xian Zhang

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Various cover systems have been designed for landfill sites in order to minimize infiltration (percolation into the underlying waste. This study evaluated the soil water balance performance of evapotranspiration covers (ET covers and simulated percolation in the systems using the active region model (ARM. Experiments were conducted to measure water flow processes and water balance components in a bare soil cover and different ET covers. Results showed that vegetation played a critical role in controlling the water balance of the ET covers. In soil profiles of 60-cm depth with and without vegetation cover, the maximum soil water storage capacities were 97.2 mm and 62.8 mm, respectively. The percolation amount in the bare soil was 2.1 times that in the vegetation-covered soil. The ARM simulated percolation more accurately than the continuum model because it considered preferential flow. Numerical simulation results also indicated that using the ET cover system was an effective way of removing water through evapotranspiration, thus reducing percolation.

Covering a Crucible with Metal Containing Channels

Science.gov (United States)

Grugel, Richard N.

2006-01-01

In a procedure that partly resembles the lost-wax casting process, a crucible made of a brittle material (ceramic, quartz, or glass) is covered with a layer of metal containing channels. The metal cover and the channels can serve any or all of several purposes, depending upon the application: Typically, the metal would serve at least partly to reinforce the crucible. The channels could be used as passages for narrow objects that could include thermocouples and heat-transfer strips. Alternatively or in addition, channels could be used as flow paths for liquid or gaseous coolants and could be positioned and oriented for position- or direction-selective cooling. In some cases, the channels could be filled with known gases and sealed so that failure of the crucibles could be indicated by instruments that detect the gases. The process consists of three main steps. In the first step, a pattern defining the channels is formed by wrapping or depositing a material in the desired channel pattern on the outer surface of the crucible. The pattern material can be a plastic, wax, low-ash fibrous material, a soluble material, or other suitable material that can subsequently be removed easily. In a proof-of-concept demonstration (see figure), the crucible was an alumina cylinder and the mold material was plastic tie-down tape. In the second step, the patterned crucible is coated with metal. In one variation of the second step, a very thin layer containing or consisting of an electrically conductive material (e.g., gold, silver, or carbon) is painted or otherwise deposited on the mold-covered crucible, then the covering metal required for the specific application is electrodeposited on the very thin conducting layer. In another variation of the second step, the metal coat is formed by chemical vapor deposition. In the proof-of-concept demonstration, a layer of nickel 0.003 in. ( 0.08 mm) thick was electrodeposited. In the third step, the patterned material is removed. This is

Non-commutative covering spaces and their symmetries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Canlubo, Clarisson

dened and its corresponding Galois theory. Using this and basic concepts from algebraic geometryand spectral theory, we will give a full description of the general structure of non-centralcoverings. Examples of coverings of the rational and irrational non-commutative tori will alsobe studied. Using...... will explain this and relate it to bi-Galois theory.Using the OZ-transform, we will show that non-commutative covering spaces come in pairs.Several categories of covering spaces will be dened and studied. Appealing to Tannaka duality,we will explain how this lead to a notion of an etale fundamental group...

Determinants of woody cover in African savannas

Science.gov (United States)

Sankaran, M.; Hanan, N.P.; Scholes, Robert J.; Ratnam, J.; Augustine, D.J.; Cade, B.S.; Gignoux, J.; Higgins, S.I.; Le, Roux X.; Ludwig, F.; Ardo, J.; Banyikwa, F.; Bronn, A.; Bucini, G.; Caylor, K.K.; Coughenour, M.B.; Diouf, A.; Ekaya, W.; Feral, C.J.; February, E.C.; Frost, P.G.H.; Hiernaux, P.; Hrabar, H.; Metzger, K.L.; Prins, H.H.T.; Ringrose, S.; Sea, W.; Tews, J.; Worden, J.; Zambatis, N.

2005-01-01

Savannas are globally important ecosystems of great significance to human economies. In these biomes, which are characterized by the co-dominance of trees and grasses, woody cover is a chief determinant of ecosystem properties 1-3. The availability of resources (water, nutrients) and disturbance regimes (fire, herbivory) are thought to be important in regulating woody cover1,2,4,5, but perceptions differ on which of these are the primary drivers of savanna structure. Here we show, using data from 854 sites across Africa, that maximum woody cover in savannas receiving a mean annual precipitation (MAP) of less than ???650 mm is constrained by, and increases linearly with, MAP. These arid and semi-arid savannas may be considered 'stable' systems in which water constrains woody cover and permits grasses to coexist, while fire, herbivory and soil properties interact to reduce woody cover below the MAP-controlled upper bound. Above a MAP of ???650 mm, savannas are 'unstable' systems in which MAP is sufficient for woody canopy closure, and disturbances (fire, herbivory) are required for the coexistence of trees and grass. These results provide insights into the nature of African savannas and suggest that future changes in precipitation 6 may considerably affect their distribution and dynamics. ?? 2005 Nature Publishing Group.

COVERS Neonatal Pain Scale: Development and Validation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan L. Hand

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Newborns and infants are often exposed to painful procedures during hospitalization. Several different scales have been validated to assess pain in specific populations of pediatric patients, but no single scale can easily and accurately assess pain in all newborns and infants regardless of gestational age and disease state. A new pain scale was developed, the COVERS scale, which incorporates 6 physiological and behavioral measures for scoring. Newborns admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or Well Baby Nursery were evaluated for pain/discomfort during two procedures, a heel prick and a diaper change. Pain was assessed using indicators from three previously established scales (CRIES, the Premature Infant Pain Profile, and the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale, as well as the COVERS Scale, depending upon gestational age. Premature infant testing resulted in similar pain assessments using the COVERS and PIPP scales with an r=0.84. For the full-term infants, the COVERS scale and NIPS scale resulted in similar pain assessments with an r=0.95. The COVERS scale is a valid pain scale that can be used in the clinical setting to assess pain in newborns and infants and is universally applicable to all neonates, regardless of their age or physiological state.

Spatial and temporal land cover changes in Terminos Lagoon Reserve, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Soto-Galera, Ernesto; Piera, Jaume; López, Pilar

2010-06-01

Terminos Lagoon ecosystem is the largest fluvial-lagoon estuarine system in the country and one of the most important reserves of coastal flora and fauna in Mexico. Since the seventies, part of the main infrastructure for country's oil extraction is located in this area. Its high biodiversity has motivated different type of studies including deforestation processes and land use planning. In this work we used satellite image analysis to determine land cover changes in the area from 1974 to 2001. Our results indicate that tropical forest and mangroves presented the most extensive losses in its coverage. In contrast, urban areas and induced grassland increased considerably. In 2001 more than half of the ecosystem area showed changes from its original land cover, and a third part of it was deteriorated. The main causes of deforestation were both the increase in grassland and the growth of urban areas. However, deforestation was attenuated by natural reforestation and plant canopy recovery. We conclude that the introduction of cattle and urban development were the main causes for the land cover changes; however, the oil industry activity located in the ecosystem, has promoted indirectly to urban growth and rancher boom.

Land-cover change research at the U.S. Geological Survey-assessing our nation's dynamic land surface

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Tamara S.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an unprecedented, 27-year assessment of land-use and land-cover change for the conterminous United States. For the period 1973 to 2000, scientists generated estimates of change in major types of land use and land cover, such as development, mining, agriculture, forest, grasslands, and wetlands. To help provide the insight that our Nation will need to make land-use decisions in coming decades, the historical trends data is now being used by the USGS to help model potential future land use/land cover under different scenarios, including climate, environmental, economic, population, public policy, and technological change.

Accuracy assessment of the vegetation continuous field tree cover product using 3954 ground plots in the southwestern USA

Science.gov (United States)

M. A. White; J. D. Shaw; R. D. Ramsey

2005-01-01

An accuracy assessment of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation continuous field (VCF) tree cover product using two independent ground-based tree cover databases was conducted. Ground data included 1176 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots for Arizona and 2778 Southwest Regional GAP (SWReGAP) plots for Utah and western Colorado....

Influence of Seeding Ratio, Planting Date, and Termination Date on Rye-Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Mixture Performance under Organic Management.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew Lawson

Full Text Available Cover crop benefits include nitrogen accumulation and retention, weed suppression, organic matter maintenance, and reduced erosion. Organic farmers need region-specific information on winter cover crop performance to effectively integrate cover crops into their crop rotations. Our research objective was to compare cover crop seeding mixtures, planting dates, and termination dates on performance of rye (Secale cereale L. and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth monocultures and mixtures in the maritime Pacific Northwest USA. The study included four seed mixtures (100% hairy vetch, 25% rye-75% hairy vetch, 50% rye-50% hairy vetch, and 100% rye by seed weight, two planting dates, and two termination dates, using a split-split plot design with four replications over six years. Measurements included winter ground cover; stand composition; cover crop biomass, N concentration, and N uptake; and June soil NO3(--N. Rye planted in mid-September and terminated in late April averaged 5.1 Mg ha(-1 biomass, whereas mixtures averaged 4.1 Mg ha(-1 and hairy vetch 2.3 Mg ha(-1. Delaying planting by 2.5 weeks reduced average winter ground cover by 65%, biomass by 50%, and cover crop N accumulation by 40%. Similar reductions in biomass and N accumulation occurred for late March termination, compared with late April termination. Mixtures had less annual biomass variability than rye. Mixtures accumulated 103 kg ha(-1 N and had mean C:N ratio <17:1 when planted in mid-September and terminated in late April. June soil NO3(--N (0 to 30 cm depth averaged 62 kg ha(-1 for rye, 97 kg ha(-1 for the mixtures, and 119 kg ha(-1 for hairy vetch. Weeds comprised less of the mixtures biomass (20% weeds by weight at termination compared with the monocultures (29%. Cover crop mixtures provided a balance between biomass accumulation and N concentration, more consistent biomass over the six-year study, and were more effective at reducing winter weeds compared with monocultures.

Land cover mapping of Greater Mesoamerica using MODIS data

Science.gov (United States)

Giri, Chandra; Jenkins, Clinton N.

2005-01-01

A new land cover database of Greater Mesoamerica has been prepared using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS, 500 m resolution) satellite data. Daily surface reflectance MODIS data and a suite of ancillary data were used in preparing the database by employing a decision tree classification approach. The new land cover data are an improvement over traditional advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) based land cover data in terms of both spatial and thematic details. The dominant land cover type in Greater Mesoamerica is forest (39%), followed by shrubland (30%) and cropland (22%). Country analysis shows forest as the dominant land cover type in Belize (62%), Cost Rica (52%), Guatemala (53%), Honduras (56%), Nicaragua (53%), and Panama (48%), cropland as the dominant land cover type in El Salvador (60.5%), and shrubland as the dominant land cover type in Mexico (37%). A three-step approach was used to assess the quality of the classified land cover data: (i) qualitative assessment provided good insight in identifying and correcting gross errors; (ii) correlation analysis of MODIS- and Landsat-derived land cover data revealed strong positive association for forest (r2 = 0.88), shrubland (r2 = 0.75), and cropland (r2 = 0.97) but weak positive association for grassland (r2 = 0.26); and (iii) an error matrix generated using unseen training data provided an overall accuracy of 77.3% with a Kappa coefficient of 0.73608. Overall, MODIS 500 m data and the methodology used were found to be quite useful for broad-scale land cover mapping of Greater Mesoamerica.

What is covered by "cancer rehabilitation" in PubMed? A review of randomized controlled trials 1990-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Gudbergsson, Sævar Berg; Dahl, Alv A; Loge, Jon Håvard; Thorsen, Lene; Oldervoll, Line M; Grov, Ellen K

2015-02-01

This focused review examines randomized controlled studies included by the term "cancer rehabilitation" in PubMed. The research questions concern the type of interventions performed and their methodological quality. Using the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms: neoplasm AND rehabilitation, all articles with randomized controlled studies that included adult cancer patients, written in English, were extracted from PubMed. Papers covering physical exercise, psychiatric/psychological treatment or social support only were excluded as they had been reviewed recently. Abstracts and papers were assessed by 3 pairs of reviewers, and descriptive information was extracted systematically. Methodological quality was rated on a 10-item index scale, and the cut-off for acceptable quality was set at ≥ 8. A total of 132 (19%) of the 683 identified papers met the eligibility criteria and were assessed in detail. The papers were grouped into 5 thematic categories: 44 physical; 15 art and expressive; 47 psycho-educative; 21 emotionally supportive; and 5 others. Good quality of design was observed in 32 studies, 18 of them uni-dimensional and 14 multi-dimensional. Published randomized controlled studies on cancer rehabilitation are heterogeneous in terms of content and samples, and are mostly characterized by suboptimal design quality. Future studies should be more specific and well-designed with sufficient statistical strength.

Methods for converting continuous shrubland ecosystem component values to thematic National Land Cover Database classes

Science.gov (United States)

Rigge, Matthew B.; Gass, Leila; Homer, Collin G.; Xian, George Z.

2017-10-26

The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) provides thematic land cover and land cover change data at 30-meter spatial resolution for the United States. Although the NLCD is considered to be the leading thematic land cover/land use product and overall classification accuracy across the NLCD is high, performance and consistency in the vast shrub and grasslands of the Western United States is lower than desired. To address these issues and fulfill the needs of stakeholders requiring more accurate rangeland data, the USGS has developed a method to quantify these areas in terms of the continuous cover of several cover components. These components include the cover of shrub, sagebrush (Artemisia spp), big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata spp.), herbaceous, annual herbaceous, litter, and bare ground, and shrub and sagebrush height. To produce maps of component cover, we collected field data that were then associated with spectral values in WorldView-2 and Landsat imagery using regression tree models. The current report outlines the procedures and results of converting these continuous cover components to three thematic NLCD classes: barren, shrubland, and grassland. To accomplish this, we developed a series of indices and conditional models using continuous cover of shrub, bare ground, herbaceous, and litter as inputs. The continuous cover data are currently available for two large regions in the Western United States. Accuracy of the “cross-walked” product was assessed relative to that of NLCD 2011 at independent validation points (n=787) across these two regions. Overall thematic accuracy of the “cross-walked” product was 0.70, compared to 0.63 for NLCD 2011. The kappa value was considerably higher for the “cross-walked” product at 0.41 compared to 0.28 for NLCD 2011. Accuracy was also evaluated relative to the values of training points (n=75,000) used in the development of the continuous cover components. Again, the “cross-walked” product outperformed NLCD

SSDOnt: An Ontology for Representing Single-Subject Design Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Berges, Idoia; Bermúdez, Jesus; Illarramendi, Arantza

2018-02-01

Single-Subject Design is used in several areas such as education and biomedicine. However, no suited formal vocabulary exists for annotating the detailed configuration and the results of this type of research studies with the appropriate granularity for looking for information about them. Therefore, the search for those study designs relies heavily on a syntactical search on the abstract, keywords or full text of the publications about the study, which entails some limitations. To present SSDOnt, a specific purpose ontology for describing and annotating single-subject design studies, so that complex questions can be asked about them afterwards. The ontology was developed following the NeOn methodology. Once the requirements of the ontology were defined, a formal model was described in a Description Logic and later implemented in the ontology language OWL 2 DL. We show how the ontology provides a reference model with a suitable terminology for the annotation and searching of single-subject design studies and their main components, such as the phases, the intervention types, the outcomes and the results. Some mappings with terms of related ontologies have been established. We show as proof-of-concept that classes in the ontology can be easily extended to annotate more precise information about specific interventions and outcomes such as those related to autism. Moreover, we provide examples of some types of queries that can be posed to the ontology. SSDOnt has achieved the purpose of covering the descriptions of the domain of single-subject research studies. Schattauer GmbH.

Statistical Monitoring of Changes to Land Cover

KAUST Repository

Zerrouki, Nabil

2018-04-06

Accurate detection of changes in land cover leads to better understanding of the dynamics of landscapes. This letter reports the development of a reliable approach to detecting changes in land cover based on remote sensing and radiometric data. This approach integrates the multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) chart with support vector machines (SVMs) for accurate and reliable detection of changes to land cover. Here, we utilize the MEWMA scheme to identify features corresponding to changed regions. Unfortunately, MEWMA schemes cannot discriminate between real changes and false changes. If a change is detected by the MEWMA algorithm, then we execute the SVM algorithm that is based on features corresponding to detected pixels to identify the type of change. We assess the effectiveness of this approach by using the remote-sensing change detection database and the SZTAKI AirChange benchmark data set. Our results show the capacity of our approach to detect changes to land cover.

Fluorescence imaging to quantify crop residue cover

Science.gov (United States)

Daughtry, C. S. T.; Mcmurtrey, J. E., III; Chappelle, E. W.

1994-01-01

Crop residues, the portion of the crop left in the field after harvest, can be an important management factor in controlling soil erosion. Methods to quantify residue cover are needed that are rapid, accurate, and objective. Scenes with known amounts of crop residue were illuminated with long wave ultraviolet (UV) radiation and fluorescence images were recorded with an intensified video camera fitted with a 453 to 488 nm band pass filter. A light colored soil and a dark colored soil were used as background for the weathered soybean stems. Residue cover was determined by counting the proportion of the pixels in the image with fluorescence values greater than a threshold. Soil pixels had the lowest gray levels in the images. The values of the soybean residue pixels spanned nearly the full range of the 8-bit video data. Classification accuracies typically were within 3(absolute units) of measured cover values. Video imaging can provide an intuitive understanding of the fraction of the soil covered by residue.

TESTING OF LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION FROM MULTISPECTRAL AIRBORNE LASER SCANNING DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Bakuła

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Multispectral Airborne Laser Scanning provides a new opportunity for airborne data collection. It provides high-density topographic surveying and is also a useful tool for land cover mapping. Use of a minimum of three intensity images from a multiwavelength laser scanner and 3D information included in the digital surface model has the potential for land cover/use classification and a discussion about the application of this type of data in land cover/use mapping has recently begun. In the test study, three laser reflectance intensity images (orthogonalized point cloud acquired in green, near-infrared and short-wave infrared bands, together with a digital surface model, were used in land cover/use classification where six classes were distinguished: water, sand and gravel, concrete and asphalt, low vegetation, trees and buildings. In the tested methods, different approaches for classification were applied: spectral (based only on laser reflectance intensity images, spectral with elevation data as additional input data, and spectro-textural, using morphological granulometry as a method of texture analysis of both types of data: spectral images and the digital surface model. The method of generating the intensity raster was also tested in the experiment. Reference data were created based on visual interpretation of ALS data and traditional optical aerial and satellite images. The results have shown that multispectral ALS data are unlike typical multispectral optical images, and they have a major potential for land cover/use classification. An overall accuracy of classification over 90% was achieved. The fusion of multi-wavelength laser intensity images and elevation data, with the additional use of textural information derived from granulometric analysis of images, helped to improve the accuracy of classification significantly. The method of interpolation for the intensity raster was not very helpful, and using intensity rasters with both first and

Recent publications on environmental law. Bibliography covering the period July 1, 1991 till June 30, 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lohse, S.; Doerner, E.

1992-01-01

The bibliography contains 1685 references to publications covering the following subject fields: General environmental law; environmental law in relation to constitutional law, administrative law, procedural law, revenue law, criminal law, private law, industrial law; law of regional development; nature conservation law; law on water protection; waste management law; law on protection against harmful effects on the environment; atomic energy law and radiation protection law; law of the power industry and the mining industry; laws and regulations on hazardous material and environmental hygiene. (orig.) [de

Organic management and cover crop species steer soil microbial community structure and functionality along with soil organic matter properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Martínez-García, Laura B.; Korthals, Gerard; Brussaard, Lijbert; Jørgensen, Helene Bracht; Deyn, de Gerlinde B.

2018-01-01

It is well recognized that organic soil management stimulates bacterial biomass and activity and that including cover crops in the rotation increases soil organic matter (SOM). Yet, to date the relative impact of different cover crop species and organic vs. non-organic soil management on soil

System and method for acquisition management of subject position information

Science.gov (United States)

Carrender, Curt

2005-12-13

A system and method for acquisition management of subject position information that utilizes radio frequency identification (RF ID) to store position information in position tags. Tag programmers receive position information from external positioning systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), from manual inputs, such as keypads, or other tag programmers. The tag programmers program each position tag with the received position information. Both the tag programmers and the position tags can be portable or fixed. Implementations include portable tag programmers and fixed position tags for subject position guidance, and portable tag programmers for collection sample labeling. Other implementations include fixed tag programmers and portable position tags for subject route recordation. Position tags can contain other associated information such as destination address of an affixed subject for subject routing.

System and method for acquisition management of subject position information

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carrender, Curt [Morgan Hill, CA

2007-01-23

A system and method for acquisition management of subject position information that utilizes radio frequency identification (RF ID) to store position information in position tags. Tag programmers receive position information from external positioning systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS), from manual inputs, such as keypads, or other tag programmers. The tag programmers program each position tag with the received position information. Both the tag programmers and the position tags can be portable or fixed. Implementations include portable tag programmers and fixed position tags for subject position guidance, and portable tag programmers for collection sample labeling. Other implementations include fixed tag programmers and portable position tags for subject route recordation. Position tags can contain other associated information such as destination address of an affixed subject for subject routing.

Net Community Metabolism and Seawater Carbonate Chemistry Scale Non-intuitively with Coral Cover

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heather N. Page

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Coral cover and reef health have been declining globally as reefs face local and global stressors including higher temperature and ocean acidification (OA. Ocean warming and acidification will alter rates of benthic reef metabolism (i.e., primary production, respiration, calcification, and CaCO3 dissolution, but our understanding of community and ecosystem level responses is limited in terms of functional, spatial, and temporal scales. Furthermore, dramatic changes in coral cover and benthic metabolism could alter seawater carbonate chemistry on coral reefs, locally alleviating or exacerbating OA. This study examines how benthic metabolic rates scale with changing coral cover (0–100%, and the subsequent influence of these coral communities on seawater carbonate chemistry based on mesocosm experiments in Bermuda and Hawaii. In Bermuda, no significant differences in benthic metabolism or seawater carbonate chemistry were observed for low (40% and high (80% coral cover due to large variability within treatments. In contrast, significant differences were detected between treatments in Hawaii with benthic metabolic rates increasing with increasing coral cover. Observed increases in daily net community calcification and nighttime net respiration scaled proportionally with coral cover. This was not true for daytime net community organic carbon production rates, which increased the most between 0 and 20% coral cover and then less so between 20 and 100%. Consequently, diel variability in seawater carbonate chemistry increased with increasing coral cover, but absolute values of pH, Ωa, and pCO2 were not significantly different during daytime. To place the results of the mesocosm experiments into a broader context, in situ seawater carbon dioxide (CO2 at three reef sites in Bermuda and Hawaii were also evaluated; reefs with higher coral cover experienced a greater range of diel CO2 levels, complementing the mesocosm results. The results from this study

Tree and impervious cover change in U.S

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Nowak; Eric J. Greenfield

2012-01-01

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

Topography Mediates the Influence of Cover Crops on Soil Nitrate Levels in Row Crop Agricultural Systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moslem Ladoni

Full Text Available Supplying adequate amounts of soil N for plant growth during the growing season and across large agricultural fields is a challenge for conservational agricultural systems with cover crops. Knowledge about cover crop effects on N comes mostly from small, flat research plots and performance of cover crops across topographically diverse agricultural land is poorly understood. Our objective was to assess effects of both leguminous (red clover and non-leguminous (winter rye cover crops on potentially mineralizable N (PMN and [Formula: see text] levels across a topographically diverse landscape. We studied conventional, low-input, and organic managements in corn-soybean-wheat rotation. The rotations of low-input and organic managements included rye and red clover cover crops. The managements were implemented in twenty large undulating fields in Southwest Michigan starting from 2006. The data collection and analysis were conducted during three growing seasons of 2011, 2012 and 2013. Observational micro-plots with and without cover crops were laid within each field on three contrasting topographical positions of depression, slope and summit. Soil samples were collected 4-5 times during each growing season and analyzed for [Formula: see text] and PMN. The results showed that all three managements were similar in their temporal and spatial distributions of NO3-N. Red clover cover crop increased [Formula: see text] by 35% on depression, 20% on slope and 32% on summit positions. Rye cover crop had a significant 15% negative effect on [Formula: see text] in topographical depressions but not in slope and summit positions. The magnitude of the cover crop effects on soil mineral nitrogen across topographically diverse fields was associated with the amount of cover crop growth and residue production. The results emphasize the potential environmental and economic benefits that can be generated by implementing site-specific topography-driven cover crop management

Topography Mediates the Influence of Cover Crops on Soil Nitrate Levels in Row Crop Agricultural Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Ladoni, Moslem; Kravchenko, Alexandra N; Robertson, G Phillip

2015-01-01

Supplying adequate amounts of soil N for plant growth during the growing season and across large agricultural fields is a challenge for conservational agricultural systems with cover crops. Knowledge about cover crop effects on N comes mostly from small, flat research plots and performance of cover crops across topographically diverse agricultural land is poorly understood. Our objective was to assess effects of both leguminous (red clover) and non-leguminous (winter rye) cover crops on potentially mineralizable N (PMN) and [Formula: see text] levels across a topographically diverse landscape. We studied conventional, low-input, and organic managements in corn-soybean-wheat rotation. The rotations of low-input and organic managements included rye and red clover cover crops. The managements were implemented in twenty large undulating fields in Southwest Michigan starting from 2006. The data collection and analysis were conducted during three growing seasons of 2011, 2012 and 2013. Observational micro-plots with and without cover crops were laid within each field on three contrasting topographical positions of depression, slope and summit. Soil samples were collected 4-5 times during each growing season and analyzed for [Formula: see text] and PMN. The results showed that all three managements were similar in their temporal and spatial distributions of NO3-N. Red clover cover crop increased [Formula: see text] by 35% on depression, 20% on slope and 32% on summit positions. Rye cover crop had a significant 15% negative effect on [Formula: see text] in topographical depressions but not in slope and summit positions. The magnitude of the cover crop effects on soil mineral nitrogen across topographically diverse fields was associated with the amount of cover crop growth and residue production. The results emphasize the potential environmental and economic benefits that can be generated by implementing site-specific topography-driven cover crop management in row

[Factors related to subjective fatigue symptoms of adolescent girls].

Science.gov (United States)

Ikeda, Junko; Fukuda, Sayuri; Murakami, Toshio; Kawamoto, Naoki

2011-09-01

To assess changes in subjective fatigue symptoms of adolescent girls over a 15-year period and investigate factors related to these symptoms. A total of 86 items on physical health (including subjective fatigue symptoms), dietary life, and daily living were investigated and five items on physical activity were measured for approximately 100 female first-year dietetic students at a junior college each October over the 15-year period from 1994 to 2008. A total of 1,547 students (mean age, 19.2 +/- 0.3 years) were studied. Subjects were first divided into two groups using the median subjective fatigue score as the cutoff point, and annual changes in the proportion of students in the high subjective fatigue group were investigated by simple regression analysis. In addition, relationships between the two subjective fatigue groups and each item were investigated. 1) The proportion of students with many subjective fatigue symptoms showed a significantly increasing trend over the 15-year period. 2) Investigation of relationships between subjective fatigue symptoms and each factor revealed significance for many items, including dietary habits, life satisfaction, amount of sleep, and desire for a positive body image. 3) In order to determine which of the items were most strongly related to subjective fatigue symptoms, multiple logistic regression analysis was performed for the 15-year period as well as three 5-year periods into which it was divided. The results showed that the dietary habits score (an indicator of dietary habits) and life satisfaction were related to subjective fatigue symptoms during all four periods. As for other items, relationships were observed for amount of sleep in three, diet and salt intake score in two, and liking for coffee/tea, juice drinks, and oily food, bedtime snack, desire for body image, self-assessment of body type, and health consciousness in one. These findings indicate that perspectives in education for promoting the health of

Increased prevalence of depression and anxiety among subjects with metabolic syndrome and known type 2 diabetes mellitus - a population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shinkov, Alexander; Borissova, Anna-Maria; Kovatcheva, Roussanka; Vlahov, Jordan; Dakovska, Lilia; Atanassova, Iliana; Petkova, Paulina

2018-03-01

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors associated with high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The MetS and its elements have been linked to anxiety and depressive disorders. The aim of the current cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety, measured by the Zung Self-Rating Scale in subjects with and without the metabolic syndrome and diabetes. A total of 2111 adults were included, 1155 female, age 47.6 (13.7) and 956 male, age 45.2 (13.5). All participants filled questionnaires covering current and past disorders and medication, smoking and family history. Zung self-rating depression and anxiety scales were completed. Body weight, height and waist circumference were measured, BMI was calculated, serum glucose and lipids were measured. Depression (SDSi) and anxiety scores (SASi) were higher in the females and increased with age (p anxiety were more prevalent in the subjects with known diabetes than in those with normal glucose tolerance but not in the newly-diagnosed diabetes. The OR for depressiveness was 2.0 (1.3; 2.6) in subjects with MetS and 4.2 (2.3; 7.8) in those with known diabetes. In conclusion, depressiveness and anxiety were associated positively with age and female gender and were more prevalent among subjects with MetS and known diabetes mellitus.

A New Fusion Technique of Remote Sensing Images for Land Use/Cover

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WU Lian-Xi; SUN Bo; ZHOU Sheng-Lu; HUANG Shu-E; ZHAO Qi-Guo

2004-01-01

In China,accelerating industrialization and urbanization following high-speed economic development and population increases have greatly impacted land use/cover changes,making it imperative to obtain accurate and up to date information on changes so as to evaluate their environmental effects. The major purpose of this study was to develop a new method to fuse lower spatial resolution multispectral satellite images with higher spatial resolution panchromatic ones to assist in land use/cover mapping. An algorithm of a new fusion method known as edge enhancement intensity modulation (EEIM) was proposed to merge two optical image data sets of different spectral ranges. The results showed that the EEIM image was quite similar in color to lower resolution multispectral images,and the fused product was better able to preserve spectral information. Thus,compared to conventional approaches,the spectral distortion of the fused images was markedly reduced. Therefore,the EEIM fusion method could be utilized to fuse remote sensing data from the same or different sensors,including TM images and SPOT5 panchromatic images,providing high quality land use/cover images.

Specification for corrosion-resisting chromium and chromium-nickel steel covered welding electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1983-01-01

This specification prescribes requirements for covered corrosion-resisting chromium and chromium-nickel steel electrodes. These electrodes normally are used for shielded metal arc welding, and include those alloy steels designated as corrosion or heat-resisting chromium-nickel steels in which chromium exceeds 4.0 percent and nickel does not exceed 50.0 percent

Specification for corrosion-resisting chromium and chromium-nickel steel covered welding electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1981-01-01

This specification prescribes requirements for covered corrosion-resisting chromium and chromium-nickel steel electrodes. These electrodes are normally used for shielded metal arc welding, and include those alloy steels designated as corrosion or heat-resisting chromium and chromium-nickel steels, in which chromium exceeds 4.0% and nickel does not exceed 50.0%

Implications of plant cover in the structure of a clayey oxisol under ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Knowledge of indicators of soil physical quality is of paramount importance for better understanding of soil-plant relationships. These indicators include the bulk density and soil resistance to penetration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of four cover crop species in the process of reducing the soil density ...

41 CFR 301-11.638 - May we offer a lump sum payment to cover the income tax liability on the covered ITRA?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... payment to cover the income tax liability on the covered ITRA? 301-11.638 Section 301-11.638 Public... Thereafter Agency Responsibilities § 301-11.638 May we offer a lump sum payment to cover the income tax... understands that he/she is responsible for any income taxes without further reimbursement. See the...

41 CFR 301-11.538 - May we offer a lump sum payment to cover the income tax liability on the covered ITRA?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... payment to cover the income tax liability on the covered ITRA? 301-11.538 Section 301-11.538 Public... 1994 Agency Responsibilities § 301-11.538 May we offer a lump sum payment to cover the income tax... understands that he/she is responsible for any income taxes without further reimbursement. (See the...